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| Student making bread |
Mission to Haiti – January 16, 2011
This week has been a quiet one on the Emmaus Biblical Seminary (EBS) compound with no students or professors, visiting or otherwise. It has given us an opportunity to clean the overhead fans, scrub the floors, and wash the windows in anticipation of our first visitors to the Ville Auberge as we call it, or as others call it, “The Assisted Living Centre.” I am not sure whether they are implying that we are of an age that this is what we are in need of or whether it is a different name for a Bed & Breakfast.
Last Sunday night the Hubele family, John, Rachelle, Jacob and Josephine, who are now living on the EBS compound with ourselves, arrived back from working with some of the staff from the Vaudreuil Medical Clinic who were conducting a mobile clinic at the small community of Roche in the mountains between Cap Haitian and the Dominican Republic. Very early on Friday morning it took them approximately 3 hours to drive to the base of the mountain and then they had to walk another 1 ½ hours up the mountain to the village where they set up the clinic. Between Friday afternoon and Saturday evening over 400 villagers and people from the surrounding area were seen by the medical staff, fortunately none were for cholera. Additionally, some of the missionaries conducted a 
VBS-type program for the children of the community, singing songs, doing crafts, and learning Bible stories. It was an outreach program that was so remarkable for its simplicity but so awesome in the way that the people of the community see God at work in the hearts of the medical staff and the missionaries. There is no preaching but the actions of these 10 team members spoke fathoms in terms of discipleship. It is the plan to conduct another mobile clinic this weekend at the fishing village of Gaudin where cholera has been an issue over the last couple of months, and where spiritual warfare is very much a part of the everyday life of the community as practitioners of voodoo battle for the hearts and minds of its people.
VBS-type program for the children of the community, singing songs, doing crafts, and learning Bible stories. It was an outreach program that was so remarkable for its simplicity but so awesome in the way that the people of the community see God at work in the hearts of the medical staff and the missionaries. There is no preaching but the actions of these 10 team members spoke fathoms in terms of discipleship. It is the plan to conduct another mobile clinic this weekend at the fishing village of Gaudin where cholera has been an issue over the last couple of months, and where spiritual warfare is very much a part of the everyday life of the community as practitioners of voodoo battle for the hearts and minds of its people. The anniversary of the earthquake was January 12th and all government offices, schools and banks were closed by order of the government in Port-au-Prince. We are told that there were services of remembrance and thanksgiving; however, we did not see anything locally to suggest that this day was any different than any other.
The big news was that the Organization of American States (OAS) had given its report on the election and its results to President Preval who, it was thought, might take the opportunity to announce the OAS’s findings but this also did not happen. The report was apparently leaked to the press and it now appears that Preval’s handpicked successor, Jude Celestin, has fallen to third place from second and would no longer be a part of any run-off election. The OAS report is not binding on the Preval government or the Election Council but it will be interesting to see what happens and whether supporters of Jude Celestin take to the streets in protest like those of Michel Martelly did when it was first announced that their candidate had lost out in his bid to be one of the top two candidates for the run-off election. Haitian politics are never dull and this election is proving how interesting things can be. Please pray that whoever is the final victor will bring honest, stable, and good government to the people of Haiti.
We know each week that we ask for your prayers. You have no idea how much we count on you to pray for the country of Haiti and for us personally. Our God is a miracle working God and there is no doubt in our minds about that. Prayer makes the miracles happen. God bless each of you.
