NEAR THE END - NOT OUR ROPE

This past week has been a time of little things that in and of themselves perhaps do not amount to very much, but reflect how life in Haiti is for a missionary.  This past Sunday we went to Heavenly Brightness Church with Jerry Caskey, one of our visiting professors, who was preaching from The Book of John, Chapter 9 and the coming from darkness into the light when you accept Christ as your Saviour.  Heavenly Brightness is, of course, one of the schools that St. Andrew’s supports so we took the opportunity to look about before the church service began.  We will have a closer look next week as we plan to visit all 4 schools St. Andrew’s supports on Monday and Tuesday before we leave to return home for a couple of months.

Also this week our house cleaner, RoseLore, lost her grandfather. We are uncertain about the details, but in all likelihood he was a man younger than either of us.  While we see RoseLore in church with her 4 children we have never seen or been introduced to any other family members.  She came Monday and received an advance on her monthly salary for her grandfather’s funeral from Stacey Ayars as RoseLore is employed by the seminary, and Monday afternoon we heard voodoo drums and chanting from nearby that went until about 10:30 p.m. We wondered whether the voodoo “rave” was a wake for the grandfather but we have no way of telling.  On Tuesday we gave her some money to replace the salary advance she received from Stacey hoping this money would be spent on food for her children so they won’t go hungry.

Lily helping to make the cake

Lily icing the cake

Stacey and the only 29th cake

And, this week was Stacey’s 29^th birthday for the first time.  Her husband, Matt, wanted her to have a day without having to worry about cooking so Wednesday morning he cooked breakfast, for lunch they ate beans and rice prepared at the seminary, and Wed. evening for supper they came over here to have Beef Stroganoff and birthday cake.  Matt provided us covertly with a confetti cake mix (We think this is Lily’s favourite.).  We then had Lily come over to help bake the cake, and continued to say, “But it’s a secret,” and she was able to keep the secret which was simply amazing for an almost 3 year old.

That icing is pretty good

 Last week we promised you another testimony.  This time from Devicoeur, who is our scholarship student.  He was also John’s Creole teacher when we were working in the Field Treasurer’s office.  A father/son relationship developed and when Devicoeur indicated that he would like to go to the Emmaus Seminary we provided the money that was needed each year to pay his share of the tuition.  He is a terrific young man who would literally give you the shirt off his back although he is as poor as a church mouse.  He is shorter than Dorothy and weighs slightly more than 100 pounds yet would give you his last slice of bread to eat rather than see you go hungry.  Last year we, together with the Hubele family, gave him a bicycle to ride the 5 miles back and forth to the seminary from his home.  We would have given him the money to buy the bicycle but were concerned that he would give the money away to someone he thought had a greater need than he.   He truly has a servant’s heart and we are so proud that he is doing well and will graduate in May of next year near the top of his class.

Devicoeur, Dodo, Lily

Testimony of Ideus Devicoeur

Three questions were asked of the students:

What was your life like before you became a believer?

How did you find Jesus Christ?

What effect has salvation had in your life?

My name is Devicoeur Ideus, I have thirty (3) years old; I din’t born in a Christian family; My parents saved demons.  My mother and my father lived in same house but they didn’t marry.  My father had two (2) wives: my mother and a mother on who he married with her.  Then, my mother becam pregnant, When the day of childbirth is near, my father left her in the house, he went to with the other wife.  A night my mother gave birth to me; in a other day, my father came back and saw the child, he began to make trouble with my mother, he said he was a black man, the child was white.  So my mother who is a believer of demon; what she did?

She just took me, they lived near a corner in this place, they said that it has a deman named legba there; she laid me down in that place and she talked to legba saying:

Legba, if this child is for Delens (Delens is the name of my father) let him to live, but if he is not for him take away his life.  Somedays after that, I became very sick.  I was almost to die.  Then my parents went to visit a Wichdoctor so they did many activities to try to healing me, they couldn’t find.  They went to visit a maidservant of satan, that one did something they said.  I beging to move again.

Then when I became better, or heal.  The devil talked through the maidservant, he said to my parents: they have to organize a service, so the goal that to give thanks them (the demons) They did that when I was still a child.  The demon talked through another person, he said that they accept the service but, not in the totality or completely.  They charge my parents to say me; When I will become young, I have to organize myself a ceremony in their memory.  So my parents usualy told me that history.  A few years ago, my mother became sick and she died.  My father also.

I continued to grow, I heard something about God, I interest to him. When I had fourteen years old, I gave my life to Jesus Christ.  Before I receive baptize, God put in my heart to shared the gospelin all area where I lived.  When I finish to baptize the holy spirit came to me, then I felt strong to state of this work so I did what the holy spirit lead me to do.  When I finish to share the gospel in all place in my area, God asked me to go in the other neighor area.  I had privilege to share the gospel in the town of the Cap-Haitien.

During three first years after I received the chrition baptize, I consacrated them to consecrated them to preach the gospel.

So since 1991 to 2011, I have 20 years ago after my convertion or after I became a Christian. I worked so hard to the Evangelical church to Vaudreuil and some other surches.  In 2008 God asked to me to go to the seminary; in other to learn more things, and to understand better the God’s word;  I know that God prepare me for a special ministry, but he want to prepare me spiritually and socialy.  He want also to prepare my character because my first fourteenth years were very bad; for example, I practiced sexual immorality.  I robbed, I liked to fight with other  people. I lied.  Because I lived according to the flesh, I did the shameful things.

But now, praise be to God, Jesus Christ rescue me from the power of satan, I left his darkness kingdom, I live for Jesus and with Jesus.

Now I can say as Paul: I have crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in my body, I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20)

This week was also American Thanksgiving.  We hosted the meal with the missionaries.  Fourteen adults plus 2 children sat down for the meal in our gallery.  We are so blessed.  It is truly hard to realize how blessed we are because at home we can just go the grocery store and have every food, convenience or no, at our fingertips.  There is an older Gaither tune the chorus of which Dorothy loves:

When we're empty

You fill us 'til we overflow,

When we're hungry

You feed us and cause us to know

We are so blessed.

Take what we have to bring

Take it all ev'rything

Lord we love You so much.

The peace of Christ,

Dorothy and John

www.jdmhaiti.blgspot.com

This week there hasn’t been a lot to report.  On Thursday morning bright and early the missionaries and two of our guests went to the Dominican for a spiritual retreat and will return on Sunday in time for supper.  One of the visiting professors, Jerry, stayed with us because his class continued and then Friday was a national Haitian holiday so there were no classes.  We decided that since this week was just the usual stuff for us that we would share with you a little about one of the students at the seminary who received one of the scholarships that St. Andrews gives to 4 students each year to continue their education.   

Emilien Mogene

The first portion of the following is a little about Emilien and then his testimony.  Both are written by Emilien but we are guessing that Stacey Ayars has done a little editing of his English.

“My name is Emilien Mogene and I’m from Dondon.  I live at the Seminary during the week and travel to my home on the weekends to be with my wife, son, and to work at my church.  I’m in the third year class at EBS.  One Sunday a month I preach at the church, and I also work in the garden to take care of my family.  I watch tv and play soccer sometimes, but most of the time I work in ministries at the church, like leading the worship service and teaching a Sunday School class.

I would love your prayers for my spiritual life and I want to praise the Lord for all of the opportunities He is giving me to study theology and to take care of my family.

I hope that one day Haiti can be changed for Christ.  I thank you for your prayers for Haiti and for me, and for helping me in my studies.  I ask that God will protect you and give you good health.  I cannot thank you sufficiently for all that you have done for me, so I pray that God will bless you abundantly.

Thank you!

Mogene

Student:  Emilien Mogene

Expected Graduation Date: 2013

Personal Testimony:

I was born in a Christian family.  I kept all the principles of the Bible when I was a child.  When I was a child, someone practicing Voodoo wanted to kill me, but they couldn’t have success because my parents had a strong faith in God.  Because of that, it became my intention to live close to God day by day.

After finishing my high school, I had many dreams but they did not come to pass.  My first hope was to become a doctor.  I wanted to help my people to have good health.  I tried to do this, but nothing came through for me in this way.  So, I started to study Economic Science at the University of Cap-Haitien.

However, I was not able to complete these studies.  After a long time of silence from the Lord, I thought a lot about my future.  I realized God had a marvelous thing for me in my life, even though I did not have beautiful qualities or good knowledge. 

One day I heard a message from a preacher who said “even though I was born in a Christian family, you have to accept Christ personally in your life to be saved.”  Immediately, I knew he was talking about me, and I accepted Jesus as my Savior, and I became a new believer.

When I came to Emmaus, it was because it was a seminary that trains people to become pastors.  My purpose is to live like Christ during my life on the earth.  When I came to the Seminary the doctrine I found was one of holiness.  I can say with sincerity that my vocation is to become a pastor to work in the local church to help the people to live holy lives day by day.

I have a wife and a son who is one year old.  Please pray for us!  Thank you.

Emilien’s testimony is somewhat different from what we have seen in many cases.  Unlike many of the student’s here at the seminary he was raised in a Christian home that was not influenced overtly by voodoo.  Next week we would like to share with you the testimony of another student that we are helping personally who is now in his 4^th year at the Emmaus Biblical Seminary which is more typical.

We are starting to get a little tired physically so please continue to keep us in your prayers as we finish up our final week of hosting and prepare to return home on the 6^th of December.

The peace of Christ

www.jdmhaiti.blogspot.com 

JERRY & JIM & SUE

Jerry, Tom and Troy
ready to leave

Sue Smith assisting Stacey grade
English tests

Jim Smith, Visiting Professor

Jerry Caskey, Visiting Professor

Our first two weeks with guests has now ended and our visiting professors for the next two weeks have arrived. Our new guests are Jim and Sue Smith from Greenwood, Indiana along with an old friend, Jerry Caskey, whom we mentioned in our weekly missives last year.  Jerry is also from Indiana.  No one from the first group that has now left town came down with anything resembling a gastro-intestinal infection so we are guessing the first two weeks were a success.

This past week was perhaps a little more interesting than last. Generally for us things here at the Saccenville compound remain pretty quiet but an exception occurred when the water pump that provides water for the whole seminary called it a day in the middle of the night; but, Praise the Lord, another pump had been delivered to the compound only the day before.  Talk about God’s timing!

Stacey made us all donuts on Saturday
and they were better than the local home choices

We met up with Ruth Leandre, the receptionist at the OMS Vaudreuil compound, whom we hadn’t seen since we left last May.  Ruth was a Godsend when we were serving as Field Treasurer keeping us out of trouble and helping us with the payrolls for the 135 staff by answering our questions.  She and her husband are expecting their second child in March of next year. 

Our second bit of news is not quite as joyful.  Edrice, the foreman/boss of much of the maintenance/construction/security activity at the OMS Vaudreuil compound, came down with cholera this past week and is now convalescing at the Bethesda Medical Clinic at Vaudreuil rehydrating through IVs.  Edrice is such an integral part of everything that seems to happen at the OMS compound.  He is on the mend and everyone is praying for his quick recovery. 

Wednesday we all met for prayer at the Vaudreuil compound.  The have one group from Canada that includes people from Hamilton and Alberta who are working together helping to build a church at Plain du Nord.  Another group is there from Pennsylvania and they are working at Bas Limbe on a solar power system for a church/school, not the one that the work team from St. Andrew’s was working on last year, but the other church/school more in the centre of the town.  Coral Bamsey, from Hamilton, who was with our St. Andrew’s work team, is here again with the group working at Plain du Nord.  She tells us the Pastor Julio whose school we visited briefly last year had a motorcycle accident three weeks ago and his one knee is the size of a grapefruit.  Nothing is broken but can’t bend it either. He probably needs ice but that is definitely in short supply in a place like Haiti.  Coral asks for our prayers for Pastor Julio.

As well on Wednesday Professor Tom Black was teaching Spiritual Warfare for the past two weeks and he provided us with a message on the Sovereignty of God.  The bottom line is that when Jesus Christ died, Satan was defeated.  Praise the Lord.

Another of God's wonders to behold

The peace of Christ

www.jdmhaiti.blogspot.com

TOM & JERRY & TROY

Tom Black

Jerry Poff

Troy Thompson

Our visiting professors have finally arrived.  Pastor Tom Black arrived Saturday from Illinois in time for lunch.  He is teaching Spiritual Warfare.  Pastor Jerry Poff and Troy Thompson arrived from Ohio late Sunday afternoon having come via bus from the Dominican Republic.  Jerry is teaching New Testament Survey. Troy is an aeronautical engineer and is working on all kinds of things that need fixing, even our washing machine as well as Stacey and Matt’s machine. They are three great guys.  Matt, Stacey, Lily and Sofie have two female friends of theirs staying for 9 days so we all decided that Dorothy should go and live at the Ayars house with girls and Matt should live here with John and the guys.  Unfortunately, we aren’t sure how much cooking would get done in this house.  They would in all likelihood go out to MacDonald’s or Swiss Chalet for all their meals. (Sure!!!!, if there was one.)

Pillatre

On Sunday Tom went with us to a church we had never attended, Pillatre, which is down the road about a mile and a half.  It is huge church that seats approximately 600 people North American style but probably 800 Haitian style.  It was Reformation Sunday as well as Communion Sunday.  The pastor preached on why we celebrate Reformation Sunday and there were 2 excellent visiting chorales.  There is a school associated with the church and it has a small playground.  Both of us noticed an American flag along with the Haitian flag and another flag at the front of the church and asked Stacey and Matt about it later.  Apparently most of the funding for the church and school came from an American group.  What a joy it was to hear the children in another building having their own service and yelling 3 times, Amen, each louder than the previous time.  Church envelopes were handed out prior to the service to those who wished to make a contribution but did not have a regular offering envelope.  Communion was served during the service, the bread being a small piece of a broken cracker wrapped in a very small piece of tin foil.  When it came time to collect the communion cups (In this church it was grape juice.) another plate was being passed.  We thought it was for the tin foil and when John put the foil into the plate he realized it was the offering plate.  If ever there was a strange look it was from the man collecting the offering.  The foil was quickly retrieved and replaced by the offering envelope – just a little embarrassing.

Lily's Oct 31st Treat

Bubba chatting to guests

The usual things that we do while we are here are rolling along; cooking, baking, laundering and chatting. Tom and Jerry (no, not the cartoon characters although these men are characters) were having some initial translation issues that are sorting themselves out.

Troy has been working a lot on the power system for the seminary, (diesel generator and inverter batteries) to see if he can find us more time on the batteries to reduce the amount of fuel that is used over the course of a day.  We are not there yet, but we are getting closer.

Things for the most part are quiet.  With no television, radio or newspapers we often times feel like we are living in a bubble because we seldom hear of what is going on outside the walls of the seminary unless something untoward happens.  We, like you, need to search the internet to find out things.  For example, we did not know that the Haitian Senate had finally approved President Michel Martelly’s choice for Prime Minister and that he and his cabinet had been sworn in two weeks ago, or that the President is seeking financial assistance in re-establishing the Haitian military.  I guess there are a number of choices that this new government will need to make over the next 4 plus years.  We can only pray that they make the right ones.

And speaking of choices, this morning we were talking during our devotions about the choices we make in our lives.  Today people appear more inclined to live for themselves, to love money and possessions and to love doing things that take them further away rather than nearer to the Lord – what is sometimes called the “me generation” that is only concerned about “what is in it for me”, when what is truly needed if someone is to be at peace with themselves is a declaration such as Joshua chooses to make in Chapter 24, Verse 15 “As for me and my household we will serve the Lord.”

The Lord be with your spirit.  Grace be to you.  (11Timothy 4:22).

www.jdmhaiti.blogspot.com

ONIONS AND THE CROSS OF CHRIST

I (Dorothy) was just standing at the sink peeling and cutting up several onions while listing to a CD.  I start crying because of the onions but all of a sudden I found myself listening more closely to the song and tears of joy flowed.  The third verse of "Above All" was the one that did it. 

Crucified laid behind a stone
You lived to die rejected and alone
Like a rose trampled on the ground
You took the fall and thought of me
Above all. 

Halllelujah what a Saviour