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.
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| Lily helping to make the cake |
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| Lily icing the cake |
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| Stacey and the only 29th cake |
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| 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.
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| 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
