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| Tom Black |
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| Jerry Poff |
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| 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.)
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| 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.
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| Lily's Oct 31st Treat |
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| Bubba chatting to guests |
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).
