First things first…

Congratulations to Stuart and Maike Rankin on the birth of their beautiful, little girl, Hannah Grace.  Stuart and Maike are dear to our hearts here at MOHI in Haiti and we rejoice BIG time with them over this wonderful, life changing event:  The creation of a perfect combination of the two of them.  How exciting it will be to watch her grow and get to know her.

Maike, Stuart & Hannah Grace *LOVE*

She’s Back!

Thank you all for joining us in praying for Amy.  We are grateful that Tuesday morning she resumed her normalcy and was able to get involved with the team from Bless Back.  It was so good to see her up and at ’em once again.  (Answered prayer!)

Everyone’s so glad Amy is feeling better this week!

Bless Back is Back, too!

Speaking of the team from Bless Back Worldwide.  Wow!  What a wonderful, giving and loving group of people.

Well Child Checks

This team’s main goal was to do well-child checkups.  This helps us to track how our students are doing and should there be any issues, we are more likely to be able to intervene in a timely manner.

The team worked so hard in the heat to get through all the classes over four days.  There were three dentists on the team that checked their teeth, too.  Lisa Walker worked all week with Martine and Marie Anges, teaching them how to use the auto refractor to check the students’ eye sight.  A handful of the kids actually needed some help seeing and we were able to provide them with the right prescription lenses.

Ready to see the doctor

Nan was a great help at intake.

Lisa teaching Martine how to use the auto refractor

Dr Mark Weigel

Paillant Outreach

Wednesday we returned to the mountain village of Paillant. The team was such a blessing to this community.  Hundreds were touched with medical/dental/eye care, food, and clothing.  The lack of dental intervention was very apparent.  Even with three dentists working all day long, we were not able to help everyone.  Most patients had two, three or even four teeth that needed to be extracted.  Just imagine the painful suffering this community endures.

The mayor of Paillant was a great encouragement to us.  Once again he cleared his schedule to spend the entire day with us.  Like virtually everyone who came to this mobile clinic, the mayor was very grateful for the sacrifices the team made to be there, for the expert medical and dental care that everyone received, and for the much needed medicines that were given.  The mayor also provided the necessary ingredients for the community women to prepare a wonderful meal for all of us.

Prayer in the Gallet

The little village near the missionary compound is called the Gallet.  We like to bless them when we have a team in.  This week we visited people in their homes, gave out rice and beans, and prayed with those who had special needs.

Dr Doug Wolfe shares a moment of prayer with our neighbors.

Dr Robert Dixon responds to a request for prayer

Blessing the Missionaries

Lynda Carlson, owner of Attitudes A Salon in Matthew, NC, asked for the opportunity to bless our missionary community.  After working in the clinic doing intake in the mornings, she provided free haircuts for local missionaries.  I personally benefited from her expertise and generosity, too!  Thank you Lynda!!!

Sharon Rice, a missionary serving in Fond de Negre, is blessed with a trim.

Kid Time

A week at Mission of Hope International absolutely involves lots of special moments with children.  Here are some of them from this week.

I think Morgan’s little friend is trying to act cool, but is REALLY stricken with her

Samantha made some friends this week!

Kim’s little friend is very content.

Lisa’s obviously got something of great interest to these students.

This Week’s Musings

My friend Rev. Cheryl Minor shared a great article this week titled, “The Selfishness of Skipping Church,”  by Art Heinz.  This is a subject I have thought about a lot over the years.  I was, quite honestly, really excited to learn what someone else had to say on the subject.  I thought I’d share a little of my own “journey” in this matter with you tonight:

In my early years in Haiti, I got to the point where I would search high and low for excuses not to go to church.  Now, understand, Sunday morning service is, and always has been, totally obligatory in the Edmé household.  It was rare that I had an excuse that Lex considered valid, so most Sunday mornings you would find me “suffering” through the service.

The early years at MOHI’s Eglise Evangélique Mission of Hope

I, on the other hand, thought my reasoning was valid.

• My Créole was weak enough that, unless Lex was preaching, I wouldn’t understand the message.
• I wasn’t being “fed.”
• It was HOT!
• People would squish me and make me feel even hotter!!!!
• Sometimes (quite often, actually) the person sitting next to me (who was also feeling hot and most likely didn’t have the means to purchase soap to bathe and wash their clothes) was giving off a little BO, which bothered my breathing and sometimes my tummy.
• I didn’t know the words to the songs, so I couldn’t even sing with everyone.  AND they kept singing off-key.
• The music was too loud for my (apparently) sensitive ears.
• My kids didn’t sit quietly in the church like the Haitian kids did and they were sometimes hot and crabby, too.
• The service was long, boring and uncomfortable for me.

I didn’t see any reason to make myself miserable by going to church.  I could just stay home and read my Bible and a devotion.  Or maybe not, since my husband would have none of that.  So, (usually with much reluctance) I went to church.  And somewhere along the way, I began to fall in love.  It started by taking my eyes off myself.  I started coming up with reasons why I SHOULD go to church.

• I wanted to be pleasing to God…
  • Jesus told us not to forsake the gathering of ourselves together (Heb 10:25)
  • and the Apostle told us not to just hear what God’s Word says, but to also DO what it says.  (James 1:22)
  • Jesus Himself was in the habit of going to the temple (Luke 4:16) and I really did want to be more like Jesus
• I wanted to be a good wife and mother…
  • Lex wanted me to be with him in church so to me, that meant I needed to be there as a support to him.
  • I wanted to be a good example to my children – I certainly didn’t want them to use ME for an excuse not to go to church themselves.
• I had come to Haiti to serve God by serving others – including those in the church
  • Inevitably someone would be encouraged by my presence, a hug, a kind word, a knowing look, or a playful moment
  • I had years of good Word planted in my heart and there were others nearby that needed to hear it.  Sometimes they “hear it” from the preacher, but not always.  I had something to share with others without having to preach from the pulpit to give it.
  • Proverbs 15:23 “To give an appropriate answer is a joy; how good is a word at the right time!”

My life is not my own!  That’s what it comes down to.  By thinking about others, our own lives are changed.  I encourage you to think about what’s best for someone else today.  Ask yourself, “What can I do to bless them?  What can I say to encourage them?  How can I act to show them that I care?  What WOULD Jesus do in this circumstance to lift them up?”

One of our favorite Bible verses to quote is found in Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”  I believe that is a great promise that God has made to us.  I also believe that I don’t need to focus on my own needs so much, because HE really IS providing.  I choose to focus on someone else’s need and hope the Lord can use me to touch that person’s life for HIS glory.