Mr. & Mrs. Besse

Congratulations to our friends David and Cassandra Besse who were married yesterday.  They first met at Mission of Hope International in 2010.  Cassandra was on the first World Race team that we hosted and David was on the first Campus Focus team from The Chapel in Akron.  The teams overlapped for about a week.  Apparently that was long enough for them to make an impression on each other.

Last year David and Cassandra returned to Haiti together.  I remember different people commenting to me about their behavior.  It was known that they were “an item” and yet they treated each other as brother and sister, with much self control.  They both worked hard that week, helping with school construction and before they left David popped the question.  He proposed to Cassandra on the beach in front of the missionary compound, getting down on one knee and presenting a ring to her.  She accepted and there was much laughter and some happy tears.

Although we couldn’t be with David and Cassandra for their special day, they were on my mind all day.  I am so happy for them and pray God’s blessings accompany them every day of their lives as one.

Medical Update

Leah and Ricardo have been running back and forth to Port-au-Prince all week.  Our little 4 year old congenital glaucoma patient received surgery on Wednesday.  Locating medicine for him has been a nightmare.

Fritzon, the young man with horrible ulcers on his ankles was seen by a doctor this week.  He then had a test done to check his circulation.  It was VERY poor.  He will need to have an operation where they remove veins in his thighs and implant them into his ankles.  This will also require skin grafts and special dressings, so he will be returning to Port-au-Prince weekly for some time.  The surgery alone will cost almost $600.  By the time medicines, dressings, and everything else is done, we expect it to cost about $1,000.

Please join us in covering both of these patients with prayer.  They are both so precious to us.

Under and Over the Sea…

Our family loves the ocean.  Alexis and A. Jay basically grew up in it.  It is full of life, beauty, a bit of danger and abundant blessing.

God has blessed MOHI with several boats.  Our first boat was from a tree we needed to cut down at the missionary compound.  We had it carved into a dugout canoe, called a “bwawon.”  The compound caretaker (aka Feyo or Felix) would use it to go out fishing and occasionally we’d get a fish out of the deal.  Before too long it transitioned into a neighborhood canoe and we were fine with that.   We currently have a small Haitian sailboat, a tiny, bright yellow boat (that shouldn’t have more than 3 people on it), a 19′ motor boat and a 25′ motor boat.  Both motor boats were donations.  The 19′ boat was given to us by a Haitian-American doctor who has a home down the beach from us.  He was so impressed with the work at MOHI that when we asked to rent the boat, he decided to give it to us, instead.  The 25′ boat was donated by a couple in Massachusetts.

The smaller boats enable us to set out and regularly check fish traps.  This week we had an amazing catch of 68 fish in one trap!  We used a few of them to feed the missionaries here, but most of them were given away.  We believe in the law of sowing and reaping, so we are expecting a great harvest of fish – on every wave!

The motor boats are used for ministry trips and touring the area with visitors.

La Gonave

Grand-Goâve is located across the southern canal from the island of la Gonave.  We sometimes visit an isolated village along the coast, called Aux Paque.  Our missionary friend, Fred Locket, built a small school and church there about 15 years ago.  We have brought food, clothing, toys and school supplies to them.  The village is very difficult to access by land, as it is surrounded on three sides with very steep mountains.  The fourth side is ocean.  The back side of the village is often flooded, so the houses are mostly located on a small strip of land.  Many buildings were also destroyed there during the earthquake.

Thursday Lex, Alexis and several of our church leaders went to the MOHI church in the tiny, mountain village of Maleguy, La Gonave.  This is also where Lex was born and raised, which made it an extra exciting adventure for Alexis.  They landed and docked at a little pier in Trois a l’Eau and hiked up to the Maleguy.  (You will likely never find Maleguy on a map, but it’s right in the area marked “Nouvelte Cite” on the map below.)

The hike lasted about 2 hours and was up very rough and steep terrain.  They had a donkey help to carry their supplies.  When they finally arrived on a plateau, Alexis took a little ride on the  donkey.

Thursday night Lex preached at the MOHI church in Maleguy.  Friday they toured the city of Anse-a-Galet, appreciating all the new construction and businesses.

I asked Alexis what she thought it would be like to grow up in Maleguy.  Her response?  “HARD!”  The hike from Maleguy to the city of Anse-à-Galet (main area for commerce) is grueling and there are no bathrooms.  Nevertheless, she loved the experience.  She will likely not agree to being left behind on the next trip.

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School Opening Sep 2

We continue to prepare the new school for opening day.  Pastor Edon’s office, in the radio studio, is being finished.  Painting is in full swing again.  The school administrator, director and Lex had a great meeting with our teaching staff.  They are eager to get started.  We are planning to have a ribbon cutting ceremony on September 2nd with all our students and staff.

 

 

Groders En route

Pastor Kevin, Tammy and their dog Indy have arrived in Alabama – on their way to Haiti.  They are scheduled to arrive on Thursday.

We will have a couple of weeks with the Groders before our family heads to the States for our road trip.  Please remember, if you are in the vicinity of one of our stops to come by and see us.  We will be in Fort Meyers, Charlotte, Nashville, Akron, Manchester (CT), All around MA, Washington DC and Jacksonville.

Church in Thozin

Here are some pictures of some of the folks at church this morning…