His Heart for Haiti

In mid-December last year, we passed ten years since we moved our family to Haiti. We had only been able to return part time for the past 2 years. We have a rented home in Ohio, but we still had a home in Haiti, a ministry we enjoyed and loved, and many beautiful friends there. It was time to make a decision!

Things are very tough for everyone there right now, so they understand things are changing for all of us. We will never forget the Haitians, the other missionaries, their beautiful country, and all the many memories we made together! Haiti is a part of us and the mission there will be missed!

Reflecting on Haiti brings many memories which touch our hearts. We can’t put into words all that we went through in a culture and language not our own, all that we learned, all the people we met or labored with in the ministry to share the gospel or help the poor. We can’t forget all the interesting school visits we made on bumpy roads or climbing hills, the many prisoners we encountered in overly crowded cells, all the adventures on rocky rivers or climbing up mountains, and the adventure into town where the poor kids waited outside the store when we came out, hoping for a Haitian dollar or a box of cornflakes. We often had to remind ourselves that we have nothing, but in Christ we have all He is, to freely give His love!

Going home?! All the airports in Haiti were closed shortly after our arrival and our return flight was already cancelled a week before we were to go! The lawlessness of the gangs in Port-au-Prince and the resulting insecurity has been affecting things for a long time, but now it was at ever greater level. We wondered how long it would be until we could get out and put our names on several evacuation lists.

Agape Flights (the mail carrier to missionaries in the Caribbean) finally got clearance to fly into Haiti a week after we were originally supposed to leave. We had been furiously sorting, packing and distributing our stuff the entire time, so we appreciated the extra week! The pilots were so gracious and loving as we traveled home, sharing their snacks and water and even sacrificed themselves as there weren’t enough lifejackets for the 10 travelers.

Thanks for everyone’s thoughts and prayers during our final journey. We arrived in West Palm Beach safely and spent the weekend hanging out by a hotel pool. We celebrated our 33rd anniversary that weekend and did a lot of reflecting! God is good!

Our home address: 7420 Easton Road, Sterling, OH 44276

Three trips to Haiti this year…it was good to be back, but it sure seemed to rain a lot each time!

We tried to get to Haiti in January, but at the exact time our plane was prepared to land, a riot broke into the airport and it was immediately closed! We landed in Jamaica instead and returned to Florida a few hours later. As that experience was a bit dramatic, we ended up taking a short vacation in Florida and then returned home and went back down the next month.

On our third trip a few weeks ago, we felt the amazing power of God in the thunder crashing! Even more, there followed the biggest crash we have ever heard! That could not have been thunder?! Our dog, Sally, who is not allowed in the house, came hurtling through the door! When the sun came up the next day we saw that a tall tree had fallen through the tin roof of the duplex adjoining ours.

The prices of many things have doubled or tripled. Fruit and vegetables, meat and bread are ridiculously high. The suffering, the questions about what to eat tomorrow and how to find work never seem to stop. People are leaving the country however and whenever they can. We can’t blame them really. But most cannot, so always living hand to mouth never stops. We often feel helpless as we obviously can’t help very many. But we can help some.

We spent time with several of the students we sponsor! That is always a neat experience. Such nice kids, and they are so thankful. We never know how we affect the lives of others, do we? It’s a good reminder to resemble Christ in our words and deeds.

Kids are waiting to go to school right now! We love sponsorship and you will too. We personally know three kids that need a sponsor! Please let us know if you are interested in helping these kids (mswalder91@gmail.com), or if you have questions after visiting harvestcall.org/child-sponsorship
where you can also choose other children. [IDEA! Instead of giving a gift to a loved one this year, surprise them with a sponsorship in their name.]

We got on the streets to share the gospel! It’s always eye-opening to get out in the culture. It’s good to share the hope found in Jesus alone. It doesn’t matter if they have heard the gospel before or they haven’t; we all need encouraged to trust Jesus more each and every day. God’s word is powerful, and in Haiti most people like to talk about it!

Mike got to see several construction projects he helped plan! The second floor addition to the Bible School is almost finished. They added two large classrooms, an office, restrooms, and a bedroom and bath for visiting teachers. It is looking really nice! Pastor Peterson has moved his family into his new house. It looks like a little villa, and it has identical porches on the front and back.

A GCCD team visit! We so enjoyed our time together with them. In May, Mike got to drive a team around several days to visit churches and see the progress of the HarvestCall gospel-centered community development initiative in Haiti. We heard that one church had just created a new road to their village on top of a mountain. After driving up and up forever in first gear, we found a small welcoming party at the top! We soon found out that ours was the very first vehicle to get there!

We also had the opportunity to visit several schools! Some required a climb up a mountain and others were more conveniently closer to the “highway.” But in general, the ride there and back is BUMPY!

Our family has grown this year! We are getting sort of spread out these days. Joab and Trinity moved to Columbia, South Carolina and added another daughter, Joyana Faith, in July! Evan and Leah (Eureka, Illinois) are expecting a girl in January! Grant got married to Whitney Isch in Bluffton, Indiana, in October! They are living nearby. Grace graduated from high school in June and starts college in January entering a Physical Therapy Assistant program in Canton.

Here is a great opportunity to make an impact for an entire Haitian community! Through HarvestCall, our sending organization, a school sponsorship is $150 per month. The majority of that directly pays part or all of the teacher’s salaries, depending on the school size and number of teachers. There are three schools currently available and others asking for help all the time.

Why is school sponsorship important? Most families cannot afford the yearly tuition for one of their children, let alone multiple children. When the teachers are paid every month it keeps them teaching and happy, which ultimately allows many children to attend school who can’t pay. And education is the biggest hope Haitian children have to find a better future.

To view or select a school, visit https://www.childsponsorship.harvestcall.org/recipient-field/f013

Once a sponsor, you can write, send gifts or visit your school! You will receive ongoing updates and reports when the schools are visited by our Haitian staff. Thanks for considering the needs of those less fortunate and God bless you!

A new phase of service! We are thankful to have a contract this coming year with HarvestCall as we continue to work and share the gospel in Haiti. We’ll be based in Ohio but travel there every few months. We will continue to partner with Child Sponsorship as we seek ways to keep improving the program. Lord willing, we look forward to going down in October to get back into the swing of things. It is a blessing to serve. God is great!

Another good opportunity! For several months Mike has been enjoying another new experience; working at home as he contracts graphic design projects with Array Creative in North Canton (one of his previous bosses and a co-worker are the managing partners). He never imagined he would be able to work from home. All those years he used to drive 30 or so miles to work hopefully are over. God is good!

A new baby! Joab and Trinity are proud and happy new parents of Jaylah Faith, born on July 4. Susie got to be at the hospital through the entire delivery! Our first granddaughter (second grandchild) is adorable and we love seeing her as often as possible. Joab and Trinity are adjusting to getting a lot less sleep but they are so thankful that the delivery is behind them. God is merciful!

Our own “baby” is already 16! Grace is working at the Bauman Orchard Corner Market this summer and really likes it! She enjoys stocking the fruit and vegetables and manning the cash register, too. She is looking forward to her senior year and has recently been out with her friend, Elise (and her camera), finding ideal spots for senior photos.

Sponsored school reports are in! After several years of disruptions between the earthquake, Covid and instability in the country, we have finally been able to check a large percentage of schools. They are still dealing with so much damage! In one place everything in the area was flattened except for three homes. Schools have functioned this entire year in improvised ways: in temporary shelters or under roofs made from tarps or scraps of tin. Of the 125 schools we work with, half experienced significant damage and another quarter had some damage from the earthquake a year ago.

Sponsor a school! Sponsorship is a wonderful way to directly help a school in Haiti keep operating. Most families cannot even pay the small tuition fee required per student for attendance, but a sponsor changes everything! Monthly funds will help pay the teachers’ salaries so the teachers can teach and the students can learn. Thanks to many current sponsors for your love and kindness. Know you are making a real difference to a community in Haiti!

If you have questions or are interested in school sponsorship, you can contact us directly or contact HarvestCall at:

Apostolic Christian HarvestCall
Child Sponsorship Program
PO Box 36
Morton, IL 61550

phone: (309) 266-6080
email: childsponsorship@harvestcall.org

Our email: mswalder91@gmail.com

Ohio. We had no idea when we left Haiti for our furlough in June last summer that we wouldn’t be back for a long time! In fact, it wouldn’t be until late January that we would return with Grace for a two-week visit. Between visits we have worked remotely on many Child Sponsorship projects as we continue to support the program as much as possible.

Susie’s parents have continued to decline and in December dad moved into the same nursing home where mom lives. We cleaned out his apartment and were blessed with some of our parents mid-century modern furniture and other keepsakes to fill up our rental house even more.

Haiti. We went to Haiti in January for two weeks to see Joab and Trinity and to get some ministry done as well! We were able to spend time with Joab’s family and make a meal for them, go to the beach, re-engage with the staff at Child Care, go on an all-day school visit adventure and teach a seminar on salvation at the local IRD trade school. It was a special time! We were surprised to experience several strong aftershocks while we were there.

God is so good! Joab and Trin are expecting their first child the end of June. Then Evan and Leah announced they are expecting their second child in September! We can hardly wait to meet these new creations of God. We are looking forward to the Télusma’s coming back here soon as they prepare for the arrival of their Haitian/American baby.

1 Corinthians 13 concludes by saying that love is the greatest gift of all. We have seen first-hand through the summer months that God’s ways are wonderful and God’s gives perfect gifts!

In early June we moved Trinity down to Cayes as her teaching responsibilities had ended in Bonne Fin. We were amazed at how ready she was to move back to the U.S. and on to the next (and then unknown) chapter of her life. It was only a short time before she was fully aware that she would not be leaving Haiti anytime soon. God provided a totally unexpected, new direction! Although friends for years with Joab Télusma, a wonderful Christian man, God opened their eyes to see his plans for their future together.

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Love was growing! We returned to Ohio in June and Joab went to Indiana for a summer job. Trinity and Joab announced their engagement in July. It didn’t take long to realize a wedding needed to happen soon. Because of his visa, Joab had to return to Haiti by the end of September! So we dove in and set a wedding date of Sept. 12.

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Then the 7.2 earthquake struck southern Haiti. We were so affected by the calls we got and the images we were seeing the first days and weeks. It was going to be another long road to recovery; probably longer than the hurricane five years ago. So many churches and schools were flattened or nearly destroyed. It seems impossible that school can start in October this year. It seems like there are unending challenges for the Haitian people.

September arrived and Covid was increasing! Were we going to be able to have a wedding? But God again opened the way and we were able to celebrate on Sept. 12 with friends from Maine to California, from the Carolinas to Florida! It was a beautiful day and many wonderful memories were made. We praise God! He is so good! Trinity and Joab chose John 17 for their wedding message:

“The glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one: I in them and You in me; that they may be perfect in one, and the world may know that you have sent me and you have loved them and you have loved me.” John 17:22-23

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Trinity had picked “TJ” (Trinity/Joab) as their nickname as a couple before we decided that the rehearsal dinner would be at TJ’s! Coincidence?

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We also enjoyed a trip to Tennessee in late July with Evan, Leah and Eugene! We stayed in a cabin on Signal Mountain and took same day trips to Chattanooga. On the way home we stayed a few days in the Smokey Mountains too.

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Gospel-Centered Community Development in Haiti (GCCD)
It has been a year since HarvestCall started its new community development program! We have really enjoyed mentoring and working closely with Pastor Peterson Benjamin who is contracted as the administrator. He is a faithful and motivated young MEBSH pastor with a heart for teaching and training. Pastor Peterson handles the material translations, scheduling and leading trainings, visits, follow-up and reports.

The Truth Centered Transformation program (tctprogram.org) has ten training modules that are spread over five years and the training includes the entire church. First the pastors are taught the material, then they in turn teach their congregations. The ten trainings cover many life applications from evangelism to money management and stewardship, agronomy practices to church and family relationships. The churches have the opportunity to learn and pray together to come out of poverty, whether spiritually or materially, with no financial assistance provided. At this time, 25 churches have started the training and several are ready for Module 3.

The program directly confronts some of these lies Satan feeds to the poor:
• We were born poor and we will die poor.
• We are so poor that we don’t need to give. Other people should give to us.
• God only cares about spiritual things.
• Work is a heavy burden. It is good to work as little as possible.
• We can’t change our lives without finances from someone else.
• Some people are better than other people. We are not important.
• The gospel only affects our spiritual lives.

After each training the churches decide on an Act of Love that they must do together. Some have started outreaches into their communities for the first time, visiting the sick and helping with medical needs. Some have taken food to local prisons and several have put their money together for various outcomes. In any case they are now thinking of their neighbors and it makes quite an impact within and without the church. We are hearing good reports and some have come to Christ because of it.

The committee in the U.S. was finally able come see the initial progress first-hand. They enjoyed a meet and greet session with many pastors, and then we drove them to visit some of the pastors at their church location to learn more about their individual challenges and opportunities.

With special thanks to many friends in Ohio, we have been able to assist Madam Yadley in totally restoring her home (she lives on the second floor with her three children)! She was so happy and thankful to God that she had a huge celebration with all her family and neighbors!

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After teaching in Bonne Fin for two years, Trinity packed up the school as the remaining missionaries at the hospital will be leaving by the end of the year. She moved back to Ohio as we returned in June.

“For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” Hebrews 6:10

We love the Haitian spirit of making do with what they have. Degaje is the creole word we often use that means “making do.” Where there is a will there is a way! Whether it’s how they drive, lay ceramic tile, or alter clothes, it all reflects the way they have to live with flexibility and making do with less.

In a similar way God takes the broken pieces and the ugly parts about us and puts them back together in Christ. He sees our potential! He puts us in the church to be better together. He makes something beautiful out of our life!

Trees are another example…you just build around them!

The Easter sunrise service this year was a success…the rain held off long enough to gather on the Child Care roof!

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Starbucks coffee for a month or sending a needy child to school for a month? It’s probably the same price.

Buying something you don’t really need or giving a child great hope instead? There is no price tag!

HarvestCall Child Sponsorship exists to provide a way for open hearts to share with another the privilege we likely take for granted…a basic education. Many children in the world cannot go to school for the simple reason that their family lacks the funds to pay for tuition, books, uniform and a backpack.

• The enrollment rate for primary school in Haiti is 57%, and fewer than 30% of the students reach 6th grade.
• Secondary schools enroll 20% of eligible-age children.
• Haiti’s literacy rate is 52.9%

Those that don’t go to school are never able to read a Bible or story book themselves. They are not able to write their names and they lack basic math skills through life. We know some of those people. They work in our homes, they work in our offices at the most menial of jobs. They don’t want their own children to live like that!

Sponsorships through HarvestCall are available from preschool age up to trade school or university. You can also choose to sponsor entire schools in Haiti. Your funds will go to help pay the teachers so that the families can pay less and so the schools will stay open. It is a huge opportunity because we are already affecting over 10,000 students this way!

You can either contact us directly about kids we know that need help, select a child on the HarvestCall website, or through the Child Sponsorship office (all contact info at the end!).

We encourage you today to start sponsoring a child or an entire school; and if you already do, consider sponsoring another!

For more information or to select a child or school visit: harvestcall.org/child-sponsorship or write: ACHC Child Sponsorship, P.O. Box 36, Morton, IL 61550.

We just celebrated 30 years together…but separated. There are many surprises in life but God helps us face them one at a time by his grace. After over three months apart, we are looking forward to being together again as Susie plans to return to Haiti next week with a team!

While missionary life involves many blessings and you really see God at work, there are sacrifices and surprises around every corner. Our favorite word to describe all of that is “flexibility,” meaning the greatest work God is doing is probably in us. It’s awesome to know we have a God that walks with us on the mountains and in the valleys too!

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9

We are entering a very beautiful time of year in Haiti. The drier, dustier season is giving way to the rainy season. While the kreyol language has spring, summer, fall and winter in it, there are really only two seasons, dry and wet! It is always beautiful here, but now the fruit trees, fields and flowers really produce. But it makes sense…it’s a jungle!

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Most of the missionary houses here are on solar at this point. We were very thankful to receive the former solar panels from the guest house so we could also profit from the nearly constant rays. Child Care is positioned to be next!