One of our favorite places in Haiti…the entrance to a great beach!

Haiti often gets a bad rap in the news, whether it is politics, weather or disease. You know… earthquakes, cholera and malaria. These things do exist and do happen, but not very often. Haitians don’t understand why their country is presented negatively to the world. There are positive and negative things here like everywhere else! It’s just that the positive seem to be kept secret while the negative are played up by the media.

I have to admit I thought the same things before we moved to Haiti. I had no desire to go to Haiti, the idea never even occurred to me until God started opening my understanding. When we were invited on our first work team and I finally did go, the things I saw on my first trip were overwhelming. But after being here awhile (and getting used to what I was seeing), I discovered that there is an entire other level that the first-time visitor might miss at first. In congested areas the natural beauty of Haiti is often at or above the rooftops.

Don’t look down so closely and so often. Rather look up, around and beyond the obvious a little more often. Haitians don’t seem to notice what is always there (trash, potholes, mud, cinder blocks); why do we? (I think there is a spiritual application here, don’t you?)

Haiti is a beautiful land. Wild, unspoiled beaches ring the entire country. Waterfalls abound along roads and streams. Mountains and palm trees frame almost every view. Bright green rice fields blanket the plains and large fruit trees line the clear, rock-strewn rivers. Sounds almost like a travel guide, eh?

The only good thing about the negative publicity is that Haiti is largely empty of tourists. That means that we get spoiled. We have almost the entire beach to ourselves (well, not always!), and there are some spots where we will only see other missionaries. So while tourism is needed badly for economic reasons, the unspoiled, unhurried natural feel of the place is great for now.

We are looking forward to returning soon. It is a wonderful opportunity and privilege for our family to serve there!

Children, too, are truly beautiful around the world!

Travel days are part of our life now. Here we have landed in Atlanta and are waiting for the hotel shuttle!

Return. We have returned to the States for our summer furlough. We are so glad to have extended time with family and friends, but this also gives us time to reevaluate our priorities and reassess the opportunities before us.

Rest. Thanks for the love and support we continually feel. Special thanks to the Hartzler’s, Stan and Gloria, who are letting us all stay in their lower level in Orrville, Ohio! We are getting spoiled in a hurry with their big hearts constantly showering us with generosity and love! Stan said recently that the Bible instructs them “to do everything heartily, as to the Lord,” so they are! We want to thank everyone in our church family who has had a part in making us feel comfortable and welcome.

Our spacious summer home in Ohio. It is nice and cool!

Review. Besides our child sponsorship work, this past year we have had several opportunities to teach evangelism classes, show the Jesus Film, as well as lead a weekly Bible study in the community. Right before we came back to the States we were invited to participate in evangelism training at the church level. We had the opportunity to teach people from 21 churches who came together to learn how to share their faith and then teach others. The plan is to cover much of south Haiti in this way. Our hope is to use our time in Haiti wisely in light of eternity.

Restock. This is the time of year we need to purchase food and household supplies for our next term and pack them for shipment to Haiti. It is not really our favorite part of furlough! There is a lot to think about and it can be overwhelming to say the least…

Thursday afternoon Bible Study in a Simon neighborhood!

Sharing the gospel with young Haitian believers at a “grain bin” community of homes!

Waiting along the highway provided the opportunity to visit with people about eternity!

A local park was a great place to share the message of God’s love!

Sharing God’s Word in tract form followed by direct conversation!

Teaching the Word to searching souls!

People are just everywhere in Haiti and we find so many who are interested in talking about eternity.

During school visits there are opportunities to teach kids about God!

Every soul has an eternal destination before them!

Even learning Creole or teaching English is always an opportunity for discipleship!

Sharing the gospel during an intermission while showing the Jesus film!

Handing out Bibles and tracts at the end of our evangelism presentation.

Bringing God’s Word to thousands, a simple gospel tract is a very effective tool!

Request. We anticipate printing hundreds of thousands of the tracts you see here. If God gives you the desire, we could use donations for purchasing the paper and ink in Haiti to print these or others we will develop. We give these tracts to churches that have received our training to share in their outreaches, as well as handing them out ourselves or supplying local evangelists. We also print lots of training hand-outs and the expense adds up!

Haiti is a country without many reading materials. When you hand someone a tract, many times they will stop and immediately read the whole thing, even out loud! Many people cannot read, so sharing the plan of salvation with them in person is then imperative.

Here is a repeat photo about tracts from our last post that is one of our favorites:

After receiving a tract, this man is curious enough to start reading it on the road!