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.