October Prayer Letter
Increasing Hosanna’s Caring Testimony of the Gospel
God has opened a door for a project that will reveal to the community a caring testimony of the Gospel we preach. This project is a lunchroom! Hosanna Elementary and High School is the only large school in Jacmel that doesn’t have a hot lunch program. This need has been a burden on Pastor Dieupie’s heart for many years. As the school has grown and gained popularity because of its academic excellence, the need has become more apparent. Many of the students come from poor families who are not able to give them more than some coffee and bread for breakfast. Others travel long distances with only a sandwich in their backpack to sustain them until they get home and eat their main meal at 3 p.m. Pastor Dieupie felt that the time to achieve this desire was now while he is a senator and he can get donated food from the government. Hence, through one of our Board Members, contact with a Christian foundation was opened to us. Our request was submitted, and it has been approved, Praise God!
Since privilege creates responsibility, we are now faced with the need for a construction team this winter. The date is January 9-18. Many of you are accustomed to working with Walt Rumminger. Walt is now retired, and God has provided a “new Walt.” for this project. His name is Festus Stroud from Townville, South Carolina. We covet your prayers in two ways–that the Lord will send blockmasons on the construction team to help us and that He will strengthen Festus, who will have his first experience in Haiti with MFH/Hosanna.
18 Freshmen this Fall
The Bible Seminary continues to draw excellent young men to train for the ministry. Our new Dean of Students is Pastor Jean Aly Hector. This summer he challenged and assigned the student body to participate in evangelism, discipleship, hospital and new convert visitation, and community services. He is grateful to report a 90 percent participation. We are grateful to the Lord for the work being done in the Seminary.
Fall Evangelistic Services
The opening of school always begins with evangelistic services. These services are for the parents as well as the students in the elementary and high school. This school year we were blessed with 20 professions of faith. PTL
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(The following are continued excerpts from my parents’ book, “Taking Root Downward, Bearing Fruit Upward,” concerning their first experiences with the medical clinic.)
“At first we began to treat the patients on the veranda at our front door, and later we converted our kitchen, which was built in the backyard apart from the main house, into a clinic. There we cleaned, washed, and medicated unbelievable ulcers caused by syphilis and yaws. Yaws is a deterioration of the marrow that rots the bone, oozes out matter continually, and deforms the structure. It was the grace of God that enabled us to bear the stench and protected us as we cared for these Haitians so near the back door leading to our kitchen—and that without surgical gloves or disinfectants. There were babies infested with worms who were so badly swollen that their skin cracked open and oozed out matter. Then there were the fever diseases of malaria, cholera, and typhoid for which God enabled us to dispense the proper medication without diagnosis. God used our labor in these crude circumstances to win the confidence of the leading men and women of the village. Each healing was a miracle of God who took our incompetence and covered it with His wisdom. Physical miracles led to miracles of salvation.”
With deep thanks and gratitude to God for you,
Tom and Sarah Bennett
