January 2019 Prayer
“. . . while we do not look at things which are seen, but at the things which are NOT seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are NOT seen are eternal.”
(II Corinthians 4:18)
About 8 p.m. on Christmas Day, I received word that my old home in Pignon, the home my dad had built for our family, had been totally destroyed by fire. It was built in 1951 – four years after Mom and Dad arrived in Haiti. I was devastated! It was the home I grew up in and the home in which I had ministered as an adult for ten years before we moved to Jacmel. (Those who stepped in to minister after we left continued to use the home for teams, etc.) For several hours after I received this news and saw pictures on my phone of the devastation, I felt overwhelmed. My focus was that the house was the physical representation of my parents and their work and now it was gone! Then the Lord stopped me cold and rebuked me! He reminded me that the spiritual work of my parents as they were giving the Gospel was the real representation of their lives and that the Gospel message they gave lives FOREVER and can never be destroyed like that house. I praise God for my childhood memories of my parents and all the spiritual works that were achieved in that home! So many spiritual victories were won, and so many defeats to the enemy of our soul took place there. What a treasure I have in my heart because of the Gospel. Praise His wonderful Name!!
Hosanna/MFH activities in January
The Hosanna School lunchroom project has been moving along very well and is now ready for our construction team, which will arrive on January 9. The Haitian masons laid the foundation, built the first floor walls, and poured the first floor roof. Our team will build the second floor walls and help pour the final roof. This team is under the Direction of Pastor Tim Marcengill and builder Festus Stroud from Oakdale Baptist Church, Townville, South Carolina. We are also privileged to have Walt Rumminger, retired commercial builder, who is making his final visit to Haiti, where he served the Lord with us for 16 years, building churches, the Bossier camp, the seminary building, and the kindergarten building, and also heading up a host of other construction projects, both in the North and in the South. Haitians as well as MFH folks all agree that he was sent to us from God, and we praise the Lord for him!
Our medical teamThe dental team will be led by Dr. Michael Gusar of Boston. Dr. Gusar and his team will be doing restoration dentistry. Typically, Haitians have very poor dental health resulting from inadequate diet and eating so much sugar cane. This clinic is an enormous blessing to the poor because even reasonable dental care is cost prohibitive for them.
Our ladies’ retreat will follow on the first weekend in February under the direction of Mrs. Andrea Pisarcik, Greenville, South Carolina. Assisting her will be Mrs. Lois McNair, Foley, Alabama (pastor’s wife, women’s speaker, and vocalist), and Mrs. Bonite Affriany, Haitian director of a large orphanage in Jacmel. Hosanna ladies eagerly look forward to these retreats each year. Last year 175 ladies attended, completely filling the cabins and guesthouse with the overflow being housed in the all-purpose building. It resembled a giant spend-the-night event as they spread their blankets on the cement floor. This year’s theme is “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16)
We are so grateful to the Lord for the financial support you, our co-laborers, contribute in order for the ministry to continue. All the above projects and the daily expenses of radio, camp, seminary, school, and church-plants continue on a regular basis. Thank you for praying and for giving.
With thanks and gratitude to God for you,
PS. Sarah will be in Haiti from Jan. 2 – Feb. 7.
