JUST MERCY
Bibles in the Mountains!!
KS Team: Ben, Molly, Brandon, Jed, Carinn, Nellie
Bill and I flew back to Haiti on Jan. 22nd to prepare for the arrival of six friends from Kansas on the 28th. Molly and Nellie who had come last year and spent 7 weeks helping Yvrose were returning along with Nellie’s new husband, Brandon, her brother Jed, Molly’s brother Ben, and friend Carinn.
We had a journey to the mountains planned. 120 children at Pelerin had completed the Samaritan’s Purse The Greatest Journey course and we were going to have a graduation ceremony. Unfortunately, Bill was not feeling well and stayed “downstairs”. The rest of us along with our Haitian helpers headed up the mountain Wednesday, some on foot and some on mules.
We stopped briefly at the school in Robia and then continued on to Pelerin. It was so good to see Mommy and Poppy, our gracious elderly hosts, again. We visited the school and then rested from the arduous climb.
Opening ceremony at Pelerin School
The next morning, I went over to the school to watch the opening ceremony. The children line up, raise the Haitian flag and say their Pledge of Allegiance, sing the national anthem, recite the Lord’s Prayer, and then have another prayer before filing in to the school to start the day.
After that, we set out hiking to visit the Chapelle school which I had not seen since they had built a small building to house the books and things and put up the tarp and pole structures for classes to meet in after the hurricane destroyed the church/school building they met in. It’s amazing to see how many children come to school under such circumstances and we appreciate the teachers who work hard to teach under such conditions.
One of the Chapelle school shelters with the cook tent in the back
I spoke to each class and prayed for them before we set out to return to Pelerin. There will be a Greatest Journey graduation for Chapelle next month when some of the folks who specifically help support the Chapelle school will be visiting Haiti.
That afternoon back in Pelerin, I had asked Sonel to find about 15 of the students who had taken the Greatest Journey course for me to visit with. I was hoping they would talk to me about what they had learned from the course and how it had affected them. The Haitian children are very shy and it is hard to get them to tell you what is on their hearts.
Three or four said that they were grateful for all Jesus had done for them but did not elaborate. So…. I decided to tell them a little of my testimony and history of how the Lord had brought me to Him. I hoped to give them an example of a way to share their hearts. I told them how the knowledge of how PRECIOUS I was to God changed my heart 42 years ago, how God had turned Bill’s life around, etc. When I had finished, I once again tried to draw them out. Though they still did not elaborate, three of them came up to the front of the little room we were in, one with a tear in his eye, and said my testimony had really touched them and they were glad I had told them.
Watching the Jesus Film
Just before leaving for Haiti in January, JUST MERCY was blessed to receive a new solar projector for small groups from Good News Productions, International in Joplin, MO! They had already put The Jesus Film on it in Creole for small groups so we decided to use it first for Poppy and Mommy’s neighbors. That evening, Brandon and Nellie worked to set up a way to show it. It was the first time we had shown the full length Jesus Film. When it was over, I was dismayed to find that I could not locate our translator as I wanted to talk with the people and was unable to do so!
Friday morning we had a “graduation” ceremony for the children who had completed The Greatest Journey. The children had planned a program and it was a joy to hear them sing. They did a little skit of Jesus healing the crippled man whose friends brought him to see Jesus and several other presentations of different sorts. The children knew the chorus to “Jesus Loves Me” but not the verse so we taught that to them.
Helping serve lunch at the school
Our team helped serve lunch to the children and then came the award ceremony. I spoke to them about how their school, The Faith In God School of Pays-Pourri started, how Derek and Ruthy Swartz had come to the mountains on a medical mission eight years ago and found that no one could read, not even the “pastors” of the churches. They decided to start the school specifically so the children could learn to read the Bible. Three years ago, they were no longer able to support the school so JUST MERCY said we would try to keep it open. And now, eight years later, 120 children were receiving their own NEW TESTAMENT to read!!!
Awarding a boy his own New Testament
I encouraged the children to read the Bibles they were about to receive every day. I prayed over them and then each child who completed the course, 120 of them, received their own NEW TESTAMENT in Creole! I can’t tell you how important and exciting this is. This New Testament is probably the first book any of them have ever owned!
Please keep these children in your prayers and pray that God’s word permeates their lives, touches their hearts, and changes their lives! That is our prayer and the reason JUST MERCY continues to work to keep the schools open and to share God’s love in the mountains of Haiti. Thank you for praying for us and for your help. May God bless you all!