From Fungus to Chickens to the Wonders of God….

From dealing with nail fungus to building a chicken house to talking about God’s gift of beauty in this world, much has been going on in Haiti recently.

Poor lady’s painful hand

Some time back, a lady came to JUST MERCY for help with her hands. She has had the serious painful condition pictured here for quite some time. We took this picture and sent it to doctor friends to try to figure out what her problem was and how to treat it. Most thought it was a fungus, probably due to long years constantly washing things in dirty water.

While Bill was home in June, we were able to get an oral prescription medication and a topical anti-fungus cream to take back to her. We are also using essential oils to help them heal. We were told this would probably take a long time to heal.  She comes once a week for a check up and to pick up the medicine and ointment we mix up for her. Some improvement has been made but it is slow and she is still in pain.  Please pray that God would speed the healing process.  (See picture of improved hand at bottom of this post.)

2nd chicken house

A second chicken house is in the works. It is being built a little differently than the last one. This one is for an elderly neighbor to help her and her family with more to eat and a way to get a little income. The hope is this is going to be a blessing to her, her family, and the community. We are grateful to Fairview Christian Church in Carthage, MO, who provided funding for the two chicken houses.

Paulette’s current home

Recently, someone sent a donation saying they wanted it to be used for housing. We had been trying to find a way to build a house for Paulette, a Haitian friend who helps JUST MERCY with cooking, cleaning, and whatever else is needed. She and her children currently live in a reed hut. So the decision was made to buy the rocks and material for a foundation and the blocks for the walls for a house for her. It is very exciting to see the start of a more substantial home for her. Additional funds are needed to continue work on the home so please prayerfully consider donating to help get Paulette and her family a better home.

Meanwhile, work continues in the woodshop. Bill writes:

Our work here in Haiti is not one of a traveling evangelist holding tent revivals but rather taking the good news of the kingdom of heaven and the heart of our Father God into the homes and workplaces and hearts of the people we walk and work and eat beside each day.

There are occasions when we engage larger groups of people like when we cook a meal for a village and show them a film about Jesus or when we are settling a domestic dispute that has become a public hearing (That’s where Bill has earned the name Comissaire which means Peace Maker.) or speaking when opportunity arises but mostly we are sharing with friends and neighbors who are becoming more like family every day.

In the small Carpenter shop where we work building things of beauty from the beauty of God’s creation we speak of the wonders of our Maker and His calling on our lives. We are currently shaping spoons from a particularly beautiful red and white wood. Samuel, a young man who works with us was finishing some very pretty ones.

As I was watching him polish them, I began to talk to him about how the Creator has woven into all we see the beauty of His nature and how if we look closely enough we can see something of His majesty, and how working with Him and bringing to light what lies within, we can help other people see it, too.

“Have you ever been fishing for Dorado, Samuel, (Dorado is a salt water fish we love to eat) or seen one alive?”

“No. I never have, Dad”. (Dad is what lots of people call me here).

“Well” I said “you just never saw such vibrant diverse awesome colors in your life. Shimmering and shining all the time. A thing of wonder! But when it dies, all the vibrancy of the color immediately disappears. God gives us images of His Heart if we just take the time to see what He is trying to show us!”

“And God just speaks such things into being!”

“AND LET THERE BE!”

“Wow,” said Samuel.

And we wonder and smile together, there in the little Carpenter shop, about the great goodness of the One True God we are gifted to call ” Father”. Just a little peek into our “worship service” as we live out our faith in the midst of all our living. “Striving side by side for the hope of the gospel.”

By the way, this little Carpenter shop you all have helped bring into being provides a living for several families as we “sell” the beautiful wooden spoons in the states. Perhaps I should explain a “living”.

That means many children won’t go hungry tomorrow. A pair of shoes? Probably able to go to school? Maybe a tooth brush? A roof over their house to keep the rain out?  They’ve worked for it. Not had it given to them.

(Please keep these spoons in mind as you think about gifts for your loved ones this year. They are unique gifts and your tax-deductible donation for them not only help the men support their families, but also help JUST MERCY continue working in Haiti. You can see them at https://justmercy.org/WordPress/?page_id=3462)

Thank you for your prayers as you lift JUST MERCY up to our Father! Blessings on you all.

The lady’s hands are slowly improving.

Foundation rocks and concrete blocks to begin a house for Paulette!