Traveling to Haiti May 19th

Well, the flood waters have subsided since the last time I wrote. The people displaced by the rising waters had to wait until the mud dried sufficiently for them to return home to go about the arduous tasks of removing the mud and trash from their homes. Most lost all of their personal effects to the rushing water and have to start over again to replace their meager belongings.

The most recent meeting of the PPM missionaries revealed the need for another visit to Haiti before the one we were planning for late summer. We really think it is necessary for us to personally assess some of the needs we are trying to address and to and determine strategies for how to best work toward meeting those needs.

Our trip in March was very instrumental in bringing our missionary friends from Congaree Baptist Church in South Carolina up to speed and allowing them an opportunity to decide how they can best fit their spiritual gifts, skills, and resources into what we are trying to accomplish. Now we just feel it is important that we go back to fine-tune some of our plans. So I will be flying to Haiti again on May 19th. (Thanks SO MUCH to the friend of our ministry who donated funds for my trip!)

I would like to ask a special favor of everyone reading this: I became terribly ill during my trip in March and would like to ask you to please pray for my health during this trip. As my grandmother used to say, "Getting old is not for sissies." Ha! Ha!

I'll write again from Haiti. Thank you so much for caring enough to keep up with what we are doing!

Love,
Rebecca

Flooding in Leogane

Pastor Joseph's son, Roody, took this photo on Thursday morning in Leogane after the waters had subsided enough to allow for safe navigation. There has been torrential rain there for several days and the river rose on Wednesday and flooded a large portion of the city. I was told that this is not an unusual occurrence at this time of year but that the flooding is much worse than in previous years and has damaged many more properties than are typically involved. As yet unverified reports indicate the water may have risen in the area where Pastor Joesph's church/school is located. All of the schools were closed and many people were forced to leave their homes. We should know for sure once our people there are able to get out and about to fully assess conditions.

The good news is that the water did not affect Pastor's home (where Roody, his son and our friend and board member is living) nor the girls' home. Both are located on the outskirts of the city. Roody assured us in a telephone conversation with him last night that he has a small supply of food on hand, so he does not have to venture out for food. Just a few days ago we were able to send what little money we had for food for the girls' home so they should have enough to last a few days.

Well, folks, that's all for now. Please continue to pray for God's mercy on our Christian brothers and sisters in Haiti as Satan's battle for control there rages on. I also ask you to pray specifically for strength and the peace that passes understanding for Pastor Joseph as he continues to carry the huge burden of responsibility for the flock God has placed in his care.