God Bless America
Dear brothers and sisters,
Greetings to you in the name of Our Lord Jesus!
As I am preparing to write this newsletter, Riverside Christian Church comes to mind. This reminder brings naturally to mind a partner and a teammate like Natalie Cleeton, who has actually done quite a bit to increase the influence of Living Water in our community right after the 2004 Hurricane through a program she was leading called Malaria Fini (Put an end to Malaria). Many people were spared from Malaria because of her generosity and her partners’ in the program.
Several members of the church sponsored a child. What a blessing it has been to have spent time with them in the past. Churches like Riverside, Iroquois Valley CC (IN), Portage (IN), Medaryville (IN), Pleasant Ridge (MO), Meadow Brook in Kirkville (MO), First CC of Waynesville and Memphis both in MO, Cedar Falls (IA) where Helen Lund and the Hintons are have led us to the place where we are today. We need them more than ever before because as our ministry continues to grow, our needs in turn multiply. The saints in those churches, though small in numbers, have big hearts. I am very grateful to God for giving me those partners, and many others, early on. They helped launch this ministry which has blessed Haiti in many ways, especially spiritually, with the many souls who have turned from Vodoo gods to Jesus Christ.
The last twelve months have been full of challenges and I have shared some with you in the previous newsletter. But have we been blessed by God in unimaginable ways? Have we seen God at work in mighty ways? Absolutely. It is beyond me that our school, Institution Mixte John et Helène Meyer de Haute-Terre/Highland, is about to complete her first year! Wow!!! It is beyond me that the church is growing so well. It is beyond me that the radio station is going so well and so strong, in spite of the fact the devil wants to destroy our equipment. It is beyond me the project of the orphanage is moving along so well, so much so that I cannot deny God’s powerful influence in it. It is beyond me that our schools in Marmelade will celebrate 10 years of service to the community of Marmelade next year. Most importantly it is beyond me how much the attitude of the people has changed from being repulsive to what we were doing to the point of wanting more and more, including more of Him.
Well my friends, I need all of you to educate those thirteen hundred plus students in our schools this year. I need all of you to build appropriate facilities to house each aspect of the ministry. We are transforming Haiti slowly but surely.
You have not only helped us educated preschoolers, elementary and high school students, you have helped us send several people to college both in Haiti and in Dominican Republic. Tom and Margery Plumb are big in helping us doing the latter. My good friend Gary Hinkle has made it possible to provide masters level education to two of the members of our highschool staff/teachers. One of them has just graduated with a Masters degree in Christian Education from Indian Wesleyan University. All the training is done in Haiti. These men will soon be among the members of the faculty of Caribbean Christian University. We need more partners to help us in providing higher education to Living Water folks so that when we launch the University, we will have a Haitian staff and faculty (for the most part) to carry the work to success.
The leadership, the prayers and the generosity of the likes of Betty Yerion and Jean Parker among many, many others have made it possible for many communities, families and individuals to enjoy many present day blessings, while having their eye on a wonderful future. Almost One hundred percent of those people are Americans. This is why we are saying with a grateful heart: God bless America!
Truly yours in Christ,
Salonique Adolphe and team