Blessed Are those Who Are in God’s Team!
Dear brothers and sisters,
Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior: Jesus Christ!
Several would agree with me that this is an especially difficult year! It came with its share of challenges which go beyond Covid-19. However, for those of us who are in Christ, no matter what is going on, all is well.
This year, I sat foot in the United States only once so far. It was back in March, when my friends Rick and Paula Beauchamp and their Haiti Team at Connection Christian Church in Saint-Louis had me come to participate in their fundraising for clean water on behalf of one of our communities called Highland.
Since then I missed several golden opportunities. I was scheduled to be with fellow servants of God at the Kiamichi Men’s Clinic. This was cancelled due to Covid-19. I was going to be with my great friends at Spring Hill Church of Christ (Middletown, OH) for the celebration of their 75th anniversary. I anticipated wonderful fellowship, good food (Mexican especially) with my friends there, especially brother Bob Stacy and his wonderful wife Nell Stacy, also my friend Steve Reeves, and others. Unfortunately, I was not able to make it. I was also supposed to be speaking at my alma mater, Central Christian College of the Bible for Mission Emphasis week, in three weeks,. Again it is another missed opportunity. I am thankful to my friend and professor Dr. Curtice for having me in mind for the occasion. I was initially going to be with my brothers and sisters at First Christian of Vandalia for their revival in early November. Again it is another missed opportunity. I will not get the chance to be with my friends Jamie and Kristi Franke, the elders of FCC, and my other brothers and sisters in the congregation. I missed these opportunities because, due to Covid-19, the visa service at the US Embassy has not resumed yet and my visa has expired. I am truly disappointed for not being able to be with my friends and those institutions dear to my heart, but at the end God allows it to be this way. No matter what is going on the truth is “blessed are those who are in God’s team!”
Here, brothers and sisters, we do not have a dull moment. Satan is working very hard to stop us, or at least slow us down. We have no fear because we know in whose team we are.
At the present, our Vocational School is temporarily closed because of a lack of electricity. Our energy solar system is incapable of satisfying the needs of the campus. Since its installment, we have almost quadrupled our needs for energy. Our generator is overused. It is 20,000 watts, the computer lab alone consumed close to 18,000 watts, not counting the language lab (John and Jean Language Lab), the offices and the classrooms. We have power issues at the church and the clinic as well.
The appreciation of the value of the Gourde in relationship to the dollar brings about another headache to us. We used to get up to 120 gourdes for 1 dollar. Now it is less than 60 gourdes for one dollar. The price of the products does not change that much. We need practically twice the amount of dollars we needed a month ago to do our payroll.
The ladies who were causing trouble at White Mountain are now on the run, but a new name family came up out of the blue claiming the same properties. We had never heard of them before. The political arena of Haiti brings its share of troubles. We could name a few more. However, we are not doing our work, we are doing God’s work. We feel really blessed to be on His team.
Despite all these troubles, the New Testament gospel is being preached and taught every day. Our Thursday Bible Study, our Sunday morning and our Sunday evening services are on Facebook Live via the Radio Eau de Vie [Hatian for Living Water] Facebook page. People are growing roots in the Lord. Students are being engaged more and more in ministry. Christ is being proclaimed and many have come to know HIM as their Savior and their Lord. The radio station continues to impact people for Jesus Christ. Several people are changing their lifestyle to marry the person they have been living with for more than a decade in some cases. We have made considerable progress on the construction of the orphanage and on the farm project. The health clinic continues to serve people coming from various parts of the country. We praise God for those smile-worthy advancements.
I (Salonique) humbly thank every individual, every family, every Sunday School Class, every church, and every organization who makes it possible for us to do what we are doing in the name of Jesus here in Haiti. I praise my God because of you. I thank God for IDES for making it possible for us to feed the school children (and adults) in Marmelade. I thank God for ACHI and Whitewater Crossing Christian Church for making it possible for us to feed the school children (and some adults) in Highland. I thank God for IAMM, for Kenai Christian Church, and other individuals who have made it possible for us to feed people in the name of Jesus. I thank God for On His Path who have made it possible for us to continue to educate children and young adults. I thank every person who sponsors a child. I thank God for Paula, for Shari, and for you. Your obedience to the Lord makes it all possible. So thank you.
My friend may God bless you! May He grant you good health! May you continue to partner with us so that better days might come individually and collectively for the people of Haiti. Today, I dare offer you another beatitude: “Blessed are those who are in God’s team for everything shall work in their favor at the end.” Make sure you are on His team so that everything may work at the end in your favor.
Yours in Christ,
Salonique Adolphe and Team