Always Gives Thanks!
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the name of Jesus!
Some people attempt to post one thing they are thankful for every day throughout a year. I like to follow those plans, but it seems that at one point or another, for one reason or another, they usually don’t keep up with the plan. There is a huge number of people who choose to do so during the month of November. Again, I like to follow those. It is amazing to read why people are thankful. It is refreshing, uplifting and, it tells readers what matters the most for that individual.
Well, whether we post them or not, we all should be mindful of the wonderful blessings of God and we should always give thanks to Him for them. Granted, it is not possible to give thanks to God for everything, because we don’t know them all. And, unfortunately there is the chance we take some of our priceless blessings for granted. The truth is: We should always give thanks.
If I (Salonique) would take my time to give thanks for what the LORD has done for me, a multivolume book would not be enough. I have so many personal blessings. I have so many ministerial blessings. I have so many family blessings. I have so many spiritual blessings. The list, my friends, could go on and on.
Some of you may say “give me a glimpse”. I can attempt to give you a glimpse, but keep in mind it is only a glimpse. I can: see, smell, breath, walk, feel, taste anything, sleep good (unless I bring trouble unto myself). In case you took these for granted spend a day around a person who cannot do any of those, you will understand how good you have it. I have food, friends, many loving friends, loving, caring, healthy and intelligent children, loving and caring wife, wonderful wife pure and simple, a good education. I experience on a daily basis the love of God for me and His power in my life. I have loving parents and siblings. I am in the service of the King of kings. Have you noticed the “I” in all of them? So I have plenty of reason to always give thanks to the LORD. And those of you who know me will agree that this list is truly a glimpse.
After five (5) years of going to and from Port-au-Prince, we were finally granted the license for the Radio station (2011-2016). After a year of meeting and haggling with engineers and providers of the equipment for the radio station, we have been finally on the air since September (2017). This blessing brings with it lots of reasons to thank God. In case you want to have an idea, let me name a few: My leadership team in Haiti who has bought into this vision, and were supportive of it, those who put their skin in the game and prayed. Those in the USA who met over this project, prayed for it, talked to people about it, gave me time on the air to share it, contributed according to and above their means to make sure it is a reality, and those who continue to be with us as it is on the air. I thank God for all of them. I thank God for all those to whom the radio station is a daily blessing in their lives.
It is getting even better. I thank God for the fruition of the school and church at Highland. My friends, all the obstacles and challenges we had to face from 2014 until today was worth it. I am thankful to God for the huge number of people who have made the realization of these project possible, and I have never been so tempted to name them all. But I know I cannot name them all, for I will forget some and the other reality is I don’t know them all. But My God does. And to Him I am thankful for those friends and supporters.
I am thankful for the 249 students who are receiving a good education now at Highland. I am thankful for the 70 plus people who have already either surrendered their lives to Christ or show interest in doing so by coming to church and have us pray for them. I am thankful for all the victories the Lord has already given us over all the demons and people who were fighting against us to stop or cripple this project. Oh, my heart wants to break out and sing with David: “My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my soul. Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth.” (Psalms 108:1-5).
I am thankful to God for the launching of the drilling of the wells on the farm and at Highland. Now friends, I have reasons to thank God. I am thinking of the many traffic accidents God has protected Living Water teams from either on our way to or from Dominican Republic. This, in and of itself, deserves a big space to thank God. Those who have prayed and continue to pray, I thank God for you. Those who have given and will continue to give toward the completion of this project, I thank God for you.
I thank God for the impact of the clinic on the community. I thank God for Dr. Dan and my wife Gine and their team who work daily to be a blessing for those people by providing health care. I thank God for all the medical teams who have come to provide care to my people. I thank God for the donors. Oh, I thank God for those who find Christ at the clinic. Thank you God.
Those of you who know Living Water, especially those of you who have been at Living Water, do not need a microscope to see that I have not made a dent in listing the things for which I should give thanks. What if I started to thank God for Marmelade? What about White Mountain? The feeding program? The record breaking success our students had this year at the school in Government exams? What if I started to praise God for the growth of CEPROTEC and the students whose lives have changed through it? What about the Church in Gonaives, the one planted in 2003, that now has over a thousand people? What if I broke out in praising God for the children’s ministry and the work of brother Jackson? My friends, we have so many reasons to thank God at Living Water. We should be in a constant state of giving thanks to God, for who he is, and for what He has done in us and in and through our ministries.
I do have a few requests that I want you to pray for and give toward if the Lord leads you to do so:
- We urgently need 10,000 USD dollars to buy a new generator to support the elementary and high school, the vocational school and the computer lab and language lab. This is so urgent that not having power on the campus has paralyzed our effectiveness during the last couple of months. We have one that will arrive in the next few months but cannot wait without causing big damage to our ministries. This one will be moved to other services, like Highland, once the other one arrives.
- We need additional funds to keep the ministry going. We need 23,000 USD monthly to pay salaries at Living Water. The last few months, since September, we have had to pay a month late because we have been consistently short by 3,000 USD each month.
- We need a feeding program at Highland and Marmelade, that is another 750 people to feed.
- We need 30 people who would agree to sponsor the radio station for one day a month for 70.00 dollars. One thousand of that money goes to pay the space we rent (lease) on the mountain for antennas and some equipment, plus energy. The remaining goes to daily expenses and some salaries.
- We need about 10,000 USD to finish the payment of the three wells and the construction of a small house to protect them.
- We need 60,000 USD to build a facility for hospitalization at the health clinic. Government officials have been to our place and have encouraged us to do so in order to be more helpful. Please help me.
- Please pray for the project of an orphanage that my daughter Oriente wants to start. There are a number of people who are willing to partner with her on that. It is a giant step for Living Water. We need your prayers.
I was listening to a radio station yesterday. The person said, “Now thanksgiving is over …” I said, “Hmm!” Later, I was reading a post on Facebook where one of my friends basically said the same thing. While I understand what they meant by what they said, I want conclude by saying, “please always give thanks”
May your Thanksgiving never be over.
Yours and His,
Salonique Adolphe and team
So very encouraging. So very utterly blessed by what you wrote. I have so little economically, yet so very much, so incredibly very much. I live where I may freely worship. I may freely teach my children about Christ and herd them to be His. I have plenty of food to eat and while the water isn’t ideal, it is so much safer than so very many you see each day. I am blessed greatly to have your ministry, you, Gina and your daughter and her dream of an orphanage to pray for. My thoughts earlier I was praying over other ministries who also gave a special place in my heart, was prayer talking to the All Knowing about needs I may not even know, my prayers seem so little. Then The Lord put it to my heart, DNA is so little, but when God put a bunch of them in the Mama’s secret place He knits them together into a whole nother human being. Prayer like DNA is very small, but God makes them big. Godsercies, grace , blessings and peace be yours. May everyday be Thanksgiving