I’m still in Haiti as I write this, and I’m glad I decided to bring my laptop with me so I could get this down while it is still fresh. Even though this is now my third time here, I am just beginning to understand what is happening in this area. Neply, the village where Pastor Martin lives and where we spend the nights and some days, now has at least three missions, all of which seem to be building up their facilities and showing no signs of work elsewhere. Madam Tibab (Leslie) and I were fortunate enough to spend a few short minutes speaking with the coordinator of the newest one, My Life Speaks. which was started by a couple in America who have a child of their own who is blind and has a severe case of cerebral palsy. They have been told over and over that the child would only live so much longer, yet it has now been fourteen years and their child still lives. Though this child cannot speak like most of us, his life has spoken volumes, thus the name of the organization. You should check them out at www.myLIFEspeaks.com. I will too as soon as I have internet access again. We had a chance to speak a little about what the goals were of this branch of the organization, and I like where they plan to go with this.
Anyway, the reason Madam Tibab and I wanted to speak to this coordinator was to explore the possibilities for ourselves. Pastor Martin has a church and orphans that he takes care of in Fauche, a little less than an hour’s drive from Neply, and he has plenty of vision to go with it. As I understand it, there are no other missions at this village, but the need is great. We are in the process of building a new church building. The building we are replacing is too small for the congregation, no matter how tightly they pack in, and was not much more than some tree branches holding up a roof and palm fronds for walls. This was a fine building as far as they were concerned, and there were no complaints about it from those who attend this church, but this was not ideal for hurricane seasons. There is one small brick building on the church’s property, where the residents gather when a hurricane comes through, but they do not all fit; not even all of the orphans. Because of this, Pastor Martin also plans on building a school building and a clinic, both of which would provide their services for free, while at the same time being a place of sanctuary for the community during severe weather.
All this is to say that Madam Tibab and I are now trying to figure out where we fit in this vision. We know we do somehow, but not in what capacity. One idea that we have considered is to keep doing what we have started, spending time here each year while raising as much money as we can for the needs here. This would enable us to be more involved in whatever ministries we have back home. Another is to start a sort of continuing education program for pastors and potential church leaders in the area, while still raising money and interest in Pastor Martin’s vision. This would possibly allow us to have ministries back home, but would require a larger amount of support. We have also kicked around the idea of just living In Haiti and helping with the services Pastor Martin wishes to provide.
These are the basics of a few of the ideas we’ve passed around, just to give you a glimpse of what we have been thinking about during our stay. I hope you will continue to pray for us as we figure this out, and please keep an eye out for blog posts to follow, detailing needs that we have been made aware of.
By the way, Tibab means “beard” in Haitian Creole. :)
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