It has been a great day with the Lord! We had another wonderful opportunity to go where we have never gone before. There is a little place called Tapio about 30 minutes from here. They have a small mud building with a tin roof they call Tapio Baptist Church. You will see it in the VBS photo and the team setting up there. It would probably hold about 20 Americans (or 60 Haitians). The medical and VBS teams worked until about 11:30 a.m. there, and then Clint drove them back to the mission house. It is great to have another truck driver. The people were so happy to see us, and the pastor came by the mission house afterward and thanked me over and over. This is the first time they have had a medical team and VBS.
When the team came back they told me Jacob was sick, so I went to see about him–he was really sick. Dr. Neal said we might need an IV, so I got on my cell phone and called a doctor I knew and got no answer, called a nurse and got no answer, and then I remembered that George and Carol Ann Truelove (missionaries) were on their way to see us. Carol Ann is a nurse. I called George and he said they were only an hour away. He asked Carol Ann where we could get IV supplies, and she said she had them. God had already taken care of what we needed before we asked! Isn’t that what He does? I emailed Range Community Baptist Church and told them to start praying. Well, by the time George and Carol Ann got here, Jacob was up and smiling and didn’t need an IV. I received an email back from the church, and I was filled with joy to tell them that, between their prayers and ours, Jacob was up and doing fine, just a little weak. Prayer works!
After lunch the team went back to Tapio, but this time to a Pentecostal church. We have only been there one time before, in April. Again, they were happy to see us and the medical and VBS teams worked there until 3 p.m.
The medical team saw 1,059 people in 5 days; this team had no rest. They worked all day and had revival every night except for Friday. They have been such a joy to work with; they truly are the body of Christ. They acted like a real family. Everyone had jobs. They even had clean up teams before they got here. They were always cleaning, sweeping, helping in the kitchen. It has been great having people care about the mission house the way I do.
The construction team–Ken, John, Steven, Clint, just to name a few–never stopped, and you can see in the photos the painting, shelves, sink and counter top, which were just a few of their projects. And what is really great is they organized all the electrical, plumbing, and painting supplies for me, and the medical team did an inventory.
I have been asked many times ‘Is Truth Evangelistic Ministries a church?’ and I used to say no, that we were a ministry. But we are a church–we are the church, the kind Christ talks about. If people in all churches acted the way this team did, we would have no problems. Everyone was always looking to see how they could help someone, thinking about others instead of themselves.
Tomorrow the team goes home. I am really going to miss them–I feel like part of that family now. We leave about 6:30 a.m. to get them to the airport, and we pick up the next team, from Hartford, AL, at 4 p.m. Please be praying for the team’s safe return home and for the team that is coming in.
