Pastor Ken’s report
As a pastor, there is no greater joy than equipping the saints to do Kingdom work. I praise God and give thanks to Truth Evangelistic Ministries for the opportunity to come to Haiti for the fourth annual Pastors’ Conference. These Haitian pastors come from all parts of Haiti, thirsting for God’s Word. Many of them have so many questions about theology, doctrine, and leadership in the church. So many Haitian churches face the same kind of church problems we face in America.
I believe there is no greater way to reach a nation for the Gospel of Jesus Christ than through the local pastor and the church. What an awesome experience for the few pastors who are here, building relationships with these Haitian pastors in the fourth annual Pastors’ Conference. There is so much work to do. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Allow me to extend an invitation to those of you who are reading this: pray for God to burn a desire in your heart to come to Haiti and be involved in this most rewarding work. It has been our past experience that many want to come to build churches and buildings; those things are just temporary. Here is a genuine opportunity to store up treasures in heaven and advance the Kingdom.
In closing, many of the Haitian pastors would love to see our African-American brothers and sisters come to Haiti. It is my prayer that the Lord would do a mighty work in your hearts to come and join us. To God be the Glory!
Brother Chuck’s report
Today Pastor Philip and I went to Port au Prince to buy materials. When we drove in, I knew that I needed diesel, so I stopped at the first station where trucks were lined up, but there was no fuel. We stopped at two more stations–still no fuel. We had only about a 1/8 tank. I told Simon that we had to find some diesel, or we would not make it back to Z’Orange. We continued to look with no luck. I called Dottie to see if she had some, and she said she had a little, maybe a couple of gallons that I could use, but she would check around. She called me back later and told me that there was a station close to her that had gas, but there was a huge line. At that point it didn’t matter how long the line was, we needed fuel. Before we went to get fuel, though, we wanted to see if we could find a stove for the mission house. As I said before, the Lord put it on the heart of one of the team members to donate enough money to buy a stove. We stopped in a place that had exactly what we needed–you will see a picture of it. We were able to buy the propane stove for $425. As you will see, it is really nice. It has six burners and a large oven. I was concerned about how we would get it to Z’Orange, but it fit inside the Ford. As soon as we pulled out of the parking lot, Pastor Philip saw a gas station and said he thought they were pumping gas. I pulled right into the pump and they filled it up with diesel. There is absolutely no doubt–God is good!
After getting fuel, we went to a place called Eko Depot, which is like a Home Depot, where Pastor Philip and I bought parts for the installation of another ceiling fan in the kitchen. I couldn’t believe how quickly we got in and out; it took only about 30 minutes. We then went to Batimet, another hardware store, and bought paint for the bathrooms. We made it back before 12:00, which is amazing.
While we were gone, Pastor Harry took Will, Betty, Brittany and Nate to Oceanye’s house for a Bible study with the women, but he had misunderstood–there were no women there, but he said he would have them there tomorrow. They had a great talk with him about his conversion to Christ. He was a voodoo priest and, unfortunately, is still practicing–not because he likes what he does, but because he doesn’t know another way to make money. He continually asks us to pray for him. This may be hard for some people to understand, but most voodoo priests are voodoo priests because their fathers and grandfathers were voodoo priests. This is the only way they know to provide for their families. It’s like a man who accepts Christ in the States, who owns a liquor store or bar. He knows what he’s doing is wrong, but it takes time for the Lord to show and convict him about what to do. Please pray for our brother, Oceanye.
Everybody was busy, as usual. Pastor Sean, Pastor Philip, Pastor Ken and Lane taught at the Pastors’ Conference. Afterward, Lane and Pastor Ken tackled the tile job in one of the bathrooms. Pastor Philip installed a light fixture in one bathroom, while Pastor Sean stained four doors. Will and I worked on the plumbing and, hopefully, fixed that problem. Here you never know–everything can be working fine, and then it just self-destructs.
Will preached at the night service, and by the time we were finished at church it was about 9:30, so it was time to go to bed.
Another great day with the Lord!
