haitiwest

Well, friends, it’s been a while since I posted because school has been very hectic, and as you can probably imagine, things are getting a little crazy around here as we only have two months left until the BIG MOVE!! Eeeekkkk!! So excited!

I decided that I simply MUST sing God’s praises to everyone reading this because God has done so many amazing things in preparing us to go that, as usual, we are simply overwhelmed. I really do not know where to even begin! One thing God has been teaching me over the last year is to WAIT on His guidance, and He will direct my paths, my thoughts, my every step, if I simply ask and listen.

Of course, now that we are getting closer to departure time, God has been whispering to my spirit things we need to be thinking about. He prompts my spirit, and then I wait for Him to tell me when to speak or move. One thing that had begun to start weighing on my mind in the last couple of months was to find a location to store some of our belongings while we are gone. Although our home buyer has bought most of our furniture, he did suggest we let Jonathan pick out some things he wanted to keep. We will need to store these things while we are gone, but we do not need to pile on any unnecessary monthly expenses. We will be totally dependent on the Lord to provide and what we are learning is that He often provides through the body of Christ. I had already sensed in my spirit that He would provide the storage at some point; I was just waiting for Him to tell me when and who to ask. A few weeks ago, when we were at a soccer tournament out of town, a dear friend of ours came up to me after our game and asked how things were going with our move. Up until this day, God had been prompting my spirit to be thinking about storage, but He had not given me the freedom yet to talk to anyone about it. All of the sudden, after this friend asked, I found myself saying, “Well, we do need to find some climate controlled storage to store our things while we are gone, so if you know anyone who might be able to help us with that, please let me know!” His response was, “Well, you do know that is the business I am in don’t you?” Oh my goodness, I nearly fell out right there!! I assured him that I had no idea that was what he did for a living, then he said that when we are ready to store, just give him a call and we could probably share space with another missionary family he is storing things for. I walked away from the field praising Jesus for yet another AMAZING answer to prayer.

The next week, I received a phone call from another friend of ours in our soccer family, and she told me that her mother had just moved and used a moving company that had provided many very nice moving boxes and supplies. Her mother had decided to save it all in her garage in case she knew anyone who could use them. Of course my friend thought of us and called me. Tony soon went out to get all of the boxes, and they are right now piled high in our computer room just waiting for us to be through with work and start packing! God not only provided the storage place, but He provided the boxes for us to pack our things in! God is so good, and He knows everything we need WHEN we need it.

Another thing that has been weighing on my mind recently is what we will do for a computer while in Haiti. We will need it for communication, record keeping, Jacob’s schooling, and my writing, blogging, and working on our newsletters.  We know we don’t want to drag our PC to Haiti because for one, it’s old, two, they would probably charge us a ridiculous tax for it in customs, and three, we really won’t have room for it. We would be better off with a laptop of some sort. So Tony and I have been praying about it and weighing our options. I have a really nice laptop that I use for school and yearbook work, but I will have to turn it back in to the school when school is out. I had also already decided that if I purchase a laptop, I want to go with a Mac. So I started pricing Macbooks. Of course, that didn’t last long because I just couldn’t justify the price with our budget soon to be cut so drastically. My next option was to check Craigslist. We had bought Jacob’s Macbook through Craigslist and have not had a day’s trouble with it. God led me to inquire about the first post I saw on the list. After going to check out the laptop, the gentleman asked if we had agreed on a price, and I said yes and retrieved the money from my purse. As I handed him the envelope, he said that God had led him to GIVE us this computer for our ministry. He had gone to my blog, checked out the But God Ministries site, and spoken with someone we know in common. God had already prompted his heart to contribute in some way to our ministry, and he had discussed it with his wife and they decided that providing this computer to our family for use in Haiti was how God wanted to use them to bless our ministry. As you can imagine, my knees nearly buckled beneath me, and tears began to stream down my face. Jacob was with me, and I think he was in shock as well. I looked at him, and he just smiled, but his face was as red as a beet! Ha!  I must be honest, I really did not know what to say or do! Yes, friends, I was speechless. My first reaction was to say, “No, I can’t accept that.” But then as I explained that I have a really hard time accepting such generosity, my new brother in Christ said with a knowing smile, “Well, you better get used to it.” God was gently telling my heart that this was a gift of provision from HIM and he was using this gentleman and brother to bless us. I knew that God was blessing both of us as I accepted this amazing gift. Afterwards, Jacob and I had the pleasure of meeting his precious wife as well, and we both left there filled with such PRAISE and AMAZEMENT over how God moves in so many ways and is constantly putting people in our paths to connect us in this ministry.

I am telling you, this journey is the most amazing experience, and when people ask, “Aren’t you scared?” My answer is, “Absolutely not! The God of all creation is at the wheel here, and just knowing He is in control and He is the one taking us on this journey is not frightening at all! It’s actually an HONOR, a JOY RIDE, and a HUGE blessing! We could not be more at ease!”

The key to continuing on in God’s will for our lives is CONSTANT prayer, praising Jesus for EVERYTHING that happens, and KNOWING that He is in control. I praise God every day for the beautiful people He is using to build this ministry, and I am so excited about where we are going. If you are reading this, you are part of our ministry too in that God will prompt you to pray in the days to come. When that happens, take a moment to simply ask God to continue to move in this ministry and provide everything needed to begin a MIRACULOUS movement in the lives of the precious Haitian people we will come in contact with.  May His love, power, and grace be experienced by every single individual whose life is touched by this ministry. Amen!!

It’s another beautiful day in Ganthier, Haiti. The breeze is blowing, and the sun is burning off the clouds from the mountain. God has blessed us with fabulous weather for working. Today I am having to take a break from building the house. My fingers have blisters all over them from lifting concrete blocks without gloves on. Our gloves were stolen from our bags at some point during our flight here. Jonathan still has his and someone had extras for Tony and Jacob, so they are still able to work. Stan and I are going into town today, however, to set up our bank account here. That will be cool. We started a compost box today for all of the vegetable peels and such that Esther has left over when she cooks. We will start composting to prepare for our garden. We plan to grow peppers, herbs, tomatoes, onions, and melons right next to our house. A group from Florida is coming in next week to plant some banana trees, pineapples, and coconut palms. They said the palms will make good hammock spots too! Yay! More bedding areas! ha! We thank you all so much for your prayers. It has been a productive trip. This group from Petal is so much fun. I must go now. We love you all!!

Today we have not worked in the sun like we did yesterday, but we did unload a huge container truck that came for the clinic and a local orphanage. A group in Florida had donated 300 five gallon buckets of rice and beans as well as cooking oil and sugar to be taken to a local orphanage. We unloaded it all from the container truck, loaded it onto a flatbed, unloaded it from the flatbed to the clinic, then back onto the flatbed and then we took it to an orphanage and unloaded it again and stacked it in a little hut. Yes, it was a little crazy, and tiring, but it was great once we arrived at the orphanage and we got to see all of the children. They sang for us from their classrooms, then we got to meet and talk with many of them. There seemed to be hundreds! I will load some pictures once we return to the states. They love to show you how they can speak a little English, and of course, I try to speak what little Creole I have learned. They laugh at me. I imagine Southern Creole sounds a little funny. We met Esther’s parents who run the orphanage. These beans and rice will feed the children there for about six months. They were so excited. 

Now the men are back there trying to unload the rest of the container. It has hospital beds, mattresses, wood to make bunkbeds for the orphanage, and two HUGE generators. We have had to order a crane to come lift the generators to put them in place. Once they are up and running, we will have enough power to run a small city! Wow. And these generators were donated! God is providing for this clinic in so many amazing ways!!! 

Yesterday afternoon there were some children who were curious and hanging around the main door to the clinic compound. A few of us went out to meet them. They wanted to play soccer with us, but we were expecting the container to arrive any minute so we couldn’t. While we waited, I got out some water color paints I brought and some paper. They had a blast painting pictures for us. 

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the soap, germex, toothbrushes, and toothpaste we brought. We have given out some, but they have told us that we need to wait and give out the majority of it once the clinic opens. Those who have received soap here this week, however, have been very excited. You should see the look on these children’s faces when we hand them a bar of soap. They go running off to show everyone what we gave then. It’s very humbling. 

I can’t wait to load pictures so you can see what I am looking at right now. If you look at the mountain on my Facebook profile, that is what I see as I sit here and type. (The service is better out here) The sun is beaming down very hot, but the breeze is constant. I hear birds chirping, goats bahhh-ing (however you spell that), and children laughing at the well as they pump water for their families for the evening. It is so peaceful and beautiful. There is no way to adequately describe it. 

I better go now. We are about to go visit the village church where we went to church last Sunday. I will post again when I have a break and when the internet is clear. 

Thank you all so very much for your prayers. God is answering them daily!!

_Mickie

Thank you Lord for your protection and provision. I am overwhelmed and humbled by your love! We already share a beautiful friendship with Esther and the ladies she has brought to help her. I feel like Esther and I already have a special relationship. She adores Jacob and I can tell he loves her too. He calls her his Haitian Mama . She loves that. Yesterday was a day of hard work as we worked along side many Haitian workers building a house. Jonathan and Tony mixed mortar and concrete while Jacob and I laid block to build the walls. The team from Petal is fantastic! We have so much fun working together. A couple of the men are building cabinets for Esther’s kitchen too! God has provided the perfect group for the needs of this particular mission. Thank you Jesus!! I wish I had time and data to be able to share all of my thoughts with you all, but I will have to wait. I am keeping a journal and I will pour it all out in my blog when we get to Miami on Saturday. Just know that God is doing AMAZING things here! Thank you all for your prayers!!!

This is our house!! Praise the Lord!!

As I begin this post, it is 6:30 and we are planning to leave for New Orleans at 7:30, so in an hour we are going to be on the road to beginning another adventure to Haiti. We are staying in New Orleans tonight because we have to be at the N.O. airport at 4:30 a.m. We will be meeting up with Pastor Mark Farris of Vineyard Baptist Church in Petal and his team at the airport. We are very excited about meeting this group of people who will become our family for a week. We will fly out of New Orleans at 6 and arrive in Haiti around noon.

On this trip we will be getting to see our house in Ganthier for the first time in person. Since we were there last, teams have finished building the two clinic buildings, a mission team dorm with two bedrooms, the mission team kitchen and bath, a storage building to house the generators and other equipment, I think 7 Haitian houses, the wall surrounding the clinic grounds, and our house! All of this has been built since May of 2011! Wow. Amazing how much work has been accomplished already! I have no doubt that our arrival at the Village of Hope is going to be a very emotional one. We are excited that Vladimir is going to take us to church at Estimi’s church. Estimi is the village elder that is a leader in the community.

Well, we are out of time. It is time for our family to pray together before heading out. Please join us in prayer that God will give us protection, safety, wisdom, and use us in a mighty way for His kingdom. Pray that we will learn all we need to learn to prepare for our move. Pray that our group will get many things accomplished. Pray that no one gets sick or injured on the trip. And pray that we reflect the love of Jesus to everyone we come in contact with.

Thank you!! Mickie

We have booked our flights to Haiti for spring break, and we are so excited to finally be returning. On this trip we will probably get to work on our house as well as help build some of the Haitian houses in the area. This is so exciting! There are three people in particular that I cannot wait to hug: Vladimir, our interpreter, Da-Da, the beautiful lady that runs the orphanage nearby, and Maturim, the pastor who helps with the mission teams there working. I have missed these three so very much. God uses them mightily in this whole project. They are such a blessing to us!!!

As I tell our story to people all over the place, I often hear them say that they would love to go over to Haiti on a mission trip as well.  I can identify with this feeling because for so long I wanted to go on a mission trip, but I just didn’t know how to get plugged into one. First you must realize that God does not call everyone to go. If you have a desire to go, God has probably put that desire in your heart for a reason. So, the first thing to do is say, “Yes!” Then the next step is to know when one is taking place and who to contact to get plugged into it. So, here ya go!! Below is a list of future mission trips with But God Ministries to Haiti that have space available. I will also include the name and email address of our dear friend Barbara Gladney. She is the coordinator for the trips. Just contact her to see if there is still room available and she will get you started on filling out the paper work. It’s really not hard to do at all. Look at the trips listed below. Those that say OPEN TRIP mean there is probably still space. Check the dates and give Barbara a call or email!

• May 26-June 2, 2012 (First Baptist Church, Jackson, MS – OPEN TRIP – contact Barbara Gladney for more info.*)
• June 2-8, 2012 (Union Hills Baptist Church, Bessemer, AL)
• June 15-21, 2012 (First Baptist Church, Jackson, MS – OPEN TRIP – contact Barbara Gladney for more info.*)
• July 14-21, 2012 (First Baptist Church, Jackson, MS – OPEN TRIP – contact Barbara Gladney for more info.*)
• July 21-28, 2012 (First Baptist Church, Brandon, MS) **Our family will be moving down around this time 🙂
• August 4-11, 2012 (Great Bridge Baptist Church, Chesapeake, VA)
• September 8-15, 2012 (Park Place Baptist Church, Brandon, MS)
• September 15-22, 2012 (First Baptist Church, Jackson, MS- OPEN TRIP – contact Barbara Gladney for more info.*)
• September 29-October 6, 2012 (Greater Mt. Bethel Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A.)
• October 7-14 (First Baptist Church, Pensacola, FL)
• October 14-20 (Hillcrest Baptist Church, Pensacola, FL)
• October 20-27, 2012 (First Baptist Church, Jackson, MS- OPEN TRIP – contact Barbara Gladney for more info.*)
• November 17-24, 2012 (First Baptist Church, Jackson, MS- OPEN TRIP – contact Barbara Gladney for more info.*)

* Barbara Gladney: 601-825-5764, barbaragladney@butgodministries.com

I am so excited right now I can hardly contain myself. Over the past year, God has proven Himself not only faithful, but ready to place His blessing upon our committment far beyond what we could possibly imagine. Allow me to tell you what God has done this time!

As many of you know, we have had our house on the market since last October. When we put it up for sale, we decided to sell it ourselves because we believe that He has planned this whole process out so completely that He already knew when He would sell the house and who was going to buy it. All we needed to do was TRUST in His timing and His provision. There were several times over the past couple of months that we thought about listing it with a dear friend of ours who is an agent, but every time we started to list it, we would start getting phone calls from people showing interest, so we believe God was saying, “Be patient and let me sell your house.” So we would wait.

On New Year’s Day, I mentioned to Tony that I had decided to go ahead and finish the paper work and list the house with our friend who is an agent. I decided to try to sleep in the next morning and go see her near lunch. At 8:00 my phone started ringing with people calling about the house. One of the phone calls was from a gentleman from California. He explained that he has grown children in the area and he often comes home to visit his children and grandchildren and would like to go ahead and purchase a place of his own so that when he comes to visit, he will have his own place and when he retires soon, it will already been “home” and “grandpa’s place.” He said that he was getting ready to fly back to California, but he would like for his children to come look at our  house. That evening, his children did come look at our house, and we were blessed to discover that he has a large family. His children were delightful, and his grandchildren were precious. We could already see them enjoying this place as “grandpa’s house.” Their time here was more than a house showing, it was a very nice visit.

The next day, his son came back to look over the property during the day, and his daughter came back two days later to take lots of pictures inside and outside the house. Again, I enjoyed visiting with both of them, and I just had a peace about them being here. On Saturday, we were at a soccer game, and the son called me and said his father was about to make an offer. I got so excited and started praying. Sure enough, the email came Saturday night.

When I opened the email, my heart sank. His offer by email was far below what we were asking. I was not only disappointed by the amount of the offer, but I had actually become pretty excited about the family that would be enjoying this home for years to come if he bought it. Reluctantly, I emailed him back and thanked him for his offer but said we could not accept. We counter offered and began waiting and praying for his reply. 

Sunday morning, we shared the news with our Sunday School class. They agreed to pray for us, and our dear friend, Jackie Luckey, said, “Ask God for a number. That’s what I did before I left. I asked God to give me a number, and then you commit to not take anything less than that.” So we prayed for a number. By the time we got home from church, God had revealed to both me and Tony what that number was. We just prayed that if this was the person He had been preparing to buy our house, he would offer this number.” Later Sunday afternoon my phone rang.  It was the gentleman from California. He asked me many questions about the house and apologized for all the questions but that he has never bought a house sight unseen before. He said that his children have been pressuring him to trust them and go ahead and buy it, so he thought he’d just call and ask a few questions and explore some possibilities. We ended up talking for over an hour. He said that not only have his daughter and son fallen in love with the house and property, but they have fallen in love with us. He felt like this place is the place he is supposed to retire to. He wanted to make an offer that would be beneficial to both him and us. He then asked me what we would think about us just continuing to live here, even after he buys it, until July when we leave for Haiti. He also asked if we might could work out an agreement to leave most of the furniture in exchange for a $10,000 donation to our ministry. He even offered to let Jonathan live in the apartment while he is in college if he wanted to. At this point, I am just blown away! I calmly said that all of these things were very attractive and that we would look forward to his counter offer.

I told Tony everything he said and I could hardly talk for crying! If this deal worked out, we would not have to worry about moving everything out of the house. We would not have to worry about where Jonathan would live while we are gone, AND we would receive a sizable donation to our ministry. UNBELIEVABLE! I immediately sat down to email Stan Buckly and Barbara Gladney. While I was emailing them, I saw that I received the email from the gentleman from California. I was almost afraid to open it! As I clicked on the email, I prayed, “Lord, we only want your will for all involved.” As I read the words on the screen, I began to shake and tears began to roll down my cheeks. The amount of the offer was EXACTLY the number God had given us, plus we can remain here even after the sale until we leave for Haiti in July, plus Jonathan has the option of staying in the apartment even after we leave, plus he is going to make a $10,000 donation to our ministry in exchange for our leaving the majority of the furniture. WOW. Every muscle in my body felt like jello and there were no intelligble words that I could form out of my mouth.

Even now as I type this post, I feel like we are caught up in a dream. What we have learned from this experience is that God wants to do for all of us things that we cannot possibly imagine. There are many times in our lives when we imagine what we want or how we would like for our lives to work out, and we can either work really hard to make that dream come true, or we can hand our lives over to the Lord and say, “Not our will, but YOURS be done. We are yours.” The truth is, God’s will for us is oh so much more than what we think is best. If we just let go of the control of our lives and give God complete control, He will unfold a plan that is absolutely amazing.

We are so excited about what God is going to do next. Every day seems to bring another exciting event or blessing. We are so very thankful for the family that will move into our home and enjoy it for years to come. We also know that the future God has for us is beyond our wildest dreams. As we look forward to what comes next, all we can say is, we don’t know what the future holds, BUT GOD does! And as he slowly but surely reveals it to us, we can only say, “Thank you, Lord.” All we want is to be used by Him to bless others. When we are allowed to be instruments of his goodness, we indeed are blessed. God is good….ALL THE TIME!!!

Greetings from the West Family!

We hope this letter finds you and your loved ones enjoying the blessings of this wonderful holiday season. All over the world, people celebrate at this time the greatest miracle in history, the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Think about it…the Creator of the universe humbled himself and became a child, born in a lowly manger, to live among us, teach us about God’s love, healing and ministering to many people, and all because He wanted to give Himself as the final and perfect sacrifice for our sins. Wow. What a gift! What a Savior!

I decided to send out a letter this year because there is so much to share! Our family has experienced an amazing year this year, and I am so excited to share it with you. I will start with our first born, Jonathan.

Jonathan is a junior at Belhaven University majoring in Biology in the Pre-Med program. It has been an exhausting year for him, but he has done some amazing things. He is still playing guitar and singing in two worship bands at our church, Crossgates Baptist. It warms my heart to see him using his talents and leading others to worship our Lord. He is also still playing tennis for Belhaven and working at Polks Pharmacy. He has a very full plate, but somehow he still manages to enjoy the outdoors with friends and frequently meet up with buddies for coffee and Bible study. Last spring, he went on a mission trip to Nicaragua and spent a week on a river in a small boat, sharing the love of Jesus with small villages of people, and last summer we all went to Haiti as a family, and I was amazed as I watched God use him in the mobile pharmacy. I can hardly type this without my eyes welling up with tears of joy and overwhelming gratitude for what God is doing with his life. At the conclusion of this semester, we all celebrated the news that he has managed to pull off a 4.0 so far in spite of his hectic schedule. We are so proud of him. He is currently preparing to go with the college ministry on a mission trip to Dubai over spring break. Please pray that God will prepare his heart and use him mightily.

Jacob is now a Sophomore at Brandon High School. He is still playing soccer for both his high school and the Mississippi Chicago Fire Juniors Premier team. He also plays tennis for BHS and is starting to teach himself how to play the guitar. I have been watching him on the soccer field for almost 13 years now, and it never ceases to amaze me how God has blessed him with incredible skill and talent in soccer. I love to watch him and his teammates play. In the past couple of years, God has also been working on Jacob’s spiritual growth. Last August, Jacob came to a place where he realized that although he had made a profession of faith when he was seven, he had just recently come to a place where he realized what it meant to give his whole heart to Jesus. He decided he wanted to rededicate his life to Jesus and be baptized again. As a teenager and athlete, it isn’t always easy to keep one’s focus on the Lord, but God is teaching him and growing him in remarkable ways. Last summer, when our family spent a week in Haiti, I was amazed as I watched him interact with the Haitian children, playing soccer and teaching one another their language. Over the course of the week, Jacob learned the language better than any of us. I am sure God is equipping him for a great purpose. Pray with us please that Jacob will continue to grow in the Lord and find the purpose God has for his life.

Tony is still at Hospice Ministries of Jackson working as Clinical Director, and I am still at Pearl High School teaching Junior and Senior English and yearbook. Many of you already know bits and pieces of our journey over the last year, but I will give a very abbreviated version here. You can go to my blog to read more detail if you’d like. I will put that link below. Tony & I are excited to announce that we have answered a call to move and serve the Lord in Ganthier, Haiti. On January 12, 2010, when a terrible earthquake hit Haiti, Tony was on his way to work and the news struck him so deeply that he had to pull his truck over to weep. There’s no explanation for the intense emotion other than God’s hand digging deep into his heart to prepare him for the call that was to come. Tony came home from work that day and said, “I’m going to Haiti.” After that, God gave Tony numerous opportunities through our church and Samaritan’s Purse to serve in Haiti. After his fifth trip to Haiti, God placed a vision in Tony’s heart to build a community where God would use our family to help the Haitian people not only recover and heal, but thrive and grow. At the same time, God was growing the same vision in Stan Buckley, pastor of First Baptist Jackson, and a group of people there at his church. Eventually God brought us all together, and now we are part of a huge plan called But God Ministries, and we are set to move to Haiti in July. We have put our house up for sale and we are trusting God as He prepares the way for this next chapter in our lives. Please take a moment to not only go to my blog, but also look at the But God Ministries website to see the exciting things God is doing in our lives and the lives of many others.

 The verse at the top of this letter is a reminder that God loves you and knows your needs, and He is preparing to answer them even before you call to Him. May the Lord bless you this holiday season and throughout the coming year.

 Sincerely,  Tony, Mickie, Jonathan, and Jacob West 

 www.haitiwest.wordpress.com     http://www.butgodministries.com

It is so exciting to see the progress taking place in our future home! We are so very thankful for the teams of people God sends over to Haiti each week to continue His work. God’s plan is amazing as He moves people to go, then He equips them to be used for whatever purpose He has designed for the time in which each group is going. The group that just returned recently accomplished some amazing things.

First of all, they have completely moved everything from the dorm where teams have been staying over the past year, to the clinic development where teams will now be able to stay and work all in the same location. No more long, bumpy rides up the river road, carrying supplies and food for the day. They will all be staying and working on site!! That is so exciting! I have included a picture of the team moving the water tanks and installing a tank on top of one of the clinic buildings. Reporting from this most recent trip, my dear friend, Barbara Gladney, said, “Two portable dental units, dental chairs, several hundred dental instruments and supplies are now on-site in the clinic. The first aid/medical supply trunk actually was used on-site to treat two minor injuries to Haitians who were working alongside us this week. Several trunks of supplies for ministry (towels, wash cloths, soaps, t-shirts, soccer balls, women’s hygiene kits, crayons, craft supplies, tracts, etc.) are on-site in trunks for use as teams go in the future. Two water tanks are installed on the roof with a booster pump connected to allow them to be filled with the crystal clear water from the well, and they are already filled with over 1,200 gallons of water.  A 40 gallon water heater has even been installed.  A great deal of troubleshooting and planning were done on electrical wiring, and we have a good idea what needs to be accomplished when the next electrician returns. There are now interior ceilings in the dorm rooms with window air conditioners ready to be put in the sleeping rooms, screens are on the windows to protect from mosquitoes, security bars are on all the windows, and a couple of rows of blocks were even laid on the fifth house.” In May of last summer, we broke ground on the first clinic building, and now there are two medical/dental buildings, a mission team dormatory, a separate kitchen and bathroom facility for teams to use, some Haitian housing, and two fully working water wells that people from all of the community of Ganthier are using daily. All you can say in response to this progress is, “Wow. What an awesome God we serve!!” I have provided a few of the newest pictures below.

I am simply overwhelmed every time we hear of God’s progress in the plans for the future of the people in Ganthier, and as always, we are blown away when we think about the fact that God intends to move us over there soon to become a part of the daily lives of these beautiful people. God is so good. We recently found out that our own church, Crossgates Baptist, has committed to purchasing 2,500 Gideon testaments written in Haitian Creole for us to share with our friends while we are there. Imagine how moving it was for us to be sitting there in that service as Scott Ross announced that we will be able to not only share God’s word with our new friends through language, but we will be able to actually place a copy of God’s Word into each of these new homes for them to be spiritually fed by the Word of God in their own language every day. There was no way to suppress the tears that began to flow in response to God’s provision.

The pictures I am providing in this post were provided by Stan Buckley on the But God Ministries website. To view his full post, visit www.butgodministries.com.

Hope you enjoy the update!!  Please continue to pray for the teams that continue to go over there each week and pray that God will continue to guide us as we prepare our family to leave this summer. Pray for God to move those He intends to use to help support our family while we are there, and pray for the people of Ganthier, as God continues to move in their lives. Thank you Lord for Your Amazing Plan!!!

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