Update about upcoming Events

Hi All:
Once again, the low tech Haitian Donkey wants to send out just a few notes of update. The rest of the trip went well, we had no rain and thus could make the trip back to Port in the wee hours of Saturday with our bunch of luggage remaining dry on the roof. Per usual, our teams often bring stuff back from the Centre Lumiere, the center located within walking distance of the hospital where our otherwise destitute ladies make beautiful products from scratch on supplies purchased and sent to Haiti from the US, which we bring back here and thus raise funds to continue the ministry. The ladies have Bible teaching each day and many become believers in their years of training there. The center has had a fair amount of damage from the hurricanes and is still being repaired/refurbished by Caleb and Olga, but they are going to have 3 USA sales in the next few months. The first (the flier is redone below) will be Friday the 3rd of November and Saturday the 4th in Grand Rapids at Bella Vista Church. The next will be in the Bluffton area a few days later. Thus, Evert and I took 4 large suitcases home full of supplies for here and Zella had 2 more for the Bluffton area, as she teaches there.  So, wanted to be sure I got the news out to those who would be interested in supporting this ministry or getting to know more about it, as, like the hospital, we reach out to people by helping them with their physical (financial and medical) needs and then we get to tell them about their spiritual needs of Christ.

We arrived home without trouble, though the chilly reception we had in Grand Rapids (in the 30’s while the 1 am departure was in the 90’s with 95% humidity, even I don’t wear more than scrubs and flip flops and love it) was a bit of a shocking return to reality. I continue to be amazed and thank the Lord for all the crew was able to do during our week of service there. Miss Lisberthe, our OR head nurse, and Miss Catherine, the head nurse for the rest of the hospital, asked Tabitha’s sister to come back a couple times a year to help organize things in the storage rooms, so it was profitable in that aspect also. We have a lot of the downstairs of the hospital cleared, so are well on the way towards getting ready to tile the downstairs of the hospital, though the teams in early 2018 will make considerably more headway on getting the walls and floors ready for that huge job. The first container arrived in less than a month and a bunch of supplies are stored, the second is on the way already.  Dr. Luke will come this weekend for the November surgical week, also Duane and his crew as well as Dr. Luke’s nurse mom, plus Dr. Jo Marturano (psychiatrist) and Beth Newton, so they can work on the psychiatric clinic as well as the surgery aspects. We would appreciate prayer for wisdom for these tasks to be done smoothly and in a way that glorifies God.  Also for safety for the teams as protests continue as the country becomes more chaotic without much law enforcement (with the UN pretty much gone).

Lastly, it is once again headed towards the end of the year and we would like to ask those who have had an interest in the “rice and goats fund” if they would feel God leading them to contribute to this again. In the 7 years we have been able to do this, it has been a great source of encouragement to our employees and myself. As funds allow, we start at the lowest paid employees and share the benefits with all those possible. The Haitian Goude has not done so well on the international scene and, since so much of Haiti is dependent on goods imported from outside, inflation has been rising at a runaway rate. This has especially hit the lowest paid employees as their food costs are such a large part of their living costs. We help them as our funds allow, but this special event is such a great encouragement as it is given as we remember the great gift that God gave us at Christmas for our salvation and eternal life. Again, for those concerned that the gift of the goat will become Christmas dinner, that is not likely to happen, as the goat is too great an investment to eat in a short period, as we don’t have refrigeration to keep the meat safe and so it is kept to grow, reproduce and then be sold to market if a financial crisis arises (medical or other serious event).

The contributions can be sent to either place, designated for the “Rice and Goats Fund, Haiti,” with the check written to the first line of each address:

Byron Center Bible Church

8855 Byron Center Avenue

Byron Center, MI  49315

or

Centre de Sante Lumiere

c/o Dan Boerman

2886 Clydon Ave,

Wyoming, MI  49519

 

In His Service,

Bill, Ed, Evert, Philipp, Tabitha and Zella