Hi All:
We appreciate all the wonderful folks who pray for us so faithfully and in so many other ways support our ministry for the Christ of Christmas. There is no question that we couldn’t do what we are able to do without you all. So, I did want to share that, despite a few speed bumps, including some icy ones, Sam and I were able to arrive home about the same time as planned but by a different route. It appears that the airport of Charlotte in the Carolinas doesn’t handle a couple inches of snow all that well, so flights were very messed up. Fortunately, we were able to get on a standby list and get to Chicago in the evening. Karen had quickly arranged for us to rent a car and drive home. I had the easy first half, through Chicago and to the Michigan border. Sam took over and the weather and roads went south with many vehicles well ensconced in the ditches to remind us to go slowly. We thank the Lord that we made it home, our suitcases arriving the next evening via 3 different routes. We enjoyed the brief thaw that we had before the holidays, the roads were much better and we were thankful.
It appears that the whole OR crew had the crud while we were there, despite the fact that we are all wearing masks, etc, and then Sam and his wife sequentially have inherited it, sorry to report. Thus, we are gearing up for the next several trips, including some major revisions to the 70 year old downstairs structure that will make the space more useable and friendly. We have been slowly making improvements over the years, but with the tile going in downstairs in February, it is the last chance for significant changes so as to be the most efficient with the improvement process. The Grifhorsts, Micah and a crew of 14 will go down with Jose Dominguez on the 5th of January, then another crew of 14 will go with me the end of the month to do final preparations for the tile, which will start the 3rd of February. My group will include 7 members of the TenHaaf clan, most of whom have made several trips with their older brother, plus a couple of nurses that work with me at both Georgetown and Sunset, so I would think the poor remaining souls will need special grace from above to put up with the rest of the rabble. So, pray for wisdom, protection and good progress for the 34 workers going in the first couple months of 2018.
The hospital function is going well, but a special prayer request for our dear Pastor Lucio Juste. He is one of our two chaplains, a gentle, sweet man in his late 70s who I noticed several years ago when he was filling in for Pastor Rhony, who was the chaplain then. CSL USA hired him in addition to Pastor Zidor as we felt, correctly, that he would add a lot to our spiritual outreach. His wife came to see me in June with some vaginal bleeding and I tried to do a total hysterectomy as it looked like cancer. I have probably done well over a thousand hysterectomies and almost always have been able to remove it all, but she had to be the exception, just too much scar tissue to safely remove it all. She came back to see me this month and definitely has the cancer and it has progressed significantly. She seems to have given up and he seems very discouraged also. So, please pray for this dear couple who have served God for so long together as they face these difficult days together.
Also, Dan and Kim Boerman keep the CSL USA accounts in order and have reported that we had a very busy year since hurricane Matthew struck in October, 2016. We have helped over 30 families (mostly employees and workers who help our teams with construction, etc) repair the damaged houses they suffered from the violent winds and water. Some have had almost nothing left except a floor or a foundation so we have kept our USA teams and a Haitian crew going almost the whole year to do all the repairs. Accordingly, we have depleted the account and are in need of finances to continue the repairs remaining in 2018. We are thankful for the great number of you who have given generously for all we have been able to accomplish with the “rice and goats fund” and all the other projects we have been able to undertake in the last 14 years at Centre de Sante Lumiere for His glory and ask your prayers and support as we try to continue these efforts in the years to come. If the Lord so leads you, you may send your contributions to either:
CSL USA
c/o Dan Boerman
2886 Cyldon Ave, S.W.
Wyoming, MI 49519
or
Byron Center Bible Church
and mention General Haiti Contributions
Once again, thanks for your support for the work at CSL.
In His Service,
Bill, Dan, Duane, Jeff and Sam