Dear family and friends;

We are thankful for God’s continued faithfulness even through difficult times. There have been several roadblocks in Haiti recently, and last week Deb and Katie had to go 4X4ing through corn fields and muddy back trails in order to make it home. Deb did a great job and the Toyota once again proved it’s worth.

We had another big windstorm last week and the roof on the old shop blew off again. I (Rod) climbed the ladder and was going to flip the tin back in place, but as soon as I grabbed it, the tin started sliding and it pulled me off the roof. We are so thankful for God’s protection as I ended up jumping 12 feet to the ground and landing on my feet, with only a sore lower back.

Last Sunday afternoon, we learned that our good friend Marv had passed away of a heart attack. Marv and Sharon (from Grand Rapids, Michigan) have been great partners and friends with us and we truly will miss Marv.

There has been almost no electricity given by the Haitian electric company, so thanks to our solar panels, we have been sharing electricity and water with the people of the village. Katie mentioned to us that she prays for Wendy (the boy with cerebral palsy) and she decided to start a small business so that he can earn some money. Katie and Wendy sell coconuts and small bags of ice for about 1 hour each week day.

Edna is a nice girl who has quite a history already in her young life. (she is 16 now) Her dad died before the earthquake and our son Tim and I rescued Edna and her mom from a tent village in Port au Prince after the earthquake. Edna’s mom had been injured and couldn’t walk. Edna and her mom lived in our village of Ti-verny until about 4 years ago when Edna’s mom died. Edna was able to move in with her brother’s family and she became very close to them.
This past week her brother’s wife died of a heart attack at 34 years old.
It is as if Edna has lost her mother again and she is very sad.

We continue to pray and seek God’s direction regarding the Sunday school at Renault. Last week we took measurements as we consider enlarging the building and putting a new roof on. Every Sunday we are having large amounts of children coming and our existing space is obviously too small.

This week, we had a special visitor stop by at the camp and he offered for us to purchase a large, very nice piece of land in the Renault area. Actually, it turns out that it is the exact piece of land where we started the Sunday school more than 8 years ago, when we set up tents on the open land. Please pray with us that God would show us His will for the future of the Renault Sunday school ministry.

We continue to enjoy volleyball and we had a big 13 team tournament here at the camp on Saturday. This afternoon, the Haitian volleyball federation brought “Mireya Luis” to visit Camp Mahanaim. Mireya was a famous Cuban volleyball player who is rated as one of the best female volleyball players of all time.
It was very special for Katie to meet and visit with her.

Thanks so much for your support and prayers.
bye for now,

Love Rod, Deb and Katie