Dr. Luke, Duane, and I were able to spend a week at the hospital last month working with the staff and getting a couple of overdue projects completed. As an answer to travel prayers, Sunrise Airlines has recently started flying from Miami to Cap-Haitien, where we then can catch a flight to Les Cayes, allowing us to visit the hospital while bypassing Port Au Prince. While the country continues its downward spiral, we continue to be blessed with a staff that works very hard to provide excellent care and at the same time improve the services we give. We still remain about the only hospital in southern Haiti that can give good, consistent care.

Life in the Les Cayes area has gotten a little better as vital supplies such as food, fuel, and batteries are available, although still a long way to go to be considered normal. Many families have extended family living with them that fled from the continued violence in Port. The hospital has been very busy as a result since this has increased the number of patients the hospital has been seeing. It has also put a bigger demand on the poor fund as a lot of these patients don’t have the means to pay for their treatments.

One of our backup generators failed a year ago and we had purchased a slightly used generator as a replacement. With the assistance of several local businesses here in West Michigan, we were able to have it serviced, test ran, needed electrical components installed, and shipped to Les Cayes. It arrived at the hospital right after our last trip in September. Duane was finally able to get it installed and running this trip! We are so thankful and blessed with the help we receive in times of need. This generator is another component which contributes to our consistent electric, something we don’t even think about in the states, but is something that’s not available to people in Haiti who can’t afford a small solar system (mostly for lights at night and maybe running a refrigerator during the day). We are blessed!

Beginning in 2003, Dr. Bill traveled to CSL one week out of every month for almost 15 years. His desire and vision was to train local doctors and staff to be able to give better treatment to the locals than what was available. Dr. Moise and Dr. William worked with him from the beginning and the foundation they established is hard at work today. The Haitian government requires medical students to ‘donate’ a year of service to an in-country hospital. We have had many of these medical students requesting to complete their year of service at CSL. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that they will come work at the hospital once they become doctors, just having them for their year of service has resulted in a surgical department that is staffed 24 hours a day. This is a huge relief to our staff as the increases in emergency c-sections (with patients often traveling several hours) and emergency surgeries from accidents at night was becoming a large strain

Dr. Marc Dubuisson, a medical student CSL supports, started working with Dr. Bill several years ago. He has completed his education and his year of service and is now in his second year of surgical residence in Mirebalais. Once his education is completed, he will come work at CSL for 5 years. Below is an update from him on his recent experiences.

As a first-year surgery resident, my days are a whirlwind, primarily split between the demanding realms of general surgery and trauma. We also rotate through emergency medicine, which throws a different kind of intensity into the mix. It’s a steep learning curve, but I’m finding my footing, absorbing new techniques and protocols with each passing day.

The hands-on experience is invaluable. I’m now confidently performing minor surgical procedures, like circumcisions and excisions of lipomas, which feels like a significant milestone. There’s a real sense of accomplishment when you can apply what you’ve learned and see a positive outcome. The operating room is a dynamic environment, and I’m constantly learning to anticipate and adapt.

However, it’s not all about technical skills. The morbidity and mortality (M&M) conferences are a crucial, albeit emotionally taxing, part of the training. Analyzing complications and patient outcomes, especially when things haven’t gone as planned, can be incredibly difficult. It forces us to confront our limitations and the inherent risks of our profession. It’s a necessary process for growth, but it can be emotionally draining. Despite the challenges, I’m driven by the desire to improve and provide the best possible care for my patients.

Following this update, Dubuisson notified me that Mirebalais was invaded by armed gangs last weekend, causing many injuries and deaths. The town is in panic. They were able to evacuate the hospital staff and patients and are safe for now, but they fear the gang will destroy their hospital. Please pray for God’s hand of protection on the patients, staff, and people of that town.

Dr. Jo Marturano has been our visiting psychiatrist for many years and her excellent services are in great need. Below is a letter from her requesting assistance with her work. Please feel free to reach out to us if this is something you are able to help with.

SEEKING PHYSICIAN SUPPORT:  The leadership at CSL has been supportive of Dr Jo Marturano visiting as a psychiatrist since 2011, and she has maintained a good relationship with the doctors on staff, especially Dr Adulte.  He has taken over prescribing psychiatric medications for the many people there with depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar, trauma and aggressive disorders. 

We would like to put out the call if you know any psychiatrists, or family practice doctors with an interest in these psychiatric disorders for the following help: 

Assisting in ordering and mailing the large quantity of medication through Agape to the CSL clinic.  We currently have reimbursement of the cost of these medications, thanks to the generosity of the Stiftung Friedrichsheim in Germany.   But we need assistance in ordering thousands of tablets (currently through Henry Schein) or any other medication outlets.  The most commonly used medication is Risperidone which is currently on a backorder and puts our patients at risk of relapse or danger.   We need ANY OTHER ideas for acquiring large quantities of these medications perhaps through a charity that we are not aware of.  You may contact Dr Jo Marturano for a list of needed medications at jomarturano@icloud.com.  it would also help to have the manpower to order and mail medications every 1-2 months, in case Dr Jo should become incapacitated for any reason.  

Helpful but not necessary:  Visiting occasionally to support Dr Adulte and mentor his questions about difficult cases.  (Dr Jo is aging and has had a lot of family needs this past year, but is still available by phone, email, and What’s App to a new volunteer.) Please put the word out through your churches and personal contacts, if you know of anyone with a heart for our brothers and sisters struggling in Haiti with mental illness. 

So much good is happening at the hospital and we recognize it as all coming from the hand of God. Thank you all for your continued support and prayers. Please continue to pray for the patients and staff, that they will continue strong in their work and have faith and trust in God to supply all of their needs.

Dan Boerman

As we begin a new year, we look forward to 2025 being another blessed year.

Haiti continues to face many issues. The ongoing struggle for political control of the nation has made travel to and from Haiti almost impossible, and the prices and availability of food and fuel is expensive and limited. We were only able to make 2 trips to the hospital last year in January and October. Several other trips were planned but had to be cancelled.  We know God has a plan for this ministry and trust that we will be able to visit when He sees fit. The staff has responded to these struggles in a big way and remain dedicated to serving the people of Haiti. They have been diligent about improving their processes and methods to provide more consistent medical services.

Getting maintenance and medical supplies to the hospital has proven to be a big challenge. We normally get most of our medical supplies through a foundation in the Netherlands via a shipping container, but have now been forced to purchase supplies in America as shipping a container is currently not possible and we haven’t been able to send one in almost 2 years. We’re thankful for Agape Flights, which services missionaries in the Caribbean by delivering mail and packages to them. We’ve been able to send everything we need through Agape to missionaries in Les Cayes, where they are then handed over to the hospital. I’m sure our pile of boxes to ship is a bit overwhelming in quantity at times. We are so grateful for several families and organizations who have donated much needed funds to help us with the extra expenses to buy medical supplies and cover shipping costs.

As the hospital grows, our electric needs also continue to rise. Our current backup generator (which kicks in when the solar system can’t provide enough electricity) is too small to handle these increased demands. We’re thankful we were able to ship a much needed larger generator last year by means of a ship that delivers skid-size shipments to a small port in Haiti not far from the hospital (not Port Au Prince). This was a huge answer to prayer, and we pray that now the current generator doesn’t break before we are able to get there and install the larger one.

The Rice and Goats fund (started many years ago by Dr. Bill) was a blessing again this year to all our staff. Thank you to all who donated to this fund; we had our largest year of giving yet! The last couple of years have been some of the hardest for our staff and these monetary gifts are such a blessing and provision for them. It is also a huge encouragement to them to know that they are cared for and supported by all of us here. It can be discouraging for them when times are hard and they are asked to give of themselves over and over. I think of Galatians 6: 9-10 “Let us not become weary in doing good…Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” As our staff serves others, we serve them!

A few of our dedicated staff recently retired, St Remy Liliane and Hyppolite Naomie Michel, both with 42 years of service. Hyppolite Naomie Michel served 20 with at out sister hospital MEBSH before joining CSL for 22 years. They always served with a big smile and will be missed by all! It has been an honor getting to know each of these women. Please join me in prayer for them and their families.

As conditions allow we hope to make a trip to CSL soon. There is much that needs to be done. Please pray that God will provide a way.

Even though many obstacles were faced in 2024, what a blessing it is to look back and see how God has provided everything we need. We trust in His perfect plan and goodness. Thank you all for your prayers and support for this ministry! It is encouraging to see that even when physical hardships abound, the power of the gospel is not diminished.

Dan Boerman

After several attempts since January, we were finally able to go and spend 10 days at the hospital. Micah Baxter, Mark Snyder and myself left on September 30. Other than taking 2 days of travel to get there and 2 days to get home, everything went smoothly with no issues. We are excited to be able to have teams return on a regular basis once again. The Kenyan government has sent several hundred troops to Haiti to help keep the peace. They are stationed on the airport grounds which has helped to make air travel possible again after the gang violence earlier this year temporarily closed the airports.

The last teams we had in Haiti were back in January, where we ran into a lot of travel issues, even having to private charter a plane to get one of the teams out of Les Cayes. None of us thought it would be 9 months before we were able to return and we arrived with a long list of issues to work on, ranging from staffing issues to a variety of equipment repairs. Micah and Mark were able to check off most of the equipment issues, with repairs and improvements to our solar system, our one remaining generator, two of the x-ray machines, and a couple of lab machines. A special thanks to Ron & Paula from Battaray Inc., who spent several hours on the phone solving our x-ray issues and conducting a staff training.

Since late last year, we have had only one backup generator to our solar system, which alone isn’t a huge problem; however, our electric use has increased to the point that this one backup often isn’t enough to carry the load. Without a way to ship a new one we haven’t been able to remedy this. Recently we became aware of a company that ships skid lot orders to Haiti, bypassing Port Au Prince; expensive but doable. Many special thanks to Wolverine Power who found us a used generator and serviced it, to Buist Electric who supplied the electrical needs, to Legacy Steel who purchased the generator, and to the NRC Disaster Relief Committee who paid for the shipping and import fees. The generator arrived at the hospital on October 15 and final hook up will happen soon! This ministry is graciously supported by so many organizations, businesses, and people that makes these things possible. Just another example of how God puts the right people together at the right time.

One of the blessings of visiting the hospital is to be able to work alongside the staff – 105 employees who work every day serving the Haitian people. We talk often of how difficult life is for them. Half of our staff makes less than $150 a month and a gallon of gas alone costs $10. We have given raises as we’re able but they haven’t kept pace with inflation. We are thankful to be able to have two other programs that give them much needed assistance: the Rice & Goat and Education Funds.

Rice & Goat Fund – We’re nearing the end of the year which means we start collecting money for the rice and goat fund. Dr. Bill started doing this many years ago at Christmastime and we have continued every year since. Historically this gift consisted of actual rice and goats, but it’s simply become too dangerous to bring such a large quantity to the hospital and have the staff leave for home with them. We now split the money between the staff for them to use as they need and it is still a great way to show that we care about them and appreciate all they do. If you wish to support, please note ‘rice & goats’ on your donations.

Education Fund – It has been a desire of ours that all our staff’s children receive a good education as these children are the future of Haiti. The majority of the parents have to pay for school and we have found that a lot of the children are not able to attend. Last year we started a program which paid for the schooling for the children of our lowest paid staff. God has blessed this program and we have expanded this year, committing to pay for 58 children. Dr. Williams is now the program manager and will work to qualify the children and pay the school directly, ensuring they pass their classes to secure future funding. I know some of our supporters have helped pay for some of these children in the past and have expressed desire to support this education fund. Please prayerfully consider donating to this fund as we hope to expand again next year. Please note ‘education fund’ on your donations.

In addition to general education, Dr. Bill always desired to assist with medical education for any of our staff’s children, and he starting helping Marc DuBuisson (known to Dr. William through medical school) with his training. I am happy to report that we are still able to support Marc DuBuisson in his surgical residence in Mirebalais (northwest of Port) and also Gedeon Acehmie (a staff member’s daughter) who is starting her 3^rd year of medical school. We look forward to them completing their education and returning to Centre de Sante Lumiere to serve with us. Praise the Lord!

We are excited to witness how hard the staff is working to improve themselves. They have been focusing on improving surgical procedures and staff training and this attitude is a very welcome sight. There are several improvement projects underway and we look forward to seeing their progress.

We put a lot focus on the hospital’s medical services, but the most important work is that of the gospel. Our chaplains, Pastors Zidor and Lucio, faithfully witness to all they can, being at the hospital every day so that those who come through the gate hear the message of salvation. 68 salvations were reported in September. I observed a long conversation this trip between Zidor and a young man through which God brought the young man to salvation, and he will be introduced to a MEBSH church near his home. There is also a worship service at the hospital on Sunday mornings. The keyboard used during these services has become almost unplayable and we were pleased to have a new one shipped on the crate with the generator. I could feel the excitement of the man you plays the keyboard when I told him a new one had arrived. Thank you to the family who purchased and donated this!

We thank the Lord for His overwhelming blessings to this ministry through each and every person who supports us. I remind the staff almost every trip that there are a couple hundred people helping make this possible.

Dan Boerman

Haiti remains unsafe for us to visit, our biggest hurdle getting from the international airport in Port Au Prince to the general aviation airport. Although they are only on opposite sides of the same runway, we must still go through customs and hire a driver to take us from one side to the other. We rely on the contacts we have within Port, and since we left in late January it is still not safe for us to travel that short distance. The gangs also have control of the shipping port, making it impossible to send containers or supplies.

The hospital is 125 miles from Port Au Prince in Les Cayes and it has remained fairly safe in that area of the country; however, the shortage of almost everything has made life very difficult. We continue to use Agape Flights out of Florida to get supplies into Les Cayes. This is quite expensive and they can only offer very limited space as everyone working in the area is doing the same to get the supplies they need.

We are very grateful to those who responded in May with extra funds, making it possible for us to continue sending supplies and supporting the growing needs of the poor fund.

We praise God for our staff who continue to faithfully serve those who come, even with the struggles each of them face trying to fulfill the needs of their families.

It’s during times like these where we are reminded about all the gifts of money, time, and prayer that have gone into this ministry. It is easy to sometimes think we are needed for a ministry to thrive, when in fact it is God’s hands supporting it all, seen in His providences of past gifts. The staff have tools and supplies today because of these. It’s difficult for us not to be able to go and help where we can, but God continues to work out His will and lives are being changed every day, be it in body or spirit. We are so thankful for how He provides and blesses the work at Centre de Sante Lumiere.

Please pray that the safety issue in Port will be resolved. Until then, we continue to watch and wait for the right time.

Thank you again for your continued support for this ministry.

Dan Boerman

Haiti has been in the news quite a bit the last couple months, and the things you see and hear are real. Sadly, life has been difficult and dangerous for many years, and the recent accounts have to some degree been occurring for quite a while. Since their president was killed in 2021, they have not had a functioning government. We had three teams at the hospital in January who experienced much travel difficulty, and we were warned when we left that the gangs had big plans to take over in the near future. Days after we left, the acting prime ministry left the country to get help, the gangs seized control of Port Au Prince, and travel to Haiti has been impossible since.

Even amongst this violent background, we see the Lord’s hand of blessing on this ministry. The hospital has been able to remain open and those who come through the doors are still receiving medical help and hearing the message of salvation.

Although we are not able to get many supplies into Haiti, we have been able to send them the basics. Agape Flights is a ministry that serves missionaries in the Caribbean by flying supplies to them, and they have been delivering supplies to the hospital for us weekly. Their ability to send these supplies is a great blessing. We will continue to send supplies this way until we are able buy supplies in country and/or ship a container. Please pray for continued resources to be able to send these supplies.

One of our functions overseeing the hospital is to keep the equipment in working order. This can be difficult even when we are there. We try to keep a lot of spare parts on hand and the back-up equipment in functioning order to be utilized until we can get there to make the proper repairs. Thankfully, our solar system has been giving us reliable, consistent power which has kept the number of electrical issues at a minimum. However, we have had x-ray issues with all three of our machines recently. One of these machines, our favorite, is a portable machine that can be used anywhere in the facility. It was donated by Samaritan’s Purse following the earthquake in 2021. We have now ordered a second portable x-ray machine, a cost of almost $38,000, so that we will have a backup.

Including the x-ray machine, our 2024 expenses to date have amounted to $92,463.36. These expenses are in addition to the day-to-day operational costs of the hospital. Equipping the staff with the tools they need is an important part of this ministry. Please remember them in your prayers and support us as you are able.

This past Sunday was Mother’s Day here; in Haiti it was Nurse’s Day, and we celebrated the dedication and service of our nurses. We would be lost without them. Day in and day out they faithfully care for their patients. These ladies continue to learn and grow, seeking to care more professionally, often with less than desirable supplies and equipment.

We don’t know how long it will be before life is back to a sense of normalcy in Haiti. Until then, we will continue to trust in the Lord’s provision and do what we are able to from here. Thank you for your continued prayer and money support. You are blessing to this ministry.

Dan Boerman