September

September was a very busy month. It started with a series of tropical storms that have done great devastation to select areas in Haiti. I arrived at HCMR to find family members of Missou Nicolas (HCRM facilitator and Pastor's wife) living at the orphanage because the flooding of their home in Les Cayes was too high to stay their safely. By the grace of God HCRM and Pastor Jean Fritz's school and church in Carrefour were not severely damaged, and were suitable to be a refuge for them. The only damage I noticed was at the mission site(orphanage) the one banana tree we had was ripped up by the roots.
Shortly after the storms passed Pastor informed me that he was in the local paper. There is an occasional language barrier between the two of us, but knowing the good he is doing in the community I assumed the report was positive. On the contrary, in a meeting facilitated by the Minister of Culture several biological parents of children adopted through HCRM accused Pastor of human trafficking. The accusations continued to spread through the Internet and radio making this a widely talked about issue in the Port-Au-Prince area. Not long after the story was published we had a surprise visit by human rights investigators and reporters and it was a good thing. They grilled Pastor on his practices and policies. He was able to present them with all the necessary paper work and the truth came to light. The reporters said they would write a follow-up story that is yet to happen, but the truth is out there and circulating.
It is so true that when you try to do the work of the Lord others will attack you and try to tear your work down. The Lord said there will be trials and test, but he knows our capabilities and will never abandon us or put more on us than we can bear.
We had two groups of visitors this month.
First, Bob and Sally Heier of Heier Ministry visited. This is one of many trips to Haiti with their ministry that often travels in teams. They have been devoted to Haiti for 14 years. This trip they stayed for 3 days and were able to bless HCRM with food and their joyful presence. Also while they were here they sent an e-mail to Love-a-Child to try to receive aid (food and medicine) for HCRM. We have yet to hear from back from Love-a-Child, but hope is not lost. Bob's older brother is sick and recently had surgery so please keep him in your prayers.
The second group Roro, Girard and Jenny (I did not get their full names as they were here for about 30 minutes) contributed cases upon cases of Tylenol. Their ministry (forgive me for not knowing the name) is thriving with schools, churches, and clinics all over Haiti. They also have a troop that travels the world sharing the gospel through song.