Edner (center) and four of the older orphanage children.
In Haiti, every student must pass a standardized national test each year in order to move on the next grade level. The results of last year’s test were released recently, and every child in our orphanage passed the test. This is unheard of in Haiti where it’s not unusual for some students to remain at one grade level for several years before passing the test. In our orphanage, we’ve never been close to 100%.
So what was the difference this year? In 2009, Edner Destima became the new Administrator/House Father of the Starfish Ministries orphanage. He has been wonderful for the children, and their newfound academic success is just example of the impact he has made.
Dieu-Mene rounding the handle on his newly built tool box.
Dieu-Mene is one of our older orphanage children who wants to become a carpenter. To encourage him and allow him to begin to develop skills in this area, Bernie brought several hand tools this trip to give to Dieu-Mene. Bernie also suggested Dieu-Mene’s first project, a wooden toolbox, and provided the wood along with a basic plan.
Dieu-Mene got to work, cutting the rounded lines with his new coping saw, smoothing the edges with his Surform plane, and assembling the pieces with nails and glue. Bernie periodically left the ministry accounting work he was doing to check on Dieu-Mene and offer advice and demonstrate techniques. In the end, Dieu-Mene produced a very nice, solid, and function toolbox in which to keep his new tools. And he was very pleased with it.
Tags: orphanage
Bernie and Diogene in front of the Starfish Ministries School in Morne Chaise
After spending the first few days of our trip at the Pastors’ Conference in Gonave Bay, Bernie, Dave, and I arrived at Tricotte Wednesday afternoon. As always it was a joy to be reunited with the orphanage children and many other dear friends in the village.
This morning (Thursday) we traveled to the village of Morne Chaise. Morne Chaise became the home of the 33rd Starfish Ministries School in the fall of 2009. There are 53 children enrolled at the school, which is still held in a small post-and-palm-frond building. Our goal is to build a more suitable and permanent structure eventually.
Dave Morley along with seven of the Morne Chaise students, in front of the home one of these boys along with nine other members of his family.
Even though school is not in session, we were able to interact with several of the students and visit a couple of their homes. They live in stick-and-mud huts that often shared by extended families, but they are grateful for all that God provides, including the education and feeding program that is made possible through your support.
You can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
Tags: feeding program, schools
Dear Friends,
Philip, Dave Morley and I will be traveling to Haiti late Sunday night, August 29. We really would really appreciate your prayers as we travel and minister there for two weeks. Below is our trip schedule so that you can pray for us each day.
- August 30 – Pastors conference begins at noon – approximately 80 Haitian pastors – Philip teaching
- August 31 – Pastors conference continues – Philip teaching
- September 1 – Complete Pastors conference at noon and travel to Tricotte.
- September 2 – 4 – Ministering in Tricotte in orphanage and in surrounding villages – Philip and Dave building benches for the Tricotte church. I’ll be working with Diogene and Norius on the upcoming school year – planning and budgeting
- September 5 – Philip will be preaching in the Tricotte church – message from the “Letter to the Laodician Church” in Revelations 3
- September 6 – 7 – Leadership conference – approximately 200 leaders from the Tricotte area churches will assemble in Tricotte for this two day conference – Philip teaching
- September 6 – 8 – Dave will continue on projects. We will also be sorting through and distributing clothes, school supplies, shoes, etc. from the recently arrived container.
- September 9 – Travel back to Port au Prince
- September 10 – Visit the “new home” sites – We have started building homes for some who lost them in the earthquake.
- September 11 – Return home
Thank you for your prayers and partnering with us in this way. Please remember Glenn Bridges also. He was planning to travel with us on this trip but is not able to due to sickness.
Serving our Lord together,
Bernie
Tags: pastors' conference
Dear Sponsors,
Hello! With all the sponsors, we have so much joy in our hearts to write you in the name of Jesus. How are your activities, your families? We want to tell you a great thank you for all the sponsors who make the decision to help us. Know that you make that to glorify God, and we want to tell you don’t be discouraged in that. Trouble and sadness can come, but stay in God’s way, because God loves all those who take care for the destitute. We haven’t anything to give you. We don’t know another word bigger than thank you. Thank you for your courage because in spite of the earthquake, you remember us, and we are very satisfied of all things you send for us that bring joy to our hearts. We feel very happy for the nice gestures that you do for us. We are very happy with that and we want to tell you to keep serving God, keep praising the Lord, and he will take care of you. Keep doing well, don’t be discouraged, and keep hard in God’s work, and then his grace and his blessings will fall down on you.
God bless you,
Thank you so,
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. –Galatians 6:9
Tags: orphanage
Believers listen to God's Word under a roof of blue tarps in the street in front of the rubble of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Port-au-Prince
Dear Friends,
I was sitting up in front of Pastor Diogene’s Port-au-Prince church last Sunday, May 23. As I looked out over the crowd, I recognized very few of the people there. The last time I had been to Haiti was before the earthquake, and then I had known many of the members of this body. Since the earthquake many of those had gone back to their home villages, but they had been replaced by new faces. Before Diogene introduced me to get up and preach, he asked the congregation how many of them recognized me. Very few raised their hands. The benches were full, several people had brought their own chairs, and well over 600 new believers were gathered to hear God’s Word.
They were gathered out on the street in front of what used to be the Ebenezer Baptist Church building. That building is now just a pile of rubble – but the church, God’s chosen people, the followers of Jesus Christ, were alive and with open hearts anxious to hear what God’s Word would teach them that day.
The church service was scheduled to start at 7:30 AM. We arrived then but found only a handful of people there. A few were working to get electricity to the sound system – I heard some pops and saw some flashes as wires shorted out. The sound system would remain silent until they completed their task, and the neighborhood people wouldn’t know it was time for church until music flooded the area. Read the rest of this entry »
Many of you have been praying for rain, as there hadn’t been any significant rain in this area of Haiti since November. God has heard and answered. Wednesday afternoon and evening, it rained for four hours! They received two inches of rain. One man told Bernie, “My garden is very happy today!”
Thank you so much for your prayers!