Dear Friends,
This morning I received a message from a young man who had been in our orphanage as a young boy. Jimmy left the orphanage at age 18, went to high school in Gros-Morne and then on to mechanic trade school in Port-au-Prince. Jimmy did well in his studies and was able to get a mechanic job upon his trade school completion. His goal was to own a small pickup that he could use for a taxi service in Port-au-Prince. After a couple of years, Jimmy had saved enough money to purchase his “dream” pickup taxi. It was a beat-up vehicle that looked like it might be on its last mile, but as a mechanic, Jimmy was able to keep it running quite well and had a successful small business. During this good time, Jimmy got married and now has a young son.
But life in Haiti has changed much in the last few years and Jimmy’s message this morning was that he and his family were at the Haiti/Dominican Republic border trying to flee the chaos and insecurity of Haiti. Jimmy wrote, “I have to leave my country because there is no life where I was living – even though I am an adult now, unfortunately my country doesn’t give me the opportunity to make progress.”
I asked Jimmy about his taxi pickup. Sadly, he shared that it was taken and set on fire by gangsters and with no justice in Haiti his investment and business was instantly taken away from him without recourse.
Now in his early thirties, Jimmy is hoping to start a new life in the D/R (Dominican Republic). That is very difficult, and it is highly unlikely that he will be able to cross the border. Thousands of Haitians are trying to flee the country and D/R is sending them back as soon as they arrive. However, since Jimmy has a trade as a mechanic, he is hopeful that he will have an opportunity to use his education and find success in D/R. He concluded that he knows that God knows ALL and he trusts Him for help and his future. Please pray for Jimmy, his wife, and young son.
It’s heart wrenching to hear stories like this. And it’s just one of thousands of desperate Haitians, caught in the cross fires of gangs and political corruption. It would be easy to become discouraged and wonder what the future holds for these precious lives. But we know that those who have been in Starfish Ministries’ orphanage and schools have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and many are following Him today. That’s what God has called us to, and He is faithful and is bringing it to pass.
“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future. And life is worth the living, just because He lives”.
Through this song, I am thankful for the reminder of God’s sovereignty and that we can trust Him in bringing to pass the results that He deems best.
Recently, Lucner sent this story about a boy in the orphanage.
Ismaël is eleven years old, and he is from Jean-Rabel. He came to the orphanage in 2018 after his dad passed away. His relatives did not have economic means to help him and were not able to send him to school. When he first came to the orphanage, he was so shy, he could not even talk to the orphanage kids, therefore we called him: “Hibou”; which meant, he stayed alone. After spending time learning with other orphanage kids at school and church activities, Ismaël became a good student, and he started to make nice objects from broken pieces of tile.
He could not succeed in school when he came, but now he is averaging 7.8 on a scale of 10. Praise God so that we can make a difference in children’s life through the support the donations you have given us.
Thank you, guys, for helping us to reach the orphan kids. Please pray to God for this noble ministry, that one day the children could become good leaders to continue to do Christ’s ministry.
We are grateful for the Haitian leadership team that God has raised up to lead Starfish Ministries in Haiti. They are dedicated and have a deep compassion for the orphans. Your faithful support makes this possible. Please pray for Daniel and his team as they serve the most needy of Haiti.
Serving the Lord together,
Bernie, Sheryl & Philip Bovenkamp
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