Dear Friends,
It’s Sunday afternoon in Haiti and I just dropped off at the airport a NCCTK church team to return home. We’ve had a full week including ministering to pastors, visiting some of our Starfish Ministries’ schools and churches, conducting a two day lay leadership conference in Tricotte, and doing projects at our newly remodeled orphanage in Tricotte.
This morning we worshipped with our brothers and sisters in Pastor Diogene’s Port au Prince church. We enjoyed great music, a challenge from God’s Word, and I especially loved seeing many of my Haitian friends. It was a great week!
But as good as this week was, it was seeing Baurace and spending just a little time with him after church this morning that really got me excited and praising God. Baurace came to our orphanage as a young boy over 10 years ago. He comes from Jean Rabel, an extremely poor area in the far northwestern part of Haiti, so poor an area that many parents cannot feed their children. Baurace trusted the Lord Jesus Christ soon after he arrived at the orphanage and continued to grow in his walk with his Savior. He soon became a spiritual leader among our orphaned children.
Three years ago Baurace left the orphanage and moved to Port au Prince to finish high school. He has always applied himself in school and has been at the top of his class at every testing period. Soon after Baurace became a Christian he sensed God’s call on his life to become a pastor. He has just completed his high school training and will soon enter Bible school and seminary.
Two years ago Baurace, who now speaks very good English, told me about his concern for his father. Whenever Baurace had the opportunity to go back to Jean Rabel he would share Jesus with his father, but his father did not seem interested. We prayed for his father’s salvation. This morning Baurace was beaming with joy as he shared with me that his father had recently received Jesus as his personal Savior.
That’s what’s got me rejoicing! When God called Sheryl and me to this ministry in Haiti we believed that He was directing us to raise up these children for His Kingdom’s sake, and that after they finished their education it would be their desire to go back to their families and home villages and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. Baurace did just that this summer, God answered his prayer, and now his father is a Christian. We thank God for Baurace’s heart for God and his desire to serve Him in Haiti. When Baurace completes his education he senses that God is leading him back to Jean Rabel to plant churches and make a difference in the lives of his family and others in that area.
At the pastor’s conference earlier last week, Pastor Kim taught from Nehemiah. Nehemiah’s heart was broken because of the ruins in Jerusalem, so he went back from Babylon to rebuild the ruined walls. These same challenges lie ahead of us in Haiti, a nation being rebuilt, physically and spiritually. As Nehemiah was led by God, and with the help of a unified group of Israelites, those walls were rebuilt and brought glory to God. Baurace and so many more are the Nehemiahs of Haiti—called to reach out to those hurting and hopeless and to point them to the only One who can truly rebuild ruined lives for eternity.
Please continue to pray for these Haitian workers, workers even like young Baurace, that they will recognize that the harvest is plentiful in Haiti today and will be eager to be sent out into that ripe harvest field.
Thank you for ministering with us in prayer and support.
Serving the Lord together,
Bernie, Sheryl and Philip Bovenkamp
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