September 2026

September 2026
 
(written this month by Philip)
 
Dear Friends,
 
My favorite poem is “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning.” John Donne, the English poet and preacher, wrote it in 1611 to comfort his wife, Anne, as he prepared for a lengthy journey to the continent.
 
In this poem, Donne compares the relationship he and Anne shared to a draftsman’s compass, the kind of compass you use to draw a circle. He pictured Anne and himself as the legs of the compass, distinct and yet attached. Donne was the roaming foot. He traveled in wide, sweeping arcs to trace the circle.
 
Anne was the fixed foot. She was the anchor in the center. Without her steadfast firmness, his circle could never be true. Donne also saw the legs of the compass leaning toward each other. Even as he ran across the page and she remained planted at home, they were drawn to each other. And as the roaming foot returned to the fixed foot, both rose to receive the other.
 
This is the relationship Bernie and Sheryl shared.
 
My parents were partners in Starfish Ministries from the beginning, but they played very different roles. Dad traveled to Haiti multiple times a year. He ministered to orphans, visited schools, and met with pastors. He led teams from churches and universities from the United States and Canada to Haiti and introduced them to the work that God was doing there. Back home he spoke to churches and service clubs and anyone else who would have him. He was the forward reach and public face of Starfish Ministries.
 
Mom’s role was not so visible. She traveled to Haiti with Dad on occasion. The children in the orphanage loved her and called her Mom. She would often join Dad when he spoke here in the states. She stuffed envelopes, answered letters, and handled the countless small tasks necessary for any organization to function.
 
But Mom’s most important contribution had nothing to do with logistics or travel or any other tangible thing. It was her steadfastness. It was her support. It was her willingness to die to her own interests for the sake of the gospel of Christ and sharing Christ’s love with the needy in Haiti.
 
From the beginning, Dad marveled that God had provided him the perfect partner in this ministry. He always said he could never have done this work if she hadn’t been who she was. She steadied him and kept him true as God used them together.
 
The truth is, it wasn’t Mom’s contribution, and it wasn’t Dad’s work. They always maintained that God supplied everything. God did the work. They were simply blessed to be used in whatever way he chose.
 
***
 
On August 15, 2026, Dad lost his fixed foot when Mom went to be with the Lord.
 
Dad is going to be okay. God will sustain him. His grace is sufficient. But these are hard days.
 
So pray for my father. Pray for the ministry. And rejoice for my mother. She is in the presence of her Savior today. Her faith has become sight, and her joy is complete.
 
Serving the Lord together,
 
The Starfish Ministry Team