Observations of the Haitian Church

 We have been privileged to be able to attend a wonderful Haitian church in West Palm Beach off and on for a month now. The people are so sweet, open and friendly toward us! They are so happy that we are going to THEIR country to tell THEIR people about Jesus! They have 'adopted' us as their missionaries. They have let us know over and over again that they are praying for us and today they took up a large love offering for us to put toward our trip that is coming up in June. I will tell you more about that in a minute.
   Watching the Haitians worship is a beautiful experience! I love how free they are....un-concerned about what other's are thinking of them. Swaying, they throw their hands up, raise their voices, close their eyes and worship their Saviour! The creole and sometimes french words they sing are simple yet have such a profound message to them. They repeat phrases frequently as they sing and God's presence can be felt through-out the room. It is glorious!  As they were singing today, God spoke to me and said, "These are the people I have called you to, they will be your people now."  Our response is, "Yes, Lord, teach us and show us your will in Haiti."
  They have been so kind to have translators come and sit beside us to help us understand the service better. This has been very helpful and we are beginning to pick up some creole words. We know around 20-30 from memory now :o) Their preacher, Pastor Lamour, has been giving us weekly creole lessons and that is also helping. Pastor Lamour is a good preacher, he speaks the Biblical truth to his congregation. He does not skirt around issues but talks directly about them and in a passionate way. It is obvious that he loves God and his congregation. We really appreciate him and his church and are truly beginning to feel a part of them. We are very thankful for the opportunities we have had and will have to worship with them.

Now to tell you about our up-coming trip:
 We are going to Carrefour, Haiti to stay with a long-time missionary who's name is Don Mobley.  Carrefour is a few hours away from Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. When we move to Haiti, possibly next Spring, we will be living in Grande Rivierre du Nord which is in Northern Haiti. It is a six hour drive from Carrefour and we will be going up to the Grande Rivierre to visit the orphanage. We will be serving in the HIM orphanage by helping with the orphan's care, both physically and spiritually. Danny will be doing lots of maintenance and hopes to teach the orphan boys mechanical skills. There are many other roles we will be filling and we won't fully know what we will be involved in until we get there. Needless to say, we are very excited to visit the orphanage and get to know the boys and Pastor Dominique and his family. Danny went to the orphanage 2 years ago and met all of them. The kids and I are looking forward to meeting them for the first time :o)
 We will be taking LOTS of pictures!
   The reason we are going on this trip is two-fold: First reason is to complete Danny's Internship for his degree. Secondly, so we can learn more creole from Mr. Mobley and get to know their culture and customs. We are trusting God to supply the $3,000 that we need for this trip to help cover airfare, food and transportation. God has already began to bring in the needed funds and we praise Him for His provision! Being a missionary is exciting! Thank-you for your continued prayers as we follow God's path for our family!

This is a common sight in our house these days! We change it each week, adding new words as we learn them :o)