From Hans, Thursday evening:
Bon Jour from Haiti!
Time has certainly flown by and it is with some sentimental sadness that the team completed the day today –the last day of camp for Haiti 8. Tomorrow is a day of rest and relaxation (we are climbing the mountain behind the camp in the morning and visiting a nearby coastal fishing village and island beach in the afternoon tomorrow – sounds fun but maybe not so restful?). Praise God for an awesome day of camp. It started with just enough rain to wash all the dust off and make everything fresh but not dampen any spirits. We had two activity periods in the morning, and then the final installment of Elijah put on by the Haitians. Not only was it a big hit, but the staff did it with out the program director and pastor Peter Marc. He has been working hard to train up leadership in the staff (which by the way is his congregation as well) and today it paid off. Speaking of pay off, every lesson in drama has been followed by a period of Bible verse memorization. We all marvel at how fast the kids learn the verse of the lesson – the culture has a lot of oral tradition of course, but it is still very impressive to see the little sponges soak up God’s word. And this afternoon after a delicious lunch of rice and chicken, we all headed up the hill for our Royal camp fire. Kids recited the memory verses again (great retention), and the Haitian staff put on a skit about the gospel (it was clearly presented). Afterwards there were some words of encouragement from Peter Marc, and then I prayed to close the camp. We then brought out the traditional S’mores and the fun of roasting 300 marshmallows almost all at once began. Kate had us prep the graham crackers and chocolate beforehand, so it went relatively smoothly (no one got branded or poked in the eye, and everyone got fed – some more than once J). Down the hill and out the gate went the campers, and on their way they got a snack bag, a gift bag full of goodies, and a glow necklace. We then gathered for a staff photo and had a circle of prayer for the camp staff. We also gave each Haitian leader a gift bag with a flashlight (very popular gift here) and some bandanas and other small items. All 27 Haitian staff will join us for the trip to the beach tomorrow (it’s going to be a crowded tap tap!).
Thanks for the prayers for the generator. This morning Boss Willy (the new camp electrician and plumber – very well trained and professional) and I replaced the starter brushes, and jerry-rigged a jumper to make the starter work. It finally sprang to life, and our welding team sprang into action to finish at least one chair cart. It was completed by dinner time!
The team is doing great, (little infirmities here and there but all in all very healthy) and I appreciate your support and prayers for all of us. Please continue to pray for safety, but more so for continued spiritual growth for all of us.
God bless you all!