Update: Sweat, food, babies, cats...

Well, friends – I don’t know about what weather is like back in the States, but it is getting HOT in Haiti!

All of the missionary stories I’ve heard about being constantly sweaty? It’s true. In the morning, afternoon, evening, all night long… You can’t escape the heat and humidity! I’m afraid it’s only going to get hotter… I really feel for all of the maintenance guys who spend their entire days outside doing hard work. I sweat just sitting in the house or at the office – I can’t even imagine! Bless those guys. Seriously! They deserve some ice cream.

Prepare yourself for a long update:

Things around campus have been really quiet since all of the students and staff left. I miss those daily interactions, and I really miss having a big plate of rice and beans for lunch every day.

Ryan and I? We’re starving over here without those amazing cooks! Okay, starving is a bit of an exaggeration. But really, we’re living off of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and/or fried eggs for lunch. And if Ryan is feeling extra hungry, I’ll throw together a quesadilla using the precious tortillas that have been sent to us. Those things are worth their weight in gold! We ration those. :)

I haven’t written in a while. There’s so much to say! I haven’t even gotten the chance to publicly thank EVERY SINGLE PERSON who sent goodies to us when Galen and Sharon came for board meetings.  You guys (and ladies) --- you have no idea how much that meant to us.

Jeez, we were overwhelmed with the amount of amazing stuff that was packed in Galen and Sharon’s suitcases in May. Candy, chocolate, PICKLES, lima beans, paint, beef jerky, just to name a few. I really can't believe I didn't take a picture of the suitcase they brought in. It was a lovely surprise!

I can’t repeat this enough – if you want to show your love to a missionary in Haiti, sending American food is one of the easiest ways to do it! We were/still are blessed by everything that you all sent to us. We can’t thank you enough!

This might sound really silly from the outside, but the hardest part about living in Haiti (for us) is the food. I’ll be the first to say that I really love eating Haitian food. But it’s gotta be authentic and it has to be cooked by a Haitian. (Thank you, EBS cooks!!!)

Let me tell you a little about the two dinky grocery stores in all of Cap Haitien. First, those two stores, dinky as they may be, are a real blessing to us missionaries. Depending on the day, they have some novelty items like pringles and jelly and sometimes oreos and one time I even saw a can of mountain dew.

But to give you a better picture of what the stores are like, they have maybe 7 aisles in them.  And half of which includes powdered milk, canned corn and peas, drinks, rice, pasta, flour, sugar, etc. Things that you can generally find in the markets. The main item that we usually make a trip there for is butter or margarine. The better of the two stores is a good 45 minute drive from us, so we only make it there when we are already that far into town or on our way to the airport. Basically, these two stores are all we’ve got. The rest of the food we can get is fresh produce, which includes most of your tropical fruits and lots of veggies.

Oh, and I have to mention one thing that is pretty darn cool: apparently we have land crabs on the campus. Yummy :)

My point is that most of the food that is readily available here is great for making Haitian food, which is delicious – but not a cooking adventure that I’m ready to tackle. And all of the food, Haitian or not, has to be made from scratch. Which was a fun adventure for a while, but now that I’ve been having some extreme fatigue and morning sickness for the past few months (SURPRISE! If you didn’t already know, we’re due with our first baby in December!), I haven’t had the energy or will to do much cooking/baking. It just takes so much time! So my poor husband has pretty much been living off of ramen noodles, PB&J’s and some Captain Crunch that we ordered from Amazon. I’m thanking the Lord every day that he has been really understanding about my lack of energy/desire to make much! And I am also thanking the Lord for all of you who sent yummy food for him (us) to snack on. It’s amazing. You’re amazing. He’s amazing. :)

Needless to say, I’m REALLY EXCITED for all of the delicious, convenient, greasy AMERICAN FOOD when we come back for a 3-week visit in August. I’m really really excited to see all of our friends and family, too  - but am thankful that there are 3 meals a day (plus snacks!) that can be both filled with deliciousness AND shared with our loved ones. :) So…. If you want to take us out to eat while we are back, I’ve got a list of places I’d love to go. Don’t worry – I’m a cheap date, I promise. :) Taco Bell and Chick fil A are at the top of my list! Mmmmm. And I’m looking forward to many evenings filled with friendship and chips and salsa. And watermelon. And ice cream. What a lovely combination! Hehe.

So….. I’ll end my very long rant about food with this: Other missionaries continue to tell me that most of my cravings are just because I am in a foreign country with foreign food, but I really believe this pregnancy is amplifying those cravings to be at least one million times more than normal. For reals. I’m practically drooling over here at the thought of all of the food possibilities I will get to encounter two months from now.

[Here's our announcement photo in case you missed it on FB!]

Okay – so I realize that was all me just rambling on about food and I haven’t really given an update yet.

We’re both doing well!

Other than feeling really crummy throughout the first trimester of pregnancy, I’m doing well. I’m sad that I am missing out on being able to go to the doctor and have checkups and sonograms and all of that fun stuff that comes along with pregnancy – but amidst what I’m missing out on, I’m gaining so much from this experience. (And not just weight, hehe:) I’ve got no choice but to put all of my trust in God and believe with all of my heart that He is in control. That He is protecting our baby. That things will be okay. I truly believe that, and that makes things a lot easier. I appreciate all of your prayers with us throughout the next months leading up to December. :)

Ryan’s been keeping busy with a heavy workload of summer classes, and he’s been spending a lot of time looking into furthering his education next year. When he’s not writing papers or reading books, he’s been helping work on some of the projects around campus. You can pray with him about all of the decisions to be made about what to do once he finishes his masters degree in August! He's also been busy rescuing cats in his spare time.

I’ve been really busy between the finance office and working on a huge library project. Not to mention that I often have to find time for mandatory naps during the day, although the heat puts a damper on those plans quite often. ;)

Again, it’s really quiet here this summer without everyone here. We are really missing the Ayars family since they are gone for the summer. At least their cat is keeping us company (sort of) while they are gone. She even takes cat naps with me on occasion. :)

When we aren’t working, things are pretty boring around here. We are really thankful that the Heckman family is here for another month, but I think we are all getting a little restless as there are only so many movies you can watch before you start looking elsewhere for entertainment, which there isn’t a whole lot of here. :P

We’ve got a big team of 19 people coming in on Saturday. They’ll be here for a week and they have a really full schedule! I think they will leave here with a great experience and I hope that they are able to build relationships among the people that they will be working with all week. They are going to lead a youth retreat at Prudence and Prodell’s church for a few days and they will be working on the construction for a new hangout/worship place for the students here at Emmaus. Be praying for this team as they come ready and willing to serve God and His Haitian people.

I think that’s all for now. In the midst of ordinary day-to-day things, I always feel like I don’t have anything to write about. I guess I have more on my mind than I thought!

We just want to thank you all so much for the love and support you have given us. We love hearing from you! Please let me know how we can be praying for you this summer.

powerful mother's day message

This morning was a great time of worship.

While Sharon Mishler was here, she took Ryan and I out to eat with Prudence and Proddell – two people whom many of you may know! (They have been to NorthRidge on several occasions along with their daughter, Esther. Prudence even spoke during one service.) We have heard a lot about these two wonderful people, but Friday was the first time we got the chance to get to know them a little better and hear about their ministry here in Haiti.

This morning was our first time going to their church, and it was such a blessing to be there! It’s an early service – from 7:30-9:30 – so we (and the Heckman family next door) all got up early and left to worship the Lord at Eglise Evangelique d’Haiti.

From the time we got there and started singing, I could sense that this church is a church that is on fire for God! In my personal experience throughout the past couple of years, I’ve found no place quite like Haiti in which I can so strongly feel the presence of the Holy Spirit at every church service. Every single person standing shoulder-to-shoulder in a packed out, hot and sweaty, one-room building is singing his or her hearts out to God. Oh, it is refreshing and revitalizing to be in the midst of that kind of intense worship every Sunday!

There was a special service this morning to honor Mother’s Day, which is today in Haiti (May 25^th). After all of the singing, Prudence came to the front of the church and before she gave the message, she asked all of the children to stand and thank their mothers for all that they do.

Next, even better yet, she asked all of the husbands to get up and move so that they would be sitting next to their wives during the service. It was so funny because initially there were quite a few who got up right away, but then there were members of the church who were calling out certain men and making sure that they, too, got up to sit by their wives. I don’t think any spouse was left sitting alone!

But Prudence didn’t stop there – she even asked all of the husbands to give their wives a kiss to show how much they love and appreciate them. After a little bit of affection between all of the couples (which I hardly see at all in this culture), the whole church erupted with applause and giggles and happiness. I couldn’t help but notice that many of the married couples sat holding hands for the remainder of the service. It was all SO sweet!  :)

The message Prudence gave was out of Ephesians, chapters 5 and 6, and Titus. She spoke clearly about the biblical roles of husbands versus wives in a relationship, as well as the respect that needs to come from children. She spoke about the utter importance of teaching sound doctrine to our children, and noted that a family’s first mission field is raising their children to become strong men and women in Christ.  Can you feel the power of that statement? Our families are our first mission field. 

Wives hold onto your husbands, husbands hold onto the Bible, and be sure that your family is standing firm inside of the Word of God.

Prudence also spoke about the importance of realizing what the key influences in your children’s’ lives are, and how to utilize those influences positively. A child’s influence (religious or otherwise) is going to come from 1) family life, 2) church and 3) school --- so choose wisely!

Husbands and wives, fathers and mothers – your children will follow your lead, so make yourselves great examples of Christ followers.

Ephesians 5:1-2
            Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

We are to be imitators of God, walking in love at all times.

God’s word is so powerful!

I am so thankful that we had the opportunity to visit this cherished church body. I cannot wait to go back next month to worship among those believers of Christ and soak in the Word of God.

unexpected FUN at Emmaus!

So... I don't normally go into the chapel on Thursdays because I'm never really sure what's going on during those services/seminars. Today I randomly decided to join since it is the last week of school, and wow! I'm so glad that I did. :)

It turns out that the students and staff were doing some sort of commencement for the 4th year graduating students. They had a lineup of students (on the lefthand side of the above picture) to pray, sing special songs and preach an inspirational message to the graduates. 

Evens

After the message, Thelo and Emanie (students at EBS) took part in the ceremony by pinning flowers  and giving gifts to the graduates after each came up and spoke for a couple of minutes.

Peniel

There was a lot of thanking the students and staff for all of the encouragement that has been given to them throughout the past four years of school.

Excellant

There was also LOTS of praise to God for everything He's done in the lives of each person here at Emmaus.

Marie

It's easy to see that these 10 graduates are excited to see what God has in store for them after school, but it's also clear that they will be missing their Emmaus family!

[Sidenote] The service was excellent and since it was very formal and official, the entire program was in French. This made me realize that an entire year has passed since Ryan and I went to Canada for a whole summer! I was reminiscing all of the adventures we had in Quebec and smiling to myself when I decided that my experience here in Haiti has had some same aspects.

I remember feeling like we had prepared ourselves well for French before we left, yet when we arrived in QC we were dumbfounded and shocked at how little French we actually knew! That kind of sums up our kreyol experience here in Haiti, although I think that at almost our 3 month mark here (woo hoo!) we are doing much better at speaking the native language than we did in Canada. ;) Thankfully, getting those three months of French immersion sure helped me understand everything that was going on today! Because even if I did know as much kreyol as I know now, that wouldn't have helped at a formal ceremony like today. So... Yippee!

Moving on -- After the little ceremony, it was time to eat!

graduates

 Boy was I surprised at the festivities about to happen in the cafeteria! The 3rd year students put on a big celebratory meal for the graduates. It was quite fancy! They had a big table in the center of the room for the graduates and they even had a special table for the administration. I was hesitant to sit there, but after a little pushiness from some students we finally obliged. And it was fun. :)

They had a very special meal that they have been planning for weeks in advance (which included killing a couple of campus goats earlier this week --> killing goats = very special occasion). We ate spicy spicy salad, fried plantains, rice, goat innards, croissants, cake!, and they even served fruit smoothies and special sodas.

 

They went all out! It was delicious.

Walnique and Jorgia

Then, after all that, they had a few special "speakers" --- or um... improv stand up comedians and poets and singers? Whatever you call it, it was funny and entertaining!

Evens, Simèon and Matt

Lastly, or at least the last thing to happen before I left, they gave Matt the "honor" of handing out a gift to every single student, years 1-4. You could say he took the job very seriously... just kidding! He had fun and they had fun. :)

Gecel

Not sure what all was received, but I could definitely tell that each student felt appreciated and all were glad to be a part of this special day of recognition. Gotta love Gecel (above) and Rony (below)! These two students have been such a blessing to me since we arrived.

Rony

Seriously, though! If I am allowed to pick favorites, Gecel and Rony have to be them! These goofy guys pop in the office every morning to say say hello and ask me how I'm doing, and if I ever go in to the cafeteria to eat lunch by myself, I can be sure one of those guys will sit next to me and keep me company. They are such great testimonies of the kind of amazing, God-loving students we have here at Emmaus. (And I'll also add that I am thankful they aren't in the graduating class this year! I'm glad they get to stick around at EBS for a while longer. :)

Giselaine

And then the very final thing that happened while I was there was the honoring of the kitchen staff. This was such a special recognition to the women (and man!) who work their tails off every day to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner at the seminary. These staff members are such a blessing to everyone, and it was so sweet that they were recognized and each given a gift, too!

Overall, today included a very unexpected, fun and downright funny afternoon! I'm so happy that I was able to join in on the festivities to celebrate the students who have worked hard throughout the past four years in order to graduate and be sent out to continue to do God's work.

Emmaus Family, 2014

Feeling very blessed and content with where we are at. Thank you, Lord Jesus!

Meet Jorgia!

Since the formatting is wacky on my blog when I repost Stacey's sponsorship updates, I figured it would be easiest to just send you straight to her blog! 

These students have some incredible testimonies and background stories that led them to where they are today: Emmaus Biblical Seminary! Please take the time to pray for these students. They are doing GREAT things in God's name here in Haiti, but they need help! Pray about whether or not God is calling you to sponsor one of these students. 

Meet Jorgia!

Catch Up

Alright, it's been a while...

I've started typing numerous posts over the past month and for some reason I just haven't been able to finish them. I can't seem to find the words to express some of our experiences here and unfortunately that has left me silent for a while.

But - just to clarify - we are doing great! We've been building relationships and improving in the language and making lots of memories along the way.

For the sake of not knowing where to start, I should have at least been posting pictures of what we've been up to! Thankfully there is Facebook for that and I've been trying to add some photos here and there. :)

Sadly, the Aberle family left Haiti on April 8th. We are all so excited for them to be back in the states with family and friends but sad to see them go. Ryan and I had only been here for just over a month before they left, but it already feels weird for us that they aren't here. Just yesterday I was positive that I heard Biga and Azi playing outside! My imagination must be a sign of missing those little cuties. :)

We can't wait to hear what God has planned for this sweet family next! They are easily the most easy-going, go-with-the-flow, follow-wherever-God-leads-them family I've met. It was a real blessing to get to know them and be a part of their lives, even for such a short amount of time. Whether they know it or not, they taught me many lessons about truly putting my trust in the Lord and just being okay with not knowing what's going to happen next. And Cammie - bless her heart - opened my eyes to the realization that we might never feel ready to do certain things. But most of the time you just have to take that big leap of faith and lean on the Lord to provide you with what you need - whether that be knowledge, wisdom, or confidence in Him and in yourself!

So definitely keep the Aberle family in your prayers as they continue pray about where God will lead them next. We miss you guys!

Now that it's officially getting HOT here in Haiti (wait, did I say getting? it already IS hot!),  we've been spending much of our free time during the weekends at the pool or the beach.

Can I just say that, aside from the heat, living in the tropics is about as amazing as you can imagine? Minus the obvious downsides to living in a 5th world country, it is still so easy for me to see all of God's absolutely beautiful creation that surrounds us. I am so thankful that God gives me this beautiful vision of Haiti and its people  - because to many this is a country they could never imagine living in.... yet I feel so blessed to be here!

Aside from feeling blessed by the the scenery and tropical weather each time I look outside, I'm also continually being blessed by the people of Emmaus Biblical Seminary. That includes the students, staff and of course the other missionary families!

EBS had a weeklong break leading up to Easter Sunday. The Ayars took advantage of the break by flying to Florida for the week and us and the Heckman family spent a few days soaking up some sun and feeling sand beneath our toes. :)

The Ayars returned on Saturday and we spent Easter Sunday together as an EBS family. I'm so thankful to have Matt, Stacey, Phil, Emily, and the kids as our family here when we have left so much family back in the states. It's especially hard to be away for the holidays, but having each other makes things much easier.

This was the first Easter away from the states for both us and the Heckmans and its safe to say that we ended up spending it much differently than we would have back with our families. One thing did remain the same, though -

we made sure that we dyed Easter eggs!

We started off Easter morning by going to Granny's church, which was special because that was the first church Ryan and I went to when we arrived in February!

Then we headed straight to the pool for hamburgers and swimming. Yum!

And we ended the day by praising the Lord in song and spending time in devotion before eating a DELICIOUS dinner made up of salad, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole (yum!), rolls, cheesecake and tropical fruit pizza - not to mention the very special Easter ham that Matt managed smuggled to Haiti in his suitcase. :) My stomach is growling just thinking about how delicious that dinner was.

Yep! We've been busy and I've been blog-silent for quite a while - but we have adapted really well and are loving it here. We've got an even crazier month coming up with end of the semester, visitors, board meetings and graduation. I must say that I'm really looking forward to being involved in the crazy this year! I'm also really looking forward to the familiar Kansas faces that I'll see in May for graduation. Can't wait to see you all!

Lastly... we recently found out exciting news that my big brother (Correy) is getting married! Him and his fiancé have set the date for August 2 - which means we have a very unexpected trip back to Kansas/Nebraska at the end of the summer!

It wasn't in our plans to come home until possibly December, however, due to the wedding we are going to come home for a few weeks. This is an exciting (yet sad) reminder that life definitely goes on with everyone we know and love whether we are in the same country as them or not. I guess this adds to the learning curve of being flexible and deciding which of the many family events we unfortunately have to miss and deciding which events we just wouldn't feel right if we weren't there. Including the unity of marriage for my big brother!

So, while the unexpected trip put a pretty expensive loophole in our plans, we are really excited to go back and visit our family and friends for a few weeks before starting the new year at Emmaus.

Thank you all so much for your support. Hearing from our loved ones makes it easier in the moments when we look around and realize that we are thousands of miles from our normal. Don't hesitate to drop an email or Facebook message letting us know what you are up to, or maybe just a note of encouragement every once and a while! We aren't ever too busy to communicate with you and would love hearing from you more than you know! A little normal and familiar does us good every once in a while in a whole new world of different. So really - feel free to email either of us. Even if its just a line or two just to let us know you're thinking of us. :) Our contact info is under Contact Us on our blog!

Sending lots of love your way from Haiti!

Meet Samuel! (blog repost)

22 April 2Blog Repost from The Ayars Affairs: April 2014014

find the original post HERE (sorry about the formatting!)

Meet Samuel!

Bernard is sponsored, Aldy is sponsored.  We are so thankful!  It's such a joy to joining some of you with some of our students!  We've still got a long ways to go!

Keep praying for EBS, and....meet Samuel!


Samuel's story is very unique in that I can see the hand of God redeeming his heartbreaking childhood and turning it into His heart, His passion--in and through Samuel.

"I was born in Port-au-Prince not long after my father died.  My mom got remarried right away, and had three more sons right after me by that man.  As I grew, my step-father greatly resented me and treated me terribly, while my brothers, his sons, were treated well.  I couldn't do anything right, he was always antagonizing me, and my mother was unable to defend me.  Finally, around the time I was almost 10, I felt I didn't want to live any longer, because life had become so oppressive for me.  

My mother didn't know what to do, and becoming very concerned, she sent me hours away to Cap-Haitian to live with grandparents and an aunt I had never met.

I was so happy to get out from under my step-father, and found myself quickly immersed in a deeply Christian home in Pillatre, a zone about five minutes from the Seminary.

They put me in a Christian school (sidenote: the same school where Lily goes now!) , the first time I had been allowed to go to school, and we were in church almost every day, and very quickly upon being immersed in His love through them, I came to accept Jesus as my Savior.  My grandparents loved me so well, and I wanted to be like Christ in them.

When I was little, still with my mother, I had always heard my mother secretly say that she prayed every day that one of her four sons would be a pastor someday.  After I became a Christian, I wondered if that was what God was calling me to.  

Because I started school so late, it took me a long time to finish, and when I did finish, I started teaching Sunday school at the Vaudreil church and loved it.  I wanted to help my grandparents and Aunt, and so I went to the University of Cap Haitian and got a 2 year degree in accounting, but the whole time I was there, I kept hearing people mention Emmaus Biblical Seminary at every turn, and I was always remembering that secret prayer of my mother. 

Within six months of each other, my grandparents passed away, and I was so sad, and missed them so much that I started a visitation program at my church, always going and visiting elderly people who had no one.

You wouldn't believe some of the situations some elderly people are in.  One woman's son and husband have died, and she sleeps on a mat on the ground in a tiny shack, and rarely has food.  Every time I visit people like this, I am greatly touched by their physical needs and by their great desire to be loved on and to be family. 

I have become the grandson of so many, and I love this ministry.  It breaks my heart.  I love to visit these people and pray with them, sit with them, be their grandson and encourage them in the Lord.

It was one of these visits where someone called me, "Dear Pastor", and when I told them I wasn't a pastor, I saw that they were surprised.  "But why?" they asked me.  "I see your great heart for others and I have heard your passion and gifting in teaching.  You should become a pastor."

And I felt that it was time.  I was 30, my grandparents gave me Jesus, and I want to learn better how to give Him back to many grandparents. I love to find ways to practically help people, and I guess God has given me a special heart for older people who feel they have no hope, no help, no family. 

I came to Emmaus Biblical Seminary in August of 2013 and I love it.  I like the intensive courses, I like the classes, I like to work hard, and I want to keep close to Him.  I have always been a very disciplined and serious person, and studying His Word intentionally is giving me such joy.  The seminary helps keep me close to God and helps me get what I need to do what I am doing, as He leads.  

Please pray for Samuel with us, and if you feel led to join him in ministry here in Haiti or to join Emmaus in helping him...

Join SAMUEL now

(with 365686 SAMUEL as your project)

Email me and let me know if you or your family or church have committed to aligning with Samuel...and we'll move on to the next student!  Praise the Lord!

Meet Bernard (blog repost)

Blog Repost from The Ayars Affairs: April 2014

meet Bernard!

Bernard is very intelligent, speaks Creole, French, Spanish and English, and pops in my office every single morning just to see how I am.  He's bold, easy to talk to, a natural leader, excels in his classes...and says he wishes he hadn't spent so much of his life trying to direct it himself.

All he really wants to do is share Christ, and a "different way of life" with the children of Haiti...But I'll let him tell himself.

Bernard's story as he has shared it with me...

I am married to Mirose and have one son, Samuel, who just turned one last month.  We live in the Cite-du-Peuple in Cap-Haitian, but I was born in a zone called Au Bois.  (side note: this is where we went to church Sunday!)

I wasn’t born into a Christian family, and as I was growing up my parents raised us up in Voudou.  They were farmers, and there were 8 of us children.  The only way were able to go to school was because my uncle had a school and he let us all go to his school for free.  When I was only 9 years old, my father died. 

I always thought to myself that I didn’t want to live and die in his beliefs, and that one day I would be a Haitian Catholic or a Christian.

My grandfather was an assistant to a priest, and I always watched him and listened to how he talked about God, and I always thought I would rather do that than follow in Voudou.

When I was 22, I was in Port-du-Pere, and I was always having a chance to listen to Evangelism through churches and on the radio, and people were always talking to me about God, though I was more in the Haitian Catholic tradition.  I wanted to be a good Catholic, and started reading the Bible, and started reading about how God wanted us to live, which wasn’t really how the Catholic Church in Haiti was telling us to live, especially as they were worshipping idols, and that was a problem in my spirit.

When I finished with my high school at the age of 22, I went to Cap-Haitian because I wanted to go to university to be a doctor, and I went to a big church called the Tabernacle, and I joined the youth group there.  I finally asked them how to be a Christian, and by now my mom had moved to Port-au-Prince and had also decided to leave Voudou and become a Christian, and so I began to follow Jesus with her blessing.  That was in 2006.

I still wanted to go into medicine, but couldn’t find a way, and headed to the Dominican Republic to try to find work.  I had a friend there that I hoped would help me.  I did some work for this friend, and then the earthquake happened in Port-au-Prince, and I was still in the Dominican. 

When I heard about the earthquake, and started to see pictures on the news, and I couldn’t get ahold of any of my family, and finally a few days after the earthquake, I left the DR and headed for Port-au-Prince, where my mom was living at the time.  When I finally arrived, I found my family was ok, praise the Lord. 

After I ensured they were fine, I returned to Cap-Haitian and to my church in the Tabernacle.  This was the time that I met my wife and married. 

Now, I was married and thinking and thinking about what in the world I was to do.  I had tried many times over the years to sign up to many different universities, but nothing ever worked out.  I started to get frustrated and asking God what to do, and I felt like He was telling me that I’ve looked lots of places, leaving God behind me, but that it was time to be behind God…close to God and asking GOD what HE wanted to do with my life.

He brought my family to my mind, most of whom still did not know God, and showed me that they were victims…not just of the earthquake, but they were victims because they were without God, without hope, without means. 

I felt it was time to take my life further.  I gave it to God truly, along with my wife, and we started looking for a school where I could learn the Bible and learn how to serve Him fully…for my family, and for my Haitian community.  I sensed good leaders and preachers was badly needed. Everyone is suffering spiritually.

I took this idea to my pastor at the Temple, and he started searching with me for a place.   He told me to head for Emmaus.  In 2013 he told me I should come here, and so that is what I did.  I came and got more information, and went with all that information to find my pastor, who found it good and promised to help me. 

I constantly feel a desire to lift God up for people.  I want to be available for God to use me to serve the Haitian people, and I especially have a strong desire to help with kids…I want to help these kids have a DIFFERENT orientation than Haiti has given them.  I feel the kids on my heart, and I think the hope for Haiti growing in Christ is in our children raised in Christ.  I want them to have a Biblical orientation, and now I am working with the kids at the Tabernacle church and hope to continue to do so.

I wish I hadn’t taken so much of my life waiting to get here…waiting to give Him my life and let HIM do with it what He wills.  Now, I come and go from the seminary each day so that I can continue to work in my church and help my wife and son.  I praise the Lord for the chance to be at Emmaus, and will continue to dwell right behind God.

Please pray for Bernard with us, and if you feel led to join him in ministry here in Haiti or to join Emmaus in helping him...

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Email me and let me know if you or your family or church have committed to aligning with Bernard...and we'll move on to the next student!  Praise the Lord!