Egdes

This is Egdes. A really sweet kid who lives next door. He comes over twice a week to do some yardwork, wash the car, put gas in the generator, etc. He's a hard worker and, like most people from the country, very pleasant. He's so nice to have around. Richard and Ricky have a good time playing soccer with him, his brother, his cousins and others from the neighborhood on our driveway.

He's probably around 14 or 15 and is in his first year of secondary school (just like Ricky). Richard has had some conversations with him about spiritual things. He said he has already trusted in Christ as his Savior.

You can pray for his growth and for God's will in his life. He was sent here from the country to live with his uncle so that he could continue his schooling. (There are almost no secondary schools outside of the cities in Haiti.) He had started and stopped because of money, but now he is going to school again.

My latest bulletin board

Well, it's not as good as the one Grace did for me, but this is what I was able to come up with for our drama section of the year.

Prayer Request - Missionary's son in jail

Please pray for Max, the son of a missionary. He was in school with Grace at QCS.
This article appeared in the Edmonton Sun today
Cut Haiti aid until son free: Missionary
By ALAN FINDLAY,

NATIONAL BUREAU
A Canadian missionary whose son has been jailed for eight months without charges in Haiti is calling on the Conservative government to withhold aid to the impoverished country.
Michel Charbonneau told Sun Media by telephone from Haiti yesterday his 20-year-old son Max will likely have to spend at least another eight or nine weeks in a Haitian jail awaiting word on charges over a kidnapping he and his parents say did not happen.
LEADING CONTRIBUTOR
"The only way that Max will be released is if the Canadian government freezes a part of the (aid) money or all of the money we are supposed to give them," said Charbonneau.
Canada is a leading contributor of aid to Haiti. The feds announced $520 million last summer for several initiatives. Originally from St. Hyacinthe, Que., the Charbonneaus have been running a Haitian mission, including food and medical care for thousands of kids, since 1996.
Their son Max, who lived with them in Haiti before returning to Quebec after graduation, was arrested during a visit last summer.
OLD SCHOOL FRIEND
His father said Max was arrested over an incident involving an old school friend. According to Charbonneau, the friend had asked Max for a ride after having a problem at home. He borrowed his parents' car, drove her to a nearby hotel and returned home, said Charbonneau.
Three days later, the police arrested him for kidnapping. He has spent the past eight months in prison while a judge decides whether he will be charged.
Charbonneau said the ordeal has been particularly difficult after spending the past nine years helping thousands of impoverished Haitian children.

Answer to prayer

Political Days: Another teacher was remarking that she was jealous of the snow days people back in the states have been getting and she mentioned that we haven't gotten any "political days." (Our only equivalent to getting snow days off to catch up on things is getting a day off for political problems.) This made me realize I should be praising God for that! So I have been. The only time school has been cancelled this school year was in December due to rumors about problems expected during elections. And even then, only the elementary and middle school closed while high school students had final exams. So, thank you, if you've been praying for safety and stability in Haiti and our safety.

One more from the AIS leaders' visit...

This is a picture of the AIS leaders who visited us last week as they clapped for Margaret to thank her for the delicious food she prepared for
them. She is a real blessing to have around. She works for us Monday-Friday and sometimes Saturdays. She is a wonderful Christian, who has a great attitude about everything. She's like family to all of us. You can pray for her because she and her boyfriend have been waiting patiently, for a few years, for God to provide a job for him so that they can get married.

Elysee's Birthday & Prayer Request

Saturday, we had a party for Elysee. Feb. 28th was his birthday and he came home to Port-au-Prince for the weekend. His Dad's birthday was Saturday, so we celebrated both. This picture shows Elysee with his Dad and Jenica, Elysee's God-daughter.

We also have a prayer request for him and Croyance.--for their safety in the northern town of St. Michel.

We were so happy that Elysee and Croyance got jobs out in the country and got to leave the troubled area of Bolosse. But, just recently, the UN police began a new tactic. They decided to take over the buildings where the gangs were based in Cite Soleil (ghetto of Port-au-Prince). Although some gang leaders were arrested, some of them got away and fled to other parts of Haiti. We just found out that one of (if not the) most notorious ganster, comes from St. Michel, so he decided to move his whole "army" back there for a while (Between 50 to 100 "soldiers").

Prayer Request : church

Please pray with us about our church situation. We have not yet gotten settled in a church. While we were making the transition to living in Haiti again, we visited the Haitian church we used to attend (Bolosse), The Fellowship House (Sunday AM outreach ministry to upper class Haitian run by CrossWorld folks) and Quisqueya Chapel ("QC", an English Missionary church very close to our house). We kept thinking we'd visit the church out in Croix-des-Bouquets because it's close to the Cazeau house where we hope to establish a ministry house. (see blog entry of Feb. 28th.) We were delayed in visiting the Croix-des-Bouquets church for several reasons--we wanted to talk to the pastor first, and we heard there were security problems there. Then, Ricky was invited to play drums once a month at QC. Then, some weeks, (confession time...) we just didn't think ahead/plan ahead and by default went to the English church. The UEBH (the association of churches we work with) asks all the missionaries to attend a UEBH church, however, it is a challenge, especially for the kids who don't understand as much Creole and just because of cultural differences. We regret to admit that we haven't dealt with this sooner.
We have been taking steps to resolve this issue in the past few weeks and I thought it would be good to ask you to help us pray about it. We are looking into a church start-up being led by a UEBH pastor in our area. We are also considering making a plan to attend English church once a month. We are also thinking about listening to a podcast or audio cassette or watching a video of a sermon together as a family. (If you have any suggestions, please let us know--we already know about Davisville's podcasts, Calvary Philly & Calvary Central Bucks.)