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Dear families and friends in Christ,
Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way,
consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your
faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So, let it grow, for
when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete,
needing nothing (James 1: 2-4).
As anxiety and concerns about the spread of Covid-19 takes root throughout
Haiti and so much of the world, the Lord is speaking to us, calling us to
a deeper relationship with him. This age may seem to be a time of fear and
isolation, but we have an opportunity to see it in a new light, as a
retreat into the desert with Our Lord and to encounter God in solitude and
prayer. As Psalm 91 says: “You will not fear the terror of the night, nor
the arrow that flies by day, nor the plague that prowls in the darkness,
nor the scourge that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand falls at your right, you it will never approach; his
faithfulness is buckler and shield.” Given the necessary restrictions to
public gatherings in the Island of Haiti, to ensure the common good, to
provide for public health and safety, and yet to maintain the mission of
the Church allowing access to the truth, to Church teaching and to works
of relief in a way appropriate to the circumstances of our age, as well as
to renew our spiritual vitality as a local congregation during a time of
hardship and devastated economy, we are instructing the following to take
place within our mission work. Churches adapted quickly in the wake of
Covid-19 and the ensuing stay-at-home orders; the Haitian Government
allowed 10 people gathering then not more than 5 one month later. Sunday
worship services, sermons and Wednesday evening Bible classes continued
via Zoom livestream. Bible study groups and class teachings for our School
of Preaching took WhatsApp and Zoom video chat platforms to discuss
different class topics. Some people started handwriting and texting
encouraging notes, or just picking up the phone. But praise God, since
Sunday July 12, the Haitian Government allows churches to restart the
normal gathering but by caution for the social distance we have four
worship service with reduced numbers.
Over the last few months, life has radically changed all over the world.
The days of in person conversation seem like a distant memory as we
socially distance, with many remaining completely isolated. As parts of
our everyday life evaporate, they reveal a world desperate for deliverance
from the effects of sin. The pandemic, loss of jobs for so many people
here, the US dollar dominance amplifies crisis impact because we need 120
Gourdes for 1 US dollar, shortage of food and the first necessity
products, and altered daily rhythms torment us outwardly, yet those
realities can be overshadowed by the fear, anxiety, loneliness, and anger
that erupt within. Haiti wants peace and safety, but it is only finding
chaos and danger.
Sadly, five members included one of our Deacons brother Rodelin
Ste-Croix and sister Rachel Obas, a children class Teacher of the
Delmas congregation, passed away. Despite everything, from March to July
2020 dozens of people are baptized and added to the Lord’s Kingdom, one
Haitian congregation is established at Varennes-Sur-Seines in France by
Geffrard and Kervens who are two of our graduates, two bad shape church
facilities were recently built from thatch-straw-wood to concrete
wall-thin roof in the Central Plateau, we help brother Labonte Ferdinand
one of our preachers at St-Marc with his house construction, he was in
hardship to pay a rent to live with his family, we also sent funds to 5
preachers in the Dominican Republic for food distribution; there is no
Church vacation even the Covid-19 hits so hard.
We thank God, and thanks to our brothers and sisters in the United States
for the incredible financial support that help distributing food, face
masks, tap containers and hygiene items to the Lord’s Church in Haiti and
in the Dominican Republic. The selflessness and tenacity of the brethren
at the Northeast Church of Christ in Kingsport Tennessee, the Central
Church of Christ in Sarasota Florida response to the relief crisis is
heroic. They selflessly move toward the starving, the sick and dying,
knowing that their intervention can make a difference between life and
death. Their urgency is an example to us all. Thank you all so very much!
Considering the mission supporter’s tenacity, this leads to the question:
what urgency is there to our gospel message today? For some time now we
have been asking, “Who’s your neighbor? Who should we call to repent and
believe in Christ? No doubt we can all identify at least one unsaved
person whom we can engage with the gospel. The question now is, what step
will we take today? However, Haiti faces an urgent triple threat: the
spread of the coronavirus compounded by the start of hurricane season
in June and the current lean season period likely to drive millions of
people deeper into crisis levels of hunger.
Already more than 3.67 million Haitians are facing emergency or crisis
levels of food insecurity after the protests and economic disruptions this
past months. It is expected to rise to more than 4.1 million by next
month. “Haiti faces the worsening of an already urgent humanitarian
situation with a looming triple threat: increasing hunger compounded
by Covid-19 and the unpredictability of the upcoming hurricane season. “In
this lean season period, ending in June with the first spring harvest,
many Haitians are already going hungry with less food available. Families
and neighbors traditionally work their lands together to plant their
crops. Social distancing and staying at home is not a luxury many Haitians
can afford as they scramble to get seeds in the ground, buy and sell food
at crowded urban markets and look for short-term work opportunities,
biding time for their harvests to arrive. Vulnerable Haitian families will
have to make the choice in the weeks ahead between respecting government
containment efforts or feeding their families.
“To contain the spread of the coronavirus, we’re already seeing limits on
people getting agricultural inputs like seeds at markets and challenges
transporting and getting food and hygiene products at affordable costs in
urban markets. Halting agricultural production in order to contain the
spread of coronavirus could increase hunger through the next coming months
and may prove more deadly than the virus itself.” Several Humanitarian
Organizations have worked in Haiti since 2010 after the terrible deadly
earthquake and is leading a group of international and local organizations
to launch a mass public campaign to raise awareness of the coronavirus and
help prevent its spread, reaching more than 1.5 million Haitians via SMS,
voice message, and community campaigns with messages providing accurate
information about the virus and dispelling rumors, tips on hygiene
promotion and how to prevent spread, and reducing stigma associated with
the virus.
This is the day for the Lord’s Church to make that phone call, send
that email, write that letter explaining the hope we have within us (1
Peter 3:15). Yes, there are a hundred good acts of mercy we can and
should do for our neighbors. Yes, there are sacrifices we must make to
provide for others (Acts 2:44-45). And yes, they will see Christ in how we
serve (Matthew 5:16).
We have the eternal Word of God that transforms lives. Paul said in
Romans 10:14, “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not
believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how
will they hear without a preacher?” Today, we must deliver that saving
message!
The risk worth taking is not one that endangers someone’s physical
wellbeing by violating the spatial separation we must maintain. The risk
worth taking is one that is bold enough to confront the spiritual and
eternal danger others are already in. Being confined to our homes does not
limit the power of the Gospel or our freedom to proclaim it. Let the
urgency of this current crisis provoke us to contact those who will hear
with Christ’s message of hope. The pandemic may rage on, but we long for
others to know the peace that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:7).
That same peace guards the hearts and minds of those who turn from their
sins and believe in Christ alone for salvation (Romans 10:9).
Thank you for the confidence you have placed in us and we look forward to
continuing to serve together if the Lord allows. Do you have a heart for
the Great Commission in the world? Do you want to have a lasting influence
on spreading the Gospel long after you are gone from this life? Please
consider joining us in giving a gift to the Endowment Fund to keep the
gospel spreading in Haiti for the years to come by supporting the School
of Preaching and the Mission South Haiti work.
You can donate by calling or contacting our overseer Elders,
Sam Ross:
sam@securemoneymasters.com, Richard Bonner:
rtbonner@charter.net,
Or mail your checks to: The Northeast Church of Christ,
2217 Beechnut Dr. Kingsport, TN 37660.
Thanks for all you do in season and out of season, you mean a lot in the
Lord’s Kingdom. If you are not yet a supporter, please insert this
mission-work in your budget for the period to come. We would like to hear
from you God’s willing.
Stay safe, healthy, blessed and mission-minded!
Carlo S. Mardy Duquesne Prophete Jean Robert St-Hilaire.
Chairman Elder Treasurer Board of Trustees Mission Minister
We’d like to hear from you. Stay committed, blessed and mission-minded!
Jean Robert
Carlo S. Mardy, Duquesne, Prophete, Jean Robert St-Hilaire.
Chairman Elder: Treasurer Board of Trustees, Mission Minister
home
building repair, food distributions,
masks, dinner, Guadalupe
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