Three days of focused prayer.

We are joining our missionary teammates in asking all our support team and prayer partners to join together for focused prayer for Haiti this week on Oct. 15, 16, 17th. 

We’ve heard of a Haitian pastor who traveled to many towns throughout Haiti for weeks asking churches to join together [at least one in each town] to pray from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the 16th.

We’ve also heard that the current round of protests will continue until the 17th, or that there may be a day or two of calm between, but many rumors fly back and forth.

* For peaceful and rapid resolution of the political situation

* For a fresh start for Haiti

* For the president and police, both are very difficult and dangerous jobs now

* For justice and the truth heard

* That unbelieving Haitians be drawn to Jesus and to a personal relationship with Him

* That Haitian believers be encouraged by the Lord Himself through these difficult days

* For safety and personal needs of missionaries on the field be met

* For needs of mission workers and their families at Ortlip, Delice and LaGonave - food, safety, health.

* That the hospital employees  and doctors on La Gonave would be able to meet the needs of their patients. 

* That the nursing school would be able to remain open

* Fuel to be found for the hospital generators and that they run well

* For the return of peace, for calm and safety on the streets

* That the Lord would be glorified through these days

* For wisdom to know the Lord’s will for all believers: especialy if and when to travel.

* For missionaries, their families and Haitian families during this hard time, especially those that are separated 

* For wisdom deciding if we should  stay or leave: considering the difficulty of travel, safety, getting supplies, payroll, fuel

Thank you for joining us. 

Cory, Kris & FritzlinThree

Apples, October 9

Granny Smith

Here are some photos of apples at 6 months after planting and some of the other fruit trees, local corn and new irrigation pond.

Pond work on hold until can purchase cement and get some money for payroll.

Coconut Crunch apple

Please continue to pray for Haiti, her leaders and people.

Fuji and in background, Gala

Avocado

Lychee

Gala bud grafted on seedling

Corn field during a recent hike

Surprising how much topsoil we salvaged from seams in the rock but
this required extra cement to fill the gaps

Oh, our dear Haiti

The balancing act of life continues to get harder as Haiti’s instability increases. On one side the daily tasks of life continue to need attention. The second side consists of the ‘what if’ tasks and questions. 

Worry not..He clothes even the flowers

Life on the mountainside appears peaceful but everyone knows that in the rest of the country roads are blocked; cities and businesses are paralyzed; police being attacked; looting and violence spring up where frustrations, anger and despair mix;  hospitals are running out of fuel and the doors could be closed even if patients can travel around or talk their way through the multiple road blocks. 

While doing daily tasks, one’s mind is constantly being pulled in the many directions of unknowns and ‘what if’s’, some personal and a multitude for our friends. “Should Cory be on the ladder?  Because if he should fall and hurt himself it could be very difficult to get him to a working hospital. Did the hospital and mission compound on LaGonave find fuel? How long will it be before Cory can go to a bank or a grocery store?” 

“I wonder how is [insert name of church leader, friend, missionary, or organization] doing?   Are they safe? How long will the phones and internet continue to work? The airport  must still be open as a jet just flew over.  Wonder if anyone we know is leaving due to the unrest? How long will the people put up with not being able to go to market or work?” 

“ What should we be doing incase we need to leave again? What can we do now to prepare for that possibility? What trees can and should be planted now? How can the house be readied? Probably good to eat older food first so that newer remains for sharing with friends or can wait here for our return. 

For now we are not planning to leave. We are in a very safe location and have supplies. The plan is even if the other Global Partners missionaries return to the USA, that we would ‘shelter in place’. 

However that was the plan in February and then things changed and we had two days for packing/ preparing to leave Haiti. So we feel it wise to take this time to prepare for either going or staying. 

With every unanswerable question there is only one healthy response- take it to the Lord. Follow each question with a prayer. God size problems need the One True Savior. 

Small bits of hope occur in the morning when the local radio station is still on the air; during the day when jets fly over; or at night when the lights of major cities still shine along the coast.   But our real hope rests wholly on the Lord, as do the hopes of the Haitian Christians.

Saturday Pastor LeGrand, his son [a trained agriculturist] and a man from their church came up for a visit. After touring the garden, learning about plants, getting trees to plant from the nursery, tasting some avocado smoothy, a strawberry and mulberries they prepared to leave. We prayed together for the country and they blessed our house and family.  

Our biggest encouragement comes from hearing him and Haitian pastors on the radio praising the Lord, confessing sins, and asking Him to intervene, purify and save this country. We know as well that many around the world are praying for our family and the Haitian people. May the Lord use this crises to advance His Kingdom, to draw people into closer relationship with Himself. He is Able. 

September 23, Haiti

Workers now digging an irrigation/fish cistern

This was going to be the apple update but it seems like we should do an update on Haiti first.

Distance really insulates us from the problems in the rest of the country so things look normal around here. The weather has been good, sunny for this time of year, people in the nearby village have good fields of corn drying, soon to be harvested, and they have been roasting or boiling corn on the cob daily for weeks. We have also been enjoying lots of boiled corn on the cob and fresh avocados.

The villagers can go down to cities in the Artibonite valley to get supplies, avoiding the road blocks and robbers of Port au Prince and surrounding cities.

There is plenty of bad news. Haiti is really hurting from several weeks now of fuel shortages, lack of public transport, schools and businesses closed, protesters blocking roads, robberies.

Cap Haitian is also seeing many protests. We were told years ago that if Cap turns against a government, along with Port au Prince, the government is in trouble. There have even been protests on LaGonave and last week the schools in Port Margot were closed due to the road being blocked between Port Margot and the mission at Fauche.

It gets discouraging to have plans cancelled or delayed, to hear of the suffering of those needing medical help but unable to travel to a hospital, of most of the population slipping deeper into poverty.

Its hard not to keep wondering what is coming next and how to shuffel priorities. Much needs to change in Haiti. Prayers are needed. Haiti can’t keep taking one step forward and two steps back much longer, especially considering that over half the food is imported and the transport issues.

September 18

As we finish up planting and fence work, we plan to start digging a water storage tank/pond for fish and irrigation (we have no options for ground water).

It is a relief to see the plants in the nursery and the trees and crops on campus growing well. 

The first year on the mountian, with our focus on building the house, almost everything planted (at the neighbor’s mission) without compost or fertilizer just survived without growing or grew discouragingly slowly.

Soil good enough for glads but not squash

In most areas the soil is so infertile that the response of plants to compost and fertilizer is dramatic to say the least. Some areas aren’t as bad so the grass and weeds are recovering well now that overgrazing has ended.

We have two tiny “greenhouses” with white plastic to try starting apple rootstocks from cuttings. When the trees are bigger we will try cuttings of the actual varieties to avoid grafting.

Next week will be half a year since planting the apples so those photos are planned for next week.

Fritz has about 100 tadpoles that we rescued from the last bit of evaporating water on the patch of cement behind the house where mortar was mixed by hand during the house build.

how squash grows with compost and fertilizer, same age as with glads

Haitian squash is excellent quality, dry (starchy) as potato,
 mild sweet flavor.

apple cuttings

Haitian sweet potatoes, mild flavor, very sweet, dry and
 white or light yellow inside

Tadpoles

Former gravel pit with cuttings "shadehouse" and good shelter for
carambola/starfruit and banana plants, peach palm

Part of the nursery

Tropical yams and sweet potato (NOT the same thing) planted several
 months ago and beans more recently, all by employees 

The small corn garden looked very sad due to thin rocky soil and hail damage but
 production is good considering how it looks

Sweet potato, yacon (right side) and corn on the nursery soil pile

Light from Cory's family dating to the late 1800's,
 survived luggage well and recently installed.