By the time our next update reaches you both Christmas and New Years Celebrations for 2011 will be history. So from our family to your's Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
We enjoyed traditional Thanksgiving foods and fellowship at the local Christian radio station with others ministering in and round Cap Haitian.
Prayer Requests:
- LaGonave: Missionaries, Hospital Rebuild, Starfysh, Community Health Evangelism
- Teams for 2012 visits & Travel arrangements.
- The New Haitian Government
- Fauche campus ministries
- Eli and Anna's schooling. Standardized testing mid-Dec. if the tests come.
- Impact of Creole health book. Translating "Natural Medicine for the Tropics" book into Creole.
- Beth. Kris' Dad. Health of missionaries and family.
Agriculture: Cory shared a few "mother plants" for multiplication of breadfruit and bamboo with LaGonave's Starfysh organization on our most recent trip to LaGonave. Jeantiny and a few helpers continue to work for Cory making moringa leaf powder and now Jeantiny works for Starfysh as well. Agriculture will play a significant role as plans progress both through Starfysh and through Lowell Adam's Community Health Evangelism, to help LaGonave residents. Cory's past experience and knowledge base can continue to help LaGonave from a distance as a resource to these ministries on LaGonave. We are so thankful after decades of prayers for Haiti and specifically LaGonave to see positive progress impacting lives and souls.
The baby breadfruit trees which we brought with us to Haiti in August are growing great and have the unusual trait of rooting easily from small cuttings. In just a few weeks time roots develop and a new tree propagated! This is much easier and faster than the traditional method required by other varieties of breadfruit of taking root cuttings from large trees. We will continue to propagate both the breadfruit trees and bamboo to distribute throughout Haiti.
Medical: Kris attended the first hospital summit or 'think tank' meetings on the rebuilding and restructuring of the LaGonave Wesleyan hospital. Fifteen folks from 4 countries came together to discuss strengths, weaknesses, threats and actions that affect the ministry of the hospital and how to improve and increase the impact. We broke down into 4 groups with each group focusing on one area: administration, finances, medicine, and the physical building. We then discussed the areas as a whole group. I'm excited to see the Lord's plans for LaGonave unfold in the coming months and years. Please start praying right now for the work on LaGonave as even now the spiritual battle is real.
Travel: Cory and the kids drove with Kris on the trip to the hospital summit. They then took the ferry to LaGonave to spend a couple days visiting the other missionary families and Haitian friends. Other than a few delays, to be expected when traveling in Haiti, the travel went very well. This week our truck is making the same trip with 8 pastors from North Haiti to attend a meeting at the Wesleyan Ministry Center (where the hospital meeting took place). Photo of Lowell at a new LaGonave latrine. CHE provides the cement, the owner provides the labor and walls.
Fauche Ministries: A new outreach started on campus this month which is a class for adult literacy. While I don't know that I can list all the campus ministries, the main ones include: Church, Home Bible study and prayer groups, Compassion's Child Survivor Program, School [pre-school through high school] Medical clinic/hospital/cholera treatment, Cory's agriculture projects, guest house, Thursday night videos, Northern District office & book store, Compassion Club on Saturdays and Kid's Club on Sundays.
2012 Teams: Currently 8 people hold tickets to visit us for the first half of February. At the time of writing this update, space and tickets remain for February 14-March 1. If you would be interested in joining this team please let us know ASAP [to make this time slot one would likely need to already hold a valid passport and be up-to-date on the recommended vaccinations for Haiti].
Family: Kris' sister-in-law, Beth finishes up chemo on Dec. 27 and then will start radiation treatment. Todd, her brother, plans to have elbow surgery Dec. 14th. Kris' dad received a new hip last month and is doing wonderful.
Blessings,
Cory, Kris, Eli and Anna Thede
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