Thede Haiti Fall Newsletter-text.

If you would like to see the pictures and get this newsletter via. E-mail just let us know. Or snail mail. 

Summer Conferences

All four conferences on campus proceeded well. Men, women (some with children) , district leaders, and youth all enjoyed time for fellowship and learning this summer on the Fauche campus.  Helping to host included: providing electricity, water, sharing fruit and seeds, and selling trees and health books. Supporting the national Christians remains a priority of our ministry in Haiti. Encouraging to hear about how books and trees bless people in other areas of Haiti.  The National Conference and a Youth Leadership Conference followed in August at other locations. 

We enjoy getting news about the ministries on LaGonave. On October 1st, the new Wesleyan College of Nursing Science opened. The first class consists of 31 students, 20 chosen by Compassion International along with 11 chosen by the Wesleyan committee. The staff continue to work hard toward the big hospital move into the new building, hopefully in October.   Many additional projects continue involving: clean water, public library, agriculture, community health, education, dentistry and more...

We praise the Lord that the first Haitian missionaries arrived in Africa, mid-September, to serve for three months teaching and ministering in a predominately Muslim area. One of the three young men comes from the Northern District and we’ve enjoyed getting to know him over the years during his visits from seminary. Please pray for Wendel, Emilio and Edwise. 

One practical way we enjoyed supporting the work on LaGonave this summer involved hosting Dr. Bob and Marcia Vermaire.  They visited for a month of Creole study before moving to partner with the medical work.

Prayers

• Internet equipment problems.
• Adoption: for improvements in the process.
• School: Eli’s Senior year!
• Finishing the Agricultural/Natural Medicine book.
• National Elections-delayed.
• Moving the LaGonave hospital into new building.
• Language study: Especially new team members.
• Helping a team in Cap Haitian the end of October.

Praises

• Good District and National Conferences.
• New missionaries in Haiti.
• Start of College of Nursing Science on LaGonave.
• Eli accepted by Calvin College for Fall 2015.
• Three Haitian missionaries serving in Africa.
• Good rains. No hurricanes. 
• Chikungunya past peak. People slowly recovering.
• Family health after summer illnesses/chikungunya.

Celebrating 16 Years in Haiti. September 11 started our 17th year in Haiti! Major events include: Prayers. Support team. Creole. Culture. LaGonave hospital. Nurses. Moringa. A new millennium.  Anna joining our family! Date palms. 9-11 Attacks. Homeschool. The 2004 political coup/evacuation. Kidnappings. New mission team mates. Moving to Fauche. Kids Club. Bananas. Earthquake of January 2010, Health book published. Breadfruit and peach palm trees. Literacy classes. Agricultural book. Adoption Paperwork.  Hurricanes. Road blocks. Riots. Missionary Retreats. Travel. Losses. Gains.Visiting Teams. Personal growth and increased faith! More blessings than we can count!!

Creole Books

Wonderful progress made on the agricultural, medicinal plant book! Lord willing, we will be able to send the completed book to the printer in the next month or so. Cory and Met. Alert spent many hours editing the Creole and working on the context.  A team working in the mountains of LaGonave ordered 200 health books for their trip in December.  A young man who attends school in Port-au-Prince stopped by this summer to let us know that he was promoting the first book and waiting anxiously for the second book to be printed. Motivating to know that people who enjoyed the Konsey book are already anticipating the second book!

Agriculture

Several dozen peach palm trees are thriving on campus and six have bloomed. We hope for a first harvest in December. The young peach palms from seeds collected in Costa Rica in April are also growing fast now and are almost ready for field planting.

 Star fruit trees continue to attract interest. To help encourage this Cory and the guys loaded up some trees and sample fruit this summer and spent a morning at our local market. We also gave a few bushels of fruit to share with the Port Margot church members hoping that those with interest and land will plant the seeds.

Recently on market day, the guys set up outside the campus gate, selling fruit trees and health books. A couple of men working with USAID stopped in to see the nursery and gardens, being interested in agricultural projects and already working with chocolate and a few other commercial crops. They set up a time to return to show additional staff Cory’s trees. 

Starfysh reports that during their first month of operation of the LaGonave moringa garden, now “Life Garden” 200 bags of moringa powder were harvested, prepared and sold, exhausting the supply. Jean Paul Donn is the lead agriculturist for the project . He was born and raised on LaGonave and has a university degree.

January Team Kris’s folks will be spending Christmas with us but plan to extend their trip. This would be an excellent time to join us for a visit. If seriously interested and can travel for a couple of weeks around January 6-22nd, let us know. 

DEAR SUPPORT TEAM

Together we make a positive difference in this suffering world. Thanks to encouraging people like you, people can still experience  hope and courage during hard times.  Thank you. Serving the Lord with your help. Cory, Kris, Eli and Anna Thede