Pictures: cassava machine, cabbages, kids at the nutrition center
Below is a GREAT picture of a Christian Community Development model!
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight," Proverbs 3:5-6
Dear friends;
It's been a while since we have written a newsletter. This is not because things haven't been happening; on the contrary, there are so many things that are moving, we haven't had time to sit down and write about them. Let me try to write about a few of the exciting things God has been doing in our area.
Andre Chansman continues to rejoice in his new-found faith. He is a witness to all around him. He still has many people that come to him wanting him to perform vodou for them but he uses those opportunities to share about Jesus. Andre tells these people who still put their faith in Satan's power that the devil and his evil spirits have only limited power. If they want to experience true power, they need to accept Christ as their Savior. Christ will protect and give peace and joy. He recently was able to talk to 3 other witchdoctors from his hometown of Maisade (a town quite a distance away) and lead them to faith!! Those 3 men will be under the discipleship of another pastor/friend of JeanJean that lives in their area. Andre's light is so evident to others that they can't help but notice how different he is--may we all have that light! Andre is basically bedridden. We don't know the full extent of his illness but I worry he may have prostate cancer. He has been struggling with this for almost a year. Please pray for his health and for God's guidance. And rejoice with him to as Andre and his family will soon be able to have a new house through the generosity of an American brother who wanted to give Andre a fresh start.
The cassava business is up and running! We have made several batches of the cassava flat bread and so many people have been to our place to see this machine do its work. For those who aren't familiar with cassava, let me tell you a few things about and why it is so important to Haiti. Cassava comes from manioc, a tuber crop that we in the US process to make tapioca. The biggest advantage of manioc is that is grows well in Haiti's soil. Much of Haiti's soil has been depleted of many nutrients due to deforestation and erosion and Haiti has long dry seasons. Manioc has water-conserving adaptations that allow it to endure the dry season. Therefore, it is crop that farmers here can grow well. But, they haven't been able to find a market for it. People here love cassava bread; JeanJean grew up eating it all the time. Starting around 1986, cheap rice was imported into Haiti and took over as the staple of people's diets. Unfortunately, the price of rice has risen a lot and it can't be produced commercially in Haiti at this time since we don't have the infrastructure to produce large amounts of it. Haiti needs to stop importing so much and go back to foods that the country can produce itself. Manioc is one of those foods. By hand, cassava bread is very difficult and time-consuming to make; that has been its limiting factor. With the machine that we have for the community, we can grate and grind the manioc quickly, press it, and have it ready to bake in a fraction of the time. We have already started to buy the manioc from the farmers in the area. We want to show how using national products and not importing is feasible.
I can't tell what a joy it is to go and see UCI's drip irrigation garden and the pump irrigation gardens in the surrounding communities. It is gives me so much hope to see all those wonderful bright and colorful vegetables flourishing in the dry season. Our school and nutrition centers have benefitted greatly from the added vegetables as has the community. Our program with the irrigation pumps is that the association of farmers are to pay back the cost of the pump over a 2-year period. The farmers have already been able to give a significant amount towards that goal. Today, we are starting the process of putting drip irrigation gardens into each of the nutrition centers. We have 2 objectives in this. We want the centers to have more vegetables and we want to teach the parents and kids how they can grow their own vegetables.
UCC elementary school is going so well. The kids are advancing very well. Mirlange, our first grade teacher, tells us that 10 of her students prayed to accept Jesus in their lives during her class! Pray for these young children to learn more and more about Him through the school. The school rooms are painted-inside and out-and look great. We have a learning center where the kids are able to play to learn. And our team that is with us now is putting in more playground equipment!!
I was able to weigh the kids in LaBok, our 6th nutrition center, last week. I'm so happy to report that the majority of the kids had a 2-4 lb. weight gain in the last 4 months! Thank you to the churches that provided meals from the Heartland and bountiful beans and peanut butter.
We have been blessed with many teams that have helped us to get a lot of work done. I can't list them all but here is a partial list: construction on a church in LaBok, construction of a house for a family living in a house that was ready to fall down, VBS to share Christ with children, women's conference, teacher seminars, cement floors, prayer walks and distributions, revamping our solar system, medical clinics, water treatment, and many, many more. Thank you to the go-ers and the senders that made these things possible.
Finally, I can't end this newsletter without talking a little about the vision of UCI. We have always desired to share UCI's model with other communities. In the words of our Haitian board, we believe that UCI's example of changing communities through the gospel and developing sustainable practices through Haitian leaders can change Haiti. We hope to start satellite UCI bases in other areas. Towards this goal we will be starting a Bible and trade school. Our goal is to start with only 3 degrees: theology, agriculture, and elementary education. We don't want these 3 subjects to be separate; rather, we want a student of our school to have education in all these areas. For example, a student desiring to be a pastor could get his theology degree but he will also know the basics in agriculture and education. This is so important in Haiti since the majority of pastors here can not be supported fully by their church and need a second job. Also, many churches use their resources and building to start a school for the community since there are not enough public schools. Also, an elementary teacher or agriculturalist at our school will have a good theological foundation for their professions. Computer skills will also be emphasized. Our goal is to train godly leaders that will return to their hometowns to reach people for Christ. We desire your fervent prayers as we start this process this year.
Thank you for all that you do for UCI and Haiti. May God richly show you His presence in your lives today!!
JeanJean, Kristie, Tana (now a 13 year-old!!!) and Kerri Mompremier
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