Ten-Year Reflections

The new Saltadere church silently watches over the valley below.  The church members have the responsibility to complete the walls, doors, and windows of their church building.

January 2016 was the ten-year anniversary of our arrival in Haiti.  Since coming, we have been praying for God’s guidance so that his work in Haiti would be our work in Haiti.  Our experience in Haiti is that nothing that we do without God’s blessing will last.  This was the experience of the Psalmist in 90:17, “May the favor of the Lord rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us.”  While only time will tell what aspects of our ministry in Haiti will endure, we hope that our work in Thomassique will be be among them.  Soon after our arrival in Haiti, Zach visited the small town of Thomassique with representatives of SON-BEAM, a charitable organization from West Michigan.  Some months later we began a project to build a church building and install a well with the help of SON-BEAM.  These successful experiences became the basis of a long-term relationship in which Sharon and Zach helped to lead women’s conferences and regular training of pastors from Thomassique.  The partnership expanded when Lakeside CRC of Alto, MI, took an interest in a church-to-community partnership with Thomassique.  Since the establishment of that partnership, three more churches have been built along with scores of latrines.  Also many undocumented residents have received birth attestations and a “community bank” (which makes small loans to farmers and vendors) has been established.  We cannot take credit for these great blessings, but we can rejoice in the role that we have had in the partnership between Thomassique, ourselves, and our support network in West Michigan.