To Haiti We Go – Merry Christmas/Jwaye Nwèl

So many things run through our mind as we think about what we want to share in this “END OF YEAR” newsletter. As you all know, this has been the most UNEXPECTED year and year of unknowns most of us have ever faced in our lifetimes. There is truly SO much we could say but we decided to keep this one as SHORT as we could but with a LOT of pictures!

It has been THREE MONTHS now since we’ve been back home in Haiti. It has felt GREAT being back and getting back into the swing of things.

Year two has been such a better adjustment for us and we feel so much more at home this year. We feel more comfortable doing things, have developed more relationships, and have more of a better idea of the ministry things we are doing currently etc.

We still miss our family & friends dearly but we praise God for how He has helped this new land be our home too. So many people here are dear to our hearts now and we truly love living here in Haiti.

Since we’ve been back, Jim’s been really busy with either taking teams out (we’ve still had three teams this fall as the pandemic hasn’t hit Haiti like it did the states), language learning, learning his new position as the area “internet guy” or other various things with RMI.

April has been busy homeschooling the older two boys, learning the language and getting tested by RMI’s depot supervisor to be able to drive the automatic car here in Haiti. They don’t have driving school or tests officially here in Haiti but RMI likes to do their own testing to make sure all drivers are ready to drive here in Haiti as it’s a NIGHT and DAY difference from driving in the USA. April passed the automatic test and will be working on passing the manual test soon as well. She goes out from time to time to take pictures of various projects that our organization is doing and of our school and church partnerships. She also is the one who posts on RMI’s social media from the Haiti side of things for RMI.

The boys have been doing GREAT with school and have loved being homeschooled. So far they’ve studied about Asia, Space, & Europe this fall. Zeke has fun doing some “fun” school with them, then going off and playing or reading with April. The beauty of living in Haiti is the boys have SO MUCH outdoor time to play in the beautiful sunshine. They have adjusted so far this second year SO well. They are thriving here and we praise God for that! Both older boys can drive the ATV quite well now, which they are super excited about.

Even though the pandemic hitting the world has definitely changed how things look for what we do here in Haiti, it hasn’t changed our mission or purpose. We have still been very busy with the solar & construction projects, Hope for Kidz sponsorship program, which is a huge undertaking and all the other things we do with our food, goat, and water filtration programs. The behind the scenes work that goes on in our organization is truly amazing. We have such hard working, dedicated people that love God and love people. This time has been especially hard on our churches we partner with, so we’ve been doing our best to help see what their needs are and helping where we can.

Si Dye vle, if God wills, we are preparing for a great 2021. Our churches in the states are very eager to come back to see their partner church here in Haiti. The relationships they have built over the years run deep and so both sides miss each other so much when things like a pandemic stop teams from being able to come. We are praying that Lord willing, our full calendar of teams this winter/spring will be able to happen.

Along with Jim going out with teams the week they are here, April will be occasionally going out as well and sometimes going just for the day to the teams that are within a 1-2 hour drive, so she can take photos and capture their trip and time with their sister church.

This has been a very hard year for the world. We have been grateful for all of you more than you will ever know. We have been praying for all of you. If you are reading this, we thank God for you. It means so much to us that you take time to read our updates, pray for us and support us in any way you can. That is very encouraging to our hearts. Being on the mission field can be lonely at times and feel kind of like “in between places” or worlds but it’s also a VERY good reminder of how this world truly isn’t our home.

For those of you on our financial support team, we know this year has been hard financially on many and that more than ever possibly, helping our family stay and serve in Haiti, is even more of a sacrifice on your part. For that we are eternally grateful. You will truly never know how much of an eternal impact you are making by what you give. We praise God for you, we pray for you and we thank Him for all of you who have brought our family to Haiti.

From our family to yours, MERRY CHRISTMAS / Jwaye Nwèl! We love you all!