In the infamous words of Hannibal Smith in the TV show The A Team, "I love it when a plan comes together!" The plan for our new church building in Haiti is coming together nicely. I made a working trip to the island on Sunday Jan. 13 and stayed thru Wed. the 16th. In four days we were able to complete about 1/3 of the rafters for the roof the new meeting hall. The new structure will give the United Church of God not only a place to worship each Sabbath, but also a learning center and a safe haven during the annual hurricane season. The 1700 square ft. building (which is built to international building codes - unseen in most of Haiti) is planned for completion around the 1st of April. Most of the brethren do not have electricity. The new building will have a dedicated transformer with reliable power and internet access for use of the brethren and community. The metal roof has been ordered and our plan is to have it installed by February 10. This will officially “dry us in!”
On another positive note, on Tuesday morning, Jeanly Libersonn was baptized. Jeanly lives a four hour bus ride from Mirebalais. He made the trip to Mirebalais and stayed with Joseph Jean for about a week before the baptism. He had been studying and communicating with Joseph form some time. His family come from a different faith, and were not pleased with his new beliefs. When he was getting ready for the trip to Mirebalais, his family hid his shoes and his clothes. He had to borrow clothing and shoes for the trip.
A Bible Study was scheduled for the Tuesday night I was there. A heavy deluge of rain ensued, and deacon Joseph Jean thought it best to cancel. It had been extremely hot and humid since I had arrived. I was exhausted from the day’s hard physical labor, and had lain down for a rest. About 15 minutes later, Mr. Jean knocked on my door. He informed me that around 40 people had walked through the heavy downpour to attend the Bible Study, and we needed to go ahead with plans to conduct it. I got dressed and was immediately enthused and energised when I arrived and saw everyone joyfully singing hymns while waiting for the Bible Study to begin. We had a wonderful Bible Study.
We thank our God and Father for the incredible blessing of this building and remember the words from Psalm 127:1, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.” Now we must begin to prepare for the spring Holy Days in our new building--the very first United Church of God Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread in Haiti.
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| Building as seen from street-level |
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| Side wall prepped for rafters |
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| Rafters are going up! |
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| Baptism of Jeanly Libersonn. L to R, Mr. Michelet, Milot, Jeanly, Joseph Jean |
