A Season of Giving

It's been a busy time this week at MOHI in Haiti. Tutoring of students heading to national exams, dental and medical care for our patients, maintenance projects, and more have kept our staff busy, while revival meetings have kept the churches busy - AND refreshed at the same time!

Just as there are for most of us outside of Haiti, there are cultural expectations to be met during the Christmas season. Special meals, extra clean homes, visiting, and gifts are among them. As the country is beginning to come out of its previous "lock-down" state (a term coined by the opposition parties as they attempted to halt all commerce, vehicular traffic, institutions of education, and hospitals), many are busy trying to bring some money into their homes in order to accommodate those expectations. Most are still trying to survive day to day.

As wonderful as it is to receive when you are truly in need, it may be even greater to be on the giving end. I love the excitement I see in the eyes of our staff and church members when we do a community outreach. What a blessing it is to be a part of meeting the needs of others!

This week we conducted an outreach in a village in Petit-Goave. Over 200 people were seen, between the dental and medical clinics. Each patient also received a package of rice and beans to enjoy with their families. Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to all of you who have continued to support the feeding ministry!

Pastor Lex and I are eagerly anticipating our return to Haiti soon. We long to be with our co-laborers in Christ there, to fellowship with our church members, and to be tough on our students - tough as in tough love. We LOVE these young people!!!

Pastor Lex shared a greeting with the church in Thozin this morning from where we are here in Massachusetts. We spent our first 18 MOHI Christmases in Haiti, so it seemed only right.

On a personal note: We have discovered that our 3 month old grand-baby, Alexia, absolutely loves Christmas music. Silent Night and Oh Holy Night are definitely favorites. I sing them to her with lots of crescendos and diminuendos, overloaded with vibrato, and close to her face. It does wonders in mending her sometimes foul moods.

Lest I think it's my amazing voice that she loves, today my husband copied my singing - although the words were quite different, with a combination of English (Oh Saturday night, now it's almost Tuesday...) and Kreyol (Alexia se pitit grann li...), but it had the same effect. She stared, smiled, laughed, opened her mouth wide and sang in her own way. Just adorable to watch!

May each of you experience the joy of Christmas this week! Remember: God with us - Christ in you - we are one in Him. Christmas is not just HIS story, but in HIM it has become our story as well.