Bonswa, un gwo alo d'Haiti!

Well, it’s been awhile since our last update, and a lot has happened since then, so let me try to bring you up to speed on what the LORD is doing in our lives. We really enjoyed our time in Canada in February and a bit of March. I was so excited about the snow, Karen too, a little, but mainly me. I enjoyed every minute in it, and found it so refreshing not to walk around feeling drenched all the time because of sweat and the humidity. It was a nice time with family and friends, a time which went incredibly fast. It was a good month as we also got to use our time to get ready to move to our new home in Haiti.

So on Wednesday, March 4 we packed up our suitcases and flew down to Orlando. We had a connecting flight to catch in Washington, which we missed by a few minutes, so we thought. We were told we had missed the flight, so we had to stand in line to re-book our tickets. We were pretty disappointed because we didn’t want to miss any of the conference that we were booked for. So we stood in line for about 20 minutes and finally got to the front, and then we told the lady about our predicament about not making our connection and she said that the flight was cancelled anyway. Anyway, a whole stream of people come rapidly flowing in from our flight –it was a big one, about 200 people, and so they had to reschedule all of them. It was quite amazing because we were the first ones to rebook and so we were guaranteed on the next flight out, while a lot of people had to wait quite a few hours, or until the next day. We didn’t understand at first why we had missed the flight, and I was a little frustrated, but then when this happened I was reminded of my lack of trust, contentedness, and patience, and more importantly was reminded of God’s Almighty hand in everything, including the small things. So we made it to Orlando that night, and booked into our hotel.

Ligoneer Conference
We were in Orlando to attend the Ligoneer Ministries Conference – Contending for the Truth. The conference was nothing short of amazing! I am still reflecting on all that I learned and experienced. There was an incredible line-up of speakers. Ravi Zachaarius, John Piper, John Macarthur, Albert Mohler, R.C. Sproul, and R.C. Sproul Jr. I don’t know how they pulled that off, having all those 6 guys there at one conference, but that was incredible. Basically they gave lectures on the things we as Christians face in today’s society and how we can contend for the truth, for the gospel, amidst all of it. They covered such topics as Post-Modernity; the task of Apologetics; Faith and Reason, The Bible and Science; The problem of evil; The existence of God; The Authority of Scripture; and the role of the Holy Spirit. What I also found exciting and informative was the question period, where a ton of questions were asked, I wish I had more time to write, cuz I would love to write more about it.
Anyway, I just found it amazing that there were so many Reformed Christians ‘out there’, that I had no idea of. I was wondering why more people in ‘our circles’ didn’t attend this conference, or don’t even know about it. I was just blown away by it. Anyway, I recommend anyone attend this conference, I just hope I can go next year…
On Sunday we attended R.C Sproul’s home church which was a beautiful service, and then we had a picnic with Ed and Wilma Gringhuis who also attended the conference. I got to meet my friend Pastor Jeremy Veldman, who was also at the conference, who I had not seen since my Redeemer years, who ended up staying at our hotel too. So it was a blessing to catch up with him and see how the LORD was working in His life.

To Haiti We Go:
Well, early Monday morning we headed off to the Airport. It took a long time to get through everything as the airport was packed – Monday morning after spring break in Florida. My wife’s dutch cheese attracted a lot of attention from the security guards as it passed through the x-ray machine. They had called a lot of guards over, because they couldn’t figure out what it was, and then they called the head security over, and they slowly opened the package, revealing….the Dutch cheese. And then they put it through the machine one more time just to make sure. And guess what….it was just dutch cheese. I tried to explain that we were Dutch and we couldn’t leave home without our Droppies and Dutch cheese, but I don’t think they quite understood. Other than that it was pretty uneventful, unless you consider our way over weight luggage eventful. We also had quite the turbulence on our flight. Without fail, it seemed every time I stood up to go to the washroom, we hit heavy turbulence. It was the heaviest turbulence I felt in a plane before. The Lord kept us safe and we landed safely in Port-au-Prince on Monday, late afternoon.

In Haiti:
So, its now Saturday night, we have almost been here a week, how the time has flown. I am trying to remember all that we did this week. Well, for one thing, we are still healthy. We are thankful to the LORD for that.
Well we have been spending our time getting oriented to life here at Coram Deo. We are trying to learn the routines, schedules, and daily happenings here. There is a lot happening all around us, we are just trying to take it all in. One thing we are trying to master is recess – playing with the children at recess time. It is a tough part of our job but we are trying really hard. I think my wife even scored a goal in soccer the other day (although I think they let her). The Haitians here are working hard to teach us Kreole, and Karen B is helping us along really well, trying to help us get our heads around the culture and the way things work.
This week they also had the hydrocephalus surgeries. So we had to help prepare for these and deliver meals for all the mothers of the children at the hospital. These happened Thursday – today (Saturday). Tomorrow morning we have to get up real early to prepare breakfast for them, and deliver it by 7am.
We also have been preparing the exams for the students for this, their third, term. We have been typing up all the tests for all the different subjects, for all the different grades. They have to be done by Tuesday, so guess what we will be doing on Monday. The guys in the house have been helping us with this; they love learning to type and being able to work on the computer.
Things are pretty calm here right now in Port-au-Prince. The gangs in City Soleil have started handing in their big guns, and the U.N is making great head-way there. Also, it seems that people are more willing now to tell the U.N and police where gang members and leaders are hiding, as they aren’t as afraid anymore. So we are thankful for this. We pray that peace may reign in this city.
Thinking about peace, my thoughts bring me to the meaning of true peace, found in our Lord Jesus Christ. Right across the road from Coram Deo is a Voodoo temple or meeting place. Our first night here they were ‘worshipping the devil’ the whole night through, banging on their drums and chanting, etc. They went non-stop until 6:30 am. Nothing short of Demonic. It reminded me right away so clearly, “that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph 6:12). I was told by Karen B that as Easter approaches they have more and more services to celebrate the death of Jesus. If only they knew their folly, because they are right – Jesus did die – but He conquered Death and Satan. He arose again and triumphed over the grave and over the forces of evil! 1 Cor 15 rings so true; “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith…If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.” (1 Cor 15:14, 19-21). We hope and pray that while we are here we can be a light to these people and that God would open up opportunities for us to share the love of Christ with them.
Well, we are really enjoying our time here so far. The people are so warm and welcoming and it has been nice getting to know them all a little more. The weather is not too hot yet, so we are enjoying that as well. And we have been getting a lot of rain as well, which has cooled it down a little too. It has been very tiring though – we have been going to bed by 9 every night because we are exhausted. But it is a good exhausted. God has been very good, and has blessed us immensely.
Well, this has been our short update. To end I will just jot down some prayer requests that we have – for we covet and need your prayers.
Pray that we may learn the language(s) as soon as possible (Kreol et Francais),
For health, and that we may learn the daily routines and schedules, and be able to lead effectively here.
That we would understand the culture and all the implications thereof, and be wise in all our actions and doings, and also loving.
For Coram Deo as an organization – that we would be glorify the LORD in our very being, and that we can be a light
For the hydrocephalus babies who had the operations – that they may be healthy, and also for the babies (mothers) who did not get to be operated on- it is very hard for them.
We send a big hug to all our family and friends back home and around the world. Strength and peace to you all!
Randy and Karen