Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The World is a Pretty Big Place
hi from haiti,
Most of you know that life on the mission field is not really fun. Very rewarding, but not fun. Laughter, the way I am used to, doesn't happen.
This and several other things, make life on the mission field very difficult. I worked 25 years in ministry in the states so I have something to compare it to. Daily attacks by satan are the norm, big, small, and everything inbetween. With God's help, you learn to cope. If I had to throw some numbers at you I would say 60% of the days are not great, 30% are really bad and 9% are good. 1% are great.
I don't mean to depress you, not seeking smypathy but feel most missionaries anywhere in the world would tell you this. Just a fact of being here. Doesn't mean I can't have joy in the days that aren't so good, just means they are very tough.
One of the 1% days happened the other day. Many times in my life, things and events have happened that made me say "yes, this is why I exist". This past Thursday was one of those days.
As you know, we sent a team to the Love a Child Mission, run by Bobby and Sherri Burnett, to translate for a team of 27 doctors doing medical work. All 10 we sent I would consider "my sons". 7 of them currently live with me, and the other 3 have in the past. This really was "my team". These are the young men that I have poured my life into, for nearly 11 years.
This was also the FIRST time they had done ministry apart from me for such a stretch. We called this our first mission trip. I dropped them off last Sunday at a pick up point and they went to the Love a Child Mission, which borders the Dominican Republic.
On Monday they and the doctors took a trip in a caravan of about a dozen SUV's and trucks up a river bed to a mountain village. The other 3 days were spent at Love a Child doing a medical clinic. You can check out the pictures at loveachild.com and read all about it.
When pickup day came, Thursday, I was very excited to go pick up my gang. I was supposed to be there by 4 but by noon I was really to roll. I took off to make the hour trip and was there by 1pm. I slipped in the church and saw hundreds of people crowded outside and over 20 work stations in the church/medical clinic.
What a joy to see each of my boys, with a doctor treating people. As I walked around, it was so neat to see each of my boys smile when they saw me. As I passed by, the doctor must have realized who I was because they always stopped and said "is this him, is this Tom?"
Each doctor/nurse warmly greeted me and said "what a boy you have here, what an outstanding young man, thank you so much." I was blown away by the reactions of these professionals. When I slipped in the dental clinic, I saw the doctor down in the patient's mouth pulling a tooth. Bebe had his back to me and was working away. Then he glanced at me and yelled "ohhhhhhhhh." Everyone jumped and I felt bad but he was happy to see me.
For two hours I watched my boys work, doing ministry. It touched me to see young men who were able to give back to God, and their people, for all God had done for them. I was very happy but had no clue the best was yet to come.
A young lady named Ashley came up to me and introduced herself as the director of ALL Joyce Meyer medical teams. She takes teams all over the world, doing clinics in every country you can think of. What she said to me, took my breath away.
Ashley shook my hand and said "Mr Osbeck, I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, this is the best team of translators we have worked with ANY PLACE IN THE WORLD." I stopped breathing. I didn't know what to say. She went on to explain how other translators didn't know english very well, were always sneaking away and really didn't care about the people. They were there for money or free medicine. She explained that my team wasn't just translating, they were doing ministry. She could not stop thanking me and talking about these boys. My heart began to work again after a few minutes but I was in shock.
Finally about 4:30 the clinic ended, we got the church cleaned up and I had to take the boys to the "dorm" to get their bags. Ashley asked me if I could stop back by so the doctors could say good bye. I said sure. We went to get the luggage, the boys had a surprise pot of spaghetti waiting for them which they quickly devoured and then it was back to the church to say good bye. What happened next I will never forget.
We pulled up to the church and one by one my boys filed into the church, as the first one walked through the door, I heard applause, sounding like a thousand people. These doctors, professional men and women from all over the United States were in a circle and applauding the boys as they walked in. They then thanked them for a job well done.
Then Altimae, my praise and worship leader sang a very special song to them. Then one of my boys asked if they could pray for the doctors. My team then raised their hands over the doctors and all at once, out loud, prayed for them. I was watching the doctors and during the song and the prayer, they were all weeping.
When our prayer was finished, the doctors prayed over our boys, we took pictures, lots of hugs, then we were off. I drove home listening to the wonderful stories of my boys, forever touched by this experience.
I know as Christians the only validation we really need is from God. However, to experience this, to know that, yes, we are doing something right, was a huge encouragement. Can't get any better than "the best in the world."
My oldest son Manel was even chosen to do some commericals for the Joyce Meyer television show. He came home singing "I am a friend of God" and is a new man. He asked me if he could do this the rest of his life. Pray for Manel.
There you have it, a full report from a very proud poppa/mission director. Our team represented us well. More importantly, they represented God well. Thank you for your large part in making this happen. This is why we do this, to preach the Gospel, to make disciples and TO TEACH THE HAITAINS TO DO THE SAME. This past week, they did the same. Again, thank you for your support of finances and prayer. For some reason, while many missions I know are struggling financially, you have kept the amazing pace going for us and all budgets are being met, and some. Thank you. May God bless you. tominhaiti
Thank you for your support
Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries
For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814
Most of you know that life on the mission field is not really fun. Very rewarding, but not fun. Laughter, the way I am used to, doesn't happen.
This and several other things, make life on the mission field very difficult. I worked 25 years in ministry in the states so I have something to compare it to. Daily attacks by satan are the norm, big, small, and everything inbetween. With God's help, you learn to cope. If I had to throw some numbers at you I would say 60% of the days are not great, 30% are really bad and 9% are good. 1% are great.
I don't mean to depress you, not seeking smypathy but feel most missionaries anywhere in the world would tell you this. Just a fact of being here. Doesn't mean I can't have joy in the days that aren't so good, just means they are very tough.
One of the 1% days happened the other day. Many times in my life, things and events have happened that made me say "yes, this is why I exist". This past Thursday was one of those days.
As you know, we sent a team to the Love a Child Mission, run by Bobby and Sherri Burnett, to translate for a team of 27 doctors doing medical work. All 10 we sent I would consider "my sons". 7 of them currently live with me, and the other 3 have in the past. This really was "my team". These are the young men that I have poured my life into, for nearly 11 years.
This was also the FIRST time they had done ministry apart from me for such a stretch. We called this our first mission trip. I dropped them off last Sunday at a pick up point and they went to the Love a Child Mission, which borders the Dominican Republic.
On Monday they and the doctors took a trip in a caravan of about a dozen SUV's and trucks up a river bed to a mountain village. The other 3 days were spent at Love a Child doing a medical clinic. You can check out the pictures at loveachild.com and read all about it.
When pickup day came, Thursday, I was very excited to go pick up my gang. I was supposed to be there by 4 but by noon I was really to roll. I took off to make the hour trip and was there by 1pm. I slipped in the church and saw hundreds of people crowded outside and over 20 work stations in the church/medical clinic.
What a joy to see each of my boys, with a doctor treating people. As I walked around, it was so neat to see each of my boys smile when they saw me. As I passed by, the doctor must have realized who I was because they always stopped and said "is this him, is this Tom?"
Each doctor/nurse warmly greeted me and said "what a boy you have here, what an outstanding young man, thank you so much." I was blown away by the reactions of these professionals. When I slipped in the dental clinic, I saw the doctor down in the patient's mouth pulling a tooth. Bebe had his back to me and was working away. Then he glanced at me and yelled "ohhhhhhhhh." Everyone jumped and I felt bad but he was happy to see me.
For two hours I watched my boys work, doing ministry. It touched me to see young men who were able to give back to God, and their people, for all God had done for them. I was very happy but had no clue the best was yet to come.
A young lady named Ashley came up to me and introduced herself as the director of ALL Joyce Meyer medical teams. She takes teams all over the world, doing clinics in every country you can think of. What she said to me, took my breath away.
Ashley shook my hand and said "Mr Osbeck, I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, this is the best team of translators we have worked with ANY PLACE IN THE WORLD." I stopped breathing. I didn't know what to say. She went on to explain how other translators didn't know english very well, were always sneaking away and really didn't care about the people. They were there for money or free medicine. She explained that my team wasn't just translating, they were doing ministry. She could not stop thanking me and talking about these boys. My heart began to work again after a few minutes but I was in shock.
Finally about 4:30 the clinic ended, we got the church cleaned up and I had to take the boys to the "dorm" to get their bags. Ashley asked me if I could stop back by so the doctors could say good bye. I said sure. We went to get the luggage, the boys had a surprise pot of spaghetti waiting for them which they quickly devoured and then it was back to the church to say good bye. What happened next I will never forget.
We pulled up to the church and one by one my boys filed into the church, as the first one walked through the door, I heard applause, sounding like a thousand people. These doctors, professional men and women from all over the United States were in a circle and applauding the boys as they walked in. They then thanked them for a job well done.
Then Altimae, my praise and worship leader sang a very special song to them. Then one of my boys asked if they could pray for the doctors. My team then raised their hands over the doctors and all at once, out loud, prayed for them. I was watching the doctors and during the song and the prayer, they were all weeping.
When our prayer was finished, the doctors prayed over our boys, we took pictures, lots of hugs, then we were off. I drove home listening to the wonderful stories of my boys, forever touched by this experience.
I know as Christians the only validation we really need is from God. However, to experience this, to know that, yes, we are doing something right, was a huge encouragement. Can't get any better than "the best in the world."
My oldest son Manel was even chosen to do some commericals for the Joyce Meyer television show. He came home singing "I am a friend of God" and is a new man. He asked me if he could do this the rest of his life. Pray for Manel.
There you have it, a full report from a very proud poppa/mission director. Our team represented us well. More importantly, they represented God well. Thank you for your large part in making this happen. This is why we do this, to preach the Gospel, to make disciples and TO TEACH THE HAITAINS TO DO THE SAME. This past week, they did the same. Again, thank you for your support of finances and prayer. For some reason, while many missions I know are struggling financially, you have kept the amazing pace going for us and all budgets are being met, and some. Thank you. May God bless you. tominhaiti
Thank you for your support
Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries
For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Taito dad
Jesus in Haiti Ministries
Saturday morning I received a text. It simply said "Taito dad". As soon as I read it, I knew what this improper English meant, although I prayed I was wrong. I called my staff member Pierre who is still learning English and asked what his text meant. He told me what I feared, "Tytoo is dead".
Tytoo, is Ed Hughes, my canadien friend missionary here in Haiti. Ed is the man in his 70's who was kidnapped twice, and shot in the arm which caused his arm to be amputated. Through all this "stuff" Ed could have left Haiti, like many others have, but he did not. Ed was faithful to the call that God laid before him.
I met Ed my first couple months in Haiti in 1998. A few years before I arrived, Ed came from Canada to work on generators at the Canadien Embassy in Port Au Prince. Ed was unsaved and was drinking his life away.
One day he was on the beach living in his boat he had come to Haiti in and saw some hungry children. He gave them some cookies, then began to give them bread everyday. Shortly after that, Ed received Christ as his personal Savior right here in Haiti. He bought some land, built a house and began to take these little ones in. Today, many years later, this is what he was doing:
*Raising money for and sending nearly 100 kids to school daily, not only that, he picked them all up every day in his truck and took them to school.
*Caring for around 22 children in his home on the beach
*Taking food boxes to the elderly of his village every month
*Feeding over 100 of the village orphans at his home, everyday
Ed was also an EMT so did lots and lots of medical work for the people in the village of Simmonet where he lived, not far from our church. Haiti lost a true friend! I once told Ed that he really was Jesus in Haiti. We will miss Ed and his love for these kids, and his Lord.
All of Ed's kids went to Hope Mission school so Hope was there yesterday, providing care for the kids. We have offered our help of course in any way we can. Pray for these precious children who have just lost their dad, their provider and friend.
Details of Ed's death are a little sketchy but we know this. Sometime in the early hours thieves came and took everything in his depot. At some point Ed fell off his two story roof and hit his head on a stack of cement blocks, probably dying instantly they say.
We don't know how the two events connect or if they do at this point. About 12 different stories are out there. At this point it doesn't matter, what matters is we will miss our friend. The good news is, we know Ed is in a much better place.
"Lord, please tell Ed we promise to take good care of his kids and will continue to reach Haiti with the Gospel. Tell him he is loved and already missed. Tell him the whole village came to his house and forced the Hearse to stop, so each could walk by and pay their respects as they wanted to see Ed one more time. Tell him to leave a light on".
JOYCE MEYER MEDICAL CLINIC: After a very tough week, and a tough day dealing with Ed's death yesterday, and church, I needed a good day. Today was a good day. 27 doctors and nurses with the Joyce Meyer team is in Haiti to do a 5 day medical clinic. Today I took 10 of our young men to translate for this team. I can't really explain the feeling I had as I met the truck at the pick up point, and saw each one of my "boys" get into the truck. Each gave me a hug, and crawled in. I thought, "wow, the reason I came to Haiti was to preach the Gospel, make disciples and teach the Haitians to do the same." Today, seeing 10 of our young men, taking on such a big responsibility, sharing the gospel through the great gift of medicine, I was very proud. Not proud for anything I have done but proud of an amazing group of young men that God has allowed me to be involved in their lives. Pray for Jony, Roger, Altimae, Bobby, Bebe, Shadrach, Matthew, Claudy, Tito and Manel as they stand side by side with these wonderful folks from Joyce Meyer Ministries. Please go to loveachild.com for a complete report on this clinic, and lot of pictures of the new clinic my team will be working at.
There you have it, a partial report. I am tired, very tired. I am resting today, getting ready for another big week, a week of sharing the Gospel, fighting off the enemy, and loving those around us. May God bless you as you are Jesus in ?????? tominhaiti
Thank you for your support
Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries
For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814
Saturday morning I received a text. It simply said "Taito dad". As soon as I read it, I knew what this improper English meant, although I prayed I was wrong. I called my staff member Pierre who is still learning English and asked what his text meant. He told me what I feared, "Tytoo is dead".
Tytoo, is Ed Hughes, my canadien friend missionary here in Haiti. Ed is the man in his 70's who was kidnapped twice, and shot in the arm which caused his arm to be amputated. Through all this "stuff" Ed could have left Haiti, like many others have, but he did not. Ed was faithful to the call that God laid before him.
I met Ed my first couple months in Haiti in 1998. A few years before I arrived, Ed came from Canada to work on generators at the Canadien Embassy in Port Au Prince. Ed was unsaved and was drinking his life away.
One day he was on the beach living in his boat he had come to Haiti in and saw some hungry children. He gave them some cookies, then began to give them bread everyday. Shortly after that, Ed received Christ as his personal Savior right here in Haiti. He bought some land, built a house and began to take these little ones in. Today, many years later, this is what he was doing:
*Raising money for and sending nearly 100 kids to school daily, not only that, he picked them all up every day in his truck and took them to school.
*Caring for around 22 children in his home on the beach
*Taking food boxes to the elderly of his village every month
*Feeding over 100 of the village orphans at his home, everyday
Ed was also an EMT so did lots and lots of medical work for the people in the village of Simmonet where he lived, not far from our church. Haiti lost a true friend! I once told Ed that he really was Jesus in Haiti. We will miss Ed and his love for these kids, and his Lord.
All of Ed's kids went to Hope Mission school so Hope was there yesterday, providing care for the kids. We have offered our help of course in any way we can. Pray for these precious children who have just lost their dad, their provider and friend.
Details of Ed's death are a little sketchy but we know this. Sometime in the early hours thieves came and took everything in his depot. At some point Ed fell off his two story roof and hit his head on a stack of cement blocks, probably dying instantly they say.
We don't know how the two events connect or if they do at this point. About 12 different stories are out there. At this point it doesn't matter, what matters is we will miss our friend. The good news is, we know Ed is in a much better place.
"Lord, please tell Ed we promise to take good care of his kids and will continue to reach Haiti with the Gospel. Tell him he is loved and already missed. Tell him the whole village came to his house and forced the Hearse to stop, so each could walk by and pay their respects as they wanted to see Ed one more time. Tell him to leave a light on".
JOYCE MEYER MEDICAL CLINIC: After a very tough week, and a tough day dealing with Ed's death yesterday, and church, I needed a good day. Today was a good day. 27 doctors and nurses with the Joyce Meyer team is in Haiti to do a 5 day medical clinic. Today I took 10 of our young men to translate for this team. I can't really explain the feeling I had as I met the truck at the pick up point, and saw each one of my "boys" get into the truck. Each gave me a hug, and crawled in. I thought, "wow, the reason I came to Haiti was to preach the Gospel, make disciples and teach the Haitians to do the same." Today, seeing 10 of our young men, taking on such a big responsibility, sharing the gospel through the great gift of medicine, I was very proud. Not proud for anything I have done but proud of an amazing group of young men that God has allowed me to be involved in their lives. Pray for Jony, Roger, Altimae, Bobby, Bebe, Shadrach, Matthew, Claudy, Tito and Manel as they stand side by side with these wonderful folks from Joyce Meyer Ministries. Please go to loveachild.com for a complete report on this clinic, and lot of pictures of the new clinic my team will be working at.
There you have it, a partial report. I am tired, very tired. I am resting today, getting ready for another big week, a week of sharing the Gospel, fighting off the enemy, and loving those around us. May God bless you as you are Jesus in ?????? tominhaiti
Thank you for your support
Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries
For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814
Friday, March 20, 2009
March Madness
Jesus in Haiti Ministries
hi, This has been an interesting week for me. My own kind of madness. I have had a family situation, stateside that I would appreciate you pray for. This has weighed heavy on my mind as I continue the work here.
Also I received an email from a man, someone who was my friend who shared his new belief system. Shared the fact that everything I believed is lies, my dad who was a pastor was teaching lies and even his own parents.
He went point by point on how misled I, and all Christians are. Even said that "Jesus" in not Biblical, the name that is. Lots and lots of stuff. I read though it and was going to let it drop. I even prayed about it. The next day I knew what I had to do. I sent an email to this man, letting him know what I thought of his views, and the words he said about my dad.
Sometimes you have to confront evil, head on and I feel this is directly from the evil one. I tried to do it in love, letting him know I love him, and will be praying for him.
After the first email, I realized "in for a penny, in for a pound". Several emails later, it was all over. Him saying I have been decieved, me telling him I will pray for him. Still disconcerting to see and read what some "christians" are teaching in today's world.
His biggest point was that "Jesus" was not born on Chrsitmas day, so it is a false holiday. I shared with him that I have several boys who have no idea when they were born so I pick a date, and we celebrate their life. That is what we do with Christmas, we don't knw the exact date so we use December 25th, simply to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
This is the mini rainy season so we have been getting soaked every night from 7-9pm. Today I had to leave the house at 4am, taking the boys to their big government exam for schools. Here you attend whatever school you want, but must pass a government test to be legit. I was home by 5 something, very tired. Then it was taking the rest of the boys to school at 7, as the roads were to flooded for them to walk.
Just finished a pot of sloppy joes, the boys are coming in here and there from school, eating lunch. Tonight is visitor night, several of the boys friends will be here. Tomorrow is church!
One exciting item: The Love a Child Mission is having a huge medical clinic next week. They contacted all the missionaries in Haiti, asking for translators, they needed 16. They found 6, and we, little oh us are providing 10. I told them that these aren't translators, they are ministry staff who happen to speak English. I think this shows how God has blessed me, for me to be providing 10 of the 16 for this team of 27 doctors and nurses coming.
I take them Sunday afternoon, they come back Thursday night. It will be a great expierence as they will be traveling to the mountains Monday for a clinic, then back to the Love a Child Mission for the next few days. Pray for this clinic, and our staff and they have the oppurtunity to do this. 5 of the team going are my boys, from my house.
There you have it, ah, what a great time of the year. Spring is here, the college basketball tournament, and my beloved Detroit Tigers on the verge of a championship season. Take care all, have a great weekend, tominhaiti
Thank you for your support
Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries
For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814
hi, This has been an interesting week for me. My own kind of madness. I have had a family situation, stateside that I would appreciate you pray for. This has weighed heavy on my mind as I continue the work here.
Also I received an email from a man, someone who was my friend who shared his new belief system. Shared the fact that everything I believed is lies, my dad who was a pastor was teaching lies and even his own parents.
He went point by point on how misled I, and all Christians are. Even said that "Jesus" in not Biblical, the name that is. Lots and lots of stuff. I read though it and was going to let it drop. I even prayed about it. The next day I knew what I had to do. I sent an email to this man, letting him know what I thought of his views, and the words he said about my dad.
Sometimes you have to confront evil, head on and I feel this is directly from the evil one. I tried to do it in love, letting him know I love him, and will be praying for him.
After the first email, I realized "in for a penny, in for a pound". Several emails later, it was all over. Him saying I have been decieved, me telling him I will pray for him. Still disconcerting to see and read what some "christians" are teaching in today's world.
His biggest point was that "Jesus" was not born on Chrsitmas day, so it is a false holiday. I shared with him that I have several boys who have no idea when they were born so I pick a date, and we celebrate their life. That is what we do with Christmas, we don't knw the exact date so we use December 25th, simply to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
This is the mini rainy season so we have been getting soaked every night from 7-9pm. Today I had to leave the house at 4am, taking the boys to their big government exam for schools. Here you attend whatever school you want, but must pass a government test to be legit. I was home by 5 something, very tired. Then it was taking the rest of the boys to school at 7, as the roads were to flooded for them to walk.
Just finished a pot of sloppy joes, the boys are coming in here and there from school, eating lunch. Tonight is visitor night, several of the boys friends will be here. Tomorrow is church!
One exciting item: The Love a Child Mission is having a huge medical clinic next week. They contacted all the missionaries in Haiti, asking for translators, they needed 16. They found 6, and we, little oh us are providing 10. I told them that these aren't translators, they are ministry staff who happen to speak English. I think this shows how God has blessed me, for me to be providing 10 of the 16 for this team of 27 doctors and nurses coming.
I take them Sunday afternoon, they come back Thursday night. It will be a great expierence as they will be traveling to the mountains Monday for a clinic, then back to the Love a Child Mission for the next few days. Pray for this clinic, and our staff and they have the oppurtunity to do this. 5 of the team going are my boys, from my house.
There you have it, ah, what a great time of the year. Spring is here, the college basketball tournament, and my beloved Detroit Tigers on the verge of a championship season. Take care all, have a great weekend, tominhaiti
Thank you for your support
Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries
For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814
Sunday, March 15, 2009
37 In The House, Wow.
Jesus in Haiti Ministries
Hi from Haiti, Sunday night
I trust all is well with your family and the race you are running for Christ. I have been non stop busy since January 1st and am finally getting a couple week break here. Here is an update on what has happened in the past couple weeks:
MISSIONS TRIP: We just had the pleasure of hosting a group of 15 college students from IPFW in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Wow, what a wonderful 8 days. These folks climbed over a mountain, visited our orphanage, our school, our church, New Roads ministry and stayed in our home, as well as walking the villages, sharing the Gospel. Thank you Dr. Jeff and team for coming, for loving, sharing and giving so much. Also, thank you for leaving, part of your heart behind. You are already missed!
FRIDAY THE 13TH: Because our visitors arrived and left on Saturday night, they were going to miss church. Well the old guy still has enough pull so I asked the pastor if we could do church on Friday night this week. He agreed. Normally we start church on Saturday with about 40 people present, then another 200 or so people come late. This week, our first ever Friday service found a packed church, when we started. All of us were so excited to see this happen and I am sure we will discuss at our next staff meeting the possibility of moving service to Friday, every week. Saturday is laundry day, market day, funeral day and so much more. We shall see, maybe until our new church opens this will be a good move to make. Church was awesome with our visitors doing a very powerful and moving drama for us.
A GREAT BIG THANK YOU: All 89 of our students at Grace Emmanuel School are now sponsored. Thanks to all of you who make this happen and support our school in this way. There are a few of you who are a few months behind and I would ask that you either catch up or allow us to find someone else. Thanks!
BUBBA WAS IN THE HOUSE: That's right, former president Bill Clinton visited Haiti this past week to promote Haiti to the world and to try to get businesses to come here. He said "Haiti is a good investment" so, I am sure he is talking about the Jesus in Haiti Ministry because if you invest in our ministry, you invest in Haiti.
MERJAY: Merjay is the village where most of the folks from the New Roads Garbage dump live. We have made a decision to make our presence felt in a big way, where they live. We have rented a two room office and start this week with: English classes, Bible studies and leadership training. The Gospel is shared in the English class also. We will also be helping the elderly with monthly rice. We are so excited about this.
This past Friday we took our visiting missions team to Merjay and did a Bible club with well over 300 people crowded around us under a tree. Please pray for this village of about 3000 that is wide open for the Gospel.
THANK YOU SO MUCH: I have heard other missionaries talk about donations being down 40-50 percent. Ours are actually up so I am thanking God and those of you who have not forgot these precious people. May God bless you. tominhaiti
Thank you for your support
Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries
For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814
Hi from Haiti, Sunday night
I trust all is well with your family and the race you are running for Christ. I have been non stop busy since January 1st and am finally getting a couple week break here. Here is an update on what has happened in the past couple weeks:
MISSIONS TRIP: We just had the pleasure of hosting a group of 15 college students from IPFW in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Wow, what a wonderful 8 days. These folks climbed over a mountain, visited our orphanage, our school, our church, New Roads ministry and stayed in our home, as well as walking the villages, sharing the Gospel. Thank you Dr. Jeff and team for coming, for loving, sharing and giving so much. Also, thank you for leaving, part of your heart behind. You are already missed!
FRIDAY THE 13TH: Because our visitors arrived and left on Saturday night, they were going to miss church. Well the old guy still has enough pull so I asked the pastor if we could do church on Friday night this week. He agreed. Normally we start church on Saturday with about 40 people present, then another 200 or so people come late. This week, our first ever Friday service found a packed church, when we started. All of us were so excited to see this happen and I am sure we will discuss at our next staff meeting the possibility of moving service to Friday, every week. Saturday is laundry day, market day, funeral day and so much more. We shall see, maybe until our new church opens this will be a good move to make. Church was awesome with our visitors doing a very powerful and moving drama for us.
A GREAT BIG THANK YOU: All 89 of our students at Grace Emmanuel School are now sponsored. Thanks to all of you who make this happen and support our school in this way. There are a few of you who are a few months behind and I would ask that you either catch up or allow us to find someone else. Thanks!
BUBBA WAS IN THE HOUSE: That's right, former president Bill Clinton visited Haiti this past week to promote Haiti to the world and to try to get businesses to come here. He said "Haiti is a good investment" so, I am sure he is talking about the Jesus in Haiti Ministry because if you invest in our ministry, you invest in Haiti.
MERJAY: Merjay is the village where most of the folks from the New Roads Garbage dump live. We have made a decision to make our presence felt in a big way, where they live. We have rented a two room office and start this week with: English classes, Bible studies and leadership training. The Gospel is shared in the English class also. We will also be helping the elderly with monthly rice. We are so excited about this.
This past Friday we took our visiting missions team to Merjay and did a Bible club with well over 300 people crowded around us under a tree. Please pray for this village of about 3000 that is wide open for the Gospel.
THANK YOU SO MUCH: I have heard other missionaries talk about donations being down 40-50 percent. Ours are actually up so I am thanking God and those of you who have not forgot these precious people. May God bless you. tominhaiti
Thank you for your support
Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries
For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814
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