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Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. —Psalm 1:1–3
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Latest Jacmel Bible College Class Is a Wrap!
We thank God for using Pastors Maxito and Bruno for the building of His kingdom in Haiti through the training of 25 more theological students in Jacmel. This month, the students at the Bible College southern campus completed a course in Biblical Hermeneutics. This is an important foundational course that prepares the students for a series of courses in books of the Bible. The next course in their curriculum sequence will be The Pentateuch, which will give the Haitians a thorough grounding in the first five books of the Old Testament. Future courses this year will include the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Gospels, the Prophets, Biblical Ethics, Doctrine of the Church, Biblical Eschatology, and Historical Books. So far, this group of students have distinguished themselves under Maxito and Bruno’s instruction, earning mostly As and Bs. The current group in Jacmel will have completed more than one third of their Bachelor’s courses by the end of this year, which is an amazing accomplishment when all of the chaos, trials, and gang violence are taken into account.
Opportunity: Our Jacmel Bible college students are in need of laptop computers to assist them in progressing through their studies. Reformation Hope received a generous donation of enough new laptops for about half of these students. However, we are still looking for another 13 or 14 (more if possible) to equip the remaining students and to update the laptops used by Maxito and Bruno. Please consider investing in these Bible college students through a monthly sponsorship, or through a one-time gift, or through providing much-needed technology.
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Last Year’s Container Update
There has not yet been a big breakthrough in getting our container released from the Haiti Customs holding area in Port-au-Prince. Pastor Osseille has been working tirelessly since his recovery from the effects of his nine-month unjust confinement on improper charges. There have been an incredible amount of bureaucratic paperwork requirements put in his way, including the court, the law offices, the police office, the jail director, and the customs officials. It seems that an official and properly-stamped document is necessary for even the smallest steps of progress toward the container's release. We have been advised, however, that in a short period of time, we may finally see the container’s release from the holding zone. It is important that contents of the container be put at our Haitian partners' disposal soon, as some of the food items do have limited expiration timeframes.
Opportunity: We are concerned that once all of the paperwork has been provided and the officials are satisfied with everything that Pastor Osseille has done, that there will still be one other hurdle to clear before the very needed items in the container are released. We expect that Souls Winning Ministries and Pastor Osseille will be hit with a large storage fee bill from Haitian Customs. It is standard procedure worldwide to charge a fee for each month that a privately-owned container remains in a nation's Customs holding area. We can debate the propriety in this case of months' worth of fees because of the unjust way that Osseille was treated, but this will be of little use. And so we expect to have an added financial burden to pay to Haiti Customs before Pastor Osseille and Souls Winning receive the container and its contents. We would be so thankful if any of our partners in this mission were willing to give toward these expected additional fees. Needless to say, given the trouble we have had with this container and all of the unchecked gang violence in Haiti, we will not be organizing any more containers at the present time. However, as we have successfully shipped more than ten prior containers without any incident, we plan to resume containerized shipments to Haiti once some semblance of law and order are reestablished in Haiti.
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New Joy House Children Christmas Celebration!
Thanks to many of you, our faithful and generous mission partners, the New Joy House children were able to have a festive Christmas celebration at the end of 2022. Your compassion and giving allowed New Joy House to have a Christmas feast (fete) and for the faithful staff members to each receive a small present in gratitude for all that they do for the children. Also, each child received a gift right after the elaborate festivities. This year, the New Joy House family also took time to honor our founder, Pastor Jean Jacob Paul, during the celebration. Another highlight of the annual Christmas celebration was the serving of special Christmas and New Year's traditional soup.
Click here for Scarlie's recent newsletter for Souls Winning Ministries.
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Update on the New Joy University Students in the Dominican Republic
One of our former board members, retired Reverend Fred Goodwin, recently traveled to the Dominican Republic and was able to connect with Kimberlie, Seker, and Buffalo (Bilfred), some of our sponsored university students in the Santo Domingo area. We were thrilled to learn from Fred that Kimberlie, who has been studying nursing, has decided to pursue a full medical degree and become a doctor. While this will add four more years onto her degree program, we are delighted that one of the former New Joy children might soon return to Haiti and work in the Souls Winning Reformed Medical Clinic or in other absolutely vital, life-saving work in Haiti. Scarlie Paul, one of Jean Paul's daughters who now serves as a coordinator and contractor assisting Souls Winning Ministries, also reports that Buffalo has been progressing through vocational-technical training in the Dominican Republic, having already completed refrigeration and is working toward a certification in industrial electricity. Bilfred should be finished with his technical school training within two years.
Opportunity: Costs for tuition, school supplies, books and software, as well as for food and housing, continue to rise in the Dominican Republic, even as they are rising here in the United States. Reformation Hope is in need of more sponsors or one-time investors from among our mission partners, in this essential work of providing our Haitian brothers and sisters with the necessary tools and training to transform not only their own lives but the lives of other Haitians whom they will then be in turn able to help. Please consider giving in support of our university and technical school training support for those who have completed their time in the New Joy House.
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Mission Trip Situation for 2023
Some individuals and churches have asked us about future mission team travel to Haiti this year. Although we want to resume in-person involvement with those we love in Haiti as soon as possible, we will never knowingly put anyone unnecessarily at risk. At the present time, there are simply too many unpredictable factors which might put mission teams in danger while in Haiti. The chaotic and often bloody gang violence continues unabated in the country and we receive reports almost daily at present that it is actually getting worse. There are virtually no working police in many areas which might provide protection or respond to an emergency. Reformation Hope has decided to not promote mission trips to Haiti in 2023. Should the security situation in Haiti dramatically improve, it might be possible to resume team planning and travel in the fall or around Christmas. At this point in time, we do not expect to plan mission trips into the country until 2024.
Opportunity: Please keep our Haitian brothers and sisters in constant prayer during this difficult and dangerous season in their country. Pray that God would be pleased to raise up a godly and ethical government that would seek to work for the welfare of the Haitian people and for justice and mercy. Please also intercede for Haiti such that the Lord will put an end to the power and the unchecked violence of the gangs and strengthen the hands of the police and of law-abiding citizens who long for peace and for the blessing of God to rest upon their island nation.
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