Hi, Everyone! We hope you’re having a wonderful summer so far. God gives us this change of season to refresh us and turn our hearts to Him as the Giver of all good gifts. On a Rail Trail ride a few days ago, Rena said, “Now I feel like it’s summer.”

We want to remind you of an important summer event this Sunday evening and also inform you of the home-going of a special PPI friend. First, the reminder.

Worship & Prayer Night

You’re invited to gather with us at New Life Christian Fellowship (6115 Shattuck Road, Saginaw, MI) at 6:00pm for a special time of prayer focused on Haiti. If you live outside the Great Lakes Bay area and are not able to join us, please set aside time to pray with us that evening. Here are prayer requests for Haiti that we will use at the event – Worship and Prayer Night Handout. For one sacred hour, we will worship the Lord and pray specifically for Haiti’s pastors, politicians and people. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn more about three ministries focused on Haiti – Partnership of Pastors International (us), Project Piti Pami (medical) and Haiti Foundation Against Poverty (education, nutrition, job training). (We’ll have info tables set up in the church lobby.) We encourage  you to get more familiar with the work of these wonderful organizations.

Pastor Philogene’s Home-Going

It’s fitting that Pastor Philogene Odestine (Pastor Philo, as we called him) left this earthly life on Sunday at 1:00pm. He found out a week ago that he had a pulmonary disease and, thank the Lord, didn’t suffer long. We were looking forward to seeing Pastor Philo in mid-July and will miss him terribly. He has been a special friend and adviser to PPI and to me personally. Pastor Philo hosted PPI training at his church for many years and insisted on providing a car for us to use while in Ouanaminthe. He and the League of Pastors he led have prayed faithfully for PPI training and participated regularly. We brought him to the USA in 2013 to take part in a Hopevale Church missions conference, fulfilling one of his life-long dreams.

A gifted and seasoned church leader, Pastor Philo loved to encourage younger church leaders and teach them songs of the faith, especially in French. WATCH one of my favorite memories of Pastor Philo. We will miss him greatly, but know this is “na a wè pita” (“see you later”). Please pray for Pastor Philo’s dear wife, daughters, sons, church and the League of Pastors. His shoes will be hard to fill!

Heading for Haiti July 12

Brian Clark and I leave for Haiti on July 12. We’re excited to get back! Over our two weeks there, we will offer three PPI courses in two cities in the Northeast Department. Please pray for us, our Haitian team and some 350 church leaders who will take a PPI course. May the churches in Haiti be strengthened and grow in numbers and maturity in Christ to the glory of our God! (Acts 16:5)

I’m not crazy about delays – understatement! I don’t think any of us are. So my heart was sick when we had to cancel our March-April training in northeast Haiti. We had planned to offer three courses, including Course 1 in Fort-Libertè, the chief (capital) city of the Northeast Department. Solomon understood. ”Hope deferred makes the heart sick,” he intoned in Proverbs 12:12, “but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” 

I’m excited to get back to Haiti (including Fort-Libertè) in July, but God has had plans for this delay. I’m thankful that our delays can be His “divine appointments,” if we trust Him and resist the funk and self-focus that thwarted plans cause. Here are some of our divine appointments in this delay:

1. Learning Creole. Career missionaries typically devote a year or more full-time to language learning before starting their ministry work. Since we already were neck-deep in training pastors when we established PPI, I have tried to fit Creole study into a full schedule of training and traveling, course writing and partner development. So this delay has given me consistent time each day to study Creole, and I’m gaining more understanding and confidence in the language. As a measure of progress, I’ve noticed our Haitian team is now messaging me without English translation by Pastor Isaiah. And they’re expecting me to message back in Creole, which I’m able to do more and more. Gras a Dye! (Thanks to God!)

2. Developing Course 5. Leading Jesus’ Church – Servant-Leaders and Organization is our second course on Biblical church leadership. Our delay in getting back to Haiti has enabled me to devote significant time for prayer, study, writing and refining this course. I realized early on in the preparation of this course that I needed the extra time more than I realized. Leadership roles and titles (and what about apostles and prophets today?), biblical qualifications, developing/appointing/discipling church leaders, church organization, finances and focus – these are some areas I’m studying, re-studying, thinking through in an international context, and including in Course 5. Please pray for the development of this next course!

3. Helping to plan a corporate prayer event for Haiti. We’re amazed that our church has three organizations dedicated to ministry in Haiti! So Brooke Wildey, who leads our church’s mission team and is also involved in Haiti missions, proposed a church-wide worship and prayer night for Haiti. She is working closely with our pastor and reached out to us and to Tom Taugher, a co-leader of Project Piti Pami, a medical mission in Haiti, to help her organize the prayer time. It’s coming together well! So mark your calendars for Sunday, June 30, at 6:00pm at New Life Christian Fellowship. Let’s pray for Haiti’s politicians, people and pastors!

4. Practicing Prayer. Speaking of prayer, Rena and I are taking a class called Practicing Prayer at our church on Wednesday nights. It’s fantastic! The Lord is refreshing us in our relationship with Him and growing us in faith-filled, Scriptural prayer. Pastor Ken Cline is leading this class and sharing his own growth in prayer. The biblical and practical focus of this class is exactly what the Lord knew I needed right now in my walk with Him. I’m so thankful for His individual care and shepherding in my life.

5. Partnering on care for elderly Haitians. The elderly (granmoun) and the youngest (timoun) in Haiti are the most vulnerable to extreme poverty, sickness and neglect – as in other developing nations. Haiti has none of the support programs for older people that we take for granted in the United States, programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Meals on Wheels, and senior centers. The elderly there face greater risk of starvation, untreated medical conditions, loneliness, depression and unnecessary early death. Pastor Jasmin and the association of pastors he leads are determined to do more to provide and care for elderly people in their churches and communities. Jasmin and I talked about this need on my last trip to Haiti in February, and on my way home, I reached out to a doctor friend, who co-leads a wonderful organization focused on sustainable community healthcare in Haiti. We have met, talked and prayed these past two months and sense the Lord’s direction and favor in partnering with Jasmin and the association of pastors in caring well for “widows in their distress” in Haiti.

6. Exploring potential next steps in pastors training. Last Monday evening, Rena and I met with leaders and missionaries at an area church to explore avenues of encouragement and partnership in equipping church leaders in another Caribbean country. We enjoyed dinner and conversation together and will continue to pray and talk about possibilities to partner in the Lord’s mission.

These weeks have been filled with fruitful Kingdom work. I’ve realized again that delays are never chance or circumstance, but in the hands of our Father in Heaven and opportunities for divine appointments. That’s what we’re experiencing right now! Hope deferred but desires fulfilled.  

Thank you all for praying for Haiti’s pastors, people and government. The Lord is working, and I have heard some good news! On Friday, Haitian leaders announced the formation of a nine-member provisional government. This national council represents diverse political groups in Haiti and will work toward the election of a prime minister and restoration of the legislature by 2026. This step needed to happen before the Kenyan-led security force would come to Haiti to help its national police quell gang violence, especially in Port au Prince, the capital.

This is a wobbly first step in the right direction. Though no gang leaders sit on the new national council, they likely have ties with political leaders who do. And a provisional government has been tried before – in 2016 when then-President Michel Martelly resigned. Haitian pastors and churches are praying that this group takes righteous steps forward to break the gangs’ choke-hold on their country, encourage the economy, and restore needed institutions of Haiti’s national government. Then hands over power to a godly, elected prime minister in 2026. Let’s join with them in praying for these things.

We’re encouraged in Scripture to make this kind of prayer our priority:

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—² for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.³ This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

Petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving for governmental leaders – This is more than casual prayer at dinnertime! And Paul tells us why we must pray for leaders:  so that believers in Christ may live peaceful lives in a way that opens the hearts of unbelievers to the good news of Christ. In times of social upheaval, it’s hard for Jesus’ churches to make disciples. That’s the primary reason we pray for peace and stability in Haiti – and in our own country.

As the Lord opens the way, we plan to offer three PPI courses in northeast Haiti in July. We considered trying to return in June, but after talking with our Haitian team, we believe it best to stick with our original July dates. We may need to work out alternative travel plans into the country, but unless security worsens significantly, we will go. And church leaders are champing at the bit for us to resume their training! By God’s grace, we will do just that.

Until then, petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving . . . and preparation (see pics below).

On the phone with customer service, idling in a construction zone, fourth on the list at a restaurant, trying to get better so we can get back to living – we all find ourselves waiting at times. What do we do? What does God want us to do?

On my return from Haiti last February, I waited at U.S. Customs for over an hour with a crowd of other weary travelers. The lone customs agent, who looked like he had slept in his clothes and was sorry he woke up, motioned us one by one to his booth. A few people in line commented immediately on his demeanor and the lack of agents. A few started talking with people around them. Most retreated into their phones.

Forty minutes later people were frustrated. Now some complained angrily. Some made wise cracks to relieve the tension (I did that). Others raised their voices, which brought other customs employees closer to the maze. (I did not do that.) That gave a few people the opportunity to engage the airport workers: “What’s happening? What’s the plan? A lot of us have connecting flights. How do we solve the problem?” (I did do that.)

Waiting can frustrate or discourage us. King Solomon observed that “Hope deferred makes the heart sick . . .” (Proverbs 13:12) We can make decisions in a time of waiting that we regret soon after – or ever after – OR we can wait on the Lord and renew our strength (Isaiah 40:31).

I get frustrated or discouraged when I forget in the moment that the Fall happened, that it’s about God’s glory not my own plans or timetable, that God can cultivate sweet Kingdom fruit in and through me as I wait. Our times of waiting are part of God’s will for us, not barriers to the good life. Like other trials we experience, these times can produce within us the “peaceable fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:11), if we cooperate.

As far as traveling to Haiti, we’re in a time of waiting right now. U.S. airlines have suspended flights into the country, and the security situation has not changed. Haitian leaders have yet to assemble a provisional national government, the domino that must fall before Kenya (and others) are willing to deploy the UN-sanctioned security force to Haiti. Prices are soaring and food and fuel more scarce. Check out this longer-term perspective on Haiti.

But that doesn’t mean we sit on our hands or, God forbid, give up on our calling to the poor and oppressed. Far from it. This waiting time is a working time, a preparation time! Last week Mark Reed and I traveled to Missionary Flights headquarters in Fort Pierce, Florida to reorganize our training materials for future training and to retrieve perishable items and now outdated certificates of completion. We’re hard at work on Course 5 and appreciating the extra time to prepare it well. We’re updating and connecting with present and potential supporters. Overall, we’re working toward our next training times in Haiti, planned for July.

And we’re praying! Please keeping on asking our Almighty Father to clear the way for Haitian pastors to grow, Jesus’ churches to flourish and Haitian communities to thrive. That will take national leaders forming the provisional government, improved security most likely with outside help, and a more stable economy. Our God is able and willing! Pray for our Haitian ministry team. Ask the Lord to encourage them, provide for them and protect them and their families. Pray for our preparation work during this waiting time – that PPI will be more effective in encouraging, training and resourcing church leaders as a result of it. Pray that we will worship and walk as we wait.

Also, save the date: On June 30, the New Life missions team is organizing a time of prayer for Haiti. More details to come.

Thank you all for your encouragement and prayers these past two days. Here’s what we now know and what that means for our March-April (and future) pastors training in Haiti. Facts. Faith. Future. Watch the video of this post HERE

FACTS

After Ariel Henry, Haiti’s prime minister, traveled to Kenya, gangs in Haiti coordinated prison breaks, take-over of several government buildings, and what amounts to a siege of the airport in Port au Prince. They demanded the resignation of the prime minister and threatened civil war and genocide. Mr. Henry resigned yesterday.

In response to these events, Haiti’s OFNAC (equivalent to our FAA) closed all airports in Haiti and restricted its airspace. The Dominican Republic closed its border with Haiti – though they have allowed Americans and Dominicans to evacuate – and also closed its airspace to any flights to and from Haiti.  U.S.-based airlines canceled all flights to Haiti as did missionary flight services. We read and heard April 4 as a possible end date of these actions, but like everyone we’ve talked with we aren’t holding our breaths.

FAITH

All this is heart-breaking news – for Haiti’s people, pastors and PPI. I received MFI’s message Monday morning while in a meeting with the NFT Network, an online gathering of trainers of church leaders around the world. I had to shut off my camera to hide my tears and left the meeting early to pray.

Over the past two days, God has encouraged me especially with three Scriptures:

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. (Joseph’s words in Genesis 50:20)

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

FUTURE

In the near-term, we are postponing our March-April training. I explored several avenues for shipping our materials and then traveling to Haiti through the DR, but we would most likely be turned away at the Haiti border. Even if we could cross into Haiti, chances are good we could not get back out. I’m sad about that and, honestly, angry. I hate it that, through his oppression and disruption, the Evil One is hindering the spread of the gospel, the encouraging of pastors, and the strengthening of churches and communities in Haiti.

By God’s grace, that won’t continue for long and we will be able to get back to Haiti soon – because our focus has not changed for the longer term. God has called us to encourage, train and resource church leaders in Haiti and other developing countries. Fourteen years ago God introduced me to the need to raise up godly, well-trained church leaders in Haiti. This is where God led us. It just happens to be the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most unstable countries in the world! But that’s where the light of Christ can shine brightest, where the biblical work of Jesus’ church can make the most impact, where the love and truth of our God can transform lives and communities. We believe that to our toes, and we’re seeing it happen in Haiti in amazing ways. So it’s not time to throw in the towel. Far from it!

We will make the most of this time –

1. Continuing to encourage and mentor our Haitian ministry team.
2. Inputting 1300 students of our courses into WhatsApp groups for future communication and possibly even instruction.
3. Finishing Course 5 Leading Jesus’ Church – Servant-Leaders and Organization and working on Course 6 Satan’s Opposition and Jesus’ Victory.
4. Working out logistics of training church leaders in our next developing country, possibly the Dominican Republic.
5. Learning more Creole.
6. Preparing for our next trip to Haiti to encourage, train and resource church leaders there!

I’ll also be home for Easter this year to enjoy time with our family and friends. This is every bit as significant in the Lord’s mission as my time in Haiti!

We all are praying together with our Haitian brothers and sisters for the good of Haiti, the spread of the gospel and the strengthening of Jesus’ church. Be encouraged in prayer by our ministry team’s response to the news that we had to cancel our March-April training:

Map mande pou Bondye pran kontwòl sitiyasyon an. (I am asking that God will control the situation.)

Nou pap sispann priye pou sa. Bondye ka fè tout bagay. (We will not stop praying for that. God can do all things.)

Nou pap bouke priye pou konferans yo ka reyisi o non de Jezi. (We will not tire of praying for the training to succeed in the name of Jesus.)

Bondye nou an pa limite . . . Nou pral travay e adore papa Bondye ansanm. (Our God is not limited. . .  We will work and worship our Father together.)

I responded to them:

Amen, chè frè. Nou pral wè Bondye nou an ap travay! (Amen, dear brothers. We will see our God work!)

God is working. Let’s pray and persevere for His mission and glory.