Happy new year, everyone! We hope you had refreshing times with your family and friends over the holidays. We also hope you had time in the waning days of 2024 to reflect on God’s grace to you this past year and re-commit to what really matters in this new year.
Rena and I didn’t make it to the ball drop. We drove home from Rena’s parents’ house in Georgia on New Year’s Eve, arriving home around 7:00pm. After unpacking the car and putting a few things away, we crash-landed on the couch and flipped on the TV. We looked for a “year in review” show and, not finding one, settled on the country version of New Year’s Eve countdown. By 9:30pm, near comatose, we wished each other happy new year and went to bed. A.D. 2025 would have to start without us!
Interestingly, Haitian Christians celebrate New Year’s more than Christmas. Churches in Haiti gather on New Year’s Eve to worship and pray together. They encourage one another with Ecclesiastes 11:8: “So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many.” Haitian pastors say, “We should thank the Lord for each year of life He gives us.” That’s good advice for us personally and for PPI as a mission ministry.
Happy 2024
We thank the Lord for a fruitful 2024! We were privileged to train 826 church leaders in 8 cities in Haiti, despite being required to cancel our March training when the FAA suspended flights to Haiti. In 2024, we awarded 448 Thompson Bibles and distributed over 700 Creole Bibles through our courses.
Last year, we also introduced Dr. Tom Taugher and his medical nonprofit, Project Piti Pami (3P), to Pastor Jasmin and the association of pastors he leads. The Association and 3P now partner together on caring for destitute elderly people in northeast Haiti. Tom traveled to Haiti with us in December, met Jasmin in person and had fruitful conversation about expanding and deepening this effort. We’re very excited about this partnership!
In 2024, I (Ken) also participated in training church leaders in Medellin, Colombia in November and began working on details of introducing PPI training in the Dominican Republic in November 2025.
Spread the Word 2024
In October, we introduced Spread the Word 2024 and challenged all of you to help us fund the purchase of 2,024 Creole Bibles by the end of the year. Friends of PPI put up $20,000 to match dollar for dollar all donations given in November and December. By God’s grace and. your generosity, we exceeded our $20,000 goal! You all gave a total of $38,340.12 between November 1 and December 31. Including the matching funds, you contributed $58,340.12 the last two months of 2024. Praise our God and thank you to each of you!
A special thanks to all of our committed partners. Most of you gave your “regular” support and then gave an additional gift for Creole Bibles. You have sowed bountifully. May you also reap bountifully. We know that our “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, ‘He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’” (2 Corinthians 9:8-9)
Happy 2025
We put these funds to work quickly! Last week, we purchased 700 Creole Bibles for our February and April training. The Lord enabling us, 2025 will be the best year ever for PPI training! We plan to offer 14 PPI courses in 8 cities in Haiti and, for the first time, 2 cities in the Dominican Republic. (We will focus on Haitian church leaders in the DR.) That means we will train over 1500 church leaders this year, awarding 670 Thompson Bibles and distributing over 2,024 Creole Bibles to Haitian churches. We’re also excited to offer Course 5 (two times) and Course 6 this year, both courses for the first time. This is an important step in fulfilling our vision of “offering six foundational ministry training courses.” May the Lord use all of us to bring these plans to fruition!
How You Can Help
Here are ways you can partner with us to make 2025 our best year ever in encouraging, training and resourcing church leaders in Haiti and other developing countries:
1. Join our support team. If you haven’t already, lock arms with us in this mission in 2025. Become a monthly partner HERE.
2. Continue with us, increasing your support if possible. We can’t express how grateful we are for each of you, our committed partners! The open doors, protection, health, joy and effectiveness of PPI training stands on your encouragement, prayers and financial giving. Know that we thank the Lord for you and are praying for you, your families and your churches.
3. Pray specifically for us. Pray for all the preparations for our Feb-March training happening right now. Ask the Lord to give us good partners in the Dominican Republic. Pray for us as we finalize Courses 5 and 6 this year. Pray for our Haitian ministry team and their families. Lift up Haitian church leaders and churches.
“From Him, through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever!” (Romans 11:36)
Thank you, Ken for keeping in touch! We praise the Lord with you for all He’s doing in Haiti and the DR. May our mighty God continue to provide, prepare for future ministry and work in lives to increase His kingdom! We went on a short missions trip with a group from Lifespring to the DR back in the early 2000s! Had a great experience helping a missionary medical couple.
Jim and Milly Hough and Lifespring’s Missions Committee
Hallo brothers and sisters praise the name of Jesus Christ Iam pastor Noah Bwibo from Kenya leading fruit of life church i want to thank you for good work that you’re doing, I want to requesting you if we can work together or if I can affiliated with you, hope that you will reply me have a good day and my God bless you all