“No gas! No gas! “ has become the most read and heard phrase around Haiti these days as the country is currently under a nationwide gas shortage. The familiar sound of motorcycles passing has been mostly replaced with silence and the repetitive chanting of school kids around Mole Saint Nicolas. Normally the residents in our village have access to electricity by a private company called Sigora. With the current gas shortage and because Sigora’s operation largely depends on diesel fuel for their generators, we are only given power from 7pm to 11pm each night so that they can conserve what fuel they do have on hand. This creates a few inconveniences. Warning: Spoiled American rant coming! We let our window AC run until they cut power but it seems that our bedroom warms back up rather quickly. Needless to say, sleep has not come easy at all when we are lying in our own sweat. Also, keeping a close eye on our cold food items is a must as our refrigerators never get to a lasting cold temperature only running for 4 hours a day so most of our food and drinks are crammed into our freezers at the moment. The town water supply shuts off at 6pm which forces us to do all of our water pumping for our home cistern and for treating our drinking water during the day time. However this is a problem right now because we don’t get power until 7pm. Thankfully at the moment we have a small quantity of diesel left which allows us to run a generator for a real short time so that we can pump water. We are praying that we will be able to refill our cans soon as we hear daily that gas is becoming harder and harder to find. Please join us in praying for the gas shortage to come to a close soon and for rioting and violence at the gas pumps to cease. The problems we’re having are just small inconveniences compared to the major hardships not having gas causes for the Haitian people who are unable to go to work, school, the hospital, and transport goods needed to buy and sell.
On a more positive note, we were really glad to have our dear friends and ministry partners in town for several days earlier this month. David and Loren Bullard along with Rusty and Trisha Williams came in to visit and encourage many of our friends and church members, gather video footage for ministry purposes, and collaborate over future ministry opportunities. We are super excited to see what direction God leads us in regarding these opportunities.
The new school year is officially underway and we are stoked about seeing both old and brand new faces in our classrooms. This year Cassie’s preschool roster took a big jump from last year’s total of 9 to a full class of 30. We are so thrilled to report that because of the giving of our faithful supporters, we were able to purchase uniforms, shoes, and backpacks for all of the 30 children enrolled in preschool this year. We will also be able to make sure each of these 30 children receive something to eat at school each day until the feeding center is built and in operation. We’re also happy that because of the increase in the number of students this year, we were forced to move the preschoolers to a different classroom located at the main campus. This is a good thing in many ways. Not only does it allow the mission to have all of the kids together on one campus, but it also gives the children and teachers a bigger, safer, and cleaner environment to work in. We are so very thankful to all of you who support us financially that allows us to assist families in need and make sure children in our village are hearing about Jesus and receiving a good education.
Pray for the 2019-2020 school year that has just started.
Pray for the construction of the feeding center that will begin soon.
Pray for the current gas shortage in Haiti, that violence would cease, and gas would become available.
Pray for God's protection over us during this current hurricane and malaria season.
