August 2003 Newsletter
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Haiti Bible Mission August 2003 Newsletter |
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Dear
Prayer-Partners, First news...check out our new website...WWW.HaitiBibleMission.org. It is very new and we are just in the process of getting the information posted. This website has already been a great blessing to me as well as to several who have already logged on. The Lord sent a good brother, Dave Pilipauskas to help with the website. How thankful I am for him and for the Lord sending him my way. In the near future we will have pictures of trips to Haiti, photos and descriptions of work projects, past and future. All newsletters will be on the website and we are busily working and thinking of other ideas as well. The most recent trip to Haiti was very eventful as well as a blessing. I had talked with a Haitian pastor last year who told me they would like to have their first summer convention and would like me to come and speak. I said I would if I could. I never heard back about an exact date but he said they would like to have it toward the end of July. The one telephone in that city was broken down so we could not get in touch. When I arrived in Haiti I quickly changed my clothes, packed my backpack, jumped on my motorcycle and headed over the mountains. My thinking was if the convention was over I would just stay and preach for them on the weekend. When I arrived I found many people there and the convention was to start that evening...they were all expecting me and were not surprised at all that I was there...just glad I could make it! The Lord is so good! The convention was a great success...they could not get all the people inside the church building...many had to stand and sit outside. They plan to make it an annual or semi-annual event. On the way home, while crossing the mountains, my motorcycle broke down. I coasted back down to a little town and had to leave my motorcycle there. I caught two different rides to cross the mountain...one on a motorcycle and another in a vehicle owned by C.A.R.E. Some friends had some of their friends pick up the motorcycle in a truck and bring it to Jeremie where I live. They took the motor apart and gave me the broken pieces which I will try to buy here in the states. As a result of the breakdown I got to share the gospel with several people I had not met before. The Lord has a way of using situations like that for His glory (Phil 1:12). The next weekend was the weekend of the big wedding at the mountain church where we just put the roof on in May. What a sight it was for those ten couples to get married in the same service! Many thanks to all who helped by donating wedding dresses, suits, shirts & shoes. The people were overwhelmed! The Lord willing, we will have some of those pictures posted on the website in the near future. About one hour into the wedding service (it lasted 3 1/2 hours) it started to rain and it absolutely came down in buckets for two solid hours. What a benediction of the Lord as for three years they had no roof and every time it rained they had to run for home...this time they all crowded inside the church building and continued to sing and praise the Lord. However, it rained so hard that the river rose so fast we could not go home the same way. We had to climb a couple steep places, sometimes on hands and knees and climb over the mountain and then walk way around to get back home. Once again the Lord blessed as I met several new people going through the forest that way and had three really good oppurtunities to share the gospel. We arrived home late that night...tired on the outside and very much blessed on the inside! MISSION TRIPS I plan on going back the end of October. If there is a church or other group that would like to come in November, that would be a good time. I want to remind you that if you have a group that would like to go you don’t have to wait to find out when another group is going...just let me know you are interested and we will set up the time that is best for your schedule. PROJECTS FOR THE MISSION We really need a truck to have the capacity to do the work that is necessary there. I got good news on this last trip...Ford, which owns Mazda, now has a Ford Ranger for sale in Haiti...it is not like the Ford Rangers here in the states. It looks exactly like the Toyota and Mitsubishi trucks over there. The big difference is that the Toyota costs $30,000 new and the Ford is $22,000. After taxes, license, insurance, steel safety guards for front and rear and a garage to protect the truck we are talking $25,000. God is able! We also need a motorcycle that is more designed for the mountains if I am going to continue to cross the island...which is what I intend to do. The motorcycle of choice there is a Honda CT which climbs and descends like a mule! The cost is about $4,000. I am encouraged as before I thought I needed $30,000 just to buy a truck and now we could realize a truck and motorcycle for under $30,000. Please pray with us! PROJECTS FOR HAITI
PRAYER & PRAISE More and more people are telling us that they are praying regularly for this ministry and it shows. The Lord is shaking the foundations...there is a rumbling going on!!! We are so encouraged with the calls from churches for mission meetings and the individuals who have been contacting us about regular, monthly support. We are not even to half of the support goal of $25,000 per year yet...but we are greatly encouraged at what is happening and we thank you for your prayers. God bless you all,
Pastor Dave Stockeland P.S. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter via E-mail please contact Jonell Crain (she does the newsletter for me) at j.Crain@juno.com. This would save time and money for the Haiti Ministry.
Pastor Dave Stockeland's contact
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