Friends and family -
I've sat
down to write a prayer letter so many times the last couple of months and I
haven't known where to start, so I just don't start at all! I hope you'll all forgive me for the long
silence. I can assure you the work happening here in Haiti hasn't been as
terrible as my updating abilities :)
I pray you all are enjoying 2014! So far this is one of the best years
yet! Being married is so wonderful! I am in awe every single day of this new
season in life. It's such a blast being
Mrs. Frantzy Louis! We had a beautiful
wedding, Thanks to everyone who came
out! The day was even more perfect than
we had imagined it to be! We flew back
to Haiti the week after the wedding, and we hit the ground running!
We
arrived in Port au Prince on a Monday. Tuesday
we traveled to Cap Haitien. Wednesday we worked in a medical clinic with
doctors & surgeons from Washington, and Thursday Frantzy's sister Mirlande
went into labor and successfully delivered our new niece Shaya Nessa! Mirlande had to have an emergency c-section,
this resulted in 10 days at the hospital.
Maybe
you remember stories from last September when Samuel was born - fighting at the
hospital for 3 days to get a bed for Karlene, women giving birth on the bench
next to me outside of the hospital. The
injustices I witnessed this time around at the hospital were even worse. We had to have someone sit by Shaya's bedside
24/7 the entire time she was in the hospital because the nurses and janitors
are known for stealing babies and selling them to voodoo priests for sacrifices. Like Samuel's birth, we had to buy all of the
needles, medication, and IVs from pharmacies outside of the hospital between
each procedure. The nurses and doctors
gave us long lists of medications to buy and then they would steal them when we
were forced to leave Shaya's bedside for them to mop the floors. In the middle of Mirlande's c-section the
doctor came out and informed us they didn't have enough blood and we had to
find some ASAP. Not even the Red Cross
had blood that day, there was no blood in Cap Haitien, we looked everywhere!
When we were sure we were going to lose both her and the baby, we were informed
that they tell everyone that in the middle of surgeries because there is a
blood shortage and they want people to come up with volunteers to donate
blood.
Micro
loan ministry is still growing. This
week we'll be starting 10 new loans! We have a waiting list that grows every
day. We are exploring the idea of
expanding micro loans into other parts of Haiti.
My
mom and grandparents were here a few weeks ago.
It was such a blessing for them to get to see all that God is doing on
this side of the ministry! They work so
tirelessly in America receiving and sorting donations and helping with
containers, it was a blast having them down!
My little brother Ben came down and spent a week with us. My home church sponsored a medical clinic
here in Plaisance, Haiti and we saw 650 patients in 2 days. It was an incredible couple of days!
Sponsoring a clinic is a simple idea Frantzy and
I came up with a couple of months ago.
You know those 88 cent bins at Walmart that are full of everything from
pregnancy tests to baby powder? We're
taking advantage of the excellent price and challenging groups of people to
stock a clinic using those items. We're
calling it the 88 Cent Challenge! Our
home church came up with all of the meds to treat 650 people in less than a
month! It's an easy way to get people
involved and it blesses us here in Haiti so much! 
If
you, or anyone you know, are interested in sponsoring a clinic, please let me
know! We have 6 clinics on the calendar
that aren't yet sponsored, but we are believing the Lord will provide!
God is seriously growing Awana here in Haiti. This coming week we are celebrating one year
of Awana in Haiti! We are reaching close
to 7,000 kids each week in clubs all around the country! We have the opportunity to reach close to 500
churches in the next year!
New
opportunities are popping up everywhere!
We are in preparations to finish building a school in Kapiti, we have
finally picked a name for our ministry (more on that next time!), and we are
preparing for 6 more clinics this year! Just this evening Frantzy and I were
sitting at dinner talking about all that we have going on. It seems like as soon as we finish a big
project and we feel like we are coming up for some air, the Lord throws another
project our direction! We absolutely
love it. We love that He has entrusted
us with these projects and we are trying to be as faithful as we possibly can
in them!
As
we were going over all of the projects and planning, we were coming up with
ways for all of you back home to get involved.
We have committed to some big projects in the next few months, and we
don't know how God is going to provide, but He hasn't let us down yet! We want to get as many involved in blessing
Haiti and in return believing you'll be blessed as well! So, for all of our upcoming projects we'll be
sharing on Facebook & our blog, please spread the word! If you know a church that would be interested
in the Sponsor a Clinic project or anything else we'll be sharing, please let
us know and we'll be sure to get ahold of them!
A couple of months ago, I put out a plea for
wedding dresses, suits, rings, etc for a group wedding we are having in our
front yard. We have 3 couples who have
come to us asking for help getting married.
They have all lived together for years, they all have kids, and they've
all decided to do whatever it takes so their lives would glorify the Lord. You all blew us away! We ended up with 10 wedding dresses, many
rings, suits, flowers, veils, shoes. Ah,
I tear up just thinking about it!
Because we had so much come in, today when we heard there is a group
wedding in Figye, Haiti and so far the couples have nothing, we committed to
providing all of the clothing for that wedding too! Thank you all so much for getting
involved. It has been such an
encouragement!
I know I've said it once or twice in this letter
already, but God is at work! Thank you
all so much for your prayers and support!
We are forever thankful for your investment in all that God is doing in
Haiti! It couldn't be done without you!
Please
pray with us for:
· All the Awana
clubs we currently have in Haiti, each and every one of those beautiful kids
who are hearing the Word of God every week!
For the leaders who are discipling these kids. In all of the conversations with current
leaders, we hear that they are surrounded by physical need: food, clothing,
school, etc. Please pray that God would
meet those needs for the people. Also
pray for upcoming trainings and all the people who will be affected!
· For micro
loans and upcoming clinics. That God
would continue to bless the businesses and would help us to use the opportunity
to meet people's physical needs and share His love.
· For Frantzy
and I as we are still learning to be newlyweds.
Ministry is hard, and it's been a daily challenge to make sure we take
time to invest in our new marriage amongst everything else.
All for Jesus,
Frantzy and Jenny Louis
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