Bethesda Evangelical Mission

Greetings once again from Les Cayes. Well I find myself at the end of another glorious trip, where the work of Jesus Christ has once again been advanced. 650 patients were treated by an extremely hard working and focused medical staff. A major construction project at the church of La Croix was completed, including a fresh water well.

The town of Brefette will recieve a well and the orphanage at Camp Perrin will get one soon after.

We had a great adventure in the 6500 foot mountain passes in the town of Bonne Fin, as we burned up the clutch on the way to the church where 175 people waited to be seen by the medical team. A local catholic priest gave us use of his vehicle to get our supplies up the last hill. Pastor jean dispatched Joylence with a new clutch and ultimately had to make the two hour trip himself in another bus to get us home.

Good times telling stories and looking at the stunning stars in a black velvet Haitian sky. This morning I watched as eleven couples were married, who recently came to faith in Christ. This afternoon Pastor Jean and Pastor Lubin asked me to join them in baptising one hundred new souls in the Lilet river. It was the most powerful time, even with my little Hatian creole. God's presence was very evident and I was humbled by the faith of these new converts.

So once again I leave this place thinking of when I will return.

Blessings from the mission field.

Today the medical mission team went to Brefette which is one of the poorest areas around Les Caye's. We saw the same types of illness as we did yesterday in la Croix. There were many patients with intestinal parasites, skin rashes, headaches, and abdominal pain and combined.

We saw over 300 people in the two days. Much of the illness was due to the lack of clean water and poor nutrition. Today was more heartbreaking and frustrating because I know what we are doing medically in only offering temporary relief until the overall quality of life improves and the people of Haiti have access to clean water and adequate nutrition. That's why digging of wells for fresh water is more important than any single medical mission.

One can look at the poverty and the plight and wonder why God does not provide for the people Haiti ? The Haitians themselves have a saying this is, what God provides but he does not share. God has given the world all that we need for all the people to be fed, clothes and how to be used. He leaves it up to us to divide his blessings.

So it is incumbant on us to share with those less fortunate. To paraphrase ST.Basil ... The clothes that are in my closet are the clothes of the naked and the food that we don't eat is the food of those who are Hungry. Thank God for organizations like BEM that are working to share the excesses of the U.S with those in need in Haiti.

Humility is the word I think of today more than any other. I am humbled beyond belief by the lack that exist in Haiti. The poverty that we saw today is truly hard to describe. Woman washing and bathing in the river Brefette out of the river which provide their water, The children longing for a toothbrush ,and a bottle of water and a lollipop.

I had the privilege to talk to a woman about domestic violence today, explaining that as much as much as she wanted to leave her abusive husband for he slapped her face so hard that he blinded her in one eye but the most important thing was to keep her children safe. That the decision is totally hers to make. The safety is important and that she deserves to live a life free from violence. Just as in the US, She said that she can not leave him because she has no means to support her two children or to pay a relative to take them in. Power and control is universal. So i will pray for that woman every day that she will live a life that God wishes for her as a blessed daughter and not as an abused wife.

Serving with BEM in Les Cayes Haiti,

Dr Dan and Katheleen Novak

Other great news today, for the first time the people of La Croix witness clean the water coming from the well that they can drink without hesitation. This is one of many wells that BEM wants to put in place in the Southern Peninsula. It is impossible to describe the joy and the expression of the people for such a blessing. The construction team that worked so hard specially Robert Edward , BEM wants to thank him for his dedication in helping to make this project possible.

This was a busy day in Les Cayes ,we were also engaged in putting a floor in the church and so far this project is going very well more details will be provided ..