As we are approaching
the end of this amazing year of adventure here in Haiti, we are feeling truly
blessed by God. The last year or so has had its ups and downs, but as many
Haitians say, “Se la vi” from the French saying that means “That’s life”. And isn’t that the way life is and has been
from the beginning? No matter who you
are, where you are from, or your financial status, there will be good days and
bad days. However, as Christians, we have the hope of eternal life that we
believe has come to us by the birth, death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus
Christ that raises us above the highs and lows of life. Looking forward to
celebrating another of many Christmases that help us focus on the sacrificial
coming of the King of Kings in the humble form of a baby boy in a lowly manger.
Thank God He came to us, because there was no way we could ever work, or
scheme, or connive our way to Him!! In John 5:24, Jesus himself says, “I tell
you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has
eternal life and will not be condemned; he has passed over from death to
life.” What a perfectly powerful, but simple promise!!
Another promise that I love, is “And we know all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to
His purpose.” ( Romans 8:28 KJV ). Notice that it doesn’t say “all things will
be good”, but this promise has a good ending. It is what we look forward to
and it is why we can continue to work even when things are not going as we
planned or hoped!!! We both love where we
are in the village of Simon with all the crazy Haitian life going on around us;
but, honestly, some days it is too much. We know, however, as we go from day to
day learning more about the people with their culture and language, we will appreciate
this time even more when we are able to communicate well and interact
naturally. The “old timers” keep telling us to “Hang in there. It will come and
it will be so much fun when it does!” I truly believe God has called us to live
here; I also believe the promises of the “old timers”; and, I realize that if
we keep our focus on what God wants us to do, taking it one day at a time, we
will find our way here in Haiti.
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| Children, many of them, walking to and from school! |
Speaking of opportunities, God has given us the time to
travel back to the States the last two weeks of this year. We will spend a few
days in Gainesville, Florida to take care of some routine medical appointments,
and to catch up with some of our friends and supporters there. Then, we will go
north to the D.C. area and to Pennsylvania to spend the Christmas with family
and check on Laura’s mom and dad. They have been struggling with many health
issues over recent months. We will return to Haiti in early January and hit the
ground running. Joel will go out with the first church team that will come
shortly after we get back, and Laura will jump right back in there too. In fact, there will only be a couple of weeks
in the time up to early July that will not be devoted to church teams coming to
relate to their sister churches. Then, we will be on “home assignment” during
the months of July and August. This will give us some time to recharge our spiritual
and physical “batteries”. We are looking ahead to more time for
reconnecting with family, friends, and churches that have been so instrumental
in helping us to serve our Lord here in Haiti.
Once again, we say “thank you so much” to all of you who are
supporting us in prayer and financially! We also want to wish everyone a very
“Blessed Christmas, and a Spirit-filled New Year”! In the words of Tiny Tim
from the classic, A Christmas Carol, “God bless us everyone”.
Bon Fèt Nwèl ak Bondye beni nou!
(Merry Christmas and God bless you!)
Joel and Laura Sutton
Missionaries
Reciprocal Ministries International
Haiti
