We are finally “Ansanm anko”! It has been wonderful to be “together again” in Haiti after multiple canceled trips or having to travel separately due to many factors the past year. Elisabeth and I have big smiles on our faces as we travel down our road to our Haiti life and ministry. All you see and read is accomplished because we have a God who loves and cares and God’s people love, care and invest in people around the world. It is a blessing and a privilege to partner with you in Haiti and around the world. 
Our Haitian ministry partners who live with us in Texas had to leave this girl behind (due to her not having a travel visa) with other family members when they could not return because of the threats on their lives. When we first arrived in Haiti we stayed at a hotel with security where ministry partners in that area could come and meet us a little more safely. We asked them to bring sweet “A” with them and we got to love on her for a few hours and FaceTime with her family in Texas. It breaks our hearts as she is only one of many we know personally that that are currently separated from family due to the situation in Haiti. 
It is always fun to teach people to swim and have a fun, safe and enjoyable time in the water. Most Haitian’s do not know how to swim but live near water so it is important to learn.
We have several friends who left our Haiti neighborhood and went to other countries to find work. This friend and community leader has stayed and is doing his best to find work as a lawyer and to be used of the Lord to make his country better. He has been so kind to drive us to and from the airport on our trips so we took him to a resort he had never seen and bought him lunch on the way home. 
Elisabeth is working on checking on school sponsored kids and raising their sponsorships this summer. She knows each family and visits them at their homes, knows all their kids’ names, prays for them and finds school sponsors to help families pay for education. If you are reading this it is very likely she knows you, your name, your kids’ names and prays for you. Contact Elisabeth now to be able to sponsor a child for this upcoming school year. What a powerful ministry that is changing families one child at a time. This is one of the biggest ways we have found to keep families together. 
You are making a difference in the lives of families. Thanks for partnering and investing in eternity with us.
Sometimes they even name their kids after us. Elisabeth is holding our god-daughter “Elisabeth-Erica”.
Do you have interest in helping with a mobile medical clinic? This nurse/mom of six (pictured with two of her children) is making a difference in her family and in her community. She once lived with our family for a six month period when she was in school and one of her daughter’s is sponsored for school. We love her and her heart for the Lord and others. It is difficult to know so many with so many needs who also desire to meet the needs of their hurting country with very limited resources. It is a privilege to know them, hear their stories, pray and do whatever is in our power to help.
What a blessing to see this little boy and his mom. When we met her several years ago he needed some major medical care. Look at them now! Praise the Lord!
These young men in the neighborhood put smiles on our faces as they ran to us and hugged us big. We have prayed and watched them grow up since childhood. Our son Evan led the young man on the left to the Lord. He also came to visit us at our home and we were able to spend a few hours mentoring and discipling him in His walk and future. His mother was one who left for Chile in 2016 and eventually made her way across countries to the U.S. We discovered she was on the Texas/Mexico border at the same time Eric was there translating for Haitians in that situation! Oh the stories! Life in Haiti is very challenging for the next generation. Especially for boys like these who grow up without parents in the home. Please pray for them! 
There are great needs and great moms who show us what love is. Ricardo sure likes cookies and loves his juice! What a blessing to get to visit this little survivor and his family!
The Lord has provided for this young lady through the years. Pray for her to find a good fit for a trade school where she can develop some life long skills that will help her future.
This young lady is a God send. You helped her finish high school through a school sponsorship and she is taking computer classes now that will help her in a future job. She is one of our student-leaders for the tutoring center. We have been able to pay her a small amount that helps with her transportation costs to tutor other students who are sponsored for school in the neighborhood. She is doing a great job. Her mom needs some medical attention for a motorcycle accident that messed up her foot and requires surgery so she asked for prayers and help concerning that.
What a blessing to finally meet one of my best friend’s wife this trip. We were suppose to be at their wedding, but that was one of the trips we were forced to cancel after the assassination of Haiti’s president last year. Figaro and Nancy have now been married one year and are expecting their daughter to arrive next month. Congrats to this amazing couple! We appreciate all their work and the lives that are being changed for eternity because of their obedience and dependence on the Lord. Anyone want to help with some house warming gifts we will purchase in Haiti for their new home and young family? Elisabeth has trained and equipped Figaro over the years to run the school sponsorship and tutoring program needs on the ground. He is in charge of paying for school fees, tuition, purchasing books and school supplies for our sponsor students as well as checking on them and reporting how how they are doing. We are so thankful that he not only goes above and beyond in these tasks, but also truly loves and serves the children and their families and shares Christ with them. His wife Nancy is a wonderful addition as she is a teacher at one of the school’s many sponsored kids attend. Nancy, Figaro and our graduated student-leader run the tutoring center as well. These ministries would not be possible without them!
Thankful for the work God is doing through KOFAEL to help families through small business loans. We appreciate each of you who participate in this ministry and help these women provide for their children. We are thankful for those who partner with some of these ladies in prayer. Rent for our meeting places, taxes and official Haiti papers to operate our legal non profit in Haiti are due soon. We need your help to meet these financial and prayer needs.
Celebrating the upcoming arrival of their baby girl at the KOFAEL meeting with gifts, drinks, prayers, the Word, words of wisdom, baby stories and a CAKE.
KOFAEL meeting! We appreciate our leaders who are serving well.
We were blessed with many opportunities to connect with old friends and new ones!
It is encouraging to disciple in person. I have been discipling the Haitian Pastor’s and community leaders remotely over the past year. Having to do this over the phone and computer is much harder work in my opinion, but with God’s favor it will continue whether here or there! It has been a joy to open God’s Word again with them in person! One day “ansanm anko” will be for eternity! Oh how we look forward to that day!
This man of God is a blessing and doing a great job serving the church in Haiti. We hope to have a Bible College in our area and are praying and working together toward that goal. Pray with us! With all the mess the last few years, it has been put on hold. A Bible College/Pastoral Training School that will give the necessary credentials for many pastors to marry and bury and minister to their congregations in this region is a huge need.
A new sister in Christ (blue shirt) is a big vitamin C shot for this guy! How fun to involve her best friend (red shirt) in leading her to Christ while visiting their home!
Venturing out to search for that cake and baby shower supplies was hard work! Thankful for our vehicle, that it is still running well and that the area we live is mostly safe to get around and do what we need to do (even though it is never easy)!
It is difficult for many to fulfill their ministries and get a little break during these hard times in Haiti. We love hearing stories of how the Lord has opened other doors for creative ministry opportunities for our missionary friends still able to be on the ground full time. Thank you all for your faithfulness! It was encouraging to be ansanm anko with dear friends!
We worked for several days to coordinate a special trip for twenty-three of the older students (most of these have school sponsors) we know well. The students loved the chance to get away on a field trip and visit a Haiti History Museum not too far away. Their favorite thing was learning about the metal chastity belts/underwear in the museum and we had many conversations about that which led to other fun conversations! After the museum we headed to the beach! Thankful to Second Chance Haiti who allowed us permission to use their property located near us!
They learned wiffle ball/baseball rules (or attempted to learn. LOL)
The students happily showed off their soccer skills.
Our dear friends and co-workers preparing food for the sponsor students and showing off their cooking skills!
Happy bellies!
Fun in the ocean!
Sweet Haitian models!
Learning to Kayak and not realizing how deep the ocean gets when you lie about knowing how to swim and not needing to wear a life jacket. Silly!
Food from the Word! From happy bellies to happy hearts learning about our identity in Christ. Elisabeth and I both shared with all the students after lunch.
Our kayaks sent by Bethany Church years ago are still being put to good use!
The next day was back to the reality of work around the house after a fun day away.
Very early morning wait for our ride to the airport before the gangs come out to block the roads. This guy was not ready to return to the USA and our Dally doggy was not ready for me to go either.
Peace in Haiti comes from the prince of Peace. We are always encouraged to hear our brothers and sisters in Christ talk about the peace that only Christ can give in the midst of chaos.
This moment,
I push aside all sense of need…every request…each complaint…even words of praise or worship….just to stand silent…to turn the eyes of my soul to you…to look deep into your wonders…(from Elisabeth’s post when she took this picture and missionary Amy Carmichael’s words that still ring so true).
The Flamboyant trees were in full bloom all over Haiti and reminded us that even though Haiti is harder than ever, there is still so much beauty in the broken. “The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the Word of God stands forever” so the Word is the most important thing we can share! It is always a joy to share the Word with hungry souls in Haiti and wherever God leads!
We met a new friend from India (on her way back to India) who has been serving in Haiti since 2004. We look forward to visiting her home in Haiti and enjoying Indian food on our next visit!
I shared this design a couple of years ago with my favorite metal artisan. He delivered some of these as we were about to fly out. I asked do you remember what it means? He said, “Of course, and so do the other artisans now! Christ came, died for our sins, was buried, rose again, ascended and is coming again.” What a message that changes lives for eternity. Let’s continue to share this incredible news locally and globally “ansanm anko”.
Because He Lives,
Eric
