Unto me
Dear brothers and sisters,
Greetings to you in His name!
I am writing to you here in the cold (at least for me) and wet northern Oklahoma at the home of my friends Dr. Doug and Dr. Carla Wilsey. I have been here in Stillwater since Monday. I have had the privilege to meet a lot of new people, among whom are Mr. Wes Watkins and Mr. Jim Shideler, two wonderful men of God serving at Oklahoma State University. I have spent enjoyable time at the home of my friends Dan and Cindy Barrick; spent great time with their son Lance and his friends Garrett, Paige and Hunter; enjoyed great meals. I had the privilege of visiting with my sister Joy Butler and her husband Jeff. This afternoon I visited Dr. LLyod Moore and his wife Karla Moore. You can tell that I have been having a great time here.
All these wonderful moments with friends and family are possible only through Jesus Christ who has left us with the mandate to love one another. He even says it is by our love for one another that people will know that we are HIS disciples. And, later Apostle John will have written, "Let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth," (1 John 3:18, KJV). Since "to love" is an action verb, we need to offer proofs, undeniable ones, through our actions.
The donors, sponsors, and partners of Living Water Christian Mission have done that. You have made it possible for us to say that we have been serving the people of Marmelade with the preaching of the gospel, winning the lost, but also educating them, clothing them, and sporadically feeding them for a decade. This month, for the first time in ten years, we have been able to launch the feeding program there. With the help of IDES, we will be able to feed them for the month of May. They have loved it since it began early this month.
We hope we will be able to feed them in June as well, but we are waiting on God's provision for June, We hope that next year we will be able to find help to feed them without any problem. Did you know that some of those kids leave their home at 3 or 4 in the morning so that they could arrive on time for school? Did you know that they spent the whole day without eating anything, or very little till they return home until this past week? These girls and boys are the future of the country. I strongly believe that better days are ahead for Haiti through them by the power of Jesus Christ. Let us continue to team up together to serve them for the glory of God.
Every year at Living Water the children's ministry organizes a field trip, retreat and camp in order for the kids to know and appreciate their country. It is also a great opportunity to teach them about Christ and about other important topics in life. This year the children's minister and his team went to visit the museum of Rogier Frombrun in Montrouis. They had a blast. These activities will also broaden their vision of what needs to be done for a better tomorrow as well.
The Staff of Living Water Christian School, especially the Kindergarten Department, has organized a fair for the children in which Haiti's food products were displayed in the open market style. They had a variety of local food, fruit, vegetables and other things that Haiti is known for. It was their mini State Fair. They had a blast. Parents, school officials, students and teachers all had a great time. I am pretty confident that, while the kids were having fun, they were learning to appreciate things that their country produced and strive in the future to produce even more. We hope it has planted some positive seeds in them.
Many of you have prayed and contributed to the orphanage project. The progress continues. They are moving quite well with the construction of the wall around the orphanage property. This ministry is there to serve the little ones, particularly the orphans. Please pray that the construction does not stop before completion. Hopefully by early next year we will be able to welcome the kids into their new God given home.
I am sure you know that Jesus insists that whenever you help the needy, befriend the ignored or love the unwanted that you have done it "Unto Him." So when you feed, clothe, educate and care, He said you have done it "Unto me." What Christian would not want to alleviate the pain of those in need with joy, knowing that they were doing it to Jesus.
Sisters and brothers, we are saved to serve. Let us continue to show our love to those who need it the most.
Yours because of Calvary,
Salonique Adolphe and Team
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