DECEMBER 2021
You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. Psm 86:5
Thanksgiving has come and gone. Christmas is just around the corner. If you receive this letter a little later, Christmas may already be here. 2021 has had its challenges, yet God’s grace abounds none the less. It has truly been a year of learning. May the Lord extend his favor to you as 2021 comes to an end.
Zoom Retreat
We are looking forward with great expectation to our Vine Ministry ZOOM call with Pastor Joel and Marie St Amour, Pastor Telfort, and Dr. Mirhioll on January 17 at 7PM. I would love to call it a ZOOM retreat. Those who have donated at least $1000 for the year will automatically be sent a link to participate in this call. Of course, you must have a computer and internet. This will be a wonderful opportunity to hear from the church in Haiti in real time. If this is something that interests you, check that your donations are at or above $1000 for the year; or that your church has reached this level as an organization.
Continued Letter from Associate Pastor Daniel Telfort
I promised last month to continue sharing the report I received from Pastor Daniel. Here is more of what he shared with us. Please do not post any of this on Social Media in consideration of our Haitian friend’s safety.
My family and I are still fighting to keep up, as the country has been doing worse and worse. It is very unfortunate that things have changed for the worst in Haiti. It was very bad before the assassination of the president. It has become even worse still. It is very unsafe for one to be out in the streets of Port-au-Prince, especially in areas where the gangs are operating. In fact, 26 September, a Sunday morning, a deacon from First Baptist Church of Port-au-Prince was shot to death right before entering the door of the church building. And his wife has been kidnapped. Thank God, she was liberated on September 30. IT IS THAT TERRIBLE. To make things even worse, this past Sunday three people including the Pastor were kidnapped from Jesus Center Church in Delmas, an area which is about 10 minutes away from Port-au-Prince. These are still kept hostage. The gangsters have called their family and asked for 8 million dollars to liberate them. THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS. The government is weak. The police forces have proved themselves to be unable to fight the gangsters. In fact, some police officers have been killed. So, the way it is now, we can only depend on God to go to work and even to church without fear. Please, pray for God’s protection over our family and the church, as things have really gone out of control from a human standpoint. The cases mentioned are just in connection with some evangelical churches. But the past weekend about 20 other people were kidnapped. Many people fear for their lives. The Vine Church has seen many members leave the country for the Dominican Republic, the US, Canada or even in the West Indies countries in the Caribbean.
In the midst of all this, we keep serving the Lord. We still have our Sunday worship service on Sunday morning. Two Sundays ago, I preached a message from Isaiah 5, the Lord blessed us and we saw 4 young people giving their lives to Christ. Praise the Lord! Among them is a couple Michael & Patricia who have been living together without being married. I personally thank the Lord for the fact that they are looking forward to getting married in December 2021. Meanwhile they accept to live apart from each other until the wedding ceremony. They don’t have any kids yet. So, pray for them. The Lord bless them as they are seeking to grow in the faith. Life is hard in Haiti, doing ministry is hard. But the Lord encourages us, as we are serving Him, we see lives are being changed for the glory of God.
This year to date:
72% of our General Fund was met.
The Clinic and the Expansion of the office has been fully funded.
40 Families, who are victims of the Earthquake, are in process of being aided.
200 students were supported in 2021
Merry Christmas to all of you and a very Happy New Year.
Blessings abound as you serve the Lord with gratefulness.
James and Jo Dick 574-534-8325 jim@vineministry.org
Evelyn Dick 229-291-3480 Haitibabemema1@aol.com
Evelyn’s book, Life on the Edge, “34 Years of Ministry in Haiti”, order by sending a donation of $15.00 plus $3.00 to Vine Ministry, PO Box 967, Goshen, IN. 46527
Or order securely on our website, vineministry.org.
Find the Kindle eBook version on Amazon.
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