Dear Loved Ones,

May the Peace of our Risen Lord be with each one of you. We continue to praise His name for taking good care of us in this troubled Haiti. The general situation of the country is slowly improving thanks to the international forces.

At the Christian University of Northern Haiti, our teaching goes on as the academic year is getting to the end. It is a time to think ahead about what is to come but also to look back to see what is going on. Looking backward, I want to introduce to you all, Mr. Joel Laventure, a freshman student who came from L'Acul du Nord to study theology.

In his first semester of his university studies, I had Mr. Joel Laventure in my Christian Ethics class. I assigned him the subject "The Christian and the abortion". He was to do some research and present to the whole class his findings. Then the class had to ask questions where things are not clear before I, the professor, step in to clarify what is not well said. I was disappointed after Mr. Joel's presentation. So were he and the class. He could not express himself well in French and his research was poorly done. I decided to give him a second chance. This time I decided to work closely with him on a one to one basis. We met from 7 to 9 PM reviewing the material, adding and subtracting some and the way to present that material. Well, it came time when this student did not like my instance on some points. His second presentation was much better but not as I would like it to be.

In this second semester, I have Mr. Joel in my "La vie de devotion class."I gave to Joel the topic "The Christian and his relations to God and to the church". I completely forgot the impact of the first semester training had on Joel. In his second presentation, Mr. Joel had more confident in himself and had studied well his subject. His presentation was way above what we all were expecting of him. He surprised the whole class. My assistant teacher said of this student that we totally have a new and born again Joel Laventure.

Teaching the whole class is wonderful but working with students on an individual basis can have more positive impact then we can realize. Joel will finish his studies here at this university as a new and born again student. To me, it was a small action. To this student it was a big one that has helped him gain more confidence in himself and in his research skills.

We thank God for giving us time and the insights to know who is need of special attention and how to help. This kind of quality work is only possible because of you who love and support the work of the Board of International Ministries of American Baptist Churches. Your support is not in vain. It touches many lives overseas. Joel is only an example of the many students we are impacting daily.

May God of love continue to bless you so you can continue to be a blessing to others.

Yours,

the Nzungas

Subjects for praise:

• the calm that is being restored in Haiti
• the schools are able to open again and we hope all can finish this year.

Please pray for:

• The end of this academic year at our University.
• Kihomi and the upcoming training session with women leaders in Camp Coq
• The AIDS conference I, Nzunga, will be giving this month to many young persons who will come from all parts of country.
• The strength in our family to continue to be God's witness in spite of the situation of hardship in the life of this country.