Dear Brothers and Sisters,
May the Peace of the Lord be with you all as you struggle to serve the Lord, the only true and risen one.
I have come to greet you and to thank you for the time you have not heard from me. The Lord is good and has always been good to me. Here are some facts.
I left Haiti, my home now and my field of mission on June 14 for Saint- Louis, Missouri. I had to speak at the Great River Region, American Baptist Women annual conference 2005. I also visited some churches too.
It was the most blessed time of the summer as we met with some old friends I knew during our deputation in 2002-2003. Women were kind to take me to Chicago for the United Kingdom visa. They also made it possible for me to visit the older children in Dodge City, Kansas. We have not seen them since Christmas of 2002. This was a real treat to me.
From Dodge City I went to England on July 5 - August 6 to attend the Baptist World Alliance. It was a big joy and an honor for me to lead one of the Focus Groups on "Seeing Poverty with new eyes" at the Women Leadership Conference which precedes the Baptist World Congress. Since no Haitian woman was there to represent the country I also played that role of representing Haiti.
Here I had breakfast with President Jimmy Carter and assisted when Rev.
Lauran Bethell, our International Ministries Global Consultant received theBaptist WorldAlliance Human Rights Award. I consider these two events to be my lifetime souvenirs. I also visited with our American Baptist Churches/International Ministries delegation at the BWA.
The World Congress gave me the unique opportunity to meet many Congolese persons, both men and women. It has been 7 years now since we were all together in Congo, Africa. It was interesting to catch up on some news and to see how we all have changed with time.
I visited with my younger sister whom I saw the last time in July of 1998. My sister and her husband opened their home to welcome me for 3 weeks, before the conference and after the meetings were over.
I came back to Haiti via the States where I visited some friends. I got back home on August 14. The time was short but enough to prepare our small children for their school in Eleuthera, Bahamas. We took them to the school and spent a week together to see them start the first day of school. It was very difficult to leave our daughter of only 12 years old behind. Thank God that the school knows how to take care of the children that we can rest at peace knowing that they are doing what is best for each child. The boy who has already spent a year there has come to enjoy the school and the country more then his home in Haiti.
From October 7 to the 29th, I was visiting churches in Puerto Rico. This was another rich experience for me as I struggled with Spanish. A crash course in Spanish helped me to introduce myself. My stay in Puerto Rico reminded me of my mother land in particular the style of worship with musical instruments. Seeing their "GUIERO" I missed my "MUGWANGA and my SANGU" or maraca.
I came back home to quickly prepare myself for 15 days in cold Montreal, Canada to speak at the conference of MISSION FEST. It was a blessed time again to visit with some friends such the Rev. & Mrs. Tom Audrey Morikawa, Dr. Glen & Sandy Smith. I also saw some of our former students in Congo.
We want to say thank you to all of you who invited us to share your special events. Our heart felt thanks go to those who made it possible for us to be there with you to share our experiences, to learn together, to laugh together, to pray together and to rejoice together.
Your concerns for our ministries in Haiti, our family and our well being have touched us deeply. We have been blessed by your friendship, your support, and we have learned more from you.
As we prepare ourselves for Christmas, we pray that God of love watch over you day and night. May you find the joy of serving the Risen Lord.
Yours in Haiti
Kihomi Ngwemi Nzunga