Dear Loved Ones,

May the peace of our Lord be with each and every one of you. We want to wish a Happy New Year to all of you.

This past Friday, January 19, 2007, is a special day in the history of the community where we live and in the life of Haut - Limbe Baptist Church. It was the pouring of the first concrete for a mega church members started four years ago.

In it's final stage, the mega church will be able to hold up to five thousand people. The pouring started early before dawn. Men, women, and children of all ages were all present to mix the one-thousand sacks of cement that this work required. School children asked permission to go help. To see everybody at work, Kihomi's prayer that morning kept coming to my mind: "God, help us pour this concrete without any incident."

I was especially moved to see children of five, six, and seven years old, each carrying some type of plastic container in which to hold and carry the water. Some were there to cheer those who were on top to lay the concrete in place. Here was an event that brought the whole community together: Protestants, Catholics, voodoo believers, no believers at all.

The church in this community is not only a worshipping place, but also a place that brings everybody together, no matter what your religion. The church is also a symbol of pride to the residents of this community. A mega church like this one will be a monument to everyone, and it will be a monument in Northern Haiti since it is associated with the Northern Christian University of Haiti.

Many times I have asked myself the question, "Where do poor people like these get money to build a mega church like this one?" It is hard to find the answer in any book written by a human being. I get the answers by living in their midst:

• Their determination is more than the money that they do not have.
• Their willpower means more than money.
• Their faith in a providing God is much bigger than the money they do not have.
• Their desire to have a dignified place for the glory of God is more than the money they don't have.
• The idea to leave something good, strong, beautiful to the next generation is more than the money they don't have.
• Their pride as people of God is more than the money they don't have.

Two regrettable absences were noticeable: the senior pastor, Dr. Jules Casseus and his wife, Laurie Casseus, in the States for medical reasons. If they were here today, they would see that their living in this community has not been in vain.

Another absence was that of the Kansas group led by Mike Lawrence and his wife Becky. A group of seven came from Kansas to help this community in many aspects of ministries. For some technical reasons, the pouring was delayed and the group had to leave. If they were present today, they would see the seven hundred people present mixing, singing, and rejoicing as the concrete was evolving.

We were sustained and encouraged by the Associate pastor, Reverend Moise Joel Dorsinville, who just returned from his M. Div studies at Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City.

When I see the amount of work, money, and time this mega church will take, the prophetic message taken from Exodus 40:34-38 Pastor Dorsinville gave comes to my mind. "Every step we accomplish in the building of this church should be a celebration, an opportunity to worship and to thank God for our lives, because many of the people present here today won't see the final stage of this mega church."

Please, join us as we celebrate the pouring of the concrete to our mega church.

Yours truly,

Kihomi & Nzunga