International Ministries

Return To Haiti

January 14, 2015 Journal by Stephen James, Stephen James
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Yes, dear friends, we are writing from Haiti! Thanks to the wonderful responses from you after our letter of appeal in November, the needed support was raised. We were amazed at the outpouring of support and are deeply thankful to each of you who gave.
 
We arrived back a week before Christmas with Micah, now 20 years old. Before we unpacked, he convinced us we needed to bring a little Christmas spirit into our home and decorate! He scrambled up a Norfolk Island pine tree in front of our home on the campus of UCNH in Haut Limbe and cut the top off the tree. We preserved the tree and still had a lovely 5ft tree that we decorated with lights. We placed some branches and candles on the windowsill, hung a batik nativity scene from India on our wall, and our dwelling was transformed!
 
Once that happened and our spirits lifted from missing our family in North Carolina, we unpacked and started to settle in. We were able to participate in some of the local Christmas concerts and services, and Nancy helped prepare Christmas Eve dinner shared with campus friends. Although we missed our family very much, we were so thankful for loving, caring friends to share fellowship and the joys of this time of year. We were also glad to be here for Laurie and Jules in an understandably hard time of year for them as it is the first Christmas after the loss of their son, Tony, last February.
 
We have been reminded both metaphorically and practically of the importance of “light” in our lives. We struggle to adjust to the lack of electricity here in Haiti and have seen how our candles, headlamps and kerosene lamps bring a sense of clarity and hope to a darkened space. Jesus is the "Light of the World" and truly brings clarity and hope to our darkened world. What an extraordinary gift from God!
 
Micah, a junior at Wake Forest University, returned to North Carolina on January 6. Once we get our truck working again (broken radiator), the new license plates required by the government, our permits to stay in the country, and new inverter batteries, we will return to visiting the clinics and hospitals! We are grateful for Muller Jean-Jacques and others here who help us deal with the challenges of living in Haiti. Please pray for us as we continue to minster here.
 
We now look forward to the New Year and are so thankful for your lives and how they have touched us in countless ways. Many of you have lovingly sacrificed financially so that we could return to Haiti. May He bless you indeed in 2015!