June 7, 2009
Hi everyone,
Many of you who read this blog personally know Israel Joseph (our dear friend and right hand man in Haiti). He is truly a gift to Aslan, and it would be almost impossible for our work to move forward without him. There isn’t a place in the world where visitors from another country are not sometimes taken advantage of. Because trust is such an important issue, we are very fortunate to have Joseph working for us. This is true not only because because he is a man of many gifts and talents. It is equally true because he is such a person of integrity.
We’ve been careful over our 13 years in Haiti not to ruin Joseph with money. When missionaries begin DSC_0037 working outside the United States, they often give large amounts of money to people ~ without understanding what a mistake it is to do so. Giving someone $100 in the more remote areas of Haiti is the equivalent of giving that person about one-third of a year’s living expenses. Because we have used prudence in helping Joseph, he has never developed the demanding attitude that we have sometimes seen in others. In 2007 we realized that we had to help Joseph build a house for his wife and 5 children. After raising most of the walls for the new house, a tornado ripped through Ouanaminthe and completely destroyed all of Joseph’s work. With the help of so many of you, we started over and began to rebuild. The pictures you see at the end of this letter are the fruit of your many gifts. Joseph, Carline and their 5 beautiful children moved into their house this past December. We still need to raise some money for a few doors, some beds and a little furniture. Joseph & Carline are, however, thrilled to be living in their own home now and are so thankful to all of you who have helped make this possible.
A few months ago, Joseph said something that will stay with me forever. “Pastor” he said, “You and I will still be friends after the money is all gone.” It was his beautiful way of saying that our friendship means more to him than all the things we’ve done for him. Please continue to pray for Joseph, pictured above and right with Aslan’s Sunday program in L’Acajou, and for Carline and their little ones.
Till next time,
Craig
P.S. Following are various building stages of Joseph’s house, from being destroyed by the tornado to almost completed.
