Stories, News & Updates...

14th Haiti Trip - A Lot of Hard Work!

Mon, 28 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

After the conversation in April with our friends from the mountains about the extent of the ignorance there and the need of Jesus, we had some decisions to make. Do we try to do more in the mountains than just support the schools and teach Christian Character classes? Do we establish a place there to hold supplies etc. so we can do more? We have to have a base from which to work in order to fulfill our hopes to take the Jesus film into the mountains along with other educational materials for the gospel and cholera education and continued medical mission trips.   The lease on our house in Haiti was coming to an end. We had to decide how we would continue being in Haiti. We did not think it was a good financial decision to continue paying the high lease. We had talked with a friend earlier who thought it a good idea to build our own base and offered funds to get it started.   So, after only 12 days at home in April, Bill returned to Haiti on April 19 to begin work on the new base. The land is a piece we bought last year just above the well above Yvrose’s children’s home which will be advantageous in so many ways.  Our friend, Jim Hulstedt, flew back into Haiti to help a few days later. Fill was hauled in and the long, hot, labor intensive process of getting the foundation in was begun. We were SO blessed by Victory Compassion once again. They loaned us their concrete mixer which was a HUGE help in getting the concrete work done. Jim called it “the concrete mixer from heaven!”  We got a call the first week of May from James who had been to Haiti to help us in January. He and a friend, Peter, were flying in the next week to help!! Brett and Manolo were also still there so Bill had more help than expected and we were so grateful God sent these men at such crucial times. Daniel, our Haitian “Job Boss” also worked hard and we are grateful for him and his helpers.  It was a long hot five weeks and Bill lost a few pounds. But at the end, the foundation and stem walls were in, ready for the frame walls on top. You can check out our facebook page to see more pictures of the progress made during that time.
After returning to the states, James wrote the following:
This last time in Haiti I was able to experience working right along side some of my Haitian brothers on a construction site. Just as I see the effect my culture has had on me I see the product of the Haitian culture. It was apparent how I have been indoctrinated with the self will and determination that forged the "American way" in contrast to the results of freedom without responsibility and a history of free handouts, just two products of their environment. A man can't choose where he's born, only who he becomes. There was no difference in the ability or skill, only in the attitude driving that ability and skill. Haiti doesn't make me realize what I have or what I don't have, Haiti makes me realize what I really need. And I think the work that JUST MERCY is doing there is doing just that for the Haitian people. By simply being light, loving by example, and leading with humility they are bringing a reality that displays the needs of our souls and what it looks like when it is filled with the fountain of life. Each time I am there, it grows more apparent that the only culture that really brings life when it is operational is the culture of the kingdom of heaven. When there are people that have decided to devote themselves to loving the way their heavenly father loves, there is no limit to the adventures they will lead. 
We are so grateful for the many friends who have come to Haiti to labor with us and experience what God does to their hearts. But though the construction was the main “job” this trip, other things needing done continued. Donated food for the schools was taken to the trailhead. Children from the mountains came down and carried it up on their heads. School continued for 500 children in three locations. This month, the teachers were reading the story of Jesus from the book of Luke to the children. We continued to monitor the cholera situation in the mountains. Plans are being made for the future to take the Jesus film to the mountains, seeking to bring light to dark places. 
Bill returned home May 22 for a much needed rest but plans to return to Haiti in a few weeks, hopefully with some friends to put up the frame walls and put on the metal roof. A team is coming in July to help also and we hope to get the interior plumbing finished while they are there.  
If any of you could help with a donation so we can buy the windows, doors, and fixtures we need for the plumbing, we would be blessed. (Our mailing address and a paypal donate button are on our website, www.justmercy.org.) Our faithful supporters continue to let us pay the teachers for the schools and take care of other obligations in Haiti but to finish the house (which will also be a guest house for our visiting helpers) will take additional funds beyond what our friend has donated.
We pray God will use this base as a source of light and hope for the people who use it and the people we minister to.   Please check out our facebook page by typing JUST MERCY in the search box and you’ll find us. Thank you for praying for us and for being a part of the work of JUST MERCY.

13th Haiti Trip - Vol. II - Tools to Send the Light

Sun, 8 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

The rainy season started in Haiti in March so just before returning to the US, we received word that two children had died from cholera in the mountains of Pays-Pourri where our schools are. The next day Bill left for the mountains with ORS supplies and to find out how bad the situation was. We had been able to close our cholera clinics in January and had been glad they had not been needed since. He found that there were a few cases but not of epidemic proportions yet. He left the ORS with local people who could administer it so people could get down the mountain for help if needed. We will keep an eye on the situation in case the clinics need to be opened again.  In the last update, we discussed the ignorance in the mountains. Right now, we hope to raise the money to buy the projector and equipment we need to take the JESUS film to the mountains to show the people. We feel this particular need is so important, we wanted to share it with you. We want to do much more to bring teaching to the people.  There is also a great need to continue supporting the schools and teaching the children. We try to supply the schools in the mountains with food for lunches when we are able. One of our schools meets in a small building with a tent outside, one in the large twig building that is deteriorating and needs repair, and one in a large concrete shell. When we announced we were opening the school in Robia which meets in a four room concrete shell, the next day over 150 children showed up! The people want their children to learn and we are blessed to have the freedom to teach them not only academics but about the Lord, too.   Another continual need in Haiti is for used cell phones that take sim cards. The cell phones they sell in Haiti are cheap and break easily. We are always being asked if we have any American cell phones to give away so if you have some older phones you could donate, that would be wonderful.  We are also looking for some used laptop computers that someone might possibly donate. We would like to have one for each school and one to keep medical records on. We are hoping to do a medical mission to the mountains with American doctors once a month and are excited to be talking with a couple organizations that are considering the possibility of working with us on this. On the four medical missions to the mountains with doctors we have done so far, we have just written on little pieces of paper and everything is very primitive and difficult so we would like a computer to keep the medical records on. These trips have been to places where doctors never go. People walk from miles around to see the doctor and every patient is prayed for before they leave.  To do the medical missions to the mountains, we need to have a place there to store supplies so we don’t have to carry everything up and down every time. There are a couple of small Haitian rock, twig, and mud houses that have been offered for our use. We need to raise some funds to repair them and fix them to accommodate those needs. Right now hauling everything up and down every time is logistically complicated and difficult.  The needs in the mountains of Haiti are great but we have hope that God will use us to bring His word and light to truly come to make a difference in the people’s lives. Please share our website with your friends and tell them what we are doing. If you have used computers or cell phones you could donate, that would be wonderful. Our mailing address is below and there is a Paypal donate button on our website at www.justmercy.org.  We’re just followers of Jesus who went to Haiti after the quake to take some tents and ended up staying, picking up our feet and praying to God that He would put them down where He wanted. It’s been an adventure and we are grateful to all those who pray for us and who have helped us financially to continue to be there and do what the Lord sets in front of us. Thank you for being a part of our lives.

13th Haiti Trip - Vol. I - Ripe for Harvest

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Bill and I arrived back in Haiti on March 22nd. It was time to pay the teachers for our three mountain schools which over 450 children attend and find out how the Christian Character classes were going. We sat down with two of the people in charge of the schools to talk about it and we learned some things.
We knew that the people who started the Faith in God School of Pays-Pourri whose support we took over two year ago did so because they had gone on a mission to the mountains and learned that the local preacher was illiterate and could not even read the Bible. They wanted the children to be able to read the Bible and so they started the school. When we found the school, it was getting ready to close as they could no longer fund it so we took on its support. It has about 180 students.
The children had been taught some scriptures and Christian songs along with academics but we recently started the Christian Character classes hoping to really see a change in hearts and behavior. Although the local preacher is illiterate, we thought the children who did go to church were still being taught something Biblical as we assumed the preacher had been taught something at some point.
Not so, said our friends from the mountains who are Christians and have received an education. We asked them what the preacher talked about on Sundays and were told things like the garden, chickens, etc. In other words, the ignorance in the mountains is worse than we thought and “church” is just a social event.
We also learned the real “pastor” of these churches lives in Jacmel, a city on the coast, and only comes to these mountain churches once a year to conduct weddings and collect what little money the people can give. He returns to Jacmel and the people receive no teaching or help from him.
The local “preachers” do not want our friends coming to teach. When our friends were in high school, they would go back home to try to teach the people and the “pastors” weren’t happy about it. It sounds like they get the people to help them with their gardens and other things to their advantage and tell the people it is “for God” and are afraid if the people are taught, they might lose their “position” and the advantages of it.
We were saddened by the situation and also energized at how important it is for us to continue supporting the schools in the mountains and try harder to find avenues to teach the people. While they talked, I kept thinking of John 4:35 - "..... I tell you, Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest." What a mission field!   Last trip, we brought a small, quiet generator with us so next time we come to Haiti, we can bring a good projector we can use in the mountains with the generator and make some trips to the villages to show the Jesus film in Creole. We also need to get the rest of the Proclaimers we have, audio Creole Bibles, out to the people and get them being used. It is hard to find Haitians responsible enough to care for the Proclaimers properly who will also share the scriptures with their neighbors.
We understand that the Christian character classes are going well and not only are the children being taught, but so are the teachers!! Next month, in light of what we have learned, instead of a new Christian characteristic being taught, we are going to ask them just to teach the life of Jesus. There is so much for them all to learn.
Brett and Hannah hiked up to Pelerin to the school one day to finish repairing the water catchment system for the cistern there. The pipes had all cracked and broken. The sun is very hard on PVC. Brett had worked on it before and this day was the completion of the project so the school would have water. We are so grateful for their help.
Although they repaired the water system, I was dismayed to see the pictures they took of the school. It was built five years ago and when I was there 18 months ago, it still looked pretty good. But the pictures Hannah brought back showed much deterioration in the school building which was built with sticks (See the picture). We are going to have to do something before too long to improve/rebuild the building.
A new helper for Yvrose flew in a couple of days before we did. Katheryn is from Kentucky. She stayed at our home a few days but has now moved up to Yvrose’s and is working with the children and Yvrose’s family. I think she especially enjoyed the worship they have each evening and on Sundays. We are glad God sent her to help and ask you to pray for her and her time here.
Also, please keep Yvrose and her health in your prayers. She has blood pressure issues but also some other things have been troubling her. Everyone who meets her continues to be blessed by her heart for God. She is the glue God uses to hold that family together. Though she has many helpers, she is the heart, God’s heart of them all, calling them to Him. We are so blessed to know her.
We are making plans to build a base on land up at Yvrose’ we helped her buy last year. We cannot continue leasing this expensive house though it is great to have when teams come. But Bill and I have paid for it out of pocket the last two years and cannot continue. A friend has donated some funds to start the base so we hope to make some progress on that while we are here.
I’m trying to keep this short so will close for now. Thank you so much for your prayers, support, and encouragement. We are blessed. May the Lord bless your lives with joy as you seek to follow hard after Him.

12th Haiti Trip - Vol. II - Servant Hearts in Haiti

Thu, 1 Mar 2012 21:42:49 -0600

The day our daughter Hannah and I returned to the US in late January, Yvrose left Haiti also to visit her mother in Boston who was ill. She intended to stay several weeks but had to cut her visit short to return to Haiti when Gabriella, the healthy one of the twin babies in her family, suddenly became ill and died within 24 hours on Feb. 8th. It was a heartbreaking time for the family and Yvrose returned to Haiti to be with them.
Molly W., Nellie W., and Hannah H. are three young ladies who answered our request for help for Yvrose with her family. They are all staying at our home in Haiti and have daily been involved seeking to bless Yvrose’ family. Hannah H. who is spending a year in Haiti with various ministries wrote the following about her time with Yvrose’ family so far.
“I have been around many children in Haiti and have never been able to figure out how people who have so little can still take so much for granted. Yvrose has truly shown these children not only how to be respectful and gracious, but how to be great followers and examples of Christ. I find great pleasure working among these beautiful people. It's like a breath of fresh air. Some may see the struggles and aggravation of everyday living in Haiti, and immediately shun the idea of ever allowing themselves to have such an experience. However, I'm forever grateful I've taken the leap out of my comfort zone. Not only have I been able to teach and mentor these children, but I've also experienced their true love for the Lord and how the little problems in life always seem to diminish. That right there has taught me so much about the person I need to be. I will always cherish this journey in my heart, and strongly advise anyone else needing an extra little boost of the Spirit in their lives to come spend some time with these kiddos. All it takes is one welcoming smile, a sweet kiss on the cheek, helping them with homework, reading a story to them, ANYTHING, and you won't go home the same person you were before. These children are so blessed. God's got a strong grip on them, yet they continue to strive towards being better believers and better followers.

The night before sweet Gabriela passed away, these children prayed for her for HOURS before going to bed. The next morning when I found out the terrible news, all I could think about was how let down they must feel. They were heartbroken of course, but to my surprise, they still had this immense peace and understanding of God's overall plan. They were not angry, in fact they were very calm and happy that they had the opportunity to spend the time they could with this darling baby. We can only pray and hope for the blessings and peace that God has given them. It's people and experiences like this that mold your inner core and make you the person you're supposed to be. I am forever blessed to have shared in their great journey through life.”
Molly wrote the following about her experience.
"This is an amazing, heartbreaking, difficult, beautiful place. It is hard for an American to understand the spiritual walls that have been built up throughout long generations. My constant prayer is that the Spirit would come in power on these people to awaken their understanding, or at least their hunger, for truth, for God, for life. The kids we are working with are absolutely AMAZING!!! I love them all soooo much!!! They are so beautiful and joyful. THEY are the hope and future for this country. I know they will be shining lights in their community.

It is so awesome to step into a world where you have not one iota of control and you are forced to fall completely on Christ to fulfill His promises in you and through you. That is when you truly start living. Moment by moment. You start praying without ceasing subconsciously because you have no other recourse. Faith stops being something you talk about and creeps into your very core. This is life as we were made to live it, but we are (or at least I am) held back by our culture of comfort and security. Living fully is not a safe thing to do. I feel highly privileged to have been a part of this even for a short time. What a privilege to step into someone’s life even for a moment to offer them a cup of cold water in the name of the Savior!"

Molly and Hannah were able to write the above even though both of them came down with malaria and have been dealing with that off and on the last few weeks. They have been amazing!!!

Here are a few words from Nellie:

Watching the people and living it with them I kept coming back to, they are content... Now contentment in a bad system, way of living is not really good. But content with the little things in life, content with what you have and not being oh so envious... being content in Christ is something we all need to practice and my time away helped reveal that to me more. In a way I feel like I had my own little sabbatical and it was awesome!

While in Haiti I experienced heat, sleeping on the roof ( the rain in the middle of the night ;), mosquitoes, rocky terrain, mountains, beaches, filth, rubble, smells, illnesses, people..... People, no matter where you went, who were hungry for attention. People who yes, had needs, physical needs....but mostly spiritual needs.

Haiti doesn't need just a god, but THE God. Pray for these people.

We are so grateful to these wonderful young women who love the Lord and came to Haiti to share that love with Yvrose’ children.

Before Bill returned to the states near the end of Feb., he and the girls took another trip to the mountains to visit the schools where we had started the Christian Character classes in February with the first characteristic being RESPECT. They found that the children up there were responding well to the lessons and seemed to be excited about it. The teachers were even saying they were noticing a difference in their attitudes! We are excited to be starting lessons on HONESTY in March at all our schools.

God sent us another helper, Brett, a young man who came to Haiti to help with the work of JUST MERCY for a couple of months. He has taken several trips to the mountains helping with various things, especially the project of repairing the water collection system for the school in Pelerin which was all cracked and broken. He’s also been busy helping at Yvrose’.

Last week, Molly, who had been battling malaria off and on was advised to go to the hospital in PAP for some tests so she and Nellie went the next day. After being examined by American doctors, she was told she needed to leave Haiti immediately for medical care in the US. She had not brought her passport to the hospital and after arriving that morning, a “manifestation” or demonstration had started in Fonds-Parisien which blocked roads and stopped traffic. We sent out a prayer request for her as we did not believe there was any way for her to leave Haiti that day. But Fegens, one of our Haitian helpers, managed to make the journey from Fonds-Parisien to PAP on a motorcycle, going back ways, and getting the girls’ passports to the airport in time for them to board the last plane out of Haiti that day! She arrived in Miami and received the care she desperately needed. We are so grateful that God orchestrated everything for her to be able to leave Haiti and, as the doctors thought in Miami, save her life. Praise the Lord!

Please continue to pray for the work in Haiti, particularly with the children in the mountains. We are grateful that God has given us this opportunity to be His hands and feet there. We are only able to continue because of your prayers and support. Thank you. May God bless you all.

12th Haiti Trip - Vol. I - Of Benches and Christian Character

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Bill and our friend, Jon Hynson, arrived in Haiti on January 5th. Our daughter Hannah and I followed on January 12. Our friends, Molly and Nellie, also flew in with us. They came to work with us and help Yvrose with her children for the next two months. The day after we arrived, the folks from Samaritan’s Purse (who had given us the Christmas boxes) left on a planned hike to the top of the highest mountain in Haiti, nearly 9000 feet. Hannah and Molly went with them. Hannah had to stop half way but Molly went all the way to the top. She said it was grueling but what an experience! The visit was off to a great start!
A few days after arriving, we went with Yvrose to MSC, a Home Depot like store in Port au Prince. She had been given some money from some friends in England to buy lumber to make some school benches for her school. As wood is so expensive in Haiti, we were surprised to find some really good quality 1 x 12’s for $1/foot! After Yvrose bought her boards, we bought the rest of their stock to make thirty benches for our mountain schools.
On the 18th, James and Anthony arrived from Chicago. The guys along with Hannah spent the next couple of days at the woodshop Haitian Christian Mission has down the road. They graciously let us use it to cut out the pieces for the benches, at least whenever the electricity was on. Our people had to stop work for the day a couple of times when the electricity went off which is a common occurence in Haiti.
In the meantime, Molly and Nellie were spending time with Yvrose’ family getting to know the children. They were also helping me with the Christian character curriculum we are developing to be taught in our schools. I had brought posters with me in French and English on Respect and Honesty, the first two character traits we want to teach. The girls found additional scriptures demonstrating respect and we made a monthly outline to teach RESPECT with a scripture for each day of February.
Yvrose came over and translated the bullet points with the supporting scriptures into French. (In Haiti, French is taught in all the schools and all government documents are in French. Yvrose said all the teachers could translate from French to Creole for the children.) Then on Saturday we had our first ever teachers meeting! All the teachers from our three mountain schools came down to meet at our house along with the teachers from Yvrose’ school. Yvrose introduced the material to them and we received a very positive response. I had printed the outlines, a copy for each teacher, which we put in page protectors and put in folders to give them.
I am so excited about this. Bill and I have said if JUST MERCY supports a school, we want to be teaching more than just academics. Though the children are learning songs and Bible stories, we feel like Christian character teaching is also greatly needed!
A side benefit of this is that we are teaching the teachers. All of them say they are Christians but most did not even own a Bible! Yvrose had a box of Bibles that she let us give them so our teachers would all own a Bible and be able to teach the scriptures we are using. Please be praying about this, that God will use it to touch the childrens’ hearts and help them to grow in “wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man”.
On Monday, dozens of children from the mountains came down early in the morning to meet our people at the trail head. They carried all the bench pieces up the mountains in their arms and on their heads to the three villages where we have the schools, 10 benches per school. (With nearly 500 children, we need many more.)
I spent the day sorting through medicines at the mission house with Dr. James Hamilton and his daughter Hannah from Joplin. We had brought over eight military style camelbaks with many pockets for organizing the medicines. Previously, everything had been dumped in a duffel and had to be sorted out in the mountains. That had to change and it did. We were able to make packs that had medicines for specific purposes.
That night, more help from Joplin arrived. The next day everyone except Nellie and I went to the mountains. Dr. Hamilton and Hannah along with our friends held a medical clinic in Robia.

The rest of the party put together the benches at Robia. and then walked to Chapelle to put together the benches for that school after dark. They then pushed on to spend the night at Pelerin. That was only possible because we had brought a small, fairly quiet gas generator over in our luggage. We took it to the mountains and kept our driver batteries charged up to assemble the benches. We believe there are going to be many things we will be able to do in the mountains with this generator, including showing the Jesus film. We had tried to do it with a tiny little battery operated projector but it had not worked well. We are looking forward to the future with this.

The next day, the bench group put together the benches for Pelerin and then headed back down the mountain. The medical group in Robia held a short morning clinic and then hiked back down. The packs of medicine with their printed inventories worked wonderfully as a pharmacy! Dr. Hamilton shared his thoughts.

“What a huge blessing I received serving alongside you and such wonderful Christians last week. Those 2 days will forever be among the highlights of my life. I'm so excited to see what God is going to do with your work there. You and Janet and Yvrose are such inspirational people!”

Everyone involved in both projects said it was an amazing experience. Here is a portion of Bill’s account of the trip.
After the trip up and constructing the first 10 benches at Robia, it was late in the afternoon. The bench team decided to go on to Chapelle and try to finish the benches there. We wound up arriving at Chapelle in the dark but the 1 1/2 hour hike with the sun setting across the mountains was......well, maybe Molly said it best. As we stood almost dumbfounded at the beauty of the mountains backlit by the setting sun, the profusion of light and colors, with tears rolling down her cheeks, knowing we couldn't capture this wonder with words or camera, for we knew we were beholding inexpressible beauty, Molly said through her tears, " I just love God so much.....!." Nothing else to say!
Built the benches at Chapelle in the dark with flashlights. While they finished up I loaded the mules and we headed to Pelerin (another 1 1/2 hour hike in the dark) where we would sleep for the night.

I'll have to tell you sometime about Pelerin, I hope to build a base camp there. Finished building the benches and down the mountain by dark. What a trip it was! All the kids, all the friends, all the beauty, and all the people so glad to see us.

We attempt to speak the love of God with our actions and our words. It's our prayer that they hear with their ears, see with their eyes, and come to believe with their hearts. The only solution for us all.

From supporting the schools by paying teachers and providing a school lunch when we are able, to helping deserving individuals that God sends our way, to being a part of Yvrose’ family’s life, to all the other myriad things God sends our way to do, we continue to need funds to keep working in Haiti. We are so grateful for all of you who are praying for us, the thing we need most! To those who have made it possible financially for us to continue in Haiti, thank you!!

11th Haiti Trip - Vol. III - Of Dr. Suarez and Adrienne

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:45:08 -0600

We wanted to share with you some personal stories from the 11th Haiti Trip that we didn’t cover in the last two updates. In October, Bill met Dr. Alfredo Suarez, a 70 year old Columbian doctor who currently lives in Georgia. Dr. Suarez’ mission is to help the most helpless people he can find. His specialty is infectious tropical diseases but he has extensive experience in treating people for all kinds of things all over the world/
Dr. Suarez made his first medical mission trip with JUST MERCY to the mountains in October. Bill was amazed at Dr. Suarez’ energy and dedication to helping people who had no other medical care. He would work all day and when everyone else was exhausted, Dr. Suarez would still want to continue seeing patients.
In December, they made another medical mission to the mountains. Dr. Suarez saw hundreds of people and never lost his caring and compassionate demeanor. He began to talk with us about being our medical director and we started making extensive plans for a more permanent medical clinic in the mountains with Dr. Suarez planning on spending 4 days every two weeks at our mountain clinic with the rest of his time working at clinics in Fonds-Parisien.
Dr. Suarez returned to the states in Dec. with plans to return to Haiti the middle of January but unfortunately just found out that he needs surgery for a carcinoma. Not only is this very difficult for Dr. Suarez, but it is also a major setback to his and our hopes and dreams to bless the mountain people of Haiti. Please be in prayer for Dr. Suarez health. He has blessed our lives with his dedication, love for Jesus, and enthusiasm for serving the people of Haiti. All of Dr. Suarez’ e-mails start with “Hallelujah”, including the one telling us of his cancer.
A slideshow of the medical mission trips has been posted on our youtube channel,
JUST MERCYforHaiti.
It is called Working With the Great Physician. We hope you’ll watch it and understand a little more how difficult but rewarding it is to take medical care to the mountain people.
At Dr. Suarez’ clinic in October, a young crippled woman, Adrienne, was brought in to see him. Her body is twisted. She can stand briefly but can barely walk. She lives on the side of a mountain near Pensek where a flat place has been carved out of the steep mountainside and two huts have been built.
Bill’s heart was touched meeting Adrienne. When he returned to Fonds-Parisien, he got some things together in a back pack for her, things like a toothbrush, comb, a JUST MERCY T-shirt, and some other items along with a Proclaimer, a solar powered audio “radio” that speaks the Bible in Creole. He sent these things back up to her with a Haitian friend, asking that she play the Proclaimer for her neighbors.
The next time Bill went to the mountains in December with Dr. Suarez, he started down the steep trail to where Adrienne lived. She did not know he was coming. As he got closer to her home he could hear the Proclaimer playing.
Since she is illiterate, she could not read the menu to find specific books of the Bible so Bill had an interpreter teach her how to find the gospels. He asked her to listen to the gospel of John, then the other gospels, and then the gospel of John again. He told her the next time he came to see her he wanted to talk with her about the story of Jesus.
On Jan. 1st, Bill shared with the folks at a small church that helps us here in Missouri. A visitor there was touched by Adrienne’s story and ordered five more Proclaimers for us!! When Faith Comes By Hearing notified us of the order, they also told us that they would be donating two more along with the order so we will be receiving seven more Proclaimers!
We are so excited about this and grateful to our new friend! The people in the mountains love to come and listen to the Proclaimers. We need to find reliable people in the mountains to take them, keep them charged, and play them for their neighbors. This could be a major blessing to these folks. Please pray that God’s word will open hearts and touch lives as only He can.
Bill returned to Haiti on Jan. 5th and Hannah and I came on Jan. 12th. I’ll get an update on this trip out soon. Please keep us in your prayers. Thank you for all the love and support you have given us. We are blessed.

11th Haiti Trip - Vol. II - The Journey of the Gifts

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:04:59 -0600

Bill was due to come home from Haiti on Dec. 14th but on Monday the 12th he found out that Samaritan’s Purse was going to give us nearly 500 of their Operation Christmas Child gift boxes for the children going to our three schools in the mountains!! We were so excited!
It was going to be a HUGE undertaking! Picking up the boxes from SP’s facility north of PAP, getting them to the trail head, procuring 30 mules and horses to pack them onto, buying food and taking it up to feed nearly 600 people, and arranging to get everyone together for the distribution, etc. was going to be a chore!! But what a JOY to get to do it! So Bill cancelled his flight and began the work of getting this done.
We received help initially from New Hope Haiti Mission. They provided a truck on Thursday to go north of PAP, pick up the boxes and four staff members from Samaritan’s Purse who were going with us into the mountains for the distribution, and take the boxes to our house in Fonds-Parisein. Victory Compassion provided a truck on Friday morning at 4:30 am to take the boxes to the trailhead. What an experience to get all those boxes loaded onto mules and horses for the trek up the mountain.
We had sent the food up earlier in the day so that it could get started cooking as we wanted to feed everyone. We had the children come from all three locations to Robia for the distribution. Many of them had to walk a few hours to get there. We arrived around 1:30 pm. The food was not ready yet and all the children were gathered in and around a church building. Bill had an opportunity to talk with them (Yvrose translating), telling them about the gift of the people who filled the boxes, the gift of the people who shipped them to Haiti, the gift of those who contributed to getting the boxes up the mountains, the journey those boxes had taken getting to them, all because God’s people wanted to share His love with them! Then he told them about the greatest gift of all, God’s son, Jesus!
Finally the food was ready and everybody ate before the distribution of the boxes. This event was probably the biggest thing that had ever happened to these children who live with next to nothing in the mountains of Haiti. We are SO grateful to Samaritan’s Purse and all the other people in Haiti who helped make this happen for sharing their love for God with us and these children!! The distribution was not completed until nearly dark and many of the children had far to go, but no one was unhappy about it.
Bill had kept some boxes back. They loaded up the mules, and set out for Pelerin in the dark where they were all going to spend the night at Jolius’ parent’s home. The next morning, the SP staff along with Yvrose and the children that had come with her headed down the mountain. Bill, our girls, and some Haitian helpers continued on to Pensek, another three hours across the mountains. He had a special visit to make.
On the way to Pensek, he passed out some Christmas boxes to children he met on the trail. His goal in Pensek was to take a Christmas box to Adrienne, the young lady with the bent body we talked about in the last update. He also wanted to take pictures of her to bring back to the states to talk to a doctor here and see if anything can be done to help her.
After the visit, Bill headed back down the mountain with our girls and Haitian helpers, arriving at the trail head after dark, exhausted, but so grateful for an amazing experience!!! We are thankful to God for allowing all of it to happen!!
We’ve are working on a slide show of the event. If you go to youtube.com and search for our channel, JustMercyforHaiti, and subscribe to it, you will be notified once it is posted.
The truck had been returned on Thursday but we had not gotten the papers we needed to drive it legally. So Bill went to get them on Monday. Those guys had obeyed the order to give us our truck but told Bill that to get the papers, he would have to give them $6000!! We could not believe it. We knew that was not what the director of customs had intended when he called them and told them to give us the truck. He had told Bill this never should have happened. Now when Bill goes back in January, he will have to try to get into that office again, which is not easy, and ask the director to intervene once again. Please continue to pray about this situation.
If you would like to help us continue to meet the needs the Lord puts in our path like the wonderful opportunity described above, please do. There is a donate button on our website, www.justmercy.org or you can send a check to the address below.
We hope you all have a blessed Christmas with your families, thanking the Lord for your blessings, especially the gift of Jesus. He is the reason we continue to seek to bless the people of Haiti. For all of you who pray and/or support us, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. May God bless you!

11th Haiti Trip - Vol. I - Fountain of Life?

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Bill sent this from Haiti today following another trip earlier this week into the mountains with Dr. Alfredo Suarez. Please take the time to read it. God is doing amazing things!

A dear man once said that the law of the Creator is the necessity of the creature. Another man once asked what is the greatest commandment. Well.....Love God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your strength, and your neighbor as your self. Jesus said this is pretty much the heart of the deal. Seems pretty straight forward.
 He also said, "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions". If that's the case, what does it consist of? What gives life meaning? What fills this void, this longing for something more?   Maybe these two statements belong together. Perhaps if we are loving God with all our heart, mind, and strength and our neighbor as our self, we will discover of what a man's life consists. I think that's it. The secret fountain of life. A good long drink and my questions about life are answered.   The Fountain and the drink?    Knowing and loving the God of goodness; beauty; love; the God of Life! Knowing and loving my Father, my Brother, my God, my King and in that knowing and loving, I gather my neighbor up in my arms and love him like I've known Love and my heart is filled, my need is met, my thirst is quenched!   The road of life is like the Jericho road, and all along the way we will find those “fallen among thieves". Shall we pass by on the other side and miss the blessing or will we " prove to be a neighbor!"?   It seems so much easier here in Haiti! Here so many have "fallen among thieves"..."for the thief comes to steal, and kill, and destroy", steal dreams, kill vision, destroy hearts! Here the road is too narrow to "pass by on the other side" and I am almost forced to drink from the water that "wells up unto eternal life" and here, as I endeavor to love God and love my neighbor, I discover that the law of the Creator is not just the necessity of the creature but the pleasure, the joy, the wealth, the life!   We found Adrienne on the side of a mountain. She was sitting looking out across a place of such exquisite beauty that, though she can't read and she can't walk, I almost envy her! We think Adrienne's deformities may have been caused by a childhood fever, possibly rhuematic. She can barely walk and has a lot of pain. We also believe it's progressive. We must carry her up the mountain to see the doctor we brought with us.   It is the second time Adrienne and I have met. She is already a JUST MERCY team member and plays a solar powered audio box called a Proclaimer to her illiterate neighbors every day. It is the first time they have ever heard the Bible. Is she a weak vulnerable human being or an Angel of light?...Who can tell? I just know that we must begin the trip up the mountain. So I lift her up and as I hold her in my arms I feel as though my heart would break, or will it burst?... and I can't distinguish the tears of sorrow from the tears of joy!  Of what does a man's life consist? For me the question is answered!   "Ho! Everyone that thirsts come to the water"!!!   A walk through Isaiah 55 might speak to you.   The second message Bill sent today was one word. YAAAAAAAH!! After nine months and nine days, our truck was returned to us. Too long a story to tell but praise the Lord, we did not have to pay more money. It needs some maintenance but it is back and we are so grateful!!!! Thank you to all who have prayed for this as it is so important to the work in Haiti.   Our next update will deal with an amazing thing happening this week! Stay tuned. If you'd like to help us continue the work in Haiti, you can send a check to the address below or go to our website and click the donate button. We are so grateful to all of you who have helped and continue to help us seek to share God's love with the people of Haiti. May God bless you all!

In Love We Work,
In Hope We Wait,
Bill & Janet Montgomery
JUST MERCY PO Box 93 Stark City, MO 64866

10th Haiti Trip - Vol. II - School for the Mountain Children?

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:59:06 -0600

Bill’s last two weeks in Haiti during his October trip were full of many things. He still spent a few days in PAP working on trying to get the truck back. Our friends from California were there for another week. Corina, Cristin’s wife flew in for their second week. They worked hard doing whatever was needed, washing down donated cholera cots, organizing supplies, etc.

During that week, they and Bill took another trip into the mountains. This time, a 70 year old Columbian doctor went with them to hold a clinic for the mountain people where we had gone before. It was an incredible trip. The Columbian doctor and our friends worked tirelessly ministering to the people. They were such a blessing!

Bill is working on writing an account of an encounter he had there I’ll send at a later date. The following account was written by Cristin, one of the men who visited during this time to help us.

Gods hand was evident in every aspect if this trip. From the shock of stepping out of the airport into the central market to being exposed to the harsh way of life in the mountains. He knew what we needed to see and experience and provided for it in divine fashion.

God working through Yvrose and Pierre-Richard touched me the most. The children are a direct reflection of the love, joy and faith that is so evident in their lives. They are a true light in Haiti and a model Christian family.

I was very frustrated not being able to take some of the load off of Bill. I watched as he had to rely on Gods strength to oversee the great work Just Mercy is doing. In dealing with the ever present need standing at the door to the corrupt government officials, Bill was a great example of taking life’s punches in stride to the Kingdom. He reminded me that it really doesn't matter what is going on around you because it’s all in Gods hands anyhow.

My heart went out to the people of Pays-Pourri. Their existence is very simple but very harsh. They have to work very hard for little food. The food they do manage to grow is stripped of it nutrients by the parasites living in all their bodies. The childrens’ bodies are all several years behind their age from malnutrition. They seemed desperate for hope. The schools and clinics that Just Mercy supports have provided a great opportunity to introduce them to the one true hope. The challenge now is connecting the dots between the Savior learned and the Savior lived.

October was time for school to start in Haiti. We are continuing to support the Faith in God School of Pays-Pourri we took on last year in the mountains in the village of Pèlerin. It has approximately 190 students.

Some friends from the east coast sent us some funds to help open another school in another mountain village, Chapelle, which had closed for lack of funds at the end of last year. The money they sent was used to pay the teachers four months back pay so they would come back for this year. Our friends are doing some fund raising to help supply the needs for that school and pay the teachers.

In Robia where we have a cholera treatment center in the mountains, someone several years ago built a concrete shell with four rooms to start a school. Something happened and that was as far as the project went. The people of Robia came and asked us if we could somehow open the school for the children. We stepped out in faith and hired four teachers. School started there Oct. 29th, a month late, with 160 students. This will be the third school that we will be responsible for supporting.

We are working on some Christian character curriculum to be taught. We are working off of the Focus on the Family Character Crew posters. They teach 8-9 character traits, such as honesty, respect, courage, etc. The material says simply: “Honesty is ………… “ and “Dishonesty is………………”   We are hoping to teach these traits in our schools along with the scripture and songs the children are already learning. During the last nearly two years of working in Haiti, we have come to believe that the children are the future and hope of Haiti. We hope to teach them to love God and to know what kind of character He has that we want to share with one another.

We would like to ask if you or anyone you know might be able to make a monthly commitment of any amount that could go toward the school in Robia. We would like to pay the teachers $75/month for each teacher, or $300/month. Books and supplies cost about $10/student which would be $1600.

Our mailing list consists of about 260 people. Of those, only an average of 110 open each update. A few of those already help us on a monthly basis which enables us to keep the school in Pèlerin open. If the Lord lays it on your heart to help us keep the school in Robia open for these children who live in poverty stricken villages in the mountains with no opportunities to learn to read or write, we would appreciate hearing from you. Please pass this on to others who might want to help us with this. Just $75/month will pay one teacher. Three people, each committing $25/month, would pay one teacher for a month!   There is a donate button through paypal on our website, www.justmercy.org, or a check could be sent to the PO box below. Any help would be appreciated as we seek to change the lives of the children in the mountains.

Bill will be returning to Haiti Nov. 30. Please keep him in your prayers as he goes back, hopefully to get the truck released (Please keep praying about this. It is vital!) so that we can pick up cholera supplies to keep the clinics stocked with needed medical items and also to check on the schools and be able to get them the supplies they need. Our mules continue to be valuable assets in taking supplies up from the trailhead. We are so grateful for them and all those who made it possible for us to purchase them.

We also continue to work at Yvrose’ home.   The septic system is being dug. Her school has also opened for the year and a gentleman who had visited her earlier this year sent some much needed funds for her school. We are so grateful for his help.

We ask that you would continue to pray for us, particularly Bill, as working in Haiti is hard and draining but how can we say no to God when such needs are set before us? Thank you for your prayers and support. May the Lord bless you all.

10th Haiti Trip - Vol. I - God’s Provision and the Blessing of Showers

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Bill returned to Haiti on October 2nd. Three friends of ours were due to come in on the 9th to help for two weeks and he needed to get prepared. We had spent our time in the states contacting organizations trying to find someone to donate the cholera supplies needed to keep our clinics open as our main supplier could no longer help us. The Lord provided and in that first week, Bill was able to visit Samaritan's Purse, Medical Teams International, and Americares.

Samaritan's Purse donated both cholera cots and cholera beds. We are taking the cots up the mountain on mules so the people in our clinics can get off the floor. The beds are going next door to the IFM clinic which was in great need of them. So once again, the Lord used us to connect other people and provide needed things. We love it when that happens. MTI and Americares both donated medical and hygeine cholera supplies and we are SO GRATEFUL! The cholera is picking up again so they were greatly needed.

Bill also visited offices in PAP about getting the truck back, visiting a new official in an old office. He was some encouraged. Possibilities exist that maybe we can get it back sometime soon. We are praying it is so. It was really difficult for Bil to get transportation to collect all the cholera supplies. He finally had to pay $130 to rent a large tap-tap (taxi) truck.

On Oct. 9th, our friends, Jeromy Robbins, Nick Booker, and Cristin Senior arrived from CA to help. I will let them tell you in their own words about their experience the first week.

In our first week we have seen a broad swath of Haiti. From the depravity and poverty of the inner city to the even deeper poverty and generosity of the mountain people. It has been a lot to take in. We have spent the most time with Yvrose and her 24 children getting their water hooked up and showers running. The kids were soon like our own.

Two days we spent in the mountains amongst locals who slowed down a bit so we could keep up. We spent a night under the hospitality of a seventy year old couple. The father who happily climbed a thirty foot avacado tree to shake down fruit for us who's seed is as large as our avocado. He still makes the almost daily trip down the mountain to tend his lower bean field.

We have come in contact with death twice this week. The first was a taxi driver who had a head on with a truck. We are actually surprised it does not happen more often since the only real traffic law here is the law of aggression. The second was during our night on the mountain we were awakened about two in the morning by an unearthly wailing. Apparently a neighbor had died during the night.

We are encouraged by those who genuinely want change in Haiti. From a simple mountain pastor to a man almost finished with his 15 year quest to become a doctor to his poor mountain community. We have another trip into the mountains planned for this week where educating people about the truth behind clean water is priority. Thanks.

Cristin, Nick, & Jeromy.

I have to tell you that when I called Yvrose to ask her about the showers, she was practically walking on air about it! She said the first night after the guys got the showers hooked up, the children all jumped in with their clothes still on and danced and rejoiced at the blessing of running water!!! Yvrose said when she took her first shower she felt like she had been transported back to the US and the LUXURY that a COLD shower is!! The electricity is also run to the well so as long as the sporadic electrical supply is on, the people coming can just turn on a spigot instead of hand pumping the water. It is all such a blessing!! Thank you to all those who have helped make this dream be fulfilled for Yvrose and her family!

Another item on our agenda: Education. Oct. 2 marked the beginning of the Haitian school year. It was time to buy books for the kids and that was going to cost $10/student for the 190 students at our main mountain school plus the 140 students at Chapelle that some friends are going to keep open by paying the teachers. Last April, an 7 year old Joplin girl, Kamryn, decided she wanted to raise money for Haiti. She held an event called "Hats for Haiti" and raised nearly $3000 for ministries in Haiti! Then the Joplin tornado happened and the check was delayed due to damage at the school administration building. The day before Bill had to go buy books, a check arrived for $1400 from that one little girl's efforts! I told her mother that that money would buy the books for 140 children!! We are so grateful for God's provision on this matter.

We are also researching how to incorporate more lessons into the school curriculum on the gospel and building Christian character which is desperately needed in Haiti. If anyone has any suggestion, we would be glad to consider it. Whatever we use has to be simple and direct as everything will have to be translated into French or Creole. We want this to be taught daily in the schools that we support.

I was scheduled to fly into Haiti with Corina, Cristin's wife, on the 17th but on Oct. 6th, I fell, severely spraining my ankle and receiving a wound in the process that has morphed into a serious hole in my foot so I am out of commission. Yesterday, the guys picked up Corina at the airport and they are looking forward to this week in Haiti.

One more thing to praise God for. Bill called a few moments ago. He had just met with President Martelly's father-in-law. He did some research and has determined that the insurance truck papers are valid. (The custom's office has been telling us they weren't.) This is the best possibility yet that we might get the truck back this week. We pray there are no more glitches and that it happens!

Also, if you have visited our web site, you might notice its address has changed. Our friend, Alan Lindsey, has acquired the domain name justmercy.org for us and we are changing to that. The old address will point you to it. We are very excited for this development. There is a donate button on the website or you can send a check to the address below if you would like to help in our endeavors. Only by the Lord's provision through his people with prayers and support are we able to continue to work in Haiti seeking to bring God's love to the people there. Thank you for your prayers and your help