As we make final preparations to leave on Tuesday, we have gone through discouragement and incredible hope. God has come through in such amazing ways! Thursday was a difficult day. We had many outstanding details for our trip that simply were not coming together and we had no idea how they could or would in the short time before we left. The two main things were that we had not received enough supplies to fill even 2 bags, let alone the 4 we are able to take with us and we had not been able to secure transportation from Port-Au-Prince to Les Cayes. The small airline that generally flies is flying only limited times that did not work with our schedule and the bus schedule also did not coincide. We were facing having to rent a car, which is incredibly expensive and seemed so unnecessary as we have transportation once we reach Les Cayes. Both Hugues and I were so discouraged, but decided to lay that aside and just trust that God had never failed us before and He would not now.
Friday afternoon, I got a phone call from someone wanting to donate money for supplies to help fill up our bags in addition to our expenses, thus bringing the overhead of this trip WAY down! We were able to shop on Saturday for the relief supplies we needed. Praise the Lord and THANK YOU! Right after I got that phone call, Hugues and I spent 2 hours on the phone and computer trying to secure a rental car at the only rental company we could find that is still operating. We hit “submit” to make the payment online and it came back unexpectedly declined. Not two minutes later, our bank called and they had declined the charge because it appeared fraudulent (we don’t usually make large purchases to an International business!). We decided again to just sit back and breath for a while before making a decision. Hugues called a friend who lives in Les Cayes and in the process of their conversation, this friend offered to send his truck and driver to pick us up in Port-Au-Prince and drive us to Les Cayes! He doesn’t even want us to pay for gas! God is so GOOD!
Today, we received more much needed supplies and our bags are overflowing! Also, this morning we had the funding to provide a month’s worth of food to 30 families. Over the course of the day, that number has been raised to 50 families! I could go on and on with God-sightings over the past few days. We are so thankful to everyone who has joined in this effort and most of all to the Lord who has provided in abundance for the people of Haiti.
A few specific prayer requests for our trip:
• Due to heavy rains in Les Cayes and Massey, the area is experiencing severe flooding. At least 5 people in the area have died in the past couple of days due to this flooding. (The picture at the top of this page was taken last year around the same time. The picture shows the main bridge that connects Massey to Les Cayes. As you can see, you are unable to distinguish the road from the river. This is what is happening now also.) Please pray that the rain subsides and the flooding goes down. The people in Massey are completely cut off from their livelihoods and supply lines, and we will not be able to carry out our food distribution with this kind of flooding.
• For discretion and wisdom as we distribute food items and other supplies. The need is so great...how do you ever choose who is the most needy? Also, that God would guide us in distributing the Bibles into the hands who will share them with many and to whom they will be life-changing.
• For safe and uneventful travels.
• For the people of Massey...that they would feel God’s love through us and have peace in their hearts during this time of incredible need and distress.
Blessings,
Hugues and Jodi
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