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 Our Mission
John:
What I’m trying to is to have an effect on individuals. The
clinic in Prospere is in a rural area, so the people get what they have from the land. They grow
crops to sell like bananas and plantain.
In general, they're very poor. It’s hard to estimate how much the
average person is making--certainly under a thousand American dollars a year, but
most of them much, much less. They rely on seasonal crops, so there are
months when
they’ll eat fairly well and others when they will have little..
I conduct medical clinics, but it's not possible for me to heal much of Haiti,
because Haiti has far too many problems, but I do hope for at least some of the individuals I touch, to touch others, to become a part of THE
church, and through that I hope to have an effect on the church.
Being able to be right where I feel God wants me to be is the most
important thing I can do.
 Jodie:
I have done a variety of things during our years in Haiti, from working with
women’s groups and teaching health classes in the villages where John has done
clinics, to teaching English at my daughter’s French preschool, doing enrichment
classes for children in a village school, and teaching piano to a long line of
missionary kids. During the years since Jessica has been in school I have
taught Kindergarten at Quisqueya Christian School in Port-au-Prince. This is my
ninth year there. QCS is an English language Christian school covering
Pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Both of our daughters have gone
there, and Jacquie graduated from QCS in 2003.
Kindergartners are busy growing in many
ways, and they still believe everything their teacher says! I feel that I have
a unique ministry to the children I see each day. Not only do I teach them
their letters, numbers, and how to get along, but I have the privilege of
teaching them God’s word and the importance of following and serving Christ. In
addition, I often have the opportunity of meeting with and even counseling the
parents of my students. Although these kids are only five or six, I feel that I
am planting seeds that will someday have an impact on the country of Haiti.
Although Quisqueya was created to serve
missionary families, its role has expanded to serve Haitian families in
Christian service and in the business community. Many of the families we serve
have a strong Christian background, but there are also quite a few who either
are not Christian or are only nominally so. QCS has had an important ministry
to these families, often reaching the parents for Christ through their
children. The school has also been a point of safety and stability for the
students through many times of uncertainty in Haiti. Most of the teachers come
from the US and Canada, and must raise about a third to half of their living
expenses. For more information on the school see
http://www.quisqueya.org
.
This past year has been challenging for me because of major transitions at
our school. In addition to my teaching responsibilities, I have been the
Elementary Lead Teacher since January 2006. Although we now have a new director
and a part time principal, there is always plenty of work to be done. Besides
changes in administration, many work hours went into attaining our
recertification with ACSI. Please continue to pray with us for stability and
security within the country, as this greatly affects all our work.
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