Abundant Gratitude and Joyful Anticipation

Today is a quiet and thoughtful Sunday. Although I am thankful to the Lord all of the time for the many blessings he bestows on me every minute of every day, I am especially thankful today.

All around me I see people suffering every day - from ignorance, from lack, from spiritual emptiness - and I can only look to heaven and lift up a prayer of Thanksgiving for all of the provision I have in my life.

I have a family who loves me, friends who are supportive of the Lord's calling on my life and in supplying for my earthly needs as I serve Him. I have close working relationships with people who love the Lord as I do and desire only to do their parts to manifest His Will here on earth. And above all, I have a Savior who goes before me in everything I do, preparing my path and then walking it with me. I want for nothing and my spirit is the most at peace it has ever been in my life.

It has been over two years since I have seen my wife and I am anticipating her upcoming visit with so much anticipation, delight and joy. She is my partner in this walk even though the path has led me to be distant from her for this long. I am so blessed to have a spouse who understands and appreciates that God does, indeed, work in mysterious ways and encourages me as I step into some of uncertain places He leads me.

Please pray for my wife's safe travel to, within and from Haiti. Please pray that our reunion is one of joy and of peace for our spirits. Words cannot even express how grateful I am for the time we will be able to spend together. I love you, Sherry, and can't wait to hold you in my arms again.

Rejoicing,
Roody

A Community for Lafferronnay

Still running - found a parcel of land in the town of Lafferronnay (situated between Leogane and Port-au-Prince) that will accommodate 140 more families. It has nice trees and a little stream that runs through it (above). What a delightful location. We are so blessed that the landowner is agreeable to having so many people on this land for a full year.

While we are waiting for financing approval for this project, I am staying busy by coordinating distribution of some of the shelters for folks who own their own properties.

Meeting with community leaders to impress upon them the importance of individual involvement in this process has been encouraging. In requiring them to strategize for deliveries and setups, I can see some of them standing a littler straighter because they feel they have some control over their own destinies.

Since one of our goals at PPM is providing opportunities that allow people the dignity of self-sufficiency, I have been really pleased to sit back and listen to them contemplate a situation, weigh their options, and make decisions based on peoples' needs. I believe that allowing them to actively participate in the individual shelter projects is soul-enriching beyond what we will probably ever truly know.

That's what this is all about - showing God's love to people in a very tangible way.

His Gratified Servant,
Roody

Trying to Keep Up With God

I always thought missionaries carefully planned each step they took so as to ensure they were in step with God. That's the way I've always conducted my personal life - trying to remain at Jesus' side each day. Being in Haiti for the last few years has forced me to take a somewhat different approach - I find myself running just trying to keep up with what God is doing!!

Work on Community Four just began less than a week ago and it will be complete and ready for final inspection in no time. God has been really busy!

When I dropped in the other day to check on progress, there were already residents milling around looking at their units with pride and exclaiming how they just can't wait to move in (at right).

The frames are up and it should only take a few more days for the men to attach the tarp walls and metal roofs.

Steve, president of our newest ministry partner, CoAid, is planning to come to Haiti in about two weeks to look at the completed communities and help plan for the possibility of more land leases to accomodate more communities.

I can't wait to see what God has in store...I'd better keep my running shoes on!!!

Breathless With Excitement,

Roody