Still dependent

Lately we have been very busy with planning and planting rice. Our desire for many years has been to grow our own crops and then feed our orphans and the hungry children in the feeding centers. It is no secret that Haiti still is and probably will be a place of shaky politics for a long time. So for years Mark and I have been thinking to make Matthew 28 in Haiti less dependent on foreign money. Now part of that maybe a pipe dream and I am fully aware of that. Working on more independence is however not a bad thing and so we plan and plot for it. You might have read some about our project in Saint-Raphael where we leased land, intending to buy it in two years, provided that  the plan works. We looked at all angles, we thought, and planned and planted our first rice crop. Just a few weeks ago we went to see the progress and bright green rice plants were almost burning our eyes out. Have you ever seen rice grow? It is beautiful.
During the last two weeks the seedlings were planted out on the big field. The night before we went to check on the crop we had a big rain at the orphanage. Wonderful! But come to think of it when we drove to the fields, about an hour or so away, the muddy roads got drier and drier. Saint Raphael did not share in the rains nor has there been any since. This is the rainy season. Today I talked to Pauluis who brought the bad news that our first planting is doomed to fail. All the farmers around us, and there are many, have the same problems. Does it ever end? Now what Lord?
We can plan all we want but we still depend on God's blessings and rain is sure one of them. Please pray with me for rain, Haiti needs it so badly!

For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

Pauluis, the Haitian Director of Matthew 28 and I recently made a tour to visit as many supporters as we could reach in less than two weeks. We had a great time talking and eating with all the folks who opened their hearts and their homes to us. Like always people were eager to hear about Haiti first hand and I wish  there was time enough in my life to visit with everyone. There just isn't and I know you will understand. Something happened though that is worth sharing with all of you.
One night we were talking with some friends about the urgent need for a new vehicle in Haiti. The old truck we have is a complete nightmare and a bottomless money pit and I commented that there are people in this world who could write us a $30,000 check while not noticing it in their check book. Just one problem I did not know anyone like that. We laughed it off.
The next morning at breakfast I was the first one to come down and our host had all the food ready. We talked for a while about the recent loss of her father and how much he had admired her personal drive for mission work. Her father had not left a great deal of money but one of the things he did was to set aside some funds intended for mission work. I  did not see it coming, but her next words made me break out in tears. She and her husband had decided the night before, to give Matthew 28 a matching grant of  $30,000 to buy a new truck. Wow, how great to have friends who share your dreams.
God is good y'all, He sure is!
Please help us to  raise money for the new truck, it will be matched dollar for dollar. I am hoping for special gifts because we need to keep funding the food for our orphans above all. Maybe you have been blessed with an unexpected tax refund, who knows. God plans ahead.
I've got the first $500 check laying in front of me, so that one is good for a thousand. Yeah!!