Coastal Haiti Mission
June 2023
– THE ENCOUNTER –
The pounding of the horses’ hooves stirred up and threw dust into the dry desert air. A fitting background for the rage beating in the breast of the unrelenting rider. He had a job to do, and he would do it – for God, no less. He would do it for the God of Abraham. No holds barred! He must put an end to the strange, new religion gaining strength and popularity among his Jewish people. He and the company of men riding with him were out for blood. The blood of those who called themselves followers of the “Way.”
As for the rider? He was a Jew – inside and out. The son of Hebrew parents, a member of the Tribe of Benjamin, and reared in Jerusalem. He was a student of Gamaliel, who was an eminent doctor of the Jewish law, prominent, renowned, and exalted above his peers. The rider was of the party of Pharisees, a fellowship that scrupulously observed the written Law of Moses and advocated the democratization of religious practices. His name? They called him Saul of Tarsus, the town where he was born.
Now Saul was on his way to Damascus in Syria, a city once taken by David, and now ruled by Aretas of Arabia. He must seek for and rout out these adherents of the Way, bind them in chains, and bring them back to Jerusalem for imprisonment – – both men and women. Many had already suffered under the cruelty and violence inflicted by Saul. Many a mother or father, or both had been dragged out of their homes and thrown in prison because of their faith and belief in the man who was known as Jesus of Nazareth.
At least He was out of the way! Hung on a cross in a place called The Skull, located just outside the city of Jerusalem. His followers claimed He was the Son of God and that He had risen from the dead. Saul probably wondered how intelligent men and women could believe, in his opinion, such outlandish “suggestio falsi” (pack of lies). And His teaching! “Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you!” Unheard of! Saul Although Saul of Tarsus most likely fully believed he was doing right in his persecution of the people of the Way, he must have had some caught-off-guard moments when he was moved to fight off an unexpected and sudden twinge of conscience over what he was doing and was about to do more of. He must have wrestled with his own desperate need to justify his actions. Surely the God of Abraham would approve of what Saul believed was a “righteous” campaign.
In all probability, one memory in particular invading his thoughts as he rode on to Damascus must have caused him some amount of discomfort and even vexation. It concerned the recent stoning to death of a man named Stephen. Saul had been there allowing and approving the man’s execution. Stephen was a Deacon in the newly-formed church in Jerusalem. He also taught a group of “Freedmen” (Libertines) and participated in debates with Jews of the Diaspora, those who were scattered after the Jewish exile, men from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia.
Falsely accused of blasphemy, Stephen gave an outstanding apologia before the council of the highest Jewish tribunal in the land, the Sanhedrin. He spoke of Jewish history from Abraham to King David. At the end of his defense, Stephen, probably exasperated with the council members, referred to them as a “stubborn and stiff-necked people,” and he rebuked them for “always resisting the Holy Spirit.” The council members did not take his rebuke too kindly. They laid hold of Stephen, dragged him out of the city and proceeded to stone him.
Saul must have heard Stephen as he committed his soul to Jesus as his very life was about to leave his body. The deacon fell to his knees and shouted loudly, asking Jesus to “fix not this sin upon them — lay it not to their charge.” (Acts 7:59 & 60 TAB) And then he was gone. Stephen was the first of many martyrs of the Christian faith yet to come.
As Saul continued on his trip to Damascus, home to a sizeable amount of Christians, his resolution to rid the world of Christ followers remained firm. And nothing could stop him!
SUDDENLY! A blaze of light! Dazzling! Glorious! Intense! Blinding! and Saul was on the ground eating dust! And the “VOICE.” Saul was shaken to the core. The atmosphere was electric! What was happening?! (9th Chapter. of Acts)
“SAUL, SAUL! Why are you persecuting me!? knew it was “eye-for-eye” and “tooth-for-tooth!”
“Who are you, Lord,” Saul managed to ask, trembling with fear.
“I am JESUS the NAZARENE whom you are persecuting.”
Saul’s murderous mission was over. He’d been apprehended by Abraham’s God, and he would love Him forever.
“And I asked, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord
answered me, Get up and go into Damascus, and
there it will be told you all that it is destined and
appointed for you to do.”
– The Apostle Paul in Acts. 22:10 TAB
Known also as Paul, he went on to be the greatest Christian missionary of all time. From his home base in Antioch he traveled extensively around the Mediterranean area preaching and expounding the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, establishing and nurturing churches along the way. He wrote many letters to the fledgling churches, which now appear in our New Testament. Eventually, he was arrested because of his faith and was tried before the emperor Nero. He was executed in Rome where he was beheaded.
Walking this Way with you,
Connie
The School Lunch Program
Pastor Coty Writes:
We have no new words to describe our joy and our satisfaction.
We just want to say thank you.
Our thankfulness goes first and always to our Lord, because He is the Lord our provider. He blesses us with all kinds of blessings.
We want to thank the CHM Board for their effort to keep on supporting our school, even when difficult things happen.
Brother Ken has a big part in this. Spending days, even nights, writing the newsletters to keep you our supporters, informed.
Sister Connie, who cares about this ministry as she would for her own child, spends many days each month, caring for the finances of this ministry.
Thanks to Board Members Sister Esther Stidham, and Brothers Carl Lamour and Dan Johansson, who help to guide this mission.
However, we especially want to thank YOU, our supporters. You who send your money, to feed people, that you don’t even know.
Because of your expressed love, every time the kids come to school, they can expect to eat a meal. Also, their parents can be confident that their children will eat something for that day.
To our supporters, please know that we love you, we pray for you and we thank you very much.
June is our last month of school. We will come back in September.
We have been blessed to spend this school year with no big food difficulty. We had food every day, for everyone.
The school lunch program is not only a benefit to the kids, but also to the teachers. With joy, every teacher takes a plate of food and sits down under the mango tree to eat. During lunch time, we separate the teachers from the kids, to give the teachers a break.
The school lunch program is the best time during every school day.
Pastor Coty Joseph
CHM Family and Friends, thank you for investing in this beautiful group of children and youth.
The Home Lighting Program
Pastor Coty Writes:
The Home Lighting Program is doing well. It makes life so much better at night, that even the people who have a connection to the grid, want to have one of our lights.
But our priority is the poor people who can’t afford the power company connection.
From day to day, the connection to the electrical grid becomes more and more expensive. Many people are disconnecting from the grid because they can’t continue to pay for it.
The other day, there was a big demonstration against the local electrical company, named NRECA.
At its beginning, many people did not understand the importance of this lighting project. However, as we go on, more people are viewing it as a blessing, because this project is the only help we have, against the high cost of the grid connection.
This house is located near a pole for the electric grid, but still the residents were living in darkness.
When I got inside the house, I saw a place where a fire had begun to burn in one of the major wood beams that supports the house. When I asked how the burn marks got there, one of the children said, “my mother put a candle there so the other room would get light while we were sleeping.”
Fortunately, the burning beam was discovered, and the fire was put out. Thankfully, this potential fire disaster did not occur.
Our light is making a really big difference in that house. I mounted two metal plates, one in each room, so she can move the light easily from one room to the other room, using the strong magnet built into each light.
The children were happy to see light in their house, just like what they have seen in their neighbor’s house.
Also now, their house won’t get lit on fire by the mistaken use of candles.
Now they won’t risk burning the house to be able to have light at night.
Life in the Village
Pastor Coty Writes:
Many people drink milk but have no idea on how the milk is taken from the cow.
This morning I saw the man in the photo shown below, milk his cow. He used a very old method, which is still used in the countryside here, by the people in the villages.
The process begins like this: sometime during the previous day, the calf is separated from its mother. The idea is to keep the cow from spending the night with her calf. They are either tied up in separate locations, or they are kept in different pastures.
The next morning, they are brought together for a short time, so that the calf will begin to drink the milk from its mother. This is done to soften the mother’s teats.
After a short time, the calf is separated from the mother. Then the milk is easily taken from the cow.
Many people in the village used to make their living by breeding cattle. These people would milk their cows and then supply the milk to another person who would sell it at the nearest open marketplace.
The proceeds of the sale was then divided so that the person who provided the milk received 2/3 of the proceeds, and the seller received 1/3.
But now, because we don’t have rain often, some of our people think it’s a crime to milk a cow, because there is a very real shortage of grass for the cows to eat.
Milking his cow
Proverbs 19:17 ESV
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his deed.
A blessing for you from the scripture:
Numbers 6: 24 to 26
‘May the Lord bless you
and protect you.
May the Lord smile on you
and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show you His favor
and give you peace.’
Thank you, Family and Friends of Coastal Haiti Mission, for all that you do to help the people in Cahess, Haiti. You are making a huge difference for these people.
Please remember, that CHM must continue to send our monthly commitment of $1100 to carry on the ongoing CHM ministry in Cahess. This is in addition to the cost of the School Lunch Program.
If you desire to help, please send your tax-deductible check to our address and tell us how you want us to use your donation:
Coastal Haiti Mission
C/O Constance Goddard
3048 Spring Fancy Lane
Indian Trail, NC 28079
Or For tax deductible “online donations”, please use our PayPal service. Also please designate how you want us to use your donation.
May the Lord our God, who knows your heart and sees your actions, grant you great joy as you serve Him. Connie, Esther, Pastor Coty, Carl, Dan, and Ken are very grateful for your sacrifice. Ken Johansson CHM Newsletter Editor