Coastal Haiti Mission
July/August 2024
-THE FLAG-
As you are all aware, we came within an inch (literally!) of losing a candidate hoping to be elected 47th president of the United States of America next November.
Did God save the life of our 45th President Donald J. Trump from an assassin’s bullet? And will he be elected as our next president? Or will it be our current Vice-President Kamala Harris?
Was what happened on July 15th at a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania a miracle as many believe? We don’t know the answer to these questions.
As for now, we know not who will occupy the White House for the next four years. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
” …Thy will be done earth as it is in heaven…”
There’s a lot of craziness going on in our country. Need a witness for your upcoming wedding being performed in New York City? Not a problem. Just bring “Fido” along who is now allowed to function as a viable marriage witness in the Big Apple.
And then, there is this: Something far more serious.
I (Connie) watched on TV as they cast our flag to the ground. I watched
as they dragged it across the dirt. I watched as they lit it on fire and it
burst into flames as a Court Jester danced gleefully around the perimeter
of the fire holding out the flag of our enemy as the crowd cheered.
It turns out that flag burning and flag desecration are considered “protected free speech” under the First Amendment, and therefore – legal! What were our law makers thinking? A most egregious departure from common sense. It should NOT be legal to desecrate or destroy our American flag! In the context of my own life, too much blood has been shed beneath its banner. Too many wars fought beneath its standard to save the country that “…if such a nation so conceived can long endure…” (Abraham Lincoln–The Gettysburg Address). Years later there was the carnage of Pearl Harbor, and then, too many Gold Stars hung up in too many neighborhood windows on Main Street, USA, during World War II, indicating that “Johny will not be marching home this year, or next year, or ever again.” Too many lifeless and broken bodies strewn across the beaches of Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. And then there was Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, 9/11, Afghanistan, and the ever- present threat of terrorism resulting from our open borders in the south. And in our government? Political turmoil has won the day.
Yes, as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, I know we are citizens of heaven, and I know, too, that salvation doesn’t come from Washington. But, for now, we have been planted here in the USA and need to be salt and light to our fellow man. We need to “…do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble [ourselves] and walk humbly with [our] God…” (Micah 6:8 TAB)
I asked our God one day to show the world Who He is. I felt His answer was“Not yet.” OK then, in His time. Meanwhile, let us love and care for one another. Let us, shall I say, tighten the circle and build community within our lives and churches. Everyone of you is of immense value!
Oh, one more thing. Concerning Israel and its people and those who would have them destroyed:
“For you [Israel] are a holy and set apart people to the Lord
your God; The Lord your God has chosen you to be a special
people to Himself, out of all the peoples on the face of the
earth.” (Deut. 7:6 TAB)
I ask you, do they really want to fight against God?
Walking this Way with you,
Connie
A New School Year
Pastor Coty Writes:
We will start this year with 309 students, 7 full-time teachers, and 13 part time teachers. We will have classes from Preschool to the 9th grade. We also will have 2 cooks, 2 helpers, and 4 staff members. There will be 337 of us together for this school year. The staff members, which are full-time, are myself, 2 assistants, and my father.
We started the 9th grade 3 years ago. When our students complete the 9th grade, we send them to take the state test. They must pass this government test to be able to continue their schooling in the higher grades. During the past 2 years, these students have been successful each year, 8 in 2022, and 16 in 2023. All of these students passed the test. This year we sent 19 students, and we are still waiting to get the results from the government.
At the school, we always teach the Bible, and tell them about God. We invite them to church. A good portion of the student body comes to church on Sunday, even after they have attended Saturday Sunday School on the day before, with my wife Nana.
During the previous month, 2 of our students, whose parents are Catholic, were required by their parents, to attend the first communion class at the Catholic Church. They attended that class, and then they attended the Catholic Church for two Sundays, to receive their first communion. Now they have decided to continue worshiping with us.
Editor’s note: The total school attendance at the conclusion of the term in June 2024 was 322 students, teachers and support staff. This October 1, at the beginning of school, there will be an increase of 15 students and 2 part time teachers, which will result in 337 lunches each school day, for a total of 1685 lunches each week.
One thousand, six hundred and eighty-five lunches are a lot of lunches each week.
The Church of Cahess is a Victim of Theft
Pastor Coty Writes:
We are so sad to have experienced this horrible situation. Thieves came to our Church and stole our sound system. They also took our 64 port Charging Station, which is used for charging the individual home lights, and cell phones, while the people are attending the church service.
Since then, we are using our loud voices so the congregation can hear the song leader and the pastor. We are in a good process of prayer, asking God to help us replace this very important equipment.
This theft occurred as we prepared to celebrate the 15th anniversary of our church. We have many projects going on in preparation for this major event in the life of our church. There will be an evangelistic crusade in September, as well as many other projects that will cost money.
The one thing we know is, that God is in control.
Pastor Coty Joseph
Editors Note: The 64 port Charging Station will be replaced using funds from the Home Lighting Project.
Life in the Village
Pastor Coty Writes:
This year, the church of Cahess is celebrating its 15th anniversary. For this reason, we as a church, have been doing different kinds of activities. One of these events was a soccer tournament between the different churches from the surrounding area. Three churches are from Trou-du-Nord, two from Caracol and one from Limonade, which are the towns around the Village of Cahess.
It was a wonderful time of friendly, but spirited competition, between the people of faith in Christ. At the conclusion, our church, which is the church that organized this activity, is also the church that won this competition. All of the village was standing together with the church people, to celebrate this victory.
It was a tremendous moment between Christians, where everyone witnessed that this was an example of how people should act, when competing in any kind of competition.
Praise the Lord.
Pastor Coty
More photos of introducing the trophy and the players to the Church. From the soccer field to the Church, a very nice course.
The players in the black shirts are the Cahess Team.
The Saturday Sunday School
Pastor Coty Writes:
This is a nonstop school. It never ends. Week after week, every Saturday, they come together to learn many things from the Bible and how to behave in society. We praise God that Nana, who is their teacher, likes her job. Also, the kids love to come to these meetings, mostly because we always have something to give them.
Pastor Coty Joseph.
Editor’s note: The reason Nana is able to provide these children with tasty treats, is because you, the Family and Friends of Coastal Haiti Mission provide them.
The Drought Resistant Garden Project
Project Leader Daisee Kangas Writes:
The Fencing:
For now, we have relented to the reality that we cannot get fencing shipped to Haiti. That doesn’t mean we will not continue researching our options. We have just decided the gardens need protection right away.
Jeff and Yamoutch have decided the best plan for now is to use barbed wire. This is in the works as I write this.
The Community Garden:
The Solidarity Gardeners are also getting ready to plant again: eggplant, tomatoes, leeks and more.
We are also doing our very first experiment in the garden. We are going to plant two different plots of corn of the same size. One will be planted the traditional Haitian way; the other the traditional row method used in the United States. Both plots will be cared for exactly the same. Only the planting style will be different. At harvest time, we will evaluate the quantity and the quality of the corn produced in each of these plots. This will help us to demonstrate whether there is a preferred way to grow corn.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support for the Solidarity Gardeners.
Daisee Kangas
Proverbs 14: 31
Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
A prayer for you from the scripture:
Psalms 67: 1
May God be gracious to you and bless you
and make His face to shine upon you
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