If life in Haiti is hard for people, it is almost impossible for dogs. I have almost always had a dog at my place over the years. There have been many, since they don't live very long. Dogs survive on leftovers, and there aren't many leftovers anywhere in Haiti these days. That sends dogs out to survive on their own, and they often kill chickens or goats in order to survive. Then, they are killed for killing. 

Zoe was a popular dog. She is still living, but not with me. She adopted a new family not far away. Zoe's daughter, Souza, was our dog for several years. She gave birth to nine puppies this Fall. It was exciting, but things did not go well in the weeks after that. One of the puppies died the day after it was born. As hurricane Melissa arrived, I accidentally stepped on a puppy as I lunged to prevent a plank from falling on a few other puppies. The one I stepped on lived only one week after that. As the remaining puppies began to fill our yard with activity, Souza, the mother, didn't show up one night. She didn't show up the next day either. We learned through the grapevine that she participated with other dogs in devouring a dead animal. As often happens, people put poison in the carcass of a dead animal. Souza was apparently a victim of that kind of poisoning. Her puppies didn't do well without her.  We managed to give a few away. As I understand it, one of her puppies is still at my house.   

Life is like that, especially in Haiti. The phrase "easy come, easy go" is not far from the reality...for animals and for people. People in developed countries are protected from loss. We have ways to avoid it and prevent it. But, loss is inevitable. 

We are grateful for each day we had with our dogs. We know that they are a blessing. We also know that people are created in the image of God, and dogs are not.   

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The AAF soccer team exists to orient young men on their path to being good citizens and children of God. In 2024, despite good results in local 2 tournaments, the team was not attending the regular Tuesday meetings that we planned for teaching and for teambuilding. 

After I travelled home in November, WEC (Erntz Courtois) invited several community leaders to join a regular Tuesday meeting with the young soccer team. It was a brilliant idea. The team members do not realize the value of the program while they are in it. We have heard the same from many former players. The meeting with pastors, teachers, and principals was a victory for ASAPH as we attempt to do ministry in the lives of young men.  The adults reinforced what ASAPH leaders have been saying, and offered reasons for the players to dedicate themselves to the team.

ASAPH is proud to have the support of community leaders in the things we do. I am grateful to WEC for making that important connection.   

We've had trouble keeping kids interested in attending rehearsals for the ASAPH Brass Band and for the "B" band. However, a large group of young players are very motivated. They made enough progress to form a 'beginner' band. Trumpet players and trombone players show up together and spend time learning songs and techniques. Many of the them are friends, and most come from one church in our town. It reminds me of the group that founded the original ASAPH Brass Band in 2013. 

We will do our best to help these beginners make progress together. They performed a few songs at ASAPH's Bible Celebration program in November, and they did quite well. 

Pray for Andy. Pray for the young directors who lead the "C" band of beginners. Together, we can make a joyful noise to the Lord!




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As the ASAPH "B" band prepared to play at a soccer championship, we scheduled two long, hot rehearsals.  We learned parts and memorized the songs we needed. Percussionists got good at playing together. Horn players learned to get the right notes at the right time. It became more and more fun as we got good at the songs.

KD and ML were both playing snare drum. They were best friends a couple of years ago. In the final rehearsal, it became apparent they were now enemies. The rift was so intense that they couldn't play together. I had to ask them to stay after practice to sort it out. 

As I sat down with the two of them, they dug in their heals against each other. They were not willing to budge an inch. It was obvious that they could not accompany the group...and end up in a fistfight in front of everybody...ASAPH band uniforms on their backs.

WEC's wife Shelterline knew both of these boys from a time she spent with one in the hospital. She remembered how ML came out of anesthesia asking for his buddy KD. Now, they were in a dual. The two tuba players in the band spoke to me and asked if ML and KD would be playing with the band at the final game. I explained that they could not travel with us. They said, "Let us help you. We are Haitians. We can help them fix their feud." I agreed.

An hour later, the two feuding boys were sitting in the ASAPH Teaching Center with the two tuba players, myself, and Shelterline. We began to make progress. Shelterline was able to pull ML out of his prideful hardheadedness. It was a dance of patience and strength to get both boys ready to make peace. The two tuba players spoke and insisted on a handshake as proof of repentance. They even choreographed the details of the handshake!

It was a beautiful moment. Young ASAPH leaders came together to resolve a problem. I was delighted to just sit and watch much of the work being done...and so proud. 

At the soccer final during a down time, ML saw something funny on a smartphone, and he smiled. I saw him run to KD and shared the images with him. They laughed together. 

It's a big deal when a hatchet can be buried. 

This all happened late in the morning and into the afternoon of September 10th. While news networks were updating Americans on an assassination, two boys in rural Haiti patched up a feud with the help of some people who loved them both.

I trust the God who works when you see Him and also when you don't.



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The AAF Jr. soccer team was invited to participate in a four-on-four tournament up in the mountain community of Labaleine. Since I was in the USA, our Assistant Administrator (WEC) and Coach Wilbens oriented the two teams that ASAPH sent to the tournament.

They rode motorcycles up into the mountains on Thursday afternoons to play in the game. One ASAPH team was eliminated after a loss and a tie. The second team managed to make it into the playoff round and advance to the final.

I arrived in the country in time for the championship game. We prepare the ASAPH "B" band to play at the big game. They played the AAF team song. They played the national anthem. They also played during the game to inspire our soccer players.

In the final match, the AGAPE CLUB team scored first. It was a remarkable goal. Then, before halftime, they scored on a penalty shot as well. In the second half, AAF players were awarded a penalty shot, and Emerson scored.  There were desperate attempts to equalize the score, but time expired before that could happen. Final score : 2 - 1.  

The tournament was organized by AGAPE CLUB. They did a great job organizing the event and making it all the way through to a fun final with medals and a trophy. It was a pleasure for our kids to participate. 

I am proud of the second-place medals our team received. They did much of the work on their own. They were a competent team inches away from a championship. 

I just spoke with Coach Wilbens, and he gave me a wise and thoughtful reaction to the whole event. He is a good influence for our kids. (He was a player just a few years ago!) 

This is ASAPH : A young man grows up with someone orienting him and mentoring him. He helps another generation the same way.  

Thank you for being a friend of ASAPH Teaching Ministry.  You made our participation in this event possible. 

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It was 2012.  I was putting the cap on twenty years of ministry with Water For Life. It was so easy to serve under their big, established, rooted ministry. Now, I was preparing to "go it alone" in the town where I had lived for 20 years. I was launching ASAPH Teaching Ministry, but it is really not accurate to use the word "I".  WE were launching the ministry together. 

Some things stand out as I reflect on the events of 2012...

1. The people of Pasbwadom have been so positive and helpful to ASAPH. WEC was really there at the very beginning. I had forgotten about that until I saw photos of him wearing an ASAPH T-shirt in 2011, before we even launched the ministry. Wilphar had suggested I start "my own" ministry about 10 years earlier. I laughed at the idea. It was too early.  By 2011, I was finally ready. From pastors to teachers to political leaders, so many leaders encouraged ASAPH. 

We never lacked for students!  Kids came around. Parents sent their kids. Ministry took off.

2. The people of York County have been so positive and helpful to ASAPH. ASAPH's original board of directors made the dream into something real. How amazing it was to me!  Why would people use their time and talents to set up a ministry for people they did not know?  Then, the contributions from friends here in PA have been humbling. The ASAPH brass band is using over 50 brass instruments! They almost all came from PA! 

We never lacked for supplies! When we needed a piece of equipment, it was there!

3. A real joy of being a long-term missionary is the chance to see the growth in people. WEC was a boy in 2012. He was a school student concerned with science tests and soccer games. Now, he is a husband, father, church leader and ASAPH assistant administrator. He is only one story. Pre-schoolers who would hold my hand to walk around in the school yard are now finished with school. Fellow missionary Sam Rice talks about how important growth is. "Whether or not you have this or that going on in your life, the question is are YOU growing?"

ASAPH has seen growth! We changed our logo to express that. 

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GLORY TO GOD for thirteen years of ministry. The scratchings in the cement at the ASAPH Teaching Center were put there in 2012. They remain relevant today. 

"TGBTG"   

To  God Be The Glory!!!!

Missionaries tend to be connected to many congregations.

A good number of congregations have been generous to ASAPH along the way, but there are several who have been faithfully with us in the ministry year after year.

It is a joy for me to visit those congregations that support ASAPH regularly. I am blessed to feel like I have "home congregations" everywhere I go. Some churches I only really get to see once or twice each year, but they always welcome me and make me feel like I am part of them.

That is a blessing! I never leave a church visit feeling the same. I am always encouraged to continue the ministry of ASAPH. I am always motivated. People share stories about Haiti. People share stories about things I mention. It is a great thing to be a part of the body of Christ. 

I only wish more people could COME AND VISIT us in Haiti. Maybe someday that will be possible again.   

THANK YOU to all you who open your door for ASAPH and who share your own blessings with people who live so far away!!!

Years ago, the ASAPH Brass Band would shut down while I was away. They would rehearse, but nothing more. 

Now, the band receives invitations, responds, plans, travels, plays, and does all of the things necessary to keep the band playing. The five-member committee along with an mature assistant director are leading the band forward...along with ASAPH's assistant administrator and administrative secretary. 

Last weekend, the band played at the opening service for a church conference. TV cameras were there. The scene was quite attractive, from my point of view watching online. There were many fine singing groups. The ASAPH Brass Band offered a song as well..."I BELIEVE". 

On Sunday, they played for another event.

There are still struggles. The band was slated to play the theme song for ASAPH's anniversary celebration last night. That never happened. 

In general, however, it is a great feeling to see the band playing on their own while I am here in the USA.  That can't happen without good leadership.  Pray for the band and its leaders.  

We want the band to SOUND the JOY of the Lord to people in a tired, dark, gloomy place.  




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In spite of long hours of teaching kids about the importance of sportsmanship and self-control on and off the field, several AAF soccer players embarrassed the team with unacceptable behavior during two successive tournaments. WEC and I met with the team leaders, and they agreed to select four players who they thought needed help. 

I met with each one individually and spent a good amount of time listening to them talk about how they had managed to lose control even after so many sessions about being a good sport. Each case was unique. My psychology courses in school coupled with my own temper issues as a kid provided me with tools to help them. 

Then, I gave them an assignment that I had given myself years ago : find passages in the book of Proverbs that address anger. The conversations we had were frank and practical...like the book of Proverbs. There was laughter at how some passages could be so relevant to a teenager in 2025. There were a few moments of head hanging as well. 

The four players in our restoration program have played about four games each since then. There was only one yellow card, and it was not an emotion foul that he committed. It is a proud moment to see this kind of progress. I smile at players as they leave the field, but there is an extra smile with these four young men. 

They aren't angels on the field. They are growing in good ways.  This is part of what AAF (Asaph's soccer program) is all about...building character in young men. 

Follow our games on FACEBOOK LIVE.  Look for WECO on Facebook. 

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Sometimes months just blend together, and one seems like another. May in Haiti has always stood out to me. So many things happen in May and only in May.

Mango trees bear their fruit in May. You can't miss mango season. It sticks out. 

School trips happen in May. Students can't sleep the night before a big trip. It is the subject of conversation for days before and for days after the trip. 

AGRICTULURE and LABOR DAY happens in May. It is a rare National holiday that people all over the island actually celebrate with special activities as opposed to a simple day off from school. Then, the biggest national holiday of the year happens on May 18th...FLAG DAY.  School students prepare for weeks. Other activities take a back seat to FLAG DAY preparations. On the actual day of celebration, people from all walks of life are in the street wearing blue and red. It is a unique moment.

ASAPH's soccer team has been hosting a May 6-on-6 soccer tournament for a few years now. Matches happen on Friday and Sunday evenings all month long. Caribbean evenings in May are hard to beat, and with a good soccer game they are even more attractive. 

At ASAPH, we know lessons and classes will be slow in May. There are so many other things going on in May.  We don't fight it. The other activities are all good.  We are already making plans for a busy summer schedule of teaching here at the ASAPH Teaching Center.   


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