On December 31st, the ASAPH Brass Band played for a Sunday morning service in the Fondeblan area.
Hosting the band was Pastor Fisher Raymond. He is the composer and singer of LAVI MWEN PA YON AKSIDAN, a song that I arranged for the ASAPH Brass Band. The band played our arrangement for him, along with a couple of other popular worship songs. It was a great opportunity to be with a man whose songs have millions of views on YouTube. My compliments to the ASAPH Brass Band committee and assistant director Teddy M. for their work in preparing the band and making the trip a reality. Every mission has a budget. Part of ministry is growing income in order to provide more ministry. ASAPH has been blessed with 11 years of faithful support from area congregations and individuals. Buildings were built. Equipment was acquired. So many events have taken place over these years because of support from ASAPH sponsors.
As we look to 2024, we are making some tough decisions about things we can reduce in order to "keep the lights on." It is always difficult to choose an activity to eliminate. We are well aware of needs all over the world these days, near and far. And so, we will faithfully do the best we can to continue the critical ministries of ASAPH in accordance with the support we do receive. We trust God to equip us for the things HE chooses. If you are able, make a contribution or two this coming year. Every dollar opens another door. ASAPH leaders are developing and growing into ministry. Let's water these little plants as they begin to produce fruit for tomorrow. God bless you as you consider the possibilities. There aren't a ton of brass bands in Haiti, but they do exist. Funeral parlors usually have a brass band available to them. Salvation Army congregations often have a brass band as well. But the ASAPH Brass Band is unique in that we like to play arrangements of popular Christian songs...songs that people are hearing on the radio. One such song was LAVI MWEN PA YON AKSIDAN. I don't remember how it was introduced to me, but I arranged it for our band to play. It was a favorite everywhere we played it. The song was written and performed by Fisher Raymond, a Haitian pastor and singer. The lyrics boldly claim that our lives are not an accident...we are God's plan. No hair can fall without His approval! It is a powerful message for people living each day in desperate poverty. The ASAPH Brass Band chose to play that song when we attended that annual Baptist Convention years ago. It was our 5 minutes of fame, recorded by professional cameras and microphones. Fisher Raymond apparently viewed the video at some point. He contacted a member of the band, and invited the group to play his song at a special anniversary service he will be attending in the mountain community of Fondeblan. That event was scheduled for November 26th. Rain changed their plans, however. The new date is in December. The ASAPH Brass Band is preparing the original song as well as a brand new song that I arranged for the occasion, a second song written and recorded by Fisher Raymond. This is an exciting opportunity. We hope the new date works, and that we are afforded the opportunity to bless a composer/artist by interpreting his own song. The new song talks about God's eyes being on every little part of Haiti. His eye is indeed on a little community we call Pasbwadom ! God is good ! Look for these on YOU TUBE : Fisher Raymond - Lavi Mwen Pa Yon Aksidan Lavi mwen pa yon aksidan " Fisher Raymond" ( music évangélique Haïtenne 2023 ) Haitian Gospel - YouTube Fisher Raymond - Je Bondye Sou Ou Ayiti Je Bondye Sou Ou "Fisher Raymond" (Official video 2023) Music Chrétiens - YouTube When I designed the ASAPH Teaching Center (12 years ago), it never dawned on me that we should have an official office space. I built my own office into my bedroom area...the 16' x 16' cement room that also serves as hurricane shelter. As the ministry has grown and more and more leaders are "working" here at ASAPH, it became clear we should have an office space.
In December, Jason Stoltzfus (from Lancaster) installed a plywood wall right down the middle of my cement room. Now ASAPH has a front porch and a tiny office. The back of the room will still serve as my own office and bedroom. Each afternoon, activities begin around 2:00 and continue until 5:00 or so...rehearsals, lessons, meetings, etc. Each activity has a leader, but there is now also an adult in the office as a resource for both leaders and students. WEC is serving as ASAPH's Administrative Assistant...backing me up in every role I play in Haiti. WEC's wife Shelterline (who studied administration in college) is serving as ASAPH's Administrative Secretary...taking care of many financial tasks, personnel tasks, and record keeping. As we move in to 2024, we will equip the new office space and develop it as a headquarters for the ministry. The Teaching Center will be available for...teaching. These improvements can only happen with support from people like you! Thanks for being involved in ASAPH Teaching Ministry. This summer, we began a new program at ASAPH - - a leadership training program. We gathered all of the young people who are teaching music, the soccer coaches, the committee members and anyone else in charge of an activity, and we studied leadership.
It was a great beginning, and it was well received. We are studying the book of Nehemiah, a great resource for leaders. We also discuss leadership qualities we love and hate. We also take a moment to organize and arrange things so that the ministry has a definite structure. Asaph, in the Bible, was a Levite. He was a musician, and taught God's message as a prophet. He also left a bunch of descendants, either offspring or students. They continued the work that he learned from King David...for generations. The new ASAPH leadership training courses will prepare a new generation of Asaph's. To God be the glory. It's a question I often get when I share picture and stories from Haiti. It is easy to list the problems and give detailed examples that are both amusing and touching.
It's easy also to envision little things that might help someone or some group for a certain amount of time. Out in the country, we enjoy relative peace. The capital city is a combat zone most days. We have none of that. Our rural community by the ocean is calm and quiet. But, the unrest in the city does effect us. Everyone has relatives in Port-au-Prince. Supplies come from Port-au-Prince. Official documents and errands require a trip to that city. So, when that city is shut down, life is paralyzed in little ways no matter what part of the island you inhabit. No real progress can take place until there is some amount of peace and stability in the capital city. Haiti hasn't even talked about elections since the assassination in July a couple of years ago. Can yet another international intervention help ? Not likely. Would any other country be likely to intervene? Not likely at all. Would Haitians accept an international force? Probably not. There seems to be no route forward. We wait and pray, I guess. We live as best we can with what we have been delt. Imagine this situation being the situation of...not your friend...but of your nation and every single person you know well. Haiti is akin to hopelessness. Still, the light of the Gospel remains. We are only down here for a short time. For some of us, it is an easy period. For some, it is turmoil. Either way, may we remember that eternity is coming. That...for many...is a source of hope. It’s May, and it’s raining. May is the reliable month for rain in Haiti. October sometimes gets us wet. December also. Hurricanes sometimes douse us with water as well in the late summer and early fall, but May is almost always good for rain.
We have had a few rainy evenings this month already, and a few morning showers. We had a downpour or two along the way as well. A soccer game was rained out. We had not, however, enjoyed a day of rain…until today. It is Saturday afternoon, and we have not seen blue sky today. Rain changes Haiti. It changes the people. People smile and giggle more easily when it is raining, especially in the countryside. They smile because forcing food from the ground is easier when it rains. Life slows down (even more) during rainy days. School stops. Services stop. Without raincoats and cars, and with roads that become mud, people move around much less. Rain changes plants also. Grass is already growing where there was nothing. Trees are a different color. Haiti can be a lush place…when it rains. Rain changes transportation, too. You don’t want to have a medical emergency when roads are muddy. A hospital trip can become a nightmare. Motorcycles become even more dangerous than normal. Vehicles without 4-wheel-drive are risky on dirt roads in the rain…especially mountain roads. Bikes are set aside for the most part as well. We are thankful for rain, as we are thankful for sunshine. God’s plan is both good and glorious. Haiti has long been the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Since 1992, I have seen “poverty” up close. But, for most of those years, people here in our community were able to piece together a few things and build a bit of a life. Parents who did not finish school, were able to push their kids through school. Families who lived in a thatched hut were able to build a two-room cement home. Well, that was the first thirty years.
Since 2020 and a little bit before, Haiti has spiraled into a dark place. With the capital city paralyzed by gangs, the countryside is peaceful but unable to acquire supplies. Fuel prices have been high enough to reduce availability of supplies as well. The $20 that bought a full meal just a few years ago can’t even buy a chicken leg now. Diets have changed here in our town. People who ate one good meal a day, are now only getting that meal every few days. Meat has always been a bit of a luxury. Instead of real meat, people were eating questionable varieties of salami and other ground meat. Now, that is out of reach. Fruits and vegetables are pricy, and they have become another diet casualty. People are filling their bellies instead of eating meals. Bread and water have become a way to temporarily fill a belly. Fried flour in diverse forms is what is keeping people upright. Evenings provide fried bananas, if you have money to purchase them. This is not a diet for the future. I was able to bring vitamins along when I came back this time. I don’t know if they are helping, but I hope they are able to fill a void to some degree for a few people. I, like you, see hunger and want to help…quickly. There is not a lot we can do, though, in this situation. Money is only a band-aid that doesn’t even stick for more that few minutes. Planting is a part of the solution. Haiti needs to feed itself. Prayer is key. God can change hearts and minds…and societies. Pray for Haiti. Matthew is 11. He was walking home from a well when a young motorcycle driver hit him. The accident happened in February. His leg suffered a compound fracture. Doctors operated to save the leg…after 2 days of waiting. He spent 40 days or so in the hospital. The steel rods weren't removed until July.
He missed weeks of school, in a year already shortened by political tensions. His mother is not in the country. I don’t know who his father is. The lady who took him in a couple of years ago spent weeks living at the hospital with him. His brother spent weeks beside him in the hospital as well. The family of the motorcyclist has contributed. The local church has contributed. ASAPH contributed greatly to cover the operation and hospital bills. Matthew was at the May 1st Agriculture program. He is slowly getting involved in Pasbwadòm life again. We are still praying for the leg…always suspecting infection. So far, the signs are good. Life in Haiti is tough. Accidents accentuate the difficulty of life. Food is hard to find. Every little task (bathing, going to the market, buying a shirt…) is a complete production. We are thankful to God for the leg being saved. Matthew’s quality of life is dependant on a healthy leg. Interestingly, Matthew suffered from breathing issues since birth, and since his stay in the hospital, those symptoms have disappeared. God uses events in our lives to do things He wants to do in us, around us, and through us. Amen. |
Andy StumpMissionary in Haiti. Archives
March 2024
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