January 17, 2012
Dear friends and family,

It has been a very exciting start to 2012 for us. Together with our visiting teams, we have helped 38 couples get married, and about 2000 Haitians to see a doctor or dentist.

When many couples are married at the same time, the pastor usually asks for all the men to stand and say "I do" and to raise their right hand. Most of the men are pretty calm, but when it came to the ladies' turn, this one young lady was very, very excited to say "I do." She was so thankful for the opportunity to get married.

Twenty five brides from a remote area up in the mountains.

We are so thankful for the Lord's protection and for keeping the vehicles running well while we climbed the roads and trails to get to the mountain village. It was great to have Tim and Christie with us as they are very familiar with driving in Haiti. After helping with the weddings, the team did two days of medical / dental clinic to help the people of the area.

We also were able to serve the people of a coastal village, who definitely needed medical care. Some of the team hiked to the village and others went in the boat.

We are very thankful for all the visitors and teams who have come and are planning to come this year.

We have a sense of urgency to open the camp as soon as possible and are praying that God will open the doors wide for this to happen this year, in 2012. There is a new cell phone company in Haiti and on their phones is a small screen. The company offers free internet for a year to anybody who buys one of their phones, so many people are using the internet without discretion and it is becoming a big problem especially for children in Haiti. We want to start the camp so that we can show and teach children how to know the difference between right and wrong in today's world and how to live in a way that is pleasing to God.

Thanks for your prayers and partnership.

Bye for now,
Love Rod, Debbie and Katie

December 30, 2011
Hello friends,

Once again, life in Haiti has been as interesting and adventure-filled as my memories remind me. This is Christie here, home, and writing a Christmas break update!

From the first moment Tim and I set foot back on our Haitian soil, an adventure was pre-determined and waiting for us to arrive. A fellow missionary and friend came to Port-au-Prince along with our Dad to pick us up in his homemade four seater airplane! We enjoyed a wonderful view of the countryside and were met at the airport by a large entourage welcoming the President of Haiti who coincidently arrived at the little airport in Cayes at the same time as us!

Upon our arrival, it was not difficult to see the effect of all the hard work being put into the camp in the last few months. Since the big flood, there has been a surprisingly low rainfall count in our area here. Mom refuses to let the grass suffer and takes to watering inventively as you can see. Dad has been working hard to rebuild the wall along the river and, with the help of a fellow missionaries' loader, has been able to construct a dyke after many loads of Vert ti Vert (a Haitian root squeezed for it's perfume) and gravel as the foundation.

The Sunday school program is always a highlight to attend during our times home and last Sunday was no exception. The children attending the program last Sunday were so abundant in number that the seating area was completely over crowded and we even made some extra seating out of the boxes holding the manna pack rice!

It was an especially fun Christmas experience to host all the missionary families out here at the camp for an afternoon potluck meal! There were around 75 missionaries in attendance and we had a fun-filled afternoon of volleyball, beach activities, and relaxation.

Another very special experience for me was the opportunity to be baptized by friend and fellow missionary Sean Christiansen in the river beside the camp. After deciding it was important for me to have my family present, I was thrilled the opportunity arose here in Haiti!

My family is excited to welcome the first team of the 2012 season tomorrow afternoon as we will be heading up the mountain for 2 days of weddings and 2 days of medical clinic. Tim and I head back to University in one week and will miss Haiti as always: However, we have so enjoyed our time at home, we are thankful for the chance to come home when we can.

Thank you for reading!
May His Grace be with you wherever you go,

Christie

December 1, 2011
Dear friends,

This Fall we have had the privilege of having some very special people come and work with us and they truly have been like angels sent from heaven. Andrea was with us for the month of October and was here during and after the flood. She was a huge support to us and worked so hard with the cleanup after the flood. Joe and Taresa, a young married couple, were here for the month of November and worked at everything from organizing and sorting to vehicle repairs. They worked tirelessly and accomplished so much.

We also have been so pleased with our Haitian staff who have given a huge effort to help get everything back in order at the camp. In the picture, Maxime is pruning an overgrown almond tree. (Don't worry, you can't kill the trees, even if you prune them right back to a stump.)

We continue to supply food and essentials to the people of the Aids support group. Working together with Max, this is a program which has served HIV-positive people for the past 8 years. There are about 75 people in the support group. Max is doing well and continues to be healthy, thank the Lord, even though he has aids.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement during the past weeks since the big flood. After much prayer we believe that we have a plan for rebuilding along the river. Vert-I-vert is a bunch grass that grows in Haiti and they harvest it for the roots which are taken to factories. The oil is squeezed out of the roots and is exported to be made into perfume. The squeezed-out roots can be purchased for $25.00 for a huge truckload and these roots are excellent at holding soil against erosion. Since the wall along the river is still present, we plan to fill in behind the wall with vert-I-vert roots mixed with soil / rocks / sand and build a dike or levee along the length of the river. On the levee we hope to plant bamboo, vert-I-vert, and trees that have great roots.

After several years of helping Haitians, we are encouraged to sense that some loving relationships are being built. This is especially noticeable with Deb as she interacts with the ladies at the market, the children at Renaul,t and people such as Mirland in the picture below who Deb has been visiting for 5 or 6 years.

A little update on our family. Our oldest daughter Carly, her husband Eylar and their son Wyatt are doing well and are expecting.

Christie and Tim are both doing well at Trinity Western University and are planning to come to Haiti for Christmas. Kara (18) is doing well and has moved up to Northern British Columbia (Ft. St. John), where she is living with my sister Corinne and her husband Arne.

Thanks for your prayers, thoughts and emails. It's great to hear from you.

Bye for now,
Love Rod, Deb, and Katie

October 14, 2011
Dear friends,

It has been an amazing week for us and, as we reflect this evening, we see how the Lord was with us in many ways this week and we are very thankful for your prayers.

All of the wedding dresses for the wedding ministry are hanging on the left side for the whole length of the red container. We are so thankful that when the red container floated, it leaned to the right, so that almost all the wedding dresses remained completely out of the water. Only about 10 of the wedding dresses needed a little washing.

Most all of my tools are in the blue container on shelves again on the left side of the container. We are so thankful that the blue container leaned to the left so that all my tools, screws, blades, drill bits and hand tools, stayed on the shelves and didn't fall into the water. As the water receded both containers sat down exactly level on the pads where they were before the flood.

We had good weather without rain on Wednesday, Thursday, and today till about noon. We have been overwhelmed by the participation from the community in coming to clean up, wash, and organize everything that was damaged due to the flooding. Many of the local women hand washed clothing and sports uniforms for 2-1/2 days straight and the men cleaned all the flooded rooms, built new shelves, raised a containe,r and pressure washed many items.

This morning around 11:00 am we finished putting most all the dried and cleaned items back into the clean containers and depots, and then we had a short meeting together to thank the community for the way they have helped and encouraged us this week. Deb and I thanked the 70 plus neighbors and then gave them a little gift and then they headed home as the majority of the work was completed. Within 15 minutes of the neighbors leaving the yard, as we were just cleaning up the tarps and final items, the wind and rains started again. The timing was perfect.

I finally went over and looked at the fallen wall this morning. The power of rushing water is incredible.

Have a great weekend.

Bye for now,
Love Rod, Deb and Katie

October 13, 2011
Dear friends,

We are encouraged today after having a few of the missionaries come out and help empty two containers. They had to leave after a while, but our Haitian friends from the village stayed all day and altogether a lot was accomplished. We were so impressed.

The yard is covered in a layer of mud and the wall along the river is heartbreaking, but we are very thankful that so many supplies were saved today.

The rain has stopped, although we hear thunder now and have a lot of lightening, but we were very thankful for being able to unload the containers and have the sun dry up a lot of things.

We've got piles around of things that still need to be washed and probably a month's worth of work to get everything back where it belongs, so there is plenty of work ahead of us still. Even the little girls volleyball team came in with a few of their parents and washed all the uniforms that we thought were ruined. They did a great job and worked hard all day. Katie learned how to wash clothes by hand and she actually said that it was fun.

We are sensing the prayers of God's people. He certainly is our strength.

Thanks for your thoughts, prayers, and encouraging emails.

Bye for now,
Love Rod, Deb and Katie

October 10, 2011
Hello family and friends,

We are having terrible flooding here in the south of Haiti. This morning the swollen Laquille River finally broke apart our cement and rock wall, completely flooding the camp yard. We have attached some photos (below). We were able to help about 150 people from the village as many of their homes were completely under water—a couple even blown right over. They have been set up in an upper room, each given dry clothes and snacks, toys, blankets, etc. Thank you for your kindness in sending all these things for them. We were thankful to have things on hand to help when needed.

The beautiful wall around the camp was only completed just over a month ago and now we have lost most of the wall along the river and only the gate remains standing. Inside the yard our storage containers were floating and even our vehicles were full of water. Even as we write, it continues to rain and the water level is remaining high, so we can't even begin to clean up. The old timers tell us that it is the worst that they have ever seen.

As I (Debbie) was over at the upper room giving the villagers clothing I looked up to see the river breaking through the wall and filling the yard. It is about waist to chest deep. Thankfully, Katie was right beside me. We looked out to see Rod and other village men working on the far side of the yard trying to make a path for the water to pass out.

We are thankful that the water was about an inch from passing into the orphanage and also our own house. Everything else is pretty much saturated. As the rain stops, and the water level drops, we'll check the containers. We are ready to get things cleaned up. We trust the Lord to give continued strength and health.

We would appreciate your prayers.

God Bless,
Rod, Deb and Katie

October 2, 2011
Dear friends and family,

We have had a special past couple of weeks. Lots of excitement.

The girl's volleyball has been very rewarding. There are 25 girls that have practiced all summer and have really excelled. Yesterday, we had a wind up tournament inviting girls out from the village where we used to live in Simone. We had 3 teams from the village here and they brought two teams from Simone area. There were several hundred people by the time we got to the final round. Katie's team did really well winning all their games. Good teamwork!

We are so thankful for the nice friends that Katie has made here at the camp. They are all from the nearby village of tiverny. She has gotten to know most of them through volleyball, except for her very good friend, "Nose", who is sitting on the quad in the blue dress. She has been a good friend to Katie since our involvement out here.

We are so thankful for the "teamwork" on the containers. The container driving onto the camp property is always a welcome sight. We have received two containers in the last month. One from our hometown in B.C., and also one from "Harvest" in Florida. Many people have sent items on these containers to use here at the camp. A special "thank you" to each one for your kindness and help in setting up this camp for the children in the south of Haiti. It has been amazing to see how the Lord has brought different cities, churches, and friends together to make this all happen. We are grateful! Rod certainly has his work cut out for him—we're looking forward to the help of others too.

A group kindly bought appliances, shelving, sinks and dishes, for the camp kitchen. We look forward to feeding two hundred children per week sometime in the near future.

Other friends sent beautiful bikes, kayaks and chairs. The girls are already using the bikes. Others sent sinks, toilets and ceiling fans, and building supplies. We really appreciate the teamwork. So many useful items were sent to us. We are thankful for the effort of many. The containers stay here at the camp. One for a "bike" depot, and the other to hold the "water sports" items.

The "teamwork" behind the scenes in keeping the various ministries going is a huge help. Thank you to each one who has kindly sent items to us. From pillowslip dresses to shoes, soccer balls and health kits, it has been great to be able to share your gifts with the children of Renault. Thank you for encouraging the children.

Thank you for being a part of the work here. Whether it's through emails, phone calls, donating items, packing containers, prayers, or financial support, you are a part of the team. This work is not possible without your involvement.

God Bless,
Rod, Deb, and Katie

August 27, 2011 Dear friends and family,

This has been an exciting week as we finished building the huge rock wall that surrounds the camp property. We actually began construction of the wall exactly two years ago, in August of 2009, and by the grace of God, it is now completed. Mostly the wall is about 6 to 7 ft tall, but along the beach it is buried 3 to 4 feet deep in the sand and will have chain link fence on it.

The wall is 3800-foot long and has entirely been built by hand except for a little participation from the Bobcat and cement mixer. This includes loading the 1000 truck loads of rocks and 1000 truck loads of gravel all by hand. The man carrying the rock in the picture below is named Lixo and he is what you call a "rock techincian" (watch the video of Lixo). Many of the rocks are large and heavy, so a rock is rated as a 1-man, 2-man , 3-man or 4-man rock. The rock below is a 3-man rock as it takes 3 men to lift it up above Lixo's head and then once it is in the overhead position, Lixo balances it, and throws it over the side into the dump truck.

Tim and Rod installing the windows in the orphanage building. Tim returned to Canada this week to head back to University. We really enjoyed having him with us this summer and he was a great help as we made the transition of moving out to the camp.

This summer we started work on the large outdoor sports track and field (bottom left). We hope to be able to build a large soccer field with a running track around it. (Katie with the children at Renault—below right)

Thank you so much for your prayers and partnership. We are updating the Camp Mahanaim website, so if you would like to see more pictures and video of the wall and of the camp Mahanaim project, just check out the Harvest International website and look under Haiti - Wrays.

July 21, 2011 Dear friends and family,

We are enjoying our first summer living at Camp Mahanaim and are very thankful for the teams and visitors that we have. We have been very busy, but are still taking the time to play and relax also.

We have been doing girls volleyball this summer at the camp and the local Haitian girls love it and are outside the gate waiting to come and play volleyball every weekday morning well before 7:00 am. Can you spot Katie in the pictures? She is one of the youngest girls at 8 years old, but she really enjoys playing volleyball and is getting to know the local girls.

Living near the beach is a new experience for us and this week one of our neighbors set up a wooden stand just outside the gate to the camp and started to sell rum and alcohol. I felt compelled to let the neighbors know that we didn't approve of alcohol being sold in the village. I went out to talk to the neighbor and a crowd gathered quickly to listen. I suggested that we would not be able to open the sports court every evening, as long as he sold alcohol outside our gate and that alcohol causes so many motorcycle accidents in Haiti.

The following day, the neighbor came to visit us in the camp and explained that he decided to no longer sell the rum in the village, but that he had done it for years, and it was his source of summer income. He asked if we had any ideas as to how he could generate income through the summer? Strangely enough, the evening before, I had been wondering how to distribute soccer balls, as we were receiving too many people in the yard asking for soccer balls. I asked Jumto how much money he normally profited from selling a bottle of rum and it was about $1.50 U.S per bottle. I suggested that we would give him the same amount of soccer balls as bottles of rum that he had, and he could sell the balls for $1.50 U.S each. So, Jumto was happy with that, and he replaced his rum stand with a soccer ball stand. We no longer have people coming asking us for soccer balls, and the local people can all go to Jumto to buy a good soccer ball for only $1.50 U.S. and hopefully Jumto can earn his summer money.

One of our workers cut his ankle with a machete as he was clearing brush. Since we had all the necessary medical supplies, Tim and I decided that we would try and give him stitches. I gave the shot to freeze around the cut and Tim did a great job of putting 4 stitches in.

We picked up all 34 windows for the orphanage and should install them soon.

We continue to work full steam ahead on the walls including this repair job on the corner that suffered damage from the flooding last month. We are within a couple hundred feet of finishing the big wall along the Laquille river and then will only have about 600 feet of beach front to complete.

Thanks so much for your prayers and thoughts and support and emails. It is always a great encouragement to us, when we hear from you.

Thanks, bye for now,
Love Rod, Debbie Tim and Katie

June 19, 2011 Dear friends and family,

After a great time at home in British Columbia, and a brief visit in Florida, we returned to Haiti in late May. We are thankful to the Lord for His protection and guidance as we travelled many miles and visited with lots of friends.

It was sunny for two days when we arrived back in Haiti, but then the rains began. It rained for many days and the river bordering Camp Mahanaim to the West flooded, causing some damage to about 30 feet of our rock wall. We have begun repairs already and hope to make it stronger this time.

We had a team of 23 young adults come to work with us and they didn't let the rains slow them down. They worked, did VBS, and played sports in the rain. In the picture below, they are working at peeling the old decals off of the bus. It was then repainted and the new Camp Mahanaim decals were put on.

Schools were cancelled due to the rains, but we went and picked up kids in the bus and brought them to the camp where the team did VBS with the children. On one trip we counted 126 kids in the 20-passenger bus.

This past week, with the help of a youth team, we went by boat to the coastal town of St. Martin and did 21 weddings. We hired three of the small boats to take us 1-1/2 hours up the coast. Here we are leaving from the dock in the river by the camp. We are very thankful that our son Tim has returned to Haiti with us for the summer. Tim rode the motorbike up the coast to St. Martin so that we would have some form of transportation available while doing the weddings. The picture shows Tim hiring a dugout canoe to transport the motorbike across the river.

One of the older couples who was very grateful to finally be getting married, after more than 40 years together.

We are excited that our daughter Christie and her boyfriend Dan have come to visit and help us for a couple weeks. Today was a fun day as we hosted fellow missionaries Dirk and Karen Martin and the blind people that they work with for a day of activities out at the camp.

Dirk showed us all how to play "goal ball" and Tim, Dan, and I wore blindfolds and challenged the champions. We were beaten and realized how difficult it is to hear and react quickly (the ball has bells in it and you have to stop it so that it doesn't get past you). Tim and Katie also gave the blind kids rides on the 4-wheelers.

We really appreciate your prayers as we are in the process of moving out to the camp, and it involves a ton of work, while trying to keep the orphanage, walls and other projects going at the same time.

Thanks again to everybody who hosted and cared for us while we were home and travelling.

Thank you for your continued prayers , support, and efforts, as we work towards opening Camp Mahanaim sometime in the near future, Lord willing.

Bye for now,
Love Rod, Debbie and gang

April 17, 2011 Hello friends and family,

We finally have a logo for Camp Mahanaim. The word Mahanaim comes from the Bible in the book of Genesis 32:2. From the New King James Version, Mahanaim means: "This is God's camp".

These past three weeks we have had a medical team, a construction team, and a wedding team; and the most amazing thing for me has been watching and trying to photograph Deb as she has been hostess, chauffeur, waitress, mother, wedding planner, photographer, wife, cook, and so much more.

Deb brings and serves the food to the team at the medical clinic	taking clean laundry back to the guesthouse

serving a snack to the team	buying hand made brooms from a nice old man
Deb playing basketball with some team members and local Haitians	Deb drives the busy streets filled with obstacles and surprises
Deb is always taking pictures	serving snacks to the team
drinks to the workers	Deb starts and stops the diesel generator at the camp
Deb rounds up the local children to collect garbage from the beach	Deb doing school with Katie
Deb organizes, plans, and helps with every meal at the guesthouse	helping the children of Renault wash
They call her "mommy Wod" and she is mother to 1000 children each week	helping the brides get ready
taking pictures and speaking to a church full of people	my missionary wife Debbie, letting her little light shine

I took all these pictures these past three weeks and they tell only a small part of the story of what Deb accomplishes and how many people she influences with the Love of Jesus—and not only to Haitians, but to visitors, and fellow missionaries, and to her family too. If you're wondering how she does it all, she would tell you: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Thanks so much for your prayers and support. We are excited to have a time of rest, and are scheduled to leave on April 19th for home. We plan to be back in Haiti on May 25th, Lord willing.

Bye for now,
Love Rod, Deb and Katie

March 20, 2011
Hello friends and family,

Thank you for faithfully praying for us and the Camp Mahanaim project. I was pretty nervous about the large cement roof which needed to be poured in one day on the orphanage. It was almost 9,000 sq. ft. and we ended up using 813 bags of cement. We had three mixers going and three crews of Haitians using about 30 wheelbarrows. With one person in front pulling a rope and the other pushing the wheelbarrow, we were able to get all the 140 yards of concrete up the ramp and onto the roof.

We worked from 5:00 am till midnight. Deb stuck right there with me and was still bringing cold water for the workers at midnight, and then ended up paying them all as we cleaned up. The Lord also provided us with a hard working team from Michigan who kept the water flowing to the mixers, and floated all the concrete so that the roof has a very nice finish.

This past February marked the 3rd year since we began the ministry to the children of Renault. We had a team of men from Pennsylvania here on that special Sunday and they brought 20 beautiful Creole Bibles along. We gave a new Bible to each member of the Haitian youth team in thanks for their commitment, and as a reminder of God's faithfulness to us all, and then we stopped for ice cream on the way home also. Katie has become an expert at giving out the rice packets to the children each Sunday. They try, but cannot fool her. It is almost as if she recognizes and remembers each child.

We have been so blessed with teams coming to help and partner with us again so far this year. The people have been flexible and willing to help out wherever they can. Matt here is a skilled carpenter, but there were other carpenters on the team and he was able to do mechanical work, so he spent the whole week with greasy hands, fixing our vehicles and equipment. The team of men from Grand Rapids spent two weeks working at the hospital, but staying out at the camp. Deb would drive them 25 minutes into Cite Lumiere each day and then prepare lunch for them and then bring them back out to the camp by suppertime. Katie enjoyed beating the men at "Fast UNO" each evening.

We enjoyed a great time together with the other missionaries at the retreat last weekend. There are a lot of young missionary kids now in Cayes and it was fun to get to know them and watch them in the talent show.

We were able to put another 200 dump truck loads of gravel in the lake on the camp property, so we are thankful that things continue to progress. We are also hoping to build another 100 feet of wall along the river, and have started on another 250-foot section of wall along the beach.

Please continue to pray with us as we would like to open the camp this coming Fall, but aren't sure if everything will be ready by then. Also we ask for your continued prayers that God would direct regarding the children He wants to come and live at the orphanage once it is completed.

Deb, Katie, and I are booked on flights to return to British Columbia on April 19th, Lord willing, where we hope to spend about a month at home. Our son, Tim, is planning to return to Haiti with us for the summer, and on the way back we hope to spend a few days in Florida visiting a church and meeting with Harvest International staff. We are scheduled to come back into Haiti on May 25th. In the mean time, we have a medical team, a construction team, and a wedding team coming in the next few weeks before we leave, so please pray that God will use us and strengthen and protect us.

Thanks, bye for now,
Love Rod, Deb, and Katie

January 30, 2011
Hello family and friends,

We hope that the year 2011 has begun well for you. We had a very nice Christmas break and are thankful that Tim and Christie were able to spend three weeks with us. We spent most of our time out at the camp and hosted Christmas day dinner and fun for all our local missionary friends.

Over the holidays we had a special sports day for the local Haitian kids to show them some of the sports activities we plan to have at the camp. There were lots of events such as long jump, 100 meter sprint, bike races, and high jump. Notice how the spectators help the jumper clear the bar.

At the end of the sports day we gave all the boys and girls a special prize and a hardcover Bible story book. The kids were pretty excited.

We continue to give out the prepackaged rice and bean packs (manna packs) at the Renault Sunday School program and the kids seem to appreciate it. There have been more than 1000 kids each Sunday so far this year. The water from the well is a life saver and Deb helps the kids wash up.

We have had great teams so far this year and are thankful for all the work done in preparing to pour the big (almost 1000 sq. meter) cement roof on the orphanage. Please pray for us this week as we attempt this huge concrete pour, and also that God would bless and direct this orphanage and the children who will live in it. There are 11 tons of rebar in this roof.

This past week our almost 18-year old daughter Kara had an accident as she drove the 4-wheeler in Les Cayes. It happened on Tuesday morning when she collided with a scooter taxi which was carrying two little Haitian boys on their way to school. Kara was thrown from the 4-wheeler and was hurt quite badly, with the worst of her injuries being a deep cut on the back of her head. She was stitched up and allowed to come home the same day. Unfortunately, the 8-year old boy on the scooter broke his leg and had to remain in hospital.

We decided during the week that it would be a good time for Kara to return to British Columbia in order to finish her last two courses before graduation. It worked out great as the firefighter team from Kamloops was here and they were willing to escort Kara home. Our daughter Carly and her husband Eylar have kindly invited Kara to stay with them in Kamloops.

We will miss Kara here in Haiti, especially each Sunday morning at Renault, as Kara always was able to spot the saddest or sickest child and give them some love and special attention.

We are thankful that things have remained calm in Haiti for the past while. Thanks so much for your prayers and support.

Bye for now,
Love Rod, Deb, and Katie (just the three of us now)

December 12, 2010
Hello friends and family,

It has been an interesting week for us, and it seems that our city of Les Cayes in Southern Haiti has been one of the hottest spots for the violence and destruction that has occurred since the election results were released this past Tuesday. All roads, in and around Cayes, were totally blocked until yesterday when the road blocks started being dismantled. The people block the roads with trees, rocks, burning tires, and heavy metal.

On Friday, we had the opportunity for Dr. Bill Tenhaaf and Duane Verkaik from Grand Rapids to get out of Haiti as the people from the Bahamas Methodist Mission had a pilot who was ready to fly his plane to the Cayes airport to take five passengers back to the Bahamas. I made an early morning trip through the back trails to the airport to see if it was possible to get to the airport, as the roads were impassible. Even some of the back trails were blocked, but, as I explained the situation, the people said that they would let us pass.

At about 10:30 am, we headed to the airport on motorcycle taxis. The trip through the trails was good, but when we arrived near the airport we were surrounded by many people, some holding rocks, and we quickly stopped and got off the motorbikes. While I spoke with the crowd of angry Haitians, Joan Reinhard ( who was responsible for three of the men) led the five men, who were leaving, on foot the rest of the way to the airport.

It was perfect timing as the Bahamas plane landed at the same moment that Joan and the men entered the airport yard. They quickly boarded the plane and were on their way, and Joan and I were able to ride back to Cite Lumiere without incident. We are very thankful for the Lord's help as at one point I was surrounded by about 100 people, some of who were insistent that no white people should be allowed to leave the country during the demonstrations.

We want to thank you so much for your support of the Sunday School program in the area of Renault. Even with the problems in Haiti this past week we were able to get the well completed, and it has brought so much joy and hope for the people of this very, very poor area. Especially with the cholera problems, it is a lifesaver for them to now have their own fresh water artesian well. We found good water about 100 feet deep, and there is a one-inch pipe going outside through the wall where water flows all the time so people can wash and get water anytime, and there is a faucet inside the yard so that children can get water and wash on Sunday mornings.

Due to the concerns of the Cholera epidemic, we, together with the Haitian youth team, decided that we don't want to give out food and water inside the Renault Sunday School yard until Cholera is no longer a threat. Thanks to the generous partnership of other missions, such as ACC and RMI, we have a pretty good supply of the "manna packs," which are a prepackaged rice and protein mix, which the Haitians love, and we have been giving these packets out and hope to continue to as supplies last. We are thankful that even today after a week of turmoil we were able to go to Renault and encourage the children.

The ACC folks also sent us some beautiful Creole Bible story books which we are giving the children of Renault. It is amazing to see these children and realize that this little Bible book is quite possibly the most valuable possession that they have ever owned. We write the child's name in the front of the book. Can you spot Deb as she tries to protect the little children in the crowd as they left Renault this morning?

We appreciate your prayers and thoughts for us and for Haiti. Please pray for calm to be restored. Also, for our family, we are really hoping that Tim and Christie will be able to come and spend Christmas with us.

Thanks, bye for now,
Love Rod and Debbie, Kara and Katie

December 8, 2010
Hello friends and family,

You are probably hearing alarming reports regarding Haiti this morning on the news. The situation is difficult, but we want you to be sure that we are safe and things are calm here at City Lumiere, where we live.

Throughout the country, many Haitians are angry about the fraud of the election and how the results have turned out and they are showing their frustration and anger by blocking roads, burning government buildings, and even firing weapons. This all started at about 9:00 pm last night shortly after they announced the results of the preliminary election.

We pray that things will return to "normal" quickly.

Thanks for your prayers and thoughts,
Bye for now,
Love Rod and Debbie

November 7, 2010
Hello family and friends,

Thank you so much for your prayers and thoughts over the past weekend as hurricane Tomas passed very near Southern Haiti. We are thankful that a team of 20 from Kamloops, British Columbia, are here and they were able to help us as we prepared for the storm.

Here is a "birds-eye view" picture of the camp property taken by our friends from Agape Flights as they flew over on Wednesday, which was the day before Hurricane Tomas hit. You can see the partially built orphanage in the foreground and the two-story guesthouse, and parts of the surrounding wall.

Hurricane Tomas actually hit us the hardest at about 1:00 am on Friday morning with high winds and heavy rains, and the flooding began around 2:00 am. We woke up to find some water on the camp property, but it was really our neighbors in their little Haitian huts who suffered the most.

The walls stood up to the flood waters and did a great job of protecting the property. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to complete all the perimeter walls and that is where the water entered.

flooding around guest house & other buildings	perimeter walls

We were able to work quickly and round up truck loads of supplies including food, clothes, and personal care items. We then quickly sorted everything into bags and began distribution to the Haitian people.

With the help of some young Haitian helpers and the Kamloops mission team, this weekend we have been able to distribute about 1500 bags full of relief items to the Haitian people who suffered in our area. That includes about 1000 bags to the people of Renault who experienced bad flooding after the hurricane.

Thanks again for sending emails and asking about us, and for praying for us.

Bye for now,
Love Rod, Debbie, Kara and Katie

October 16, 2010
Dear Friends and Family,

We are thankful for your encouragement and your concern for both Katelyn and Luke. Thank you for your prayers for them and their families. Here is a recent update on them.

Katelyn is pictured here with Katie. Very "good buddies". At "All Children's Hospital" in Florida, Katelyn has been diagnosed with "cerebral meningitis." She remains in intensive care, and would appreciate your continued prayers. Rich, her father, is also there with Katelyn and Amber. They are thankful for small improvements each day. Yesterday they were told that Katelyn is not to come back to Haiti for at least 4 months. They have a lot of decisions to make as a family. Grandma Pfister is here in Haiti taking good care of the other 4 children ( all under 7) and plans to be here until other arrangements are made. Please keep them in your prayers.

Katelyn & Katie	Luke pictured on far right

Luke is pictured here on the far right (above), while he was in Haiti. He is now in VGH (Vancouver General Hospital) and is paralyzed from the waste down. He remains in the critical care unit. Our hearts are hurting for him and the family and all that they must be going through. The doctors have him on a draining tube to help clear his lungs. Luke is conscious and talking a bit. They are keeping him sedated to keep him from moving so much. He has been told that there is a 1% chance that he will ever walk again. Please pray for these good friends as they have many difficult hurdles to cross.

Yesterday as I drove out to the camp I thought this was an interesting sight. How many times do we see different sights here and I think, "if only our friends could see this?" The man with the bundle on his head also has a passenger seated on the bar in front of him. Amazing! Each day we are thankful for the Lord's protection. It has gotten so much busier again with school starting. We have also found a big increase in traffic since the earthquake with many thousands of people moving to the southwest.

The roof being poured on the addition to the guesthouse—Haitian style—bucket by bucket. Thankfully, Rod had the cement mixer in good working order and all the supplies available and ready to do this "huge pour." What a sight to see 60 men all working together. They were men from the surrounding village and were very thankful for the day's work.

addition to guest house	roof of guesthouse

As I stood up on the roof and watched all the work being done, I was reminded of the many gifts and talents that the Lord has given each one of us. Thanks for standing with us and doing your part. Some have come to help with the work, some pray for the needs here, others give financially. We appreciate each of you. We are excited about all that lies ahead here in Haiti and the opportunities before us.

PS: Christie and Tim are doing very well at university. They are really enjoying being on the same campus together this year. Yes, that little grand baby, Wyatt, is as cute as can be. Carly and Eylar send us pictures faithfully, so we're thankful to see him often—from a distance.

October 12, 2010
Dear friends,

We have two prayer requests this morning. Please pray for Katie's friend Katelyn Pfister who is a sweet missionary girl here in Haiti. About 10 days ago Katelyn started feeling sick and had a small fever. After a couple of days later, her parents put her in the hospital here at Cite Lumiere.

Then over the past weekend she was not improving, so Katelyn and her mom were able to catch a ride on the Agape Flights plane to the U.S. Katelyn is in intensive care at the All children's hospital in St. Petersburg , Florida.

Please pray for her as she has very low sodium levels and they are trying to get her sodium levels up. Her condition is serious. Her dad, Rich is on his way to be with Katelyn and Amber and should arrive late this afternoon, at the hospital, in Florida, Lord willing. Thankfully, Rich's mom came to Haiti to help, and is now staying with the rest of the Pfister children.

This morning we just received this email from Pastor Bruce Christiansen from our home town of Kamloops, British Columbia. The young man Luke Eliason was our son Tim's best friend as they were growing up. Luke is 19 years old.

Dear Church Family: Yesterday Luke, Brandon and Kelsey were on their way back home from Prince George when they were invovled in a car accident near Lac La Hache. Brandon and Kelsey were sent to Williams Lake Hospital, both are well. Luke was arivaced to Vancouver General Hospital. Brad, Lorna and the boys travelled to Vancouver last night to be with Luke.

Brad called from VGH a short time ago to inform me that the situation is not good. Luke is paralyzed and he has undisclosed internal injuries. He is presently in surgery as they seek to repair the damage. At this time we ask you to pray for Luke and the Eliason's.

Thanks so much for your prayers.
Bye for now,
Rod and Debbie

September 27, 2010
Hello friends and family,

It is great to have Deb and Katie back and we are very thankful for the Lord's protection upon them while they traveled.

We are needing large amounts of sand for the construction at the camp right now, so we hired 55 ladies to use buckets and get sand out of the river.

The Haitian ladies worked for two days and were able to build a huge pile of sand for us, and then Deb, Kara, and Katie distributed clothes, soap, and food to the ladies as payment for their work. Some of the local men are also bringing sand by dugout canoe.

August 21, 2010
Hello friends and family,

Greetings from hot Haiti. This month has been exciting for our family. Our first grandchild was born to our daughter Carly and her husband Eylar on August 5th. Deb and Katie flew home to visit and help out with the new baby.

Almost exactly one year ago we began work on the Camp Mahanaim project, and one of the main tasks that we have steadily worked at has been the perimeter rock wall that, Lord willing, will eventually encircle the entire camp. Today was a special day as we passed the halfway mark, having now built just over 1800 lineal feet of a 6-foot high by 3-foot wide (at the base) rock wall (all by hand). We have about 1800 lineal feet remaining before the job will be complete, but praise the Lord, we are progressing. The wall is needed to protect the camp from flooding.

The Haitian workers are strong and wiry and they wrestle the huge rocks into place. Some of the rocks weigh more than 400-lbs and they are all loaded in the dump trucks by hand.

July 24, 2010
Hello friends and family,

We are happy that our daughter Christie is back in Haiti with us, and she already has been a big help with the ministry here. Our son Tim also returned to us as the commercial Salmon fishing wasn't very productive this year. Rod had a short bout with Malaria last week, and was quite sick, so we are so thankful that the kids were such a great help and Dr. Bill was here to care for us.

In April, this 18-year old girl (in the picture with Deb) from Renault was dying of T.B. Thankfully, we were able to help send her to the hospital, and in early July she was able to return home, happy and fully recovered.

Thanks so much for your prayers and support.

Bye for now,
Love Rod, Deb and the gang

July 1, 2010
Hello friends and family,

We are doing well, but it has been a sad week for us as our son, Tim, has returned to Canada to go commercial fishing with our relatives off the West coast of British Columbia for a couple months before he starts university. Over the past few months Tim has been such a huge helper and partner in the ministry that it has been hard for us to let him go.

Love Rod, Debbie, Kara and Katie

June 5, 2010
Dear family and friends,

We have received several containers this past month, filled with great supplies, food, clothing and equipment, and it has been a privilege for us to distribute many of these gifts to the Haitian people on behalf of all of you who sent and worked at sending. In early May, with the help of about 30 Haitian people from the community, we did a census in the area of Simone (where we live), and by going door to door, found out that there were approximately 1000 people living here who have come out from Port-au-Prince since the earthquake.

We had a pretty big crowd (over 1000 people) and the U.N. helped with control. Can you spot Tim?

Just about two weeks ago we began construction of the orphanage at the camp. Lord willing this orphanage will be home to about 45 earthquake amputee orphans. Here we are beginning the foundation and pumping out the water in the low lying area. The bobcat is the ultimate concrete delivery machine and the cement mixer dumps directly into the bucket of the Bobcat, so that on a good day, we can mix and pour 150 or more bags of cement. It is a great system. We are so thankful that an experienced construction team from Florida was able to help us design the orphanage and build the foundation.

Katie is holding Max's little daughter. They named her Jewray. The Je stands for Jesus and Wray is for our family.

Thanks so much for your continued prayers and support.

Bye for now,
Love Rod, Deb and gang

April 2, 2010
Hello friends and family,

We hope that this is a special Easter weekend for you as we remember and give thanks to the Lord for all He has done for us. We are doing great and have had a good time with the teams from Missouri which have been with us the past two weeks. The second week was a construction team of ten men, five of whom were over 70 years old. They were very productive and helped us with many projects in the community and out at the camp.

team of ten men	giving out gift bags of food, clothes, soap, toothbrushes and toys to about 900 children at Renault

getting the first 100-ft of wall started along the Laquille river	building new cedar cupboards for the guesthouse

Hiking into the mountains to take food, tents, Bibles, and solar lanterns to the Haitians. Even way out in the mountains we found numerous people who had been affected by the earthquake. These children lost both their parents and the 11-year old girl in the picture is now the oldest member of the family, so she is taking care of the other children. They came from Port-au-Prince with their aunt, who lost her husband, her sister, and one of her own children in the earthquake. They are all living in the grandmothers yard, so we were happy to be able to set up a tent for them and give them some supplies.

Building a generator house for the brand new "John Deere" 40 kw generator which is now operational at the camp, as well as reviving the old well that was on the camp property and building a pump house and installing a pressurized water system. We are very excited to have some infrastructure at the camp.

We are so thankful to have our son Tim working with us, and he is a huge help. Tomorrow morning early, Lord willing, Tim and I plan to drive into Por-au-Prince at 3:00 am. We will take Dr. Bill in so that he can catch his flight back home and then pick up our team from Ocala, Florida. Please continue to ask God for His protection upon us as we travel these roads.

Thanks for your prayers and support.

Bye for now,
Love Rod, Debbie and the gang

January 26, 2010
Hi again,

Thank you so much for all the prayers and encouraging emails. Thank you for sharing with Haiti in it's time of greatest need. It is amazing to see how the world is giving and sharing to try and help the Haitian people.

Our little hospital is so full and busy, and we are very thankful for Dr. Bill Tenhaaf. He is not only doing surgeries, but is coordinating the whole medical effort so that many people are being helped. We are also thankful for Dr. Jon and Dr. Rick who are doing a great job and helping this week also.

This man was three days under rubble in Port-au-Prince and his leg is broken. He is the father of three children who come to the Renault Sunday School program. He accepted Jesus into his heart this week. Many people in Haiti are turning to God since the earthquake.

While some stores here in Cayes are short on food, we are thankful that Agape flights has flown tons of food supplies to Cayes. This has enabled us to continue helping people, including continuing the Renault Sunday School program. This past Sunday Dr. Roberts spent all morning caring for children with medical problems.

We were very thankful for Gary and Samuel from RMI who came to Port-au-Prince and helped pick up Christians from the MEBSH churches to bring back out to the camp yesterday. These pictures were taken by Tim and Dr. Bill as they followed behind us in the pickup.

About 60 Christians from Port-au-Prince came with us out to the camp. They seem very happy at the camp and are being well cared for. We are trying to find more tents as we hear that more people from Port-au-Prince might be coming this week.

Thanks for your prayers and support, bye for now,
Love Rod, Debbie and gang

January 23, 2010
Hi again from the Wrays in Haiti,

Sorry to send emails so often, but we want to keep you updated on our activities during this time of crisis for Haiti.

We are so thankful that Dr. Bill Tenhaaf is here not only doing surgeries and helping many Haitians, but also coordinating a lot of the medical efforts that are happening in our area. Dr. Jon Roberts from Missiouri and his friend Dr. Rick arrived yesterday and are helping at the hospital. Last night Dr. Roberts told us that he had never seen so many serious injuries in his life. Deb and the missionary ladies cleaned and set up extra beds in the large room that was my workshop at the hospital.

We have been setting up tents and are preparing to use Camp Mahanaim as a long term (three month) refugee center where people from the MEBSH churches in Port-au-Prince can come and stay. Lord willing we plan to drive in Monday morning with several vehicles and bring out the Christians who are living on the streets of Port au Prince.

We are thankful for funds that have been donated so that we have been able to give a lot of food and supplies to the Haitian people. We are helping provide food for the patients and their families at the hospital, some of the Haitian pastors, the people in the Aids feeding program, the children at Renault and we are preparing enough food to receive up to 200 refugees at the camp, Lord willing.

Today was the Aids feeding program / support group and the Haitian people were so thankful for the food supplies that we were able to share with them. It has been very encouraging that all the missionaries here are working together in so many ways and Reciprocal Ministries International supplied the food for the Aids feeding program this week

We are enjoying and loving the Haitian people even through these difficult times. Today I had fun purchasing more diesel fuel from the vendors on the street. It is a little more expensive and I usually get covered in diesel by the time we finish, but we are thankful that it is still available.

Please especially pray for us as we prepare to go into Port-au-Prince to pick up people and bring them back to the camp to live.

We also really feel that it is important to continue on with the vision of the Camp Mahanaim children's camp project, so that when this huge relief effort is finished, the Haitian people will have a lasting project that will benefit them and point them to Jesus for years to come.

We pray that God will raise up some partners or a partner who will catch the vision of camp Mahanaim and work as a fund raiser for us so that this project can be accomplished. Please contact us directly if you feel led to help in this way.

Please mark your donation "Wrays—Haiti relief"
Thanks, bye for now,
Love Rod, Debbie and gang

January 19, 2010
Hello again,

We are thankful that all 18 of our visitors have been able to leave Haiti over the past three days. The Methodist mission of the Bahamas has been flying medical supplies directly into the Cayes airport, and they have been willing to take American passengers back to Naussau (Bahamas) on their return flights. Deb did an amazing job of hosting, feeding and caring for the visitors while they were here.

Tim and I drove into Port-au-Prince early this morning along with Myrlande and Timothee from our Haitian youth team. They had family members who were confirmed alive and uninjured, but were living on the streets of Port-au-Prince with no way of getting out to Cayes. We had enough fuel for one trip so we made the most of it. Myrlande even picked up her 1-year old cousin whose mother died in the earthquake, so now Myrlande will take care of little baby Sarah.

The destruction in Port-au-Prince was overwhelming as were the flies. Some houses were standing, some were totally collapsed, but almost all appear to have been affected in some way. Many, many homes will need to be torn down as they are very dangerous and could collapse at any time. The destruction is more than widespread; it is throughout a large part of Haiti.

As many people as possible are leaving Port-au-Prince and as quickly as they can. Aftershocks continue occasionally, and if we were to have a heavy rain , there would be many more casualties.

There are numerous landslides and places where the pavement has buckled and cracked. The road from Port to Cayes which was recently repaired, is barely passable again.

Thanks so much for your continued prayers.

The Haitian church leaders have advised us that evacuation might be necessary for the missionaries in the weeks to come, if supplies don't start to enter the country. We do not want to leave, but also, don't want to be unsafe. Please pray for wisdom and God's guidance for us in the days and weeks to come.

Thanks, bye for now,
Rod and Debbie and family

We are thankful that the Reinhard family arrived safely back in Cayes and all the missionaries gathered together to meet them at the airport last Wednesday afternoon.

We had a special visit from Danny Thomas who is the director of Harvest International. Danny and Kara helped put cream on a badly burned little boy at Renault.

An elderly gentlemen who cuts branches from our yard and makes brooms with them. He has almost no toes as they have been cut off with the machete.

Deb had an opportunity to take a car load of missionary ladies to a retreat in Port au Prince a few weekends ago. She had a great weekend and was able to meet missionary ladies from Port au Prince.

We have been working at completing construction of the church at Ti-Verny, near the camp property. Once the roof is on, the church will be able to move from using the camp.

We are thankful to have a team of 3 men here working on the camp with us this week. On Sunday, Bruce (an electrician from Ocala) played the saxophone for Jesus and the kids at Renault loved it.

This afternoon Deb met the Agape flights airplane to Cayes. Agape purchased and brought in ceiling fans, lights and door knobs for the guesthouse at camp, and Deb definitely had a vehicle full.

Fishing for Ti-bean out at the camp. The fishermen drag these fine, small nets along the sand and gather up the tiny shrimp, which sell for a good price once they are dried.

Thank you for your prayers and support and especially for your prayers for the Reinhards.

Bye for now,
Love Rod, Deb and gang

It has now been two years that Baby Hope has been living at the hospital here at City Lumiere, and Deb visits her several times every week and takes food and supplies for her. Little Baby Hope recognizes Deb's voice instantly and always responds with a big grin. Deb has worked hard at trying to arrange adoption or care in the U.S for baby Hope, but so far it hasn't worked out, and now we are considering taking her to a special orphanage here in Haiti as she cannot continue to live at the hospital indefinitely. Thanks to the generous gifts that you have sent, we have been able to give baby gifts to many or our Haitian friends who have recently had babies.

Max and his wife just had a "surprise" baby girl and they named her "Juwray." The "Ju" is for Jesus and "wray" is for our family.

It is nice to have Forguens back working with me again out at the camp. He has no vision in his left eye, but he is able to work at full strength again, and is a great help along with Jean Josef, and Etanel from my original crew. They ride out to the camp each morning with me and, other than these three, I am trying to hire all local workers who live near the camp.

Deb standing beside Jean Hebert, who is one of the members of our Haitian youth team. Jean recently had a serious motorcycle accident, but we are thankful that he is regaining the use of his arm now. We have asked Jean Hebert and his new wife to be the caretakers at the camp and they have accepted.

We are using schedule 40 pvc pipe as electrical conduit and I am making the bends using a torch. It works great and meets all Haitian codes (ha, ha).

We are so thankful for the help from Tom Schmidt, our Haiti Harvest director. We recently purchased this beautiful bus online (government surplus auctions) and Tom flew to New York and drove the bus back to Florida. He will now try to ship it to Haiti for us.

Deb and I had a special meeting with Pastor Chavannes Jeune and the MEBSH executive this week, and they are very excited and supportive of the Camp Mahanaim project. We definitely need help if you are available and willing. We need immediately: an electrician, plumber, carpenter or two, tile-setter, concrete finisher (we have the power trowels here), painter or painters, cabinetmaker, and welder.

If you can get to Haiti, and don't mind roughing it a little, we have a place for you! Please email us!

Thanks for your prayers and support.
Love Rod, Debbie, Kara and Katie

(Tim is really doing well at Bible School in Austria and enjoying it)

September 11, 2009
Hello friends,

This is just a quick note to say a "big thank you" to all of you who made it possible for our son Tim to spend this fall semester at Capernwray Bible School in Austria. Tim left Haiti this morning and will spend a few days with his friend Mary Scott Cain and her family in Florida; and then early next week will be on his way to Europe.

We drove into Port au Prince this morning, leaving Cayes at 3:00 am to be sure to get Tim to the airport by 7:00 am.

Each day we rely upon God's protection especially as we travel the roads of Haiti. This morning we saw three separate serious accidents where large trucks had flipped over.

This picture shows the detour at Miraguane where there are a couple of very steep hills. Many times all the passengers get out and walk so that the trucks can have enough power to make it to the top of the hill. Sometimes when the big trucks stall, and their brakes don't work, the trucks slide down the hill and flip over, as this one did in the picture. Today there were four trucks stalled and stuck on the hill.

We are excited about the way things are progressing on the camp project. Harvest International has created a special web page for the camp, so if you would like to have a closer look at the camp, you can go to the Harvest International website and then click on the "Haiti" flag, and then click on "Camp Mahanaim."

Or you can simply click on this link: www.harvestinternational.org/cmhome.html

At the bottom of the "projects" page, Deb does a video tour of the camp and explains some of the work that is before us.

Thanks again for your prayers and support.
Bye for now,
Love Rod, Deb and gang