It has been long but good day. We left our homes before 4:00 AM today and are finally settling in at OFCB around 8:30 PM. Everyone is well and safe - though we cannot say the same for our luggage. Still waiting for 4 bags to arrive tomorrow. The bags have made it to Port Au Prince - Actionnel has arranged for someone to deliver them sometime tomorrow.
As usual, we are being taken care of very well - fed well - and are already being showered with questions from students - most often asked question: "What is Your Name?"
We will let you know more later. Keep us in your prayers.
The team - David Carr, Scott Howerton, Ron Morris, Ron Price, and Mark Wunder
OFCB
For nearly two centuries, subsistence farming has characterized the livelihood of 80,000 people in rural Bayonnais, Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere. This is not uncommon. Following colonial independence in 1804, former slaves exercised newfound freedom by cultivating their own land in the countryside. Today, OFCB (Organization of the Christian Force of Bayonnais), a ministry founded in 1993 through the vision of five inspired individuals, provides this generation with a new opportunity: education. Subjects such as history, biology, language arts, social science, philosophy, and visual art are now available to this community for the first time. Adults and children comprise a student body that has grown from 103 to 1460, and for many, the rice and beans served at lunch may be the only substantial meal they eat all day. Not only have national exam scores been some of the highest in the region, OFCB has sent 20 students to Haitian colleges! In an effort to stimulate long-term development, the college scholarship program stipulates that each student return to OFCB upon graduation to serve the community for 10 to 15 years, depending upon the field of study. One college graduate has become a doctor, currently in residency, and will return to start Bayonnais’ first health clinic! Deep in the heart of a country plagued by extreme poverty, political violence and corruption, the people of Bayonnais are finding new hope.
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Hey Ronnie,
God is so Awesome! You will receive many crowns in Heaven one day! The lives you are touching and inspiring will grow all to God's Glory!!! There can be no greater reward than seeing the joy that you and you're team are spreading!!! Wish I could be there with you to help, especially financially! I lost my job back in September! But God is faithful, and he is providing as He promised!!! Our prayers go out to you guys for God's continued Blessings and safety!!! I, myself have experienced the joy of serving God and others in His name by missions in Mexico, back in April of this year! It truly is a rewarding experience just to see the joy and thankful hearts, as a group of 12 from my Church (Jamestown Presbyterian Church of Jamestown, N.C.), ventured to Reynosa, Mexico to help with Faith Ministries to build a home for the poverty stricken area! It had an incredible emotional ending, having to leave them at the end of the week, after growing in relationships through Christ!!! I'm sure you will experience the same with all the small ones about you! Keep us posted! You may also email me @fmragsdale@yahoo.com. May God keep you all well!!! Talk again soon!
In Christ,
Frank (Frankie) Ragsdale
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