A Cup of Cold Water
by RaeLeen Bustin, Missionary to Haiti
It was 12:15 am, I had just finished checking on my sleeping children and was getting ready to go to bed when I heard a knock at the front gate. I called out into the dark to ask, what was the matter? Edner, our nighttime guard, replied, "It's Losita. She is laying in the truck." I was confused. Just a few days before I had made arrangements where she could see our visiting medical team in clinic. Losita's husband had died shortly after she became pregnant with number fourteen. She was due in October. She lives a four hour walk from our mission station. I had been waiting on her throughout the week since I was going to send her to Cayes to the missionary clinic to deliver her baby. Edner then went on to say that Losita had delivered her baby in the cargo truck!
David and I raced down the mountain on the 4 Wheeler, not sure what we were going to find. I looked around for a truck, but it was gone. Where was Losita?
As I walked into the Nutritional Center I continued to look for Losita when a voice called out, "Bonswa Madam David." I said, " Losita is that you?" She replied, " Yes." I looked to see Losita sitting on the bench, holding her baby, with the umbilical cord still attached.
Earlier in the evening Losita got on a cargo truck to come to our mission station so that she could pick up her paperwork to go to the missionary clinic. The truck went from her village to Pestel. Shortly after they left Pestel, she delivered in the dark, while the truck was still bouncing over the mountain. Nobody knew that a baby was about to be born until they heard a cry. People started yelling to the driver that a baby had just been born. The driver stopped, looked at the baby, and continued his journey over the mountain! Around two hours later Losita arrived at our mission station. She walked into the Nutritional Center, with her baby still attached!
I held the flashlight while David cut the cord. We wrapped the cold, tiny baby girl in towels and tried to encourage her to nurse, while wishing that we still had our medical team here!
After Losita and baby were safely tucked into bed I was getting ready to leave the Center when she said, " Madam David I brought some gifts for you: coconut, avocado, papaya, and sugar cane". My heart was touched by all that this lady had been through, and yet was thinking of what she could give me.
When Jesus commanded us to give a cup of cold water in His name I wonder if he was thinking of the lady that would deliver her baby in the back of a dirty cargo truck going over the rugged mountains of Haiti.
Southern Region
We have work in Belize, Brazil, Haiti, and Dominican Republic. For information on Southern Region contact us at info@ebminternational.com
Taking Jesus to the Amazon River
Ministries
1. Church Planting: Twenty-four churches have been established. Numerous outstations and preaching points are used to share the gospel.
2. Education:
Seven primary schools currently educate 1000 students.
A secondary school provides further educational opportunities.
A distant learning center provides instruction for individuals without access to formal training.
Partnerships with established Christian colleges are affording training for pastors and church leaders that would not otherwise be available.
3. Medical: In Haiti, EBM operates a large government clinic. An additional clinic provides limited care to those needing medical attention.
4. Youth Ministries: Training young people to be leaders and follow God's will for their lives. Impacting their World for Christ today.
5. Children's Home: In Haiti, EBM missionaries operate a home for abandoned and needy children. Medical care and adoption services are provided through this ministry.
6. Food and nutritional programs
Haitian Huts
Our Goals:
Double the outreach and church planting efforts within our current countries of ministry
Expand our outreach to the bordering countries.
Assist our churches and ministries in becoming self-reliant.
Establish training centers and Bible institutes or colleges in those countries where other schools do not already exist.
Expand our youth outreach to include city and regional ministries.
Incorporate radio as a means of outreach.
Upgrade and expand our facilities to accommodate the anticipated growth.
Actively recruit missionary personnel.
Church Planting and Outreach:
The Southern Region is committed to the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our goal is to strengthen our current churches and to establish new independent, self-supporting churches that will in turn spread the gospel through their own outreach ministries. The primary strategy will be to focus upon cities and larger towns.
Under the direction of the Holy Spirit, we will employ those methods of church planting that have proven effective, including one-on-one contacts, witnessing teams, and prayer and Bible study cell groups. Those who have received the gospel will be trained to become pastors, leaders, and church planters in their own right. Evangelistic rallies and crusades will continue to be used. Our vision is to expand the current ministries and to open new areas of ministry in the neighboring countries.
In Brazil, a riverboat has been purchased and will continue to be used to reach remote villages. The goal of this ministry is to strengthen the existing churches and to provide a gospel message where there is no church.
Education:
The educational program of the Southern Region may be viewed on two different levels. The first level includes our primary and secondary schools. These schools not only educate the children, but they also present the gospel and provide prospective students for the Bible colleges and institutes.
The second level covers the adult education. The Southern Region will continue to partner with established Bible colleges and institutes whenever possible. However, in certain countries we will need to establish our own Bible institutes in order to train the pastors, teachers and Christian workers. It is also our goal to open external study centers. By means of audio, video, the Internet, and visiting professors, these centers can be used to prepare students without requiring them to leave their country or families for an extended time.
In addition, plans are being considered to start vocational schools to train young men and women. By providing the people with basic technical skills, they can support the local church and its outreach ministries.
Radio: Our motto in Haiti is "The Gospel in Every Home". Through partnership with Oriental Missionary Society (OMS) and Radio 4VEH , our goal is to begin a radio ministry in the Dye-Mon district. We will also cooperate with OMS and Radio 4VEH to place a pre-tuned radio in every Haitian home so that each home can receive the broadcast.
Youth Ministry: In many of the countries of the Southern Region the youth population is very high. Estimates are that eighty-five to ninety percent of the population are young people. Drugs, immorality, and diseases are rampant; many suffer from AIDS. It is imperative that we have a strong program directed towards this large population of young people; such a program must focus on the physical and social needs as well as the spiritual needs of the youth.
Construction: In order to accommodate the growth of the ministry, the Southern Region recognizes the need to upgrade and expand our facilities. This expansion will include our churches, schools, Bible institutes, and homes for abandoned children.
Personnel Needs: The Southern Region of EBM is in need of missionaries to work in all areas of the ministry
Please Pray For The Southern Region!
