Bernard is sponsored, Aldy is sponsored. We are so thankful! It's such a joy to joining some of you with some of our students! We've still got a long ways to go!
Keep praying for EBS, and....meet Samuel!
Samuel's story is very unique in that I can see the hand of God redeeming his heartbreaking childhood and turning it into His heart, His passion--in and through Samuel.
"I was born in Port-au-Prince not long after my father died. My mom got remarried right away, and had three more sons right after me by that man. As I grew, my step-father greatly resented me and treated me terribly, while my brothers, his sons, were treated well. I couldn't do anything right, he was always antagonizing me, and my mother was unable to defend me. Finally, around the time I was almost 10, I felt I didn't want to live any longer, because life had become so oppressive for me.
My mother didn't know what to do, and becoming very concerned, she sent me hours away to Cap-Haitian to live with grandparents and an aunt I had never met.
I was so happy to get out from under my step-father, and found myself quickly immersed in a deeply Christian home in Pillatre, a zone about five minutes from the Seminary.
They put me in a Christian school (sidenote: the same school where Lily goes now!) , the first time I had been allowed to go to school, and we were in church almost every day, and very quickly upon being immersed in His love through them, I came to accept Jesus as my Savior. My grandparents loved me so well, and I wanted to be like Christ in them.
When I was little, still with my mother, I had always heard my mother secretly say that she prayed every day that one of her four sons would be a pastor someday. After I became a Christian, I wondered if that was what God was calling me to.
Because I started school so late, it took me a long time to finish, and when I did finish, I started teaching Sunday school at the Vaudreil church and loved it. I wanted to help my grandparents and Aunt, and so I went to the University of Cap Haitian and got a 2 year degree in accounting, but the whole time I was there, I kept hearing people mention Emmaus Biblical Seminary at every turn, and I was always remembering that secret prayer of my mother.
Within six months of each other, my grandparents passed away, and I was so sad, and missed them so much that I started a visitation program at my church, always going and visiting elderly people who had no one.
You wouldn't believe some of the situations some elderly people are in. One woman's son and husband have died, and she sleeps on a mat on the ground in a tiny shack, and rarely has food. Every time I visit people like this, I am greatly touched by their physical needs and by their great desire to be loved on and to be family.
I have become the grandson of so many, and I love this ministry. It breaks my heart. I love to visit these people and pray with them, sit with them, be their grandson and encourage them in the Lord.
It was one of these visits where someone called me, "Dear Pastor", and when I told them I wasn't a pastor, I saw that they were surprised. "But why?" they asked me. "I see your great heart for others and I have heard your passion and gifting in teaching. You should become a pastor."
And I felt that it was time. I was 30, my grandparents gave me Jesus, and I want to learn better how to give Him back to many grandparents. I love to find ways to practically help people, and I guess God has given me a special heart for older people who feel they have no hope, no help, no family.
I came to Emmaus Biblical Seminary in August of 2013 and I love it. I like the intensive courses, I like the classes, I like to work hard, and I want to keep close to Him. I have always been a very disciplined and serious person, and studying His Word intentionally is giving me such joy. The seminary helps keep me close to God and helps me get what I need to do what I am doing, as He leads.
Please pray for Samuel with us, and if you feel led to join him in ministry here in Haiti or to join Emmaus in helping him...
(with 365686 SAMUEL as your project)
Email me and let me know if you or your family or church have committed to aligning with Samuel...and we'll move on to the next student! Praise the Lord!
No comments:
Post a Comment