17 June 2005
It is especially important today that you who have prayed for
us so much and so long have at least an inkling of where we are
and what’s happening. We thank you for those prayers and
trust you will continue praying for us and the CODEP ministry
that has brought hope to so many in Haiti.
Late last night we arrived in Washington, D.C. and are presently
at my sister’s house. The PC(USA) asked us to leave Haiti
temporarily. I guess the better word is “evacuated,”
but that seems to create mental pictures I don’t want to
accept. Regardless, we are now back in the United States for an
undetermined period of time, in an undetermined place of residence,
and with undetermined job assignments.
Throughout this year, Haiti has been becoming more violent and
unstable. Despite 7,000 UN troops occupying the land, hundreds
of people have been kidnapped for ransom each month. Thousands
of cars are hijacked at gunpoint. The number of murders is escalating.
They are becoming more violent in the execution and more random.
Problems have spread to larger areas of Port-au-Prince as well
as to Gonaive, Cap Haitian, and the central plateau. From a distance,
it appears to be a land gone wild and a place of total chaos.
But in the several days before we left, we spent a hundred hours
preparing staff and employees, local leaders, and business contacts
for the future. Tons of fertilizer were purchased. We finished
planting 10,000 cherry seedlings, and a huge work creation program
was revamped to help thousands of family farmers through this
crisis period. Plans were finished (and greatly adjusted downward)
for 100 to 125 students to start summer school next week. Fifty
thousand baby fish were relocated and over 100,000 plastic bags
were picked up to start this fall’s nurseries.
Families wept as we said goodbye. Leaders and others prayed with
us. We all spoke about the future, not the present.
Haiti is a land in turmoil, but the majority of its people are
just like you and I, hoping things will be better tomorrow. And
we Christians not only hope but we believe and know things will
get better.
On the family front, we have some super news to share. Debbee,
our youngest daughter, and her husband Jason are in the Foreign
Service and their first assignment was Haiti. While they got to
visit us a couple times, most of their time they were very restricted
in their travels. We, however, got to visit them numerous times.
Debbee returned to the Philadelphia area in late April to await
the birth of our second grandson. The embassy will not allow them
to have a baby in Haiti and the airline will not allow a woman
more than seven and a half months pregnant to fly. So, she went
to Pennsylvania in April and baby Alexander was born at the end
of May. They had been staying about half a mile from the hospital,
which turned out to be a good thing since the eight-pound baby
was born in 45 minutes—in time for Memorial Day weekend.
While Stateside for the baby’s birth, Debbee and Jason also
received evacuation orders from the State Department and at the
moment are not permitted to return to Haiti. Their living arrangements
are perhaps even more bizarre than ours—Debbee is in Paoli
(Philadelphia) with the children and Jason is temporarily assigned
to the Haiti affairs desk in Washington.
Shelly, our oldest daughter, and her husband Chad, continue to
be the stable ones in our family. They continue living outside
Trenton, New Jersey, with the same jobs they’ve had for
years. They have bought a small ceramics business and are spending
many hours each weekend hauling it from New England to New Jersey.
For the moment, Sharyn and I are still in the D.C. area. We will
be traveling to church headquarters in Kentucky this week to discuss
options. During this transition period for us, we would appreciate
your prayers. Also, we ask your continued prayers for the people
of Haiti, especially that the small area of that land impacted
by the CODEP project would be a beacon of light, security, and
encouragement to all. Thank you for your many years of participation
and we all trust that God will soon show us His perfect way as
we anticipate returning to minister in Haiti.
One small housekeeping item. Temporarily, please change our address
to :
Rodney and Sharyn Babe
RD1, Box 291
Tyrone, PA 16686
That is for church bulletins, notes, etc. Anything sent to the
old Lynx Air address will probably be lost.
Our email address remains the same (see our home
page) and is probably the best way to stay in touch. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Rodney and Sharyn
The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
50
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