for the party. They did hold the
seedlings, and for several weeks have animated the communities
to come out and be part of the celebration of new life.
So today, 2000 people showed up and marched three miles up the
highway. Then three more miles on a meandering route to a barren
hillside adjoining the CODEP demonstration plot, all the while
laughing and singing and praising God. Five schools, four churches,
journalists, neighbors, men, women, children—it was a five-hour
roundtrip, with prayers and speeches and interviews. Throughout
Port-au-Prince and across the countryside, for the next week Haitian
TV will be lauding the CODEP project: houses, fishponds, conservation
work, cisterns and spring caps, the scholarships and the jobs,
the schools and churches, all the while showing the difference
several million trees can make.
In interview after interview, the CODEP people told of the prayers
and financial support from U.S. churches. “But we did all
this work ourselves,” they proudly said. I remember studying
the theory of community development many, many years ago. The
epiphany moment is hearing the grassroots community say, “We
did it ourselves.” Not without your support and certainly
never forgetting God, these folks are simply saying, “It’s
our effort, blossoming from our beliefs, and we did it!”
Truly, your financial support makes this ministry possible. Both
finance for the actual work and for our support in Haiti depends
upon your church’s commitment and continued participation.
As this project continues to expand, the millions of trees planted
cannot begin to represent all the lives touched by this small
project.
A few of the projects have been put on “hold,” but
most of the work continues. About 525 people are working several
days each week on long-term soil and water conservation projects.
Most of the spring seedlings have been planted—430,000 of
them. Some fertilizer has been available, and it is being spread
on the most recently planted seedlings. Schools have progressed
well all year in spite of the political problems. Teacher training
for this year’s summer school program has already begun.
Sharyn and I are still students. I’m studying agriculture
and adult education, and Sharyn is focusing on computer technology
at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
We both have had a great year preparing for the work ahead. We
hope to finish this year’s classes in late June and return
to Haiti soon after. We thank you for your continued support of
this project and of us personally. Your prayers for us during
this time of study and relocation have been answered many times.
To those of you who have been such an integral part of this ministry
for so many years, we can reassure you that we hear regularly
from your friends and ours in CODEP, and all has been going very
well. Thank you again for your prayers.
In Christ,
Rodney & Sharyn
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
50
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