The AIM staff and I have had some ups and downs over the last several weeks. We have had vehicles break down almost every other day. Several staff members along with some members from one of the ministry groups got a stomach virus and were sick for a couple of days (myself included). Despite the hardship of recent weeks there have been some good as well. AIM was able to rent a house near the center of Port au Prince. The house is huge with 6 bedrooms and several bathrooms. The yard is cement and has a lot of room for tents. The bedrooms are mainly for AIM staff members (I somehow ended up with my own room and a bathroom). So no more tents for a while praise the Lord!! It is such a nice blessing from the Lord to be sleeping inside again. One of the last days I stayed in a tent it rained really hard and soaked everything. Also the house has air-conditioning and some hot water when the electricity is on. I have been staying very busy handling the finances, doing set up for ministry groups, orchestrating supply buys, training AIM staff, and leading the AIM staff.

This blog is going to be a little different this time. The focus is going to be about the translators. We have some amazing translators. We have 9 or 10 translators on any given day. I am going to describe five of the translator's and what they do for us besides translating. 

Obed is another translator and he helps by going out and acquiring supplies and materials for the AIM staff and ministry groups. Both He and Geftay know Port au Prince like the back of their hand. Obed has one semester left before he gets his degree in civil engineering. He grew up the son of a shoemaker and made shoes for a while himself. He also was a drummer in a band. The band traveled all over Haiti and then spent several months touring the states. He now plays drums in his church. Obed is very well known throughout Port au Prince due to his band days. Obed is one of the humblest people I have ever met. Whatever we need, Obed nearly always finds it for us. It never fails, wherever we go, someone always recognizes him. He always has a smile on his face and he is never discouraged. Obed got married a couple of months before the earth quake. His wife moved to the U.S. to work as a nurse and he stayed behind to do some unfinished business and then was planning to follow. But the earth quake shutdown the paper work process for him to move to the states. He has had to wait but will be leaving for Norcross, GA sometime over the summer. He hopes to get a job and comeback to Haiti several years later.

Another translator named Samuel has been in the process of helping bring discipleship to the churches. Samuel barely looks 20 but is actually 28. Samuel loves music. He plays the piano and sings at his church. Samuel's aunt practices voodoo and believes she is a Christian because she goes to church and reads the Bible. She believes she only practices good voodoo. Samuel was telling me about her one day and then the very next day we were out in one of the pastor's communities where she lived. Me and Samuel and several other people went and talked to her. We talk to her for an hour and a half but she was very hard hearted and stuck in her ways. Samuel has been discipled by a guy named Tim Tillman. Tim came down from the states specifically to help bring discipleship to the Haiti churches. The idea is to disciple the translators and then have them go around teaching the discipleship program to the pastors who will then in turn teach their congregations. Samuel goes around with Tim teaching the discipleship to the pastors. He also helps Geftay translate the forms of the pastors. Samuel is in his third year of seminary and will be coming to the states in the near future to start seminary at Carver in Atlanta.

The other two translators are John and Watson. They both help with translating for the ministry groups. John acts very serious for the most part but has a very compassionate heart. He is very quiet and usually listens. He will speak when he feels the need. He is in his third year of seminary as well. John has a teaching degree and has taught at several schools in Haiti. He is very wise and is rock solid in his understanding of scripture. He loves to talk about scripture and God and has a huge heart for evangelism. Watson loves to make jokes and is always smiling. He has a very good understanding of his country and likes to teach the AIM staff and groups sentences in Creole. Watson has a degree from seminary and will be getting married in a few months.      

All five of the translators have known each other for a while and have been going to the same church for several years. God could not have given the AIM staff better translators. Each one has an amazing knowledge of scripture, a heart for their people, and an amazing love for God that is seen through their actions. These men of God have been a huge encouragement in my life and have become very good friends.