by Minister Vasco D. Boyd

I've been asked to share my thoughts regarding the recent dedication of the 1st Church of Port-Au-Prince as a memorial to my wife of 49 years, Ruth Alice Gundy "Tina" Boyd.

“Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.” (Revelation 1:7) On behalf of our brothers and sisters from Bethanie Mission of Haiti, I want to thank all of you for your love and support. I truly thank God for those who remain faithful in helping us win souls to Christ in Haiti.

We are very grateful to God, to all our friends, supporters, partners, and to all our board members. We also want to mention that we are appreciative for Mike & Jean Fisher’s long time commitment to Bethanie Evangelical Mission of Haiti. Spiritually speaking, it's been a year of great harvest and great blessings. We have seen 1,205 souls added to the Kingdom of God, 489 new Christians receive water baptism, 32 students graduate from Bible/Vocational School and 200 children graduate from kindergarten. To God belongs the glory!

May grace and peace be multiplied to each of you today and every day. As you know on January 12, 2010, the Island nation of Haiti was hit by a severe earthquake, damaging and destroying thousands of homes and buildings. Of the more than two million affected survivors, 1.3 million are still displaced and living in settlement sites.

Soon after the earthquake, I was contacted by numerous people who were aware of my missions work to Haiti over the past 23 years, asking what they could do to help. Since that time, I have focused nearly 100 percent of my time to bringing much needed aid to the people of Haiti. I honestly believe this is my assignment and I am humbled that God has chosen to use me in this capacity.

Stephen, from Pennsylvania, Says the Haitians Showed Him That During His February 2011 Trip. Before we left for Haiti, I told my wife that I wanted to find those who have overcome the disaster; those who are strong; the survivors.

The city of Port-au-Prince was very much alive. People were everywhere. Little stands setup along every street. Buying and selling. It was like the worlds largest flea market! Everything they did was done the old-fashioned way – by hand. They put in a lot of hours and work very hard for very little. They have many obstacles but continue to live their lives.

It was after four grueling days of heat and humid weather in Haiti that I found a time of solace. After teaching via two interpreters at the Seminary and Technical School of Bethany, and wondering if everything I said was translated correctly, I obliged myself to a time of rest after my last class. This trip, which was designed to exclusively teach pastors and ministers in the bible seminary, greatly differed from past trips where I was a part of a team that built church benches, school desks and storage shelves for the orphanage.