• Lévis, Quebec — Praise the Lord for the work he is doing in the French-speaking people. We have seen many things happen over the last two months, especially with new converts and one-on-one discipleship. For example, on a Wednesday night after prayer time, a visitor came to see me and told me she needed to be saved. After talking with her, sharing a Bible verse, she was convinced of her destiny in Hell. She received Christ that night. The following Sunday, an 18-year-old young lady came and also asked Christ to save her soul. They both came into the church lost and left saved and adopted into the family of God. In the past month, we have five new students in the discipleship program, and we see them growing in the Lord. New people have asked to get involved serving in the church as nursery workers and helpers in Sunday school classes. We are now over 50 in attendance for the last 3 months. Our attendance went up last month to 60. I purchased 10 chairs, and now it looks like I will have to get more. The building was big at first, but now it is getting smaller! Praise the Lord. We have a once-a-month dinner where people bring food, and the dining room is so small that there’s room for only 40 people. So now we also use parts of the sanctuary for dinner. Two weeks ago, there were 66 hungry people ready to eat in the kitchen. Amen! By the time of eating, the food was cold. I think preaching was a bit longer that Sunday. But hey! They had a good fellowship.
• Dominican Republic (DR) — Working with Haitian during our two weeks (15 days), Ruth and I had a great time teaching and preaching in French and Spanish, even though the Spanish-speaking people did not understand. Praise the Lord for Google Translate. The Haitian group we work with in the DR is very poor because the government tries to ship them back to Haiti. While doing that, they arrest the Haitians, rape the women, beat them up, and some die before dropping them at the Haitian border. I am not making this up. When we got to the house where we spoke, our host looked weak and tired, and so were the children. We spoke and taught in the book of Ephesians, and prayed and went on our way. The next day, I gave them a few dollars for juice and water for our visitors. On the third day, we found there was no food for a few days. The rent was due, no food, and things were getting worse. One young lady of the house works for a Dominican family who lives in the capital, 45 minutes away. She takes the bus on Sunday night and comes home on Friday, earning $800 a week. That Dominican family does not feed her but treats her like a slave. So you understand the situation in that family of six now. After all is done, when we leave, Ruth and I told the Lord that whatever comes in as a support gift for this family, we will send it every month, as long as the Lord provides. On another note, Ruth had an opportunity to speak to the lady at a ladies’ conference in the DR on a Sunday morning. There were over 150 ladies present at the conference, and they asked her to come next year. We met new people while we were in the DR, witnessed to many, and made new contact with our cleaning room lady. The people we led to the Lord last year are all involved in the work of the Lord. Amen!
• Haiti — I don’t need to explain the situation. Some of our church families have asked to pay their rent or face eviction. Children want to go to school, but there is a fee to pay to the gangs for going to school. Food is always in short supply, which leads to poor nutrition. Water accessibility is also a problem. One of our wells has been robbed of its solar pump; therefore, no water for the community. I could go on and on, and it breaks my heart knowing the situation and the question of how I can help. The pastor who is overseeing the work at the church in Cess Less tells me that sometimes the cries of hungry children are heard.
• Benin, Africa — Our missionary is doing a wonderful job with the group he has. New candidates are ready to be baptized, and others are involved in reaching souls for Christ on the street. Yes, there is difficulty in spreading the gospel because of Muslim adversity, but they are relying on the Lord.
• Cameroon, Africa — The past two months, two ladies came to know the Lord. They were assisting at the church for some time, and one Sunday, one of them walked forward and confessed that she thought she was a good person, and it was sufficient to go to Heaven, but the Lord grabbed her heart and convicted her of sin, and she came forward for salvation. After that, the other lady came forward a few minutes later and also gave her life to Christ. Praise the Lord. The two ladies walk one way to come to church in 45 min. Hmm! There are people who live 15 min from the church and find it too far to drive.
• Ivory Coast, Africa — Pastor Paul is doing a good work, training his people on the ABCs of Christian growth. Not every week, people come to the Lord for salvation as he said, but most grow in the Lord each week. Of course, sickness is in the village, but the pastor said God is in control and will help them to pull through.
Thank you for your prayers for the work with the French-speaking people we are involved with. We know how important your prayers are to the people of these countries and us.
Please join us in praying for the following:
• Liberty to share the gospel and the freedom to speak the gospel in Canada freely, but the doors are closing rapidly.
• Provision to help the one Haitian family in DR, and also food for the family of Port au Prince, the school situation with the tariff imposed by the gangs.
(pasteur.poirier56@gmail.com)
