Coastal Haiti Mission
December 2024
– CHRISTMAS –
Any way you look at it, a stable is a NOT-TOO-NICE a place to give birth to a human child, Or for that matter, even for an animal to give birth. For one thing, think cold, like the winds of winter blowing through the cracks in the wall. Or hot, like the sands on the beach at high-noon in July. “Dank” is a good word – dark and dingy. Foul- smelling enhanced by animal dung spread over the dirt floor.
But on one particular night such a place became Holy Ground.
Oh, not everyone knew it. Way too busy trying to make sense of their own lives now being recorded in the annals of the small and now over-crowded town of Bethlehem. Located in the Judean Hills southwest of Jerusalem, it was the birthplace of David and where he was first acknowledged as King. The Prophet Micah spoke of another leader who would some day be born in Bethlehem. But not many actually listened to the prophets.
But the shepherds knew something was happening that night. As if the unearthly bright starlight that occurred overhead wasn’t enough, they were further encountered by an angel of the Lord and the glory that flashed and shown all about them. Needless to say, the keepers of the sheep were terrified. The angel told them they had nothing to fear. There was good news: A Child had been born in the very town they were in, the Town of David! The Child was their long-awaited Savior, the Christ – the Lord!
Well, talk about being rattled! What was that beautiful sound they heard?
The Army of the Troops of Heaven – a heavenly knighthood, was right there with the shepherds praising their Most High God.
“Glory to God in the highest [Heaven] and on earth peace among
men with whom He is well- pleased – men of good will, of His favor.”
(Luke 2:14 TAB)
When the angelic beings left, it didn’t take long for the shepherds to leave the field and find Mary and Joseph and their baby boy Who was lying in a manger. The folks who were present were astounded and marveled as the shepherds shared with them what the angels said about the boy. And Mary pondered all this in her heart.
“What does all this mean for my dear son?
Today – 2024 – this is what Christians celebrate on December 25th: the miraculous birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – EMANUAL! God with us!
Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!
But it’s not what much of our world is celebrating. Maybe it’s celebrating “Celebration” itself, a time to get off the merry-go-round for a few days. Some have said the world has stolen Christmas. Absurd! Can’t happen. Not as long as we Christians are still in this world!
Actually, the world has “repurposed” Christmas, but it’s only a shadow of the “true,” and it has no foundation — no Savior.
Many have an artificial Christmas tree. It looks real. But it’s not. Equal in beauty and appealability (is there such a word?) with the “real” tree, both versions have warmed the hearth at Christmastime, adding to the sometimes-twinkling, all-the-time-shining white or colored lights from the simulated tree and the “real.”
One of the assets of the real tree is the delicious smell of pine inside your home, a quality missing from the artificial tree. Of course, you can buy pine-smelling spray today for your man-made tree, but that, too, is artificial. And, not even once has the Royal Cardinal or the Lowly Sparrow perched to rest on its make-believe branches.
So much for the tree (We happen to have an artificial one.).
Now armed with the true story of Christmas, we Christians too have joined the mixed parade of the Sacred and Secular. We love the rush we get from listening to the stress-releasing melodies and words of the age-old Carols. We delight in wrapping gifts for our loved ones, and we look forward to meeting once again with those we haven’t seen since Christmas Past. We are proud of our Christmas tree still showing off the heartfelt artwork-decorations made years ago and excitedly handed to us parents by the tiny hands of our children.
And then there is the other side. The side aroused by too much spending and too little money. Too much stress and too little sleep. And for some – Is there any such thing as a “holy hangover?” on Christmas morning? Too much eggnog? I don’t think so. Let’s just call it a “Katzenjammer,” in other words, a killer headache. Any way, You’ve heard the expression “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong?” Listen up!
After opening their gifts on Christmas morning, the kids tended to argue about who got the most presents. Dad’s giant plastic snowman fully blown up and placed in the front yard had become unfettered during the night and had made its way into the cranky neighbor’s yard and landed squarely on top of the man’s prized outdoor mini Christmas village. Dad’s primitive cry and mumbling as he sought appropriate but acceptable words to express his anger, frightened the dog who then peed on the floor. With one COLOSSAL (leap), the family cat landed on the second branch of the Christmas tree and immediately proceeded to climb to the top, bringing the whole business to the floor! And then, the new parrot said a bad word in front of a most genteel lady who came for a Christmas donation for a local charity. After she left, Mom opened her gift from Dad – a dress three sizes larger than she actually wore. Needless to say, it didn’t sit too well with his Better Half.
Finally, the chaos subsided and the family and their guests settled down for Christmas dinner. After much preparation and embellishment, hours ago Mom had lovingly placed the holiday ham into the stove. Could one more thing go wrong? You bet! Mom had forgotten to turn on the oven. At this point, Dad stood up from his place at the table, walked out the front door, and sat in his car for a time, all the while staring straight ahead. Finally determined to just “go with the flow”, he returned to the house with a lovely, but totally fraudulent smile on his face. He assured himself he would do better next Christmas, and, of course, that was only 365 days away.
Christmas. Would you say it is in order for an overhaul? Do you think?
At the close of the Christmas Eve Service years ago at our church in Hubbardston, Massachusetts, each congregant was given a small candle to be lit up by the person next to them until the entire sanctuary was bathed in soft, warm light. Together, we sang the beloved Carol, Silent Night. At midnight, someone from the congregation would slip out of the sanctuary to the foyer and ring our age-old bell hanging in our age-old tower in our age-old church building, 12 times. The sound rang out across our humble but significant town in central Massachusetts. The bells were ringing in memory of the birth of the baby boy sent to save us from ourselves.
And, you know? It almost felt like we were on Holy Ground.
Walking this Way with you,
Connie
A Message of Thankfulness
Dear Family and Friends of Coastal Haiti Mission. The Board of Coastal Haiti Mission, on behalf of the people in the Village of Cahess Haiti, is very grateful to you for your prayers and your financial investment which makes this ministry possible. You are indeed a blessing to us and to the people we serve and we thank you for your faithfulness and your generosity.
Life in the Village
Pastor Coty Writes:
Many things in Haiti are different from the rest of the world. You may wonder what is in the gallon containers shown in the photos below. These containers are filled with gasoline.
Whenever you see these gallons of gas on every corner, it is à sign that there is no gasoline at the gas station.
For many years, gasoline has not had an exact price, as it used to be in the previous years. One gallon of gas costs between 8 to 10 dollars now, and sometimes even 13 to 15 dollars on the Black market.
Even in the gas stations when gasoline is available, there isn’t one price. Everyone has their own price, which is way more than the suggested government price.
Seeing gas everywhere means there is no gas in the gas stations.
3 years ago in Trou-du-Nord, which is the closest city to our village, a fire started in à place where they stored and sold gasoline. Three persons died, one house completely burned, and motorcycles and many other things were destroyed.
It is really dangerous to store and sell gasoline, but people think more about the money to be made, than the risk they are taking.
The School in Cahess
Pastor Coty Writes:
This morning, all the parents came to receive the evaluation of the work that their students accomplished, for the first trimester of this school year.
All the students will need to return their grade book that the parents have been given, so we can record their grades after the next trimester is completed.
The School Lunch Program
Pastor Coty Writes:
We now observe a break in the school year for Christmas. We will return to school in January.
Of course I will miss being with the students, and for sure, they will really miss being at the school.
Something is very interesting among the students. We teach them about love, and they choose to care about each other. I always enjoy watching them sitting together to eat.
So, the school lunches not only bring joy to their stomachs, but also the desire to care and be with one another.
The Saturday Sunday School
Pastor Coty Writes:
These students who are part of the Saturday Sunday School, are eagerly looking forward to the Annual Christmas Party which takes place on January 1, 2025.
15th Anniversary of the Church in Cahess
Pastor Coty Writes:
This year we celebrate the 15th year of our Church.
15 years ago, we started this Church in Cahess named: Source of New Life Baptist Church of Cahess. After starting the church, we did not know what to name it.
I asked Pastor Clint and he named the Church. (Pastor Clint Goddard was one of the founders of Coastal Haiti Mission, and now has been promoted to heaven.)
A family in the United States provided a very large gift of money which enabled us to begin construction of the church. We were able to build the church building so that we could use it, even though it still needed to be finished.
Since we began using the church, the members have contributed in various ways to finish the church building, and now we are almost done.
As we gathered to celebrate, everyone in Cahess stood together with us, to give a thanksgiving to the Lord, for this 15th year of the Church.
We also ate together.
The Food for the Needy Program
Pastor Coty Writes:
Christmas is celebrated in the Christian world as a family gathering. However, many families in Haiti see this event differently.
The lady in the photos below, whose name is Miloude Saint-Louis, came to me this morning and told me how things are difficult for her, by saying things like: Santa Claus doesn’t know where I live.
I went this afternoon to visit her. She was sweeping her yard when I arrived. She showed me her stove, which is made of 3 rocks, because she uses wooden sticks for fuel for cooking.
She told me that, no cooking pot has been on her stove for 2 days.
I prayed for her and then I brought her to our food storage, where I gave her some money and some rice. Miloude insisted on changing her dress to go to the food storage location.
This lady is a member of one of the families that we support.
I always want to consider new people. I did think of her, but she did not wait for me to come to her, she came to me because she did not want to be forgotten.
Proverbs 14: 31
Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
A prayer for you from the scripture:
Psalms 67: 1
May God be gracious to you and bless you
and make His face to shine upon you
Thank you, Family and Friends of Coastal Haiti Mission, for all that you do to help the people in Cahess, Haiti. You are making a huge difference for these people.
Please remember, that CHM must continue to send our monthly commitment of $1100 to carry on the ongoing CHM ministry in Cahess. This is in addition to the cost of the School Lunch Program.
If you desire to help, please send your tax-deductible check to our address and tell us how you want us to use your donation:
Coastal Haiti Mission
C/O Constance Goddard
3048 Spring Fancy Lane
Indian Trail, NC 28079
Or For tax deductible “online donations”, please use our PayPal service. Also please designate how you want us to use your donation.
May the Lord our God, who knows your heart and sees your actions, grant you great joy as you serve Him. Connie, Esther, Pastor Coty, Carl, Dan, and Ken are very grateful for your sacrifice. Ken Johansson CHM Newsletter Editor