This week has been a very special week for HBM and especially for Mark Stockeland our executive director. His brother, Luke Stockeland a pastor from Open Door Baptist Church in Columbia, Missouri, made the trip along with a few other friends.
The team started the week by building benches for our churches in the countryside zones of Kolimo and Te' Wouj. Later, they personally delivered the assembled benches. Imagine the hike to Kolimo carrying a church bench! They also helped to do some repairs around the compound, including hanging doors in the guest house and making sure the compound had a good tune up. Luke is a great handyman! Luke also had the chance to help pastor Eric out by doing some teaching on Saturday with the leadership school. Luke brings a lot of wisdom and depth to the table with his many gifts and years of experience in Haiti, as well as being a pastor in the states. It also helped that he is still fluent in Creole.
We had many great devotion times, with one night including a UN officer that joined us. The night ended with prayer for our friend, and an increased passion for him to continue pursuing Christ. Hard to believe the week is over and saying good-bye to my brother was hard, but we are so blessed he was able to come and look forward to what God has for us in the future. We continue to live the difference in Jeremie and prepare for up coming teams in December. Thanks to all of our HBM family for their support and prayers that allow us to serve here in Haiti.