HAITI HOPE FUND  VOL XVIII – ISSUE 1 //Spring/Summer 2011

This newsletter issue is part one in a two-part series that we have created to provide our readers with a look back at the exciting history of missionary service in Haiti. The period we are covering begins in 1947 with the arrival in Haiti of Harold and Ivah Heneise. The stories from the past come from excerpts of Ivah’s excellent book, “By The Light Of My Kerosene Lamp.” Stories from the present come from eyewitness accounts of God at work in Haiti today.

Ivah’s book has been out of print for many years, but we are preparing to re-publish it and are accepting orders from interested readers. Contact Carly@haitihopefund.org if you are interested.

                ….It is not yet daybreak, and I am writing by the light of a little kerosene lamp. Out on the mountains somewhere a drum is beating, but nearer than the drum, from the slopes that rise up close by, I hear the minor strains of a Haitian work song and the sound of the hoes of peasants as they labor together in the moonlight, tilling the soil in the only way they know how. It rained earlier and the breeze is cool and sweet. My lamp flickers and almost goes out, but now the flame is bright and steady again. How much light it sheds for being so small. Perhaps it’s because the darkness is so great….

Many of our readers are familiar with the history of the ministry of Haiti Hope Fund and of the pioneering missionary work of Harold and Ivah Heneise. But there are others who have joined our mailing list and who support missions in Haiti through HHF who know very little about this exciting period of time from 1947 to 1997. We have decided it is time to have a look back by using excerpts from Ivah’s wonderful book By The Light of My Kerosene Lamp, and through the sharing stories of the present, highlighting two of the Heneise’s ministry efforts: medical work and leadership training. In this issue, we want to start with an update from the Ebenezer Clinic and a story from Dr. Steve James. Although the clinic was started after Harold and Ivah retired from Haiti, it’s roots can be traced back to a little first-aid station that Ivah and her missionary colleague Nevart Yeghoyan started under a mango tree during those early years in Haut-Limbé. In the next issue, we will continue with excerpts from Ivah’s book and the latest news and stories from the campus of UCNH.

There is much spiritual illumination to be found in Ivah Heneise’s book, “By The Light of My Kerosene Lamp”. This slender volume is a collection of years’ worth of letters written by Ivah to her family while working with her husband Harold as missionaries in Haiti. The book traces their hopes and aspirations, as well as some of the difficulties and hardships. It sheds light on their dedication to training and helping Haitians, and the missions that emerged from it.

 (July, 1947) Every night we can hear the drums beating. Zenas says sometimes they are for voodoo ceremonies or sacrifices, and sometimes just for dancing. While I lie in bed and listen, I wonder about the people who are dancing to that strange and haunting rhythm. Are they the same ones who have gathered under our tree to listen to the wonderful story of Christ? And which will it be for them – their pagan spirits or Jesus Christ? And then I go to sleep, with crickets and frogs and drums all making an orchestra together in the soft summer night…

(September, 1947) Our clinic is growing all the time. We use bismuth injections for the yaws. (Yaws is a disease that makes the people have terrible sores.) The doctor in Cap Haitian has been very kind and has helped me get aralen and quinine for the malaria cases and also medicines for dysentery and worms. He also gave me a Merck Manual, which is second only to the Bible when it comes to authority down here. Nevart and I have learned to give shots now. (We practiced on each other, but on an orange first!)

(April, 1948) A whole year in Haiti! Sunday school is full, but people are as thin and ragged as ever. Three little boys (au naturel) came one Saturday to ask for clothes to go to Sunday school. I gave them what I had –one pair of pants, one shirt, and one little hat. The next day there they were – one had on the pants, one had on the shirt, and one had on the hat! I would be glad if they would keep coming, clothes or no clothes, but when they have nothing or only rags, they are very shy…

(August, 1948) We just had our first summer camps. People came from all over, walking down from the mountains with little wooden suitcases or bundles on their heads. One girl walked from Marmelade – about thirty miles away by the road. We had a great time. They loved to sing and we taught lots of songs…

(January, 1954) Our dream of building a real dispensary (and maybe someday even a hospital) has come true! The people of the Limbé Baptist Church have carried stones from the river for weeks – usually on their heads- and now the building is finished!

(May, 1954) We just held our first youth convention, and it was a wonderful success. They held a sort of youth rally, and the doors and windows were jammed with people looking in, as well as the church packed, with not even standing room. Even the streets were full of people trying to hear the program and message over the loudspeaker we rigged up. We were thrilled and blessed…

Stay tuned for our Fall/Winter newsletter which will highlight the educational works and continue with excerpts from Ivah’s book .

 (May, 2011) You can pre-order copies of Ivah’s book by contacting Carly Heneise at carly@haitihopefund.org. All profit from book sales will go toward UCNH and continuing Ivah and Harold’s vision of training and educating the future leaders of Haiti