We are pleased to report First Baptist Church Tulsa’s church plant is quickly taking shape in Dame, Nord-Ouest, Haiti. As temperatures and walls have risen, so has the church body’s commitment to this project, as you can see in this field report from the Nazarene Church of Dame.
Construction Progress
- The walls of all the buildings are finished.
- The roofs and the doors of the school and the cafeteria have been installed.
- Plumbing work has begun for the restroom construction.
Church Activities
Currently, 109 adults and 95 children attend the church regularly.
In the last 60 days, two people have made first-time professions of faith in Christ.
Members of the church have:
- Contributed the equivalent of US$850 to buy roughly 400 drums of water from a community cistern located in the Catholic church so they can supply the workers with water amid a prolonged drought and water shortage.
- Assisted with dirt infill for the church building.
- Continued to provide security for the workers and building materials.
- Supported the workers during their stay in the community.
- Helped dig up areas where the plumbing and sewage system will be installed.
Challenges Encountered
One of the main challenges the church leaders are facing is the drought.
Another challenge has been the difficulty of filling in the church-floor area due to its depth. Church leaders would like to use it to make a cistern, but they could not fit that work into the tight construction schedule. So that plan will have to wait until after the rest of the project has been completed.
The church members have mobilized available volunteers – both from the mother church and the daughter church – to bring enough materials to the construction site to fill in the hole.
Next Steps
- Complete the church floor.
- Install the roof and doors of the church.
- Complete the floor of the school.
- Finish building the restroom facility, including the plumbing work.
Testimony of Impact
The church is gaining visibility in the community. It is raising the profile of the Nazarene Church in the community – especially when one considers the context in which it had functioned before.
More community members and children look forward to attending the Nazarene Church to worship God in the coming months as both the capacity of the church and the quality of the new building grow.
– Bekel Cherelus, pastor of the daughter church and member of the community
One of the most important and interesting things is the fact that the new church building contributes to improved relationships between the Nazarene Church leaders and the community members. This church has been able to count on community members for any services needed.
– Silas Wilmond, church board member and principal of the church’s school
Praises and Prayer Requests
The church leaders are forever so thankful and grateful to God because of this construction project.
They would like to thank God for allowing this project to proceed well – without any major troubles – since its beginning.
They would like to pray for the completion of all the buildings as soon as possible. They hope that God continues to provide their needs in order to finish all the buildings.
They want to pray for the security of the workers who stay at the construction site.
Finally, they want to pray for the supporters, the donors and the Compassion staff. May God continue to bless them abundantly!
To prove their gratitude toward the donors, the members of the mother church and the daughter church continue to use special times to pray for them: Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 4 a.m. and every Sunday at 10 a.m., in the morning service.
