TRAVEL! As September quickly closes, I am looking at a busy October! We have four districts that our beginning their Extention programs in October. We are going to try to attend each of their Opening Ceremonies. Terry Ketchum will be in country to travel with Robert Matire and me. For those of you who know Haiti, we'll be visiting Jacmel, Bleck, Cayes, and Jean-Rabel. I expect other districtst to start soon, so it could get even busier! Good problems to have!

HURRICAIN LILI. This storm isn't really threatening us (though some parts of the South are getting heavy rains), it sure has cooled things off. Nicolas and Rebecca have different opinions about the possibility of a storm. Nicolas thinks that it would be "cool" while Becca is convinced that it will blow our house away!

BIBLE COLLEGE STUDENTS CELEBRATE! You would have thought they had won the world cup or something. Instead, it was a working telephone. After six months down, Jim Koster and I took matters into our own hands and ran some new telephone wire from the road outside campus. All the kinks haven't been worked out yet, but I am optimistic that they will be soon. At least I want have to hear the lament of one first-year student: "I haven't talked to my girlfriend since Sunday!" Poor soul.

GOT THIS NOTE FROM CARISA BLOWERS...

Dear Family & Friends,

The rabies test on the cat confirmed that the cat did have rabies. We just received this from the missionary vet. The word from Dr. Dan....."make sure Dave & Jason get the next 4 rounds of shots on the right days."

The only side effects of the 1st round of shots is that Dave says he occasionally has an urge to chew on his arm so please send "chew toys" for rabid missionaries :-)

For Him, Gladly,
Dave & Carisa

FIRST GRADE BLUES. Some of you know that our little Nicolas has been having a hard time adjusting to first-grade. We know we're not the only ones who struggle with this, but it caught us by surprise since he did so well with Pre-K and Kindergarten. He had eight days of sobbing his heart out in the mornings. We have been working with and praying for his teacher (Mrs. Baker) as well as Nicolas, and little by little it has gotten better. This morning he went down to say goodbye to Seth and Dorothy (see below) and forgot that he was supposed to be sad about going to school!

RABIES UPDATE. Dave and Jason started their rabies shorts yesterday. Linda and Corey went over with a sack of needles! Jason had to have three and David four. The series will continue for a couple of weeks off and on. They are both doing okay, and fortunately Mom Blowers (Carisa) is feeling better. She has been down with some sort of flu for almost two weeks!

BYE WALTERS (FOR NOW). We're going to miss Seth and Dorothy (also known as Papa and Granny around here). They return to Lakeland, FL today after two months with us. This retired couple has been coming to Haiti as volunteers for longer than we've been here! They are grandparents to the missionary kids and an unbelievable help to the rest of us. Seth maintains the dorms, the garage, the generators, the water system, and everything else. They plan on returning in January just before the second semester opens. We miss them already!

RABIES. The Blowers family get to add a scary disease to their list... rabies. Their family cat, Fanta was evidently infected and has bitten both David and Jason. We're waiting on the lab results, but after caging up the animal for two days, it seems pretty obvious that she was rabid. Keith Flanagan, a missionary vet, came over today to put her down. Dave (the dad) and Jason (7-year-old) were both attacked by the cat on Saturday. They will begin the course of treatment this week. Pray for these two, as well as saftey on the campus as we're not sure where Fanta contracted this deadly illness.

TAMMY ARRIVES. We welcome Tammy Smith to our Haiti missionary team. Tammy is from Gardendale, Alabama, and joins us on a one-year volunteer contract. She comes just in time, as we desperately need help in our library after losing our librarian. She settles int to the little guest house on campus, and we look forward to working with her!

GOOD PROBLEM TO HAVE. Today I started teaching a two-week course on Wesleyan Theology. I had planned on having nine or ten students maximum. This is a class in our Bachelor's program. The students come in for a couple of weeks and finish the course at home afterwards. Since textbooks are rare and expensive, we "loan" them to the students to use and turn in at the end of the class. For this class I ordered 12 copies of a new book on Wesley's life and work, written by a haitian pastor. I thought, "Who knows, maybe we'll have more than I think show up." Well we did. We had 15 register for the course! Now I have to scramble to get more books. A very good problem to have.

CAMPUS TREES. Before he left, David Anderson walked around campus with me and the digital camera. We took pictures of the different types of trees. What a wide variety! By the afternoon's end we had counted over 30 different types of trees on the campus. I've stored my pictures and some day hope to post them so you can help us identify all of them!

LINDA SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER AND ALL THAT. Linda graciously agreed to serve on the board of Quisqueya Christian School this year. QCS (as we call it) is the school that all the naz missionary kids attend. It is a private Christian school with a long proud history of serving the missionary community in Haiti. When she was asked to serve on the board, she felt the need to have the Nazarene community well-represented (David Blowers is also on the board). Pray for Linda as she inserts this reponsability into an already overpacked schedule!

DOUG AND DAVID DEPART. They have been with us for two weeks. We've enjoyed it. Doug has worked on our vehicles, and David has helped Seth around the campus doing odd-jobs. They are working right up to the last minute, it sounds like. Seth has a full schedule for David today, and Doug claims he'll be up until midnight getting everything done. We wish we could keep them, but I think they're families want to see them again. I know David is anxious to get back. They are expecting their first grandchild next month!

WELCOME BACK KOSTERS. It is good to have the Kosters back with us. Well almost all of them! Jim and Corey Koster are the Work and Witness Coordinators for the Church of the Nazarene in Haiti. They spent the summer back in the States on home service, visiting churches, and getting their eldest daughter, Lisa, settled into her freshman year of college at Mid-America Nazarene University. We get to keep their youngest daughter around for a while longer. Jen is "only" in eight grade. Lisa is one of two missionary kids we "lost" to college this year. The other is Brendan Blowers who is attending Northwest Nazarene University. With the Blowers and Kosters back, our missionary force is back up to full strength!

LIBRARIAN LEAVING. Just got word that our librarian will be leaving us this week. She feels that God is calling her to work in a different area of ministry. This will be a tough transition for us, as she has served us well and so very faithfully for over seven year. Sister Renette, as she known around here, was a key player in turning our library program around. Together we were able to make many improvements in the library holdings and our catalging system. Please pray as we look for a replacement!

PASTOR MAITRE UPDATE. I drove a large (19 student) delegation up the Marlique Church of the Nazarene for morning service. We were quite a site all piled-up in the Bible College pickup truck! Pastor Robert was happy to be home and in Church for Sunday service. What a trying week it was for everyone concerned. It seems that Maitre's case has drawn quite a bit of local publicity. On Thursday, when it seemed that he was going to be kept in jail until Tuesday, several folks started making phone calls. When the police commissioner heard about the case, he quickly ordered Robert released until the next hearing. He called the arrest illegal (which is what our side was saying all along!). Robert is in good spirits. He says he is grateful to be home, but is more grateful that this issue will (hopefully) be resolved soon. Thank you for your prayers.

DAVID AND THE CHICKIE. We've enjoyed having David with us for a couple of weeks. He came in with Doug Windham and has been a big help. He also was a man on a mission this afternoon. He found a hurt baby chicken outside the front gate and swooped into rescue him. We'll add him to our lot at the house and see if he (she?) makes it!

MAITRE UPDATE. He was released from custody on Friday afternoon. I haven't talked to him yet, but his wife says he is tired and resting today. He has to make another court apearance Tuesday morning. Thank you for your prayers, and please continue to pray for this situation.

PASTOR MAITRE UPDATE. Unfortunately, things have taken a turn for the worse. The judge heard the appeal and ruled against the church. We were all incredibly shocked. But we were not prepared for what happened next. They took the pastor into custody (again) until the judgment was paid. We sent the payment down right away, but the other party refused to accept it. So they are keeping Pastor Robert in jail until the matter can be resolved. Please continue to pray for our dear Brother. He says he is willing to stay in jail rather than compromise his principles!

Haiti Nazarene Bible College experiences a year of firsts and largests

Haiti Nazarene Bible College received a record number of admission for the current school year leading to the largest freshman class in the history of the Diploma in Theology program. Eighteen students were accepted, and delightfully, all 18 have registered and are on-campus. This is the first time in 8 years that an entire class of accepted students have enrolled. Included in this group is our first ever female diploma student. Yanick Roseau was born in Haiti close to the campus and was involved in the Frère Church of the Nazarene when it shared facilities with HNBC. She moved to the United States as a young girl where she marriend and raised a family. Recently, she and her husband returned to Haiti as missionaries with an independant Baptist mission. Yanick has a B.A. degree in Buisness, but felt the need to deepen her Biblical and theological understanding in order to better serve in her new role as missionary.

Yanick is actually the second female student accepted this year. The other, Emma Ceneacque, graduated from Séminaire Théologique de Port-au-Prince with a Diploma in Theology. She transferred her credits and is enrolled in our Bachelor of Theology program. She joins 33 others enrolled in the program, creating the largest group of Bachelor’s students in the school’s history.

And as if that weren’t enough good news, four districts of the Church of the Nazarene in Haiti are preparing to kick-off their extention programs in the month of August. Special celebration services are planned on each district. The previous extention program was phased out in 2000, and an estimated 600 students are expected to participate in the new program when all 11 district-level programs are up and running.

PASTOR MAITRE UPDATE. He was released today around 2:00 p.m. with orders to return tomorrow (Wednesday) for a new hearing. When I told the students he had been freed, they shouted and danced for joy! You should have seen the little celebration. Please continue to pray as this story continues to unfold.

BECCA'S STORY. Rebecca wanted to tell me a story today, so she dictated it to her mom (Linda) who faithfully transcribed it. Here it is:
"One time in a far away land there lived a tree. He was very lonely. Then he found another tree that was lonely. But the second tree just walked away. But then they met on a porch swing. Then the porch swing jumped on top of the tree. Then they saw a gumball machine but when they grabbed it, it turned into a gian. They ran away and jumped into a TV. The gumball machine screamed and then the old days became new days. Then the new days to the old days. Then they laughed and laughed. Then they ran into the steel-eyed fox. And they ran and ran and ran. Then they were so tired from playing the lion game. Then they got energey from a spider. They spun around and picked daisies and broke the swing into a hundred pieces and then a google pieces. Then they ate the pieces and ran and ran and when they were full, they ran and ran. But their tummies were full so they ran slowly and hopped on one leg slowly. Slowly, fast, slowly, fast. The spider gave them energy. And then they were tired and went slowly home. From Becca to Daddy.

PRAYER REQUEST. Please pray for our Academic Dean, Jean-Robert Maitre. He is also pastor of the Marlique Church of the Nazarene. Yesterday, he appeared at a court hearing on behalf of the church over a land dispute. This problem has been growing for over two years now. We don't have much information, but it seems he was detained by the police after the hearing. Our students have organized a prayer meeting all day today for him, and we would ask you to pray as well. Our national leaders and lawyers are working on the issue even now.

T-SHIRTS! The soccer team is selling T-Shirts as a fund-raiser for new equipment. We ordered 50 Hanes Beefy-T (Heavyweight Cotton, Imperial Blue) that have "Séminaire Théologique Nazaréen d'Haïti, Pétion-Ville" on them. We are gouging everybody for US$15.00 each (plus a couple of dollars for mailing costs). You can e-mail me at scott@stargel.net for more information. Or (believe it or not!) you can pay with a credit card on-line. Just click this link for more information: The T-Shirt Fundraiser