Greetings. This past Friday August 11, 2023, we left our house early to go to Villa Altagracia about 2.5 hours away. We had our retreat, and it was the most blessed one. Friday upon our arrival we all went to visit the land that our sister denomination here had just purchased. We planted many fruit trees.
The nights and days were all devoted to praying and following some teachings from a Canadian Pastor, Dr. Bill Dyck.
Villa Altagracia is a small village type of place, a refuge for many Haitian immigrants with no legal papers. Here they tell me that they have many Haitians who need Shepherds. People at the retreat think that God is answering their concerns.
The retreat place has a small one-bedroom apartment they would like to finish for us to move in. We are excited about moving to the countryside. Another part of our job will be to help develop the newly acquired land for a youth camp.
Greeting. In 2019, we had a freshman student in the name of Daniel Florica. I had her in one of my classes. One evening she came to our house crying and wanted to quit school.
Why are crying and why do you want to quit studying?
My mother was kidnapped, savagely raped and killed in Port-au-Prince. It was a shock for all of us. We prayed and wrote to you all. Many of you responded positively to our cry for Florica. Today she has graduated with her bachelor’s degree in business Administration. (This was some months ago as the university is shut down)
Graduation in today Haiti in one thing but finding a job is another one.
Following you have Florica’s message of gratitude to each and every one of you for supporting her. Our loose translation follows her message.
Bonswa mommy, kijan nou ye? M ekri nou poum di nou mèsi, mèsi paske Bondye t mete nou sou wout mwen pou nou t ka edem, chemen an te difisil pou mwen, paske se t etap vim t efondre, m t pèdi moun ki t pi chè nan vim lan. Bondye pat kitem konsa, li fèm jwenn yon nouvo fanmi. Konsèy nou banm yo map aplike yo, e yon jou map priye pou Bondye metem nn pozisyon poum k ede lòt yo ki nan bezwen jan kem t ye an. Si se pat nou, madame Roseline tou, m pa konn kisam tap ye. Mwen di nou mèsi anpillllll, e map kontinye priye pou Bondye fè nou menm misyonè avèk tout sipòtè yo viv anpil ane paske travay nou an pa pou granmesi, nou sove vi anpil jèn fi . Nap toujou rete nan kèm, e nou se egzanp ke mwen ap swiv. Mèsi, m renmen nou
Good evening, Mommy Kihomi. How are you? I am writing to express my gratitude to you. God put you on my path to help me on my difficult journey. I lost some dear people in my life, but God did not abandon me. He gave me a new family. Your advice was invaluable to me, and someday I hope to be in a position to help others in need, just as you helped me. Without you and Mrs. Roseline,(Nzunga’s university assistant) I don’t know where I would be today. I thank you from the bottom of my heart and will continue to pray for God to bless you missionaries and all your supporters with life for many years to come. Your work is meaningful, and you save the lives of many young girls. You will forever be in my heart, and you are the example I will follow. Thank you, I love you.
Yours,
Nzunga & Kihomi
Dear Supporters,
You may remember Florica’s plight. She lost her mother, her financial support and her home in one violent night. Many of you jumped in to help and now you can see the outcome of your love. I’ve said this many times, supporting the work of Nzunga and Kihomi is not in vain but pays dividends many times over. Thank you.
Dear Dear Loved Ones, Greeting. We are both now officially students at language school in Santiago, Dominican Republic.
Dominican Republic. Monday Feb 27, we both went to bed early at 9pm to be ready to face our first day. At 3 AM, we were ready. [like children for the first day of school.] At 5 AM we ate our breakfast; a piece of delicious papaya and we were among the first at school.
At 8:30, our first professor entered the class. I prayed deeply for the end of her period. When the second professor came in, the situation worsened. The two young female professors were speaking Spanish as if we all graduated from the same Spanish school. Never in our life we have heard Spanish roaring in our ears like a tornado.
Our classes are from 8:30 until 11:30 each morning. While in class, if one speaks another language other than Spanish, they pay 10 pesos. If you are late, you pay 25 pesos.
Since we were delayed in our arrival, we are one week behind the others. The professors are giving us each 1.5 hours extra for us to catch up. The first day we did not get home until 2pm.
We are adjusting, our brains are full of words we long to understand easily, and we are exhausted by the end of the day.
We need a miracle.
Thank you for your prayers. Yours in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Nzunga & Kihomi
Greetings and Merry Christmas. This past Tuesday Kihomi and I spent almost the whole day in FBI office in Chandler, Arizona for fingerprinting. The whole session went fine but the person in charge told us that to have the FBI report Apostilled it will take 10 to 11 weeks.
We are here expressing our deep gratitude and thanks to the Smiths in DR for mentoring us in the process.So, we need somebody with more patience to share some with us. We are really tired of waiting.Meanwhile we are in touch with the DR consulate in CA for the requirements we need before we got visit them. Yours, Nzunga
Dear Supporters, The saga of Nzunga’s and Kihomi’s future ministry goes on and on. Uprisings in Haiti and bureaucratic changes and delays in the DR. It can be very frustrating. Let’s hope waiting on the Lord doesn’t take the time it took the Israelites to be freed from Egypt.
Thanks for your support and prayers. Have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.Blessings,
Dennis Shewell and the MPT team.
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Greeting from Samford University Campus in Birmingham, Alabama where we are both attending the Baptist World Alliance. The June work of the eye clinic continues to be very encouraging. The team of the eye clinic want out 3 times to treat patients in the comfort of their own homes. Please find here some statistics:
662 patients were consulted
402 lab tests done in our own laboratory
23 operations realized on patients.
Please be praying for the ministry of the eye clinic as its nurses risk their life trying to serve of the poor in the remote zones.
Greeting. We hope that each one of you is relatively in good condition to enjoy this Palm Sunday week end. We are anxious to wish you God’s speedy healing in whatever may be your condition.
Covid-29 has imposed to each living human being on this earth today some unique challenges. Those challenges, instead of limiting the staff of the eye clinic, they are created a unique opportunity for the staff to be close to their people.
Beside Covid-19, the insecurity and the limited resources for many of our people are limiting patients to go to the hospital unless the illness has gotten to the point of non-retour, the no turning point.
Each week the staff of the eye clinic pack to go to remote villages to treat people where those people live. Wednesdays of this past week they were in the city of Ouanaminthe where they treated 43 new cases without counting the retuning ones.
Last Friday they went to Trou-du-Nord where they saw 88 patients: 1 baby, 3 children, 50 women and 34 men. All those patients would not have this golden opportunity if the staff did not make this saving move. Some would wait until the situation gets worse before seeking professional help.
Wish you knew the impact of your fervent prayers, material, and financial support to the ministry of the eye clinic.
We join and add our voices to those of the staff and patients to express our deep gratitude for your love.
In Haiti,
Nzunga & Kihomi
Dear Supporters,
Although still limited on what they can do the eye clinic tries to respond to requests from pastors and priests to come to their location. They must use rented vehicles and other hassles to do this. However, help is on the way. We have received enough donated money to buy the truck and it will arrive around the first week of May. The big unknown is the duty and taxes that will be levied. Right now, we have about half a what we are estimating may be required. Covid has greatly reduced the income of custom agents so any leniency we have received in the past probably will not happen now. $4 or $5 thousand more is all we need. If you can help close this gap it will be greatly appreciated.
Greeting. In the photo you are looking at Rudy Lamorte, two years old from Gonaives. Her mother brought her to the clinic after they have tried all the cheap means to treat her. The situation of the little girl was worsening day by day and she was about to lose her right eye.
Many times, and over and over again, we receive cases where family members will start by applying what they think can help, then move to a clinic where the nurse with no solid training in ophthalmology will give an ointment or a drop to apply. By the time they come to us, it may be sometimes late to save the eyes.
Rudy Lamorte has a very serious problem with her cornea seeking a careful eye operation. Since we are the only clinic in the Northern Haiti operating on children free of charge, Rudy has been welcome. Next week, our team will take good care of the little girl.
We pray and hope that both mother and Rudy will return jumping and praising the Lord for the miracle of healing as the man at the beautiful gate.
Thank you for standing by our sides.
Yours in Haiti,
Nzunga & Kihomi
Dear supporters,
I cannot imagine having a sick child and no money or knowledge of what to do. In Haiti, the lack of money causes them to go the cheap route and the national religion of Voodoo tends to mislead them in the wrong direction. Sometimes if they know about the eye clinic getting there can be a major problem. The next journal will have more on the expanding remote clinic situation that makes a big difference.
Thank you for helping this little girl and many, many more.
Greeting. This Friday March 5, 2021, at the eye clinic in Cap-Haitian, Haiti, it was a fete but also a thanksgivings celebration.
Why?
Since we are in the States because of Covid-19 and our annual deputation, the staff has been bugging me to get them some equipment. There is not a single week that goes by without them asking if I have ordered some equipment for them.
Lately, thanks to your loving financial support I was able to order one Pachymetry for glaucoma that arrived yesterday, Thursday March 4. Right there, the doctor and his staff tested it and called me to share the good and exciting news.
Today patients joined in unison to give thanks to God and to each and every one of you for helping achieve a milestone in caring for the non-names of our society.
Serving the Master in Haiti,
Nzunga & Kihomi
Dear Friends,
The eye clinic personal wanting better equipment shows how much they want to provide the best care in Haiti. They also want to provide it beyond Cap-Haitian. There is still time to help get them a new vehicle. One unknown is the duty. Due to the Covid-19 crisis the amount of goods flowing into Haiti has been greatly reduced. Therefore, the custom agents are not getting their normal income. This means that amount they are going charge is a big unknown. We do know that the items sent over by Nzunga, such as this equipment, are getting charged much more than usual. We may need more than we thought so if you can help it is greatly appreciated.
Greeting and Happy New Year. Today Wednesday January 27, 2021, in the city of Fort-Liberte, the last city before you get to Ouanaminthe, the border city to Dominican Republic, was a big celebration, a big fete.
What celebration? It was the official opening of the eye clinic extension. For years, people in that region have begged us for a service at home and now God heard their cries. The staff of the eye clinic left Cap-Haitian early to be there on time.
The amount of people who were waiting was behind imagination. The place to hold all of them was too small. As always, the staff opened the service with a dedication worship service before seeing the first patient. Here we are talking about full exam where they check the eye completely, from A to Z before diagnosing.
They saw 50 patients sending the rest home.Why? Because of generalized climate of insecurity in the country, they had to close early at 3:30 PM to get back to Haiti before it gets dark. While we are rejoicing with the population of that region, we say Thank You for your love, your prayers and your support. It is because of your care that we go boldly and proudly to serve those who do not have big names and fancy titles in our society. This is how we show them that Jesus never forgets anybody.
Dear 
