WHY ARE YOU HERE?

KATHY FULTON

Last month we were back home again in Indiana for a couple weeks. We had many questions by confused people:

- I thought you had already left for Haiti?
- Have you moved back home again?  Did something happen?
- You haven’t left for Haiti yet?
- Why are you here?

I understand the confusion. Traditionally, missionaries have left for the field and lived there 3-5 years without a visit back to the U.S. Then, they returned for up to a year to visit supporters, speak at churches, visit family and friends, and tend to other business.

We have had an ongoing ministry in Haiti for 22 years, and have cooperatively (alongside our Haitian medical director) supervised the clinic in Santard, Haiti for the past 10 years. We knew we would need a different arrangement than the 4 years there-1 year back format in order to accomplish the work to which God has called us. Our sending agency, Global Missions of the Church of God, agreed with the value of this back-and-forth method and was on board for us to make approximately 6 trips back a year. On the average, we will live in Haiti for 6 weeks, then return to the U.S. for 2 weeks.

In our recent visit to the U.S., here are a few of the things that were accomplished:

• We met with a representative of another nonprofit organization in Haiti. They were just opening a clinic; she was seeking advice. She had extensive experience in shipping; she shared ideas of how to cut our costs. We collaborated and gleaned from each other.
• We met with the director and board of another nonprofit that installs water purification systems. The Haitian government recently informed us that we need a system such as this (amongst other things) in order to move from a clinic to a hospital. We made plans for the system to be installed.
• We met with our Mission Haiti Medical, Inc. Board. We were updated on the gala (April18 – be there or be square!) and made plans to achieve the other items on the list of requirements to become a hospital.
• We met with many staff members at Global Missions to go over reporting and other topics that we need to understand as new missionaries.
• We met with a variety of supporters to share what we see God doing in Haiti.
• We spoke at one of our supporting churches to thank them and share what God is doing in Haiti.

Our next visit to the U.S. is in April, when we will be hosting Pastor Jean Marie of Saintard, Haiti and his wife. They will be speaking at the Mission Haiti Medical Gala, our first annual fundraiser on April 18 at the Anderson Fine Arts Center. They also will speak at many churches that have faithfully supported the ministry in Saintard.

Future visits will include meetings with medical teams making plans to visit Haiti, meetings with various companies who may donate medical supplies, meetings with medical schools to partner with us in providing students with a Haitian medical internship, visiting supporters, speaking at churches, participating in continuing education to fulfill the requirements of Mark’s dental license and Kathy’s speech therapy license, coordinating shipping of supplies, and more.

God has called us to come alongside the people of Haiti to use medicine as a tool to spread the gospel of Christ. We look forward to partnering with our brothers and sisters in Christ in BOTH countries as we share His good news!

Our new WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM at the clinic, installed by
Fountains of Hope, International, after meeting with them
in Carmel, Indiana