God is leading us to experience and serve him in new ways and new places. Twenty-three years ago God led us on an adventure that brought us to life and service in Haiti with Christian Reformed World Missions (CRWM). For the past few years we have felt God’s nudges and pushes to take a new leap of faith. And so we have decided it is our time to return to the United States and not renew our contract with CRWM.

 We realized that this might catch some of you by surprise. We hope that you will forgive us for not keeping you better informed as we wrestled with this for quite some time. This decision has not been an easy one for us or for our children. This adventure seems like an even greater leap of faith than it was for Ruth and I in 1991. There are many unknowns and uncertainties for us and our children. Yet, we have the certainty of God’s faithfulness and goodness in our lives and are ready to make this transition to the United States.

As you can imagine, Haiti and the partner organizations with whom we have labored side by side are close to our hearts. Much work still needs to be done and so the task of proclaiming and demonstrating the Good News continues. We encourage you to keep Haiti as part of your Ministry through prayer, financial support, service and learning teams, and other visits. This can be done by financially supporting the Haiti field budget. There is a list of projects described in the CRWM Project Giving Guide found on CRWM’s website. Consider supporting one of the projects that the field needs to raise the necessary funds before they can be spent. We can send you more information about these if you would like. CRWM will be recruiting another missionary for Haiti. That person has not yet been identified but once he/she is, consider serving as a supporting congregation for this new missionary.

Christian Reformed World Missions is helping us in our transition. Together, we are preparing a farewell deputation in order for us to visit our supporting churches from June to August, 2014. Please make note of our itinerary and help us connect with you this summer.

There really aren’t enough words to share what you have meant to Ruth and I over the years. Many of you have kept us here in Haiti by your words, your actions, and your commitment to stand with us. Thank you for allowing us to serve on your behalf. With God’s help, we together, have made an impact in Haiti.

Please pray for us as we move forward. We have enrolled Micah and Malieke in school and plan to settle in Grand Rapids, MI for a time. Natasha will move on to Calvin College where Taressa will begin her junior year. Here on the field, we want to finish well. Our departure date is June 16, 2014. We will pursue other ministry avenues, as the Lord Leads us.

Howard and Ruth: Fall 1991