A New Sister Church Relationship in Zanglais, Haiti...

"What a memorable experience!  What extraordinary measures to make us comfortable! To make us feel at home and welcome. " These are some of the words to describe the first Sister Church (C3 Partnership) visit by the First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg, FL to their new sister church at Zanglais, Haiti.

With a welcome of marching, the Brigade, the sign, the Zanglais church went out of their way to celebrate this new relationship.  Members of the team and staff were welcomed with singing, clapping, and even rose boutonnieres.

The Brigade marching and dancing

The focus of this first visit was building relationships, and that important goal was met. Church on Sunday morning again welcomed the team with a lot of the songs sung in English. In the afternoon, the team and RMI missionaries were able to meet and talk with the entire Pastor's family. It was probably the only time the busy Madanm Pastor sat down the entire week! 

First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg 
and the Pastor with his family.

Team members were also able to fellowship with two of the seven satellite churches in the district, Lasource Baptist Church and Grison Baptist Church. Both churches welcomed the team warmly and provided an opportunity to see the growth of the Christian church in Haiti.

There were so many highlights to the week, but one of the most important was when four people accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior as a result of the music, the gospel message by Robert Mayforth, and the call for salvation from two of the RMI staff missionaries. 

Meeting all the 75 Hope for Kidz sponsored children energized the team members to recruit additional sponsors, giving more children the opportunity to attend school. All the team members were spent time with their sponsored children throughout the week.

An opportunity to meet sponsored children.

Perhaps the most anticipated event was the wedding of six couples of the church. The weddings were made possible by the donation of 28 wedding dresses by the First Baptist Sister Church. Each of the brides had the opportunity to pick their "perfect dress" from the huge selection.  

One of the beautiful brides.

Visiting shut-ins and delivering food provided the opportunity to identify families most needing a new home through the Homes for Haiti program. The fellowship with these shut-ins were a blessing.

One of several homes visited by the Sister Church.

Excited, tired, blessed..... The end of a meaningful week for Sister Churches First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg and Zanglais MEBSH Church, Haiti.

You can see more pictures here.