We will not be returning to Haiti as we'd hoped, but instead we've accepted a re-assignment to Peru.  After over 13 years in Haiti this will be a big change, but we can see the hand of God in directing us.  Here is how it came about:

We asked you to pray for a meeting of mission and Haitian church leaders that took place in Florida on April 17-18.  The Haitian leaders recommended that the Haiti missionaries return in July as long as things remain stable and they take certain precautions.  When the mission leaders asked them about the return of our family with two small children, they unanimously shared that they were still very concerned about the children's safety and would not recommend our return.  Area Director David Roller had prepared us for this possibility and had previously laid out several options if Haiti was not reopened to us at this time. When notified about the decisions made at the Florida meeting, we felt led to accept a new assignment in Peru.

We can't convey how greatly we will miss all of our friends and associates in Haiti!  Many of them are like family.  We will need lots of prayer for strength and grace as we communicate this news to them.  We've known that some day we would move on as national leadership strengthened in the ministries we were trying to promote, but I guess we weren't thinking that day would come so soon.  We had hoped for a bit more time in Haiti, but God has other designs on our lives right now.  Please be assured that the Free Methodist Haiti child sponsorship program will continue.  A competent national staff faithfully administers that program.  We will be working with the other missionaries and nationals to see how the teacher training programs and goat and small loan projects can continue as well.

Our new assignment in Peru will be in the city of Tarma.  Set high in the Andes mountains, Tarma is approx. 5 hours northeast of Lima, the capital.  The climate, as you already have imagined, will be quite different from what we experienced in Haiti!  J.R. will work with the Peruvian leadership to develop holistic ministries with special focus on animal husbandry and micro-enterprise, within the context of the Peruvian Free Methodist Church (www.fmwm.org/countries/latin_america/peru.php).   In addition to looking after the girls, I will have eventual opportunities to assist with exporting local handicrafts for sale in the States (www.seediccm.org) and training of Sunday school teachers.  There are no Free Methodist missionaries currently in Peru, but Garry and Pat Cruce plan to come to Lima to work in church leadership development in mid-2007.

Here is our tentative schedule:
early to mid-June:       Step down as interim pastor at Brooklyn Free Methodist Church in East Otto, NY
July 18 - 26:               J.R. and I accompany a work team to Tarma to assess the location and better prepare for the move
early August:              J.R. and I return to Haiti to sell and pack up household belongings and say good-byes
August 30:                  Fly to Santiago, Chile for Spanish language study.  (There are other FM missionaries there, and we would
                                  have housing and a support system available.)
mid-November:          Move to Tarma

As you can imagine, our heads are sometimes spinning as we think about all the details to take care of.  But we feel great peace that this is the right move for our family.  Please keep us in your prayers as we sort, store, sell, pack, and prepare for our move.  We're also trying to work a little Spanish study into our schedule.

Thank you so much for standing with us in prayer and financial support during this waiting time.  We feel that God has been teaching us many things and giving us time for rest and renewal before we head on to our new destination.

We'll have more details in the weeks ahead.

In Him,
Becky, J.R., Marissa, and Alena Crouse