Prayer Request Update


I sometimes wonder what it must be like to live in an active war zone. Bombs are dropping, but you never know when or where they will fall, you hear gun shots and wonder how far away they are, but you still have to eat breakfast, drink water, keep your kids busy and get through the day.

I know we are not living in an active war zone, but we are living in an active spiritual war zone. This week has been interesting to say the least. Both Kenol and I have been having difficulty sleeping, spending hours just laying awake mulling things over, and praying. I’ve been having nightmares again, but in a new way. I actually woke up so upset I was crying, which was a first for me. The discouragement is so heavy on us all day yet life must go on. We need to get the boys to school, plan a birthday party, bake a yummy cake, get dinner on the table, keep the orphanage running, plan meetings and so on. Life doesn’t slow down to wait for us to be ok.

On Wednesday of this week Kenol led a huge Church Advancement meeting. Somewhere between 300-400 pastors from all the villages we work in (and a few others) attended the meeting. They were split into groups by village and were asked to share their thoughts on what their villages need, what they see as their villages greatest assets and so on. This was the first meeting like this, and there will be many more in the future. Kenol will continue building relationships with these pastors and meeting with each village group monthly. Of course, uniting pastors, churches and people in this way makes the devil nervous. Christians coming together to advance the Kingdom of God together as one body, it’s a beautiful thing. Satan doesn’t see it quite like that though, hence the intense attacks we have been under. I have experienced spiritual warfare before, but this time it’s different. Satan is doing everything in his power to get us to give up, throw in the towel and call it a day. There are moments where I wonder how much more I can take, but then I walk through the orphanage where beautiful babies run after me calling my name and I get some perspective. We were CALLED here, God has been preparing both Kenol and I for this very moment since before we were born. This time in our lives has been one of the most difficult ever, but I know that the most growth happens in these dark places, so we keep going, one foot in front of the other through is tangled valley and pray for God to protect us, to lead us and to be with us when it seems the world is against us. The beautiful thing of it all is that this attack is bringing Kenol and I closer together, and closer to God, and for that I am so thankful.

Please continue to pray for us as we continue on this path. Please pray that our passion for our ministries would not be smothered by discouragement, that we would see the hand of God on our lives, feel His presence, and be open to His leading every day.

It has been so amazing to receive so many encouraging emails. It means so much to us to know that we have this incredible group of people who love us so much and will pray us through this. I will keep you updated as we walk this path.  Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart.

Peace, love and prayers,

Rachel and Kenol

For those who have been asking for our mailing address it is:

Kenol and Rachel Bernard c/o
Mission of Hope, Haiti
PO Box 60004
Ft. Myers, FL
33906

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