June 5, 2010
Dear family and friends,

We have received several containers this past month, filled with great supplies, food, clothing and equipment, and it has been a privilege for us to distribute many of these gifts to the Haitian people on behalf of all of you who sent and worked at sending. In early May, with the help of about 30 Haitian people from the community, we did a census in the area of Simone (where we live), and by going door to door, found out that there were approximately 1000 people living here who have come out from Port-au-Prince since the earthquake.

We had a pretty big crowd (over 1000 people) and the U.N. helped with control. Can you spot Tim?

Just about two weeks ago we began construction of the orphanage at the camp. Lord willing this orphanage will be home to about 45 earthquake amputee orphans. Here we are beginning the foundation and pumping out the water in the low lying area. The bobcat is the ultimate concrete delivery machine and the cement mixer dumps directly into the bucket of the Bobcat, so that on a good day, we can mix and pour 150 or more bags of cement. It is a great system. We are so thankful that an experienced construction team from Florida was able to help us design the orphanage and build the foundation.

Katie is holding Max's little daughter. They named her Jewray. The Je stands for Jesus and Wray is for our family.

Thanks so much for your continued prayers and support.

Bye for now,
Love Rod, Deb and gang

April 2, 2010
Hello friends and family,

We hope that this is a special Easter weekend for you as we remember and give thanks to the Lord for all He has done for us. We are doing great and have had a good time with the teams from Missouri which have been with us the past two weeks. The second week was a construction team of ten men, five of whom were over 70 years old. They were very productive and helped us with many projects in the community and out at the camp.

team of ten men	giving out gift bags of food, clothes, soap, toothbrushes and toys to about 900 children at Renault

getting the first 100-ft of wall started along the Laquille river	building new cedar cupboards for the guesthouse

Hiking into the mountains to take food, tents, Bibles, and solar lanterns to the Haitians. Even way out in the mountains we found numerous people who had been affected by the earthquake. These children lost both their parents and the 11-year old girl in the picture is now the oldest member of the family, so she is taking care of the other children. They came from Port-au-Prince with their aunt, who lost her husband, her sister, and one of her own children in the earthquake. They are all living in the grandmothers yard, so we were happy to be able to set up a tent for them and give them some supplies.

Building a generator house for the brand new "John Deere" 40 kw generator which is now operational at the camp, as well as reviving the old well that was on the camp property and building a pump house and installing a pressurized water system. We are very excited to have some infrastructure at the camp.

We are so thankful to have our son Tim working with us, and he is a huge help. Tomorrow morning early, Lord willing, Tim and I plan to drive into Por-au-Prince at 3:00 am. We will take Dr. Bill in so that he can catch his flight back home and then pick up our team from Ocala, Florida. Please continue to ask God for His protection upon us as we travel these roads.

Thanks for your prayers and support.

Bye for now,
Love Rod, Debbie and the gang

January 26, 2010
Hi again,

Thank you so much for all the prayers and encouraging emails. Thank you for sharing with Haiti in it's time of greatest need. It is amazing to see how the world is giving and sharing to try and help the Haitian people.

Our little hospital is so full and busy, and we are very thankful for Dr. Bill Tenhaaf. He is not only doing surgeries, but is coordinating the whole medical effort so that many people are being helped. We are also thankful for Dr. Jon and Dr. Rick who are doing a great job and helping this week also.

This man was three days under rubble in Port-au-Prince and his leg is broken. He is the father of three children who come to the Renault Sunday School program. He accepted Jesus into his heart this week. Many people in Haiti are turning to God since the earthquake.

While some stores here in Cayes are short on food, we are thankful that Agape flights has flown tons of food supplies to Cayes. This has enabled us to continue helping people, including continuing the Renault Sunday School program. This past Sunday Dr. Roberts spent all morning caring for children with medical problems.

We were very thankful for Gary and Samuel from RMI who came to Port-au-Prince and helped pick up Christians from the MEBSH churches to bring back out to the camp yesterday. These pictures were taken by Tim and Dr. Bill as they followed behind us in the pickup.

About 60 Christians from Port-au-Prince came with us out to the camp. They seem very happy at the camp and are being well cared for. We are trying to find more tents as we hear that more people from Port-au-Prince might be coming this week.

Thanks for your prayers and support, bye for now,
Love Rod, Debbie and gang

January 23, 2010
Hi again from the Wrays in Haiti,

Sorry to send emails so often, but we want to keep you updated on our activities during this time of crisis for Haiti.

We are so thankful that Dr. Bill Tenhaaf is here not only doing surgeries and helping many Haitians, but also coordinating a lot of the medical efforts that are happening in our area. Dr. Jon Roberts from Missiouri and his friend Dr. Rick arrived yesterday and are helping at the hospital. Last night Dr. Roberts told us that he had never seen so many serious injuries in his life. Deb and the missionary ladies cleaned and set up extra beds in the large room that was my workshop at the hospital.

We have been setting up tents and are preparing to use Camp Mahanaim as a long term (three month) refugee center where people from the MEBSH churches in Port-au-Prince can come and stay. Lord willing we plan to drive in Monday morning with several vehicles and bring out the Christians who are living on the streets of Port au Prince.

We are thankful for funds that have been donated so that we have been able to give a lot of food and supplies to the Haitian people. We are helping provide food for the patients and their families at the hospital, some of the Haitian pastors, the people in the Aids feeding program, the children at Renault and we are preparing enough food to receive up to 200 refugees at the camp, Lord willing.

Today was the Aids feeding program / support group and the Haitian people were so thankful for the food supplies that we were able to share with them. It has been very encouraging that all the missionaries here are working together in so many ways and Reciprocal Ministries International supplied the food for the Aids feeding program this week

We are enjoying and loving the Haitian people even through these difficult times. Today I had fun purchasing more diesel fuel from the vendors on the street. It is a little more expensive and I usually get covered in diesel by the time we finish, but we are thankful that it is still available.

Please especially pray for us as we prepare to go into Port-au-Prince to pick up people and bring them back to the camp to live.

We also really feel that it is important to continue on with the vision of the Camp Mahanaim children's camp project, so that when this huge relief effort is finished, the Haitian people will have a lasting project that will benefit them and point them to Jesus for years to come.

We pray that God will raise up some partners or a partner who will catch the vision of camp Mahanaim and work as a fund raiser for us so that this project can be accomplished. Please contact us directly if you feel led to help in this way.

Please mark your donation "Wrays—Haiti relief"
Thanks, bye for now,
Love Rod, Debbie and gang

January 19, 2010
Hello again,

We are thankful that all 18 of our visitors have been able to leave Haiti over the past three days. The Methodist mission of the Bahamas has been flying medical supplies directly into the Cayes airport, and they have been willing to take American passengers back to Naussau (Bahamas) on their return flights. Deb did an amazing job of hosting, feeding and caring for the visitors while they were here.

Tim and I drove into Port-au-Prince early this morning along with Myrlande and Timothee from our Haitian youth team. They had family members who were confirmed alive and uninjured, but were living on the streets of Port-au-Prince with no way of getting out to Cayes. We had enough fuel for one trip so we made the most of it. Myrlande even picked up her 1-year old cousin whose mother died in the earthquake, so now Myrlande will take care of little baby Sarah.

The destruction in Port-au-Prince was overwhelming as were the flies. Some houses were standing, some were totally collapsed, but almost all appear to have been affected in some way. Many, many homes will need to be torn down as they are very dangerous and could collapse at any time. The destruction is more than widespread; it is throughout a large part of Haiti.

As many people as possible are leaving Port-au-Prince and as quickly as they can. Aftershocks continue occasionally, and if we were to have a heavy rain , there would be many more casualties.

There are numerous landslides and places where the pavement has buckled and cracked. The road from Port to Cayes which was recently repaired, is barely passable again.

Thanks so much for your continued prayers.

The Haitian church leaders have advised us that evacuation might be necessary for the missionaries in the weeks to come, if supplies don't start to enter the country. We do not want to leave, but also, don't want to be unsafe. Please pray for wisdom and God's guidance for us in the days and weeks to come.

Thanks, bye for now,
Rod and Debbie and family

We are thankful that the Reinhard family arrived safely back in Cayes and all the missionaries gathered together to meet them at the airport last Wednesday afternoon.

We had a special visit from Danny Thomas who is the director of Harvest International. Danny and Kara helped put cream on a badly burned little boy at Renault.

An elderly gentlemen who cuts branches from our yard and makes brooms with them. He has almost no toes as they have been cut off with the machete.

Deb had an opportunity to take a car load of missionary ladies to a retreat in Port au Prince a few weekends ago. She had a great weekend and was able to meet missionary ladies from Port au Prince.

We have been working at completing construction of the church at Ti-Verny, near the camp property. Once the roof is on, the church will be able to move from using the camp.

We are thankful to have a team of 3 men here working on the camp with us this week. On Sunday, Bruce (an electrician from Ocala) played the saxophone for Jesus and the kids at Renault loved it.

This afternoon Deb met the Agape flights airplane to Cayes. Agape purchased and brought in ceiling fans, lights and door knobs for the guesthouse at camp, and Deb definitely had a vehicle full.

Fishing for Ti-bean out at the camp. The fishermen drag these fine, small nets along the sand and gather up the tiny shrimp, which sell for a good price once they are dried.

Thank you for your prayers and support and especially for your prayers for the Reinhards.

Bye for now,
Love Rod, Deb and gang

It has now been two years that Baby Hope has been living at the hospital here at City Lumiere, and Deb visits her several times every week and takes food and supplies for her. Little Baby Hope recognizes Deb's voice instantly and always responds with a big grin. Deb has worked hard at trying to arrange adoption or care in the U.S for baby Hope, but so far it hasn't worked out, and now we are considering taking her to a special orphanage here in Haiti as she cannot continue to live at the hospital indefinitely. Thanks to the generous gifts that you have sent, we have been able to give baby gifts to many or our Haitian friends who have recently had babies.

Max and his wife just had a "surprise" baby girl and they named her "Juwray." The "Ju" is for Jesus and "wray" is for our family.

It is nice to have Forguens back working with me again out at the camp. He has no vision in his left eye, but he is able to work at full strength again, and is a great help along with Jean Josef, and Etanel from my original crew. They ride out to the camp each morning with me and, other than these three, I am trying to hire all local workers who live near the camp.

Deb standing beside Jean Hebert, who is one of the members of our Haitian youth team. Jean recently had a serious motorcycle accident, but we are thankful that he is regaining the use of his arm now. We have asked Jean Hebert and his new wife to be the caretakers at the camp and they have accepted.

We are using schedule 40 pvc pipe as electrical conduit and I am making the bends using a torch. It works great and meets all Haitian codes (ha, ha).

We are so thankful for the help from Tom Schmidt, our Haiti Harvest director. We recently purchased this beautiful bus online (government surplus auctions) and Tom flew to New York and drove the bus back to Florida. He will now try to ship it to Haiti for us.

Deb and I had a special meeting with Pastor Chavannes Jeune and the MEBSH executive this week, and they are very excited and supportive of the Camp Mahanaim project. We definitely need help if you are available and willing. We need immediately: an electrician, plumber, carpenter or two, tile-setter, concrete finisher (we have the power trowels here), painter or painters, cabinetmaker, and welder.

If you can get to Haiti, and don't mind roughing it a little, we have a place for you! Please email us!

Thanks for your prayers and support.
Love Rod, Debbie, Kara and Katie

(Tim is really doing well at Bible School in Austria and enjoying it)

September 11, 2009
Hello friends,

This is just a quick note to say a "big thank you" to all of you who made it possible for our son Tim to spend this fall semester at Capernwray Bible School in Austria. Tim left Haiti this morning and will spend a few days with his friend Mary Scott Cain and her family in Florida; and then early next week will be on his way to Europe.

We drove into Port au Prince this morning, leaving Cayes at 3:00 am to be sure to get Tim to the airport by 7:00 am.

Each day we rely upon God's protection especially as we travel the roads of Haiti. This morning we saw three separate serious accidents where large trucks had flipped over.

This picture shows the detour at Miraguane where there are a couple of very steep hills. Many times all the passengers get out and walk so that the trucks can have enough power to make it to the top of the hill. Sometimes when the big trucks stall, and their brakes don't work, the trucks slide down the hill and flip over, as this one did in the picture. Today there were four trucks stalled and stuck on the hill.

We are excited about the way things are progressing on the camp project. Harvest International has created a special web page for the camp, so if you would like to have a closer look at the camp, you can go to the Harvest International website and then click on the "Haiti" flag, and then click on "Camp Mahanaim."

Or you can simply click on this link: www.harvestinternational.org/cmhome.html

At the bottom of the "projects" page, Deb does a video tour of the camp and explains some of the work that is before us.

Thanks again for your prayers and support.
Bye for now,
Love Rod, Deb and gang

We are thankful for the opportunities that come through supporters and past teams. This week, we had the opportunity to deliver the first 20 goats to the people of Renault. They were thrilled with the thought of raising a goat. The first offspring is given back and will then be given to someone else. We have appreciated the help of "Etienne", a Haitian friend who has started the project. He has had several training sessions with the locals so that they know how best to care for the animals. The people who received the goats all have children in the Sunday School program. We thought this would be a good start to including the adults and give a little income to each household.

Thanks to a generous donation, we were able to buy sturdy plastic plates that can be used over and over. There are four of the mothers that wash the plates each week. We also received close to 1000 metal spoons on a container, so we are thankful. The children of Renault are so grateful for the continued support and eagerly await that special plate of rice and beans each week. We are able to put a vitamin on top of each meal too. The children quickly find that "special treat." We appreciate each one of you that is making it possible for the program to continue. It is amazing how the Lord is providing through different people, thousands of miles apart, to make each Sunday morning a very special time.

Each day we have many people to the door who request help. This lady has eight children. Her husband was killed in a bus accident two weeks ago. She and her children were asked to leave their home yesterday, as they couldn't pay their rent. They found shelter under a bridge and slept on the dirt. Through funds that have been given to us, we were able to get her back in her home and give her a few supplies that were desperately needed. Wow... We are continually reminded to count our many "blessings."

What a privilege it is to share with those who have so little. Thanks for making that possible. Whether it is things that are sent on the containers, or mail that people send to share, it is much appreciated. The people of Renault are very encouraged. It is amazing that you can physically see a difference in them with their red tinted hair and bloated stomachs quickly disappearing.

It was an exciting day on Friday. The land surveyor called to say that the 15 acres of land that one large family is donating for the children's camp, was ready to be surveyed. It was amazing to see all the family members present. We appreciate your prayers as things move forward. We are thrilled to be used in this way and trust that the Lord will continue to guide each step of the way.

Tony and Tracey Herrara, from Florida, are helping us for the summer. They have been a big encouragement in organizing and labeling everything in the storage depot. We also have Caleb Pate (17) here, from Florida. He's here for 3 weeks helping with various summer sports' programs. Tim has enjoyed the time greatly.

We are looking forward to having Christie join us in Haiti on July 8th. She has enjoyed the last 9 weeks prawn fishing off the B.C. coast with Rod's commercial fisherman relatives. We are thankful for their kindness in letting her join their crew as a "deckhand." What an experience! Kara is in Kamloops, B.C. for a few weeks helping at Gardom Lake Bible Camp. We'll look forward to her return on July 22nd.

We want to take this opportunity to thank you for being part of the many good things going on in the South of Haiti. Whether it's a note of encouragement, your faithful prayers on our behalf, financial support or joining in on a work team, the Lord is really working. We are excited to be a part of it. Thank you for making it possible for us to continue on in the ministry here.

We appreciate your prayers,
Deb, Rod and the Family

May 24, 2009
Hello friends;

It has been a chaotic but blessed week here in Southern Haiti, and even with all the flooding, suffering, and devastation around us, we have been thrilled to be able to minister and serve the Haitian people. This week, more than ever, I have been reminded of the teamwork that is involved in missions. 1 Corinthians 12;20 says that there are many members yet one body. We all have different functions, and sometimes I feel that we are the hands here in Haiti, but there is a whole body that works together with us so that we, as the hands, can serve.

Here are some examples from this past week: taking food, clothes , blankets, and health kits to Frankel and the handicapped ladies. The flooding soaked all their bedding and clothes and destroyed most of the food at the Bernice Johnson center. It was amazing to see the joy and excitement these young ladies had as they received these supplies that have all been sent by members of the body. The girls loved the hair picks , toothbrushes and toothpaste, and other personal care items that were in the health kits as well as the dry blankets and sheets.

Giving rice, beans, health kits, and canned turkey meat to the people from the Aids support group. These supplies, and money to purchase food, all came from members of the body. About 70 people at the Aids support group were so happy to receive.

At the Sunday School program this morning, we gave more than 800 children a hot meal of rice and beans, a cold bag of water, and a pre-packaged bag of rice-soy-bean mix. The support for the children of Renault and gifts of prepackaged rice mix all comes from members of the body.

Dr. Bill continues to come to do surgeries at the hospital for one week each month, and he was here last week. The new O.R. was completed and put to use for the first time, and it helped greatly. There were so many Haitian people at the hospital for surgery last week.

Some random pictures of the flooding damage around Cayes this week. The water flooded so high, that many walls and homes were destroyed. The picture on the right shows how many banana plants were destroyed along with a house.

This afternoon a lot of people from the areas where the flood hit the worst, blocked the road in protest that the Haitian government is doing nothing to help them. Many of their homes were totally destroyed. This is the main road to Port au Prince so we hope that the road will be opened before Tuesday when Deb, Tim, and Katie are scheduled to fly back to Canada for a couple weeks visit.

We have seen a lot of suffering around us this week, but thanks to all the members of the body who support, pray, encourage, and send supplies, we have been able to help and bring smiles to the faces of many. As they take that blanket, or pair of shoes, or bag of food, it is almost as if they totally forget their problems and the hardships that they have endured, and with great joy they simply receive.

Thank you for partnering with us so that we can not only be here, but by God's power, we can meet needs and show kindness to many.

Bye for now,
Love Rod, Deb (a year older), and gang

May 19, 2009
Hello friends;

Last night we experienced flooding which in some areas was worse than the flooding of last August / September. The large dam (more than 10 feet high) which was damaged last September from the flooding, and then we repaired with more than 100 truckloads of rock and rubble, was completely opened up again last night and this is what we found this morning. The rock and rubble had been carried up to 1/2 a mile downstream and is strewn everywhere. Some homes had water up to six feet deep when the dam gave way.

The Bernice Johnson Center was totally flooded and the handicapped ladies had to be removed at 2:00 am during the night. This morning we tried to collect and salvage some personal items and supplies, but most everything was totally under water. At one point Frankel broke down and cried. This is the third time in less than a year that the Center for Handicapped ladies has been flooded, but this time, many things are destroyed.

We are thankful that the area west of Cayes (Renault) where we do the Sunday School program was not flooded too badly.

Thanks for your continued prayers for the country of Haiti.

Bye for now,
Love Rod, Debbie, and gang

The annual MEBSH Convention was this week here at Cite Lumiere in the Simon Church. It is a large church with seating capacity for about 1,500 people. The thing with Convention is that approximately 15,000 people pack into and around the church for services and worship during the five days of convention. Every exit or entrance and aisle is blocked with people.

The MEBSH Convention is a very crowded affair both inside and outside the church, but the Haitian people love it; and many Haitian Christians save up money or raise a goat or cow so that they can sell it and pay their way to Convention each year. You can see our daughter Katie's blond hair as she squeezes into this morning's service, sitting with our missionary friends, the Reinhards.

During Convention, from Wednesday through to Sunday afternoon, we hosted a sports tournament for the youth of Simon. The championships included basketball, beach volleyball, normal volleyball and a three-mile running race. Our son Tim participated in all four events and did very well. We are especially proud of the great example of sportsmanship and faithfulness that he has shown to all the Haitian young people.

Thanks to a generous donation, last week we were privileged to deliver new sheets and pillows to the girls' orphanage. The girls were so happy and excited to receive the brand new sheet and pillow sets.

Please continue to pray with us as we seek the Lord's will about the proposed Christian children's sports camp. We met with Pastor Chavannes Jeune and he showed us 15 acres of land that might be donated for the project. Today I met with the nine families who are planning to donate the land. We pray for God's clear direction as we consider this huge project.

We are thankful that Christie did well in her first year of University at Trinity Western University, and now she is privileged to be able to go prawn fishing with our relatives on the coast of British Columbia for a couple months. We are also thankful that Carly has found work in her new profession at a seniors care home.

Thanks so much for your support and prayers.

Bye for now,
Rod and Debbie

April 5, 2009
Dear family and friends:

This past week we were blessed with the opportunity to host a team from Ocala, Florida. Despite the fact that they were only here for five full days, they accomplished SO much and made a lasting impact on many.

They arrived here in Les Cayes on Thursday around 12:00 noon aboard a small 19-seater plane via Tortug air. Unfortunately their bags didn’t make it out on the same flight as them. After a quick stop at the guesthouse to freshen up we headed to Guerline’s (Forguens’ sister) wedding. The team stood out in their “normal” clothes but Guerline was honored to have them there. It was the perfect opportunity for them to get a small taste of what a Haitian wedding is like and it let them know what to expect when they did the wedding for ten couples on Saturday. Katie had the opportunity to be the flower girl and did a fantastic job!

On Friday we headed out fairly early for a hospital tour and then went to meet the engaged couples at the church in La Savone. The team brought an excellent selection of wedding dresses and suits. Once we were there, we set up a few different stations: for the men to come choose suits, for the women to choose wedding dresses, to get their wedding rings (the team also brought these), also a station where all the dresses got steamed after they had been chosen by the brides. After all of the couples had received wedding dresses and suits the team headed out for their town tour.

Saturday began with the team splitting up into three groups. One group came with me (Tim) and we drove down to the church in La Savone and spent the morning setting up decorations for the wedding that afternoon. The second group went with my Dad and they transported freshly made benches from the hospital to the Sunday School building in Renault. The third group spent the morning in the kitchen with my Mom and made 600 sandwiches for the reception after the weddings. Saturday afternoon we drove to the church, stopping and picking up the wedding cakes along the way. The ten sets of brides and grooms entered the church around 3:00 pm. Various groups came up and sang and various pastors spoke (including Pastor Mike Austin on the team). Each couple had a pastor alongside them and they were all married simultaneously. After the wedding was over we made a quick attempt to pass out food to 600 people, this idea was abandoned shortly after we started and we handed the food over to the pastor to distribute.

Sunday morning started early for us as I went down with the team at around 5:00 am to help the Haitian youth team prepare the food for the Sunday School program. Having gotten a glimpse of the effort it takes to prepare the food every Sunday, our group came back at 6:45 and had breakfast, got cleaned up, and met us here at our house and we headed out. We stopped in Simon and picked up the youth team, along with the five large pots of rice and beans. The Sunday School service went extremely well with around 800+ children there! In my opinion it was the best so far, everything went smoothly, the kids seemed to love the benches, they laughed at Pastor Mikes rat story, and intently watched and listened to the team sing and do actions to “Lord, I Lift Your Name On High” and use the puppets as they sang “Jesus Loves Me.”

Despite the hot sun, the team worked diligently on Monday and Tuesday pouring a concrete slab in Renault beside the Sunday School building. The court will be used for basketball and small goal soccer, along with being used as play area at recess once school gets started.

Thank you SO much for your continuous prayers, support, and encouragement! Without you none of this could be possible!

God bless,
Tim Wray

February 15, 2009
Dear friends,

It has been one year since we began the Sunday School / feeding program in the area called Renault. Today was a great day of celebration as more than 700 children now have a smooth, clean cement floor to sit on and a roof overhead to provide shade. Thank you so much to everybody who has shared and partnered with us and the Haitian youth in this ministry, and a special thank you to the construction teams from Grand Rapids who have worked so hard on the building. We have observed an amazing transformation in this extremely poor area since we began a year ago, not only in the physical condition of the children, but in the love they now have.

We have been so thankful for the medical and construction teams that have come to minister in Haiti with us these past six weeks. The medical teams have been large and combined with translators and helpers we usually take about 35 people to the areas where we do the remote medical clinics.

Usually the teams offer toothbrush training, scabies wash, wound care, eye glass distribution and surgical referrals if needed.

Deb brings lunch for the work teams and medical teams if they are working in the local Cayes area. Here she is set up on the back of the truck ready to feed 45 people lunch.

Sometimes we take the teams to visit different orphanages that we help with. Here Deb and a visiting team are walking on the beach with the "Aids" orphans.

Please continue to pray for us. We value your prayers so much. This morning as we began the Sunday School program, directly outside our property, a voodoo band started to pound their drums. We sang praises to the Lord Jesus and after a short time the Ra Ra band moved away.

Please pray for God's protection and help for the construction team that is here working at several projects at the hospital this week.

Please pray for God's protection for us as we drive about in this very busy country. There are so many scooter motorcycles on the roads with mostly untrained drivers and there are many accidents each day.

Thanks, bye for now,
Love Rod, Deb and gang