“Trust in the Lord and do good;

Live in the land and cultivate faithfulness.”

- Psalms 37:3 NASB

In His Grip Simon Family

April 2024

Dear friends and family,

This past month has been a bit of a roller coaster. As we and another MAF family arrived back in Haiti to settle into our new
community and make preparations for other staff families to return in the coming months, the country descended into
another crisis. While the prime minister was out of the country, gangs seized the opportunity to stage a series of attacks at
the main shipping port, the international airport, and many police stations throughout the capital. While these reports are
heartbreaking to hear about, we continue to hold fast to the sovereign call that God has placed on our lives.
In many ways, living in our new community in the northeast countryside has proved vindicating amidst all the chaos being
witnessed from the capital. If our families were still attempting to live in Port-au-Prince, we would be making another painful
evacuation just after arriving. Living in Pignon, we are receiving a warm welcome from a like-minded community, we are not
receiving any potential security threats within a wide radius of our town, and we are able to travel freely into town—where
we’ve been able to find essential supplies so far. Our family is cherishing the cooler mornings and evenings from a slightly
higher elevation here, a steady afternoon breeze, and far fewer mosquitos than what we were used to in the capital. God
continues to remind us of His perfect faithfulness despite the chaos that is unfolding.
You may be thinking, “How do you expect to begin MAF’s ministry while Haiti is experiencing such turmoil?” Although there
are many steps ahead of us for resuming flight operations and connecting with the many ministry partners we serve
throughout the country, we see the potential for ministry here and now. While we remain fixed on steady progress toward
resuming flight operations as soon as possible, we also seek opportunities to foster relationships and keep the treasure of
the gospel on display. There are still many tasks ahead of us in order to welcome the rest of our Haiti staff families here and
resume our aviation ministry, but our presence here is going to accelerate that progress and allow us to cultivate
relationships with key people along the way.
Living here has given us a fresh perspective on how many of our ministry partners feel. When both international airports
were unable to receive flights, many of our potential options for supplies and contingency plans closed up fast. Thankfully,
our friends at Missionary Flights International were able to resume operations into Cap Haitien and Pignon—restoring those
connections. I still receive many calls for help from other areas of the country with questions about when MAF will be able
to restore our services. Experiencing the same kind of limited options has given me a clear focus and determination with
what lies before us.
As we keep the long-term perspective in focus, we
see a clear need for MAF’s services in Haiti. We are
reminded of God’s many past deeds of faithful
provision and direction and we find strength and
level ground for our feet. We have been greatly
encouraged by your ongoing prayer and generous
support amidst a season of uncertainty! Thank you
for your faithful partnership in taking the gospel into
places that it is needed most.
Continue reading on the next page to hear more details
about settling into our new home and community.
 Living in the concrete jungle of Port-au-Prince, we were quite familiar
with living behind high walls with shards of glass and barbed wire
surrounding us. The property we are interested in securing for our staff
families in Pignon is a stunning contrast!

The current owners of the property have been dealing with unexpected
circumstances that required them to suspend their ministry and leave
the country before finding time to pack up their belongings. There are
two existing homes on the property that we have begun moving into
since the end of February. One thing we
discovered is that the owners were fond of waterbeds. Fun fact: an average king-sized waterbed
holds 235 gallons of water (around 1900 lbs). In order to move this waterbed, we had to use a
battery charger plugged into a wall outlet to power two deep-cycle house batteries that
powered a small DC water pump connected to a five foot long, two-inch PVC pipe into a
bathtub. Two days later, it was light enough to move. Moving has taken extra time since we’ve
had to pack up the owners’ things before unpacking our own belongings.

We met a local restaurant owner from Italy (who married a local Haitian) who makes excellent
pizza. We’ve also been able to spend quality time with some of our national staff families who
were forced to move into this region from Port-au-Prince due to gangs overtaking their former
community. Our kids are enjoying the space and openness of the property and adjusting to the
newfound freedom we have in the community.

We are working with lawyers to purchase the property. Once the land is secured, we plan to begin building the first two
additional homes as soon as possible. Meanwhile, we are looking into options for land at the airport in Pignon so we
can build a hangar and supporting infrastructure. As soon as the Port-au-Prince airport reopens, we hope to resume
conversations with governing authorities to collaborate about resuming flight operations. Please continue to pray for
favor and wisdom with these many critical tasks. Also, please continue to pray for our national staff in Port-au-Prince
who are continuing to shelter in their homes until safety is more assured.

Give by Check:
Mission Aviation Fellowship
P.O. Box 47
Nampa, ID 83653
Simon/9185 on memo line

By Phone: 1-800-359-7623

Online: maf.org/simon

Contact us: Dave—dsimon@maf.org

Erin —esimon@maf.org