SPOTLIGHT ON MISSIONS: Michael & Ruth Poirier • Quebec, Haiti, Africa Dominican Republic

A couple in our church was faced with a decision about their car. They just put in $10,000 of repairs and now faced even more repairs. Last Sunday after church, the couple said, “Pastor Poirier, our car goes all over the road like it was very windy. Can you check it?” As I test-drove the car, I realized it was not safe. They had to say goodbye to their 2010 GMC Terrasse, and had to be on their way to purchase a new vehicle.

It is always hard to say goodbye to an old habit, tradition or culture when you are not in your own country. Someone said, “You can take a man out of a country, but you cannot take the country out of the man.” Things they have been doing for years stay in the person and, like sin, are attached to the heart of a man. But, in Christ, you are made clean of the sin that causes so many problems and keeps you from serving Him. Sin will make us pay more than we can afford, take us deeper in the hole than we want to go and lead us further than we want to go. As I lived the experience with this young couple, it reminded me that this life of sin, if not taken care of, will destroy anyone who doesn’t care.

Quebec — The work is going slowly, but surely. Praise the Lord for His Word that works in the heart of the hearers. We have a new couple we are working with from Brazil, another from the Philippines and, of course, my helper, who is from Chile. We have great fellowship in the Lord. Even though the Brazilian couple has two hours of driving to get to church, they love it and spend much time on Sunday with us and others for fellowship and learning French words. We had our thanksgiving last month and there were around 50 people. We had an international meal from all the countries represented — there was a lot of food! In all, God is always good, bringing us together for worship and fellowship around His Word.

Haiti — Haiti has a great need today more than ever. I suggest that you go to Haiti in 2022 and look at their living conditions and the danger they are living in every day. Last week, for no reason, 18 people were killed across the street from the preacher’s house. Some streets are to be avoided if at all possible. Gasoline is very hard to come by because of the price and the lockdown by the gangs. You can buy gas but you have to go through the gang who controls it, and you will have to pay $25 per gallon. 

We have been sending extra money to our churches in Port au Prince (Haiti) for food, medical attention and water. So far, every week we have sent $1,000 and we receive thanks and praises to the Lord. Ruth and I have a special place for these people in our hearts because they don’t complain, even in great affliction, because they know the Lord is with them. Please, if you can help us to help them, it would be a blessing for these people to be able to eat every day.

Cameroon Africa — Four people have been added to the church by baptism, and new people are coming to church, excited to get to know the Lord. Most people, like those in Haiti, have been in the dark concerning their life after death. We have sent 90 Bibles (3 cases) and songbooks. We praise the Lord for the part we have serving Him in Cameroon.

Benin Africa — One of our men is back in Benin and has already begun teaching our discipleship program to the people attending the cell group.

Ivory Coast — Praise the Lord for a faithful servant of the Lord who ministers to people who are hungry for the Word every day. Pastor Paul is doing wonderful work with the 75 souls who attend the discipleship program, and he is teaching the people about Baptist doctrine. We share teaching online every Saturday, providing an important tool to help the preacher and Sunday School teacher to use in their ministry.

Dominican Republic — Our Haitian ministry is doing well with messages preached three times a week. We praise the Lord for men who want to serve the Lord no matter what. We are planning to go in January to look for a permanent place of meeting. At this time, we meet in a private home in town, and it is a tight fit — it’s hard to put 20 people in an 8x12 ft. room. God is very good to allow us to meet in that room. Pray for the ministry for the Lord is working in the heart of the people.

May God bless you as you read this report, and bless you as you continue to pray for us in this ministry. Time is short, and eternity is long, we need to get busy for the Lord while it is time. Thank you for your faithful prayers and sacrificial giving for the ministry and the encouragement we get from you. (pasteur.poirier56@gmail.com / (418) 209-3710) 

File: Spotlight Risner

Photos: Risner1.jpg with the caption “The Risners at Piata Sftantului (town square)” and Risner2.jpg with the caption “Risner Kids, Bagosi Family and Candra sang specials for the service.”

Bryan & Pam Risner • Romania

Family Update — We have not slowed down since last month. Our mornings are busy with school, the kids in homeschool and Bryan and Pam working on college classes. The evenings are filled with the ministry here in Brasov.

We have intentionally spent more time with our new church plant families in Brasov and enjoy seeing those relationships grow. In addition, we are thankful to have had more opportunities to visit our ministry in Santandrei and spend time with friends in Oradea this past month.

We all (well, mostly all of us) love the colder weather here in Romania. It is the perfect opportunity to see historic buildings and landmarks while sipping hot tea or local coffee.

The Risners are Moving — We are thankful for our time in the Ghimbav area, but we are moving back to the Oradea region next year to begin our third church plant. We have a meeting this weekend to share our bold vision with potential families who could be joining us.

We are so thankful for this church. It is our home church in Romania, and they are more like family than friends. At the beginning of the month, we visited the Oradea area to work on church planting details and visited the church family at Auseu.

Our ministry in Brasov meets on Sunday mornings. Each week we have a time of fellowship, worship and Bible study. Candra leads the children in a special Bible story time each week. We have two families who have committed to join us and a third family prayerfully considering joining us.

While in the Oradea area this month, we had the opportunity to visit our Roma (Gypsy) ministry. After our church service, we enjoyed dinner with the Hamouch and Porumb families. We could not be more grateful for these families and their dedication to the ministry in Santandrei.

Santandrei (Roma/Gypsy) Ministry Update — Our kids’ program meets weekly under Lavi’s direction, and Marius has continued making home visits. He has discovered that the Roma adults are more open to hearing the gospel in a 1:1 environment versus meeting in large groups. As a result, Marius is often able to share the gospel and pray for each family’s specific needs.

Lavi meets with Carina (the young lady who accepted Christ at camp) on Sundays following the children’s program. Carina is very concerned with how her community will treat her if she publicly shares that she is choosing to follow Christ. She has allowed herself to be vulnerable with Lavi and shares that she does not feel “good enough” to be a Christian.

We are still having issues with vandalism, as the windows were completely busted out last week. As a temporary solution, Marius has boarded up the windows. In addition, we are considering fencing off the building. Please continue to pray for the children and adults in this community.

Brasov (Return Church) Ministry Update — Our Brasov ministry and church plant are officially outgrowing our homes! We have approximately 30 people each Sunday attending our services, and we also have ladies’ and guys’ growth groups meeting every other week.

As we plant the desire with this new group to share the gospel with others around them, we are intentionally building deeper relationships as a church family. This past weekend we spent Saturday evening fellowshipping together and Sunday morning worshipping together. After worship, we shared a special time of eating together and playing games. It is a true blessing to spend time being encouraged by other believers.

Our church plant is partnering with a local university to offer a literacy program for a nearby Roma community. Please pray that gospel conversations will be made and lives will be changed for Christ’s sake as we go weekly into the Roma village, teaching the children to read and write.

Oradea (New Church Plant) Ministry Update — Our family and Candra have made a few trips back to the Oradea area over the past few weeks, and we are seeing this new ministry opportunity coming together quickly. We started praying this year in late spring and early summer about the next steps for our ministry.

We feel confident that God has opened the doors for this new church plant, and we have agreed on our bold vision — for every adult and teen of Oradea to hear the gospel from a friend. We could not be more excited about this new opportunity. We had a meeting in Oradea on Oct. 29 where we shared our vision with people interested in joining us.

We ask that you join us in prayer for: the Santandrei Roma Ministry (1:1 Bible studies, vandalism issues, fence for property, children’s behavior and Carina’s walk with Christ); the Brasov Ministry (college ministry with Roma Community, weekly discipleship meetings, Sunday meeting location, evangelism opportunities); our transition (in January) and new ministry opportunity in Oradea; the Risner kids’ being accepted into CBC, kids’ scholarships for college and for language skills to increase.