February-March 2022 Steve's Desk

​I recently learned of the passing of a dear friend, Phyllis VanEse.  Lisa and I first met Phyllis in Haiti around 2008 or so. We would share several missionary trips, including the 2010 trip interrupted by a devastating earthquake. Phyllis was one of the 4 of us who could not be immediately evacuated following the quake. We would spend the next 12 or 13 days doing what we could to prepare the medical areas of the mission for use as U.S. Doctors and Nurses were expected as soon as travel resumed to the Island nation.
 
Phyllis had one of those personalities that you enjoyed being around. She was so positive, encouraging, and filled with the Holy Spirit. She kept our spirits up during this time. She was a joy, and she had every reason not to be. Over time, she shared her life struggles with us. Her husband of 30 plus years died suddenly, leaving her to run a business alone. She would soon sell her business and follow the Lord. First, she headed off to the far-east to work in an orphanage in a place she had never been to help people she couldn’t communicate with, but that didn’t stop Phyllis. She and her infectious zeal went where the Lord led. She and her husband could never have children, but she found others to share her love. Then when her parents needed her, she came home to care for them in their final years, she devoted herself to them.
 
After they passed, she journeyed to Haiti, looking for God’s will in her life. This is when we first met her. After several trips to Haiti, she found herself moving there full-time to run a hotel of sorts for missionaries passing in and out of Haiti. Here she found her place for ministry. She not only served and encouraged missionaries, but also reached out to her Haitian community, helping and befriending them. She taught them English and encouraged their relationship with Jesus. She even self-adopted a couple of young men, who she helped attain medical degrees and with their personal and family needs as well. 
 
Lisa and I stayed with her during our last trip to Haiti in 2017. While with her, we were not only encouraged and uplifted by her, we witnessed her love and ministry. God truly had Phyllis where He needed her. God had exceptionally gifted Phyllis, and she let her gifts be used by him, even amid danger. She remained in Haiti during the difficult times following the eruptions of gang violence, the murder of the Haitian President, and with the increased threats of kidnapping. She told us that she was staying as long as possible and lying low.
 
This past December, we learned that Phyllis was diagnosed with cancer. However, she remained optimistic and committed to staying in Haiti as long as possible. Unfortunately, she did return to the USA and died in Hospice care on January 6th, her 70th birthday. 
 
I chose to honor Phyllis in this way because I think that God needs more of us to be like Phyllis – willing and able to follow his lead and let him use our gifts and talents despite the hardships and difficulties in our lives. 
 
Phyllis was and is a marvelous example of Jesus. Well done, Phyllis – Great is your reward!