I simply cannot believe that four years have passed since my good friend, Daniel Rodolphe, started taking classes at Emmaus Biblical Seminary in order to become a pastor. Back then, a leader from an international feeding ministry came to Haiti to see where her group’s soup mix was being put to use. At the time, Daniel was receiving bags of the mix on a monthly basis and preparing it each Saturday and Sunday morning to feed the hungry right outside his door.This ministry leader was struck by Daniel and his dedication to his neighborhood. When she asked him about his dreams, he told of his desire to learn more about Scripture and to become a pastor. (I’ve learned over time that Daniel always has more dreams than funds!) She decided to sponsor him personally as a student at Emmaus.And so for the past four years, Daniel has lived and studied on campus (just five miles down the road from us) all throughout the week and then headed back to his own neighborhood in Cap Haitien each weekend to see and feed his kids – about 50 each Saturday morning and a different 50 on Sundays. (Over this past year, he has also been serving as a pastor at a little church near the airport – a tough job for which he receives no compensation.)But four years have passed and have brought Daniel to this weekend. And THIS weekend was special: Commencement.FRIDAY, MAY 11:I was honored to be Daniel’s “Paren” for the morning – a sort of honorary godfather. I wrote up sub plans for my students at Cowman because there was no way I was going to miss this graduation.
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