Prayer Partners: The National Hurricane Center has just issued a hurricane warning for Haiti, with 5 to 15 inches of rain predicted for late Friday and Saturday. Please pray with me that the course and strength of this storm will be diverted so as not to cause harm to an already devastated country and already hurting people. I'm counting on you................Mike

Prayer Partners: Home late Friday night and spent a couple days with the family before getting on the computer right a way. It was a fantastic trip. Very challenging and very productive for the Kingdom of God. Many received salvation in Jesus, and many were healed. It was humbling to be used by God and see his compassion as He sets people free from sin and guilt and spiritual bondage, and heals their pains and sickness. We felt a bit like the 70 that were sent out by Jesus, as we came back proclaiming the miracles and signs and wonders happening before us. And yet the enemy was nipping at our heals the entire time. Thank you so much for your prayerful support.
I am fine and healthy. In fact I was fine after only a few hours of fervent prayer from you and the Haitians. The highlight was when all of the orphanage children gathered around me, laying their little hands on me and singing worship songs to God over me. I thought that maybe I had already gone to heaven. But no. Later that evening I was leading a very heartfelt passionate, and hopefully effective, prayer time for the country and people of Haiti. Please continue in your prayers with us, that the cholera outbreak stops and the current hurricane "Thomas" does not hit Haiti, and become another in a long line of tragedies for these people. Please continue to pray with us that this ministry continues to effectively reach the children and people of Haiti..................Mike

Hello,
Today the team traveled to Bercy and then Port-au-Prince. They visited one of the tent cities that our translator knew the pastor of. Mike said that it was really sad to see all the people and the conditions they are living in.They talked with and prayed with the two pastors there, who are trying to help. He said there were about 10,000 people in the camp. Their tarps and tents were worn out and full of holes, some had multiple layers of tarps full of holes, so there was really no shelter for them when it rained. There was no shelter for a church or a school, so there was no school for the children. He said they found out that the nearest water source was a two hour walk away from the tent city. When they passed out the supplies (mostly food) that they brought, it ran out before the line did. They prayed over people in line waiting to see a doctor. The people wanted them to.
There was a small medical staff of about 5 people for all of the people in the camp, as far as he could tell. Please pray that the Cholera does not spread to these camps. They would not be able to control it. It is hard to believe that 9 1/2 months after an earthquake that this many people could still be displaced and with out even the very basics to survive. And no hope for any change. And this is one of many tent cities. Please pray for His mercy over these people, pray for hope to come to them.
Please pray for the team also as they travel from Bercy to Port-au-Prince and fly home. Please pray for good connections and safe travel. And please pray for the team as they try to put into perspective what they have seen and experienced, as they try to figure out what their part is in all of this. I truly believe that we are all here for a purpose and we each need to find out what that purpose is.
Blessings,
Chris

Hello,
Talked with Mike again tonight, he is doing well and thanks everyone for their prayers.
The team made it to Gonaives today and were able to feed the children in the feeding program. It went well.
The guys on the team fixed up one of the containers like a shop. They built a workbench and organized all of the tools, Mike is thrilled, it will be so much easier to work on things now.
We have another very exciting piece of information, we were given a very nice welder which we shipped in one of the containers, we have been looking for a Haitian that had welding skills or was willing to be taught. Our plan was to then pay them to do work for us. To build security bars for the windows, make stair rails ect. We would supply the metal and gas and then pay them a fair wage, with the hopes that they in turn would purchase more metal and gas with the money they make and using our welder, weld for others and receive more income. Thus we would be helped, but ultimately they would then have a small business to sustain a family on. Well, today we found that someone and we are so excited.
The team spent the rest of the day playing with the children and saying goodbye which
is so hard to do.
Tomorrow in the late morning the team will travel to a mission we know in Bercy, drop off their things and then go into Port-au-Prince. One of our translators knows the Pastor in one of the tent cities. The team will be bringing food, medical supplies, clothing and shoes to the people and they will do ministry and have a worship service. Please pray for safe travel, the right connections and God to go before them and prepare the way. They will go back to Bercy to spend the night.
Tomorrow we also have another container that is suppose to be sailing to Haiti.
This is the 40 foot container with the church and school benches that our volunteers worked on. It also has musical instruments, more medical supplies, clothing, shoes and a huge commercial three section stainless steel sink for our kitchen. All of this is packed in the first 20 feet, then in the remaining 20 feet is food that was donated to us by Feed My Starving Children, they have given us 121,176 meals according to their records. Again we would ask for your prayers, it is such a battle to get things shipped to Haiti and then get them off the docks and safely to our orphanage. We so appreciate your prayers.
Blessings,
Chris

Thank you so much for all of your prayers, Mike is doing better.
The team was able to finish up with the children in the Marose school. YEA! They also spent time with the orphanage children doing craft projects and playing. One of the projects was decorating backpacks that were donated.
They had trouble with one of the cars today so they did not make it out to feed the poor children
in Gonaives.They will be going to Gonaives tomorrow instead. Please pray the cars work fine tomorrow. Hopefully they will be able to do the door to door evangelism tomorrow also. They are not sure at this point. Please pray for wisdom, guidance and protection as the team has experienced more trials this trip then on past trips. They have also experienced more victories,
sometimes the two seem to go hand in hand.
Again thank you so very much for your prayers.
Blessings,
Chris

Hello,
The team was up bright and early this morning. They were up the mountain to pray by 6:00. They spent time praying for Haiti and it's people,the community of Marose, the orphanage and the different ministries in Haiti.
Later on, the team started measuring, photographing and praying over the children in our Marose school. They are about 1/2 way done and hopefully will have time to finish up tomorrow morning.
The Pastor's association meeting went very well. They are a group that expects God to be in their midst, and therefore are not disappointed. They usually leave feeling filled and encouraged. Mike and Nathan really look forward to meting with them.
Mike spent a little time speaking to the women of the community about Cholera. He shared ways of prevention and what some of the symptoms are. Some of the things seem
so practical to us like not washing your vegetables in the river. But to them the water looks clean and they have always washed their vegetables in the river. Then some of the women on the team also spent time talking to them about health issues and shared with them and encouraged them. The team has also held whole community meetings discussing the prevention of cholera along with other health issues.
One of the men on our team got a bug bite today and had an allergic reaction. Dr. Ralph treated him and he seems to be doing fine now. Please continue to lift the team
and orphanage up in prayer. The Holy Spirit has definitely been moving and with that
seems to come some opposition sometimes.
Later in the day a man brought his wife to the medical clinic and said that some one had wanted to talk to her. Mike asked around and could not figure out who that had been, Wendy(one of the women on the team)gave her one of the little packets they had passed out during the meeting with the women. The women then said she had pain in her stomach. Mike asked her if she wanted prayer and if she was a christian. She said no she did not believe in God, so after talking with her for a while and making sure she understood what being a christian was he lead her to accept Christ.
Mike and Nathan believe the Holy Spirit is really moving in the area and so tomorrow the team will be splitting into two groups, one will be with Mike and one with Pastor Nathan. They are then going to go from house to house in the community and evangelize. Mike thinks this will be around 3:00 to 4:00 pm. They are two hours ahead of us right now. So this would be around 1:00 or 2:00 our time. Please pray for God to go ahead of them and prepare hearts.
Tomorrow around lunch time the team will be going to Gonaives to feed the poorest of the poor again. I have talked about this ministry before. There are pictures on the blog and stories for those of you who are new to our prayer partner e-mails. Just go to the bottom of the page and click on older posts until you get to the June 21st 2010 posting. There are quite a few photos and an explanation. Please remember to pray for the team and the children they will be ministering to, they tend to break your heart. Thank you for the time you take to pray for the team and our ministry it makes all the difference.
Many Blessings,
Chris

Hello again,
The team enjoyed church in Peru this morning. Mike preached, he said worship was good
and they shared communion together. Again many came forward for prayer and there were
3 more salvation's.
Later during church in Marose some of our team members shared their testimony's.
This can be pretty stretching for some. The team also was able to participate in a
baptism in Marose. It was a special one as it was one of our cooks. She is also the mother of the cook we had that passed away a little over a year ago.
Tomorrow in the early morning the team will climb the mountain behind the orphanage and spend time praying. Please pray that God will meet them on the mountain.
Tomorrow the team will also begin measuring, photographing and praying over each child in our Marose school. This will probably take a couple of days to complete as the school has about 400 children.
In the afternoon the men on the team will travel to Pastor Perry's for the Pastors Association meeting. Please pray that God will minister to, teach, and refresh these Pastors.
The women on the team will stay in Marose and have a sharing time with the women of the community. Pray that God is glorified and despite different cultures they are able to find common ground.
Two of the team members did not feel well this morning, but Mike said they were fine
later in the day. Please continue to lift the health of the team up and especially the health of the people of Haiti.
Many many blessings,
Chris

Kids will be kids no matter where they are from :)


Hello,
This morning the team headed up to Peru for the baptism. There were 12 people who were baptized with another 50 to 60 there for support. It is a lot of fun to participate in baptisms in Haiti. Nathan usually forms some kind of band as they walk to the river. In this case there were trumpets,trombones and drums. They worship as they walk. Mike said they walked 2 miles to get to water deep enough to baptize in today. I wish more of you could experience this.
When the team returned to Marose, Mike shared with the teachers before their seminar started. He also told them to make sure that the children washed their hands before school started and before meals, as a safety precaution because of the Cholera outbreak. Nathan has been instructing people in church also about sanitation and the importance of drinking clean water. He believes it is the churches responsibility to the community.
The team finished sorting and organizing the containers. They built shelves and racks
in the containers and will build more shelves tomorrow for the medical clinic. We sent many small bins to help organize things in the medical clinic. They will help protect things from all the dust also. It is unbelievably dusty in Marose sometimes.
The team gave out Glo sticks to the children again tonight. They absolutely love them. It is hard for them to comprehend what makes them light up. So far everyone on the team has been very healthy. One of the girls had a really bad headache the first night in Haiti, the team prayed for her and she has been fine ever since.
Tomorrow pray for the team as they head up to Peru again for church in the morning.
We brought communion supplies this time so they will be having communion with the church in Peru in the morning. Then in the evening they will be having communion during church in Marose.
Thank you so much for your prayers again. God is so awesome.
Blessings,
Chris

Hello,
I spoke with Mike again. The team spent the first part of the day measuring and photographing and praying over each child in our school in Gonaives. The school in Gonaives is in a rented building somewhat like a house this year. In order to hold all of the children, some are taught in the small courtyard. It becomes quite hot in the full sun for the children, so the solution they came up with today was to install a metal roof over the courtyard to protect them from the heat.
Some of the team also finished up the water piping which had been laid out and hooked up by the previous team. Now it is working and has all the on and off valves in place. And the three 1000 gallon holding tanks are filled. Wow!
Another part of the team fixed the concrete floor in the entry way to the church. It was quite worn and had become unsafe. They added a step also. Yeah !
Tonight the team went back up to Peru for the crusade. God continues to challenge Mike and I in the area of stepping out of our comfort zone lately. He puts things before us and asks 'will you'? The song that you hear first when the blog comes on fits pretty good lately. It is a song written by a Vineyard worship leader, it is called 'If you say go'. I encourage you to close your eyes and focus on God as you listen to it, listen with your heart. You can click on it to hear it again as it is not the full version of the song. Anyway Nathan was used to challenge Mike tonight. Nathan as he quite often does told Mike that Mike was the one that was going to be preaching and then told him what scripture to preach from. It was one of those 'will you' times. No prep time, just total dependence on God. AND GOD SHOWED UP. Mike said that the church was packed and when he invited them to come forward for prayer and ministry many came to be healed, to be comforted and to give their lives to Him. Tomorrow the team will be going back up during the day as at least 12 people want to be baptized. PRAISE GOD!!!! Please pray for them.
Tomorrow Mike will also be meeting with the teachers from all of our schools. He will share with them and then Nathan has arranged for a Pastor who is also a teacher
and principal of another school to do a training seminar with them. Please pray for this also.
We gave a Flannel graph to our Christian Education teacher today. Mike said she was thrilled and so excited. Most things are taught orally in Haiti. Now she will have the resources to teach the children using another learning style. Some of us learn
better when we can visually see what we are being taught. It has been a dream of mine to get her a flannel graph (a flannel graph, for those who don't know, consists of boards covered with background scenes in flannel and about 300 bible characters and houses, boats, animals ect., also made in flannel so they will stick to the boards, it is old school but new too our orphanage kids). This will enable her to share bible stories in a interesting way to the children. Our brain remembers things better when more then one of our senses are used. My daughter in law did a fundraiser over facebook and we were able to purchase a set and send it with the team.
One more prayer would be for the Cholera that many in Haiti are facing. It is not in the area we minister but the Haitian people have experienced so much hardship please pray for healing. And pray that it will be contained and not spread to any more people. Thank you for your faithfulness in praying for this ministry and the Haitian people.
Blessings
Chris

Hello,
I spoke with Mike again this evening. The team had a great day. After being up in Peru they came back to the orphanage and went down to the river with the kids to play. This is always a ton of fun for both the team and the children. Later the team helped organize two of the containers we have sent. They will work on the others tomorrow. We are trying to get them organized so that the food or medical supplies are not throughout the tools and building supplies. The containers double as storage units for us at the orphanage. Mike is also hoping to get photos from Nathans camera of some of the distribution of food and supplies to those in need, so that we can share them with you.
Pastor Nathan said the service at the crusade went well tonight, there were several hundred attending, which is amazing as right across the valley is a voodoo temple with a fairly strong presence.
Each trip we try to bring something to the children that would be new to them. Tonight the team made caramel apples. Belle wood farms, here in Whatcom county donated the apples. I guess they went over very well, the children and orphanage workers loved them.
Tomorrow the team will be going to visit our school in Gonaive. They will once again be measuring children for school uniforms and they will be taking their photos for the people who sponsor them. We have almost 1/2 of the 600 school children sponsored now. If any
of you are interested, it is just $10 per month and it buys them one hot meal 5 days a week and books, supplies and a uniform. The team will also take the opportunity to pray over each child. The team would appreciate your prayers for accomplishing this tomorrow.
Please also pray for Nathan, tomorrow he will be going back to Port-au-Prince to buy paint and some supplies. The roads are slowly getting better but it is still a long hard trip.
For those of you who have been praying for Madam Nathan, she is recovering from her surgery still but is pretty good. Again many thanks for all of your prayers.
Blessings
Chris

Some new photos of Peru, Haiti for those of you who have not seen Peru yet.


Hello,
I heard from Mike today.
The team made it safely up to the orphanage last night and they are all doing well. Thank you for all of your prayers.
The team traveled to the village of Peru this morning to visit one of our schools. They were
able to photograph 100 children for school sponsorship. They were able to get the children measured so that we can order uniforms for them. The team was also able to spend time praying for each child in the school. And they were able to pass out school supplies that were generously donated to the teachers and students in our Peru school by one of our prayer partners.
Peru is in the middle of a week long crusade, Pastor Nathan and part of the team will go back up to Peru tonight so that Nathan can preach. Please pray that God goes with them and that many will come to have a relationship with Him. Thanks again for your prayers they are very much appreciated.
Blessings Chris

Our October team.

Prayer Partners: Today I leave again for Haiti. It will be great to see the 600 kids that we now have attending school. Some of the team will be documenting names and info and taking photos. They will also be measuring for uniforms. We will be purchasing them in the states, and sending them back to Haiti. We will be pouring concrete counter-tops in the new orphanage restrooms. We will be preaching and ministering at a crusade in Peru and teaching Pastors and leaders.
Please pray for us as we travel and as we minister, that we are doing His will and not so much ours.
Also a huge thank you to Lyle and Montane, and others who have made more of my dream come true for these kids by donating or contributing towards musical instruments. To give these kids an opportunity to learn to play beautiful music, is out of the norm for kids in their situation. Lyle and his wife used to run a musical instrument business out of their home a few years ago. When they heard about the container that we were loading, they offered to help. They brought 16 nice brass horns, in cases, to go into that container, "beautiful instruments". Others contributed towards drums and a keyboard, and we really thank them, and so will the kids when they see them.
......Mike

Hello,
It has been a while since I have posted any news. We have had a team of helpers that have been building benches for our churches in Haiti, which will double for our schools. They are benches with a back support which will double as a desk or platform for writing on. So for the past two weeks almost nightly there has been welding, sawing, routing, staining and painting happening in a warehouse space that was generously donated to us for the past two weeks. We had a bar-b-que the first evening. Some have helped one night and some put in time many afternoons and evenings. We are so thankful for all the help of the volunteers. The benches will seat almost 700 adults (and even more children)this could not have been accomplished without so many extra hands.
Yesterday afternoon they were loaded into a 40 foot container along with doors for our orphanage, a large and small generator, a couple of projectors and some lap tops generously donated by the Canadian RCMP. These along with other miscellaneous items filled 20 feet of the container. This morning the container was picked up and is headed to Aurora, Illinois. The remaining 20 feet will be filled with donated food from 'Feed My Starving Children'.The container will then head to Florida and be loaded on a ship bound for Haiti. Again we ask for your prayers for the safe arrival of the container and contents to our orphanage. I am posting a photo of one of our youngest helpers, he is wearing a generous amount of stain :) Also a few other photos of the bench building and of the container being loaded. The October team
leaves next Tuesday and I will once again be keeping you updated as to what they are doing and what prayer needs there are.
Blessings,
Chris

As you know we have been working our little fingers to the bone in preparations for 600 school students this year, but preparations are not all that is needed. Our Canadian support ministry is hosting a "Garden Party" tomorrow afternoon from 2:30 to 4:30. Would you please be in prayer for that time with us, that it would be a successful event for the benefit of our children in Haiti. Prayer is the most coveted thing that you can give this ministry. If your prayers move all of our mountains, what more could we need. Amen Lord.....................Mike

PS Please keep Gabriel in your prayers as this is a crucial time for his little body to respond to treatment.

PPS Please continue to pray for Madame Nathan recovering from her surgery

--

Prayer Partners: Last night we received some bad news by telephone. Around 10:30 Pastor Nathan called me to say, among other things that Madame Maurice was very sick and had seen Dr. Ralph that day. I agreed to pray for her, but the call was lost, as often is the case. Nathan called back about 10 minutes later to say that Madame Maurice had just died. We were shocked at the sudden news. This is the widow of Maurice who was an elder in the church, and worked as a tech in our medical clinic until he unexpectedly died about 7 months ago. They leave behind two daughters, 21 and 19, two sons 17 and 13, and a grandson about 4. They are all Christians and close to our ministry. We had been continuing to pay Maurice's salary to Madame Maurice to help her with the children. They were both strong healthy people and strong in the Lord. I must admit that I will probably never understand this one, but please pray with me for God to turn this tragedy into a rich blessing for these children, and profitable for the Kingdom and His Glory.

As we were so vividly reminded on this last trip, life in Haiti is a real battle. This country has been held by satan for most of it's existence. And in order to take back this country for the Lord, we must first go into the country and bind up this strong man and set his captives free. This is not an easy job, and we cannot do it by ourselves. We need you and your prayers and we need the spirit of our VICTORIOUS LORD. Please stand firm with me as we work out our calling with fear and trembling...............Mike

--

Prayer Partners: Notice that I said "Back Again" instead of home again. Home is both places for me now. Anyway, We had a great trip with a great team. It was very rewarding to have two of my sons with me on this trip, Jake and Jeremiah. They have been a big part of this ministry and I appreciate them tremendously. I appreciate so much the updates that Chris, my beautiful wife, sends out daily. It's not easy for her when I leave her with all the duties and responsibilities of home and small children, as I am in Haiti.

We encountered quite a bit of spiritual battle going on all around us, but the team fought gallantly and held their position well. We saw satin losing battles in the sky, and the prevailing victories of our great Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. One of the highlights that Chris was unable to disclose while on the trip until Julia could notify her family and friends, was that she, along with several Haitian adults was baptized in the river at Marose. It was a fantastic celebration of the spirit. And it will be a part of Julia's walk with God that she will never forget. We applaud her faith and stand buy her as she continues to push on with God's generous grace and assistance. The team loved on our orphans with passion and grace and were sad to leave for home. We also made great strides in our continuing support and training of the pastors of some 35 churches in the area of "Life Giving Churches". Please continue to pray for us and the victories that God is placing into our hands as we push hard to reach the lost and hurting and needy in Haiti................Mike

Hello again,

This morning the team went to the market and spent time in Gonaives. They enjoyed seeing the city side of Haiti, it is an eye opener to say the least.

Also 1/2 of the roof was poured (cement) on phase 2 of our orphanage building. It is getting closer to being finished Yeah!

The team feed the poor today and said it was both good and hard. The ministry we partner with in doing this then came back to our orphanage for lunch and worship and prayer. Usually we have lunch at their place. So it was nice to host them this time.

Each trip we try to bring something that the orphanage children have not seen or tried before. This trip the team brought popcorn and

cooked it the old fashion way, in a large kettle over an open fire. Which is how all of our meals are cooked. (we can not wait to get them up off the dirt floor and out of the enclosed hut in which they cook over an open fire). When the orphanage is done they will have a clean kitchen with a commercial propane stove. Anyway the popcorn was a hit. The children loved it.

Thank you for your prayers for Nathan, we have been assured that the director of the Gonaives IBSER will write us a letter of recommendation and give it to IBSER in Port-au-Prince.

Also the boys were able to find all the needed parts for laying the pipe. So the pipe work is laid and waiting to be hooked up to

sinks, showers, toilets, ect. Again thanks for all of your prayers.

Tomorrow the team will head to Port-au-Prince. They fly out in the late afternoon. This time they have some extremely long layovers

and will not fly into Seattle until Friday night at about 10:40 pm. Please pray for them, this will be a long 2 days of travel, especially if

they have missed connections like every other time. We would really appreciate your prayers for safe travel. Also for each of the team members as they try to seek God and figure out how what they have experienced fits into their lives at home.

Blessings,

Chris

Wow,

What a day the team had! First in the morning Mike met with the 3 directors of our schools in Marose, Gonaives and Peru. It looks like we are growing from about 300 students last year to about 600 students this year. Wow! That means books, supplies, school uniforms, and one meal 5 days a week for 600 children.The Marose school meets in our church. Gonaives meets in a tarp covered pole building. And Peru meets in a reed and grass building. This looks impossible, but God has always, always provided. I am so excited to see how He meets the needs this time. He knew years ago that we would be schooling 600 children this fall. 600 hundred children that will get the chance to rise above poverty, 600 children that will grow up able to read and write. 600 children that will have hope. 600 children that can change Haiti. A while ago a friend of ours told us about 2 young boys who built a raft to try to get to the US from Haiti. 99.99% of the time Haitians trying to get to America are turned back. Haiti is a country with no natural resources left, nothing of interest to the rest of the world. These 2 boys convinced the coast guard who picked them up out at sea after their raft had come apart, that they should get political asylum because Haiti was in the midst of a coup. The coast guard consented and brought them to Florida and they were allowed to immigrate. They both worked hard and years later were accepted into the University of Washington. One of the boys is now getting his doctorate in mathematical statistics. Sometimes I wonder how many Beethoven's and Eisenstein's live in places like Haiti and just never got a chance. Anyways these 600 will by God's grace. It reminds me of a quote of George Muller's that I just had a friend put in some cards she is making for me. He said "Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man's power ends." Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The team also had a baptism today. These are a lot of fun. They parade as a big group down the road a little bit and then down to the river. Nathan plays his accordion and they sing worship music the whole way. All the kids come and go in the river also. It is very much a celebration.

Later the team headed up to Peru (pay-roo). They visited through out the village. Then they went to the church and Mike felt like they were supposed to pray for the pastor. Jeremy felt like he had a vision to share with him. Then they started to worship and pray and there was thunder and lightning with no rain, while they prayed. When Haitians pray you really feel God's presence. The pastor was very moved. The team really enjoyed their time in Peru.

Tomorrow the team goes to feed the poorest of the poor in Gonavies. In the past I have tried to explain this, it is sometimes a very difficult thing for the team members. They let the first 250 children and a few pregnant women in. The rest do not get in. For most of these it is the only meal they will receive that day. It is a chance to literally be the hands and feet of Jesus. It is hard to see the desperation, but at the same time such a privilege to literally be feeding the poor and needy. Please pray for the team tomorrow as they do this.

Tomorrow the team will be able to experience going to market.This should be fun for them.

They will also try to finish up the pipework, they have most of it done.

Also please pray for Nathan tomorrow, he will be meeting with the director of IBSER in Gonavies, the equivalent of our child protection services. Mike and Nathan have a pretty good relationship with him and Nathan will be asking him to write a recommendation letter to the director of IBSER in Port-au-Prince. This would be a great help in getting approval for our crèche licence which is different than

an orphanage licence in that it will allow us to adopt some children out to the US and Canada. Getting approval from Port-au-Prince is

necessary, it would be like getting approval from Washington.D.C.

Thanks so much for your prayers,

Blessings,

Chris

Hello again,

Thank you for all your prayers. We certainly appreciate them. We have a new little boy at the orphanage. He is 4 years old, and

for right now is being called Sunday. I am pretty sure he has a name, but he does not seem to know it or at least he isn't sharing it.

Nathan is trying to get more information. Please pray we are able to, sometimes this seems to take an incredibly long time. This will bring us up to 40 children that we are taking full time responsibility for.

Tomorrow Mike has a meeting with all three of our school directors. Pray we have a good meeting, with good communication and that we can get an accurate count of the number of children that will need curriculum and uniforms. An accurate count will also help us to know if we have hired the right amount of teachers for fall.

Today was the last day of the youth event. Mike said it was a really good day. Two kids came forward and gave their lives to the Lord.

Tomorrow there may be a baptism in the river. Also the team will go up to Peru (pay-roo). For those of you that do not know, Peru is a small village about 1 1/2 hours northeast of us. It is in the mountains and we have been asked to be a part of the village. I have posted photos of Peru on this blog if you are interested, scroll to the bottom of this page and click on "older posts". They are part way down the page that will come up first. We have started a church and in the fall will be starting school up there. They still use a creek down in a ravine as a water source, and it is not clean drinkable water, but it is all they have. We are working on trying to change that. Please pray that God continues to move in Peru and that the team is a blessing to the community. Also please pray for safe travel to and from Peru.

Mike said that the pastor's conference went very well today. Some of the pastor's brought elders from their churches with them. Mike said they had about 50 people attending. Both Jeremy and Mike taught. They were thankful for your prayers.

The meeting about the trees for reforestation has been moved again, they are now supposed to meet tomorrow morning. It seems

to be the Haitian way.

Many Blessings,

Chris

Hello,

The team is doing great. They had a huge celebration at Pastor Perry's church this morning. It turned out to be a celebration of the first anniversary of our Pastor's association. They had all the pastor's attend and introduced each one. They had a choir presentation and Mike preached. He said the celebration lasted about 3 hours and there were about 400 people attending. They went back to Marose for lunch and then around 4:00 they went back to Perry's for the second part of the celebration which also included worship and dramas. They arrived back in Marose at about 9:00. So the second part of celebration lasted almost 5 hours. They said it was a lot of fun.

Tomorrow they will have the pastor association's regular get together and Mike will be teaching again. Also our son Jeremy who majored in religious studies at Trinity Western will get a chance to teach. Please pray that God will minister to these pastors.

In Haiti a pastor is rarely a paid position and many have given up a lot to follow God's calling on their lives.

Mike still was not able to meet with USA aid, about the trees for reforestation. I guess now the meeting has been moved til tomorrow.

Madame Nathan was not feeling well today. Please pray for her health. She has an ongoing health problem that she eventually will need surgery for.

On a positive note, Mike checked on the little boy named Benji who the team prayed for earlier in the week. He seems healed, he no longer has a fever or anything. Praise God!!!!!!

Again blessings and thanks so very much for all of your prayers.

Chris

Hello,

Another update from Haiti:) The team is doing well and says they want to bring the kids home. They have been having a great time building relationships with the children.

Mike said they found most of the pipe fittings that they needed in town. They have the majority of the pipe laid, they just need to make a few adjustments before they turn the water on. So thanks for your prayers.

There was no meeting with USA aid about the trees today, because the man meeting with them had car trouble, so the meeting is supposed to take place tomorrow afternoon.

One of the team members was sick this morning, but is better tonight. Also Dr. Ralph called and said he and his family were in a car accident but everyone is okay. The enemy would love to stop us from helping the people. It is so important to keep persevering in prayer, please keep praying for protection and good health.

The youth event has been going well. Mike taught them today and Jeremy taught them for the second time today.

Mike talked with Pastor Nathaniel, he is director of our school in Marose and he is Nathan's father, he said they already have almost 200 from Marose signed up for school in the fall. That does not include our schools in Peru or Gonaives. Mike asked about the results of the National 6th grade test. They said they still do not have the test results, but will let us know as soon as they do.

The meeting with the orphanage staff was very encouraging. Mike taught the Good Shepherd pastors

for 3 hours today and he said it was a very good time.

Tomorrow the team will go up very early in the morning to visit Pastor Perry's church. Mike will be teaching there. Nathan has also planned a choir presentation. So the team will be able to experience that.The team will then go back to our church in Marose right before it is over, for ministry time, please pray that God moves in both places.

We do really appreciate your prayers, like I have said before, we could not do all that we do without your partnering in prayer with us. Many Blessings,

Chris

Hello,
I talked with Mike tonight. He said the youth event went well today. Thank you for your prayers. They will be participating again tomorrow and would appreciate more prayer.

The meeting with World Food went well, so now we can fill out a formal request for food help for our 3 schools.

Mike will also be meeting with U.S.A. aid tomorrow. We are hoping to be able to receive native trees

from them. We would like to plant them on the mountain behind the orphanage, to try and build up the soil, and stop erosion. Reforestation is important because most of the land has been stripped of natural resources and the topsoil washes away into the river and then into the bay. Please pray that this is also a favorable meeting.The coordinates of the land put us on the edge of what they believe is land that the trees will be successful on. The trees grow fast, and are deciduous so thier leaves become compost to build up the soil and they bear fruit that can be harvested for the oil they produce.

Tomorrow Mike will also have a staff meeting for all the Good Shepherd Orphanage workers. Please pray that they are encouraged. He then will spend time teaching the four Good Shepherd pastors. Please pray that God moves as he teaches. Thanks again for your prayers.

Blessings,

Chris

Hi,

I spoke with Mike today. Everyone is doing well. The children have enjoyed seeing some of the returning team members that they had become friends with. The team had fun passing out gifts from the sponsors to each of the children.

The team also did some sorting of the containers that arrived a few weeks ago. Then the girls did crafts with the children, while Jeremy and Scott organized the medical clinic. Mike, Evan and Jacob planned the lay out for the pipes that will bring the water into the orphanage buildings from the well. They hope to find a few critical pieces that they need in town tomorrow, so that they can lay the pipe, which will bring us one step closer to moving the children into the new building.

The team went to Maurice's for the prayer meeting. They shared and prayed. One prayer in particular was for a little boy that appeared to have strep throat and a fever. He seemed to feel better and his fever left, after they prayed. Mike said he will check on him again tomorrow.

The team also hiked across the river and on the other side for awhile and visited Nathan's grandfather. They were pleased to see that fields had been planted. Mike said our corn was about 6 feet high already. The rains had filled up the irrigation ditches enough for crops to be planted in spite of the government breaking the irrigation system when they worked on the road. This is very good news for the people in the area.

Jeremy caught a tarantula today . And as Mike was speaking to me some of the team and children were catching frogs in the dark. I could hear them in the background. :)

Tomorrow morning will be the beginning of a 3 day youth event in the area. Our team will be participating for a couple of hours each day. They will be sharing testimonies, doing skits, teaching, praying, ect.

So prayer needs for tomorrow are for the team as they meet with the youth in the area. Also for finding the right connecting pieces for the pipe work in town (harder than you might think). Thank you so much for partnering with us in prayer.

Blessings,

Chris

Hello,

The team has safely made it up to the orphanage. They are all doing well. They have some prayer requests for tomorrow. The first is Mike will be meeting with a representative from the world food program. They are the world's largest organization distributing food. Please pray that the meeting goes well. Since we are starting school in Peru (pay-roo) this fall, we believe our school count will be closer to 400 children that we will be giving a meal to 5 days a week. So some extra food would be very helpful. We have a little over 1/2 of the children sponsored at the $10 a month, which is for books, school supplies, a uniform and the one meal a day.

The team will also be doing crafts with the orphanage children tomorrow and passing out gifts

from the sponsors.

The team will also be holding a prayer meeting where Maurice's family lives. If you remember Maurice was our medical tech that passed away. We connected to the village of Peru through some of his relatives who came to his funeral. His family has been under spiritual attack lately and have asked for prayer. There will most likely be opportunity to share about Jesus at the prayer meeting, so please lift them up in prayer. Thanks so much for your prayer support, we really depend on it.

Blessings,

Chris

Our August team flew out early this morning. They will be arriving in Port-au-Prince tomorrow. Please pray for safe travel.

I also talked with Pastor Nathan
today and he said he brought 26
people to the Lord tonight in Gonaives!!!!!!

Yeah! We finally have our third and last container. A little over 4 months of persistent prayers. Thank you so much for all the prayer support. We are so grateful. Praise God!

We should be hearing the results of the 6th grade government test later this week. Three of our orphanage children, plus others from our school in Marose took the test. Please keep these children in your prayers also. Above are photos of two of our containers, and some of the children who took the 6th grade test.

Many Blessings

Chris

Just a quick note to tell you of today's victory. We brought two of the containers safely to the orphanage complex today. (YEAH!) We will bring the third container tomorrow. The containers were brought by police escort (friends of Nathan's) from the docks to the orphanage to protect them from hijacking potential, which has been very high in Haiti, since the earthquake. These supplies will bring relief to the orphanage, school, and medical clinic. They will also give relief to many hungry families that have come into the area with nothing left after the earthquake. It will also supply our outreach missions each time we go as a team from here to minister to the poor and the hungry. Thanks so much for all your prayers for the containers. Please keep praying for the safe arrival of the 3rd and last container tomorrow. We are very happy to be able to celebrate and praise God for His goodness..............Mike & Chris

Prayer Partners: It is good to be home again with my family, I miss them when I am in Haiti, but miss the kids and people of Haiti when I am here. Oh well, This is what God wants me to be doing for now, and that is all I really care about. It was a great trip. The team was fantastic and very helpful to me. I won't repeat the up-dates that Chris posted on the blog, she does a great job. I will just add a huge highlight for me. I have been teaching pastors and leaders from about 35 churches, I really broke through to them this trip and they were so inspired to break away from the more traditional Haitian style of doing church to a true "Life Giving" church. This brought great joy to me to see these pastors rejoicing and praising God for this revelation. WOW. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. I could not be doing this stuff without you. You are more valuable to this ministry then you know. Thank you.....

Mike

Hello again,

I talked with Mike tonight, he said that today was a good day for the team. The feeding of the poor went well. Thanks for praying. The team was able to visit our Gonaives church and meet the pastor. They also were able to lay the water lines to the clinic and build a type of concrete basin, so that patients of the medical clinic can wash their hands, face and/or feet as necessary for the medical clinic. Many of them have traveled far to reach the clinic. The 2nd phase of the orphanage building is close to being finished on the outside, so today they started digging the foundation on the 3rd and last phase. They dig by hand and it requires pick axes, not just shovels. Please pray for the men digging out in the heat. Today Mike was able to gather all the workers in the orphanage, clothes washers, security guards, cooks, ect. The purpose was to thank and encourage them. He also met with and taught our Good Shepherd orphanage pastors. This went very well, again thanks for your prayers. The village of Marose has had some heavy and long rain storms, which Mike said is good for the land. Mike noticed that our land had not been planted for the season and other people had not planted either. He asked why and the answer he received was that the irrigation ditch which comes from the river had been broken when they were working on the road. It is a dirt road. Mike asked when it might be fixed. Everyone sounded like it probably would not be. It is hard to understand the acceptance of life in Haiti sometimes, but then our culture has been modeled and taught not to just accept things. We have seen change happen and wrongs righted when people rise up and refuse to accept circumstances. Because of this we have hope that things can be different, we have even come to expect and demand that they are different. Please pray that this is not a permanent problem, there is so little food in Haiti as it is. The meeting for moving ahead with becoming a licensed crèche, for adoption purposes was very productive. Mike says he has a lot of paperwork that he is bringing back to be filled out and translated into French. Tomorrow afternoon the team will head to Bercy.

Please pray for safe travel. Blessings,

Chris

Hello,

I would like to share a bit of a story tonight. Getting around in Haiti is challenging to say the least. If you are almost anywhere north of Port-au-Prince and would like to go just a bit further north, first you must go south to Port-au-Prince. The bus makes one complete loop so you could end up riding the bus all day and not actually arrive very far from where you started. Most Haitian's do not own a car or any motorized form of transportation. Another option is a tap tap. Which is usually a truck brightly painted. If you bang on the side of the truck they will pick you up. Thus the name tap tap. They will stop and pick up anyone, regardless of how many they have already stopped for and regardless of what you may have with you, like chickens for example. We have seen people on top of bulging truck loads, that are already carrying more weight than you could legally carry here, and the people are hanging on to the ropes that are tying the loads down.

So, since we have three pastors now, one traveling from Marose up to Peru, one traveling from Marose into Gonaives and Nathan traveling up and down the coast line, we are realizing the cost and time taken up in just 'getting there'. It has been on our hearts to try and solve this problem. Mike and Nathan have checked out different options and we have consulted others and have come to the conclusion that small enduro type bikes are the best solution we can afford right now.

So, now go back 20 years when we were getting our first Haitian son. Mike rode on the roof of our missionary friend's van. He rode through Port-au-Prince, out in the open and through small villages. He just didn't want to be inside and miss anything. He wanted to see and experience it all. Everywhere along the road side children would point and yell blanc, blanc. Blanc means white for those of you that don't know.

Now skip ahead 20 years, Nathan, Mike, Phil and Adam decide to go into Gonaives and buy the three enduros. The three amigos then decide to put on the three little helmets that came "free" with the bikes and ride back to Marose. Try picturing three white guys on the small enduro bikes. Mike said they had a blast, and I am sure they put more than a few smiles on children's and adult Haitian faces. I would have loved to see the three of them weaving in and out of traffic laced with as many pedestrians as vehicles in the city and then out on the dirt roads, laughing and riding together and not wanting to miss anything. Wanting to see and experience it all. I hope this puts a smile on your face also.

Mike said the meeting with the Pastors' association went really well again today. Thank you for all of your prayers.

Helping to feed the poorest of the poor children in Gonaives has been changed to tomorrow and the team would appreciate your prayers.

Tomorrow Mike will also be in meetings regarding getting our crèche license for adoptions. We would really appreciate your prayers for

wisdom and discernment. Thanks so much for partnering with us in prayer.

Many Blessings,

Chris

Good news, Mike is better, he says he feels great, thank you so much for your prayers. We really appreciate them. He was able to teach at the pastors association and they want him to teach again tomorrow. They had a really good teaching time, a powerful prayer time, and a great worship time. Mike and Nathan will also spend time teaching the Good Shepherd Pastors tomorrow. Please pray for them.

The team spent the morning with the children, face painting and doing arts and crafts. They were also able to pass out shoes to many of the community children. Quite a few suitcases worth. A true gift, as many have no shoes. They even play soccer barefoot, and the men that go on our teams have a hard time keeping up with them. Most times the children win the matches :) Tonight they gave the orphanage children glow sticks, the children and the adults love them. They do not have anything like them in Haiti. It is hard for them to comprehend why they start glowing once they are bent. It is really fun to watch, such a simple thing that brings such joy.

Tomorrow the team will be able to go to market and visit our church in Gonaives. They will also be able to feed the poorest of the poor. I have shared about this in past e-mails. The first 250 children that get into the tin building get a meal that day, the rest will not. They just do not

have the ability to feed more. This is also an eye opening and heart breaking experience. Looking through western eyes we do not have a place to put what we see and experience. But it is such an incredible experience to be the hands and feet of Jesus as we feed these children. So please lift the team up as they come along side and help to feed the poor and needy.

Nathan was able to get all of the paper work approved in Port-au-Prince for the containers. But, they said he had to come back in a couple of days to pick the paperwork up. So the saga continues. God knows the timing, and has known all along. So please just keep praying for them.

Blessings,

Chris

Hello,

The team went to Peru today. Mike said that the community had built a church out of sticks with woven reeds for the sides and a tin roof. He said it worked great.They are digging a latrine also. Mike and Nathan had a good meeting with the village elders. He talked with them about making the same type of building for the school we will be holding in the fall. He also talked with them about the need for good water. A lot of the children are sick. Mike said the children have to scoot down into a ravine to get water and it is not clean water. We would like to help them by digging a well, but not sure how to at this point. They also had a worship service and Mike felt like God was highlighting one women in particular. They found out that she was a prominent women in the community and a believer. She said, she had a daughter that was having abdominal pains and asked for prayer for her. Mike asked where she was. The women said at home, Mike said that they would go to her to pray. So they walked about a mile to this women's home. The daughter and granddaughter were there. They laid hands on them and prayed. Mike said it was a powerful time. She said that she felt like she was healed. So Mike asked that we continue to lift her up in prayer.

We try to think of fun things that the children and maybe the adult have never seen or tried before. The last trip the team cooked hamburgers for

the whole orphanage over an open fire. Tonight they taught them how to make Smore's. Mike said they all had a blast, even the adults.

As far as construction goes, they seem to think the 2nd phase of the orphanage building will be finished by the end of August or a little later. This is great news for the children. And we now have glass windows in our medical clinic. This will help them to keep the dust out and the bugs. YEAH!

Please pray for spiritual protection over the team. Nathan had a really bad headache on Friday, and Adam had a lot of leg pain, he said he had not done anything to cause it. Also Mike had a really bad headache after teaching in Peru, he almost never gets headaches, he prayed about it and then went to meet with Nathan, and as soon as he started talking to him he said it was gone. So the team would appreciate your prayers.

Tomorrow Nathan is going up to Peru to preach and taking the guys on the team with him. So please keep them in your prayers. Also Mike will be teaching tomorrow morning in Marose and the girls will be in Marose too. Please pray that God moves. Thanks for all your prayer. Blessings

Chris

Some of our little guys.

Hello,

The team has safely made it up to the orphanage. Thank you for your prayers.

Tomorrow the team will mostly focus on the orphanage children. They will be giving out sponsor gifts and playing and interacting with the children. Nathan will be working on getting the containers. It truly is unbelievable how inefficient and bogged down the government can be in Haiti at times. But we have hope that we are close. So again, we ask for persistence in prayer for the safe delivery of the containers. We have been told there is still one more piece of paperwork missing, that necessitates a trip to the docks in Port-au-Prince. It is amazing how much red tape is involved to help bring relief to the people of Haiti. I guess when we finally get the containers, it will show God's glory.

Mike said the team will probably go up to Peru (pay-roo) on Saturday. When the previous team was in Peru, there were 40 salvations. The next Sunday Nathan lead 30 more to the Lord. Since then I know of 15 that have been brought to salvation. We have hired a pastor for Peru. Also we have purchased more Bibles in Haitian Creole to take up to Peru. Mike is excited to be traveling up north to see them again.

Please pray for God to continue to move.

Many Blessings,

Chris

The June Team

The June Haiti team leaves tonight. Please pray for safe travel and good plane
connections. I will try to post a photo later this evening when I have one. Thanks
so much for your prayers. Blessings,
Chris

Remembering Madame Nathaniel

We have some very sad news. Madame Nathaniel, Nathan's mother died this morning. This is a tremendous loss. She was a very godly women. The family is very close and it will be hard to carry on without her. She was a very important and respected women in her community and church. Please pray for pastor Nathaniel, Nathan and the rest of the family.

Thank you, Chris

Finally we have water

Water is life

This picture pretty much says it all

Naomi, Mike and Aumony
The two women who had the vision for the Water For Life Walk.

Water For Life

Last August, after hearing me share my testimony and what God was doing in New Generation Ministries to meet the needs of the orphan and the lost in Haiti, Two young women came to me and said that God would not leave them alone. “They just had to do something to help those children”. The Passion of God moved them to hold a “Water for Life” walk for other mothers with children and community members. The walk was successful beyond expectations. They raised over $9,000. We designated a fund for the money to be spent for the purpose of water for the orphanage only. Water is very hard to come by in Haiti. 80% of the existing water supply is not drinkable. And the people either walk many miles each day to find drinkable water or they drink bad water and sometimes are sick, and sometimes die because of it. In September the church held an outreach garage sale where the Best was sold to help the needy, both locally and globally. New generation was the recipient of a good portion of that money, and it was earmarked for the water system in Haiti. We promptly contacted another ministry that had a well driller in our area of Haiti, and although he had a two year backlog, he just felt led to move us up to the top of his list. We met on site to discuss the location of the well. The ground was rocky and there was no visible indication of signs of water, we decided to move ahead. On a hot day in November, a team from Lynden showed up with their rig to drill our well. With great anticipation we watched as they set up and began to drill. The first day went to 40’ with no results. The second day went to 70’ with no results. The team asked if they could drill the third day, even though it was Sunday. I told them yes, but they had to stop for church. I was preaching that morning in our local Haitian church with a translator. As I heard the boys come in, I stopped the service and explained to the congregation what the boys were up to and how desperately important it was. I brought the boys up front and asked the whole congregation to lay hands on them and pray for their success. Two hours later we hit water, a good flow of clean water. We all celebrated and praised God. We caped off the well for now, and made planes to come back in January with a proper pump and get things started then. But January brought one of the worst natural disasters in Haitian history and with it a devastating amount of destruction and loss of life. All of our efforts went immediately into relief mode, and for the most part, still are. Finally this last month of April, we took a small but hard working team with us to visit the orphanage. We installed the piping and the pump, and watched as the most amazing thing took place. Water, lots of good, clean water began to spray out over the dry land. The children were so excited, they stripped of their clothed and began running and dancing in it. We were all in it a few minutes later. It was life, real water for life, and we were dancing in it and praising God for what he had brought forth from the faithfulness of all the people who had contributed. Oh, and the other miracle that took place that afternoon, was that the same two women, that had so passionately come forth to get this whole thing started, had come with us on the team, and were there with us, dancing and praising and seeing the fruit of a God that brings to completion a good work that he has begun.

Hello,

We went to an orphan summit in Minneapolis last week, put on by Christian Alliance. At the summit we went to a session done by a Christian team that documents stories, their goal being to help bring change. They have documented a story on Haiti. It is told through the eyes of a former child slave and a 7 year old orphan. CNN is going to air this story on their news network. It is an hour long documentary and talks about God, Jesus and Faith. We were able to see two clips one of which has earthquake footage. It will air this Saturday, May 8th, 8-9 Eastern time. So it would be shown at 5 o'clock our time. Even though we have only seen part of this documentary we would encourage you to watch it.

Chris