Hello,

I have had a request to see what our tents look like. So here are a few photos of the one in Peru. The teachers and students love it. It is working out great and is such a blessing. A company called Alaska Structures who supplies a lot of tents to the military donated two tents to our ministry.

  Good Morning to all of you on this very grateful Thanksgiving Day. We are so very, very grateful to all of you who have so faithfully supported us and this ministry to the children in Haiti. At times it has been a challenge beyond capacity, but your prayers and support have made it all possible.

   I write this greeting to you with much emotion after just arriving home two days ago. Sad to leave the ones that I have grown to love so much, but glad to return to my wife and children and grandchildren that I also love so very much. As I contemplate this Holiday morning, I can't help but feel that, like many of our American holidays, maybe the real meaning of the day has been slowly eroded by our lifestyle. I look around my home and realize that most of my many rooms are larger than the average mud hut in Haiti. My closet has ample clothes for me to wear for nearly a month if I choose to, while most Haitians have a daily and a church outfit, if that. And the stuff that is filling my closets and attic and garage would fill a large truck, while most Haitians personal belongings would hardly fill a single cardboard box. Have I taken the rich blessings from God and kept them for myself?

   The first celebration of thanksgiving came after a long cold winter, barely survived by the new pilgrims of our country who had found themselves in such dyer need. Then the caring, generous natives of this Kingdom shared their resources with those in need, and not only their resources but love, encouragement, security, faith, and salvation. Isn't this the calling on all of us who share in the rich blessings of Gods Kingdom? For us to be generous as He has been generous with us. How far do we dare go in satisfying our own desires until we have crossed the line of neglecting the poor and lost and hurting and needy. Surely He has given us plenty. Surely He has shown us, "O man what is good and what the Lord requires of thee. But to act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8
Mike

November 18,2011 - Very exciting news

Hello,

I talked with Mike tonight. The team flew out according to plan this morning. I have heard back from the team also, they landed safely in Seattle a few minutes ago. Thank you so much for your prayers.

Last night when I told the story of the couple that came to the Lord, I forgot to mention that they both told Mike and Pastor Nathaniel that they wanted to be married as soon as possible, they are trying to do things right. Please pray for them.

Mike made it safely back up to Archie. He had a great day with the Lord, he felt like he was given direction and words. Again thank you so much for your prayers. Please continue to lift him up in prayer Saturday as he spends more time with God. Sunday morning he has been asked to teach at Nathan's brother in law's church. There is usually about 1000 in attendance. He would appreciate prayers on Sunday morning also :)

Nathan and Mike have been invited to a meeting Sunday afternoon for orphanages. It is being held by IBESR. IBESR is like our child protection services in the states. They also have authority over adoptions. Please pray that the meeting will go well and that the rules will be helpful to the adoption process.

This brings me to the exciting news. When Mike and Nathan were talking to one of the IBESR authorities, they were told that since the earthquake IBESR had decided they needed a way to rate orphanages. They came up with a system that assigns a color code to each orphanage. The lowest being yellow, next best orange, then red and finally the best is given a green code. In the Gonaives section of the country there are many orphanages. After IBESR made their decision, there was one orphanage that did not even reach yellow and their orphanage was closed. They had about 20 children and the children were given away to other orphanages. One being our Haitian friend Perry's orphanage. Pastor Perry is in our pastor's association. Nathan was also offered 8 to 10 children. He told them no, not at this time. I believe he said this because, we would need more Nanny's and staff. It is difficult to find good staff and even harder to get them sponsored so that we can pay them a fair living wage for Haiti. We were then told that pastor Perry's orphanage had received a green color code which is the highest. Then Mike and Nathan were told that only two orphanages received the green color code in the Gonaives area and our orphanage was the other orphanage given the green color code. This is huge for us. We have been trying to follow through with what God has put before us. This is why 2 different times now, when children have been found that needed a safe place they have been brought to our orphanage. It is a huge YAHOO for God.

It is an answer to prayer as we have felt called to be a Christ centered, church centered ministry to the WHOLE community. Thank you so much to all of you that have helped to make the orphanage, schools, church and medical clinic possible. You have helped us to be a bright light in the community, and thereby making God the bright light in the community. Praise God!

Many blessings,

Chris

November 17, 2011

Hello again,

Today was a good day for the team. Bergerlande continues to do well. She is no longer sick. She runs around, laughs and plays with the other children. Praise God for His mercies.

In the morning the team went up to visit Pass Rien. They handed out candy and some clothes from one of our containers. The witch doctor was not at home, so they were not able to meet with her. Please continue to pray for her salvation. In the past she has shown Mike and pastor Nathan the place where she does her voodoo ceremonies. She has asked Mike while there if he is afraid, multiple times. He always answers her back  no, that his God is more powerful. So today the team went into her voodoo worship place and spent time praying against the powers of darkness and claiming the area for Christ. Then they spent time praying over and claiming the piece of land where we would like to build the school and church. They prayed on the concrete pad that once had been the front steps to a church that apparently years ago had blown down in one of the storms, and had never been rebuilt. The witch doctor owns this piece of property, along with much of the property in the area.

The last few days Mike noticed a new girl helping with the laundry, he had said hi and acknowledged her, but had not really spent much time talking to her. Some of the other women at the orphanage said she was filling in for another worker. This afternoon, Mike felt like God said to go and talk to her. So he did, He asked her if she was hungry and she said she was, so he took her to the dining room and got her something to eat and found our interpreter and started to ask her about herself. He said at first she was embarrassed and had a hard time talking. She said she had a baby and a husband, but as she became more comfortable talking she admitted she actually had another child also and she was not really married. She had been a Christan and had made a mistake and become pregnant. The church she had been going to kicked her out. She also had been going to school, but because of being pregnant and poor she had to stop going. So four years later she was poor, uneducated, had no clothing, was living with a man, and was ashamed. Mike shared with her that God loves her. That God wants us to do things in the right order for blessings. That God was not punishing her. Mike asked her if she wanted to give her life to Jesus again. She said yes. He told her our church would not discriminate against her clothes. Then he asked her if she thought the father of her children would want to hear what he had said to her. She said he might, so Mike told her to go and see if he would come talk to Mike. So she went to ask and brought him and the children back. Mike talked to him and he too gave his life to the Lord. Mike gave her little girl a pillowcase dress and some candy, then he took them to meet Nathan's father, pastor Nathaniel. He assured them he would greet them warmly on Sunday and that he was proud of the choice that they had just made. They said they were going to go home and share with her mother, whom they lived with and see if she would come to church with them. Praise God!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow morning (Friday), or rather tonight, at 3:30 AM Haitian time, 1:30 AM our time, literally in just a couple of hours from now, the team will leave for Port-au-Prince and start heading home. Please pray for safe travel and on time connections. This trip, the team has members who have all been to Haiti with us before, so Mike and Nathan will be seeing them to the airport and then Mike will be traveling back up north to Archaie. Mike wants to set aside some spiritual time for God. He believes that since he is ministering in Haiti, that it makes sense to spend the time in Haiti. Please pray for Mike over the next 4 days, for his protection. Also please pray for words, dreams, and clarity from God. Please pray for vision, understanding, direction and that he hears Gods heart.

Thank you soooooooo much for all of the prayers you have prayed over the last 10 days. We truly could not accomplish everything without your support.

Blessings,
                                                                      Pass Rien
Chris

The concrete pad from the old church.

--

Baptizing

The band gets ready

The procession starts

Others join as the procession goes along 

Teaching 

Baptizing

They are covered with white as they leave the water

Ending in prayer

Some of the activities

Playing 

Goup

Sidewalk chalk

Glo sticks

                               Holding babies

Doing hair

Hanging 

Hello,

This morning started off with a precious sight. Bergerlande, the new girl I wrote about a few days ago, came in with a giant grin on her face. She was ready for her first day of school. Apparently she had been sick and was given medicine by Dr. Ralph, and she was doing better now. Also, she did not have shoes to wear to school, so she had been taken into town to get shoes and a pair of white frilly socks. So, in a borrowed school uniform with her hair done up, new shoes, socks, and a borrowed school back pack from Mannrose, she came to get her photo taken. Mike said she was very excited.

Later the team went into Gonaives. They walked around town some and purchased supplies. Before lunch they went to Emory's to feed the children. Mike said it went well. Emory's team came back to the orphanage later for lunch with our team. In the afternoon the team did crafts with the children. Usually all the children enjoy crafts, it does not matter if they are a boy, a girl, young or one of the older children. It is something new to experience. While the team did crafts, Mike went to Peru to teach the bible study. He said it was a powerful and fun experience. When everyone started to gather, the woman whose leg had been healed during the all night prayer and worship time, came running up to him calling out "pastor Mike, pastor Mike" pointing to her leg. She was thrilled about being healed and wanted him to know she was still doing well. In the evening the team did glo sticks with the children and had devotions.

Tomorrow the team will be going to Pass Rien, please continue to lift up the property and the witch doctor to God. Pray that he continues to draw her heart towards him.

Pray for the team also, as tomorrow will be their last day at the orphanage. It is hard to say goodbye to the children, especially for the ones that are adopting. They will start traveling very early Friday morning. Again, many thanks for all of your prayers.

Blessings,

Chris

Feeding the poor in Gonaives

Hello again,

Today the team went into Gonaives and visited our school. They passed out candy and saw the children. They also went into Gonaives to buy supplies. Later, Mike and Nathan met with the mayor of Gonaives. We originally heard that the city of Gonaives, the third largest in Haiti, was going to have a power grid, giving some of the people electricity. The power poles went up, but stopped short of our orphanage. People in Marose have asked for the power to come to their village. Marose is about 20 mins. or so outside of Gonaives.  The main highway going north from the city goes right past us. So Mike and Nathan met with the mayor and explained how important power would be to the medical clinic, school, church and orphanage. They explained about our plans to start a market on the other side of the church next spring. They explained how we were in the process of having micro loans for people to start business's with, and how we were going to teach classes on business. They explained how our containers would be remolded and set up as shops. How it would bring jobs and commerce to the area. They told the mayor he could be at the grand opening and that it would be good for votes. He told Mike and Nathan that he would get back to them. He called Nathan later in the afternoon and said he had worked it out so that if we could buy 15 power poles, he would take care of the labor, wire, etc. This may be really good news. We have everything wired to run on the diesel generator. But, we also wired it to run on solar power and electricity, all three of which could be feeding into batteries to store the extra power created, but not used. We  have had a system designed, and are now in the process of locating and purchasing the needed inverter and the right type of batteries. Even in Port-au-Prince the power grid is not dependable, it may come on for an hour, then go off and come on in the middle of the night for 3 or 4 hours. Then not come back on for days. So, we know the power would not be dependable, but we could store it along with other sources of power and then have dependable power. This is part of our helping the orphanage to become self sustaining, so that we can minister in even more villages. Please pray for this possibility, as we already have people in place that are working on the market remodeling, micro business loans  and the business classes.
Mike shared a fun thing the team experienced today. Doo Doo, our traveling souvenir salesman made the team lobster with a homemade dipping sauce of citrus and peppers and lemons. Mike said all of the team was not up for trying it, but the ones who did really enjoyed it.
Mike said the meeting with the Good Shepherd pastors was powerful today. He shared vision, and what he thought the next season would look like.They talked about building a good foundation and leadership structure.
They talked about how it was a team effort. Nathan helped Mike to share some of this, which was encouraging.
You know someone is understanding what you are trying to share, when they can turn around to others and teach it. Thank you so much for your prayers today, they made a huge difference.
The team cooked popcorn for the children and staff at the orphanage tonight as a treat. They spent time again with the children just hanging out and loving them.
Tomorrow they will be feeding the poorest of the poor in Gonaives again. Please pray for the team as I have said in the past, this can be hard.
Thank you so much for partnering with us in prayer.

Blessings,

Chris

Hello

Mike called this evening. He said last night he forgot to share that the team made pizza for the orphanage. We try to take one new food every trip. The children had fun eating it, they love trying the new foods the teams come up with.

This morning the team went to Peru, the stayed so long though that they never made it to Pass Rien. They spent time visiting and passing out candy. They also walked to Yolin's. Mike said he is giggling now by the time the team reaches his hut. This January will be a year from when we first met him. He has come a long way. The team blew bubbles for him again, bubbles is what opened him up, he just loves them. It is such a privilege to bless him and his family. The team also saw the first tent up and full of school children. Mike said they did a great job setting it up. I will post photos when the team gets back. They also were able to go to Gros-Morone, to visit Nathan's sister Betsy. She is interning at a hospital after going through nursing school. The ministry has helped her to afford this, she would like to be a nurse at our medical clinic when she is finished with her internship.They spent the rest of the evening playing with the children and doing devotions.

Tomorrow Mike will be teaching our 5 Good Shepherd pastors. Please pray again for open hearts and spirits. They are part of the pastor's association and are taught each trip during the pastor's conference. They also have a secondary teaching and meeting time as they are over the churches and schools in the villages we minister in, and are on staff with us. In the afternoon the team will go into Gonaives to the market. They will also do crafts with the children. Mike is hoping to be able to visit Pass Rien on Thursday instead. Thank you so very much for your prayers.

Blessings,

Chris

Sunday November 13, 2011

Hello,

I heard from the team tonight. They are doing great. Thank you to all who prayed during the all night prayer and worship meeting on Friday. It started off with good worship and 4-5 pastors sharing a short message, then about 2 hours of really good worship. Then one of Pastors taught for about an hour. After that even better worship and prayer. Mike said there was one lady in particular that needed to be set free, and after much prayer and then focusing on worshiping God and giving him the glory, she was finally set free and then many people came forward for salvation's, healings and to be set free. God really moved among the people and many testimonies were shared.

The Pastors conference on Saturday went well. They are always so eager to learn. Mike has had some leadership training meetings also, which have been well received. The world would have us believe that the ideal form of leadership is in the shape of a triangle, with the top leader on the top of the triangle. Jesus teaches us about servant leadership, in which case the triangle is upside down. In a nutshell the leaders both lead and serve. After the pastors conference the team went down to the river. In the afternoon our friend Dixie and her team visited our orphanage. Dixie and her family have a ministry called Hope in Haiti  http://hopeinhaiti.com/

This morning (Sunday) Nathan preached in his brother-in-laws church near Archaie. Mike preached in Marose and said that about 50 people came forward for Salvation, rededication and/or healing.

In the afternoon 4-5 adults and a dozen children came from Emory's and hung out at the orphanage until early evening. They were joined by others from around the area. Then the Marose church had children's church. Sandy Love one of our orphans preached. Gamaniel, another one of our orphans lead worship, and Wisdarline the oldest girl in our orphanage was head of the music program, which is having others come up front to sing. Another little girl did the bible reading. Mike said they all did a really good job.

Tomorrow the team will be traveling to Peru during the first part of the day and to Pass Rien in the later part of the day. Please pray for God's spirit to go ahead of them. The witch doctor in Pass Rien that owns the property to build the church on, is still changing her mind in regards to giving the property up for a church. She had promised in front of the community, but keeps pushing the signing of the papers off to the next week. It is the only available level piece of property to build on in the community. Last May when Mike stood with Nathan and the team on this piece of land, Mike had asked God if they were supposed to start a church here. He had been teaching the pastors about declaring that the kingdom of God has come. He felt like God  said well are you going to declare it? So he did verbally declare that the kingdom of God has come to Pass Rien. Some one than tapped him on the shoulder and asked him if he would help them become a christian. Before they left that day, many more accepted Christ in their hearts. As I have shared in the past this women has asked Nathan and Mike many questions about becoming a christian. She is very high up in Voodoo and has messed with the worse. She has shared, that because of what she has experienced, she is afraid now that she is getting older of what Satan can do to her. On the other hand she is afraid of God, because of what she has done to others. But we believe she will give her life to Christ. One of our prayer partners had a vision of her in a dark doorway and the eyes of many people behind her peering into the light, trying to see. We think that when she gives herself to God that it will be like opening a flood gate. That many will come forward. We believe we are to plant a church there and claim the territory for God. Already since May there are about 100 people that have given their lives to the Lord in Pass Rien. We have a Good shepherd pastor that teaches on Sunday and one evening a week. He also spends time in the community through out the week. We also have a youth group once a week.

God is definitely moving in Pass Rien. We do have another tent we would like to put up in Pass Rien for a church. We also would like to start a school there in January or next fall. So please pray for the heart and salvation of this women and that she would sign the property over to the Good shepherd ministry. Please pray that the people in Pass Rien would have a church and a school.

Thank you again for all of your prayers, your partnering with us in prayer makes all of the difference.

Blessings,

Chris

Hello again,


Please read through to the bottom of this letter, I promise you will be blessed!

Wohoo! The orphanage has Internet! With equipment donated by Phil and Kyle and the tech support of Kyle, along with Chuck being at the orphanage to carry out the instructions, we finally have Internet in the office using a laptop donated by the Canadian RCMP's via Ed. It has taken a long time, a lot of work, and a lot of help from many friends to work out many complications and inconsistencies. Thank you so much. Mike was actually able to print off one of his sermons in Creole for the Pastors conference tomorrow. Please remember to lift them up in prayer as they travel, mostly by foot, to learn more about God and life giving churches. Pray for open hearts and minds, and that Mikes words would be what God wants to say.

The team was also able to move all of the tools and work bench from a make shift shop in a container into the lockable generator room, a lot cooler than working in a metal 40ft. container with inside temps. reaching somewhere around 120 degrees. Praise God!

Thanks to Rose, another good friend, Mike was able to introduce a simple form of bookkeeping to our new secretary. Rose designed, and had translated a ledger book along with instructions in Creole. Mike said Eleazar understood  and was excited to implement the new plan. Another praise report!

When Mike called he was taking a break from the all night prayer and worship meeting. He said that the worship so far has been fantastic. Please remember to pray for them as they wanted us to partner with them in prayer through out the night. There are still some open slots in the middle of the night if anyone else would like to commit to a specific hour  :)

Also, tomorrow we have a very special friend of ours visiting our orphanage. Her name is Dixie, she took care of our first adopted Haitian son in Haiti 22 years ago. Jesse was our first adopted Haitian child, we now have four Haitian children, hopefully God willing, we will have 6 Haitian children before next year is over. She has a ministry in Dessalines, Haiti. Her team is coming to visit and hopefully glean some things from our ministry. We love partnering with other ministries, sharing what has worked and what has not. Hopefully it will save some of us from having to  reinvent the wheel over and over again. Dixie and her family have been a blessing to us and hold a special place in our hearts. A bonus is that she gets our heart and passion and we get hers :) Again Praise God!

And now for the praise story. When we made up the Christmas presents for the children to take on this trip, I felt like we were supposed to make two extra ones, one for a boy and one for a girl. So that, on Christmas day they would be there when the gifts were passed out. Today a new boy about 10 years  old showed up, with the usual story. Then IBESR also showed up via the UN Police. IBESR (the Haitian government's child protection agency) has once before brought us a severely beaten little boy, who now lives safely in the orphanage. We praise God that the authorities recognise that the orphanage is a safe haven for children. Well this time, they brought a girl whose parents had both died. Her grandmother had been taking care of her, but became unable to support her so she was sold. The living arrangements needless to say were not good and she ran away. The police found her and she ended up being brought to our orphanage. In Haiti usually life just happens to you and you have little control over it. In the case of a child you have NO control and adults do not take the time to tell you what is happening. Mike said she seemed the size of a young girl, but her hair and clothing which were a mess made her look like she was 16 years old. She was dropped off with no explanation as to what would be happening to her. She started to cry as the authorities drove off. Mike gave her a hug and tried to comfort her and started crying himself. After a while he had Mannrose, the girl we are adopting and her friend Ferentrice talk to her and then show her what room she would be in. Mike then went to a meeting and when it was over he went to check on her. He couldn't find her at first, because he did not recognize her. Mannrose and Ferentrice had cleaned her up, shared their clothes with her and fixed her hair. Mike said she now looks like the 10 year old little girl that she is. She said she had become a Christian when she was 5 years old and loved to go to church. She said her dream was to one day go to school. Monday she will start school. God is so very good. He truly does hear the cry of the orphan. We serve a GREAT GOD who deserves all of our PRAISE!!!

Thank you all for partnering along with us, helping us to be the hands and feet of God.

Many Blessings,

Chris

Hello,


Today the team spent a good portion of the day playing with the children. They also did the maintenance work I mentioned last night. They now have a list of supplies they need from town when they go into Gonaives tomorrow. On each trip we try to spend approximately 1/3 of the time doing relationship, with the children, staff and people from all 4 of the areas we minister in. We also try to spend 1/3 of the time doing ministry and 1/3 of the time doing projects. We prefer to hire the Haitians in the community to help the economy and help them provide for their families. It does not make a whole lot of sense to us to send Americans down to do what the community members could do. As far as the relationship part goes, Haiti puts relationship first, before all else, I think North Americans could learn something from that. Haiti is a very warm climate relationally speaking and North America is considered a cool climate relationally.
Adam joined the team today, he has spent the last few days learning some more about drilling wells in Haiti. He and Jason are signed up for the first available class on drilling wells for water held in Texas this spring.
Tomorrow the team will visit the Gonaives church and get supplies from Gonaives. Mike will also be having meetings with a contractor and some of the staff. Tomorrow evening there will be an all night prayer and worship time. They would like us to partner with them. So, if there would be a time between 4:00 PM and 8:00Am that any of you would like to commit to praying during, please let me know. We would like to have a few  people praying each hour through out the night also. Haiti is 2 hours ahead of us right now. 
Mike has, is and will be teaching on leadership from a  biblical perspective versus a cultural perspective through out this trip. Please pray for the Holy Spirits leading and preparing. Pastor Nathan has already shared that as he has preached on some verses out of Daniel, that Mike had shared with him, three different times the Lord showed him something new about leading that is different than how leaders lead culturally in Haiti. Evidence that God has already been preparing the way. Pray that Mike's teaching will be from God and not of himself. When Mike saw Nathan last he shared out of the book of Daniel about daring to be different than the culture around you. Thank you so much for your faithful prayers. 


Blessings,


Chris

November 9, 2011

The team has arrived safely at the orphanage. Thank you so much for your prayers. Tomorrow they will be doing maintenance work, things like changing filters in the generator, and motorcycles, checking the well pump, buying propane, etc. They will also finish planning the rest of the trip out. And of course they will be spending time with the children. Please continue to pray for Jean Jacques, the little girl with the heart condition. Mike has talked to  Dr. Ralph about arranging the necessary tests for her.
One of the jobs the team was going to do while in Haiti, was  to put up a military style half cylinder tent in Peru that will hold approx. 150 adults for church and more children for school. Mike said that our Christian education director already has set up the tent for Peru! The tent is really heavy duty and long lasting. I believe the cost of one is about $20,000. Two tents were very generously donated to our ministry. One is now set up in Peru and the other one will be set up in Pass Rien, as soon as we own the property. The witch doctor keeps changing her mind about giving the property to us. Apparently she keeps telling Nathan next week she will sign over the property. Please pray that while the team is in Haiti, that the property is secured and that they are able to set up the other tent for the church in Pass Rien. I will write again tomorrow to let you know of other prayer requests. Thank you again for your prayers.
Blessings,
Chris

Most of our November team (missing Adam)

Hello,

Our November team left for Haiti tonight. They will fly out of Seattle in about 1 hour. We would greatly appreciate your prayers for safe and on time travel. They are taking all of the Christmas gifts for the orphanage children and staff. 7-1/2 bins of gifts, each weighing approximately 50 pounds :) Thank you to all who helped make Christmas happen for the orphanage children, orphanage staff and pastors of our 4 Good Shepherd Churches.

In the past I have mentioned a little girl who was an infant 2 years ago when we first met her. Dr. Ralph in our medical clinic and our family doctor who has spent time in our medical clinic both believe she has a hole in her heart. A while ago the mother was told by a third doctor in Haiti, that unless she has surgery she will not live very long. We, along with our doctor have made several attempts to find a pediatric heart surgeon and a hospital that would be willing to perform surgery on her. We can not even begin applying for a passport or medical visa without a doctor or hospital, anesthesiologist, nurses, etc already in place. In the past the hospital has been the problem. But we have good news and hope. We now have a willing hospital, if we can get everything arranged and approved by March. So please join us in prayer for this little girl. Much will have to happen quicker than usual for this to work out. Mike will be trying to have some of the preliminary tests and ultra sounds done while he is in Haiti, so that he can get things moving for her. Her name is Jean Jacques. We would greatly appreciate your prayers for her health and all that is required to help her.

Blessings,

Chris

Prayer Partners and Bloggers: Chris and I just wanted to take the much needed time to tell all of you how much we Thank You for all of your support and prayers and encouragement to us personally, and for this ministry to the children and people in Haiti. We are so very very grateful to each and every one of you. There is no way that we could follow Jesus into this type of international ministry without the support that our prayer partners provide.

I am convinced that when we go to be with Jesus in eternity, after our confession of faith in Him, we will be questioned about His greatest commandment. "Did we love Him with all our hearts, minds, and strength, and did we love, encourage and support one another?" You have......... and it is our great pleasure to thank you for doing so, on behalf of the orphans, the hungry, the naked, the uneducated and the lost in Haiti.
Mike

Hello,

Just a short e-mail to let you know of two praise reports. First, each evening last week our church in Marose held revival meetings. God really moved and there were 40 salvation's during the week. Which is wonderful!!!!!!

Second, today the first of two 40ft containers left headed for Haiti, they will be shipped out of Florida. The containers were mostly school supplies and Gleaners soup. There were also some orphanage supplies, building tools, medical supplies and all of the kitchen items from the" mission store" fundraiser, along with about 1200 flip flops. And 3600 pounds of rice. Rice in Haiti right now is $70 for a 50lb. bag, rice in Bellingham is $17.98 for a 50lb. bag of rice. We spent $1294.56 on the rice. In Haiti the same rice would have been $5040.00, which is a savings of $3745.44. We were able to do this because of two very generous donations for food we received. Please pray for safe and inexpensive trucking, shipping, dock fees and transportation from the port to the orphanage. It will be such a blessing to the orphanage, school children, and the community through the medical clinic and church. Thank you to all who donated, gathered supplies, loaded containers, provided the equipment for loading, weighed the trucks and trucked the gleaners food for free from the Okanagan. We literally could not have blessed the four communities in Haiti without your help. God has brought many of us together to literally be his hands and feet. Thank you so much for partnering with us.

Many Blessings,

Chris

Hello

Thank you so much for all of your prayers for the team as they flew home. We greatly appreciate them.

I am writing to let everyone know the team is home finally. When they arrived in Miami Friday, they had a 4 hour and 50 min. layover before their next flight (you would think this would have been long enough), they went through immigration and then customs like usual. They then boarded their plane and the plane taxied out onto the run way, only to sit there for 1hour and 47 minutes. They were told they were waiting out a rain shower (which they never saw) on the other end of the runway. They saw other planes fly out. Then the pilot announced they needed to refuel, then they were told the plane was having mechanical problems. Probably a good thing they did not fly out. By the time they were allowed to fly out on another plane to LAX, there were no flights from LAX to Seattle. Because of the 3 hour time difference they arrived in LAX at 12:47pm after all fights were over for the night. So Instead of arriving in Seattle Friday night just before midnight, they arrived Saturday morning at 8:45. It seems like no matter who books, professional or otherwise flying just proves to be complicated and undependable coming home from Haiti.

The team all said they had a great trip and felt very blessed and extremely unified. Thank you so much for praying for them while in Haiti. It is such a privilege to be able to help the people of Haiti. Thank you for partnering with us and helping to support the orphanage, schools, churches and medical clinic. Prayer so obviously makes all the difference. Please continue to lift the children, staff, schools, teachers, pastors, churches and medical clinic up in prayer. They are all in the battle spiritually every day.

Many Blessings,

Chris

View from across the valley of the orphanage and cross on the mountain

Hello,

Today the team spent time up on the mountain. They also had one last day in the river with the children. And they went into Gonaives to visit the market and walk around the town. Gonaives was Haiti's 3rd largest city before the earthquake. I am not sure if the earthquake changed that or not. It definitely has a different feel and atmosphere to it. Marose on the other hand is very rural and has a small village feel to it. It is very dry and bare, not green like Peru or Pass Rien.

Jesse was not able to meet with any relatives of his in Haiti. The pastor, who is a partner of our friend, was trying to understand the information we gave him through our friend, and thought he had the relatives figured out. He had a photo of a white couple with a Haitian boy, who he thought might be us. He ended up surprising Jesse by coming to our orphanage from Dessalines, which is about an hour away. He spent time talking with Mike, Nathan and Jesse. Mike said the photo was not of us or Jesse. But Jesse gave him the copy of his Haitian birth certificate. So now it is not a language/translation issue, it is a find the rest of the story issue. In the U.S. or Canada, the government can track anyone. And everyone has an address. There are some addresses in Haiti, but most people live in a lettered section of an area. Not at an exact address. There is no mail delivery. And there is no registry of names of people and where they live. You find people by word of mouth. Nathan also knew of the orphanage Jesse is from and knows people in Dessalines. So the two of them said they will do more investigating and try to work it out for another trip. The pastor was a 20 year old boy working at the orphanage when Jesse lived there. We appreciate all of you who prayed for Jesse today.



The team ended the evening playing with the children and then worshiping together. The children prayed over the team and the team prayed over the orphanage children. The team will be leaving the orphanage to travel to Port-au-Prince in the middle of the night tonight. They will leave at 2:30 am Haitian time, which is 12:30 am our time. Please pray for safe traveling and on time flight connections. I will write an update after the team gets home. Thanks and

Blessings,

Chris

Hello,
The team is doing great.
The team went into Gonaives and feed the children today. Then they went to Emory's house and had lunch, with some of his group.

They played in the river with the children one more time. Then they headed up to the village of Peru. It started to pour down rain once they arrived. As previous teams know, this can be a big deal. They probably would not have made it up to Peru, if it had started to rain on the way. They went into the church and Mike shared a message. They had a prayer time, and just as they finished, the rain stopped. They then hiked down to visit the crippled boy our ministry helps. Mike said that the dirt road had become a river and it was pretty slick. His mother came running out to great the team. Mike said by the time the team arrived at his house, he was laughing and excited, like a child at Christmas. They visited with him and prayed for him, then gave him and his mother the gifts they had brought. We have one very generous family in our ministry that supports him and the team also makes up a package of food and clothing for him and his family each trip. They spent some time talking with his mother also. She said she so appreciates all that is done for them. Like I have said before, I think this is a witness to the community that God values human life, even if they are not perfect in man's eyes. He loves them. This is very counter culture in Haiti. The team then had too hike back up to the church and use 4 wheel drive to get back to Marose.

In the evening they played with the children and had devotionals on perspectives. Mike said that there was a beautiful lightening storm going on when he called me. Because of the heat you get some pretty wild lightening in Haiti.

Tomorrow they will spend most of the day with the children and staff. In the morning they will go into Gonaives to see the market. Also there is a possibility that our son Jesse may be able to meet his father or other living relatives from the Dessalines area, thanks to a friend of ours from 20 plus years ago. She was a missionary in Haiti at the orphanage Jesse came from. Her family left Haiti 18 plus years ago, but like us they have been called back to ministering in Haiti again. She has put us in contact with her partner and pastor from Dessalines. He has been trying to find some of Jesse's relatives. This is very important to Jesse and will be very hard for him and wonderful at the same time. Please pray that the pastor is able to make connections and that Jesse will be able to meet them. Also please pray for Jesse's heart as this will be hard emotionally and spiritually also.

Usually when the team has an early flight out of Port-au-Prince on Friday morning, they drive down to Bercy to stay for the night. Then they only have 1 1/2 hours of driving to the airport in Port-au-Prince. This team said they would rather stay one more day at the orphanage and get up very early Friday morning (really the middle of the night) to travel to Port-au-Prince. They do not want to leave the children until they have to :) Thank you so much for your continued prayers.

Blessings,

Chris

Feeding the poor in Gonaives

Peru

Patti blowing bubbles :)

Peru

Hello again,

Jacob helped the team rewire the church today. They said it made a huge difference, you can actually see in the church now. Typically in Haiti everything runs on one little wire for hundreds of feet. Because of this, there is very little power that actually reaches the area in need. They also hung the new shower curtains on the walls they built up in the bathrooms the other day. Mia finished measuring the women for bras and they passed out "girls day kits". This is something we take for granted in the U.S. and Canada. Women can not just go to the store and buy feminine products for their monthly cycle in Haiti. In Lynden we have a group of generous women who have sewn washable pads for us that go into kits, these kits are called "girls day" and come with underwear, wash clothes and soap. We brought some kits for the older girls in the orphanage and the nanny's this trip. We also pass them out to the community through the medical clinic and have women's health classes periodically. The team also made the "goup" today. They hauled 2 tables outside and put the "goup" in large baking pans. Mike said at first everyone was afraid to touch it. But once they did they thoroughly enjoyed it. He said it was both crazy and funny with all of the children trying to play in it. Some tried to take it back to their rooms. Luckily it washes up very easily with plain water. Mia and Kayleigh are being bitten by mosquito's, the boys seem to not be bothered by them. Please remember to continue to pray for the team's health and for the staff and orphanage children's health.

In the afternoon the team went up to Pass Rien. The first thing they did was to go up the hill to where the concrete pad is. This is on the witch doctor's property. It is where we had the revival in July. As far as we know, it is the only large flat piece of land available. All of the land around it is steep and rocky. This piece is a large grassy plateau. It is where Mike, Nathan and the May team had so many people come up to them and ask them to pray for salvation. It is where we believe we are supposed to put the church. So when they arrived, Mike shared with them what I wrote in last nights prayer partner e-mail. He also shared that I thought God was saying to not be concerned about the victory, like when Joshua was fighting for the promised land. To not be concerned about the fact that the witch doctor's coming to salvation seemed impossible. In fact sometimes he told the Israelites to take only a small part of the army to fight against the enemies in the land. He wanted it to be obvious that He had won the battle for them. And when they became arrogant and fought with their own strength, they usually got their butts kicked. He wanted them to depend on Him. To look to Him and give Him all of the glory. Mike shared with the team that he felt like similar to Joshua, the victory had already been won. The new territory was theirs. And like Joshua and his army we just need to have faith and rid the land of the enemies. So the team got on their knees and prayed. Jeremy felt like God was saying that the land was underwater like the red sea, and God was going to part the waters and have the victory. That God was going to start on that small piece of concrete and grow his people. That He would be victorious. While the team was praying the witch doctor came up, they told her they were praying for her. She said that was good, but she still was not ready. She handed Mike and Nathan a letter written by her daughter. In the letter they said they would sell that land to us for $30,000. U.S. Mike and Nathan responded by saying that was not going to happen. So, she said because we were a ministry for God she would only ask $5000. Mike and Nathan responded the same way. Land in the mountains of Haiti is not worth that much. Some of the other villagers started arguing with her, because they had been coming to her and asking her to let us build them a church there. She had told them that she would and now she was asking a huge price for the land. Mike said either because of the crowd or because of God's prompting (personally I think it was God) she said she had a big announcement to make. She was going to let us have the land for free. Nathan then said that he was not about to build a church on property that she said was free, he would only build on the land if she would go before the judge and sign a deed for the land stating she gave it to us for free. She said she would. Please pray that she will do as she has said. This would truly be a miracle. We also had a few people on prayer partners share that they had read the same verses this morning, that I wrote in the prayer partner e-mail and that they believed that the victory has already been won, it is just a matter of time. So please continue to pray for this women and the land and the people of Pass Rien. And thank you to all who prayed, fasted and gave words. Victory comes when we work together with God. We appreciate the support very much.

Tomorrow morning the team will be going to Gonaives to feed the poorest of the poor. Again please pray for the team, as I have shared in the past, feeding these children is one of the hardest, but most rewarding parts of the trip for many. It is hard knowing that this will probably be the only meal these children receive that day. They will see a lot of poverty and health issues. This is where the team literally gets to be the hands and feet of Jesus reaching out to these children. Please pray for them as they process what they experience.

In the afternoon the team will go to Peru to visit one of the other village's we minister in. They will also visit the crippled boy that we have been praying for and ministering to. Usually he is very shy and quiet and will not give you eye contact. He has been slowly warming up to us. When Patti started blowing bubbles during the July trip he started giggling and Mike said it was so precious that the whole team stood silently watching in amazement as he opened up and giggled for about 15 minutes. Please pray for them as they minister in Peru tomorrow.

Blessings,

Chris

September 5, 2011

Hello,

It has been another great day for the team. This morning each team member shared something with the pastors in our association. A word of encouragement, an appreciation, a scripture, something they felt they were supposed to share for about 5 - 6 minutes. Then Mike taught and they had worship. They took a lunch break and Mike and Nathan spent the afternoon at the round table talks, which were good. The team went swimming in the river with the children again. It was really hot in Haiti today. At 11:30 pm tonight, Haiti time, it has cooled down to 86 degrees, that is 30 Celsius :) When some of the team came up from the river they were disappointed that they had missed the prayer time with the pastors. Later, they worked on screening more windows until they ran out of screen tape. The July team did some of the screening and this team finished up the bedroom windows, so that building #1 is totally screened. The team also did some of building #2. Mia one of the girls on the team who has had training on fitting women for bras spent time today fitting the older girls and will also do fittings for the staff. This is something that we have been wanting to do for some time now. The team also made the peanut butter cookies for the children, which the children and staff loved.

Tomorrow some of the team will be wiring lights in the church. Also the team will be making "goup" tomorrow. The children will love playing in the "goup" with the team. "Goup" is a mixture of cornstarch and water. You do not cook it. You just need to get the proportions right. You play in it with your hands. If you pick it up in an open hand it melts and runs and drips through your fingers. But at the same time you can pick it up and break it. My older kids all loved playing with it growing up. My guess is even the staff will have their hands in this project.

Tomorrow the team will also be going up to Pass Rien, our new village. They will be visiting the villager's, passing out candy to the children and having a prayer time. I have shared in a past e-mail about a women who is a witch doctor in Pass Rien and who is also very influential. During the last trip one of our prayer partners had a vision of this women standing in a doorway with total darkness behind her looking out of the doorway towards the light. They said there were many eyes behind her peering over and around her from inside the doorway that was filled with darkness. It was like they were trying to see what was out in the light. This women has shared with Mike and Nathan that she wants to know more about Jesus. She has also shared that she has had relations with one of the top witch doctors in Haiti and has had a child by him. This man recently died. She has also shared that she has seen satan's power and what he can do, and now that she is getting old she is afraid of what he can do to her. But, because of what she has participated in, she is afraid of Jesus. I believe that the vision of this women has another part to it. I believe that if she would give her life to the Lord and let him save her, that many would give their hearts to God. I believe that she is like a gate keeper and if she opened up her heart, it would open up the flood gates and release those held captive behind her. I think she is like a key to the door. Please pray that she can push through her fear and give her heart to Jesus and that she can be set free from satan's bondage. Please pray that she can see that God is more powerful, more merciful and that he loves her and can cleanse her. In Matthew 17 there is a story of a father asking the disciples to cast a demon out of his son and they are unsuccessful. When they ask Jesus why? He responds that it is because they have so little faith. But if they had faith the size of a mustard seed they could say to the mountain to move from here to there and it would move. Matthew 17:21 says "But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." In a commentary I read, it says "Jesus was teaching that some work for God is more difficult than others and requires a greater than usual dependence on God.This verse does not mean that prayer and fasting alone would have accomplished the miracle. Prayer and fasting indicate faith and humility before God, without which there can be no hope of success." Please consider fasting tomorrow for this women and pray for the faith of a mustard seed for the team and Mike and Nathan when they talk with this women tomorrow. Thank you so much.

Blessings,

Chris

September 4, 2011

Hello again,

The team had another good day. Mike said when the team gathered tonight they all shared their high points of the trip so far, and they all said they had no low points :) There has been team unity, openness, a lot of good discussions and thought processing going on.

This morning Nathan, Matt and Jeremy went to the Good Shepherd church in Gonaives. Nathan and Jeremy preached. They had one salvation and many others asked for prayer for sickness or healing. The rest of the team went to our Good Shepherd church in Marose, where Mike spoke. In Haiti they have a marching band play as they walk to the river for baptisms. The band met at the Marose church, but because the baptisms were in Gonaives, Nathan knew the children would be disappointed that they would not be able to be part of the procession to the river. So he had the band play for the children as they walked a couple of miles up the road and back. Mike said the children had a blast. Then the band and the team left for Gonaives. Nathan and Pastor Praviel (our Gonaives pastor) said that since we leased the new building in July, the neighborhood has really come together and is building a community. Mike said there were about 100 people to watch and support the baptism. Usually as the band walks along playing, many others join the procession, so there are more people when they arrive at the river then when they started. The river in Gonaives is only about 3 blocks from the church. Haiti is not a GRAY place spiritually, it is very obviously BLACK AND WHITE. Mike said that 2 of the girls being baptized broke out of a type of singing group called death bands. He was told that the band members are very vulgar and do obscene things to entice people, kind of like a very wild party, which takes place during the night and then they murder them. These two former band members have become Christians, taken classes on baptism and were baptized today. God is soooooo Merciful. They had another God story today while they were baptizing in the river. A boy about 12 years old who was swimming in the river was watching the baptizing. After a while he asked if he could be baptised, so they talked to him and made sure he understood what they were doing and why. They asked him about himself and he said his father was a witch doctor, and he did not want to do what his father was doing. So they baptized him also. God is sooooo amazing.

Later on in the day the team put up more screening on the windows to keep bugs, especially mosquito's out. They also built up some of the cement walls for separations in the showers and to allow shower curtains to be hung, instead of plastic. In the evening they went to the last night of children's church. This has been going for 8 nights. Mike said each night they had a child (usually around 10 to 12 years old) preach. Mike said 3 different nights boys from our orphanage shared, the other 5 nights children from the community shared. Mike said one of our orphans named Sandy Love shared one night. He said that Sandy Love was an amazing preacher. He hardly even looked at his notes. Mike said that the children understand the spiritual part. The children led worship and chose all the songs, they planned everything. Mike said every night the church was packed and that the services were dynamic and powerful.

Tomorrow the Pastors association will meet. The pastors association is a group of pastors that Nathan and Mike have gathered together. They have agreed to put aside doctrinal issues and join together to reach the lost and hurting. Our 4 Good Shepherd pastors are part of the association. They are a great group. They will meet at 9:00 am in the morning, break for lunch and then have a round table type talk at 1:00 pm. Each team member will be sharing with the association for a few minutes, so please pray for boldness and wisdom as they share. Please pray for Mike as he teaches the pastors. Also please pray for pastor Charles, the head pastor of the association, he is very sick. The team and other pastors may go to his home to pray for him tomorrow.

As I have shared in past e-mails, each team we take to Haiti brings some kind of food to share that the children have never tried. So tomorrow the team will be making peanut butter cookies. They are using one of my favorite recipes, which is very easy. I encourage you to try them.

My Peanut Butter Cookies
1 cup of peanut butter (any kind, creamy, crunchy, healthy or not)
1 egg
1 cup of sugar

Mix, drop by spoonfuls on to a cookie sheet. If you like chocolate you can put a few chocolate chips on top. Bake at approximately 350 degrees for about 10 mins. As a bonus they are even gluten free :)

And no I did not make a mistake, there is NO flour in the cookies, and therefore they are very moist. Enjoy
Blessings,
Chris

September 3, 2011

Hello,

Tonight on the phone the team said they believe the youth rally was very successful and the team enjoyed themselves also. Friday and Saturday there were about 150 youth. Today many recommitted their lives to God. Thank you so much for your prayers. Also, both yesterday and today there were meetings with potential youth leaders. Jeremy and Jacob were part of a panel with Mike, put together as a forum for the pastors and youth leaders to ask questions about youth ministry. Mike said the youth leaders being trained seem to be of leadership quality. So we now have youth group leaders and the start of a youth group in all 4 of our Good Shepherd churches. Please pray for wisdom and guidance for the leaders. Jeremy also felt great today and no one else has felt sick, thank you for praying for the team's health. The team enjoyed the two weddings this afternoon. Our son Jesse and his fiance had quite a bit of dialog about the customs and culture involved in a Haitian wedding afterwards with Stanley (one of our interpreter's). The team went swimming in the river again with the children in the orphanage. The children found a channel that is narrower and deeper, which creates fairly fast water and rapids, when they hurl themselves in the water moves them along quickly and shoots them out the other end. The team had a blast going through this chute with them. The team has really enjoyed spending time with the children and the children are getting good at communicating with the teams.

For church and other important events the women iron the clothing with a very old, very heavy, black iron, literally made of iron. They have to heat it up over the fire, iron until it cools down and heat it up again. We have a photo of one of the women ironing in the orphanage.

It is utterly amazing that they get the clothes ironed so well, they are ironed better then ours. The women also get their white clothing whiter than we can get white clothing, and they are washing by hand in cold water :) Mike enjoys finding ways to make life a little easier for the women who work in the orphanage, so before this trip he bought an electrical iron for the women and took it with him to Haiti. He said they are thrilled with it. They can only iron in the evening when the generator supplies power, but they love it.

Tomorrow morning Mike will be preaching in the Marose church. Jeremy has been asked by Nathan to preach with him at our Good Shepherd church in Gonaives. Again please pray that God does the equipping and opens the ears and hearts of the Haitian people. Jeremy loves to be challenged, and pushed out of his comfort zone, I wish I could be there with him and the team. Nathan said that the moving of our Gonaives church has gone well, The area has come together and there is a strong community feel. There has been many salvations since they have moved into this building. Tomorrow the team was supposed to attend the baptism of 11 new believers, but now there are 28 people that want to be baptized :) God is soooooo good. Thank you so much for all of your prayers, as I have said before, they do make all the difference.

Blessings,

Chris

September 2, 2011

Hello again,

The team had a pretty good day today. Jeremy had some digestional issues, but is doing better tonight. It did not stop him from teaching and sharing. He just pushed through it. Mike said he and the twins, Jeremy and Jacob shared today along with Nathan and some of the Pastors from the association. They had teaching and worship in the morning and played games and soccer in the middle and then continued on with the teaching and worship. Mike said there were many who came forward for prayer and some came up to the team later on and asked for prayer because they were sick or hurting. In the evening the team did glow sticks with the children, which is a lot of fun for the team, children and even the staff.

Tomorrow the youth rally will go until about 12:00. Then they will head to Gonaives to attend the two weddings I mentioned yesterday. Please pray for the health of the team.

Also please pray that the youth, team, pastors and all involved come tomorrow with expectant hearts and that God shows up and not only meets, but exceeds their expectations.

Two thoughts come to mind as I write this tonight. The first "...your mission will require that you abandon your agenda and accept God's agenda for your life. You can't just TACK IT ON." You yield your rights, expectations, dreams, plans, and ambitions to Him. You hand God a blank sheet with your name signed at the bottom and tell HIM to fill in the details."-Rick Warren.

The second thought is something I heard years ago and have no idea who first said it, but it has rang true in my life over the years and I have seen it ring true in other's lives as they lean on Him. It is this, "God does not call the equipped, He equips the called." Please pray He does the equipping tomorrow, and thank you to all who lift the team up in prayer.

Blessings,

Chris

Hello,

I talked with the team tonight. They said they had a really good day. They unpacked bins. They also installed equipment that will allow us to have Internet access from the medical clinic all the way up the hill to the orphanage office. Two very generous friends, that work in the computer technology field and who help us up here, knew that the distance was too great to just run cable. They put their heads together and gave us the equipment and installation knowledge to take with us to Haiti. Mike says it seems to be working. The team also passed out gifts from some of the sponsors to their children in the orphanage. Mike said they gave Matt the camera and told him to take the photos of the children receiving their gifts. Matt said he took about "400 photos" and that "it was the funnest day he's had in a long time" :). The team also swam in the river with the children today and had a blast. As I write this at 10:07 PM, the temperature is still 84 degrees in Haiti. I am not sure what that translates into Celsius for you Canadians :) Our son in law donated a 10 foot projection screen, which the team carried to Haiti this trip, and his workplace donated a used projector a while ago. So the screen and projector were set up tonight to show the Jesus film. I am sure it was amazing for some of them to see a movie on a screen that large. It will be very useful in the future for many things.The team hiked up the mountain this evening before the rally started, and spent some time up there.

Tonight the youth rally was smaller than they anticipated. There was a little over 100 youth. They have been told tomorrow there will be more. But the number is not the important part, it is how lives are changed for the better. Feeding the youth was one of the first things they did tonight. Our team served them. It has been a good night so far, they spent some of the time in small groups sharing and praying, and they were in the middle of showing the Jesus film when Mike called me. Tomorrow is when the majority of the teaching, ministry and worship will be happening, please pray that God will be moving and that he will be leading all of those teaching and sharing.

Mike shared that the Gonaives church is growing and doing great, they have 2 weddings on Saturday that the team will attend and on Sunday there will be 11 baptisms. I love being able to participate in the Haitian culture when we are in Haiti, it is such a privilege to share in their lives.

Thanks so much for all of your support, we really appreciate it.

Blessings,

Chris