Saturday, May 28, 2011


The burnt Gonaives market

The burnt Gonaives market
Hi again,
The team is safely back. They had an incredible time. Salvations, baptisms, engagements, children, teaching, all a part of experiencing life with the people of Haiti. What a privilege. Thank you ever so much
for your prayers, they make such a difference.

On another note, Friday the market in the city of Gonaives burnt down. It was the main covered market in the city center and very large. Several people on our teams have walked through this market. A lot of people lost all they had in the fire. The new president of Haiti actually traveled to Gonaives to visit the market and people on Saturday, which is unheard of from past presidents. He has promised to rebuild the market, which also would be amazing. Please pray for the people who have lost so much.
Blessings,
Chris

The may team in Haiti

Mike sharing at the Pastors Conference

Jay teaching up on the mountain

Playing in a Pool was a totally new experience

Pastor Rusty sharing

Baptism at the Pastors and Leaders Conference

Jonas proposing to Nadine.

There are more photos below this one. Just click on OLDER POSTS below.

Adam arm wrestling with the kids

The airplanes the kids made

A Haitian form of public transportation

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Hello again,
Thanks so much for your prayers. The team said they had a neat day. They were able to spend a little more time then usual in Gonaives. They fed the children and spent some time walking through some of the houses being built by Emory's ministry. Then they had them for lunch back at our ministry. The team then said their
goodbyes to the children and had dinner at Nathan's. Then they went to Nathan's brother's house again for the night, because he is a couple of hours closer to the airport. Mike said it was raining today, but very hot. He said the air felt like a sauna.The team will be up and ready to leave around 4:00 AM in the morning, please pray for safe travel and good connections. They will be traveling most of the day and into the evening. I will send an update once the team is home. Again thanks for holding the team up in prayer.
Blessings,
Chris

Tuesday, May 24, 2011


Some of the children from Gonaives
Hello,
I talked with Mike again this evening. Mike says this has been a really good team and the team says it has been a really good trip. Four of the team members have never been on a trip with us before and 4 have been on trips with us in the past.
In the morning the team did a little touch up painting, and Adam did some rewiring of the generator and power.
Later the team visited our school in Peru. (Payroo) They spent time with the children and then did a little teaching with the people choosing to be baptized today. We usually hike through the village down to a deep hole to do baptisms, but the river was too low to baptize anyone, which is not good since this is the village's water source still, for washing, bathing, cooking and drinking. They had to drive to the big river to baptize this time. Ironically when they arrived it started pouring. Some asked if they were still going to do the baptisms. Mike and Nathan figured they were going to get wet anyway and so were those being baptized, so they weren't going to let a downpour stop them. They had a time of prayer on the shore and as the rain let up, the surrounding neighbors came to see what was going on. Usually there is a parade of people that gather as we get closer to where we baptize and there is worship and musical instruments playing. It is a sight that causes interest in what is going on. Anyway the baptisms went well.
Tonight the children sang for the team and then asked if they could pray for the team. Mike said the children gathered around them in a circle and prayed over them. He said they felt very blessed.
Mike also talked with our Doctor today to get an update on Jephley's situation. He is the boy who we asked everyone to pray for, as he will be needing surgery. Mike said that next week he will go to Port-au-Prince to have some blood tests done. Then after they get the results they will schedule the surgery in the hospital in Port-au-Prince. Mike told him we would like the surgery done as soon as possible. Please continue to pray for him.
Tomorrow the team will spend some time with the children in our Marose school and then go
to feed the children in Gonaives, the poorest of the poor. Please pray for them as this can be hard for some as God breaks their heart for the poor. It gives us a tiny glimpse of God's heart.
When the team gets back they will have lunch with Emory and the team that serves with him. Then they will head back down to Nathan's brothers house.
Also please be praying for our team member Caitlin, as she will be staying on in the Orphanage as a worker. She will be staying until July and then will come home with the July team. Pray for her safety, health, discernment, adjustment, and that God's spirit leads and guides her. She is very excited and has been working towards this since December. We are excited for her and for God's plans for her. Again thank you so much for all of your prayers and encouragement.
Blessings,
Chris

Peru

The cross the March team put up in Peru

Baptisms in Peru

Jason being baptized in Peru.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Good evening,
I heard from the team tonight. They are doing well. The team visited the village we were invited to. The name of the village is Pasriell. It is on the road towards Cap Haitien. They drove most of the way and then walked uphill and came to a wide open flat space, surrounded by mountains and hills. They were greeted by one of the men who invited them there. They prayed and then Mike asked everyone to walk around and pray and listen. It is a village of about 3000 people. As Mike was praying and asking for confirmation as to whether this was a place God wanted us to work, a man walked up to him and said he had been waiting for someone to tell him about God and how he could be saved. After they led him to the Lord, the team met a Lady who used to be a witch doctor, who said she wanted to know more about God. They shared with her, but she said she wasn't ready yet. When Mike was asking questions about churches, schools ect. around the area, this lady told them that there was a place nearby where someone tried to start a church.
They had asked this community if they wanted a church but then never came back. Later they started building down the road aways, but it fell down in a storm and they never finished. Mike and the team went to look at it, thinking of some possibilities, but the sense that Mike and some of the team members got was that it was in a valley of darkness and something felt wrong about it. So they went back up on top the hill. The team started praying again and proclaiming that Kingdom of God had come and 5 more people came to them and were led to the Lord. They also prayed over a man who has been mute from birth. Mike said that he thinks the man had partial healing because he could make a squeaking noise when they were done. Please pray that this man receives total healing, to glorify God. They asked if they could hold a crusade (revival) on the hilltop, in the flat open space and were told they could. So that is the next step. Please continue to pray for wisdom and discernment as to our involvement in this village.
This evening they had devotions with the children and sang, which is always an enjoyable time. The Haitian people love to sing. The little girl I mentioned last night, is not going to be in our orphanage, but the three brothers (who are not in the same family as the girl) are in the orphanage now. Please continue to pray for their adjustment.
Tomorrow the team will travel to Peru, one of our other villages. They will be spending time with the people and doing baptisms. Please pray that the spirit of God moves there.
Thanks so much for praying, it does make a huge difference.
Blessings,
Chris

May 22 ,2011

Hello
I heard from Mike tonight. The team is doing very well. He said the last day of the pastors conference was good.They talked about unity among the pastors. They also talked about forgiveness, bitterness and making things right with each other before taking communion. Then they gave everyone 10 or so minutes to be quiet before the Lord or to go to who they needed to so they could make things right before they took communion. Pastor Steve felt like the team was supposed to stand in for all of the white people who had treated the Haitians poorly, unfairly and unequally, and for the church and missionaries who had misrepresented God so poorly.Then they asked the Haitan pastors to forgive them. He said it broke open the flood gates. He said many came forward with stories, who had been taught to hate white people and had been in turmoil.There was a spirit of repentance. He said the Haitian pastors also asked for forgiveness. He said the unity was very powerful. Thank you so much for your prayers during the conference.
One interesting tid bit for those of you who have been to Haiti. On the way up to the orphanage Mike noticed that the paved part of the road (which has become longer every trip) had actually been painted with a stripe down the center. Something we have never seen before, not even in Port-au-Prince the capital city. When driving in Haiti they never stay on a certain side of the road. And in Port-au-Prince the roads have as many people in the streets as cars. The first 3 stoplights were put into place in Port-au-Prince less than 5 years ago.
Mike said the big cumings diesel generator we shipped to Haiti is finally hooked up and running. So now the power is a little more consistent in the evening. Before there were two little generators that supplied inconsistent power in the evening.
Mike taught in church this morning and it went well. Then, I guess the more Mike talked with Jonas about marrying Nadine, he found out Jonas had talked to her about getting married but had not actually proposed. So after getting her father Nathaniel's blessing a few days ago, Mike suggested he needed to actually ask her not just talk about it. Mike told him how in the states traditionally the man gets down on one knee and asks the girl if she will marry him. Jonas is a shy quiet kind of guy, but after church in front of the whole orphanage and staff he got down on one knee and asked and I guess Nadine was speechless and blushing. So Mike told her she needed to answer something not just keep him waiting there. So she said yes and then the whole orphanage started cheering. Everyone is just thrilled. Later the team played with the children and built balsa wood airplanes with them. They also hiked up the mountain to the cross. On each trip we try to plan some food that would be fun and new for the children, so today the girls on the team made brownies for them, which they throughly enjoyed. Pastor Steve taught evening church and each of the team members shared their testimonies. Then they passed out glow sticks in the evening which is one of the children's favorite activities. I guess the mosquito's are really bad this trip, which is unusual. The orphanage is not by any standing water. It is very dry around the orphanage. The only water around is a moving river. Please pray that no one gets sick from the mosquito's. While Mike was talking to me they were having a lightening storm.
Tomorrow Pastor Steve will be traveling back to Port-au-Prince to fly home. Please pray for safe travel for him. The rest of the team will be traveling to a new village. This villiage would like us to start a church and school for them. Please pray for direction and discernment as they visit. We want to be doing only what we believe God is asking us to do. We also have 3 new boys in the orphanage who are brothers, they are about 8,9 and 10 years of age. And we might be getting a little girl, mike says she looks like she is about 3 years old. Please pray for their adjustment. The children are very good about drawing the new ones in and making them feel apart of the group.
Well that is all for now, thank you so much for all of your prayers we really appreciate them.
Blessings,
Chris

Friday, May 20, 2011

Hello,
Mike called tonight and said that the pastors are having a great time. They are getting a lot out of the teaching and are very appreciative. He said worship has been very good. And ministry time afterwards has been wonderful. I shared two words that some of you prayer partners shared with me, when Mike called for some reference material earlier in the day. One was from Romans;
Romans 15:5-6
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The person that shared this verse said " WOW!!! this verse Speaks directly to what you said Mike was describing - that they feel unified - and also to their goals of wanting to encourage! What an awesome confirmation of their state of minds, hearts, and the applications of ministry they have felt were placed upon them for the pastors of Haiti!! "
Another word was;
Woo hooooo!!! That's awesome! I feel like the rain really was a physical representation of what is going on spiritually. God is sooo GOOD! I send continued prayer for blessings and favor for everyone involved.
Mike shared these two words with the pastors and he said they were VERY encouraged. It is one
thing to hear people are praying for you and quite another thing to hear words of encouragement. Thank so much for being willing to share.
The morning session with Pastor Steve went really well and so did the early afternoon with Jay.
Apparently two of the pastors were on crutches so they had to go 4wheeling to get them up on the mountain. I am sure it was a funny site, as the rest hiked up. In the late afternoon there was some
free time, Mike said they enjoyed watching the pastors, as some played in the ocean and some in the pool. Most have never been in a hotel, can you imagine what they must have been thinking as they looked into the swimming pool. Mike said it was like watching a bunch of kids. He said he also enjoyed watching as they sat around in small groups talking about what was being taught and sharing with each other. What a blessing, thank you God for those who helped to make the conference possible!
In the evening Pastor Nathan came to Mike and said "they want you to share something personal, they like it when you share from your life". So Mike prayed about it and told them usually he shares about things he has gone through and has learned from or has had victory in, something from the past. He felt like this time he was to share some of what he is walking through currently, a lot harder to do, and humbling, but he felt it was what he was supposed to share. He said it was good for the pastors to hear him speak from and understand his heart. When ever you do that usually it is because God knows there are others listening that are working through similar things and It is usually very healing.
Tomorrow Pastor Rusty will be sharing, so please pray that God speaks through him. It has been great having Pastors from three different churches come and teach. Tomorrow they will be having communion together and a baptism. Please pray that God continues to teach, renew, restore and refresh the pastors. Again, thank you to those of you that shared words they were a blessing.
In the late afternoon the team will head up to the orphanage to see the children. So please pray for safe travel for the team and all of the pastors and leaders as they head home to be in their churches the next morning. Thanks so much.
Blessings,
Chris

May 19, 2011

WOHOO!!!!
We are so excited to share some wonderful news with you. Jonas our orphanage director, whom we have grown to love and respect has proposed to Nathan's sister Nadine. She has accepted and her father Pastor Nathaniel has given his blessing.
Have I mentioned we are excited and thrilled. It is such good news.
When I spoke with Mike tonight he said that the pastors conference is going great. The team started the morning with devotions
and spent time praying over Nathan's brother (the pastor they stayed with last night). Mike said the team enjoyed blessing each of the pastors with their notebooks, pens, teaching notes, bathroom bags and compliments of Pastor Steve little tins of mints with a Haitian blessings written on each tin. Mike taught today and said it went well. He said God really moved during the ministry time.
One of the church leaders that came with a pastor wants to be baptized on Saturday. We have connected to a ministry that has translated 300 + modern worship songs into Haitian Creole'. This ministry has given us copies of the music and the music and song sheets to go with it. This is something we have been praying for, for quite a while. Nathan is very gifted in worship and we have been trying to figure out how to translate music for him. Now this has been made available to us and by someone who understands and has a heart for worship. The man who has done the translation will be coming to our orphanage during the July trip and doing a worship conference for the pastors association's worship leaders.
Mike said it rained in Haiti tonight and that it was refreshing, that coming from someone born in Washington sounds funny, but it is so dry and dusty in Haiti. The rain cleans, settles and renews.
Tomorrow please be praying for Pastor Steve who shares during the morning teaching time and for Pastor Jay in the early afternoon as he has a hike planned (no surprise coming from Jay) up a mountain and a teaching on perspective. Jay is one of our friends from Canada and he and his wife have been great friends and a blessing to us. He definitely has the gift of encouragement and should be a huge blessing to the pastors.
Mike said the team has jelled well and have all commented on how unified they feel. Thanks so much for your prayers. We believe God wants to refresh, encourage and strengthen these weary pastors, and they have come expecting God to.
Blessings
Chris

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Just a quick note, the team arrived safely in Haiti. They had dinner at Nathan's which is always great, Madame Nathan is an excellent cook. They are staying in Madame Nathan's brothers house for the night, he is also a pastor. The pastors conference will be about a 1/2 hour drive from there. Still about 2 1/2 - 3 hours from the orphanage. The team all took turns sharing their testimonies, so they will be ready for later on in the trip. They also made up binders with paper, pens and teaching for the pastors, all of the teaching has been translated into Creole' so they will have the ability to refer back to it. We wanted to be able to give each pastor bathroom supplies such as toothpaste and brushes, nail clippers ect., so Emily and her family sewed bathroom bags to hold the supplies for each of the pastors, they did a fantastic job. I know it will bless the pastors. The pastors conference starts tomorrow so please be praying for all of the pastors that will be attending. Pray also for safe travel for them. And Pray for the pastors from our team that will be sharing. That they are able to communicate well, and that their teaching helps to impact, inspire, encourage, strengthen and refresh these pastors. Also I know they are coming expecting God to move, please pray He does so in a powerful way. Thanks so much.
Blessings,
Chris

Tuesday, May 17, 2011


Hello,
Just a quick note to let you know the May team left early this evening. They are boarding the plane as I write this. Please pray for safe travel. I will try to update daily as I hear from the them. The beginning focus of the trip will be the pastors conference. The conference will take place Thursday through Saturday. Please also pray for safe travel for all of the pastors to the conference.
Blessings,
Chris

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

In a couple weeks we have a ministry team leaving again for Haiti. The main focus of this trip will be a "pastors conference" that we have been planning for quite some time. I would very much like to ask your prayers for these guys. We will have 50 pastors and leaders that have dedicated their life to getting the "Good News" of the gospel of Christ out to the unsaved in Haiti. This may seem like it should be obvious to you, but most of the churches in Haiti are not that way. Haiti is a very dark place spiritually, and the majority of the churches are corrupted and filled with voodoo and witch'craft. Most pastors in Haiti do not get paid for their "pastor position", they work as school teachers or directors or truck drivers to feed their families. Most do not have a formal theological education. Many do not have any education past the 5th grade. But these guys are very different. They are thirsty and hungry for the equipping and anointing they need, for the calling on their lives. They will gladly sit for hours and hours to hear relevant spirit filled teaching on how to reach the lost. Their hearts are broken for their own hurting people. And they want to be the body of Christ for them. Most of these guys have never stayed in a motel before, with beds and running water, flush toilets, and YES, a swimming pool of all things.
Please be praying for these pastors, that they will be redeemed, refreshed, renewed, in the love and empowering of the Holy Spirit. In the past 4 years we have come to know and understand that Haiti is a hard place to minister. But these guys are there every day and every night. The power of our prayers can help to flavor their salt and brighten their lights, to shine into Haiti's darkness. This is one big way that all of us can answer to God's call to "go to all the nations". Thank you for your prayers and support. The dates of the trip are May 17th thru 27th. The conference dates are May 19th thru 21st. Chris will be up-dating with daily reports and prayer requests.................Mike
We would like to ask for prayer for one of our boys. When Dr. Ralph was in our clinic today, examining the children, he found a condition in one of the boys that he believes will require surgery. He said that he would like him to be seen by another doctor he knows, to get a second opinion. The boys name is Jeffley. Please lift him up in prayer. And please ask that God would give the doctors wisdom and guidance as to what the best course of action is. Also please pray that Jeffley has peace from God. I have been with the children when they are told they are sick, and they can become fearful. In the Haitian culture many do not recover from being sick, they have all lost family and friends to sickness. We will let you know more as we find out. Thanks so much for your prayers.
Blessings,
Chris