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
Monday, September 12, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
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
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
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
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
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
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
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
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
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
Monday, September 5, 2011
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
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
Sunday, September 4, 2011
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
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
Saturday, September 3, 2011
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
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
Thursday, September 1, 2011
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
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
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