Hello,

I just got back from an awesome worship night at Catalyst. They played longer then they normally do. We had the privilege of worshiping for three and a half hours. It was wonderful.

This morning in Haiti, the team did a prayer walk over and around the orphanage and over each room before they said their good byes to the children and the staff. They also had a wonderful meal at Nathan's, prepared by his wife. The team is spending the night at the Bercy mission. They will finish traveling to the Port-au-Prince airport in the morning to fly out. They should arrive in the Seattle airport around 10:30 PM. Putting most of them home by 1:00 AM Saturday morning. Gary will be traveling home to Canada, so he will be arriving home even later. Please pray for traveling safety and on time flights and connections. Also please lift the children and Steph up in prayer. It is hard for the children to see the team leave, and it will be especially hard for them having Steph leave after being there for 2 1/2 months. It will also be hard for Steph leaving the children. Truth be told it is really hard on Nathan when we leave also, he gets pretty sad on the trip to Port-au-Prince. So, thank you for all of your prayers this trip.

Blessings,

Chris

Wednesday, May 23, 2012- Haiti Activities and a Sad Story

Hello again,

I did hear from the team today. The last two days have been great. On Tuesday the team went up north to Perou. They visited the children in our school and then walked to Yolin and Wadners. They spent time praying for Wadner and his mother. Mike was excited to be able to baptize Wadner's mother Yolin, on this trip, it has been such a privilege to be a part of this family's life. The team also found out that on Sunday when the preaching at Poteau was cancelled because of rain, after the rain stopped some people showed up for the meeting.The group had an impromptu worship time and 2 more people gave their heart to the Lord, no preaching or altar call, just worshiping God. He is soooo good. The team  also finished the laundry room tables. The paint is now dry and they are ready to use. In the evening they had an awesome worship time, Gary and Darrell took turns playing guitar and Nathan played the accordion. I believe they were down at the church with the children worshiping.

Today Andy held his microfinance and savings & loan class again. It was a very positive meeting. There were many very interested in joining. A very simple explanation of how it works is, a group of business people or potential business people in Haiti, join together and each one contributes an agreed upon amount on a regular basis. Then one can come up with a business plan and fill out an application for a loan from what the group has saved up. The group votes on it and decides if this sounds like a viable business and if so they will loan the money to them. So in effect they kind of create their own bank and help each other get together enough capital to start up or improve their businesses. If they would like to borrow more than the group has for a larger business investment then they can submit their application and  business plan to Andy, who then can approve them for a  microloan from business men or women here in U.S. or Canada. We also believe we have enough interest now to start our market place. So we are going to start clearing the land. We are planning on turning our shipping containers into business spaces to start with. I believe we have 7 or 8 containers now. The plan is to divide them into two or three shops each. The team also went to Emory's today to feed the poor, this is a highlight for some team members on the trip, but can also be difficult to see such extreme poverty. Later on this afternoon Darrell and Gary took turns playing the guitar and taught some of the children how to play musical chairs. Mike said the children really enjoyed the game and squeals of laughter could be heard from the room. Tonight the children also went to bible study. Nathan teaches them on Wednesdays.

Mike shared a sad story with me today. Some of you may remember a fancy house for Haiti high up on the hill after you leave Goniaves and are headed to Marose on the dirt road. A witch doctor and his wife lived there. Nathan was driving by and saw him walking on the road. They know each other and what each other believes because they are both in the same community. Nathan felt like he was suppose to stop and talk to him. So he pulled over and greeted him. Then Nathan asked him if he knew Jesus? The man answered "not now Pastor Nathan." Nathan said do you know Jesus? The witch doctor answered "later Pastor Nathan, later". The next day the witch doctor and his wife were killed in a traffic accident. It sounds like God was giving him one last chance to acknowledge Jesus as his Lord and Savior. It reminds me how important it is to keep praying for the witch doctor in Pass Rien, that she will give her heart to Jesus and will stop telling Nathan, "not now Nathan." Please keep praying for her and others, who do not yet have a personal relationship with Jesus.

Tomorrow the team will travel south to Bercy, please pray for safe travel. Also please be praying for the team and especially Steph, as they say good bye to the children tomorrow. They will have lunch at Nathan's, Mike says Madame Nathan has the best restaurant in Haiti (she is a really good cook). They will also be meeting up with a pastor from South Carolina, who is planning on being part of our pastors conference in November. Thank you for praying.

Blessings,

Chris

Tuesday May 22, 2012

Hello,

I did not hear from the team tonight. I do know that in the morning (Wednesday) Andy will be teaching his microfinance class again. I also know that the team will be going to Jubilee (Gonaives) to feed the poorest of the poors children, a ministry our friends Mary and Emory Wilson started, which now has quite a few people helping with in Haiti. I am sure the team would appreciate prayers for both of these activities. Thanks so much for praying.

Blessings,

Chris

Microfinancing, goats and healings oh my!!!

Hello,

Thank you for your prayers today. Andy had his microfinance and savings & loan class today. The class got off to a slow start due to miscommunication on the time it started. But once everyone arrived it went really well. There were about 50 people that attended. After Andy taught, he opened the class up for questions and answers. He said the questions were very intelligent and showed they understood what he was teaching and just needed clarification. He video taped the session so that it can be used again in Haiti or elsewhere when Andy teaches. The people  attending asked if he could teach longer today because some of them had to go to market tomorrow. The nearest market is in Poteau, which is about 25 mins. away by car,  probably about the distance between Lynden and downtown Bellingham for those of you that know Whatcom county. A long walk carrying goods to sell. Hopefully our Market in Marose will be up and running soon. So because of market day, Andy taught longer today and will teach longer on Wednesday, so that he can fit three days of teaching into 2 days.  Becca also taught the women again today, which went well. This afternoon the goat seminar was held. There were families from 4 out of 5 of our churches. They were taught about the care of goats and the value of using them as an investment. The man who taught the seminar has also agreed to supervise the goat program. Mike shared the parable of the talents from Matthew 25:1-30. He then explained that the goats would be given out in a similar fashion to the talents. Families would be given either 2, 5, or 10 goats.They were given applications to fill out with information, like names, etc. They also are asked to show proof that they can feed and water the goats and provide a safe place for them. And they have been asked to provide a personal reference. The supervisor will visit the families and make sure that the goats are being cared for. If they are not, the goats will be given to others who will care for them. The supervisor can also provide veterinary care if necessary. They explained to the families that the goats are to be cared for and that the 2nd and 3rd generation of goats they can sell, eat, etc. The purpose being that they will multiply and then be able to help other families. We want the goats to be a hand up instead of a hand out. Just like the microfinance and savings & loan program. Our dream is to help the village become self sustaining and develop into a thriving community. Thank you so much for coming along side of us and the people of Haiti, your prayers and support are making a difference. In the evening Nathan asked Mike if he would go with him to pray for a younger cousin. The boy was in his twenties and was going to be taken to the hospital, because he was having acute pain in his stomach. They prayed for him for 45 mins. to an hour and then worshiped over him. When they were done the boy said he felt fine and had some water and ate. He felt totally healed. PRAISE GOD!!!

Tomorrow the team will go visit our school and community in Perou. They will also spend some time visiting  and praying with Wadner and his mother Yolin. Please pray for safe travel and that they are able to reach out to the people in Perou.

Blessings,

Chris

Hello

I talked with the team again tonight. They had church in the morning and baptisms in the afternoon. The river was to low to baptize in, so they needed to find another place. One lady in the group knew about an irrigation house and knew the owner, so they were able to use the irrigation house for the baptisms. The team also prayed for a man  who lived in Marose. They were told that he was crazy. His daughter was Christian, and there did not seem to be a wife. The team prayed over the man, the house and family. After the baptisms Nathan went to check on him again and the daughter said that he was a completely different person, that he was helping around the house and doing things he had not done in years. The team did not make it to Poteau tonight, it started raining and when it rains in Haiti no one shows up for things (probably because they have to walk in the rain to get there) so even if the team went, most likely no one else would have. They had fun playing in the rain with the children instead.

Tomorrow Becca will teach the women again. Her husband Andy will be starting a 3 day class on Microfinancing, and savings and loans. This is something that he has a passion for and has already started in Kenya. He will be teaching a group of potential business people in Marose. We are  also hoping to start a market that will help the economy of the village and help the orphanage become self sustaining in the future. Tomorrow we will also be having a seminar on Goat husbandry, to help the families receiving goats be successful. And the guys will be working on building the laundry room tables tomorrow. Please continue to lift the team up in prayer, and thank you again for praying.

Blessings,

Chris

Hello again,

The team had another great day. Mike taught the Pastor's from 9:30 til about 1:00. He said it went great. Becca also started teaching the women again from 9:30 til about 1:30. This was supposed to be her last day teaching them, but they asked if she would teach them again on Monday. She said she would, but that they would have to bring their own food, up to this point we had been serving them lunch, and also breakfast to the ones who stayed over night. They said they did not care, they just wanted to keep learning how to study the bible for themselves and know more about God. Praise God !!!!!!  He is so awesome! Thanks to all of you who have been faithfully praying for Becca and the women. God has answered your prayers. Mike also spent time talking with the older girls in the orphanage today. He told them that they can grow up and do anything. He encouraged them to keep doing their best in school. He encouraged them to not get involved with boys and make poor choices. He talked about how marriage should be a relationship that supports you in becoming who you were created to be and encourages you to use your skills and talents. He talked about not settling for less. This evening the team had devotions and worship time with the children. Gary played the guitar and they spent time singing together. The children LOVE to sing. Our daughter Becca's 7 year old son Felice, is with the team, I asked Mike how he was doing and Mike said he has been going 100 miles an hour with the other children. There is a big hill of gravel in the orphanage, because we are trying to finish the 3rd building and the kids have been playing king of the hill on it. It is amazing how well children can communicate with little language. He has been learning some language, but is still limited in communicating with them. Mike said the children love him because he is such a novelty, they see white or blanc adults when teams come, but not little kids like them. They also think his name is funny, so all day long you hear Felice, Felice. I guess he loves it. Adam and Darrell went into town today and got supplies for making tables for the laundry room. So that will be one of the next projects. Tonight was the last evening of an 8 night crusade. The team did not go tonight, but Nathan did. He gave an altar call after he preached and there were another 15 salvation's. God is so merciful !!!

Tomorrow morning Nathan will be preaching in Gonaives and Mike will be preaching in Marose. Please be praying for both of them, that what they teach is from God. After church people from our village in Perou, Marotte (Gonaive) and Marose will go to Marotte to be baptized in the river. Mike said he believes about 20 are wanting to be baptized. The team will then go to our newest church in Poteau for the evening. Either Mike or Nathan will be preaching, I forgot to ask which one, so please pray for who ever will be teaching, God knows who it will be. There is a chance that each of the team members will be asked to share a bit also. So remember to lift them up in prayer too. And thank you so very much for your prayers. This ministry depends on your prayers.

Blessings,
Chris

Hello,
Thank you so much for praying. Your prayers made a huge difference today. Becca started teaching again this morning and the women had a huge breakthrough. They got it and started getting excited. Later when Becca asked if they were getting tired and overloaded with information, they said no and told her to keep going and not stop. They were having so much fun discovering for themselves. God is sooooo good. Thank you sooooo much for praying.

The guys on the team spent the day building shelves for the storage depot. Mike said they did an awesome job and built tons of shelves. Gary also hung a huge projector screen donated to us by Alpha Tech in the dinning hall. This will be used for teaching the pastors and also possibly as a weekly movie night for the children. The crusade went well tonight, worship was really good. Mike spoke and Nathan gave an altar call. There were 11 salvation's, and another 25 came forward for more in depth prayer. Again thank you, your prayers make all the difference.

Tomorrow morning Becca will be teaching the women again. She will start about 9:00 and go til about 12:30 pm. The pastor's conference will also be going on. Mike will be teaching the pastor's from about 9:00 until 1:00 pm. So please pray for both the women's inductive bible study and the pastor's conference. The team will also climb up the mountain tomorrow. Thank you for partnering with us.

Blessings,

Chris

Thursday May 17, 2012

Hello,

This is one of those times that YOU praying can make all the difference in the world literally.

Please read below and pray, and thank you ahead of time :)

I talked with the team today. They had a good day. They do have one fairly large complicated prayer request for tomorrow. Today, as Becca taught the Inductive bible study to women from 4 communities, she came to realize that there were some different cultural views that were causing some difficulties. First we knew that illiteracy is higher for Haitian women than men. The stats I have found, say that the literacy rate of adults is between 39.66 %  and 53.6 % of the population of Haiti. Most of the sites defined literacy as; "Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life ". The complication comes into play culturally because Haitian women typically are less likely to be literate because of the value placed on a Woman in  society.  The other piece of information that causes complications is that because the women tend to want people to just tell them what they need to know, they tend to not think for themselves or have opinions. Today it was hard for them to understand why they would want to learn how to study the bible for themselves. They just wanted Becca to tell them what the book of Ephesians said and what they should believe. We have experienced this on a smaller scale when trying to hire workers for the orphanage. When we ask a women what job she is applying for she says any of them. When we get more specific and ask if she could have any job what would it be? They look at us like they do not understand why we are asking such a question. We then try to ask things like what do you enjoy doing? It becomes apparent that it is not a problem of understanding the question. The problem is they have not been raised to think of themselves at all. The concept of choosing what you want in life is a foreign concept to women in Haiti. They have not grown up with anyone caring about their opinions.

Both Mike and Nathan spent some time trying to help the women understand why it is beneficial to be able to read and think for themselves. Becca taught them for about 3 hours today. She thinks that they were starting to get it near the end. She will be teaching them tomorrow morning again from 9:00 am to about 12:00 PM (6:00 am to 9:00 am our time) Please pray for a break through in their understanding.

God created these women for a purpose and he desires them to have a personal relationship with Him, to really know Him. He cares about them as individuals, he cares about their thoughts, desires, and opinions. He wants them to have wisdom and knowledge also. Please pray these cultural barriers will be broken.  Please join together in prayer for the women of Haiti. I believe Becca will have the opportunity to teach these women two more times.

In the afternoon the team passed out the gifts to the children, something that is always fun to do. In the evening they went into Marotte for the crusade. The team said it was a beautiful summer night and they had fantastic worship. Each of the team members shared for a few minuets. Two other pastors preached. When the team arrived back in the orphanage they passed out some colored finger lights Andy found, that attach to their fingers and shine different colored light. So there were red, blue, yellow and green glowing lights all over the grounds. They were a huge hit.

Tomorrow the team will work on projects during the day while Becca teaches and then go the crusade again in the evening. Mike will preaching in the evening, please pray that he teaches Gods heart. Also please pray for the team as they will have a ministry time afterwards. Pray that the Holy Spirit is there.

Blessings,

Chris

Wednesday May 16, 2012

Hello,

This is a short note to let you know that the team arrived safely at the orphanage. Thank you so much for praying.

This morning  (9:00 am Haiti time, 6:00 am our time) my daughter Becca will be teaching 30 to 40 women how to do an Inductive Bible Study. It is bible study using only the bible, which in some countries is all they have access to. She was trained by one of the pastor's wives in our church. She has taught this method locally. She has also taught this method in Kenya, first to a smaller group of women and then to a whole church. It is a great bible study method for us, but works really well in underdeveloped countries that do not have access to all of the resources we have for studying the bible. The whole team will join her in the beginning for worship and support getting started, then they will go back to the orphanage to work on some projects. I believe she will be teaching the women over the next three days. Some of the women have traveled and will be staying overnight in the orphanage. Please pray for her to be teaching what God wants the women to hear, and for the women to understand studying the bible this way. It is amazing, the ability it gives people to understand God and their relationship with Him. Her hearts desire is for God to show up and help these women to deepen their relationship with Him.

In the evening the whole team will go to our church in Marotte (Gonaives) to join a crusade that will be going for 8 days. Please pray for the team as they will all share during the crusade. Please pray for those attending that they will be touched by God.  Thanks so much for your prayers.

 Blessings,

Chris

                                 Our May team leaving for Haiti !

Tuesday May 15, 2012

Hello,

Our May team flies to Haiti in about 20 minutes. Please pray for safe and on time travel. Our team of 7 (8, once they connect with Steph in Haiti) comes from Canada and three different areas of Washington. They will have a very full schedule this trip. One very exciting item on the schedule, will be my son in-law teaching on microfinance, and starting up a savings and loan group in Marose. We are hoping this will be a major step forward in offering a hand up instead of out. Please pray that the team is able to accomplish all that God desires, and that the enemy will not be able to get in the way.

Also please remember to continue to lift Steph up, as she prepares to come home. She has really connected to the children and community well. Also thank you to all who have helped with the shipping costs to send a 40 foot container of dehydrated food to Haiti. We have almost $6000 of the $15,000 needed for trucking, shipping, port and duty fees and delivery to the orphanage.  What a blessing.

Thank you for your prayers.

Blessings,

Chris

                We are having a fund raiser in Canada on June 9th, 2012.
                                             We would love to see you there.

PLEASE JOIN US FOR AN ELEGANT EVENING

BENEFITTING

NEW GENERATION MINISTRIES

AND THE

CHILDREN OF HAITI

SATURDAY, JUNE 9^TH

6:00 PM

CATERED DINNER

ENTERTAINMENT & LIVE AUCTION

LIVING WATERS CHURCH

9095 GLOVER ROAD

FORT LANGLEY, BC CANADA

RESERVE A PLACE

NO LATER THAN MAY 26, 2012

AS SPACE IS LIMITED

MAKE CHEQUES PAYABLE TO

NEW GENERATION HAITI CANADA

$42.00 PER PERSON

OR SPONSOR A TABLE OF 10 FOR $400.00

CONTACT WENDY NYBOER WITH QUESTIONS

604-514-3078

Hello,

Hope you have been able to enjoy the sun today. It has been beautiful yesterday and today.

Nathan has called us and asked for prayer. He feels like he is supposed to preach in Pass Rien tomorrow morning. The time would be approximately 7 AM in the morning our time. Normally Pastor Bruno preaches in Pass Rien, but Nathan feels like God is is asking him to tomorrow. Most likely if Nathan preaches the Madame ( aka the witch doctor) will attend. Please pray that the Holy Spirit moves her heart. We know he has been drawing her to Him. She has expressed a lot of fear. Fear of the unknown with God. And fear of satan, because of what she has seen and experienced as a witch doctor. But 1John 4:18 says perfect love casts out all fear.

We have had a stomach bug going around the orphanage this past week, it has put 2 of our children in the hospital. They are both out of the hospital now. And Junior is doing fine, but Bergelende is still not doing as well. Please pray for her and the rest of the children.

Also please continue to remember to pray for Steph. The may team flies out this coming Tuesday, and the team will be bringing her home. She has really been enjoying her time in Haiti and has expressed multiple times that she loves it in the orphanage and is not ready to come home yet. She has been such a blessing to the community of Marose they will all miss her very much. God has used her in many ways.

Please also remember to pray for the May team as they fly out this Tuesday evening.

Blessings and Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers,

Chris