THE GOATS ARE HERE!

                                 Some of the recipients of the goats

A view of the children's village from the mountain. On the left you can see the roof on the first half of building #3. You can also see the walls of the second half of building #3. We will be living in the front part of the unfinished half of building #3, providing it is finished in time :)

From inside the children's village on the left you can see the office, dinning room, kitchen etc. In the middle across the back are the rooms for the children and the nanny's. On the left you can see the finished part of the first half of building #3.

This is a view from the porch of the finished part of building #3. All it needs is outside paint.

Hello,

I talked with Mike tonight. Everyone else is asleep. He said he was sitting on the front porch, sad that he was leaving. Long ago he stopped saying he was coming home and started saying he was coming back. Our hearts have been torn between here and Haiti for quite a while now. God has not only given us a heart for the children and people of Haiti, but has given us a love for them also. Mike's heart left here for all intent and purposes a while ago. I am still incredibly torn between here and Haiti, but know that I am called to be in Haiti, so that is where I am going.



He did say that the youth event was great today. Travel is so difficult in Haiti, they were not sure how many youth would make it from the other villages we minister in. But Mike said that around 120 youth showed up mostly on foot. These are the dedicated ones. Mike shared with them that we were trying to set up "sister youth groups". The youth groups from our Good Shepherd Churches in Haiti would be matched up with youth groups in the states or Canada. The idea is for the state side or Canadian youth group to adopt or support them a little and for the groups to get to know each other, pray for each other, encourage each other and get a little more global view of what God is doing with others their age. So this morning they arrived and met in their groups, each group then came up and sang and shared. They were full of enthusiasm. They were video taped and lots of photos were taken. Nathan led worship,Jeremiah gave a great message. Mike said he shared also and Nathan closed. Then the youth said they wanted to pray over the children in the children's village, so they walked up to the village and spent another half an hour praying for the children. Then the team met with the youth group leaders and prayed over them. They spent about 5 hours altogether.



The Goat man showed up with the Goats also. He brought the goats for all the families in Marose. He will also be responsible for checking up on the families weekly, to make sure everything is going well and that there are no problems. Next week he will be delivering the goats to Poteau and then to Perou and Marotte. Mike decided to wait on the chickens a few weeks until everything settles down from the goats. I will post photos as soon as the team gets back with them. Thanks to all of you that helped to bless the Haitian families with goats. They are so very excited at all of the possibilities. To most of them it is unbelievable that someone who does not even know them would care about them. It shows just how big our God is.



The craft time was wonderful for the children, they enjoyed it. Please remember to pray for them as the teams leaves, it is really hard to be the ones that are always being left. Please pray for the team as they head to the airport tomorrow morning, and for good connections for all of their flights.



Blessings,

Chris

Hello,

I heard from the team tonight. The day started off with taking more photos of the school children. The team then went to Jubilee to help feed the poor. Brian was there with the rest of his family, who just moved to Haiti 2 days ago. So the team worked with them feeding the children. The teacher's conference went well and the teachers were given new shirts with the school logo embroidered on them, like the staff was given, only the teachers shirts were the school uniform color. In the afternoon Mike meet with the women who attended the women's bible study that Rebecca taught. Both Rose and Kathy shared with the women how much bible study has meant to them in their own lives. In the evening the team traveled north to Perou for the revival. They also spent time with Wahdner and Yolin. They brought him a package and prayed with them. He is one of the children that we have an especially soft spot in our hearts for. And we have faith that God will heal him one of these days. The team said worship was great, I think Nathan led worship, but I am not sure. Mike gave the message. Afterwards there were 2 more salvation's and about 20 more came forward for prayer and healing. Thank you so much for praying.



The goats were not delivered today, but they are supposed to be there in the morning. So again, please pray for everything to go smoothly and for everyone to use the training they have been given. Tomorrow the team will also be doing one more craft they have planned with the children. Then there will be a meeting with the youth groups from all of the Good Shepherd churches. Nathan will be leading worship and both Mike and Jeremiah will be giving a message. Please pray for all of the youth attending, that God will touch them, that he will give them strength to choose right, that they will believe and understand that they too were created for a purpose. I guess most of all that hope for their future would be restored.



Also please pray for the team and the children as tomorrow night will be the last night the team is with the children. It is extremely hard to say good-bye for the team and especially for the children. Thank you soooooooo very much for all of your prayers.



Blessings,

Chris

Hello,

Today was a full day for the team. Thank you for all of your prayers. The teachers conference started today and will go through tomorrow. Mike greeted the teachers and spent some time encouraging them. The conference is being taught by a trained professional, with the last part of the conference involving testing, certifying and the signing of contracts with the teachers. Please pray for the teachers tomorrow. The team also spent a good part of the day taking photos of the children attending our Marose school. They also painted the outside of the children's village :) The front as you approach the gates. The team enjoyed passing out Polo's, with the Good Shepherd Logo embroidered on them, to each of the staff members in the children's village. Also Kathy and Rose played a card game called 'flinch' with the children, that helps teach numbers and math. I guess they brought quite a few decks and will be leaving them with the children. The balloon artistry team visited, they shared the gospel message with balloons and they made animals and flowers and things with more balloons. They gave out woven bracelets and played basketball and football too. So the children had a great afternoon, which was finished off by the team making homemade kettle corn for them.



Tomorrow the team will take more student photos in Marose. Then they will go to Jubilee in Gonaives and meet with our friends Kathy and Beaver and possibly Emory (not sure who all is there at the moment). This is where we like to help feed the poorest of the poor children in Gonaives. Again, as I have mentioned in the past, this can be hard for some of the team members. Please pray that God will speak to their hearts and open their eyes both in Jubilee and Marose, or where ever God is calling them to be his hands and feet.  The team will be visiting our village of Marotte on the way back from Jubilee. In the afternoon Mike will be meeting with the women, who took our daughter Rebecca's inductive bible study class. He will be encouraging them and following up with those who are now teaching other women how to study the bible. He will also be letting them know that she will be returning sometime this winter to teach them more as they have requested. And if that were not enough sometime during the day the goats are going to be delivered. Yahooooooo, they have been a long time coming. Thank you, to all of you who helped this to happen. Please pray for this to be a blessing to all involved. In the evening the team will travel north to Perou and participate in the revival, some of the team members may even be asked to share. They will try to get some photos of the school children that we were not able to update the last time and they will try to visit Wadner and his mother Yolin.



I asked about the health of the little girl, Danika who was so severely burned when the July team was in Haiti. They said that she was actual doing unbelievably well, again thank you so much for your on going prayers.



Blessings,

Chris

The View from the mountain behind the Good Shepherd Children's Village 

More view photos

Hello,

This morning the pastors conference started. There were about 50 pastors and leaders. Each of the members of the September team introduced themselves and shared something as an encouragement. Then Mike taught two sessions with a break in between. The pastor from the church that the team visited up north through the river also came to the conference. The name of the village is Nanpaul. (pronounced Naa-Paul) Afterwards they had an association committee meeting for planning an area wide crusade in November. The team was able to get enough parts to fix one more tank in the water system. So now two of the three 1000 gallon water tanks is working. It seems like it is impossible to just get what you need in Haiti sometimes. We are so spoiled here in the US and Canada, if we need or want something we just go to the store and get it. Not so in Haiti, some things are not available at all and some things are just hard to find and are available in very small quantities. In the early evening the team hiked up the mountain behind the orphanage and had devotions. There is a pretty good view of the valley from up there.



Tomorrow morning there will be a teachers conference for all of our teachers from all 4 of our schools. The teachers from Nanpaul asked if they could join the conference also. School starts October 1st. Tomorrow the team will be taking photos of the school children that will be going to the Marose school. Also in the afternoon one of the other Haitian ministries we have become friends with will be bringing a team of balloon artists to our orphanage. The balloon artists tell the salvation story with balloons. I am sure the children will enjoy it very much.  There is a revival meeting going on each evening at our Good Shepherd church in Perou. Please pray that God would touch hearts during the revival, it started Sunday night and will continue through next Saturday evening. Also please pray for the teachers conference and the balloon artists as they witness.



On another note we are slowly changing the name of the orphanage in Haiti from Good Shepherd Orphanage to Good Shepherd Children's Village. We are doing this as we believe it better describes how we are taking care of the children.  When we first started building a home for the children, we wanted something more than what most people think of when they hear the word orphanage. Most of us picture a large institutional style group home. We believe strongly in family and wanted to create an atmosphere as close as possible to a family. That is why we have 11 rooms with outside porches and entrances for the children to live in. Each one having a nanny or house mom, they call them keepers in Haiti. The idea is less children per caretaker, which hopefully will result in better care and less children slipping through the cracks. This will hopefully help the children to learn how to have relationships with adults that care about them. Adults that will  make sure they go to school, eat and drink, take showers and care for them when they are sick or hurt. We know this style will not be fail proof as we are dealing with real people and we all make mistakes. We are hoping that it will come close to a healthy family style of living. This is one of the reasons we feel moving to Haiti will help. We hope to be able to teach and model healthy family relationships, with God's grace, knowing we are not perfect either. We would really appreciate your on going prayers in this area. We need to find a balance between teaching what we think is the right way and what is just a different way, versus what is God's way and has nothing to do with culture. A tightrope we can only walk with wisdom from God.

Well thank you again for all of your prayers and for reading as I once again pour out a bit of my heart.



Many Blessings,

Chris

Good evening,

I talked with Mike a little later then usual tonight. The team woke up to a leaking water system. They were able to fix part of the problem before church so that everyone had water. After church they were able to fix most of the problem. They just need one more part that should be in town. Please pray that the part is available tomorrow when they go looking for it. Church went well this morning. There were two more salvation's this morning. Part of Mikes message was a challenge for those who have drifted off and/or fallen away. He said there were 15 to 18 rededications at the end of church. Nathan asked him if he was going to share the same message in the evening at Poteau. Mike said probably, why? Nathan told him that it was a risky teaching, but that he thought it was a good one. So Mike shared the same message in Poteau this evening. God moved hearts again and their were two more salvation's and about 20 rededications in Poteau. Thank you so very much for your prayers.

Tomorrow morning the pastors association will meet for teaching and encouragement. Please pray that what Mike has prepared to teach will be life giving and what God would have him share. The association is the larger group of pastors from many denominations who have agreed to set aside their theological differences and come together on their common belief in Christ. Later Mike will share with the pastors of our Good Shepherd churches that are part of the larger group. We have one new pastor in our Good shepherd Church group, please pray as they continue to impart vision to him. Later in the day the team will try to fix the rest of the water problem, also they might do some more painting in the afternoon. Thank you again for your prayers, they are appreciated.

Blessings,

Chris

Hello,

Today was a fruit filled day. The meeting regarding the goats went well. The goats are supposed to be delivered Wednesday. Hopefully we will get photos that I can share with you on Wednesday, if not I will post them when the team gets back home. Please pray for healthy goats and for wisdom in regards to who receives them. The people receiving the goats have gone through an application process and some training, so everything should go smoothly. The team also traveled north up the river today. Nathan wanted Mike and the team to visit a village up the river literally. They drove up the river and when they came to the village they stopped and walked to the rivers edge and met the village pastor and his wife. The pastor and his wife took Nathan and the team to a little church. Mike said there were about 200 people waiting for them. Nathan lead worship and Mike gave a message. Afterwards the team prayed for people who came forward. Two people were set free from evil spirits and then Nathan gave an alter call and 12 people came forward and gave their lives to God. Then the team was invited to have rice and beans with them sitting in between the banana trees. When the team arrived back in the orphanage they played some more with the children, while Phil and Mike did some organizing of the tools in our tool and generator room. Mike also said that they have been having lightning storms, but no rain. The lightning in Haiti can be pretty wild looking, mostly because there are no other lights except the stars in Marose, so the lightning shows up well. I love watching it. It speaks of the vastness, the complexity, the beauty and the power of God. It reminds me of how amazing it is that God would even notice us, much less shower us with his mercy and favor.

Tomorrow morning Nathan will lead worship and Mike will share in the Marose church. In the early evening they will go to Poteau, and Nathan will lead worship again and Mike will give the message. The team may also take turns sharing in Poteau. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to be present and for salvation's and healings both in Marose and Poteau. Thank you for continuing to lift the team and people of Haiti up in prayer.

Blessings,

Chris

Hello,

It was very hot in Haiti today. Tonight as I write at 10 PM, which is 1 AM in Haiti, my computer says it is still 84 degrees in Haiti. The team passed out bath items like lotions, shampoos and conditioners to the nanny's or keeper's as they like to be called, just to bless them for all of their hard work. They also passed out 8 more quilts that we received from a wonderful group of women who make quilts for our children and other ministries. The team also built the shelves for the medical clinic and organized and labeled the new bins for the shelves. They installed towel bars and toilet paper holders in the newly finished short stay missionary team rooms. Also when they were in town, Jeremy found fresh coconuts for everyone, which are in season right now and they cut off the tops and all had coconut milk to drink. Both Jeremy and Rose said that fresh coconut milk is supposed to be good for people traveling in foreign countries. It is supposed to help with digestive issues and is supposed to be among the top nutritional foods. Rose taught the children how to play drop the handkerchief today. Can you imagine 67 children and Rose, Jeremy and Sam playing drop the handkerchief :) I guess Rose was the favorite person to drop the handkerchief behind. I would have loved to be there watching :) The team also spent some time praying for some of the children individually. We all need prayer, but some of the children have walked through more than any of us ever will and prayer can make a night and day difference to them. Sam, Phil's son has also been playing a lot of basketball and soccer with the children.

Tomorrow will be meetings with the goat and chicken man and hopefully deliveries of goats and chickens, lots of them. Please pray for all of the details to be worked out. Everyone is really excited about them. The team will also travel north in the afternoon to visit a new village and pray over it. Please pray for safe travel and words from God. 

And for those of you who have asked, our garage sale went extremely well, we were blown away at how much we made. A huge thank you to those of you who brought baked goods, brought by items to sell, helped with set up, helped during the garage sale and helped pack it all up at the end. We were even blessed by someone stopping by and purchasing the left overs, which we were going to donate. Praise God for His awesomeness.

Blessings,

Chris

The Good Shepherd mural painted by Darlene. She did a great job.

Our ministry is called New Generation Ministries in the States and Good Shepherd in Haiti. 

Hello again,

The team had a great day. Thank you so much for your prayers.They went into town to look around and purchase supplies for building shelves in the medical clinic tomorrow. They also spent a lot of time with the children, they went down to the river to swim and they passed out gifts to some of the children from their sponsors, which is usually one of the highlights for the children. The team also barbecued hamburgers and made french fries for the children and staff. B.B.Q. has become one of the much anticipated activities for the children when Phil is part of the team. Each team tries to bring one American or Canadian treat each trip for the children. In the evening they did devotions and singing with the children.

Tomorrow the team will mostly be working on building shelves for the medical clinic, repairing one of the water tanks or possibly painting. Please continue praying for the team as they minister to the children and staff tomorrow.

Blessings,

Chris

Hello,

The team arrived safely in Haiti today. Thank you so much for praying. On the way up to the orphanage they stopped and had lunch with Madame Nathan and then visited and prayed for Pastor Jeremiah. The team spent time sharing words and encouragement with him. One of the prayer requests he had, is for the people in the area by him. The hurricane flooded many fields in the surrounding area, which has ruined the crops. Please remember to lift them up in prayer, along with the team. The first half of building #3 in the orphanage is finished and painted. Mike said it looks amazing. We are close to finishing the second half of building #3 also.Tomorrow the team will spend time at the orphanage with the children as they plan out the schedule for the rest of the trip. Please continue to lift them up in prayer as they adjust to a new environment and build new relationships.

Blessings,

Chris

Hello,

Just wanted to let everyone know that our September team just left for Haiti. Please be praying for safe travel, on time connections, good health and a fruitful trip.Thanks so much ahead of time for your prayers.

Blessings,

Chris