New Generation Ministries Blog

Hello,

Hope all of you are having a wonderful fall. It seems like within a week summer was over and fall had begun. Now a couple weeks later I think fall is ending and winter is beginning. A late summer and a short fall…wondering what winter will bring?



This past Monday we loaded a 40 foot shipping container. It arrived at our home Monday morning. It is amazing how large the inside of a 40 foot container is when empty. We loaded some of our belongings that we will need to live in Haiti, in the back of the container. It was with very mixed feelings that we loaded the container. I have been going through our belongings for months now, as first we prepared to sell them at the garage sale we had in August. Then with what we kept, I had to decide which things we would want in Haiti and which things we would leave here, in the basement of our home. Our second oldest son Dustin and his wife Melissa will be moving into our home and renting out theirs. (If anyone you know wants to rent a home a couple of blocks from the Lynden fairgrounds please let us know.) Any way it is more difficult then most would realize to decide which items to ship, if we will need them in Haiti, then most likely we will need them here between now and January, or when we come back to visit. The only way to get them to Haiti in January is to ship them now. So quite a few times Mike or one of my older children have asked where something is, only to hear me say it was sold, or it is in the container. I am known to be the saver or keeper in the family and never dreamed that I would be told that I have given away too much. All that aside, the emotional letting go has been even more difficult. We have a very close family, with all of my 6 older children married and most of them starting families. We have 6 grandchildren and one on the way, the same ages of my youngest 3 adopted children. Every time another birthday comes, I am reminded that this may be the last birthday I share with each of them. (We are raising personal support separate from the ministry funds, so coming home once a year will be dependent on raising enough to cover the flights home for all of us.) As I have gone through the seasons this year and as the holidays approach, I often stop and thank God for what I have been given in family and ask Him for help to walk through what is inevitable. It gets harder as the day of moving gets closer. I would greatly appreciate prayers for our family. For those of you that know me well, you know that for me to move and leave my children behind is not something I could ever do in the natural. It is only with God's help that I will be able to walk this path that has been set before me. So prayer is vital. Thank you for that ahead of time. I do really appreciate your prayers.

As far as the container goes, we were also given a very generous donation of cabinets. We have packed medical supplies, school supplies, and items that were purchased by some of you at the mission store, along with donated shoes and clothing. We also loaded the incinerator that was made for the ministry. And thanks to generous donations we were able to add two pallets of rice, which is 5,000 pounds of rice. We were also able to load one pallet of beans, which is 2,500 pounds of beans. We then added 200 gallons of vegetable oil and ½ pallet of spaghetti noodles. And because of another generous donor 123 jars of peanut butter will also go to Haiti. We will be shipping a very generous donation of 20,000 square feet of shade cloth, which will be the shade cover for the New Marose market. And the final loading will be dried soup from the Gleaner's. This container should ship early next week. Please pray as we add the last few items that they are what God desires for us to send and that the container arrives in Florida, Port-au-Prince and finally up to the orphanage with out any problems or additional costs. Shipping to Haiti continues to be a moving target with rules and prices constantly changing. Please pray for God's favor.



The response to Rose's letter has been great. Some of you have asked when the next trip to Haiti is, so that you can bring gifts for the orphans and staff. Mike will be flying out November 1st. We usually pack bins a couple of days ahead, so if we could have gifts by Monday, October 29th it would be helpful, as each bin needs to be packed and weighed. We take teams every other month to Haiti, and this schedule will continue even after we move, so any future gifts will still be able to be dropped off at our current home and Dustin will make sure they are packed and sent with the next team going to Haiti. The following trip will be in January and then again in March.



We have a wonderful opportunity this coming Sunday as we have been invited by our church to have a table before and after services to sponsor out school children along with a couple of other ministries. Currently we have all of our orphans sponsored, but we have only about 250 of 700 school children sponsored out. The cost of offering free school to the children in our villages is a huge drain on the general budget of the ministry, we have turned down children in some of our villages and have not been able to afford having school in Pass Rien. The cost of sponsoring one child to go to school is only $15 per month. Please pray that God moves many hearts and that many children will be sponsored and have their lives forever changed.


We really, really appreciate the generosity of everyone who donated towards the items in the container and the shipping costs.

Blessings,

Chris