A tribute to Rebecca

I would like to take a just minute of your time to give a much needed tribute and to sincerely appreciate someone who has been an instrumental factor in our ministry here in Haiti. Our daughter Rebecca. Even from childhood Rebecca has always been a very determined and purposeful force for whatever she puts her mind and heart towards.  Haiti has definitely been her sincere passion for the past 7 years.  She joined us on many of our earliest trips to Haiti, when we were just trying to get things established and build some positive relationships. Her heart for the people of Haiti grew very quickly.

Rebecca was instrumental in the beginning revival movement of God in Pass Rien. She established a powerful and dynamic women’s ministry in a country where women are not considered to be ministry worthy. Time and time again we saw the power of the Holy Spirit working in miraculous ways with these dear women. Her inductive Bible studies were a cultural breakthrough for the women of Haiti. Setting them free to read and study the word of God for themselves. Healings and deliverances were a common occurrence among them. Rebecca set in place women’s ministry leaders in our Life-Giving churches. Her leaders loved her and were always asking for her, and still are. Some of my best memories are of Rebecca and I baptizing many women and youth together in the rivers of these villages.

   Rebecca was also instrumental in establishing a transitional ministry for aging out orphans. She has travelled the world and seen firsthand the destruction of young people when they are put out onto the streets before they are able to support themselves in a healthy way. Rebecca was determined to create a better way, with real Life-Giving opportunities for these kids that we have invested so much in at the orphanage. A year ago her and her supportive husband Andrew bought a house in Gonaives about 15 minutes from the orphanage for the very purpose of ministering to these older boys aging out of the orphanage. Integrating these boys into a family atmosphere where they will continue their education, gain much needed life skills, and find an identity in Christ that will sustain them for all eternity.

  As with all great “doers of the word” successful ministry comes with a heavy cost. Haiti was very hard on Rebecca. She was sick much of the time she was here, and being apart from her family took a great toll. In December Rebecca made a healthy and wise decision to return to America, and spend time at home with her family, directing her passion to rebuilding what God gave her first. Her personal relationship with Him, her health, and her family. Andrew and Rebecca have very generously donated their house to insure that her “Ministry Continues.” And it will. God used Rebecca in a mighty way, and we pay tribute to her for that. We join together in prayer for her and her family, for all that she has given to advance the Kingdom of God in Haiti………

Bless you Becca, We love you……..

Becca and Mike baptizing 

Baptizing in Pass Rein

Ministering together

Painting one of the witch doctors houses

Baptizing more believers

Some of Becca's women's ministry leaders

The first boy arriving at the transitional ministry home

Spreading the material out

Cutting the material for the mattress covers

Working hard

Tonya and one of our children

Ronnie and Tonya

The South Carolina team

Hello, 

Hope all of you are enjoying the first few days of June and summer. We have had a lot of new things happening. 

 

When I wrote last, Mike was getting ready to fly to the Orphan Summit, and then on to our annual fundraiser. He is now back home in Haiti. Our annual fundraiser was a very successful and enjoyable evening. Our Canadian appreciation evening was a wonderful event also. Thank you to all who attended these events. We are so thankful for all the wonderful family and friends who helped to put the two evenings together.

A few days after Mike returned, we had a visit from our South Carolina team. This team is primarily made up of preachers and they preached at our pastors conference, youth conference and at 5 of our 6 churches. They nearly preached around the clock. They had a great trip, I will post some photos of their team on the blog. 

One of the items we are excited about is we have a team of Haitians making new mattresses for all of the children in the Children's Village, and each of the mama's (nanny's). We will post photos of the progress as we go. They are being made in locally here in Gonaives, it is so fun to be able to bless young businesses with orders big enough they need to hire other local people to help with the work. I will also post some photos on the blog of the team beginning to work on the mattresses.

Last Friday night we had an all night prayer and worship celebration at the location of a new church plant for us. Please pray for direction of this plant over the summer. 

Near the end of this month we have a team coming from Anacortes, please pray for them as they prepare for their trip. We also have a couple named Mary and Ian who will be arriving with the team, but they will be staying for 4 to 6 months. Please also pray for them as they prepare to come along side of this ministry. Pray for direction, adjustment and the cultural differences they will experience.

Please also pray for us. We have had no power in our home in Gonaives for a month now. Which effects almost everything, from food storage, to pumping water, and functioning in the evening, even something as simple, but important as charging our phones for communication. We bought a used generator, but the cost of gas is around $5 a gallon. So we try to not to use it. It affects the internet  which requires power to run the router. Also people cut the line for the internet weekly thinking they are cutting into the power line to take power. We have been told by the power company that they are not going to repair the line or the transformer for our street. So please, pray for discernment on how we can solve this problem.

Thank you for hanging in with us as we minister in Haiti. We really, really could not come along side of the Haitians with out your help.

Blessings,

Chris

Decorating

Setting up

Ironing the wedding clothes

Nathan brought more decorations

Nathan and Steph

The hat

The hair

Flowers

All ready

Kegan and Steph with the flower girls

The first bite of cake

Bubbles for the send off

And they are off :)

Hello, 

The wedding bells have rung !!!!!!! Steph and Kegan are married!!!! 

We were very blessed to have Steph and Kegan choose to come to Haiti to be married. Steph lived with us in Lynden for a year. And Steph has spent quite a bit of time in Haiti with us. She recieved the nursing hours she needed between LPN and RN school in our medical clinic here in Haiti, along with many short term mission trips. So we were pleased they chose to get married here. Mike officiated the wedding, Nathan and Chael also spoke. It was mostly American in style, but had bits of a Haitian style wedding also. Two of our little girls were the flower girls. They blew petals all the way down the isle. Steph had brought some decorations, but Nathan surprised her and Kegan by getting more decorations for them and having them all set up when she came to look. Steph was so blessed she started crying. There was a mix of English and Creole worship songs. Also Nathan's choir sang for them. They said vows they wrote and Haitian wedding vows. All in all it was a pretty special day. They stayed the night at our house and flew back to the states the next morning. Jason also flew back with them. They arrived back home today. Thank you so much for your prayers for their day.

Mike will be flying to Tennessee on Tuesday. He will be attending an Orphan Summit for a few days, then flying on to Lynden. He will be there for our annual fundraiser dinner on Saturday, May 2, in the Jansen Art Center in Lynden. Please remember to pray for the evening. Mike will also be sharing at the Canadian appreciation evening Friday, May 8th. This will be held at Gary and Wendy Nyboer's home. He is looking forward to seeing each of you. 

A few of you have asked if you could help with our new play and pray room. Yes you can! I would love it if we could get some black (not white or hispanic) Barbie dolls and baby dolls. Doll clothes for both Barbie and baby dolls would also be appreciated. Another item that would be greatly appreciated is Duplos made by Lego. Also games like Candy land, that do not rely on understanding English would be great. If you think of other items, drop me a note and let me know. 

On another note, we have 8 new children in the Children's Village who need sponsors. Please let me know if you are interested and I will send you photos and information. We have both boys and girls and multiple ages. These children need someone who will stand in the gap for. Will you????

Many Blessings,

Chris

Hello,

I wanted to write to you again and share some stories from Pass Rein. 

The first story reaches back to when the (witch doctor) Madame ruled over Pass Rein. One of the activities that she controlled in the area was the cock fighting. Her cock fighting was so popular that she even had government officials participating and betting. The cock fighting was held on a piece of property uphill from the church. The problem for her is that along with the church and salvations in the community, the Holy Spirit showed up and she has not been able to perform her voodoo rituals, keep her prostitution ring going, the cock fighting, etc. She has left the area and now resides in Gonaives. Since she has left, the man who owned the property the cock fighting was held on, decided he would try and resurrect the cock fighting. He tried twice and failed both times. The Spirit of God had other plans for the land. A little while ago this man got sick and died. In the meantime Mike felt like we were supposed to put a cross up on the hill in Pass Rein, like the cross on the hill behind the Children's Village. We also have one on the hill in Perou. Mike actually had our welder make a cross.  So now, a distant relative inherits the land. This relative just came to Nathan and said that he wanted to donate the land to our Good Shepherd Church. He said he felt like the land was supposed to  be used for a place of prayer and worship. It just so happens that this land is part way up the hill in Pass Rein. The perfect place for a cross and a perfect place for someone to spend time praying and worshiping as they look up at the cross. The plan now is to build a gazebo type structure for protection from the sun and a place to sit. God is amazing and He IS in the redemption business.

The second story happened just the other day in Pass Rein. Madame Berline one of the more committed women to the church in Pass Rein told us that she had a dream during the night. It involved 5 crowns and 5 women of God. She said she asked Jesus in the dream if she could see heaven. She said she spent time with Jesus in her dream and saw heaven. The next morning she told Nathan and a few others about her dream. By the afternoon she was so sick, she called some of the leaders and told them she would not be at all night prayer and worship that evening because she could not even walk she was in so much pain. One of the main leaders, Bashmi, felt like she was supposed to share her dream with the congregation so he  walked down to her house and carried her the 7 blocks uphill to the church. She shared her dream and the church prayed over her for a long time. She was completely healed and after church was able to walk home. God is so awesome and compassionate.

Please continue to pray for the Madame (witch doctor) that she would turn her life over to God. Also, please pray for the church in Pass Rein, that they would continue to hunger and thirst after God. Please pray for safe travel for Mike as he flies next week. And please pray for our fundraiser in Washington on Saturday, May 2nd and our Canadian appreciation and thank you evening on Friday, May 8th. I know Mike is looking forward to seeing you.​

​Blessings,

Chris​

Keagan building puzzles with the children

Don't all medical people measure oil and water for cakes with a syringe?

And then grease the cake pan with gauze 

Steph's birthday party

Christina and Brooklyn helping to set up the new play and pray room

Hello,

Hope all of you are looking forward to our annual fundraiser in the U.S. It will be held on Saturday, May 2nd. Mike will be there to share and would love to see as many of you as possible. 

Also in Canada we will be holding a Canadian thank you dessert reception on Friday, May 8th. Again Mike will be there to share and would love to see you.

As usual we have a lot of things happening here in Haiti. We have had two more small teams since I last wrote. The first team in April was Tyler, Christina and Brooklyn. They are a blessing when they come. They spent most of their time playing with the children. They made a small swing for the little handicap boy, as he is not able to swing in our regular swings. Tyler helped with some electrical things and Christina helped me to get the new play and pray room set up. I will post some photos on the blog. You can access them by clicking on the blog link below. 

Right now we have Jason, Steph and Steph's fiance Keagan. They all are in the medical field. Jason is a tech, Keagan is an LPN and Steph is a RN. They have done physical's on each of the children in the Children's Village. They have worked in the medical clinic and Steph assisted our doctor in performing minor surgery. Steph celebrated her birthday for the 3rd year in a row in Haiti, this Saturday. She celebrated along with four of the children who also have April birthdays.Tomorrow the team will travel to Perou and spend some time with Wadner and his family. They will give Wadner a medical physical also. 

Our really exciting news will happen this Thursday. Both Steph and Keagan have chosen Haiti as their wedding destination. Everyone here in the Children's Village is extremely happy to be sharing their special day with them. The Good Shepherd Choir wants to sing for them, as well as another singing group. Mike will be speaking and officiating, along with Pastor Nathan and Pastor Daniel. I will try and post some photos of the wedding. Please pray for them as they take their vows and begin their new lives together.

Also, our truck is broken and we would appreciate prayers for the repair, it has turned into a major repair of the engine. We depend on it for the teams, ministry and personally.  We feel better knowing that there is a truck available for sick or hurt children or for members in the community that need a ride to the hospital. 

I will try and write again tomorrow, as I have two stories to share from Pass Rien. Thank you for your prayers. 

Blessings,

Chris

Playing puzzles

Reading books

Playing with more puzzles

Spirograph

The new play/pray room

Hello again,

I wanted to write some more and try to catch everyone up on what's been happening. Sometimes things become so busy here.

Our fourth team in two months actually flew into Haiti with the kids and I.  They were a huge help with our luggage, of which the children and I had 26 pieces.  Their help was very much appreciated, to say the least. Greg, Mac and Terry were a huge blessing in our Children's Village also. Greg and Mac fixed one of our three 1000 gallon water tanks and arranged the tanks so that there is room for 3 additional  tanks. The additional tanks will be used in our new garden project. This is something we have been wanting to do for a few years now. It will include raised beds for vegetables, we will be also be incorporating chickens, turkeys and Tilapia fish tanks into the project. Greg and Mac also built a foot bridge over a ditch in front of the entrance to our Good Shepherd Church in Deberres. They also went to visit another garden project in Mirebalais and our truck broke down. So now it is in Mirebalais with our machanic, who is trying to rebuild the engine. All in a day in Haiti, sigh!

We had a family of 8 give their lives to the Lord last night in Pass Rein. So far this new year we have had 99 people come to the Lord in Pass Rien, including the youth during Carnival weekend. It is just amazing watching God work.  

Some of you have been asking for an update on the two new handicapped children in our Children's Village. They are doing well. We have hired a mamma (nanny) just for them. We have also moved them into one of the rooms in the 4 bedroom apartment in the Children's Village. The floors in the apartment are white ceramic tile and easier to keep clean. Which is a better environment for them. It has also been a great teaching opportunity for the other children, one that shows them the value God places on these children. We need diapers for the children, and would appreciate it if any of you feel led to donate cloth diapers for them. The simple prefold type. I think some of the new type of diapers would be a bit fancy and complicated for them. If you have any questions you can email me. Disposable diapers here are for the wealthy and priced accordingly.  Also there is already to much trash in Haiti, we do not want to add to it. 

We are privileged to be part of a new test pilot program that we are sooo excited about. Mike was talking to a lady named Karen, who is responsible for the Arizona Kids Against Hunger program. We have received boxed food from them in the past. The food is free to our ministry, but we have to pay the $12,000 dollars shipping and duty on the 40 foot container to get it here. Our mission statement has always been To come along side the Haitian people to help them help themselves. We have an all Haitian staff, in our Children's Village, churches, schools and medical clinic. We hire Haitians to do building, painting, etc. One thing that has weighed heavily on our minds has been that the food relief we have received from the states has helped us to be better stewards of the funds given to us, but then does not support the local economy in Haiti. So Mike and Karen have come up with a plan and we are privileged to be the test pilot so to speak.  We are just now receiving some of the traditional boxed food. But, Karen has also sent us a shipment of the soy and the fortified nutritional packets that go into the boxed food. We have been working with the local rice growers here in Haiti, and will be buying local grown rice to bag up with the soy and nutrition packets. We will be training Haitians to bag the products up like they do in the states. This way we will be helping the Haitian economy and being wise stewards at the same time. Like I said previously, we are soooo excited to see this work and so is Karen. We really want to see this program help the people of Haiti, instead of hurting their economy. If you are interested in concepts like this a good book to read is When Helping Hurts. 

So in closing I can not stress enough how valuable your prayers are. Thank you and many blessings.

Chris

Hello,

 

Its been a while since I have written. The children and I returned to Haiti on the 10th and have been settling in to life in Haiti again. Mike returned to Haiti 6 weeks before us. The extra time for me was very good, I was able to visit family and catch up with some of you. We had two grandchildren added to the family and I was able to spend some precious time with them. The extra time was good for my health also.

Mike hosted two small teams while I was in the U.S. One of which I had written about. The second team was sent by Logos Bible Software. We were honored to be chosen as the field ministry for their "making a difference" 2014 conference. So Josh and his helper Joey spent a week filming different aspects of the ministry. They put together a video for Logos Bible Software. They also will be putting together a couple of videos for our ministry. A short 2 min. video and a longer version around 20 mins. 

For Carnival this year we provided an alternative again for the youth. For three days and nights we had activities, worship and speaking. Over the three days 49 youth gave their lives to the Lord. Please pray for them as they learn to walk out living a new life style. 

Please pray for for Haiti, these weeks between Carnival and Easter are filled with many dark traditions. Satan works overtime during this season, it is a very oppressive time.

Thank you ahead of time for your prayers.

Blessings,

Chris

Ruth holding our new little boy

Our new little girl

Hello,

A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks. I will try to catch you up on a few things and then I have a story to share. 

First of all Mike made it back to Haiti safe and sound, thank you for praying for him. 

We also had a small team of two this past week. Alice who's husband and adult son have been to Haiti with us before, wanted to come and experience Haiti for herself. Her mother, Ruth also came. The day they arrived there were protests because the prices of gas have not lowered, even though they have in most parts of the world. Because of the protests Mike could not get to the airport in Port-au-Prince to pick them up. Nathan's wife's brother, Pastor Jeremiah picked them up and they spent the first day with his family. Mike said they made it up to the orphanage the next day and spent time holding children and playing with them. One of the days they made valentines with the children. They also did glo-sticks and special snacks with the children one evening. On another day they cleaned and organized our medical clinic.  Which we GREATLY appreciate. They flew back out Saturday morning. 

Tomorrow we will have another small, two person team leaving for Haiti. Josh and his friend will be filming footage for a Logo's software video and they will be taking footage for a video for our ministry as well. Please pray for safe travel for them, and for all of their gear to arrive safely. Also for creativity and a clear understanding of the heart of what God is doing in Haiti.

Now for the story, while were stateside for the holidays this year, four more children joined our Children's Village. Three boys and a girl. All of the children are from different families. The unusual part is that two of the children are  handicapped, but they are from different families. ​Both of the children were abandoned in Pass Rein. Some of the people from the church in Pass Rein came to Nathan and told him the children had been left to survive on their own. The little girl is about 6 years old, she is unable to use her legs. She uses her arms and her torso to get around. The little boy is about 3, he also is unable to use his legs, but he does not have the strength in his arms to get around and he is unable to even sit up by himself. In the US or Canada their situation would be difficult, but in Haiti they will not be able to survive without help. Our Children's Village is not handicap accessible, we are on a sloping hill. But we felt that what we had to offer, was better then how they were living. One of the men on staff has built the little boy a chair without legs, so he can sit upright part of the day. Mike said they both have really sweet spirits and he is trying to evaluate what would be best for them. Haiti is not a society that puts a high value on the handicapped. Lack of education and fear play huge parts into the future of children like these two. But, GOD DOES VALUE THEM. Please pray with us as we try to decide what is best for these children. Please pray for discernment and wisdom. We are uncertain at this point how long they will be with us. We would like to model compassion, as well as try to show a bit of God's heart toward them. We would appreciate some of you, who God is tugging at your heart strings right now, to commit to praying for them on a daily basis. We would also appreciate it if some of you would be willing to help support an extra care taker for them. We also need and would appreciate some of you who are willing to pray for wisdom for us and a worker to discern the avenue of best care for them, as there are no services or assistance in Haiti for the handicapped. At this point we really need to discern what part God is calling both you and us to play in their little lives. Only God knows their stories. I will try and post their photos on the blog. Thanks for all you do for us, the ministry and the little ones in Haiti. 

Blessings,

Chris

February 3, 2015

Hello, 

Hope all is well with you. Just a quick note to ask for prayer. Mike is headed  home to Haiti. He is on the shuttle going to the airport this evening. We would appreciate prayers for safe travel and on time connections. Also for him as he re-adjusts to life in Haiti. He is returning alone this time. The children and I will follow him in a month, along with a small team. I would appreciate prayers also as our five children will be here with me.

Thank you and Blessings,

Chris 

January 31, 2015

  Prayer Partners:  Mike here; many of you have heard my own story of growing up as a child without a father, security or stability, and how miraculous it was when God, so graciously, stepped in and revealed himself to me at age 22. How He forgave me and healed me and adopted me into His own family. Through no deserving of my own, he gave me His name and left me His inheritance. Aside from surrender and obedience, this was the compelling reason why I followed Him to Haiti; for the sake of the children here, children just like me!
    Jesus has commissioned us to give more than just warm feelings and good thoughts to the least of these children. He has called us to this place, to walk with Him into the lives of these children, to see, smell and taste what they, see, smell and taste, and experience what they experience. Jesus wants us to feel, first hand, what He feels for these children who are so much less fortunate than the majority of children in the rest of the world. He has called us to physically bring them food, clothing, education, and medical attention. He has called us to emotionally comfort them when they feel abandoned, alone and scared, to spiritually extend the grace of God to them when they are lost and hurting. He has called us to extend the power of God to them when they are in chains and have been unfairly handed unhealthy generational ties or curses. The Bible says that “We will not hide God's wonders from the children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of our Lord, His power and all the wonders He has done.” (Ps. 78:4)

    God has called us to lead a charge of His army to “Lift the burden from their shoulders and destroy the yoke of oppression on them” (Isa. 10:27),  And "You are His army." 

   Some of you may be right in saying that we are not all called to sell our possessions and move to Haiti or somewhere else, but please don’t miss the fact that WE ARE ALL DEFINITELY CALLED TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR FATHERS WORK!!!
   We are so very, very grateful to have you in the army behind us, supporting us, praying for us, standing in there with us. This is a war, a spiritual war, an all-out assault on the next generation of Christian leaders. We desperately need you to continue to stand in prayer and support with us. Will you help us, even if it puts you in a place where you have to depend more on God’s provision, because “we gave everything we had to help the poor” (Mk. 12:44)
   We really do appreciate you and want to thank you so very much for your continued and on-going prayers and support for us and this ministry. With you this army will prevail unto victory in the mighty name of Jesus…….…...Mike

January 13, 2015

ANNIVERSARY

  Today, January 12th marks the 5th anniversary of one of the most devastating and destructive events in world history. The Haiti Earthquake.... The sudden shaking of Haiti that destroyed most of it's capitol, Port-Au-Prince, left hundreds of thousands of people homeless, and children orphaned. It took the lives of almost 300,000 innocent people. Many of you remember the horrific news pictures and the immediate pleas for help from this poor country. 

    Now 5 years later, most of the world has forgotten, or assumed that all things have been fixed or restored. Unfortunately, this is not so.... Many of the people of Haiti still to this day, live in rubble, or tent slums, or orphanages because of the earthquake and are desperately waiting for the relief to come.

    Your have helped New Generation Ministries bring long term, sustainable programs that will educate, train, and equip the Haitian people to rise above their helpless condition and achieve the life God intended for them. Planting Life-Giving Churches, Setting up free Christian Schools and The Good Shepherd Children's Village, offering Medical Care, and many other life-giving programs. Is there really hope for Haiti......YES, and the fruit of the presence of God is showing itself in miraculous ways. Hundreds are coming to know Jesus as their savior, getting delivered, baptized, even married. Transformation is before our very eyes. YES, there is much hope for Haiti, and you are helping it happen. Thank You so much and please continue to pray and contribute towards the relief that Haiti is waiting for.....

Mike

A NEW YEAR THROUGH NEW EYES.....

Hello,

Hope your holidays were wonderful. We are so thankful for all of you, your prayers, support and encouragement. We have enjoyed seeing many of you while we have been back. Mike has been preaching and we have been sharing with many. We still have more speaking engagements and meetings, hoping to see as many of you as possible. 

This trip has been especially fun, as we have been able to see things through new eyes. Both Lydia and Jonathan, (their new English names, traditionally we have kept their Haitian names for their middle names), have been so fun to be with, as they take in so many things we take for granted. One of Jonathan's first comments was "how come the cars are all so clean". They have been excited over things as simple as bubble baths, and moving dental chairs and also over more complicated things, like the Seattle Monorail and skyscrapers. Just the airplane flights getting here were amazing to each of them. They have never seen grocery stores, large churches, malls, freeways, so many new things, some of them so weird if you think about them, like the produce department having the sound of thunder and then raining on the vegetables, machines that blow warm air into your home, machines that wash and dry your clothes or dishes. So many things we do not even notice. Ferry boats, dogs as pets, coats, mittens, Christmas trees, the list is so long. Thank you to all who prayed for our family and visa's. It could have turned out so different, but God prevailed. 

Please continue to pray for the Children's Village and our Good Shepherd Ministry in Haiti, along with Pastor Nathan. Your prayers would also be appreciated as Mike shares and preaches here in Washington, In both places please pray for hearts to be connected to Jesus and the Holy Spirit to be present.

Blessings,

Chris