Fabric for the high school shirts

A new school shirt for the primary children

Measuring and cutting for school uniforms

Hello,

Hope you are enjoying the fall season. The last couple of evenings here in Haiti have been in the 90's. Looking forward to a little bit of fall weather :) 

I have bits and pieces of Haiti news to share with you. Tonight in Marose there were two salvations. Praise God! Also a very interesting thing is happening in Pass Rien. People have been coming forward who attended the crusade two weeks ago, and sharing that they have given their hearts to the Lord ! We have been told about 5 people giving their hearts to God after the crusade ended, all of which say they heard the Gospel message at the crusade, God works in ways that are entirely His, for the purpose of Glorifying Him :)

We want to send a huge thank you out to Bart and his friends from the men's group at Northwest Community Church. They raised enough funds for us to purchase a transformer so we can have power again. A novel idea after going 3 1/2 months without power. The power company here told us there were not enough people on the line to fix the old transformer, which blew because too many people were stealing power. So now thanks to Bart and friends, WE HAVE POWER :) I forget sometimes we have it, it has become a habit when it is dark to go grab a flashlight so I can keep working. The kids laugh and remind me to flip on the light switch :) God is good, he even cares about the little things. Our little refrigerator, which had become a fancy cupboard is cold again. We do not have to turn the generator on to use the internet. Although the power company installing the transformer, cut the internet line in 6 plus places, causing us to have power, but no internet for 9 days. But we have both now! And we are praising God for it.

Mary and Ian who have been with us for almost 3 months now have been a huge help with school start up. They have been at each school registration updating school photos. They have also been helping us get ready for the new school year. With books, shoes, uniforms, photos, tuition etc. This time of year for us is overwhelming in every way possible. We are so thankful for their help.

We also would love to give a huge thank you to Bob and Rose and their Mission store. This summer they raised enough funds  for the ministry to purchase a commercial copy machine. This has been huge in preparing for school. We have been printing materials for school and also for the the pastors training. We are so very grateful to all of the people who contributed to the Mission store. It has been such a blessing.

And now for the story. A week ago Mike needed to go to Port-au-Prince for meetings and supplies. It takes about 3 hours to get into the heart of Port-au-Prince and he was on a tight time frame, so he was not able to stop and eat until late in the afternoon. He was very hungry so he ate in the car as he drove, thoroughly enjoying his meal of chicken. As he was driving he started laughing at himself, thinking what it might  look like to others around him. As he pulled up to a traffic light, he saw a young boy begging from the median in the road. Mike reached out the truck window and gave the boy his meal. The boy looked quickly around to see if anyone saw. Usually there are people everywhere even in the middle of the road. But, there was no one. Mike watched him sit down on the curb and fold his hands to give God thanks before he began to eat. Mike drove away with tears in his eyes. Times like that are so precious. 

Thanks and blessings for coming along side of us to help the people of Haiti.

Blessings,

Chris

Pass Rien Crusade Marching Video

Video wouldn't upload onto blog but you can see it if you follow this link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wah-ZuU-2BI&feature=youtu.be

Praising God in Pass Rien

Saturday night at the crusade

All on our feet, about to march and claim the field for Jesus

The stake in the ground, claiming the ground for JEZI (Jesus)

Wow GOD is so POWERFUL!

Hello,

We wanted to thank all of you so very much for coming along side of us and fasting and praying for the Madame (witch doctor) and the crusade in Pass Rien. Your responses were encouraging and faith building. One of our friends is a Christian medical doctor and he felt like it was fitting for him to fast and pray, Christian doctor vs. witch doctor. Another one of our friends was having his birthday party and during the party had everyone stop and spend time in prayer. Another couple are vacationing in Europe and said they would spend time in prayer. So many of you were willing to give of yourselves.

The response of the Madame I do not know as of yet, but God does :) I do know the Holy Spirit moved powerfully last night. I will let you know as soon as I know more. 

The response during the crusade was huge, your prayers moved kingdoms. We worshiped together first for a couple of hours. Then Mike preached. Near the end of his sermon a stake was driven into the ground claiming the soccer field for Jesus. This field has been used as a military type training ground for voodoo, and last night it was being claimed for Jesus. Then everyone at the crusade marched all over the field singing worship songs and claiming the ground for God. They marched and sang for over 1/2 hour. It was an amazing sight, seeing Christians marching together for Jesus felt like a glimpse into heaven. So very POWERFUL. After everyone finished marching, 13 young adults came forward and gave their lives to the Lord. So far this week there have been 38 salvations during the crusade. 

This morning before we went to church 5 people who were not at the crusade called Nathan and asked what the white stake,with Jezi (Jesus) written on it was all about? It had not even been 12 hours yet! Thank you so very much for your sacrificial prayers and fasting.

Today, Mike felt like God was saying that Pass Rien was like a lamp stand to put a lamp on. A lamp stand where His light will shine from. His children do not get to chose the lamp stand. He chooses the lamp stand, and He has chosen Pass Rien. 

Tonight is the last night of the crusade, we would appreciate your prayer once more.

Blessings,

Chris

Prayer and fasting needed

Hello,

A quick note to ask for prayers and fasting today (Saturday). Today I am going to be fasting for the madame (witch doctor) in Pass Rien. I normally would not share with anyone that I am fasting, but I would like it if you would join me. She has caused so many problems in Pass Rien and she is fighting against us, Nathan, his family, the ministry and the village of Pass Rien. I believe that Jesus wants her heart, would you please help by praying and fasting for her with us? I would love it if you would respond with a quick yes or something, so I know we are going to battle over her soul together. Jesus promises when two or more are gathered He hears our prayers.

We are so thankful for your prayers for the crusade, Thursday 5 more people accepted Jesus into their heart. Last night 5 women were delivered and many, many came forward for prayer. We also found out that voodoo witch doctors use this same soccer field Nathan felt called to hold the revival on, for practicing and teaching voodoo. They use the field like they would for military training. So tonight when Mike preaches we are going to ask the 700 plus attendees to help drive a stake in the ground for Jesus. We are going to be asking everyone to walk all over the property area and claim the ground back for God. Again, we would love it if you would agree in prayer together with us tonight. We need the power of prayer together to accomplish this. I wish you could be here standing with us, but we know God will honor your prayers to see his kingdom come to this area of Pass Rien. Thank you so, so much.

Blessings,

Chris

one of our little ones

trying to make the children's village green

even the older girls like to swing sometimes

joy

Hello,

We wanted to update you on what is happening in Haiti. We have a huge revival going on in Pass Rein each night this week, through Sunday. We are holding this revival down the road about a mile from the church in a dirt soccer field, so that there is more room for the community to attend. Last night we had about 700 people. Typically each night more people attend. Please pray for the revival to reach new people in the community. We have had 21 salvation's so far. Revivals at Pass Rein are so much fun, everyone loves to worship and last night was no exception. You see people from every walk of life and every age. They bring blankets for the children to sleep on when they get tired. Last night it I was so blessed as I worshiped, a little ways in front of me I watched a little old women, she looked like she was at least 90 years old, but probably she was closer to 70 years old. She was dressed in a moo moo,  had a scarf on her head and held a walking stick. She was pretty bent over. But as worship progressed she started dancing for God and singing with everything she had. As she was lifting her arms up to praise God she was swinging her walking stick. That stick was just an extension of her dancing. She was so precious. I was so worried she would topple over, but I should have know her Jesus was holding her up. After that song ended, she stooped over and walked slowly, carefully back to her chair. I know she blessed God's heart, she had given her all. So precious and sweet, she didn't care what others thought, she was giving her gift to her Savior. And that was most likely after walking to the revival for a mile or so over rough terrain. I want to be like her when I grow up :)

Thank you so much for your faithful support, we depend on your prayer support.

Blessings,

Chris

Giving out rice and cooking oil in the village of Perou

The relief

And the joy

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!

Giving out rice and cooking oil in the village of Marose

Hello,

We wanted to thank you for responding to our previous e-mail regarding the value of the US dollar rising and the effect it has had in the Haitian market place. Because many of the items the people buy in the local market come from America, their dollar does not go as far as it did just a couple of months ago. We asked for your help as many of the Haitian people cannot afford to buy food. This past Saturday we were able to pass out rice and cooking oil to some of the poorest families in the community of Marose. Then again on Sunday, we were able to bless some of the poorest families in the community of Perou. 

We will be passing out rice and oil in other villages that we minister in during the coming days and weeks, I will post photos again when we have those outreaches. We are in the process of determining which families in those communities need help the most. In each outreach the rice is passed out through the church to the community, the families helped do not need to be attending the church, we are just trying to be the hands and feet of Jesus reaching out in love and compassion. Hopefully you will catch some of the relief, hope and joy experienced by these families you have reached out to in some of the photos on the blog. Many thanks and blessings, for coming along side and helping.

The story I wanted to share is one Nathan shared with us today, the story takes place before the hurricane in September of 2008, but today was the first time I have heard it. Quite often God uses Nathan to give someone one last chance to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Sometimes the stories have good endings, sometimes not. I do not like to hear someone tell Nathan "later pastor Nathan, later". There usually is no later. So, Nathan said that one day a couple of weeks before the hurricane hit, he felt led by the Lord to go to the cemetery in Badjo. Badjo is a village across the river from Marose that is known through out Haiti as one of the main villages where voodoo is practiced. People actually come from international destinations to experience voodoo in Badjo. Pastor Nathan brought some friends from the village of Marose with him, to help evangelize in the village of Badjo.  In the cemetery they removed some of the cords and flags that represent voodoo. While they were taking down the cords and flags they were approached by some of the witch doctors and people in the area that practice voodoo, Nathan tried to explain to them why he took these items down. He shared about Jesus with them, they became very angry with him and would not listen or give their hearts to Jesus. He explained to them that they may not get another chance. Two weeks later the hurricane hit. Mike, our son Jeremiah and a team of friends were in Haiti at the time. The hurricane destroyed much of the Gonaive area that year, most people who were not able to get to a second story or on top of the roof of a stable building died in the flood. For those of you who have been to the Children's Village, try to picture the river becoming wide enough to reach the doorway of the Marose church. The hurricane hit the Gonaives area that year and then within hours circled around and hit Gonaives and Haiti a second time. ALL of the people in Badjo that Nathan had tried to share Christ with were caught up in the flood and died. Not one survived. Stories like that are huge reminders to us of how important prayer is. It is not possible to know when an opportunity to share one last time with someone will come up, which is just one of the many reasons we need your prayers. It is one of the many reasons we are constantly asking for your prayers and thanking you for praying. Your prayers really are a life line at times. People ask what our biggest needs are sometimes, prayer, good solid prayer is one of the answers we give. So, once again THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO PRAY.

Blessings,

Chris

The hurricane hitting Marose

The river flooding 

Over the banks

Narrow river flooding Marose

Amazing

It broke roads

People trying to find a safe place

Helping each other

Some of the aftermath

Water is such a powerful force

The crew that rescued Mike, Jeremiah and the team

Mary and our littlest

two of our younger girls

eating mangoes

wild hair on one of the sweetest

smiles

Hello,

We just wanted to touch base with you and share what is going on here in Haiti. We also wanted to thank you for your faithful support, your prayers are so very much appreciated by us. I don't think I will ever be able to fully explain how important your prayers are to everything happening here in Haiti.

Nathan's grandfather has some property in a small village near Gonaive and Marose called Myam. He is an evangelist and is quite a character. He is in his mid 80's which is quite a feat, given the life expectancy in Haiti is 52. It is probably partly due to his being such a character  :) and the bigger part due to his love of sharing Jesus. He has always desired a church to be on part of his property in Myam. The only church in Myam right now is mixed with voodoo, which is so confusing to the people. So we are beginning to lay the foundation for a "Good Shepherd life giving church" plant. Nathan held a week long revival in Myam, Mike spoke one of the nights, and there were guest speakers the other evenings. Over the 8 evenings 46 people asked Jesus into their hearts. We see this as a sign that God wants to move in Myam. Myam is another dark place that needs the light of Jesus, please pray for the ministry and both Nathan's and our family, as we again break into a dark place. With the fruit comes attacks from the enemy, so we really need your prayers, for perseverance, protection, wisdom, discernment and direction. Thank you.

Mary and Ian (the couple interning with us for about 7 months) are doing great. They are spending part of their time here in our home with the older boys transitional ministry and part of their time in the Children's Village. They are doing multiple age bible study groups and helping us with some of the logistics of running the ministry. They are also developing some exciting Facebook campaigns, which you can look forward to seeing in the future. Ian is also looking forward to getting started on our mini farm in front of the Children's Village. We are hoping to have raised vegetable beds, chickens and eggs, turkeys and two Tilapia fish ponds. Some of these projects have been waiting on the side lines for quite a while, we are excited to be finally bringing them into being. 

Again thank you for your prayers. 

Blessings,

Chris

Mary and some of our girls

Some of our boys

New mattresses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

70 new mattresses!

Unloading the mattresses, excited kids :)

The view from the boys end of the porch

The view from the girls end of the porch

A roof shot, trying to get them all in so you can see, almost did

A close up of some of the girls

The boys starting to move them into their rooms:)

Life Giving Institute - Haitians giving back to Haiti

English as a second language level one 

Intro level

All together

Getting ready to do their presentations

One presentation

Another presentation

Digging the holes for the trees

Dag one of the teachers

The children join in

Planting the trees

A student with some of the trees

Ariel, our other teacher