Celebrating with One Hope, one of our Partners in Ministry

On Tuesday, I was invited to a celebration put on by “One Hope”, the ministry that produces the “Book of Hope” a comic-book-style evangelistic booklet that we have distributed to all of the schools we work with. The occasion was the distribution of their 600,000,000 copies of the“Book of Hope” worldwide.

We had the privilege of meeting Pastor Bob Hoskins, the founder of “One Hope” ministries. He explained how he has been preaching God's message of transformation for over 60 years how the first “Book of Hope” distribution took place in El Salvador. He had sent Bibles to the 50 most influential leaders in all the Latin American countries and when the Minister of Education in El Salvador called to thank him, he asked if there was any way to provide Bibles to all of the school children in El Salvador. At that time El Salvador was in the middle of a devastating civil war and as in all wars, the children were suffering the most. Pastor Bob was so excited about this request that he said “yes” right on the spot. Later he found out that there were 1 million school students in El Salvador and he had just promised to provide all of them with God's Word! So he developed a comic book version of the story of Jesus and included a simple Gospel presentation. God provided the resources to print and distribute the books and lives began to change. Within a year, the civil war had ended, and it has been peaceful there ever since. Some would say this is a coincidence, but Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that God's Word changes hearts.

We have been distributing the “Book of Hope” in Haiti since 2003. Since that time we have overseen the distribution of thousands of these wonderful comic books. Last year alone we distributed over 10,000 to the schools where we have started soccer teams.This year we plan to use a special booklet they have prepared for the World Cup in our outreach next summer. Please pray that God's Spirit will transform the hearts of many children as God's Word is distributed!Rich

Let's be more like cats

Every morning I try to sit down and spend some time reading my “One year Chronological Bible” and then praying for a while. This morning I was anxious about our finances since we have recently had a lot of unexpected expenses.. But then our cat, Macy, climbed up in my lap purring like crazy and just sat there. She wanted nothing more than just to be with me and have me pet her.This reminded me of Jesus' words to Martha: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41) I needed to be more like Macy this morning, to sit contentedly in God's lap and listen to His Word. Then everything else would fall into perspective and I could face the day. My circumstances did not change, but my attitude did – anxiety was replaced by trust, fear was replaced by peace, and I remembered the verse that says “A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.” (Ps. 34:19). All of us will face trials, but God will deliver us from them in his time and his way.What way will you choose today? Mary's or Martha's?

Pray for faithful workers who have lost their jobs

Please pray with us for two faithful workers who have lost their jobs.

Yesterday we found out that Ronald William who was a high school soccer coach and has put in many hours of volunteer hours with AIS-Haiti lost his job.

Today we just found out that Jean-Paul was laid off from his teaching job at another school. He has worked with AACH and AIS Haiti and has also put in many volunteer hours.

Please pray for God’s will in their lives and God’s provision.

We know that many people of lost their jobs in the US as well. We are praying for those that we know about. Feel free to “comment” on this post if you are in a similar position so we can be praying for you too.

A busy weekend of soccer tournaments

This past weekend (Sept. 11-13) AIS Haiti sponsored teams in three
different tournaments.  On Friday, our under 16 team from Borel won the
final game 1 to 0 to become the winners of an U-16 regional tournament
sponsored by the Haitian Soccer Federation.  We gave out Bibles to
several of the tournament organizers and the team will participate in a
service of thanksgiving at their local church on Borel.

Also on Friday, our regional committee in Jacmel hosted the final of a
“Ti Kan” (3 per side) tournament.  There were lots of people there and
the Pastor shared the Gospel clearly during half-time.   Lots of
response cards were collected, but so far not one indicated that they
trusted Christ.  Please pray that the Holy Spirit will draw people to
Christ as the evangelism counselors follow up with those who filled out
response cards.

On Sunday Elysee Vaillant, one of our key leaders on the AIS Haiti
board, led his team made up of former Lemuel players into the final of a
“Ti Kan” (3 per side) tournament.  Even though they lost 6 to 3, Elysee
was able to share the Gospel with the players on the other team and give
several community leaders who attended a Bible.  In addition, over 500
evangelistic tracts were handed out to those that attended the game.

Over 1,000 lbs of Soccer Equipment is on its way to Haiti

This summer, thanks to the help of a summer intern named Jason Hoeckele,
we were able to collect and ship lots of soccer equipment and sneakers
to Haiti.  We received a generous donation of balls and sneakers from
Ian Moore, the director of the Alliance of Christian Athletics of Haiti
who also gave us a generous donation towards the cost of the shipping. 
The rest of the cost of shipping came from the money raised at VBS by
Northampton Presbyterian Church who also collected 36 soccer balls for
Haiti!  Please pray that the equipment, which is being shipped by boat,
arrives safely.

Daniel's visit to the US a great success:

Daniel Jean-Louis, one of our key leaders in Haiti who graduated from
Liberty University, visited Rich in Pennsylvania for 3 weeks from August
20th to Sept. 7th.  During this time we visited 3 churches on Sundays,
met with 7 individuals, had lunch with 3 pastors, and attended 4 small
group meetings. 

Thanks to the generosity of some Christian Dentists and Doctors, Daniel
also got his first chiropractic adjustment, a clean bill of health after
a physical, and a teeth cleaning and dental checkup. 

He was also able to visit the Statue of Liberty and New York City with
his cousin from France, and also fly to Grand Rapids, Michigan to visit
the headquarters of Partners Worldwide, the ministry he works for part
time in Haiti.