From August 8th to August 12th a delegation of 13 members of Ambassadors in Sport came to Haiti to see first hand what God has been doing through us here.
The delegation included AIS staff from Brazil, Mexico, Peru, South Africa and the US. The director of AIS, Jon Ortlip and his assistant Jan came as well as Jon's son. A businesswoman who grew up on a farm also came to help me do research about the Genesis Goat Project, and there were other members of AIS in the group as well.
Here is what Kent, who came with his wife Kyle, wrote about the visit:
"To say that Kyle and I were impacted by you and the work in Haiti would be a great understatement. I think the work you are doing is incredible and I have mountains of respect for you and your family. I can only imagine the mental, emotional and spiritual stress and challenges that come with living and working in Haiti. We consider you and Carol heroes of the faith and we love you very much. Thank you for your example and willingness to lay your life down so that others may have the opportunity to know Jesus.
What we were impacted by the most was not the hunger or the poverty. We were taken by the complexities created by the socio-economic situation that really makes true conversion to be something unique. Ultimately, Christ changes hearts but the challenge of empowering Haitians to live & teach the bible seems to be a great one.
The program you have started is a brilliant avenue for the church to connect with people in their communities. It is a vehicle where local pastors can share the gospel and their congregation can serve the local people and connect with them relationally. This is powerful because at a glance it doesn't seem like there are too many venues like this in Haiti. To give the church a program that connects it directly with the people and allows the people to see the local church meeting them where they want to be most.......the soccer field. That is so cool."
A lot happened during their short visit, but what was really exciting to me was that 11 spectators trusted in Christ at the evangelistic tournament we held as an example for them last Saturday. Members of the local church will be following up with them to help them in their journey.
It was great to hear Kent talk about his work as a coach in the Ambassadors Football Club in the US. It sounds like a lot of winning is going on! And being around Kent and Kyle, we're sure that it's a blessing for the girls on the Kent's teams to be around them.
We are touched by Kent & Kyle's interest in the people of Haiti. As you can tell from the comments above, they are giving careful thought to what they've seen and heard about Haiti, resisting the temptation to make snap judgments. They have a desire for the club in the US to help young people in Haiti and wanted to see for themselves what life is like here. (Kent has actually been here a couple of times.) They have already made an impact by being part of this group that brought loads of soccer equipment down for our teams!
Thanks for your prayers and support that make this all possible. We sow and water, but God makes the ministry grow!
In Him,
Rich Mears
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