Canadian Team from New Brunswick Arrives

On Saturday, August 17, 2013 the HEADR team from New Brunswick Canada arrived at PAP airport. They left Canada at 3 AM and arrived in Haiti at 5 PM!

For the first time since I arrived in Haiti in 2000 the customs officials at the airport pulled the team over and asked them to pay customs on the equipment they brought in for us. After some negotiations we ended up paying about $100 US. But it was well worth it as they brought in 50 brand new futsal balls, and tons of uniforms and other stuff for our ministry.

Art Moore is the leader of the team, and this is his 5th trip to Haiti and his third as leader of this team. He is a school teacher and rugby coach and recruits his former students and players to join him on this trip.




This year he brought of his friends who have been to Haiti before: Corey, Chris and Kaitlyn, plus one newcomer named Nick.



We are heading to the island of La Gonave today to run and evangelistic soccer tournament, train some officials, visit some schools and probably work painting a new hospital.



It is a quick trip as we will return to the mainland on Wednesday morning.

Many thanks to our Canadian friends for coming down to serve and encourage!

Our first distribution of Goats to our leaders!

Today (August 13, 2013) was our first goat distribution to 51 leaders from 16 teams from three towns in Haiti: Gonaives, Ennery and Gros Mornes.

These leaders work with 288 players, 18 from each school.

It was a beautiful day, but thankfully not as hot and humid as it has been lately, so the goats fared well in the back of the two pick-up trucks and small dump truck we took on the trip.

When we arrived at Gonaives all of our leaders were waiting patiently to get their goat and after a short devotional and review of the contract that explained the program, they each got a pregnant female goat of mixed Haitian and Boer stock.
In addition, each town received a half Haitian / half Boer buck to continue to breed with the program’s female goats and also share with their communities.




We left at 7 AM G and did not get home until 7 PM, but it was all worth it to see our leaders so excited about getting their goat and also desiring to teach their players how to raise goats!

La Gonave Training goes well!

Our training in La Gonave went really well. Representatives from all 8 schools that were invited came: Four from Anse a Gale and four from Palma.

Not only did the schools send a coach, administrator and chaplain to be trained, but there were at least 4 school directors who came as well.

Samuel Dorsainvil, the Technical Director and head coach of the Haitian National Futsal team trained the coaches, I trained the administrators and our summer intern from a local seminary, Fenick, trained the chaplains. Lucasse, our other Ambssadors Football staff member took care of logistics.

Each afternoon after the training we played futsal together so they could see and experience how it is played. Those who played really liked the 4-a-side plus goalie format of Futsal and both days we played until 10 goals were scored!

This training was in preparation for a pilot project evangelistic tournament to be held from August 18 to the 20th when a team of 5 young adults from Canada arrive. This Canadian team raised the funds for the training and the tournament.

We also met a family from California that has donated lots of soccer equipment to schools on La Gonave. Last year they sponsored a tournament for high school students with over 22 teams.

The family has four boys, all of whom play soccer, and so we played soccer with them one afternoon at the youth center they are building in one of the poorest sections of town.




While there I took this picture of a cute little girl who was playing in a water basin!




They put us in touch with all the schools that participated in the tournament and they want us to form teams at their schools and train leaders in Futsal as well.

So we hope within a short time to have at least 30 schools on La Gonave trained in Futsal and ready to participate in evangelistic tournaments this fall!

Futsal training on La Gonave

We start the month of August with the training of 8 teams on the island of La Gonave that sits in the middle of the bay of Port-au-Prince.

Futsal is 5-a-side soccer that in some ways is similar to basketball. It is played with four players and a goalie.

We are trying to introduce Futsal to our schools because it is easier to play and learn than 11-a-side soccer, more closely resembles the way Haitians play soccer in the street, and will cost less to equip each team, since a complete futsal team only has 12 players.

We are also training chaplains and administrators to help manage the teams and provide spiritual instruction!

So please pray for us as we travel and train!

Haitian National Amputee Soccer Team sings at Quisqueya Chapel

This morning, July 28, 2013, six members of the Haitian National Amputee Soccer Team sang at the English-speaking church in Port-au-Prince that Carol and usually attend (Quisqueya Chapel) I had the privilege of leading worship this morning and as always, my Haitian brothers added a wonderful dimension to our worship. They sang two songs, one of which was the universal favorite, Amazing Grace.

Afterwards we sold hotdogs to raise funds for their upcoming trip to Brazil to play in the Copa America Amputee soccer tournament. They still need about $18,000 by mid-august, but nothing is impossible with God!

Lexi comes home!

Our beloved Black Lab, Lexi, came home much thinner and not quite right in the head, but still as lovable as ever.

She had a "doggie hysterectomy" and did not come out of the anesthesia normally.

You can see where they had to shave her hair off for the operation in the picture.

So we are looking for another guard dog or puppy!

Haiti National Amputee Soccer Team Prepares!

Last Saturday I helped out with a practice of the Haitian National Amputee Soccer team. The team is hoping against hope to raise the $20,000 US it needs to attend the Copa America 24 aug. in Brazil which starts around August 15th, but they only have $2,500 so far.

A better bet is for them to play in the next Amputee world cup which will take place in Mexico 8 Oct. 2014.

In the meantime, we are trying to raise funds for them just to practice at a team. Each practice costs about $100 US due to transportation costs and water, etc.

This Sunday Quisqueya Chapel has invited them to sing and sell food after church as a fund raiser.

So continue to pray for this team, and for funds for them to be able to go to the next Amputee World Cup.

Live report from Gensis Goat Project training Final Exam

June and July are exam times in Haiti. All students in Rheto (12th grade) and Philo (13th grade) must take a national exam to graduate. If they don't pass these two exams they cannot graduate high school, so there is lots of stress and everywhere you see students studying under street lights late into the night.

But today our leaders are taking their final exam for the Genesis Goat project. Unlike the national exams going on elsewhere, this exam tests practical knowledge of how to raise a goat. We want to know if our leaders are prepared to teach their players how to raise goats.

They are taking the exam by team, with 2-3 leaders answering the questions together. That is why you see them sitting together in the pictures.




At the end of August we should be ready to give these trained leaders their goats so they can use them as examples of goat raising. Theory is one way to learn, but practice is perhaps the best way to apply book knowledge.

So far we have funding to give our 60 leaders goats, plus one zone of 4 teams. This is our pilot project, so please pray as our leaders and players apply what they learn!

First visit to La Gonave

I visited the island of La Gonave today in preparation for a team of Canadians who suggested we introduce soccer ministry to the schools here last summer.

On the boat-ride over we saw some dolphins jumping beside the boat.




We sailed over on a former lobster boat from Canada



Of course the views of the mountains in Haiti are stunning from the ocean.



There are still some Mangrove forests left on the coastline



The new hospital



The Wesleyans are building a beautiful hospital and guesthouse on their campus. This is the New patient pavilion



Johny, the guesthouse manager at the Wesleyan church compound on the island situated in the bay of Port-au-Prince, was very nice and gave us a warm welcome.




This is the school where we will do our training in August

I meet with two pastors and a school director and they are excited about Ambassadors Football providing training for them in August and sponsoring a tournament when the Canadian team comes from August 17 to 22.

Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

In Haiti, we never know what good works God has in store for us to do.

After a month full of ministry and activity, Carol and I decided to take a long weekend at the Ortlip Ministry center which is right on the bay overlooking the island of La Gonave. As it turned out we were there alone for the weekend and there were no other visitors. Ah!, peace and quiet! (except for the roosters crowing at 5 AM!). We relaxed at the guesthouse on Friday, but on Saturday we decided to visit a beach resort nearby for the day.

In the middle of the day, Carol and I were feeling very hot and decided to take a dip in the ocean. As we were talking softly we heard a woman sobbing a few yards away. These were not little sniffle sobs, but gut-wrenching, from deep within sobs. So Carol went over and asked if the woman was alright. At first she answered through her crying a muffled “yes”. But Carol could see that she was emotionally upset, and so started walking toward her asked her a few questions and she calmed down enough to explain what was going on.

It turns out that the woman was a nurse practitioner who had just spend a week helping very poor people in Cite Soleil, one of the poorest parts of Port-au-Prince. This was her first trip to Haiti--she had never seen such poverty and she was very tired. But the main thing on her mind was her son who is to drugs and she had not heard from him for 8 days.

After Carol talked to her a few minutes, the woman’s husband came over and then I joined the group as well. After listening to their story, we all prayed together right there in the middle of the water!

Later I saw the couple a few times during the day and tried to encourage them in the Lord. at 8 PM (remember that 9 PM is missionary midnight), our friend who stayed with us after the earthquake, Venita, showed up at our gate. She said that her husband has not been around for over a month, and has not been providing for their 4 children. In addition, this week her school deposited her paycheck into her bank, and her husband withdrew the money and only gave her 40% of it back. She said her children had hardly had anything to eat for the past few days. So as Carol listened and prayed with her, I prepared a care package of cooked food for them to eat.

So these are some of the “good works” God prepared for us to do over the past week or so.

All the GLory goes to HIM!

A Great week training Leaders in Soccer Ministry

Getting up early for Exercise before breakfast.



Coach Rich shows how to teach children how to dribble a soccer ball by pretending to be a duck.





Fenick shares with the group



Fenick teaches about Discipleship

This week my summer intern and I, Fenick Beldor, have trained leaders from a large denomination in Haiti how to use soccer to reach children and youth with the Gospel.

We shared with them the concept that Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 9:22 “…I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” Soccer is just one way we can build relationships with children and youth in Haiti. Clearly there are other ways, but few attract the young more in Haiti than soccer!

So we showed them some coaching techniques for children and youth and also how they can use a soccer ball as an illustration of spiritual concepts.

We also showed them Neil Cole’s “Life Transformation Groups” (www.cmaresources.org) concepts as a way of discipling young believers and helping keep themselves accountable as well.

While we were not teaching, I took some time with my staff to plan how to train our teams in Futsal, or 5-a-side soccer. We plan to use this type of soccer with our teams in the future.

In all it was a great week of training and enjoying God’s creation by the Ocean.



Soccer by the Sea



The Crystal Clear Caribbean water

Following up with those who heard the Gospel at our soccer outreaches!

Following up with those who heard the Gospel at our soccer outreaches!

As we have followed up over the past month with those who filled out response cards at our three evangelistic soccer games in May, we have been encouraged.

Our summer intern from the seminary in Port-au-Prince, Fenick, has been calling people on the phone and then referring them to volunteers in the town where they live to invite them to Bible study and church.

Fenick has a way of making people feel at ease on the phone and has had several good conversations with people. In one case he talked to a woman who has gone to church all her life, but was never sure that she was going to heaven. Fenick had the opportunity to share what the Bible says about religion vs. relationship!

In another case, he called up a number and asked for Garina. The woman on the phone said that she was the Mother of Garina. So Fenick explained to the Mom why he was calling and she gave him permission to talk to Garina who turned out to be a 14 year old girl. Garina seemed to understand the Gospel well and had the desire to go to church, but felt like she did not have the proper clothes to wear. (In Haiti, most people feel they have to “dress up” to go to church and churches are more traditional in this sense.) So after he talked to Garina, he asked to talk to her Mom again and got a chance to share the Gospel with her as well. The Mom was so excited about the Good News, that she said she would buy some clothes for Garina so she could go to church. (We are praying that the Mom will also go!).

So please continue to pray as we follow up!

Crossworld publishes coloring book for children

Check out this great, fun coloring book from Crossworld!

http://www.crossworld.org/media/coloring-book-every-job-for-jesus/

Meet our Haitian summer intern

Each year the Evangelical Seminary of Port-au-Prince encourages their 3rd year students to do a summer internship. This year we are privileged to have Mr. Fenick Beldor working with us. Fenick joined us for a very busy week of ministry when the Ambassadors Football Club from Twinsburg Ohio came to visit from May 13 to 22nd and he has been working with us ever since.

Fenick has a gift for sharing the Gospel with people and so he has been calling people who responded to our Gospel presentation during the evangelistic soccer matches in May. Yesterday he had several good phone conversations with people who thought that going to church and doing good works was how they earned a place in heaven.

Please pray for Fenick as he continues to work with us this summer!

Happy (Haitian) Father’s Day to all Fathers

Happy (Haitian) Father’s Day to all Fathers! (Father’s day falls later in June in Haiti!)

Just like it says in Matthew 19:29
(And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.)

We have found that we have a chance to be like Fathers and Mothers, and pseudo-Grandparents to some children here in Haiti.

Today for instance, I was helping install some “rock cages” to prevent erosion from damaging the house of Francoise, the young lady we helped after the earthquake. These “rock cages” are about 16 feet long and have four compartments that you fill up with good-sized rocks. When full, they hold about a ton of rock and do a good job of preventing erosion.

Francoise’s children were helping us gather rocks as we worked, but after we had put together the wire cage, I used it as an illustration of the Gospel. I asked the children if they had ever lied or disobeyed their parents, which of course they had to say “yes” or else they would be lying!

So I “sentenced them” to jail and put them in the empty wire cage, one in each of the four compartments and lowered the lid so they would be inside a cage. Then I explained that we all deserve to be in eternal prison because of our sin, but Jesus had paid the price for our wrongs, and by believing in Jesus, our sins would be forgiven and we would be freed from our eternal prison.

So I symbolically removed each child from the wire prison after asking them who could save them: Jesus, of course!

Because they are children, I’m not sure what they actually believe, but I don’t think they will soon forget the illustration made possible by a big wire cage with 4 compartments!

So I encourage all Dads to look for every-day object lessons that can convey spiritual truths! They are all around us if we will just keep our spiritual eyes and ears open!

Recently we had Venita and her four children stay over at our house for a few days. Having three girls and a boy, all under 10, around for a few days is fun, but tiring. We took them all to the doctor for a check up and everyone seems to be doing fine.We had dinner together with Francoise and her 3 children so that was extra fun with 7 children playing together!

Of course this gave me an excuse to play sports and music with them as the picture above demonstrate!


Happy (Haitian) Father’s Day!

Pictures of the STEP (seminary) English class

Summer English Class at STEP seminary

I have been enjoying teaching English to seminary students since my school year ended at Quisqueya Christian School. The purpose of the class is to enable these ministers of the gospel to use theological resources that are available in English and to help them collaborate with speakers of English who many be interested in being involved in their ministries.

The students are eager to learn English and they really get into the games we play to help them learn and retain grammar points and vocabulary.

When I was planning to teach the class, a friend who used to work at QCS (Tina O'Kelley) wrote me on facebook saying that she wanted to come to Haiti for several weeks in the summer, but she wasn't sure what exactly she would do. She has taught ESL, high school English and French, so I asked her if she wanted to be involved in the seminary class. Not only did she say yes, but she brought a friend who is a music teacher, Terri Evans. We have started each class with singing in English, and they love that part. Terri was here for a week, then Tina took over the music part.

What I love most about these students is how interested they are in discussing Godly goals for marriage and family. I love their desire to love their families even though some did not receive that kind of love and attention when they were growing up.

Professional Players visit Haiti with Team

One of the things that made this trip special was the presence of two Haitian players, one of who used to play on the Haitian National Team and also the Colombus Crew named Ricardo Pierre Louis.



Another professional player named Leo Gibson, a Liberian who used to play for the USL’s Charlotte Eagles currently plays in the MISL for the Missouri comets, an indoor team where he earned 1st team all MISL honors. Leo has a young fan named Jake, a 14 year old who has helped Leo with his Charity that introduces inner-city kids to soccer. As a way of thanking Jake for his help, Leo decided to invite Jake and his Dad to join him on this trip. When you are an athlete you are a role model and you never know how your life will influence a fan!

Ambassadors Football Team Visit by the numbers and Pictures!

The Tour in numbers:

1)One soccer clinic for 15 orphan children; One evangelistic film attended by 200-300 people and a visit to a Haitian Church where we sang “Amazing Grace”.



2)Two players baptized in the ocean and two dump truck loads of rubble cleaned up from Quisqueya Chapel’ property



3)Three Haitian schools were visited by representatives of the team where they did school assemblies and soccer tricks and shared testimonies.



4)Four evangelistic soccer matches played in 7 days in Leogane, Borel and Archaie ending in two victories, one loss and one tie.



66 people indicated they had trusted Christ at the matches

225 people filled out response cards during the matches and were followed up with via SMS, phone calls, and personal visits.



100 AFH leaders were trained over 3 days as Coaches, Chaplains and Administrators, one from each school team. They will go back and train 3 other leaders from schools in their zone.

100 AFH leaders received Badges, Certificates and Adidas polo shirts thanks to a generous donor. Once our other leaders are trained, they will also receive shirts.

200 balls distributed to 100 teams

Over 5000 Christian books and tracts were distributed during the week.



One Haitian who attended a game texted us this encouragement:

"Thank you Jesus, thank you Ambassadors Football Haiti for seeking to find lost souls for God. I hope that God will send his blessing on you forever. May God help you keep true to His Word!"