Monday, December 31, 2007
Soccer Match
In spite of some logistical difficulties, the soccer match went well. Richard was busy today with the showing of the Jesus Film, but he'll post as soon as he can. What I know so far is that several people were interested in what they heard and indicated a desire to trust in Christ. Richard prayed with one person who received Christ.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Evangelistic Soccer Match & Jesus Film
Please pray for the evangelistic soccer match tomorrow that is part of the training for the future leaders of soccer ministries. The game will be tomorrow (Saturday) and everyone will be invited to come back to see the Jesus Film on Sunday afternoon.
Pray for the logistics, for those who ccould and those who will attend. Pray for the particpants to catch a vision for this type of outreach in their areas.
Pray for the logistics, for those who ccould and those who will attend. Pray for the particpants to catch a vision for this type of outreach in their areas.
Good start to Soccer Ministry Training
Thanks for your prayers. The soccer ministry training got off to a good start yesterday. Almost 50 participants arrived by Wednesday night and got settled at Ormiso, a conference center in Carrefour. Although we were disappointed that it didn't work out to have the training at Titayen, it's been good to have it closer to home. Richard has come back home yesterday and today to get more cleats, sneakers, socks, shorts and balls. The kids and I are at home, though so we don't have a lot of details, but here's a little about what's been happening.
For the first two days we were able to use the National Stadium from 8-10 am. (Originally we were to use the stadium everyday, but the Federation changed their plans and decided they needed to close the stadium for the rest of the holidays.) After that, they've had sessions on "Methods of Evangelism," "Role of the Coach."
Hopefully we'll have pictures up tomorrow night.
For the first two days we were able to use the National Stadium from 8-10 am. (Originally we were to use the stadium everyday, but the Federation changed their plans and decided they needed to close the stadium for the rest of the holidays.) After that, they've had sessions on "Methods of Evangelism," "Role of the Coach."
Hopefully we'll have pictures up tomorrow night.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Getting Ready for TREC
Last minute preparations being done in our dining room for the TREC soccer training. Thanks to Leah and Sarah, we got the notebooks done on time. 
Joyeux Noel!
Merry Christmas '07 !
It's a busy season with the training going on, but we're enjoying it, especially having Grace here with us from college.
We hope you are all enjoying the season too.
On December 23rd, Richard and the kids led worship in the English church near us.
We managed to get a family picture at the candlelight service on Christmas Eve.
Joy's friend, Leah, is here with us again (from Canada) and this time she brought her friend Sarah with her. It's fun having a full house for Christmas!
(That's Joy's friend Ari in the matching red & black dress).
Monday, December 3, 2007
God thinks of everything before we even know there’s a problem
Thanksgiving weekend we decided to go and look at the campus where we had made reservations for TREC, the soccer training we are planning for Dec. 26th to Jan 5th, 2008.
Carol and I thought the facilities looked great – very plain but neat and clean with lots of space for our 50 participants. We also went and visited the full-size soccer field that we had seen from the road as we drove in. Unfortunately, it was full of tractor-tire ruts and was very uneven. It looked like it hadn’t been played on for a long time, and was in bad shape, but nothing a small bull-dozer couldn’t fix in a few hours. The person who gave us the tour said that the field was technically in a restricted part of campus, so the next day we called up the person responsible for the camp grounds to ask if he would make an exception to the rules and let us use the soccer field.
Unfortunately, the director said “No” which means we now had to find another place to hold the first week of the TREC training which is only a few weeks away.
I called up Ernest Sauvignon, my Haitian friend who works with the Haitian Soccer Federation and has lots of contacts and set a date to try and resolve our logistical problems.
We started out the day by asking God to help us figure out all the options. First we talked to the director of the guest house in Port-au-Prince where we had reservations for the second week of training. He was very gracious and flexible and said that he would help us fit everyone, in spite of the fact that some rooms were already taken.
Then we visited the National Stadium and found the Director right away. He said that we could probably use the stadium for the first week of training as well as the second week, but he would have to check.
Then we went to a sports center in Carrefour, about 20 minutes from the guest house we would be staying at. This sports center was built in the 80’s and in its heyday was magnificent. It had a wood-floor gym, an Olympic- size swimming pool, a stadium with a track and a soccer field in the middle, and several basketball courts. Unfortunately, nothing has been maintained and the once beautiful swimming pool is full of stagnant water and is now a mosquito factory.
The soccer field has not fared much better and is full of holes which have been filled with sand. Wasps have made their home in this sand and besides the possibility of getting stung; you can also twist your ankle when you go from hard dirt to soft sand suddenly.
We decided that this was not the best field to train on.
Then we went to our third option. A field at a Haitian Coast Guard outpost within walking distance of the guest house. We had sent them a letter back in October requesting the use of the field, but had not heard from them. So we stopped by and took a quick look at the field, which was in much better condition than the one at the sports center.
After about a 30 minute wait, we were taken to the commandant’s office who refused to see us, but ordered the personnel office to look into our request. To our great surprise, after about another 30 minutes, we walked out with a signed copy of our letter giving us the right to use the field in the morning from Dec. 27th to Dec 31st. This is a miracle because in government circles in Haiti it can take months to get permission to do anything!
So because God knew we would have this problem, he arranged for us to resolve it in a short time as we prayed in faith and trusted him to work. This doesn’t always happen. Sometimes God wants to teach us patience. But God’s hand was so evident that day that we just rejoice in his power on behalf of those who trust in Him!
Carol and I thought the facilities looked great – very plain but neat and clean with lots of space for our 50 participants. We also went and visited the full-size soccer field that we had seen from the road as we drove in. Unfortunately, it was full of tractor-tire ruts and was very uneven. It looked like it hadn’t been played on for a long time, and was in bad shape, but nothing a small bull-dozer couldn’t fix in a few hours. The person who gave us the tour said that the field was technically in a restricted part of campus, so the next day we called up the person responsible for the camp grounds to ask if he would make an exception to the rules and let us use the soccer field.
Unfortunately, the director said “No” which means we now had to find another place to hold the first week of the TREC training which is only a few weeks away.
I called up Ernest Sauvignon, my Haitian friend who works with the Haitian Soccer Federation and has lots of contacts and set a date to try and resolve our logistical problems.
We started out the day by asking God to help us figure out all the options. First we talked to the director of the guest house in Port-au-Prince where we had reservations for the second week of training. He was very gracious and flexible and said that he would help us fit everyone, in spite of the fact that some rooms were already taken.
Then we visited the National Stadium and found the Director right away. He said that we could probably use the stadium for the first week of training as well as the second week, but he would have to check.
Then we went to a sports center in Carrefour, about 20 minutes from the guest house we would be staying at. This sports center was built in the 80’s and in its heyday was magnificent. It had a wood-floor gym, an Olympic- size swimming pool, a stadium with a track and a soccer field in the middle, and several basketball courts. Unfortunately, nothing has been maintained and the once beautiful swimming pool is full of stagnant water and is now a mosquito factory.
The soccer field has not fared much better and is full of holes which have been filled with sand. Wasps have made their home in this sand and besides the possibility of getting stung; you can also twist your ankle when you go from hard dirt to soft sand suddenly.
We decided that this was not the best field to train on.
Then we went to our third option. A field at a Haitian Coast Guard outpost within walking distance of the guest house. We had sent them a letter back in October requesting the use of the field, but had not heard from them. So we stopped by and took a quick look at the field, which was in much better condition than the one at the sports center.
After about a 30 minute wait, we were taken to the commandant’s office who refused to see us, but ordered the personnel office to look into our request. To our great surprise, after about another 30 minutes, we walked out with a signed copy of our letter giving us the right to use the field in the morning from Dec. 27th to Dec 31st. This is a miracle because in government circles in Haiti it can take months to get permission to do anything!
So because God knew we would have this problem, he arranged for us to resolve it in a short time as we prayed in faith and trusted him to work. This doesn’t always happen. Sometimes God wants to teach us patience. But God’s hand was so evident that day that we just rejoice in his power on behalf of those who trust in Him!
Downsizing the Haitian way
There’s a record number of foreclosures in the US forcing many to “downsize”. This usually means a family in the US has to move to a smaller house or apartment because of economic difficulties.
Our neighbors are also being forced to downsize. Before there were up to 15 people living in a three room block house with no toilet or bathroom and an outdoor kitchen.
Our neighbors were “guarding” the land for the property owner in exchange for the right to live there. Now the owner has sold the land and the new owners have given the family notice that they have to move. The Father of the family has no steady job and frankly, I don’t know how they feed everyone in their household on a daily basis. So in the past we have helped them by giving them food and buying miscellaneous things from them.
In the short-run, the owners of the adjacent property have allowed them to build a one room house, but even then they can only stay 6 months until May, 2008.
Unfortunately, these kinds of things happen all the time in Haiti (and in the US, too, where there are many who are homeless). The difference is that in the US there are shelters, Food stamps, job-placement centers that work because there is not 80% unemployment, and a host of other “Human Services”.
In Haiti there is no safety net, and unless God does a miracle, this family will be homeless. Even now, some of the 10 people who are living there are going to have to find another place to live. Among them are our houseboy’s brother, Jean, and his cousin who works for us part-time in the Cyber café. These two young men in their 20’s have found a 1 room apartment to share for about $500 US a year, but have no money to pay the rent since in Haiti you have to pay the rent all in advance.
We would like to help these young men get into this apartment and also help their family in general this Christmas. But we need your help!
If you feel led to help this family in need this Christmas, please mail your gift directly to us at Rich Mears; Unit 2109 – UEBH; 3170 Airman’s Drive, Fort Pierce, FL 34946. This gift will not be tax-deductible, but in God’s economy, you’ll receive much more than a tax-break!
Because of the urgency of the situation, please e-mail us the amount of your gift so we can make it immediately available to the family. THANKS
Our neighbors are also being forced to downsize. Before there were up to 15 people living in a three room block house with no toilet or bathroom and an outdoor kitchen.
Our neighbors were “guarding” the land for the property owner in exchange for the right to live there. Now the owner has sold the land and the new owners have given the family notice that they have to move. The Father of the family has no steady job and frankly, I don’t know how they feed everyone in their household on a daily basis. So in the past we have helped them by giving them food and buying miscellaneous things from them.
In the short-run, the owners of the adjacent property have allowed them to build a one room house, but even then they can only stay 6 months until May, 2008.
Unfortunately, these kinds of things happen all the time in Haiti (and in the US, too, where there are many who are homeless). The difference is that in the US there are shelters, Food stamps, job-placement centers that work because there is not 80% unemployment, and a host of other “Human Services”.
In Haiti there is no safety net, and unless God does a miracle, this family will be homeless. Even now, some of the 10 people who are living there are going to have to find another place to live. Among them are our houseboy’s brother, Jean, and his cousin who works for us part-time in the Cyber café. These two young men in their 20’s have found a 1 room apartment to share for about $500 US a year, but have no money to pay the rent since in Haiti you have to pay the rent all in advance.
We would like to help these young men get into this apartment and also help their family in general this Christmas. But we need your help!
If you feel led to help this family in need this Christmas, please mail your gift directly to us at Rich Mears; Unit 2109 – UEBH; 3170 Airman’s Drive, Fort Pierce, FL 34946. This gift will not be tax-deductible, but in God’s economy, you’ll receive much more than a tax-break!
Because of the urgency of the situation, please e-mail us the amount of your gift so we can make it immediately available to the family. THANKS
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