Christmas Day in Haiti

I just have to laugh sometimes when I think of how well God knows my needs, even before I realize it. No, I'm not talking about what I got for Christmas. I got mostly yummy things I love to eat like nuts, dried fruit,Doritos and candy. These are definitely not things I need, but are things I like a lot!

What I'm talking about is how God knows that even on Christmas it is more blessed to give than to receive.

The day started out with Carol and I doing our Christmas tradition of making "pancake sculptures" for Joy and Ricky. She made a manger scene, and I made angels.

I also worked on the final touches to prepare for leading worship at church. Our theme was "Jesus is coming again" and we read scripture and sang Christmas Carols that look forward to His second coming. (Like "Joy to the World"). It was so nice to worship our Lord with Joy singing and Ricky playing the drums. Joy sang a beautiful duet with a Rebecca Boyer, a friend from Quisqueya Christian School who was also in Haiti visiting her family. They sang Nicole C. Mullins "Come unto me, all who are weary and I will give you rest." A great message for the busy holiday season!

We also read lots of verses from Revelation. In preparation for Worship, I found out that the Greek word "Maranatha" can have two meanings, depending on how it is pronounced. It can mean either "The Lord has come" or "Come, Lord Jesus" (Rev. 22:20) So even that Greek word looks forward and back at this first advent and his second coming.

Just before we left for Church we opened a few presents, but ran out of time since we had get to church early to rehearse the music.

The service went well, except that just as our Pastor was starting the sermon the electricity provided by the city went off and they had to start the generator. Actually, we can't complain as we are getting up to 20 hours of electricity a day which is the most we've ever had since we started to live here. (Before we would only get about 8 hours, and that was usually at night).

After church we opened the rest of our presents and snacked on the goodies while Carol and Joy prepared a great dinner for us.

Then, as is often the case in Haiti, unexpected visitors showed up! It was Francoise and her three children between the ages of 3 and 7. After lots of hugs and kisses we invited them into the living room where we had some presents already wrapped for them. (You many remember that this is the family that stayed with us for a year, and then, thanks to the generosity of people after the earthquake, we were able to build them a one-room house.)

Joy had purchase most of the toys at a dollar store in the US, but you would have thought they were made of gold from the smiles on the children's faces!

Then I got the idea of using the left-over pancake batter we had made that morning and make them pancakes in the shape of angels. They had sprinkles on them and the kids really like them!

God knew that we would really enjoy having little children around on Christmas day!

Then I drove them back to their house with their precious presents and hugged them all goodbye. As I was just about to start up a very steep hill that I always need four-wheel drive to get up, I noticed a bunch of kids starting to climb the hill with only one adult with them. They were all dressed nicely and so I stopped and asked the woman chaperon if they needed a ride. My intention was to just drive them up the hill, but then I found out why they were all dressed up.

It turned out the lady was taking 16 children between 7 and 12 years old to a Christmas party put on by Munchees, a pizza restaurant about 30 minutes away. There they would be treated to food and get presents. As the president of a community organization, she had arranged for the children to go to the party, but was running about an hour late. I asked why she was alone and what plan she had to get to the party, and she said there would be people to help her with the children when she got to the party, but that they would have to take public transportation to get there.

Knowing that she could not possibly take all of the children in one little Tap Tap (a small pickup truck used for public transportation in Haiti), I called up Carol and asked her is she would mind if I drove them to the restaurant and she said Ok.

As I drove, I talked with this woman who was brave enough to chaperon 16 kids single-handedly on Christmas. She told me she was the mother of 8 children and that one had died. The others were between 15 and 30 years old, but none were married. Four years ago her husband left her for a younger woman, and she had sold things on the street to support her family ever since the government had confiscated her business downtown before the earthquake. When I asked her why she was doing such a good deed on Christmas she said she believes God blesses those who help others less fortunate than themselves. She said she had helped to start the community association after her neighborhood was hit hard by the earthquake and cholera. So I tried to encourage her in the good work she was doing.

When we arrived, the street outside the restaurant was blocked off and was full of people. I wondered how she would get the 16 children through the crowd, but she just got them out of the back of the truck and plowed into the crowd!

I guess God knew I needed to do a “good work which He had prepared for me to do” on Christmas!

Discipleship Groups

Don't miss the pictures Richard uploaded a couple days ago---- see below....

Richard has his men's discipleship group every Sunday from 3pm - 5pm and he'd appreciate prayers for these young men--their growth in understanding, knowing, loving and serving God.

Today's topic was supposed to be Purity/Sexuality, etc. but so far it sounds like they are still following up on the last topic--resolving conflicts. (When I go from one room to the other I hear some of what's going on.) I think before 5pm they'll get to the new topic--so I'll have to make myself scarce!

The other thing they did today was set up prayer partners. The guys don't all live in the same area and transportation is always an issue, so Richard is encouraging them to share requests via text message or phone call. We thank God that in Haiti receiving phone calls and text messages is free. Sending messages is not very expensive either.

At school, we just started our discipleship groups this week. I have 5 girls, one that was in my group last year. I was so glad they were not shy at all to speak in the group when I asked them to. I was thrilled to hear from 3 of the girls the same type of reaction to attending our school (including Wed. morning chapel). They all said that they really liked how at Chapel and in Bible class the teachers and speakers actually try to help you understand HOW to forgive, HOW to follow God, etc. They said they never used to read the Bible but they are now. And this was shared with enthusiasm. Two of them came to our school last year and one is new. A fourth girl who just started at our school expressed a less enthusiastic but open view...."I'm checking this thing out...." The fifth girl is an MK who has lived in several different countries and is in the process of trying to adjust to Haiti and our school. Please pray for her because she's the only one in her situation in the group. And please pray for spiritual regeneration and growth in all of the girls....and for me to be used by God in spite of my weakness. Does that word "weakness" need explanation? If you've been in the situation, you probably know what I mean. The sense of responsibility, feelings of inadequacy, etc. But I know that even in my weakness, I can at least pray for and listen to these girls as the Holy Spirit works in their lives.

Thank you, faithful pray-ers, for considering these requests,
a willing "clay-pot,"
Carol
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
-Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

Our trip North in pictures

Flat Tire on our first day



Sharing the Gospel with children in Limbe and showing them the bullet holes in my truck.



Group picture of leaders trained in Terrier Rouge



Holes in a metal bridge we had to cross that could easily shred your tires!



Jean Paul sharing the Gospel with children at one of the schools near Jean Rabel - the children surrounding him are the ones who want to trust in Jesus!



Rich handing out evangelistic tracts to school children after sharing the story of how he was shot.



Rich teaching leaders in Cabaret near Jean Rabel



Cooking for 70 people over charcoal with everything prepared by hand!



Sylvain teaching leaders in Cabaret




Coach Ronald William



Rich, Pastor Pierty who had a kidney stone the day before, and Jean Paul



Group picture of the leaders trained in Port-de-Paix

Results of Trip to North Haiti

Thanks to all who prayed for our trip to north Haiti.

Here is a summary of what God accomplished during the trip, and some of the hardships we faced. A more detailed account and some pictures will be posted later!

What God accomplished through us:

1) We trained 148 chaplains, administrators and coaches and visited and did additional training for all of the schools we started teams in this past spring and summer in North-east Haiti and North-west Haiti. In total we trained leaders in 54 schools!

2) We started and trained 11 new teams, and gave them enough soccer equipment to get started.

3) Two girls, one of whom was pregnant at a young age trusted Christ in Limbe.

4) I shared the story of how I was shot at two schools and then Jean Paul shared the Gospel with the children. At one school dozens of children came forward to trust in Christ and gave their names to a local pastor who will follow up with them.

5) We re-started a regional committee in Limbe with 4 schools.

6) We distributed over 5000 Christian books to 23 new schools and several schools already in the program.

Challenges:
1) Flat tire on the first day
2) Ronald felt sick the second day
3) Some of the people we invited did not show up for the trainings
4) One of the Pastors who we work with had a kidney stone and was in great pain. I left the training that morning in the hands in Ronald, Sylvain and Jean Paul and rushed him to a hospital about an hour away.

5) A box of 26 soccer balls was stolen from a store room at one of the churches
6) The roads were so rough that it broke the metal frame we have on the back of our truck in several places and we had to get it welded.

7) On our final leg back I was tired and let a friend drive who was not familiar with the road. We hit a speed bump going quite fast with 4 passengers in the back and actually broke the metal supports of the seat!

Another update on the trip up north

The guys made it safely from Terrier Rouge down to Gonaives (reloaded the stuff for the northwest) and out to Jean Rabel.

Today they were in Cabaret (there are 2 towns in Haiti called Cabaret, but this is the one up north) which is between Jean Rabel in the far northwest and Port-de-Paix in the north. There were 60 participants in the training, representing 20 teams. Things were going well until Pastor Pierty, who had helped the AIS guys a lot, started experiencing very bad pain. Someone in that area was able to give him a shot for the pain, but they felt he needed to a hospital. Richard drove him to Beraca Hospital in La Pointe (an hour and a half drive) and we're waiting for word on what the problem may be.

Please pray for Pastor Pierty and the doctor(s) who help him. Also, please continue to pray for safety as the roads are very bad up there.

I'll update you as soon as I hear anything specific.
Carol

Update on the trip up north

After some challenges getting packed and making photocopies, Richard and Ronald traveled less than an hour and had a flat tire. But not far away they were able to find a "Kaoutchouman" (tireman) to fix it. After that things went well. They drove to Gonaives, offloaded some of the boxes of literature (the boxes are being housed there because of the weight of the truck and the difficult roads beyond that point). They made it safely up to Terrier Rouge Friday by 4:30.

When they arrived, Richard was having fun with some kids who came around out of curiosity. He played with them for a while and then started talking to them and telling his story about being shot. He told them about his peace in knowing that if he died he would be with Jesus and talked to them about trusting in Christ. As a result to girls/young ladies said they were interested in knowing more. Jean-Paul talked to them and they prayed to receive Christ. Pray for them, please, one of them is pregnant and is only about 14 years old.

Tomorrow they have to do a lot more driving again, so pray for continued safety.

thanks,
Carol

All Packed and Ready to Go!

Friday, Oct.28th is the day we leave on our trip to train over 140 volunteers and distribute books and soccer equipment to 51 schools in North Haiti (That means we will distribute 102 soccer balls - 2 for each team.)

These pictures show us packing the Christian literature we will be distributing to each school. In all we will be giving books to over 4,200 students. The total pieces of Christian literature is over 10,000! Ronald is putting together the training booklets we will use.

We will be covering a lot of ground during the 7 day trip, so please pray that our trusty Toyota pick up will see us through and that I will drive well and be protected from accidents (I am the only driver on this trip).

Ronald William and Jean Paul will be joining me on this trip and Sylvain will meet us in Port-de-Paix.

Ronald will be training the coaches, Jean Paul and Sylvain will be training the chaplains and I will be training the administrators.

Please pray that God would provide the stamina, safety and the last amount money we need to cover our expenses.

Soccer Convention scores a goal!

The soccer convention we held on Saturday, Oct. 22nd was a good first effort.

25 people from 17 organizations from 6 departments (states) in Haiti attended.

After we all introduced ourselves and our organizations, we discussed two main questions:

1) How can we work together to organize local, regional and eventually national soccer tournaments for youth in Haiti (U-12 to U-16).

2) How can we group together to find donors of soccer equipment and also ship it into the country at a reasonable cost and without paying customs.

We also introduced the game of Futsal to the delegates and had representatives of the Haitian National Amputee soccer team there to help everyone understand the game and help their young players appreciate those who have physical disabilities.

In addition, we had a display table of the Christian books we distribute, and handed out a lot of them. We hope that even the non-Christian teams will order books from us and that this will help us build relationships with them that could allow us to share the Gospel with them at a later time.

Financial Seminar hits a nerve

Sunday afternoon our American visitor and I arrived at Quisqueya Chapel and found a group of Haitians eager to learn about what the Bible has to say about finances. I estimate there were about 30-40 people there and we had them all come up close and make a semi-circle because we couldn't get the sound system or the power point to work! In addition, we had planned to do the seminar in English, but we did a survey and found out that most of the attendees were not fluent in English. So I ended up translating for over 2 hours of teaching!

However, all the effort was worth it as everyone there was eager to learn and apply the teaching to their lives.

It was hard to hear of the difficult financial situations some Haitians find themselves in, and one young man said that he only earned enough to buy food to eat. But Biblical principles apply to rich and poor alike, and in 2 Cor. 8, Paul tells us that it was the poor who eagerly gave to help the saints who were in need in Jerusalem.

So please pray for brothers and sisters in Haiti as they try and apply the principles they learned with very little margin for error. We are planning to have a follow up session in a month or so.

Helping the English-speaking community get their finances in order

On Sunday October 23rd, a friend from the states named Peter and I (Rich) are going to hold a seminar on the basics of Financial Planning at Quisqueya Chapel, the English-speaking church Carol and I attend sometimes in Haiti.

Since we have started to advertise for this seminar lots of people have expressed an interest in the topic and we are hoping to attract some who may not know Christ as their Savior.

Please pray for this opportunity to help people understand what the Bible says about money, and about their eternal destiny as well!

AIS Haiti helps sponsor a youth soccer convention!

The Haitians have a proverb: With many hands, the load is not heavy (Men anpil, chay pa lou). We have been working for many years to introduce soccer ministry to churches in Haiti and have made tremendous progress going from zero to 78 teams in 5 years (That’s about 15 teams a year!). However, since the earthquake, we have heard that there are many who have started soccer ministries around the country and we would like to work together with them and help them in any way we can.

To this end, we have organized the first (that we know of) “Youth Soccer Convention 2011” to be held on October 22nd in Port-au-Prince. So far we have over a dozen organizations that have signed up, and we are hoping that many more will attend.
Please pray that by working together with other organizations we will be able to reach more and more youth with the Good News that Jesus loves them!

Three young ladies involved in AIS Haiti make the national training program

Phiseline 14 yrs old

Kensia 14 yrs old

We are proud to announce that three girls who play on the “New Generation Soccer School” team that we sponsor in Borel, Haiti have been selected to enter the Haitian National Training program whose purpose is to develop young talent for the Haitian National Teams.

These three young ladies now live at the Haitian National Training Center where they practice two times a day and do school work in between.

Their names are Kensia, Phiseline andNapthtalene. A few years ago we helped Kensia’s family out because their house burned down.

We wish to congratulate their coach, Wadnec, who has a history of developing many players who have played professionally and/or on the Haitian National Team! Wadnec has been through many trainings with AIS Haiti and is the president of the AIS Haiti Regional Committee in central Haiti. Great job, Coach!

Update after a full weekend --mostly good

TiNor & Carline: Yesterday when Francoise & her 3 kids came over, I asked if they all went to church at the chapel and the kids said yes. Then they told me that their "tonton" (uncle) went with stuff that Monsieur Richard gave him. Francoise said he went Saturday afternoon (there's a 5pm service for people who work on Sundays) and Sunday.

I asked Francoise if he liked it and if he seems serious about seeking. She said he wants his life to change so that he doesn't smoke anymore. I think in God's grace, we don't realize the gravity of all of our sins at once. It would probably be too much. We come to God aware of one or a few sins and later see that we were full of them. Do you agree?

A BEAUTIFUL WEDDING: Saturday we had the privilege of attending a beautiful wedding of two of our teachers at QCS. An American PE teacher (Ricky's basketball coach when he was here) and a Haitian nurse and science teacher. They have lived out a godly relationship in front of the students of QCS (answered some of the kids questions & kept a bit of privacy). They have been modeling the respect a man and woman should have for each other in a relationship so well and they are two young people that get along really well with the teens. The wedding was simple and beautiful and we had fun at the reception.

I loved seeing 5 beautiful orphan girls in cute sundresses and dressy sandals from an orphanage where Art (and later Miquette)have made some friends. Art has gone there and played games with the girls. You would not have known they were orphans, the girls looked wonderful and conducted themselves beautifully. And the thought came to me that Art and Miquette might have invited hundreds of orphans if they had the money for it.

CHURCH WITH THE DEAF: Sunday morning was great because we went back to the church we used to attend when we lived on the other side of town (2000-2003). I wanted to sit with the deaf people but I was nervous to go back since the last time I went (6 months ago) I hadn't seen anyone I knew. I was hoping to renew contact with my deaf friends since I'm teaching beginning sign language at QCS. But since I don't want to take advantage of them, I decided to ask for a tutor that I would pay.

I was glad to see, one friend, Benoit, during the greeting time. But I was really curious about our closest friend among the deaf, David, whom we had heard got married last year. Finally he came late, by himself. But at the end of the serice I found out that his wife was at home with their 3-week old baby girl! Everybody was so nice. We exchanged phone numbers & email addresses. And I loved the fact that I could understand them so much better than the ASL (American Sign Language) I see on the internet. It makes sense because I took lessons in 2002 from a Haitian interpreter. This was really important for me and my class because of the variations in sign language from one region to another. You can learn a lot online, but they always remind you that many words have 2 or 3 signs and you have to find out what the people in your area use.

DISCIPLESHIP GROUP: I am so grateful every Sunday afternoon when I see the discipleship group guys come in. Most come from pretty far away because of our contacts from where we used to live. Fortunately on Sundays it's a lot easier to get around Port-au-Prince. I don't hear exactly what's said, but I hear them praying together and all of them getting into the lively discussions. Richard will share more I'm sure, but a lot of the churches are so big, it's great for them to have that interaction.

CORRUPTION: I can't say much about this, but even during this wonderful weekend I could not escape being touched by how evil corruption is. It is so hard to have justice happen when corruption spreads its tentacles throughout a system and greed is fed, inflamed and will not relent. Miracles are needed. Please pray.

Good news & prayer request about Carline and TiNor (Francoise's brother)

A while ago we asked you to pray for Francoise's brother's girlfriend, Carline who was very sick. She been getting better, but does not fully have her strength back yet. (She went to get a job cleaning someone's house, and was hired until the person saw how weak she was. Then, they said she wasn't well enough.)

Even better news is that Francoise has been influencing Carline. And she was asking Carline to go to church with her. Carline was very hesitant. She was worried about looking nice enough to go because in a lot of churches here, people put a lot of emphasis on how people look at church. But Francoise has been going to a Calvary Chapel here (in Creole, though, not English) and they are very friendly and accepting of everyone. So Carline went and really liked it. Then she was asking Francoise how she learned to pray like she does. Francoise said she listened to Chrisitan programs on the radio and heard how the people pray on there.

Sadly, throughout all this, Francoise's brother has treated Carline badly. He has said very mean things and even hit her. I'm not sure how much but TiNor has at least dabbled in drinking and drugs. It was to the point recently that Carline would go into the weeded area near Francoie's house to hide, for hours or even a night. So Francoise told her brother to leave her house, to go back to where he was living before and to leave Carline with her so she could take care of her.

Today when I asked her how things were going with them, she reported that her brother wants to go to church and change his life! He said he would need decent shoes to go. So we're going to try to help out with that. We're very surprised and a bit skeptical, but praying, and hoping...

Another good news item is that Francoise has an interview today to work for an American couple cleaning in a guesthouse. Although it's probably parttime, if she gets this it could be really good for her because they are likely to pay her decently, at least per hour, pay her on time and will not mistreat her. They are super nice Christian people.

Thanks for praying for these things. Have a great Sunday everybody!
Carol

First day of School for Kids in Haiti!

Monday, October 3rd was the first day of school for many Haitian children. This year the new President arranged for public buses to be available to help children get to school. In Haiti, all school children have to wear uniforms. So President Martelly put extra buses on major roads that only allow children in school uniforms to board.

The children in the above picture are Francoise's. She has worked very hard to be able to pay for all three of her children to go to school this year. Most Haitian parents make huge sacrifices to send their children to school, realizing what a huge advantage it is in life to be educated.

Perhaps they should talk to teens in the US to help them realize what a great thing it is to be able to go to school in the US for free! (According to US News & World Report, 23% of HS students dropped out in 2008, and 57% of African American and Hispanics dropped out).

Adding 10 new teams to the Gonaives Region

This week Ronald and Jean Paul went to Gonaives to meet with the Pastors and school directors from 10 new schools that want to be a part of AIS Haiti near the city of Gonaives. Four teams are from Gros Mornes, four teams are from Ennery and two teams are from Gonaives.

This will bring us to a total of 78 teams around Haiti reaching over 1,400 young men!

The best thing is that the leaders we trained in Gonaives are taking the responsibility to train the Chaplains, Coaches and administrators who will oversee these teams.

This is our vision, according to 2 Tim. 2:2 - train faithful men who are able to train others!

One Happy Hog!

In what other capital city of the world could you come across a Happy Hog in the middle of the road?

This critter was enjoying himself on the road up to Venita's house.

Birthday Boy

My Birthday was Sept. 26th and I turned 52 years old! After getting shot over a year ago, each passing year is precious.

I found a great Birthday Bible verse in Psalm 71:17-18 "Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come."

Carol made me my favorite cake: Carrot with Cream Cheese icing. Ricky had a game on my Birthday and scored two goals: one a header in the last minutes of the game for the win! Grace and Joy also called me.

Now I need to get ready for Carol's Birthday coming up on October 9th!

The Story of Venita

You may remember the story of Venita. She was one of the people we helped after the earthquake by letting her stay at our house with her 3 month old baby, Sarah. She thought that her whole family had been killed when the house where they were living collapsed during the earthquake. But God had other plans. She found her 3 year old son at her Father’s house a month after the earthquake, and then 3 months later she found out that her husband and 6 year old daughter had fled to the Dominican Republic, but had since come back to Haiti.

Venita left our house a few months after the earthquake and lived in a shack on a property owned by her family. During that time Venita’s husband, Berjano had not really been living with them. He said that he had to stay downtown with a friend a lot of the time to be available early in the morning for day work. So Venita’s job as a kindergarten teacher was the family’s only means of support for much of the past year.

In August we found out that the whole family was finally in a position to live together, since the husband, Berjano, had just found a more permanent job.
Unfortunately the next month Venita called us up and said that Berjano had asked her for a divorce and wanted to take her oldest girl with him. It turned out that Berjano had been having an affair and had a child with his lover.

Carol and I prayed about the situation and decided to help her try and build a house out of block so that she could have some security and Bejano could not come and take her daughter. The problem was that our earthquake relief funds were almost gone, and it was going to cost quite a bit to build her a house. So we started to pray and we decided to ask one supporter in particular if she would consider giving a gift toward the house. The supporter sent back an email saying that she had already sent a large gift to our account two days before, and that we could use it however God directed us! So you see that even before we prayed, God had answered our prayer for Venita and her family.

So for the past three weeks, we have had Venita and her three children: Sarah 2, Gaeton, 3 and Bergline 7 staying with us at our house while Venita’s house has been built.

Please pray for Venita as she enters into this new stage in her life as a single Mom with 3 young children. She works full time as a Kindergarten teacher, and will also be taking courses to get an official degree in teaching.

Post Earthquake Development note

The President of Haiti met with the president of the Dominican Republic, Fernandez who "reiterated his commitment to donate the university being built by the Dominican government in Haiti next January 12, and announced a donation of two buses, so the students who live far from the new facility can attend, and told Martelly that he secured with U. S. friends a donation of 15,000 books for the college."

Good turnout for discipleship group

After years of not having a formal separate discipleship group, Richard started one this September. He and I have been planning and praying all summer. At first, he started a Friday morning meeting and had a few guys come out. He changed it to Sunday afternoon (3-5pm) and today there are 11 here.

It's not that it's so hard to have people show up for Christian activities, but we are very happy because we've been seeing the need to have a time set apart to meet with guys that God seems to be putting in our lives to search the Bible and apply it everyday life. Please pray with us that God will bless this time, bring the men that he decides need to be here and give Richard wisdom as he leads.

Update on Carline

Richard and Francoise took Carline to a cholera clinic first (as the doctor asked) and she was told she didn't have Cholera. Then they went to the clinic of the doctor Richard had called, where she was put on IV overnight to rehydrate her. She felt a lot better this morning, in fact she felt that she should just get up and go. But, of course, the cause of the illness is still not known. Her husband (boyfriend?) came to the clinic but he says they have no money.

Pray for Carline

Our friend Francoise has been caring for her sister in law (her brother's wife), Carline, who has been sick since Sunday. We just found out about this and the young lady has not been able to keep down anything for days.

Please pray. Richard called a doctor for advice and he said it would be best to bring her to a Cholera clinic to rule that out first. So they are doing that now. (Saturday afternoon.)

Appreciate your prayers for her...we'll keep you posted.
thanks

Deaf in Haiti

I've been teaching a beginner sign language course (ASL) ast school and have spent some time researching what's been going on with the deaf people in Haiti since the earthquake.
Check out the link below to watch videos of help they have received. (Click on "links to this post" below.

Carol

Answerd Prayers!

Last week we got a call from a friend saying that her husband wasn’t treating her well and was asking for a divorce. He also wanted to take their seven-year-old daughter with him to live with his girlfriend and the child he fathered with her. A couple days later it dawned on me that the reason he wanted her was probably not good. In this country, often step-parents don’t accept the children of their spouses’ previous marriages. And if they do have children with them from another husband or wife, those children can be mistreated. They are sometimes used for child labor and are treated like a servant of the other children. I thought there was a good chance this might happen. An irony occurred to me. We grew up with the story of Cinderella, thinking that it was a rare thing that a step-mother would be so cruel to her husband’s child, but I’ve heard too often about situations like that since I’ve lived here.

Our friend’s husband had crushed her phone when they argued, so I knew she couldn’t call us and it is very hard for her to come see us since she lives pretty far away and has to work 6 days a week to feed her three children. (The father of the children has not contributed much.) So, I really wanted to drive over to her house to check on her and give her a few things—food, etc. to help her. So I was praying for her and about going to see her.

The only day it would really work to do that is Sunday, so Saturday, Richard and I made plans to go after church. This morning in church, I was praying about this a lot. I had never been there, but I knew it was not that easy to get to. Also, I had grading and school preparation to do. Then, when we started driving there, it started raining. I asked Richard if he thought it was unwise to go today. He said he thought it wasn’t that bad, so we kept going. When we got close, Richard couldn’t recognize the road to take to go up the mountain and we took on the wrong road in the pouring rain and came to a very narrow dead end. We had no choice but to go down the steep road in reverse. It was a road made with pavers and I was really nervous that we would slip or something. Even when we made it safely down the hill (Ok, I guess Richard is a good driver after all) Things just didn’t seem to be working out. But I kept praying. Then Richard asked some people on the street for the road that the big sand trucks come down. They directed us to an unpaved mountain road. In spite of the rain coming down the road in a stream, we made it up to her house.
She was so glad to see us and was praising God when we got there. Later she told us she had been praying for God to provide because all she had was a little rice to feed her kids and nothing else. I was relieved to see her oldest daughter was still with her.

We talked to her about taking a few days off work. Really, we don’t think she should have to work at this time of year, because she teaches in a pre-school and school doesn’t start until October this year. As it is, they had her working all summer to this point doing “camp” with the kids, never giving her a day off. Her two-year old has been sick off and on for a long time, including a bout with cholera. We wanted to take her to a good doctor. And since her house is missing 1 ½ walls (tarps are hanging there) and she has some of the materials for it, Richard and I suggested she come stay with us for a few days and maybe her relatives next door could supervise the building of the walls while she’s gone.

Her one-room leaky house (with outdoor tarp/tent area for cooking) is actually an improvement on what she was living in when she went back to this area after leaving our house (where she lived in a tent after the earthquake). The other “house” was a structure of tarps, scrap aluminum and a floor of smallish stones. This one is made of two cinderblock walls, two “tarp” walls and it has a cement floor. Her relatives and many other Haitians live in similar homes. But my concern was the oldest daughter, Bergelin.

Venita told me later that she had the exact same concern I had about her husband’s interest in her. And that she had already rescued and hidden her once when her husband had all Bergelin’s clothes in a bag hidden behind his back. Because of the clothes, she knew he was about to take her so Venita wisked her away to a neighbor’s house before he could find her. Bergelin doesn’t want to go with him because she said he is “hot headed” (tet cho).

Venita and the kids were thrilled to come here and are having a nice time. All except Sara who is sick.

The day after they arrived, Richard spent a day taking all three children, and a neighbor’s child to Dr. Jeudy, the Dr. who treated Richard after he was shot. After that, we had to get some medical tests done and also buy some prescription medications for the children. This ended up taking most of the day, due to the many stops we had to make along the way. At one point, all of the children had to have a blood test, so I ended up holding 3-year-old Gaetan during the test because his mother was holding baby Sarah. He was brave until he got stuck, and then cried those hot tears that stream down the face. But it was over in a flash, and he was back to his own smiley self by the time we got back in the car.

We got home safely, and now everyone is sleeping peacefully after a big day!

Venita needs prayer!

A few weeks ago before Carol got back from the US I went to see Venita and her family at her family's homestead way up on the mountains above Port-au-Prince. It is hard to believe there is such natural beauty just 15 minutes above Port-au-Prince.

I went mainly because I had heard that they had been reunited with their third child who had been staying with relatives until they could afford to send her to school in the fall. Bejano, the Dad, had just gotten a job teaching men about domestic violence in the tent camps. Venita had her old job teaching school back, so with 2 incomes, it finally seemed that they would be able to build a house and live as a family again.

So I was delighted to meet Berjline, a tall, toothless five year old! She was all smiles and giggles and adored her little brother and sister. It was great to see them all together.

But then a few weeks later I got a call from Venita. She was talking very fast in Creole and knew she was very upset, so I asked Margaret, our cook, who is also a wonderful Christian, to try and make sense of what she was saying.

It turned out that Bejano admitted to having an affair with another woman that had already resulted in a baby outside of the marriage. Now he wanted to take Berjline away from Venita so she could help his girlfriend with the new baby, sort of like in Cinderella with the step-mother. Ironically, the man who taught other men about domestic violence threatened his wife and smashed her cell phone in his anger when she refused to let him take Berjline. He had already taken Berjline's clothes and was about to snatch her away, when Venita cried for help and her family hid Berjline for her.

We had been praying about the situation all week, and of course we could not contact Venita because her phone had been smashed. So Carol and I decided to go up the mountain on a Sunday afternoon because on Sunday's there is very little traffic. Unfortunately, it started to pour rain just as we got to the dirt road. The road quickly turned into a river flowing swiftly down the mountain. I looked at the road as a challenge, but Carol was a little frightened. But our trusty Toyota 4WD pickup made it up no problem. Venita was so excited to see Carol, she ran over and gave her a big hug!

It's hard to describe Venita's house when it rains. Picture drips all over the place, and one in particular on the bed where she and the 3 children sleep. In addition, she had 20 bags of cement taking up 1/4 of the house because during the earthquake, two out of the 4 walls of the house fell down. The other two walls are just tarps and plastic sheeting. She said that at night all kinds of insects and animals crawl inside for "shelter".

Later I found out one type of animal that visits her in the middle of the night: Tarantulas! When we were visiting a new-born baby next door, one tried to crawl into the house where the baby was sleeping, so I killed it with a stick.

Since Venita wanted to fix up her house, and had a week of vacation before school started, we invited her and her 3 children to stay with us while the house was being worked on.

Now they are peacefully sleeping in Ricky's old bedroom.

Poor Venita has been through a lot since the earthquake, so pray for her as she faces this next challenge. And pray for marriages here in Haiti and in the US, where Satan still seeks to destroy families by sin and unfaithfulness.

The Lord takes away, and the Lord gives

The Lord takes away, and the Lord gives

Our car battery died the other morning, just as we were trying to get Carol to school on time. The annoying thing was that it was less than 2 years old, and supposedly had an 85 month warranty. So I emailed Interstate battery customer service and explained the situation, expecting to maybe get a portion of the price I paid for the battery back.

In the meantime, I got the battery tested, tried to charge it overnight, and had a mechanic look at the car to make sure it was not an electrical problem. All tests showed the battery was really dead, and so I went out and purchased a battery for $160 US.

The story of Bernadette

As we were leaving to get Carol to school on time the other day, we saw a young lady near our gate gesturing for us to stop. We were running late so we didn’t stop, but when I came back from dropping Carol off, she was still waiting near our gate.
I asked her how she knew us, since I did not recognize her. She said she had seen us at Quisqueya Chapel where we attend church, and also knew mutual friends who had helped pay for her schooling when she was young.

Then she began to tell me her sad story: She was pregnant and the Father of her child started to beat her after he found out she was pregnant and didn’t want to get an abortion. I invited her into the house and invited our cook, Margaret, to join us. Margaret is a wonderful Christian woman who is also very wise, and she listened intently as Bernadette told her story.

Bernadette had been badly injured during the earthquake and showed us her disfigured arm and also where they had sewed up her stomach due to internal injuries.
She told us how her church had disciplined her for getting pregnant before marriage and was not allowing her to attend Sunday morning services. We asked her where she was living, and she said with her Mother, who was not a Christian. She said her Mother was very upset about the pregnancy and was very mean to her most of the time.
We asked her if she had ever accepted Christ, and she said she did have a personal relationship with Jesus. I then asked her if she had asked for forgiveness for her sin and showed her 1 John 1:9.

She was quite open and seemed to be sincerely repentant.

We prayed with her after we talked and she shed a few tears. It had probably been a long time since she heard words of comfort instead of condemnation.
After Margaret fixed her a good meal with lots of protein in it she seemed to feel better. As she left, we told her she could come back if she needed more help, or just to pray.

PS: Bernadette came back today and we prayed with her again.

YABT Haiti and Diplo Foundation Graduation

One of the partnerships we have through Young Americas Business Trust in Haiti is with the Diplo Foundation. They offer on-line courses in internet governance with the goal of educating those who set national policy in the basics of how the internet is goverend. In Haiti, very few understand all that happens behind the scenes to make the internet work.

After we ate lunch one of the topics we discussed how to protect Haitian children from on-line pornography and child predators. None present knew of any laws in Haiti that have been enacted to address these threats to Haitian society.

This is a practical example of how the Diplo training can impact Haiti.

In addition, I purchsed Bibles in Creole for each person who attended. I said that neither YABT Haiti nor Diplo are Christain organizations, but I am a Christian and had purchased Bibles for them to have with my own money. I left the Bibles on a table, and said anyone who wanted to could take one. Every single one of the participants took a Bible, including the head of the Haitian equivalent of the US FCC (Federal Communications Committee)!

What is it like to drive the back roads of Haiti?

The area where we travelled has no road maintenance, so when it rains, sometimes deep gullies form and mud holes develop that become deep from trucks sloshing through them.

Just last year we were in the general area, and the roads had just been finished so they were in good shape. But after no maintenance for a year, they are getting really bad.

Our most treacherous journey was to Bassin Bleu near Jean Rabel. It started to rain when we were most of the way there, and we stopped to think about whether we should continue. But the rain let up, and Pastor Pierty, who was driving, thought that we could make it.

Even in 4WD we were slipping a bit, especially on the hills, but we still made progress. We had about 5 people in the back as well, and sometimes they were slammed against the rails when we slid.

Then suddenly, while going up a hill the truck began to fish-tail. I looked up and it seemed like we were going to go over a deep embankment on our right. But just at the last minute, Pastor Pierty got the truck under control and we made it up the hill.

When we finally got to the school we were rewarded by a bunch of kids waiting for us inside the small school made of mud walls with a thatched roof.

Thank God the rain had stopped by the time we headed home, and we didn’t have any more problems, but it is definitely a trip me and my Canadian friends will never forget!

Canadians have a Haitian adventure

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From July 11 through the 18th, 2011 we hosted four young Canadians who wanted to help us start teams in 8 schools in North-West Haiti: Art, Nick, William and Kate.

Here is a short summary of the trip in numbers:

Number of decisions for Christ: 60
Number who want to study the Bible: 50
Number of Christian books distributed: Approximately 5,000
Canadians who survived: 4 Canadians who did not: 0
Haitian coworkers: 6 – Ronald, Sylvain, Debreus, Jean Paul, Maxime and Pastor Pierty
Schools visited: 9 Schools who got sets of equipment: 10
Number of complete sets of short, jerseys and socks donated: 13
Number of balls collected: 120
Number of miles driven over some of the roughest roads in Haiti:
Number of flat tires: 1

Each day we got up early and drove over rough roads to visit 2-3 schools mostly in remote areas. When we got to the schools we played games with the children that showed up (it is summer vacation here), and explained to the school director and pastors who to best use the books we gave them. One of the books is called “25 stories from the Bible”. Other titles were: Pilgrims progress in Creole; Sharing your faith; New Testaments in Creole; Growing in the Christian Life and God’s Marvelous Creation.

After playing games with the children, I shared my testimony of how I was shot and showed the children the bullet holes in my truck. Then Sylvain shared the Gospel in a simple way and gave an invitation.

In the afternoons, we held an evangelistic soccer tournament for 8 schools. We handed out hundreds of tracts at these games and at the final we shared the Gospel and 16 people indicated they trusted in Christ.

For three nights we also showed Christian films to the community and hundreds of people attended these as well. Some people trusted in Christ as a result of these films as well. We showed films like “The Combat” and “The Solution” that contrast Voodoo with Christianity. We also showed 2 films for children on the life of Jesus: “The God Man” and “The Jesus Film for Children”.

So we thank our dear Canadian friends for collecting lots of equipment and donations to make this trip possible and finance a great soccer tournament. The team from “Mosquito Bay” won the tournament. This is an Ocean side community know for its quantity of bugs!

Thanks to our Canadian friends from the University of Moncton and this recent team, we have more equipment than we have ever had, and have been able to start 20 new teams just this year, so now we are up to 80 teams all over Haiti!

Mission to the NorthWest of Haiti

Starting today (July 11th), I will be welcoming a team of 4 tough Canadians who I challenged to come work with me this summer to reach 9 villages in this remote part of Haiti.

Our Haitian team of myself, Ronald William, Jean Paul Noel, Sylvain Nelson and Debreus Dreisnel will be joining them on this thrust into an area steeped in voodoo.

We are partnering with our Crossworld Co-Workers, Bruce and Deb Robinson, and 9 UEBH churches in each of the villages we will be visiting.

To attract the community, we are sponsoring an evangelistic soccer tournament throughout the week with the final game on Saturday.

We hope to visit 2-3 different villages each day and do sports with the children and distribute books entitled "25 Stories from the Bible" to each student at the local Christian Schools, about 50% of which have not yet trusted in Christ.

We have found that when a child trusts in Christ, his parents often react positively to his child-like faith and come to Christ as well.

I will be away from the internet during this time until July 18th, so as God brings us to mind, please pray for us!

Hold the Fort!

As I was preparing to lead the Worship service at Quisqueya Chapel this past Sunday, I came across this story:

Near the end of the American Civil war, the Confederate Army under General Hood tried many times to repel a Union army under W.T. Sherman three times its size. On the 5th of October, 1864, the Confederate army of Hood, in a carefully prepared movement, went behind the Union army stationed near Atlanta, GA and commenced the destruction of the railroad leading north, burning blockhouses and capturing the small garrisons along the line. Sherman’s army was put in rapid motion pursuing Hood, to save the supplies and larger posts, the principal one of which was located at Allatoona Pass. A million and a half rations of food were stored here and it was highly important that the earthworks commanding the pass and protecting the supplies be held.

The area was completely surrounded by the Confederates and the Fort was asked to surrender. The Union commander refused and a sharp fight commenced. The defenders were slowly driven into a small fort on the crest of the hill. At this moment an officer caught sight of a signal flag far away across the valley, twenty miles distant, upon the top of Kenesaw Mountain. The signal was answered, and soon the message was waved across from mountain to mountain:

“Hold the fort; I am coming. W. T. Sherman.”

Cheers went up; every man was nerved to a full appreciation of the position; and under a murderous fire, which killed or wounded more than half the men in the fort—the Union General himself being shot three times through the head, and his Colonel taking command, though himself badly wounded — they held the fort for three hours until the advance guard of Sherman’s army came up and the Confederate army was obliged to retreat.

After hearing this story from a civil war veteran in 1870, Philip Bliss, the composer who wrote the melody to “It is well with my Soul”, wrote the words and melody of “Hold the Fort”. Philip died in a tragic train accident at 38 years of age at the height of his evangelistic music ministry and was about to join Dwight Moody in Europe when the accident happened, killing him and his wife, and leaving his two sons as orphans.

Just as the men of the Union army held the fort, we need to remember to “hold the Fort” of God’s Kingdom here on earth against the “Devil’s schemes” and his rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6:12). This church is in a strategic position here in Port-au-Prince! But just as the Union army fought to save badly needed supplies, supplies needed for the Union to win the war, so we must give and supply the needs of this church so that it can be a haven of hope, a fortress for God’s Kingdom here in PAP. Rest assured that God’s Kingdom is coming! In His last words in Revelation Jesus reminds us: “Yes, I am coming soon! (Rev. 22: 20). Until then we need to pray, give and work for the defense and advancement of his Kingdom here in Haiti and around the world.


Hold the fort Philip Bliss

Verse 1:
Ho, my comrades! see the signal waving in the sky!
Reinforcements now appearing, victory is nigh.

Refrain:

“Hold the fort, for I am coming,” Jesus signals still;
Wave the answer back to Heaven, “By Thy grace we will.”
See the mighty host advancing, Satan leading on;
Mighty ones around us falling, courage almost gone!

Refrain

See the glorious banner waving! Hear the trumpet blow!
In our Leader’s Name we triumph over ev’ry foe.

Refrain

Fierce and long the battle rages, but our help is near;
Onward comes our great Commander, cheer, my comrades, cheer!

Mud and Rivers and rocks, Oh My!

For all those fans for 4 wheel drive, have I got a road for you!

Last week I drove from 7 AM to 7 PM on some of the worst roads in Haiti, straddling "mud tracks" 2 feet deep, fording rivers, and beating my tires up on "washboard" rock formations that loosened up every bolt on my Toyota pickup (and even shook some completely loose).

I had a full load of 5 people inside the truck and two men outside sitting on top of 50 cases of Christian literature, soccer equipment and suitcases.

Our first stop was a remote church where we delivered lots of books to be distributed next week during our visit with our Canadian Friends. Then we tried to hook up with a Haitian pastor who had just had a bad motorcycle accident, but couldn't wait until he got home.

Our last stop before heading to La Pointe, was to drop off the rest of the books that will be distributed to 9 different churches between July 11 and 16th. There are colorfull "25 Bible story" books, Pilgrim's Progress in Creole, Bibles and booklets for children that clearly explain the Gospel.

There were also Literacy "primers" to teach children how to read in Creole. When i got to this remote village, I decided to test the reading skills of the children gathered around. To my amazement, even the smallest child seemed to be able to read the letters with ease and even some sentences! The future of Haiti is definitely the children!

To get to La Pointe, we had to cross a wide river that trucks have been know to get stuck in. Naturally, I was a little nervous, and it didn't help that some of my Haitian companions told stories of people they knew who got stuck when water stalled their engines and the car drifted down the river a bit!

We made it across, however, thanks to "guides" that sat on my hood, sometimes pointing in different directions!

I was glad to get even a cold shower that night to wash all the dust off and crawl into bed!

Sylvain and Sylvena's Wedding

A wedding is always a cause of celebration in any culture, but it takes on new meaning in Haiti where most children are born out of wedlock, and many couples don't have the money to get married in a "proper fashion". Teenage pregnancy is still a huge problem here and has been exacerbated because of the insecurity in the tent cities.

So when a couple does their best to celebrate their union in a way that glorifies God, and his goodness in bringing them together, it is indeed a special occasion.

Sylvain and Sylvena met in Port-de-Paix where they attend Ebenezer Baptist Church. She is a Kindergarten teacher, and her students attended the wedding and sang a cute song for the couple. Sylvain is a school teacher and also works for Compassion and Ambassadors in Sport. He also has his own evangelistic ministry in the area that seeks to go into remote areas and share the Gospel.

I was asked to pray at the wedding, which was a great honor, and of course I had to write down the prayer since it was in Creole and I didn't want any mistakes!

I also helped out by driving the wedding attendants to and from the wedding and helping them keep out of the mud, since it had rained earlier that day.

In all, it was a great celebration and reminded me of how thankful I am for Carol and our children, the fruit of a godly marriage - and of course I prayed the same for Sylvain and Sylvena!

Richard arrived safely up north

Thanks for your prayers. Richard arrived safely up north. Sunday, he made excellent time getting to Gonaives in 2 1/2 hours, even though sometimes it can take 4 or more hours.
Yesterday he drove around a lot (about 10 hours) getting to Port-de-Paix and then having meetings in that general area.

If justice seems so elusive to you that you don't even try to acheive it, is that a kind of oppression?

This is a note I put on facebook this morning.

I was actually invited to a 4th of July picnic and even though I wasn't really in the mood, I knew it would be a good thing to do. I'm glad I did.

Please comment on this note--I'd appreciate your thoughts.

"I'm trying to be in the 4th of July spirit, but I just had a heart-breaking talk with a Mom whose son (one of the most honest, good-hearted, unselfish people I've known) is in jail. He's been like a son to me and it's really hard to accept this. I get angry with people involved in this and disheartened knowing a little of what jail is like in this country. He contracted malaria this week. I'm thanking God that at least the prison provided chloroquine and rehydration fluids.

The saddest part is that it seems the Haitians involved don't feel that they can even try to prove that he is not the one who's at fault. They are so used to the idea that you can't fight "city hall" or anyone (in this case, it's probably individuals), it almost doesn't occur to them to try. And partly because of this, we have been uninformed, and misinformed about what actually happened. It doesn't seem worth it to those involved trying to piece together what happened because they think you'll never be able to prove that he didn't do it. What experiences must they have had if they act this way? Or is it just hearsay? So, instead they are focused on trying to raise the huge amount of money to pay back the organization that is out the money.

To answer my question above....if you think about the Merriam-Webster definition "unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power" it doesn't seem like that's what's happening here, at first. But, what if the LACK of exercise of power or authority allows some people in the society to take advantage of someone else without punishment?

Sadly, we have lost time not knowing many of the facts in this matter because of hopelessness--at least in their society and justice system. They do hope in God, but, I guess like all of us, they only think He will work in certain ways.

Hmmm. Need to go pray some more."

.

Prayer requests

Here are some prayer requests for Sunday and Monday:

Please pray for Richard today as he drives up to Gonaives and tomorrow when he'll be driving on worse roads to Port-de-Paix and La Pointe.

Pray for the AIS "Team" as they have a lot going on this week up in the north:

1. Sylvain Nelson's wedding! - He has been working with AIS for years and is currently a part time administrator for the northern regions. (Tuesday, July 5th)

2. For book distribution - over 10,000 books to be brought to 3 regions. "25 Greatest Bible stories" and "Book of Hope" (both in Creole, but giving you the English names), and Bibles.

3. For Equipment distribution for soccer teams in 3 regions.

4. UEBH Beraca Conference - Representatives from the UEBH churches and ministries all over Haiti meet together for a few days of teaching, worship and spending time together.

5. Meeting with the AIS-Haiti Regional Committee in Gonaives.

Thank you for praying!

YABT training for Young Life - How to Write a Business Plan

Here are some pictures of the YABT training for the Young Life group that started last weekend and continues tomorrow and Sunday.

Tent Camp for 18 months and still no where to go for many

I couldn't stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks as I sat in a circle together with 14 IDP* (refugee) tent camp leaders and the pastor of the church property where the camp sits. The camp is supposed to be dismantled by the Fall and these people need somewhere to go. We had just finished two hours of discussion about how to help people in the camp understand their God-given talents through ABCD: Asset Based Community Development.



As a North American, I wanted to go in and fix their problems like I order a hamburger at McDonalds. But there are no easy answers when it comes to assimilating the thousands of people in IDP camps back into the mainstream in Haiti. Imagine living in a tent for 1 ½ years! That’s not a week’s vacation with your family.

I’m not sure of all the emotions welling up inside that caused me to cry, but I know deep inside I wanted these dear brothers and sisters in Christ (who were volunteering their time to help others in the tents) to know that somebody had heard their cries and cared about their challenges. I wanted them to know that I (and all who support us and pray for us) was there to encourage and comfort them in a seemingly impossible situation.

I told them frankly that I didn’t know how God was going to deliver them from this situation, but at the beginning of the seminar we all confirmed what we knew: God loves us, and all the people living in tents; God would not ask us to pray for our daily bread without giving us a way to earn it or find it, and God has given each one of us talents and abilities to serve him, and serve others.

Without the caring heart of Mark Bradley, a fellow Crossworld missionary, and his wife, Anne, I would not have had the opportunity to share with and learn from these dear people. But when Mark asked me to visit the camp with him, and we started to talk to Pastor Renes about the challenges he faced, I decided to meet with them to discuss ABCD which I had just read about in the book “When Helping Hurts”.
So with Mark’s help I learned enough about ABCD, and the spirit behind it, to lead a discussion with these leaders.

ABCD starts with the perspective that God has given everyone talents and abilities that they can use to help themselves and others. Instead of asking the refugees what they need, ABCD asks them what they HAVE in terms of skills, community connections, business experience and personal assets. It seeks to engage everyone in finding solutions to pressing community issues rather than doing things for people who “have nothing to offer.” In Mark 6, Jesus started with what people had, a few fish and loaves, and proceeded to turn it into a feast for 5000. When we offer what we have to God, he can do miracles – and that is what Haiti needs right now – lots of individual miracles.

Even though I had never taught this material before, the discussions we had energized me, and God helped me find just the right illustrations to help the group understand the concepts. Once this was done, we worked together on putting together a survey to help people discover their talents. I left it up to them to decide whether they would survey people individually or in groups, and also when and how they would get together to discuss the results of the surveys and hopefully find some ways to connect needs in the community with skills their neighbors have.

I plan to meet with them on July 21st to discuss their findings and try and find ways to link their abilities with my network. In the meantime, please pray for this whole process, and pray that God will make a way for these dear people leave their tents.

Rich

*Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) – people are not technically considered refugees if they are in such a camp in their own country.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for safety for Richard as he drives around town. He did a special meeting this morning with the leaders of an IDP tent camp that is going to be disbanded soon. The people need wisdom and help with people getting resettled. Thank God for a church in Pennsylvania who is partnering with the church at this site to pray for, to have a partnership with them and help in whatever way God leads them.

Please pray for Ronald and Sylvain who are up north (again) conducting training.

Pray for the YABT training that will continue this weekend at Young Life.

thanks!

What is she doing?

"Madame, Emmanuel told us he saw you walking on a thing in a room and you didn't go anywhere! We want to see this thing!" Francelaine & Geovania asked me.

No, I didn't let them watch me walk on the treadmill. And, no, no picture of me on it. ;) But seeing how silly it seems to them, since they have to walk just about everywhere and wouldn't if they didn't have to, makes me think & pray about whether we're really getting anywhere as we put out effort in our ministries.

In fact, our recent CrossWorld retreat was a all about evaluating what we spend our time doing and what effect it has. We read the book "Live Like You Mean It" by T.J. Addington and spent time clarifying what we think God has us here for, what we need to do to accomplish that, etc. It has been challenging and refreshing.

If you would join us in prayer about this, we'd appreciate it. And, I think I need to use our "most used word" of the retreat to ask specifically for prayer...."intentional." Pray that we would be more intentional about all that we are here to do. Thanks

Training in Cabaret in the North

Here are some pictures of the training that went on up in Cabaret on Saturday.

Each team was given some equipment to start with.

Reorganizing the "Soccer Depot"

Working on the depot. We call it "the soccer depot." It's where we keep the donated sports equipment, first aid materials, training materials, Bibles, books, and equipment for showing films.

BEFORE:














AFTER:


And, yes, there's Jean-Paul again. Ronald and others also helped on this project.

Before there were only a few shelves and mostly there were cardboard boxes piled on top of each other. The contents was scribbled on in marker, for example "shirts." This time we have uniform labels on each box that fit into plastic sleeves so we can write on each box exactly how many we take out or add to it. This picture was actually taken before we completely finished the job.

We are setting in place a more organized method of tracking all this "inventory" as it comes in and goes out to the (over 70) teams our 10 regions around the country. We hope to replace the cardboard boxes with plastic tubs over time, but that' the next step. It's good to have the time to do this so that things will be more streamlined throughout the year. And it was really nice to be able to find the tools to work on this project because of Kevin Belmont who helped us clean out and reorganize our personal depot!

Jean-Paul graduated from seminary!

By the grace of God, one of our AIS-Haiti workers, Jean-Paul Pierre Noel graduated from STEP seminary last week. Here's a picture of him with his fiance, Christelle Francois. They are planning to be married in December, 2011.

Jean-Paul did an internship with AIS-Haiti after his second year in seminary. He has been faithful in volunteering and recently started working in a part time position with us. He is a gentle, gracious Christian who is a joy to work with.

When I say that he graduated "by the grace of God" I'm not implying that we weren't sure of his capabilities. Although he may say that in all ways he needed God's grace (I think that's true for all of us), but I say that because Jean-Paul did not have enough money to attend STEP. God graciously provided, even in the last week of school, a donor from our home church, Crossing Community Church, gave a very generous gift that allowed Jean-Paul to pay off all his debt! We praise God for this.

For the time being, Jean-Paul is still working with us part time in Port-au-Prince where he plans to live after he is married. Please pray that God would provide funds for us to increase his hours with AIS and that he will be able to help us lead AIS into the future.

Training this weekend

Ronald William just arrived this morning up north where he, Sylvain, Debreus and Orvil will be conducting a training session for a group of 24 young men in Cabaret in the Northwest department who are interested in volunteering with AIS-Haiti.

Ronald had to get up very early this morning to take the bus up to Port de Paix and we were glad to get the call that he arrived there safely. Now, to get to Cabaret where they will hold the training day, Sylvain will be working out transportation for them which involves crossing (through!) several rivers, some of which are at flood levels. One especially is quite difficult right now. Please pray that they get safely there and then for Sunday when they will return.

A CrossWorld missionary who works up in that area has asked us to be in "serious prayer because there is so much potential" Also, the area is very heavily influence by voodoo.

Some of the participants will be trained to be coaches, some to be chaplains, and others to be administrators of the teams.

Ronald took a big bag of equipment with him to help 8 teams to get started. These teams will be associated with UEBH Christian schools in the general area.
Here are some pictures to show you what it's like crossing the rivers up north.

Here's one taken from a side window looking at a very full river.