Give a Kid a Kid Christmas 2013

Here's a link for our video about our Give a Kid a Kid Christmas program



$100 buys one goat and training

$1,200 buys goats for a whole team!

$50 provides training for 2 players



To donate a goat to one of our players, please go to www.ambassadorsfootball.org/donate

On the donate page, scroll down to "Support an Ambassadors Ministry" Click on the little triangle.

Then choose "Give a kid a kid - Haiti" near the bottom of the list. If you would like to give to the ministry in Haiti in general, then choose "Ambassadors Haiti" on the menu.

On the next page scroll down to enter the amount and credit card information.

One goat is $100 US, including training and medical care, but you can give any amount.

Thank you so much for your interest in what we are doing in Haiti!

A teachable moment!

Each morning I drive Carol and our neighbor's 4 year old daughter to school named Saphia. When we arrive, Carol goes to her classroom and I usually give Saphia a piggy-back ride to the kinergarten playground where she waits until classes start about 30 minutes later.

Usually there are several teen-age girls there to greet us and watch the children before school starts, but this morning I did not see any girls there waiting for us.

So I decided to stay with Saphia and wait until they showed up.

While waiting we talked about many things, and then Saphia said she would like to touch a branch on a tree. So her climb a sliding board near a tree and by standing on the top (with me holding her of course), she could touch the branch of a tree. By this time there were other children waiting for the school to start and so I let them all have a turn touching the tree branch.

Then they wanted to climb a tree, so I took them over to a tree and taught them how to climb it. At first some of them were scared, but the tree was next to a wall, and when the other kids said they could see cars and people over the wall, the ones that were scared got up their courage and climbed as well.

It was a thrill to see them overcome their fears and experience something new, as well as learning a new skill.

That is one of the things that makes teaching fun!

I saw that this was one of those "teachable moments" and had them sit down at a picnic table and asked them if they knew anyone in the Bible who had climbed a tree. Apparently they had not heard the story of Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10), because they could not think of anyone. So I taught them a kids song about Zaccheus, and told them the story.

Zacchaeus was a wee little man
And a wee little man was he
He climbed up in a sycamore tree
For the Lord he wanted to see
And as the Savior passed that way
He looked up in that tree
And He said, “Zacchaeus, you come down!
For I’m going to your house today
For I’m going to your house to stay”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV8wFANocHY

I told them that before meeting Jesus, Zaccheus stole money from the people by charging too much for taxes. One of the little girls said "Is this story true?" I said "yes", She said "Well I'm glas Zaccheus is not around now because I don't want him to steal from me." Then I went on to explain how Zaccheus said he would stop stealing because he wanted to follow Jesus and asked forgiveness for the bad things he had done.

So these little ones learned how to climb a tree today, and also heard about how Jesus will forgive them for the bad things they have done. All because of teachable moment!

What "teachable moments" will you look for today with your children or grandchildren?

Francoise has a baby boy!

Francoise, the single Mom who lived with us after the earthquake for a year with her 3 children has just had her 4th child! A healthy 7.7 pounds baby boy. She was assisted in the birth by her fiance, the Father of the baby. They are planning a wedding in December. While this is not God's preferred order (First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage), God ordained the birth of this child and has a good plan for him.

Carol was present at the birth and got to hold the baby moments after he was born. We have been letting the couple stay at our house for a few days while the mother recuperates from the natural birth and they can enjoy a modern bathroom and 24 hour electricity.

Odens, Francoise's fiance has been very gentle with her and the baby and seems like he is going to be a good father.

Francoise now has 2 girls and 2 boys, all of them happy and healthy. Children are a blessing from the Lord!

Awestruck at being present for the birth of Francoise's baby!

When we got a phone call at 6 am, I said “I wonder if Francoise is going to have the baby?” Sure enough if was Odense telling us that her water had broken at 3 am.



Originally Françoise had wanted a home birth with a midwife like she had with her other children. But we were suggesting that that wouldn’t be a good idea because at that time she lived in an area that was pretty accessible. Where she lives now, if she had had an emergency situation, someone would have had to help her down a small cliff to the ravine and take her down the ravine a few hundred yards to where the car so she could get to a hospital. So we invited her to stay at our house when the time was coming close.

A little over a week ago, when we thought she still had a month to go, she went into labor. Then the labor stopped and she was on bed rest. It was a rough time for her. Then her doctor asked for another sonogram and when he saw it he said he thought the baby would be born within a few days. He was right about that, but he said the baby was small. Apparently a lot of babies born in this country are low birth weight babies, but this little boy weighed 7.7 lbs. So I guess the original due date was wrong.

When we first got to the clinic, we were happy to see that it was nice and clean, but when we questioned the request to buy pitossin and antibiotics, we were told that we should take her somewhere else if we didn't agree with that. This was the clinic where Francoise received all her prenatal care and she felt comfortable there, so finally we all agreed to stay. The first nurse was not very kind or friendly. But I guess she was perturbed when I tried to suggest that she wouldn’t need pitossin to get labor going since the water had already broken. I didn’t like the idea of giving her the antibiotic just in case of any infection that might happen because where I’m from they don’t like babies to have antibiotics. But, Francoise said that this clinic had a good reputation—many women we know have had their babies there, so I kept quiet and prayed. First prayer answered: First nurse went off duty! :) The second one was nicer. Next prayer answered: Nurse #1 forgot to open up the drip for the pitossin—so all the labor was natural. But later the other nurse opened it up, presumably to help with the placenta.

After checking Francoise's blood pressure (normal) when we first got there, we never saw the doctor again. Guess that's why you can have a normal birth here for about $30.US. Thank you US AID for subsidizing this clinic!

I was the first one to hold the baby in my arms, even though I tried to tell the nurse to let Odens hold him first! But everyone else wsa busy helping Francoise. After a little guilt, I enjoyed it. He’s a beautiful baby. He seemed very healthy except that his body was fairly blue/pale. His face was nice and pink though and he was breathing pretty well, just had a little mucus. He cried well when he was born and then he looked alert. He also tugged back well when I held his hand and tugged gently. He found his thumb to suck and liked that a lot. Then he nursed. Mama and baby are doing well! - Carol

PS : After a little research I found out that as medical professionals are trying to reduce maternal mortality, they encourage the use of oxytocin (pitossin) for postnatal use to avoid postpartum hemorrhage.

I also found out that more than 500,000 women die each year in childbirth--99% of them in third world countries. So the systematic use of antibiotics is in reaction to that. I don't think there was a risk, or hardly at all for infection in this birth. In the US and other countries it's not considered safe to give antibiotics to a pregnant woman unless there is a serious infection because of the risk for the child.

Our kids get more kids! Goat distribution in Verrettes

Today we distributed goats to 3 teams in the Artibonite valley. It was a beautiful day and did not rain at all, which is unusual because it has rained almost every night over the past week.

Our players were really happy to get the goats and as I quizzed them on the basics of goat care, they all gave the right answers!

I did the distribution at two of the schools and got to share how God preserved my life after getting shot. I used this story to illustrate the point that we never know when we might die, and the Bible tells us we can know we have eternal life if we have trusted in Christ.

We also gave a Bible story book to each of our players to share with their families.

So thanks for your prayers!

Francoise is in Labor!

Francoise is expecting her 4th child and last night spend a sleepless night in pre-labor and sporadic contractions.

As you may remember, Francoise is the young mother who lived with us for a year after the earthquake. Please pray that she would have a healthy baby and a safe delivery.

We will let you know the news as soon as we get it.

Rich meets President of Haitian Soccer Federation

Many thanks to all who prayed for me this weekend! In spite of many obstacles, the training was completed, and in the process we learned many things.

On Saturday there was a full schedule of training in the morning. I arrived at the training center about 3 PM after a busy morning of preparing food, buying water and ice, and gathering all the things we would need to print the certificates to give the coaches. When I arrived at 3 PM Lucasse grabbed my hand and said we needed to go into the conference room right away. It turned out that the President of the Haitian Soccer Federation (FHF), Dr. Yves Jean-Bart, was on campus and had agreed to speak to our coaches! Here I was in dirty shorts and hadn’t even had time to shave and I found myself sitting next to the President of the FHF. Thankfully Dr. Jean-Bart was dressed in casual clothes. Nevertheless, they videotaped the presentation with me sitting right next to him. Every once in a while he would tap me on the leg to add emphasis to what he was saying.



Although this was not the first time I had met Dr. Jean-Bart, it was my first time sitting next to him and hearing him talk about his personal life and his public life as head of Haiti’s Soccer Federation.

He spoke for about 30 minutes about the challenges the FHF faces in general. Unlike most countries where the national soccer federation makes millions from television contracts and club fees, in Haiti these sources of revenue are not very developed. He did say that the FHF was trying to create a television channel that would broadcast professional and international games and seek to get advertising income.

Dr. Jean-Bart also spoke about his life as a child, including how he would steal sugar cane from the back of big carts when they passed by his house, and then resell it to local vendors. He said that soccer and school saved him from a life of delinquency.
He said that the FHF wanted to develop Futsal in Haiti at every school and make it into the national sport since it closely resembles the “Ti Kant” (little goals) type of soccer played in the streets of every town and city. He called the coaches we trained “pioneers” and encouraged them to go out and spread the sport throughout Haiti.

After this exciting meeting it was time to play the championship match of the Futsal tournament that went on during the training. (Please see a description of this game below). Then it was back to the mundane task of feeding the coaches, figuring out the money to give each participant for transportation and printing out the certificates.

We left the dinner of Oatmeal and bread for the coaches and then headed back home arriving shortly before 10 PM (which is really late for Haiti!)

So thanks for all your prayers!

Let me watch you play soccer for 20 minutes and I will tell you what I think of your Christian Character!

Let me watch you play soccer for 20 minutes and I will tell you what I think of your Christian Character!

It is easy to put on nice clothes and listen politely to a sermon and smile and greet people after a church service. But it is hard to hide your true colors when you are playing sports.

Sports can bring out the best and the worst in us. Much to my shame I remember one time I was playing soccer in Haiti and swung my fist at my adversary after a particularly hard tackle.

During the training we had lots of opportunities to share the Gospel with the approximately 20 coaches that were not part of our program. I told how my Father was murdered and I was shot, and how God had worked in my life through those events. We also showed three evangelistic films in Creole and gave a seminar on what it means to be a Christian coach. Many nodded their heads in agreement and some even said they were Christians.

But the real test came when a team made up of AFH (Ambassadors Football Haiti) coaches faced a team made up of non-AFH coaches in the intramural futsal tournament final on Saturday night.

I volunteered to referee the game and quickly realized I had made a mistake. The non-AFH players argued every call and even threw the ball off the field when they didn’t like what I decided. On one occasion a player yelled obscenities from the sideline and I gave him a red card. This demonstrated a lack of respect for authority.

They played rough and dirty and tried to dribble the ball through 3 defenders instead of passing. This was an example of selfishness. When I tried to remind them to think about their behavior and what message they would be sending to the young players they work with if they were there, they ignored me and went back to arguing. This showed they did not have a teachable spirit.

Not surprisingly, the AFH team won the game fair and square 3-2, much to the disappointment and protest of the other team.
So what did I learn from this? No matter what people say, it is in their actions that they show their true selves, particularly in sports. People can say they are “Christians”, but on the field and anywhere else, actions speak louder than words.
It also helped me realize how much Haiti needs godly coaches to teach young players how to respect authority, play like a team, encourage one another, and develop a life-long habit of learning. Any coach has a chance to influence his players, either for good or for bad.

I was proud of the way our coaches handled themselves in the face of adversity and realized more than ever that our leaders’ Christian example on and off the field will help our players develop godly self-control.

Futsal Training with the Haitian Soccer Federation starts today!

Today we are partnering with the Haitian Soccer Federation to train 40 coaches from around Haiti to be level 2 Futsal coaches. Last night about 20 coaches arrived and we fed them dinner and went over the basic rules of Futsal.

We have invited about 25 Ambassadors Football coaches from all over Haiti. In the evening we will train them the principles of being a Christian coach and also show some evangelistic films to reach the other coaches that are there.

The training is scheduled to last 4 days: Thursday through Sunday with meals and lodging for 40 people.

Last night when we arrived, we found out that the people responsible for welcoming us knew nothing about the training so today we are trying to make sure all the arrangements are in place so we can hold the training. Logistics are always a challenge, no matter where you are!

Thanks for praying for this training!

Our first distribution of goats to our players!

October 19, 2013 was a historical day for Ambassadors Football Haiti!

We distributed 72 pregnant female goats to four of our teams in Gonaives, Ennery and Gros Mornes.

The children were delighted to finally get their goats and start taking care of them after being trained over the summer. One parent kept saying "Thank you, Thank you" over and over.

The day was not without problems, however, as one of our trucks broke down that morning and so we had to do the distribution with only two trucks instead of three.

However, everything went very well and there was much joy on the faces of our players when they got their goats.

Please pray that our goats would be fruitful and multiply!



One of our players fills out the contract that says that after he gives back 3 goats to the program, the goat is his to benefit him and his family for years to come!



Happy kids and parents with their goats and feeding buckets





Our leaders are happy after a great day!

Our kids get kids!!!!

Our kids get kids!!!!

October 19, 2013 is a big day in the history of the “Give a kid a kid in Haiti” program! It is the first day some of our players in Gonaives, Gros Mornes and Ennery receive their pregnant female goats.

They have been trained by our leaders and now they need to put their learning into practice.

In order for us to entrust a goat to them, they had to pass an exam and also prepare a secure, dry place for the goat to live. In addition to giving them a goat, each player receives a bucket to be used to bring food and water to the goat.

We are distributing 72 goats today to 4 teams of 18 players. Within a year we should have double that number to distribute to other players in our program if all of us “work as unto the Lord”.

Please pray that we would, and that God would bless our goats so they are “fruitful and multiply!”.

Driving with the Windows down!

Travelling in Haiti with the windows down

The air conditioning in our truck broke just as I was setting off on a trip to visit our teams in Verrettes and Gonaives (About 3 hours north of Port-au-Prince). I took it to a mechanic to see if it was a simple fix, but alas, he said I had to find a part in order to fix it.

So we have been travelling with the windows down and it is amazing what I have been noticing.
First of all, I have been missing the smells of Haiti. Some smells are terrible, as you can imagine in a country without a good sewer system. But some smells are quite refreshing, like when we pass by fields of rice, or groves of trees along the road.

Right now we are passing a diesel truck with an oil leak and black smoke pouring out of it, and that smell is really bad.

Then there are the times when we slow down and pass through an outdoor market. The smell of raw meat baking in the sun mixing with the scent of human sweat can easily turn your stomach. But the smell of fritters cooking in oil or fresh fruit can make you hungry.

You have to remember that we live in a capital city, and lately traffic has been terrible. Right now we are in a traffic jam, and every time we get some shade, we get a little relief from the hot sun. Normally I sit in the front seat with the A/C blasting, but now I sit in the back where there is more shade, and I can move from one side of the car to the other depending on where the sun is.

Everyone here is saying that September is much hotter than last year. I don’t think you can get much hotter than 100% humidity and 90-100 degrees.

It also makes me appreciate the importance of wind. When we are sitting in traffic in the hot sun and there is no breeze, the heat is oppressive and sweltering.

I’ve learned in my 50 years of life that there is often an important lesson in suffering. To quote C.S. Lewis ““We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

So I thought about how the Bible personifies the Holy Spirit as wind in John chapter 3: ”5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Just as the heat was almost unbearable when there was no wind to cool us down while driving, so it is with us without the “breeze” of the Holy Spirit working through us. Our spiritual lives become stale and unbearable without the “breath of life”, the Holy Spirit that Jesus breathed on his disciples in John 20: 22 “And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

When we grieve the HS it is like closing the windows in a car with no A/C. We suffocate spiritually and our spiritual lives become unhealthy.

So if your spiritual “air conditioning” is broken because you are not listening to the Holy Spirit, get it fixed by confessing your sin and tune into the Holy Spirit and you’ll feel a lot better!

Starting 8 new teams on La Gonave

Starting 8 new teams on La Gonave

From August 17th to the 22nd we hosted a team of 5 Canadians who helped us finance and run a Futsal tournament on the island of La Gonave, which is in the bay or Port-au-Prince. (check out this link for more information about this fascinating island: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gon%C3%A2ve_Island)

Our purpose was to introduce the game of Futsal to the island and to train the 8 schools we worked with how to use sports as a means of evangelism. In order to accomplish this goal, we invited two National Officials with us on the trip to referee an 8 game tournament, and also train our leaders how to be referees themselves and spread the game throughout the island.

We organized a tournament between 4 teams from Anse-a-Galets, the main town on the island, and Palma, a major market up in the mountains. The team from the Wesleyan school at Anse-a-Galets won the tournament, with a team from Palma coming in second. Most important, however, was the number of people who responded to the Gospel: 48 indicated they trusted Christ and 86 asked to study the Bible with our local church partners.
Of course the players had a great time and many came to watch this new type of soccer (5-a-side with a goalie) that had never been played on La Gonave before.

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