God loves the poor!

Last week I (Rich) was feeling overwhelmed by the needs of those around me in Haiti. Everyday I have needy people knocking at my gate in legitimate need and it breaks my heart to turn them away. But even Jesus did not heal everyone who came to him, and so I pray for the wisdom of Solomon to know how to handle each situation.

But then I got a phone call from a friend of a missionary I know named “Ti Frere” or “Little Brother” (Even though he is in his 20's and is taller than me!). He said that he had been trying to get a hold of my missionary friend because he needed some medical care.

He explained that he felt like something was wrong with his jaw. This was a serious problem since he had a big operation last year to remove his cancerous jaw bone and replace it with bone grated in from his ribs. A generous oral surgeon had come from the US to do this normally very expensive operation for free.

I called my friend in the US and she said that she herself needed an operation and had no money to help Ti Frere at this time. But she suggested that we get an x-ray done to find out the seriousness of the problem. Well, Ti Frere didn't have any money for an x-ray, so we prayed about the situation and I decided to call my Haitian Dentist and ask if he would do an x-ray for free.

He said he would! So we went to his office and after he looked at the x-ray he said he had a Cuban friend who was an oral surgeon and he would ask her to look at Ti Frere that afternoon for free! Well Ti Frere was right – he knew something was wrong. It turned out he had an infection in his bone graft and if it was not removed soon, his whole re-built jaw would be in jeopardy.

I explained to the oral surgeon that Ti Frere had no money, and so she generously offered to do the operation two days from then (Friday, Oct. 9) for only $200 US. So we prayed again and wrote an e-mail to his missionary friend in the US and also to the pastor of his church in Haiti.
The next day, we got a call from his pastor in Haiti. While the pastor did not recognize the young man's name, he had compassion for him and understood the urgency of the need. He gave the $200 needed for the operation!!!

So on Friday morning I gave the money to Ti Frere and also gave him some money for car fare and food that evening.

That afternoon I went to see Ti Frere and he was doing well. His Mom and sister were there taking care of him and he looked good.

This whole incident reminded me that God loves the poor, and that God has ways of providing for them that I could never imagine. All I need to do is be sensitive to God's Holy Spirit and let him show me who He wants me to help, and trust that He will provide for the ones I cannot through other people.

Please pray for Ti Frere as he recovers, and that he will discover God's plan for his life.

The Perfect Uniforms!

One of our leaders from Limbe, which is about 5 hours north of Port-au-Prince, met with me last week. His name is Pastor Peggy and he is a professor at the Christian University of North Haiti in Limbe. Pastor Peggy had come to Port looking to purchase soccer uniforms for the University team. He was a bit discouraged after visiting several places and getting a quote of $1,800 US for a set of new uniforms.

We talked about his region's plans for the year. This fall they are planning on having a inter-school tournament with 6 schools in the area. At this point none of the teams in his regions have uniforms, so I invited him back to the house to look at the 4-5 sets of uniforms I brought back from the states. His eyes lit up when he found beautiful home and away Diadora Uniforms in forest green and white. He told me these were the colors of the University!

These uniforms came all the way from Ohio and were collected by a college student for a school project. But God knew we needed them in Limbe, Haiti, and so he sent them all the way here.
Unfortunately, these two sets of uniforms will have to be shared between the University, and the 6 schools that will participate in the tournament.

So please ask your contacts if they can donate any uniform sets to us. We have about 80 teams involved at this point and only a handful have uniforms.

Quisqueya Chapel Youth!

I (Carol) have been involved with the Youth Ministry at Quisqueya Chapel (an English church here in Port-au-Prince) last year and this year. It has grown so much! I'm so excited to see all these young people coming out on Saturday afternoon! We might have had 90 this week.

This week we are starting small groups. Please pray for my small group of 8 girls.

Update by Carol

Last week we celebrated Richard's birthday, this week, mine. I've had a great time since my students made a big fuss over me. My ESL students got a huge cake, drinks, cups, plates, etc. and invited all the Sophomores to surpise me on Wednesday since not all of them would be at school on Friday. They sang happy birthday and we had a short celebration before we had to get back to work. Then yesterday at chapel, the Student Council brought me and two other teachers whose birthdays are coming soon up in front, sang Happy Birthday and gave us homemade cupckaes. All day kids were wishing me a happy birthday and writing nice messages on my chalkboard and whiteboard.

Last night Richard and I had a fun night of dinner and board games with another couple who are in ministry in this area too.

I also got lots of electronic messages from all over!

I feel very much loved and celebrated!

Richard's 50th birthday

The party for Richard's 50th was really nice. Richard wrote the story of what God has done in his life (well, the highlights) and gave out copies to people as they left. It was a good time for certain relationships.

(see facebook for more pictures)

Celebrating with One Hope, one of our Partners in Ministry

On Tuesday, I was invited to a celebration put on by “One Hope”, the ministry that produces the “Book of Hope” a comic-book-style evangelistic booklet that we have distributed to all of the schools we work with. The occasion was the distribution of their 600,000,000 copies of the“Book of Hope” worldwide.

We had the privilege of meeting Pastor Bob Hoskins, the founder of “One Hope” ministries. He explained how he has been preaching God's message of transformation for over 60 years how the first “Book of Hope” distribution took place in El Salvador. He had sent Bibles to the 50 most influential leaders in all the Latin American countries and when the Minister of Education in El Salvador called to thank him, he asked if there was any way to provide Bibles to all of the school children in El Salvador. At that time El Salvador was in the middle of a devastating civil war and as in all wars, the children were suffering the most. Pastor Bob was so excited about this request that he said “yes” right on the spot. Later he found out that there were 1 million school students in El Salvador and he had just promised to provide all of them with God's Word! So he developed a comic book version of the story of Jesus and included a simple Gospel presentation. God provided the resources to print and distribute the books and lives began to change. Within a year, the civil war had ended, and it has been peaceful there ever since. Some would say this is a coincidence, but Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that God's Word changes hearts.

We have been distributing the “Book of Hope” in Haiti since 2003. Since that time we have overseen the distribution of thousands of these wonderful comic books. Last year alone we distributed over 10,000 to the schools where we have started soccer teams.This year we plan to use a special booklet they have prepared for the World Cup in our outreach next summer. Please pray that God's Spirit will transform the hearts of many children as God's Word is distributed!Rich

Let's be more like cats

Every morning I try to sit down and spend some time reading my “One year Chronological Bible” and then praying for a while. This morning I was anxious about our finances since we have recently had a lot of unexpected expenses.. But then our cat, Macy, climbed up in my lap purring like crazy and just sat there. She wanted nothing more than just to be with me and have me pet her.This reminded me of Jesus' words to Martha: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41) I needed to be more like Macy this morning, to sit contentedly in God's lap and listen to His Word. Then everything else would fall into perspective and I could face the day. My circumstances did not change, but my attitude did – anxiety was replaced by trust, fear was replaced by peace, and I remembered the verse that says “A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.” (Ps. 34:19). All of us will face trials, but God will deliver us from them in his time and his way.What way will you choose today? Mary's or Martha's?

Pray for faithful workers who have lost their jobs

Please pray with us for two faithful workers who have lost their jobs.

Yesterday we found out that Ronald William who was a high school soccer coach and has put in many hours of volunteer hours with AIS-Haiti lost his job.

Today we just found out that Jean-Paul was laid off from his teaching job at another school. He has worked with AACH and AIS Haiti and has also put in many volunteer hours.

Please pray for God’s will in their lives and God’s provision.

We know that many people of lost their jobs in the US as well. We are praying for those that we know about. Feel free to “comment” on this post if you are in a similar position so we can be praying for you too.

A busy weekend of soccer tournaments

This past weekend (Sept. 11-13) AIS Haiti sponsored teams in three
different tournaments.  On Friday, our under 16 team from Borel won the
final game 1 to 0 to become the winners of an U-16 regional tournament
sponsored by the Haitian Soccer Federation.  We gave out Bibles to
several of the tournament organizers and the team will participate in a
service of thanksgiving at their local church on Borel.

Also on Friday, our regional committee in Jacmel hosted the final of a
“Ti Kan” (3 per side) tournament.  There were lots of people there and
the Pastor shared the Gospel clearly during half-time.   Lots of
response cards were collected, but so far not one indicated that they
trusted Christ.  Please pray that the Holy Spirit will draw people to
Christ as the evangelism counselors follow up with those who filled out
response cards.

On Sunday Elysee Vaillant, one of our key leaders on the AIS Haiti
board, led his team made up of former Lemuel players into the final of a
“Ti Kan” (3 per side) tournament.  Even though they lost 6 to 3, Elysee
was able to share the Gospel with the players on the other team and give
several community leaders who attended a Bible.  In addition, over 500
evangelistic tracts were handed out to those that attended the game.

Over 1,000 lbs of Soccer Equipment is on its way to Haiti

This summer, thanks to the help of a summer intern named Jason Hoeckele,
we were able to collect and ship lots of soccer equipment and sneakers
to Haiti.  We received a generous donation of balls and sneakers from
Ian Moore, the director of the Alliance of Christian Athletics of Haiti
who also gave us a generous donation towards the cost of the shipping. 
The rest of the cost of shipping came from the money raised at VBS by
Northampton Presbyterian Church who also collected 36 soccer balls for
Haiti!  Please pray that the equipment, which is being shipped by boat,
arrives safely.

Daniel's visit to the US a great success:

Daniel Jean-Louis, one of our key leaders in Haiti who graduated from
Liberty University, visited Rich in Pennsylvania for 3 weeks from August
20th to Sept. 7th.  During this time we visited 3 churches on Sundays,
met with 7 individuals, had lunch with 3 pastors, and attended 4 small
group meetings. 

Thanks to the generosity of some Christian Dentists and Doctors, Daniel
also got his first chiropractic adjustment, a clean bill of health after
a physical, and a teeth cleaning and dental checkup. 

He was also able to visit the Statue of Liberty and New York City with
his cousin from France, and also fly to Grand Rapids, Michigan to visit
the headquarters of Partners Worldwide, the ministry he works for part
time in Haiti. 

Humidity in Haiti and other places

Ricky and I got back to Port-au-Prince on Monday and it's been quite hectic ever since. School started on Tuesday. Fortunately for me, not all my classes have started yet, so I've been spending time between classes preparing. It was great to come back and see our friends and get back "home." Even though we have two places we call home, this, for now, is where I can lay down "in my own bed."

Richard is still in Pennsylvania. He took Grace to the airport yesterday for semester abroad. And the week started out with us moving Joy into her room at Eastern University. Before that we were glad to have all five of us together for two whole weeks!

It's about 93 and humid here. Since it feels so humid, I wanted to know just how humid this is. I found out that the maximum humidity I've experience here this week was 84%. I read online that it's like you poured water on a dry sponge and it has filled up to 84% of it's capacity to hold water. That's a lot of humidity. BUT I found out that Florida and Texas are the states that have the highest humidity in the US. I looked up a couple of towns in Florida and saw that in Tallahassee they have 93% humidity with a temp of 83! And Boston has 89% humidity! So it's really not so bad here. Come visit!
Carol

Read some good news about development in Haiti

Good news about Haiti for ag change!

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/haiti/story/1160246.html

We have been encouraged when we've driven through this area which is close to where we used to live when we first came to Haiti.

Business Training

Thank you....to those of you who prayed for the business "training the trainers" seminar, Business Labs Haiti 2009 by Young Americas Business Trust (YABT) in Port-au-Prince last week with the Israeli trainers provided by OAS (Organization of American States). It was a success. Here is an excerpt of a letter from a participant (translated from French):

"...as a participant, I would like to present in my name and in the name of all the participants, my sincere congratulations to the staff of YABT for the realization of this training seminar.

...this seminar rivaled other seminars offered by international organizations, in spite of your meagre financial resources.

I lift my voice as a Haitian and professional of this country to testify to my respect for you because you knew how to do things differently. From the judicious choice of participants, the choice of partners, the trainers, to the organization of the seminar led to the total success of Business Labs Haiti 2009. The participants as well as the trainers openly expressed their satisfaction...

May God bless Young Americas Business Trust"

We visit Quebec

Tomorrow, July 19th, Carol and I will visit the Quebec Baptist Church in Quebec city and present our ministry. This has been a special trip for us since we visited many of the sites familiar to us when we studied French here over 10 years ago!

Yesterday we met with Ed Sweeney to discuss a partnership between a school where he works and the schools we are working with in Haiti. One of his students started to collect school supplies for schools in Haiti in May and now wants to expand the project through our partnership with them. It great to hear about young people wanting to help students who are less fortunate!

Pray for the Business Lab "training the trainers" seminar this week

Please pray for the YABT team in Haiti who are hosting a "training the trainers seminar" (Formation de Formateurs).

From Monday, July 20th to Friday, July 24th our Haitian co-workers will host two Business Trainers from Israel and facilitate the training of 35 young Haitians as they learn how to help others start their own businesses. This training is sponsored by Young Americas Business Trust, an affilitate of the OAS, as well as funds we have raised in Haiti and the US.

Please pray especially for Daniel Jean-Louis and Jimmy Bruce who are responsble for all the details involved in this seminar including hosting two trainers from Israel, registering the participants on Monday and makeing sure all are served lunch, etc. throughout the week.

Joy graduated from Quisqueya Christian School on May 30, 2009. This is her giving her Salutatorian speech.

Evangelistic Match in Jean Rabel

The Regional Committee in Jean Rabel, one of the most remote parts of Haiti, did a great job organizing an evangelistic match in honor of our visit. Not only did they finance the entire game through local funding, they partnered with Compassion who provided funds for transportation and a meal for the players. AIS-Haiti's contribution to the tournament were the uniforms, balls, and sound system.

In typical fashion, the game that was supposed to start at 3 PM started at more like 4:30 PM, but the crowd was large and enthusiastic.

At the start of the game I was too busy setting up the sound system to notice that the coaches of the two teams and the referee were having a heated discussion at midfield. It seems that one of the teams had players who seemed too big to be under 15 years old, giving them a physical advantage. Even though this was just a friendly, non-tournament game, Haitians are very competitive and bragging rights of one town and one school against the other were at stake here.

However, our Board member, Elysee Vaillant noticed what was going on and intervened, suggesting that the one team offer not to play the bigger players at the start of the game. So the game started, and it was a very exciting game. Each team almost scored several times, but at the end of the first half the score was 0-0.

During half-time Sylvain used a gospel illustration with 3 balls on a stick to show how sin separtes us from God, but Christ can take away our sin and bring us close to God again. Several hundred fans heard this message and many filled out response cards which we have not yet had time to tally. These people will be followed up by the team of evangelistic counselors we trained to do this while we were there.

One young man approached a local pastor and asked trusting in Christ. The pastor was overjoyed to lead the young man to put his faith in Christ and is now more convinced than ever of how effective sports evangelism can be!

But the second half almost did not get played because the team with the bigger players were going to put them in during the second half to try and win the game. The coach of the opposing team heard about this and told his players to start walking off the field. Once again Elysee heard about this and served as an arbitrator to resolve this conflict, allowing the game to end in a 0-0 time at the end of regulation.

We were going to try to show an evangelistic film after the game, but the game ended late and then it started to rain, so we had to call it off. However, we left a copy of the film with the regional committee and they will show it to the community in the near future.

There was no score on the field, but there was rejoicing in heaven because at least on person trusted Christ as a result of the game!

Lessons from a humming Bird

While we were staying in a hotel in La Pointe near Port-de-Paix during our trip, a humming bird got into one of our rooms.

The poor bird flitted around and bumped into the window in a frantic attempt to escape.

When it got exhausted it would rest for a few seconds (which is when I got the pictures), but then it would start another desparate try to be free.

Finally, after seeing the bird get more and more frustrated and exhausted, we opened the window and let the poor thing free.

I couldn't help but feel that God was showing me a picture of my life lately. I have been so busy doing things and flying around at a frantic pace that I have become tired. When I do quiet down and rest from sheer exhaustion, my heart is still pounding and then I feel panic again over how much there is to be done before leaving Haiti in a few weeks and I get up and start to fly about working on my "to-do" list until I drop again.

God seemed to be telling the Israelites this in Isaiah 30:15: "This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it."

God wants to give me a peace in the midst of this busy time in my life, and I need to see that only He can open the window and give me freedom and rest. (Just to help me rest, I got a bad case of "Haitian Happiness" when I got back from the trip - thank God it did not happen on the 10 hour trip back!!)

Lord, don't let me have a stubborn heart like the Isrealites and refuse to repent and rest in you during this busy time of finishing up school and preparing to leave house and ministry behind for the summer.

How about you? Will you chose to trust God and rest in him, or will you fly about in frustration like the hummingbird?

Trip to Port-de-Paix - Rough Riding!

On May 16th we got up early and packed the car with 3,800 "Liv la Vie" booklets, 10 cases of Bibles and other Christian literature, a dozen boxes of soccer equipment, a speaker system and video projector to show evangelistic films and 7 people (Two riding in the back). Five members of AIS Haiti went on the trip: Rich, Daniel, Debreus, Sylvain and Elysee, with 2 riders going up and 1 rider coming back.

We covered everything with a tarp because of the frequent rains during rainy season and set out on what we thought would be a 6 hour trip north. In reality it took us 10 hours with stops to drop off equipment for two of our regions: Verettes and Gonaives.

Just outside of Gonaives, it started to pour and so all seven of us crowded into the 4-door cab of the pickup which was meant for only 5 adults. I squeezed in the front bucket seat with another friend trying to give the driver enough room to shift. The rain also made the roads very muddy and we needed 4-wheel-drive to get up a few slippery mountains.

The rough roads didn't help, either. Although there has been much improvement in the roads since I last drove to Port-de-Paix in 2002, the were still very bad in places.

But Haiti is still a very beautiful country with its rolling hills and mountain passes, and there are still lots of huts made of mud and sticks with thatched roofs in the countryside.

The highlight of the trip was fording the wide "Trois Riviere" river. The guide sat on the hood of our truck and pointed the way to shallow water. Daniel drove and we all gave him a high-five when we got accross.

Coming back the river was even higher than we went, so we hired an experienced driver to help us ford the river while we all sat in the back to give the rear wheels more tracktion, even in 4-wheel-drive.

Although the trip was an endurance test, it could have been much worse if we had broken down, or if someone had gotten sick, or if we had run into bandits, etc.

So we thank God for a safe trip, but are glad to be home.

Please pray for Barbara

Please pray for Barbara, my (Carol) Mom's cousin, whose husband just died. She deals with very serious health issues on a daily basis and has no children, nor other relatives besides my Mom and her children. It will be difficult for her to deal with arrangements and the sadness. However, she would say that Jesus has gotten her through many things and He will get her through this too. Thanks

Post about Ricardo Pierre-Louis on another blog

You've read about Ricardo Pierre-Louis on our blog....thought I'd post a link to a good blog post about him by AJOSHA.

http://ajosha-haiti.blogspot.com/2009/05/love-of-languages-translates-to-soccer.html

On their way to Port-de-Paix and Jean Rabel

Richard, Daniel, Sylvain and Elysee were off to the north yesterday. We got up at about 4:30 after a big night at school (Ricky in talent show & our BBall team winning the Championship...maybe another post). We packed books, soccer equipment, speakers, generator, food and water. They left at about 8:30 from our house, picked up Sylvain and Elysee and arrived safely in Port-de-Paix 10 hours later. For those of you who don't know Haiti so well, you're wondering how that can be in this small country. It's a matter of bad roads and loading and unloading people and luggage along the way.

Please pray for them to have a safe trip to Jean Rabel today and for the ministries up there to receive the encouragement and training they need. Also, be praying for the outreaches to be held this summer.

Ricky turns 15!

May 10th was Ricky's 15th birthday! He celebrated all weekend by having a few friends over to play soccer, X-box, and jam on the guitar and drums on Friday night, and then having a combined Birthday party with a girl from his class on Saturday.

The party on Saturday turned into an all-day affair starting at noon and not ending until 8 PM! But the invited the entire 9th grade from school, and lots of people came - enjoying music, line-dancing, and the ever-present X-box "FIFA 2009".

Ricky has grown a lot in every way over the past year. He is taller than me, has bigger muscles than me, and or course has more hair than me! But I can still get around him sometimes on the soccer field, so I don't feel too old!

He's also learned a lot in the past year, not only at school, but in music as well. He taught himself how to play the electric guitar, continues to learn new rythms on the drums and has also started to learn to drive.

Jordan Brumley

I had a dream! I dreamed that this summer we would be able to send a Haitian coach to the US named Obias Exilus and that he would room with Jordan Brumley, who grew up in Haiti as an MK (Missionary Kid). I had hoped that Jordan would be able to help Obias adjust to life in the US and speak creole with him and just have fun together as they got training and also ministered at soccer camps this summer.

So I challenged Jordan to consider doing a summer internship with AIS and pointed him to the AIS website so he could apply.

Well, as you might remember, Obias did not get his Visa. But Jordan was accepted by AIS as an intern this summer and God is in the proceess of providing him the money for this training. He is very excited about this and we are praying that he might consider coming back to Haiti at some point and helping us with the ministry!

Jordan was first exposeed to AIS through the Cleveland City Stars in 2007. He travelled with the team and helped out as an interpreter. He also got to play in the game in Cap Haitian.

Please pray that next year Obias will be able to get a Visa, and maybe next year my dream original will come true - with Obias and Jordan ministering side by side!

Outreach in Leogane

When we are weak, He is strong!



Last weekend (May 2-3, 2009) I came down with a stomach thing - Haitian Happiness, cramps, the whole nine yards. My stomach hurt, my back hurt, my knee hurt - I thought I was falling apart. So I was about to cancel an evangelistic film showing we had scheduled in Leogane, a town just outside of Port-au-Prince.

I really didn't want to cancel the film showing since we had had to cancel once before, so I tried to figure out a way to make it happen without me. I called up two of my key leaders: Ronald William, the soccer coach of a large Christian school in PAP, and Jean Paul Noel, a seminary student.

I sent them out with the video projector and a DVD player and prayed that they would arrive safely and that the equipment would work.

Then it started to rain while they were on the way, and not just a little rain. It flooded the streets of Leogane, and right in front of the church where the film was going to be shown a river appeared!

The rain kept the numbers down to about 50, but the Holy Spirit did it's work and convicted three people of their need for Salvation through Christ.

I just talked to the Pastor of the church and he said these three have been coming to church and they are following up with them.

So even in my weakness, God used me to share his love with others!

Well-travelled computers

In 2006 just before we left, Bucks County Community College in Newtown, PA gave us 5 Pentium 3 desktop computers. Thank you BCCC!

We put these computers on the Box truck we were shipping to Haiti and they arrived in Port-au-Prince in January of 2007.

Since then they have been used to teach typing to about 20 girls in an orphanage and just the other day we gave them to College Evangelique Maranatha (CEM) for their computer lab. CEM is one of the best primary and secondary schools in Haiti with over 90% of their students passing the national exams every year.

CEM has over 400 students, so the computers will get lots of use and benefit lots of students.

We were limited in the number of schools that could use desk top computers because they use a lot of electricity. In addition they are very heavy and expensive to ship.

Now we are looking for laptop computers since they are lighter and don't use as much electricity. Please let us know if you know of any places that might want to donate used laptops to Haiti!

Senatorial Elections in Haiti

Tomorrow (Sunday, April 19th) are the senatorial elections in Haiti. There is the possibility of some violence because one of the political parties has been banned from participating.

In order to reduce the possibility of violence, the UN and Haitian police have said that no cars, trucks or motorcyles are allowed on the road tomorrow at all.

This will not disrupt the elections since all the polling places are done by neighborhood and people can walk to where they need to vote.

Please pray for Haiti during this crucial time in their political history!

pray for Lt. Berretti

Well, I went back to the Navy Base on Monday since we didn't have school and Dr. Berretti adjusted me again. I feel great. BUT, please pray for Dr. Berretti, he caught a bad cough and was feeling terrible, but working anyway.

Answer to prayer about my back

While I was interpreting at the naval base for the Comfort Ship doctors (see older post), there was a lull in the flow of paitents and the doctor I worked with asked “What about you? Do you have anything that needs medical attention?” I mentioned my back and he turned to a doctor next to us, Lieutenant Barretti. I couldn't believe there was an Osteopathic Dr. who knows how to do adjustments right next to us! He adjusted my back right then and I felt much better! This was amazing because not all osteopaths do adjustments. I had been praying for God to provide some way for me to get help since I’m almost positive there are no chiropractors in Haiti. And God put me in that room with that doctor! In fact, I just realized, I wasn’t planning to go on this trip until after I prayed for help for my back and the teacher in charge of the trip happened to sit next to me at lunch and asked me if I could fill in on any of the days during Easter weekend because they didn’t have enough people. What’s really neat is that Pam had no idea what God had planned. I think Pam felt like I feel sometimes when I have to ask people to take on another task when they already have so much going AND it’s a holiday, or something else—ugh! But really she was being used by God to schedule me for a surprise! We can’t forget that in such mundane things like getting people to sign up to go on community service projects, we are doing angel-type work! What a privilege.
And I'm so thankful for Dr. Barretti!

Interpreting on the USNS Comfort Navy ship

I had such a great time interpreting for the doctors of the Comfort Ship. So much, that I’m hoping to go back Monday! And the students had the same reaction—of the 8 students we brought, two were already signed up for the next day and four others asked if they could join in for another day! So today we provided 15 interpreters even though our school only got two days off for Easter.

When I got to school at about 6:15 am all the students had already arrived and the bus from the U.N. was there already. It was air-conditioned and comfortable.

Police escort was really cool! Two officers on motorcycle went in front of us and cleared the way so we didn't get stuck in any traffic and there was a police vehicle behind us with 4 officers, flashing lights and siren! The one I talked to was very nice too. At first we were taken to another site where consultations are going on in Cite Soleil by mistake, but then we were taken over to the Admiral Killick Naval Base.

We were all a little disappointed because we ended up working on the base and never getting on the ship. The military personnel were so nice with us and several of them really wanted to take us on a tour at least, but we could see it was difficult for them to make that happen on the first day. (The ship is out in the harbor; we could see it, but you have to take a small boat ride to get to it.) Apparently interpreters will be needed on the ship starting Monday when they start to do surgery. We assured the officers that we were there to help in any way they needed us to. If we had talked them into a tour, they would not have had enough interpreters. As it was, sometimes doctors had to “share” interpreters. For today, we worked in 2 rooms right next to each other and we able to help each other out if someone didn't understand something. We worked with pediatricians, ophthalmologists, dermatologists and other specialists. It was hot in there.

I worked with an emergency room doctor who introduced himself as Andy. We were expecting formality, salutes and everything, but the military medical personnel were all really nice and informal and humble. It's such a small world, he actually knows Richard's cousin Matt Pommer who is a dentist in the Navy because they are both in Virginia Beach. The doctors were anxious to treat as patients as possible and they were very respectful of cultural differences. They were open to explaining things to us if we were interested, which was an excellent opportunity for our students.

My first surprise was that our first patient was deaf! I hadn’t mentioned to anyone that I know sign language, so everybody was flabbergasted when he and I started signing to each other. That was fun. Actually I didn’t understand the young man that well. He seemed to have developmental problems too. And, even though Andy ran to get a specialist who came and examined him too, there was nothing the comfort ship crew could do for him. He looked so sad. But other cases were much more positive. Some were sent right to the surgeons for consultation and are most likely receiving operations this week. Many received diagnoses, medication and vitamins.

Hopefully I'll get to go back on Monday and I'll update you about that.
Carol

Good Friday in Haiti

The contrast couldn't be more stark: The terrible racket of home-made horns and drums of "RARA" bands versus the beautiful sining of Haitian's singing God's praises with thankful hearts for the Salvation Christ earned for them on "Good Friday" 2,000 years ago.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I listened to the song "Via Dolorosa" this morning while in the background RARA bands were playing. There are still so many here who embrace Voodoo and are celebrating today because it is the day Christ died. It is one of the biggest Voodoo holidays of the year - Satan's suppossed day of victory.

But they forget the rest of the story - that three days later, Christ rose from the dead and won eternal victory over death and Satan. They forget that Christ will return a second time as King and not as a suffering servant.

Good Friday is why we are here in Haiti, and our strength comes not from us, but from Christ's Resurrection.

So we wish all of you a blessed Resurrection day and ask you to continue to pray for our work in Haiti!

America at its best - Hospital ship arrives in Haiti

Carol and a group of students and parents from Quisqueya Christian School are helping to translate for doctors and nurses on the USNS Comfort, the Navy's "floating hospital" that visits countries in need of medical help in peacetime and support Navy operations in war.

In my opinion, this is America at its best! Using the vast resources God has given us as a country to help others, as Navy personnel and US and Haitian volunteers work hand in hand.

The ship is a technological wonder with 12 operating rooms and 1,000 beds.

Carol hopes to post some pictures later today!

Interpreting on the USNS Comfort Navy ship tomorrow

I'm excited to spend Good Friday this year helping out with translating for doctors on board the Navy ship USNS Comfort. The ship is huge! About 2 football fields long, 100 yards wide and 6 stories high. It will be here for about 2 weeks providing medical care and humanitarian assistance in general for some of the poorest of Haiti.


Joy wants to help out so badly too, but it's bad timing for her so it might not work out.


Check out this youtube video about the ship
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRmKfbHQ5a0&feature=channel_page

Great Trip to Gonaives and Verettes

We just got back safely from our trip. Daniel Jean-Louis, Ronald William and Jackie Klamer (who helped us with the Jen@biz business training seminar last October) went on a long roadtrip to visit with some business leaders in Gonaives who are trying to hold a conference to encourage more people to start businesses in Gonaives after they suffered their second flood in 3 years last November.

I also visited with the Ambassadors in Sport regional committee that lost all the soccer equipment we had given them in 2007 in the flood.

I was very impressed with the 9-member committee in Gonaives and their enthusiasm for the work. On Tuesday morning at 6 AM I did a soccer training with them on a dusty field and also got to share Gospel with them and another team that we invited to train with us.

During a team meeting I told them my personal testimony of how my Father died when I was only 11 years old and also did a Bible study with them on how to live at peace with others.

Our next stop was Verettes where we did a training on Tuesday afternoon for the U-14 team we have their (That made 2 soccer coaching sessions in one day for me!). Then in the evening we had a meeting with 5 members of the Regional Committee in Verettes.

Out of the seven teams that we trained and gave equipment to, only five have participated in planning events in the past year, so we are going to try and encourage the other two teams to be more active.

Then this morning (Wednesday, April 8th) we did another soccer trianing with the boys and girls teams and then did a Bible study with them on peacemaking.

The girls team in Verettes were particularly thrilled to be able to play with Jackie Klammer since they don't often get to see women soccer players as role models.

Thanks to all who prayed for our safety!

One person's sins affect us all

Somehow we think that when we sin, it only hurts us, but this is not true. The Bible says that what we do in secret will one day be exposed for all the world to see. God punished all the people of Israel when Achan disobeyed God's instructions. (Joshua 7)

It always made me mad in grade school when one kid would do something wrong, and the whole class would be punished for it.

Well, so many Haitian young men have defected to the US after getting Visas that the US government has virtually stoped giving Visas to young Haitian men. Because a few have sinned, 94% of Haitian young men are now having their Visa requests rejected.

Therefore, we have decided not to try and re-apply for a Visa for Obias to go the the US this summer. We will continue to pray about it and perhaps apply next summer.

In the meantime, Obias will be active in ministry with us this summer, so the US's loss is our gain!

Frustrating news

After waiting from 8 am until 2 pm, Richard and Obias were disappointed when Obias was quickly denied the visa to go to the US for to train and minister with AIS International this summer. We're not sure if it's worth applying again this year. Getting visas for Haitians to go to the US is very difficult at this time.

This was particularly disappointing because all of Obias' expenses, from his plane ticket to his room and board for the summer had been provided by AIS and one of our supporting churches.

More pictures from the Leadership Retreat

Here's the whole gang: Sylvain, Jimmy, Guerrier, Tamara, Jean-Paul, Rich, Kerlande, Ronald, Elysee and Daniel. (and I'm taking the picture!)

We're here at the retreat and there's internet!

We are here at the Leadership Retreat and we were surprised to find that they have wireless internet, so........I might as well post some pictures.

This morning we played a little soccer but now we are having an intense discussion about what motivates us as Christians and also what is salvation. We found out that one of the board members of YABT, our business training branch, is a seeker and has not yet trusted in Christ, so we are having a good discussion with him at the moment. He says he feels he is close to accepting Christ. You never know when God will give you the opportunity!

Amazing story of how God is working

This is an update on the ministry of our Crossworld Co-workers, Bruce and Cindy McMartin who led a dental team to Northwest Haiti last week:

"What's hurting you?" "Open your mouth wide." "You'll feel pressure, but let me know when you feel pain." These were phrases repeated hundreds of times during this past week with the dental teams.

Hello Everyone! Yes, we're still alive..exhausted, but thankful for a good week. Thanks for praying for us.

In 4 ½ days, my team alone saw 202 patients, did 85 fillings, 223 extractions, and made 17 people very happy with a gap now filled with a false tooth. The 2 dentists with me were so good in overseeing the students as they did all the work - coaching, instructing, and encouraging. It was a great experience for these students.

Two of the students with me were Iranians. They shared with me how much this trip had impacted their lives and they seem very open. One of the leaders developed a good relationship with them and he'll be following up with them. The Mormon students always ask a lot of questions. They give 2 years to do a stint somewhere, but they want to know why we would give our whole lives. Seeds have been planted and we pray that God will send others into these lives to continue the process.

The best news is that right now (from my team alone) 41 more Haitians will be in heaven! And hopefully that number will increase as a result of this past week's impact. Where before the people in the new area that Pastor Johny is trying to begin a ministry in were very closed, they are now open and even seeking him out. Seven individuals asked to be involved in a Bible study.

The team that Bruce was with also had a great week. Praise God with us for safety in travel and for good health for everyone. Bruce was with Pastor Zenas in northeast Haiti. A year ago Bruce and one of our Haitian workers, Robert, installed some solar panels for Zenas to provide electricity for a cyber café, their church and their home. The first night the team was there, 6 men came, 3 armed with automatic weapons, to steal the panels. When installing the panels, Bruce and Robert had taken measures to hopefully keep the panels from being stolen - the 5 panels all connected together in a steel frame bolted into the cement roof, etc., etc. But the thieves persisted and stole the panels. Bruce and Zenas were devastated (each panel cost US$900). After church the next day, Bruce prayed with Zenas and a few church leaders asking God to demonstrate his power and allow the panels to be retrieved for His glory and so all would know He is God and that this was His ministry and His panels. Bruce said he prayed stronger than he was feeling inside - solar panels are never recovered after being stolen. The community was in an uproar and many fanned out searching in the surrounding ravines, but it was a young boy who found them in a ravine closer to the church. The thieves hadn't expected it to take them so long - almost 2 hrs - to get the frame off, and didn't expect them to be so heavy - all 5 together in a frame and awkward to handle. So, they hadn't gotten far with them and hid them to come back later for them. There was a procession of 300+ believers and non-believers that marched through town with the recovered panels. Quite a testimony to the whole surrounding area. All are saying it's a miracle because being right close to the Dominican boarder, items stolen quickly disappear. God is powerful, He is sovereign, He answers prayer (even when our faith is weak), and He accomplishes his plan for his glory.

Leadership Retreat

This weekend we are having a leadership retreat for AIS-Haiti leaders. This is very important since we will be on Home Ministry this summer. Please pray for the local leaders to be prepared for this summer and for their growth as leaders in general.

AIS Haiti Regional Committees Submit their Annual Plans

While at the second annual TREC training in December, we worked with the delegates to set up Regional Committees in each of the regions that we work in. So far we have set up 9 Regional Committees and each of them has submitted a budget for the activities they are planning for 2009.





Of course in some cases the budgets were a bit exagerated, but in general they were well done and we are working with them to help them pare down and also brainstorm on how they can raise funds locally.





The best part of this exercise is that the Regional Committees learn how to work and come to a concensus on their own. Then when we send back the revised budgets, they will have to work together to see if they agree or want to present another plan.





Sometimes as you are training leaders, you have to let them fail. Most of us learn more from our failures than from our successes. The important thing is that Haitian nationals are working together, seeking God's guidance, as they plan how to reach their country with the good news of Christ through soccer ministry.



This weekend coming up Carol and I are taking 10 of our key leaders away for an overnight retreat. We want to encourage them and help them prepare for a summer of ministry without us since we will be in the US this summer.

Prayer request for young couple

Please pray for a young couple who are having difficulties. We are planning to meet with them on Sunday. Pray for wisdom, that the HS will direct us and use us in their lives according to God's will-- and for hope and change for them.

Ecdes' Baptism

Our helper at the house, Ecdes, got baptised this summer. Unfortunately, we were not able to be there. I just found this picture on our computer and I thought it would be nice to share it with you.

Good meeting in Leogane

Yesterday Richard went to Leogane to meet with the newly formed regional committee. They had done a great job of putting together a proposal for a tournament and they worked on revising the budget so that the tournament could be done with a minimum of funds. Then they were given a challenge to raise 50% of the funds locally and they accepted the challenge.

More pictures of South Africa

Rich with John Ortlip, the President of AIS Int'l.

We visited "Cape Point", where the Indian and Atalantic oceans meet.

Jon Ortlip grew up as a missionary kid in Haiti and that is the main reason he is so excited about what God is doing through us here.

Being in South Africa certainly gave me a world perspective on how God is using soccer ministry all over the world to reach everyone from prisoners in some of the worst prisons in the world to top professional players in the US, England and now Nairobi through the Nairobi City Stars, an international subsidiary of the Cleveland City Stars.

I've come back to Haiti encouraged and ready to see what God is going to do through us, and the team of Haitian leaders he has assembled for his glory here in Haiti!

Pictures of Rich's trip to South Africa

Rich with Peter from Nigeria and his Pastor Rich helped out with a coach's training on his first day in South Africa after travelling 36 hours!

Rich tries cricket for the first time and stays at bat for 5 minutes and about 20 runs!

Leaders from 12 out of the 15 countries that have Ambassadors in Sport ministries were represented at the International Leader's conference.

We had a great time discussing strategy and learning from each other.

I praise God for the opportunity I had to attend this conference!

Thanks for praying!

If you prayed for this, thank you! Joy was accepted at Eastern University's Templeton Honors College and was offered a good scholarship. She has been accepted at 3 colleges and now it seems that the decision is down to 2 of them. It's a relief for her to know that she's done with the applications and she has good possibilities.

Prayer request

Please pray for our daughter Joy -
1. for God's guidance about which college to attend, and
2. for her to be able to attend a CNA training program in June-July so that she can work as a CNA throughout her college years. It's going to be hard to get everything set up with us not being in PA because the Department on Aging has a lot of requirements. We're planning to get to PA around June 13th (and the program starts the 16th) because Joy graduates May 30th and she wants to do one last medical missions trip before spending most of her time in the US for a while.

Carol’s list of 25 random reasons why it’s good to be a missionary

Carol’s list of 25 random reasons why it’s good to be a missionary

1. You’re doing at least one thing God said to do.
2. If the liberals win the presidency, you have the consolation of the people in the country where you work being happy with the U.S.
3. You can appease your guilt right away because “the-starving-kids-in-Africa” are right next door.
4. You read more.
5. If your kid ever wants to be President someday, he or she can talk about how his different worldview gained while living overseas qualifies him for handling international affairs (that is, if being really conservative becomes politically correct)
6. You learn to appreciate things that are taken for granted sometimes.
7. You get automatic practice with learning patience and learning to trust God.
8. You get automatic help with your vow to not watch too much T.V.
9. You get less junk mail and hardly any sales calls. (Although I got one here in Haiti on my internet phone from a Fast Burn Weight Loss Farm. I didn’t have time to explain how I’m sort of already at one.)
10. Lots of people want to be your friend (so what if it’s because you’re a rich American who can take them to the U.S. where they can live happily ever after?)
11. You have a great excuse to spend time on facebook – keeping up w/ supporters
12. You get to play board games with your kids, because there’s not much else to do.
13. The people you live with say you’re really good at the language. (Unless you live in France.)
14. You tend to lose weight instead of gain because of withdrawal from American food addictions.
15. Women actually wish they had your hair.
16. You get more exercise than most Americans.
17. Instead of getting snow days off, which require you to shovel snow or pick at ice, you get political days off with no snow or ice.
18. You get to be around missionaries, who are really great people.
19. People think you’re better than you are because you’re a missionary.
20. You do things you never thought you could do.
21. Christmas is not too commercial anymore & it’s easier to avoid things like Halloween if you want to.
22. You’re likely to get to drive a truck and a motorcycle (unless your wife says no)
23. You learn by experience not to panic so much in scary situations.
24. You learn to be resourceful (in Creole, you learn to degaje)
25. You get frequent flyer miles and you pay less income tax.

Update on Richard's trip coming

Richard got back safely on Monday, excited about the trip, but quite sick with a stomach flu. There were urgent things to be done and now I'm sick. Today there is an AIS Haiti board meeting and then, hopefully we can post an update on the trip to South Africa.

Josh is doing great, thanks for the prayers

Yesterday we went to see Josh in the hospital and we amazed that he wasn't in his room! He had taken a walk with his mother to the terrace on the floor below. He was walking, talking and later using a laptop! He's in pain, a little groggy, but amazingly well! The last CAT scan showed no leakage of spinal fluid. Thank you for your prayers. He should be going home to Titayen today.

Here's a picture of the youth praise band leading worship on Youth Sunday at Quisqueya Chapel. Joy's leading, (in the middle) Josh Brumley is on the left with his red electric guitar. Ricky, is on drums to the left of Josh.

Pray for Josh, MK who fell from a roof (22 feet)

Please pray with us for Josh Brumley, the son of missionaries here in Haiti who fell from the top of a building (22 feet) Sunday night. Ricky & Joy are friends with him through their youth group and through Worship teams for both youth & Sunday AM. Ricky & he have spent the night over each others' houses to get together because he lives about 40 minutes from us. Sunday morning Joy was just saying how much she appreciates him because of his commitment to the Lord and great attitude. She was considering him as the best one to take over the leadership of the worship team when she graduates even though he's Ricky's age.
I think it's amazing how well he's doing considering what happened, but I don't think he's out of the woods yet. He has 2 fractures in his skull and one in his nasal cavity. Here's an email from his parents to explain where he is at this point.
"Just a note to tell you that Josh had a good night last night and if he continues to improve, they will take his catheter out and let him get up a little. he still is having headaches (may for awhile), but they are not as severe as they were for a time and we are thankful for that. He is very sore all over and has bruises everywhere. His fall was about 22 feet and he landed on his shoulders and back of his head as far as our intern who was with him saw. It is pretty miraculous that he has no other broken bones. There is a chance he may have some hairline fractures in his back or ribs, but it wouldn't show up on an xray for awhile if he does.Thank you , thank you for all of your prayers and e-mails and offers of help. Thanks for putting him on prayer chains-he has been prayed for everywhere (all over the world) and we are overwhelmed with that.It means so much that you are all standing with us. We pray we are past having to airlift him and it won't be necessary-we still are watching him for a cerebral spinal fluid leak because of the fractured ethmoid sinus, but so far so good and every day that goes by lessens that chance. We are also watching for any signs of seizures-that can happen after a head injury. He has shown no signs of that and at this point the doctors don't think we have to put him on medication, but we need to have it at home in case it should happen.We will repeat the CAT scan tomorrow morning and if it looks okay, we hope to go home Saturday! Josh has wanted to go home since he got here and it's hard for him that we are here day after day, but we have no choice and we are encouraging him to hang in there.We will write more as we have internet (the hospital helped us get on their network-they have been very kind and accommodating and we are very appreciative).We love you all, Chris and Sheryl

Our neighbors

Please pray for our outreach in our neighborhood. I've been getting to know Sophia, who is only 16, but the mother of a 2 year old (Sophonie). She and 2 other families live in an unfinished, abandoned house down the street from us. Several children from that "house" come to visit us...James, Katie-Fleur, Katie Belle-Branche, Dodline and others. Please pray for wisdom in knowing how to react to their physical needs and how to connect with them about their spiritual needs. Hopefully I'll be able to post a picture of some of these cute, smiley faces soon.

Safe arrival in Capetown

Richard made it to Capetown! Here's what he said in an email to me:

"It is beautiful here – our guesthouse is right on the wide sandy beach of the Souther most tip of Africa – Cape Town. I am looking out at the sea and can hear the waves as I am typing this.

I arrived in Cape Town about 6 AM local time. Right now it is 8:30 AM Haitian time [3:30 pm in South Africa] and I have not been able to get into my room and sleep yet – this means I have been up for over 44 hours with only about 3-4 hours of fitful sleep on the way over the Atlantic on Sunday night. I could not sleep at all on the 12 hour flight down to South Africa from Munich, Germany because of the narrow seats....more later..."

Richard is on his way to AIS's International Leaders' Conference in South Africa

Richard got on his way yesterday to New York, then Amsterdam, then Munich, and finally Capetown...but that will be tomorrow morning! I didn't realize it would be two nights in airplanes! Pray that he won't be too exhausted when he arrives.
And...we're still praising God that he provided for Richard to be able to be there! How exciting.

Pray for Joy on a Medical Missions Trip

Joy was thrilled to be invited to go on a medical missions trip to Ile A Vache, an island off the coast of southern Haiti. Our school has a requirement for community service, so this kind can be approved depending on the circumstances. She had a ton of books to bring with her, but she's so excited to be going on this trip, it's fine.
One great thing about it is that she is the only teenager in the group--she's with Physician's Assistants, a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, etc. So she'll probably learn a lot from them and maybe have a chance to hear about their careers, too.
I should have posted this before when I was praying for their safety driving down, etc. But it's not to late to join me. In spite of a flat tire, they made it down to Les Cayes just fine and the boat ride was fine too.
They actually get to stay in a nice hotel (with air conditioning!--I know "where can I sign up?" right?)
We really appreciate Ed Amos giving her this opportunity.
So...pray with us this week for the safety of the whole group, and for the patients they will see. She comes home Friday.

Share your dream

One of the participants in Jen(a)biz started up a retaurant (Le Bon Choix) about a month ago. It's been going pretty well with the main challenge being the shortage of gasoline. The restaurant is in an area that doesn't get much electricity, so they have a small generator and it has to be filled with gas. For a couple weeks people had to wait in long lines to get regular gasoline (we use deisel, so we were spared this time) but that seems to be over now.

Can you imagine running this business without having your own vehicle to transport things like gas to the restaurant? I'm sure it's hard.

Anyway, the reason I wanted to write a post about Elysee and his restaurant is that it seems they just got a good opportunity. A high school near them is going to have a special party for the seniors, called Philo here, (All over Haiti they celebrate "Philosophy Day") there. So far, they've just been cooking food for the small numbers of walk-in customers each day like many other restaurants here. But Elysee shared his dream with the owner of the property he's renting. He explained that he wants to host parties and events, as well. Because he shared that vision, the owner, whose son is a Philo student at this high school, suggested that Philo day be at Elysee's restaurant.

So today they're making food for over 50 people! They borrowed all the card table and chairs we had as well as table cloths to make room for all these folks.

In addition, we have lent them a bunch of restaurant stuff that the old Township House Restaurant in Newtown threw out when the restaurant changed hands. We did not know how and when God would have us use this in Haiti, but he knew. It has been a great blessing to know that God's had a plan for this stuff all along.

Do you have a dream you should share with someone? You never know who God may want to be part of it.

Christian Literature Distribution in Haiti

One of our key partners in Haiti is Life Ministries (www.life-ministries.com).

They have supplied us with thousands of tracts, Bibles, and Christian books in Creole that we have distributed during our soccer outreaches and as we follow up.

In addition, we occasionally supply Life Ministry books to other missionaries. Below is a report from one of these missionaries who works in Gonaives, the 3rd largest city in Haiti that was completely destroyed by flooding in 2006 and again in 2008. (Imagine New Orleans flooding again!).

Dear Rich--Just wanted to update you on where the Bibles went that we got from you. We had my Pastor and a team of 12 other people come from my church in El Dorado, Kansas, USA. We had a Crusade in the evenings as well as a Pastor's Seminar during the week. The complete Bibles (24 total) went to the Pastor's Seminar and also 60 of the New Testaments went out at the conference as well. The pastor we have been working with is Pastor Mattieau and he took 60 Bibles to pass out to the people who received Jesus in the Crusade. He also took 50 of the follow-up booklets to disciple the new converts as well. We took 60 Bibles to an orphanage and plan to distribute more there as 60 was not enough. The Bibles have also been given out to the Ladie's Bible Study group that I lead each Monday evening. I just take some each week and give them out to the new ladies who come. So far 30 NT have been given out there. The remaining Bibles have been kept here at my house so when people knock at our gate to get food and clothing we also give them a New Testament. We plan on also giving NT to the Kids' club that we have in our home which is consisting of 20-30 children per week from our neighborhood.

This year I've gotten involved in the youth ministry of Quisqueya Chapel. I'm co-leader of a small group of 9 12-14 year old girls. My co-leader, Coby DeBlaeij and I hosted a Christmas party for the group over Christmas break. Seven of the nine were able to come. We made necklaces and gift boxes, sang Christmas carols and ate together. Please pray for these girls to open up--for most of them it's probably the first time they've been part of a group like this.
Edline, Shirley, Sendy, Rachel, Jules, Jennifer. (Natasha, Elodie & Naika not pictured here)

The Lord gives, takes away, and gives again!

I always appreciate it when people send me news articles about things going on in Haiti. About a week before the TREC training started, my Crossworld supervisor, Dwight Lehman, sent me a newspaper article about a group of Canadian College students who were bringing over $40,000 worth of sports equipment to Haiti.

Since we are always in need of equipment, I wrote to the editors of the paper asking them to send me the e-mail of the person in charge of the program “Right to Play” (http://www.righttoplay.com/). They were kind enough to respond, and right away I sent an e-mail giving the contact my number in Haiti and asking him to contact me.

Unfortunately, I got an “out of office” response, and since I was busy doing TREC at the time, I thought we had lost our opportunity. But God had other plans – the next day, I got an e-mail from Roger LeBlanc, the Canadian Professor heading up the group and he said he would be glad to meet with us.

It was 9:30 on Thursday night by this time, and Friday was the last day of the seminar. So I prayed with 2 other Haitian leaders, asking God to open the way for us to get some equipment and meet with Mr. LeBlanc. Then I picked up the phone and to my amazement, got a hold of him right away.

He said he was available, and so I told him we would send our pickup over to pick him up with some of his college students on Friday morning.

When Mr. LeBlanc arrived, he was very excited about what we were doing, even though he made it clear that “Right to Play” has no religious affiliation. He brought his daughter along, who is a soccer player, and another young lady who is the captain of the College's soccer team. They also brought along 5 BAGS of soccer equipment!! The bags had uniforms, cleats, sneakers and bibs that we desperately needed for the over 28 teams that were represented at the training. THANK YOU MR LEBLANC AND RIGHT TO PLAY!!

That afternoon we combined this equipment with the equipment we already had on hand thanks to Ian Moore of AACH and others who shipped donations to us. We were able to outfit 11 new teams and re-stock most of the other teams represented! THANK YOU IAN!

All of us rejoiced at the miraculous way God provided this equipment! The Lord gave!

So it was with great joy that we dropped off our newly trained coaches with their equipment at the bus station at 4:30 AM the next morning while it was still dark.

We had to take 2 trips to the bus station because there were so many people to take, and so one of the teams left a large box in the back of the truck which was for one of the second group.

Before we left the bus station the first time, we checked to see that the box was there.
However, when we arrived back to the hotel, the box was gone!! It was a big, heavy, box so we did not bother to tie it down. Apparently thieves lifted it just as we were leaving the bus station! Not only did this box have equipment in it for one of our regions with 8 teams in it, it also had $40 cash and one of our key coach's personal belongings. Needless to say we were disappointed at this loss. The Lord took away, but as Job said, blessed be the name of the Lord!

The following Sunday, I was telling another missionary friend about our seminar and she said that she had some soccer cleats available. When I asked her what size, she said the exact sizes we needed to replace the one stolen! The Lord gives, again!

AIS sends 3 Great coaches for TREC 08-09

Ambassadors in Sport International has been the driving force behind this year's TREC. Not only did God use them to provide most of the funding for this year's TREC, but they also send 3 very gifted coaches to Haiti to do the training: John Boggs, Matt Pheneger and Shame Wiebe.

John Boggs grew up as an MK in Haiti. His Dad was the director of an Evangelical Christian Bookstore for many years and also helped to found Quisqueya Christian School where Carol teaches and which Joy and Ricky attend. John is married to Cathy and they have a one year old son. He is in charge of summer camps for AIS, among other things. He has been a great help because he speaks Creole having grown up in Haiti.

Matt Phenger is in charge of International Training for AIS and is married to Laura and they have 2 lovely little girls ages 3 and 1. Matt has visited practically every country AIS has a foothold in either as a player or as a trainer. He has been a great help putting together this TREC!

Shane Wiebe took a week of vacation to come and help us coach. This is Shane's first experience with AIS and we hope it will not be his last!

Here is his bio:

"I was born in the U.S. while my parents were in missionary training with NewTribes Mission and raised in Bolivia until I was 15. I graduated from Bible College in '91. I later continued my education as a Bible major and aviation minor at Cornerstone University. I had been in ministry with high school and college students for 7 years when God moved me to the Florida Keys to be the director of Student to Student in 2000. I count it a privilege to continue to share the love of Jesus here in the Keys and around the world. I have been blessed to be able to use the skills and gifts God has given in both soccer and volleyball to minister to others. I have had good coaches and have been able to play soccer with very talented players from my time in Bolivia and in Europe and with The USA U19 team . I have coached soccer and volleyball up through the college level for the last 17 years. I am so thankful to God for teaching me so many things about Himself in such a fun way. I want continue to use these tools to show His Truth to His people."

We praise God for these guys who sacrificed their holiday to train Haitians in soccer ministry.

The AIS coaches are seen here with Daniel Jean-Louis, the Assistant Director of AIS Haiti.

TREC 2008-2009

Thank you so much for your prayers and support for our second annual leadership training seminar.

The training started on Dec. 26th with the arrival of over 35 delegates from all over Haiti. This year we are training two groups of people: Veterans from last year that we hope will be able to teach the courses next year, and about 25 rookies who we are training to start soccer ministries in their schools.

So far everything is going well, and the participants are really excited about what they are learning.

However, sometimes I forget just how poor most people here in Haiti are. In spite of the fact that we told the participants that they would be trained in coaching techniques by experienced US coaches, they came to the seminar with only sandals. When we asked them why, some of them said they do not own sneakers or soccer cleats! So today, we had to go out and purchase 20 pairs of sneakers so they could fully participate in the training!

We are also setting up local and regional committees to help us better administrate the ministry. These are exciting times as we look forward to what God is going to do through these trained and equipped leaders in 2009!