God has prepared GOOD DEEDS for us to do in Haiti (and for you to do, too, wherever you are)!

Davidson and his Grandmother

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

Perhaps you’ve heard the story of the Dad who came in from shoveling snow and saw his son watching TV. He said to his son “You know, you probably won’t remember what your watching on TV tomorrow, but today you have a chance to do something you will probably remember your whole life. Why don’t you see if you can shovel widow Smith’s driveway and get back home before she knows who did it? The young boy did the job, Mrs. Smith never found out who did it, and both the father and son never forgot that good deed. Neither did God, because he is the one who created that young boy to do that good work!

The other day the bell at our gate rang, and I mentally complained about another interruption to my day. I walked up the stairs to see who it was, and was surprised to see Davidson at the gate. Davidson is a boy about 11 years old who used come and watch us play soccer in our driveway. I had not seen him for several years, but still recognized his features. I asked him what he wanted and he said he would like to go to school, but didn’t have the money to pay for it.

It turns out that he hadn’t gone to school since his father died on Sept. 11, 2008 at 32 years old. He had never learned to read and was just basically wandering around doing nothing all day under the loose supervision of his Aunt. His Mother had two children by another man, and as is often the case in Haitian society, the step-father was not interested in taking care of children his wife had had by another man. So Davidson lived with his grandmother.

I was busy, and of course there are thousands of children just like Davidson in Haiti, but the Holy Spirit prompted me to take this young man over to a local private school and talk to the school director about his situation. I had a good relationship with the teacher, “Mèt Johnny” (Maitre Johnny) since I had given his school some sports equipment. It turns out that Mèt Johnny knew Davidson’s father and was willing to give him a full scholarship for the rest of the school year. All I had to do was purchase a few books and give him some school supplies.

Later, Davidson and his Grandmother came to see me to thank me for helping him get into school. It turns out that she is deaf and does not know sign language, and it was quite comical trying to communicate with her. We laughed a lot, but she has led a very hard life. Out of her 3 children, only one was still alive. Her husband was not around, either due to death or desertion, and now she was raising her grandson. In addition, her house was partly destroyed by the earthquake. She said she would be homeless by now, but she owns her house and land, and so they are living in the one room of her house that is still standing.

She was thrilled that we got her grandson into school, and I realized that this was another “good work” that had been prepared by God for us to do.

This week there have been several other “good deeds”. One was taking a woman and her mother to the airport after their car had broken down on a mountain pass we were on. I had to change my plans for the day, but we got to share some Christian literature with the woman and give her a Bible story book for her children.

Then there was the 10 year old boy who ripped the tip of his toe off playing soccer. I was waiting outside a friend’s house and saw the boy limping and in pain. I sat him up on the back of my pickup and took a look at it. It looked like it needed stitches, so I asked the Haitian workmen who were with me if they knew his house. They said they did, and so we went and talked to his mother. She said she had no money and had to stay at her house and could not take him to a clinic, so we took him with a friend of his, and later found out that the doctor said he did not need stitches. (Possibly because it was in a place where stitches would be very difficult to do.)

So these days I wake up excited about what “Good Deeds” God has prepared for me to do. I know they will most likely be interruptions, but that is OK.

What “Good deeds” do you feel God would have you do today? It could be as simple as making a phone call, or sending an e-mail to encourage someone. It could be stopping to help a stranded motorist. Just be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and see how He leads you. I guarantee it’s a lot more interesting than watching T.V.!

Isidor and Joanne

We finally got to meet Isidor’s wife! We invited them over on a Sunday afternoon for dinner and had a lovely time with them and Francoise and her children. Isidor was the man I helped at the hospital the night of the earthquake. We kept in touch and he is the one who helped to build Francoise’s house.

Please pray for them as they would like to have another child, after the tragedy of loosing their 8 day old baby during the earthquake.

Soccer tournaments in Verettes & Leogane

We are currently holding evangelistic soccer tournaments in Verettes and Leogane. In Verettes, the tournament includes some public schools that we gave equipment to last summer when the “Right to Play” team from Canada was visiting. The final of this tournament will be March 31st.

In Leogane the tournament is just getting started. In talking to Pastor Guillaume, we heard an encouraging story. One of the older players involved in AIS Haiti is now playing on a First Division team. He is 17 years old. He was asked to play on the Haitian national team, but they wanted to falsify his birth certificate so he could play on a younger team. As a Christian, he refused to do this, and so was not selected.

This is the kind of Christian morals that we are trying to instill in the over 1,000 boys we are working with!

Rich and the Big Fish!

I’m always a few years behind in my reading and movie watching, so it didn’t bother me that I just read Soul Surfer, the story of Bethany Hamilton’s recovery from a shark attack where she lost her left arm. Her story of getting back on the surf board after her attack reminded me of how I had to work at recovering from my gunshot wound so that I could play soccer and basketball again.

I never thought that snorkeling would remind me of her story. After all, the biggest fish I usually see snorkeling in the clear Caribbean water in Haiti are about the size of a bird. On this particular day I had seen an interesting, long, thin fish that reminded me of a pencil, as well as a tiny little fish whose head was deep purple, and whose body was bright yellow.

As I was heading back into shore, I suddenly saw a really BIG fish out of the corner of my eye, and suddenly remembered Bethany’s story. I turned and thankfully saw it swimming away from me, and I wasn’t about to chase it and find out what kind of fish it was. I’m not sure if it was some kind of shark, or a type of swordfish common to the area called a “Wahoo”. In any event, it definitely scared me, and I swam as fast as I could to the shore, constantly looking over my shoulder to see if it was chasing me!

The Sad State of Soccer in Haiti

Two soccer games this week indicate the sad state of soccer in Haiti.

One was an adult game, and another was between two Christian schools here in Port-au-Prince.

Each Thursday night I join with about 24 men from the professional class in Haiti to play 6-a-side soccer. These men are all businessmen, doctors, lawyers, and artists, who are well known in Haiti. During the day they are dressed in suits and ties they are making important decisions; and even when they are under a lot of pressure, they have to act professionally.

But something happens when they put on shorts and a soccer jersey. They revert to when they were boys playing in their neighborhoods. They tease each other when they miss a shot, they make fun of how someone dribbles and they laugh at each other’s antics. They waste a lot of time arguing over hand balls, penalty shots, and blaming each other for letting the other team score a goal. And, I would say, take everything a little too seriously. You would think it was the World Cup the way they go at it!

Of course, teasing is viewed differently in different cultures and there is room for friendly teasing, but where do you draw the line?

During the last game, things got out of hand and a player and the goalie got into a fist fight (yes, two guys on the same team) when the goalie missed blocking an easy shot from mid-field. I was closest to them, and tried to break it up, but could not do it alone, so others came to help me. This stopped the play for the evening and we all went home disappointed that this had happened.

In another game this week, between two Christian schools, there were so many fouls committed that the lone referee could not control the game. He would have had to have called a foul every minute. They were literally wrapping their arms around the opposing player on corners and holding them so they could not move. They were tripping, and pulling jerseys, etc. – basically doing anything they could to get the advantage over another player – and these where supposedly students from Christian Schools!

In addition to the rough play on the field, there were flagrant violations of the tournament rules. For instance, the teams were supposed to be made up of players who were 18 or younger, but some were in their twenties. Then one of the teams had brought in two players who did not even go to their school! This is really sad because it is the coach’s responsibility to abide by the rules.

This game was part of a soccer tournament that was held at Quisqueya Christian School so after the game I got the organizers of the tournament together with the players and coaches to discuss the game and rule violations. First I asked anyone on the teams involved to raise their hands if they were over 18. Not a single one raised their hands, even though we know there were several who were above that age. Then the one team cited the two players who did not attend the other school. This turned into a circus with each coach hurling accusations at the other, even after it became evident that one of the teams had used players that were not from their school. There was no remorse, only attempts to justify their actions, such as “You have sinned just as much as we did”, etc.

The saddest part is that these are Christian Schools, and all of this arguing happened in front of the players. What example did this set for these young men?
Although this is not what we always see, it is unfortunately very common. And, judging from the World Cup games, Haiti is not the only country where this occurs. Americans can be found fighting, at least verbally over peewee soccer games. And I also, at times, lose my temper…..

What do these two stories tell us about soccer in Haiti? Do anything you can to win! All’s fair in love and soccer! Winning is everything!

This is so ingrained in the psyche of the Haitian soccer player that even when they are older and just playing a “friendly” match, they still argue, foul and even end up in fist-fights. Proverbs 22:6 says “Teach a child in the way they should go, and when they are old they will not depart from it.” Unfortunately, this goes for negative behavior as well as positive behavior! It’s so important for us teach and model good character from a young age.

This attitude is also seen in business in Haiti where competitors are sometimes threatened of killed, or their stores robbed or destroyed. Sports often reflect a microcosm of society at large. (This is the theory of the bestseller “How Soccer Explains the World”)

So as you can see, Ambassadors in Sport – Haiti needs to not only teach soccer skills in Haiti, but also change the way Haitians view the game and life…that Christianity is not about how you act on Sunday morning, a major part of it is about how you treat everyone every day. And children need to learn that how you treat others should not depend so much on how they treat you as it does on how God treats you. This amounts to changing the culture, which is impossible without God’s help. That is why our job is so important here in Haiti, and why we need to start with younger players and teach them “Fair Play” and to play by the rules.

It is also a reason why we need to train more soccer officials and work with Christian schools that ought to be an example of fair play.

Finally, it is the reason we include Biblical instruction in our program – because without the Bible as a standard, everything is relative, and rules don’t mean anything.

So please pray for us – we’re not only trying to use soccer as a tool for evangelism in this country, but actually change the way it is played through God changing the hearts of the players!

Four business ideas for Haiti

1) Potable Water Business in Verrettes

By March of 2011, we should be able to start selling filtered water to the community of Verrettes. Thanks to the donation of a water system by an NGO after the earthquake and the support of Crossworld’s Haiti relief fund, we have been able to build a small retail outlet to sell clean drinking water by the gallon.

The business will be overseen by a local committee and the profits will go to support the work of AIS in the area. The committee will take care of registering the business with the local authorities (i.e. getting a “patente”). Free drinking water will be given to the school that is located on the property, and a monthly rent will eventually be paid to the campus where the building is located.

We will also start selling the Digicel services mentioned below from this location.
If this business is successful, it may provide a model for future businesses.


2) Selling Digicel Services throughout Haiti

Digicel is the largest provider of cellular phone service in Haiti. Since it entered the country in 2006 it has taken the cell phone market by storm and now holds a greater market share than its largest competitor, Voila.

In Haiti the cell phone market is mostly a pre-pay system where you have to buy a card to put minutes of use on your phone or have it electronically credited for minutes using an electronic system called “Pap padap”. We have had a contract with Digicel to sell “Pap padap” under the name of Elysee Vaillant, one of the board members of AIS Haiti, for over a year now.

Digicel is now about to introduce a new service called “Tcho tcho mobile”. This service allows the electronic transfer of money to anyone who has a cell phone at a fraction of the cost of existing money transfer services. Traditionally in Haiti, money transfer services have been a very profitable niche for companies like CAM, Western Union and major banks who charge exorbitant fees. Digicel wants to take over this market in the same way it took over the cell phone market in Haiti. This money transfer service has the potential to revolutionize the money transfer business in Haiti by allowing safe and secure financial transactions anywhere in the country. For instance, farmers in the country could receive payment for their products directly from the person buying them in Port-au-Prince instead of having to go through a middle man. As an incentive to get people to sign up on this system, Digicel is offering a bonus of 40 gourdes ($1 US) for each person a distributor signs up.

We had a plan last year to start selling “Pap padap” last year in every place we had a soccer ministry, but could not implement it because of the challenge of how to safely transfer money. Digicel’s new system solves this problem and will allow us to offer a new service as well.

In general our plan is to train our volunteers in soccer ministry how they can make money by selling these Digicel services. Once they have proved themselves in this, we would like to offer them micro-loans to add on products and services to their business.

More specifically, we hope that by also training more experienced Digicel salespeople and by offering them insurance and other benefits, we will secure their loyalty and increase their sales production for the benefit of all involved.

Our initial markets will be outside of Port-au-Prince because we believe competition will be fierce in the capital. We already have ministries in seven out of the 10 departments, or states, of Haiti and plan to expand to all 10 in the next few years. In addition, under Haiti’s earthquake recovery plan the Haitian government desires more services to be offered outside of PAP to reduce the number of people who need to enter the city.

We will need to rent a small office in each of the places we hope to establish this business.


3) Standardized Guest houses in Haiti

At this time, there are no hotel or guest house chains in Haiti. There is no “Hilton” or “Holiday Inn” chain in Haiti. If you travel out into the country, there are few decent places to stay. Many “hotels” outside of Port-au-Prince also double as Brothels. This, coupled with the varying quality in accommodations, services, and security from place to place, make safe and comfortable travel in Haiti difficult.

Our idea is to build a guest house in each of the towns we have ministries in. The building would be a simple design with 6 to 8 rooms. Each guest house would have internet, modern bathrooms, hot water, air conditioning, and 24 hour electricity and security. We would market them not only to the international community that is working outside of Port-au-Prince, but also to the local Haitian population as well as the Haitian diaspora.

There is a Christian construction group called Lazarian World Homes that builds homes, hospitals and other structures using a mixture of a high tech foam and cement. They are interested in helping us with this project. They have the potential not only to help us technically, but with fund raising as well.

In addition to rooms for guests, the building would also have space for the office of AIS Haiti in the town and a cybercafé. The cybercafés would also sell the Digicel services that we mentioned in the previous business description.
These combination guesthouses and cybercafés would employ young men and women who are involved in our soccer ministries. It would give them hands-on training in the hospitality and technology industry, which has nowhere else to go but up in Haiti, particularly now with the high amount of foreign organizations in the country, but also in the future as tourism begins to make its rise in Haiti once again.


4) Developing a brand for Various Haitian Agricultural products

To date, there is no single brand under which a variety of Haitian products are marketed outside the US. There are various companies that sell Haitian coffee, dried mangoes, etc., but most of these companies are foreign owned, and they make the bulk of the profits by simply placing their label on the products. So far, to our knowledge, no one has made an effort to create a well-known brand specifically for Haitian products. Such a brand would increase local profits and encourage higher levels of agricultural production, which is the staple of the Haitian economy (employing 85% of Haiti’s workforce).

Since Bruce McMartin, a fellow Crossworld missionary, is already trying to develop a coffee business in the US, and we have several other contacts through STEP, etc. it would seem that trying to put all of our agricultural products under one brand name could be beneficial to all.

I am currently working with a young Haitian entrepreneur by the name of Gerald (Junior) Bataille who has this dream of creating a Haitian brand. He has his start in beekeeping and honey production, and he has created a model through which he can grow his company by giving away pollination services and a large portion of his profits (through grants and no-interest loans that recycle for various projects) to agricultural partners and communities. Because of the intrinsic link between agriculture and beekeeping, growth in one domain increases the potential for growth in the other, so he sees this giving as an investment. To further encourage production and to increase his profits, Junior’s company would also sell agricultural products produced by his partners (as well as similar products purchased nationwide) under his label at a Fair-Trade price.

If you have questions about, or would like to invest in any of these businesses, please feel free to contact me ar rich.mears@crossworld.org

The joys of Discipleship

The picture above is me praying with someone who just trusted Christ

Many times in this life, we wonder if it is "worth it all". Thankfully, we forget some of the hardest times, and usually remember only the best of the "Good old days".

But I received two phone calls recently that encouraged me greatly. One was from Charles, an orphan we befriended 10 years ago when we first came to Haiti. We helped and encouraged him in many ways. He was on the Lemuel soccer team and also attended the discipleship group I had back then. From time to time we also helped pay for his schooling as well. He called me to say that after the earthquake he had found a job as an accountant with one of the NGO's that came to Haiti to help, and that he was doing very well. He thanked us for our support, prayers and encouragement when he was young!

Another was from Croyance, another young man that I spent much time with during my first few years in Haiti. He is now married and has 2 children. He told me that he oversees a number of churches in Northwest Haiti and saw over 100 people trust in Christ through his ministry last year.

So we sow the seed and never know how God is going to make it grow!

Not much reaction to the election announcement yet...

Although very few parents sent their children to school on Thursday, not much happened as far as demonstrations. That evening, the school sent out an email stating that we would be having school Friday and attendance was close to normal. Again, not much reaction at all to the announcement.

This weekend we are at the Quisqueya Christian School staff retreat and we were especially happy that we could get here (no barricades in the roads). We've had a great weekend so far surrounded by the beauty of God's creation, good fellowship, delicious food, uplifting worship and challenges by a passionate speaker to see faith as something that must be manifested in our actions and to take rest seriously. To obey that second exhortation, I went to bed early both nights! On Saturday morning, Richard was getting up at about 6:30 to go have devotions by the ocean and at first I said I was going back to sleep...until I remembered that I had planned to get some exercise this weekend. So I got up and walked with praise music on the ipod. We also got to play tennis and volleyball. So far I'm not sore...it'll probably hit me when I get back home tonight and sit down to grade papers and prepare for lessons this week! But, it's still worth it :).

For now, I'll try not to think about going home until it's time to go....

Haiti election update

After a night of delayed announcements, the Haiti electoral committee officially said at 7:15am that Mrs. Manigat & Popular pop music star "Sweet Mickey" Martelly will be in the run-off election later this year. The incumbent party's choice, Jude Celestin was eliminated from the run-off because of election fraud.

At Quisqueya Christian School, there were only 9 high school students present today.

No evidence of demonstrations yet.

Up north you get snow days, here we get "demonstration days"

AIS Pro-bowl Team

Let me introduce you to the AIS Haiti starting line-up. Guess which one is me!

Next to me is Jean Paul Noel, who will graduate this year from Seminary in Port-au-Prince. He helps us train our Chaplains in central and south Haiti.

Next to him is Sylvain Nelson. Sylvain graduated from Seminary two years ago and oversees the AIS work in Northern Haiti.

Next to him is Ronald William, AIS Haiti's administrator.

Please pray for us as we make plans for 2011.

All of these three men are now on AIS Haiti's staff. If you would like to support them as indigenous missionaries in Haiti, please let us know!

Francoise and her 3 children move into their house

Thanks for the generosity of our brothers and sisters at Crossing Community Church, we were able to build a small house for the family that had been living with us since the earthquake. They moved in just before the end of the year.

The builders had to remove over 10 feet of earth to find a good-enough foundation, and now we have to build a retaining wall.

It is small, but solid and much better than the tent they were living in for most of the year!

Rich as Pied Piper

This week we went to Verrettes to check on the water purification project and also visit the Regional Committee there. While we were waiting for the meeting to start, we went to the school were we are doing the water project and soon I was surrounded by school children. So I decided to tell them a story. Can you guess what I am doing in one of the pictures? Yep, that's right - I was showing that I was crying about a soccer ball that was stolen! They loved my silly actions - and I held their attention enough to tell them about Jesus, and his love for them!

Happy Reunion of Earthquake Victims

Last Sunday we had a happy reunion with Venita, her husband and two children: Sarah and Gaeton along with Francois and her 3 children.

It was a joy to see little Sarah walking and jabbering since we had not seen her for about 6 months. She had scabies so we gave Venita some money to take her to the doctor.

Needless to say, it was a noisy, but fun time!

Ricky's First High School Basketball game!

Here are some pictures of Ricky's first High School Basketball game. He grabbed 15 rebounds and scored 5 points with only 2 fouls in a 55-40 win!

Baby Doc Arrested

I just heard that Baby Doc Duvalier (former dictator of Haiti) was arrested.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/jan/18/proscecutor-police-meet-with-haitis-ex-dictator/

Suprise Return of ousted Dictator Baby Doc

He was kicked out of Haiti 25 years ago and is now returning.

I read that he and his family are accused of taking about 100 million $ from Haiti and putting it in Swiss bank accounts and that even the 4 million that the Swiss government is trying to get him to give back to Haiti, is being blocked.

A lot of people think he shouldn't be allowed to come back.

http://m.current.com/news/92924643_video-haiti-urged-to-arrest-baby-doc-duvalier-for-his-return-to-haiti-after-25-year-exile.htm

Ambassadors in Sport Int'l conference a little bit of heaven

The AIS International conference has officially ended, but the memories and encouragement and prayers lifted up will linger on.

Fifteen nations were represented with the following languages and more spoken: Czech, Albanian, Haitian Creole, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Afrikaans, English, Thai and several African tribal languages.

When we prayed together, we prayed in many different languages, and when we sang, it sounded like the choir of angels in Revelation.

I fly through the night on Sunday to Miami and then fly to Haiti early on Monday morning.

It will take me a while to reflect on how to apply all the things learned and ideas discussed at the conference, and I have lots to share with my Haitian con-workers in Haiti.

Youtube of first Amputee World Cup game Haiti vs. England

Here is the link for a nice Youtube of the Haiti vs. England match of the Amputee World Cup in Argentina in Oct. 2010:

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

Ambassadors in Sport International Leader's meeting in Brazil

This group of over 60 leaders from around the world has been meeting at a beautiful campground in Brazil for the past few days. We have two days more.

It has been so encouraging to see what God is doing through soccer ministry around the world.

There was a video played tonight from a closed country that reminded me so much of Haiti: Dani, A young 10 year-old player who is the 6th out of 10 children gets involved with the AIS program. Neither his Mother or Father have jobs, and last year he did not go to school because they could not afford to send him. Now he is learning soccer skills and getting help so he can go to school, as well as attending a Bible study.

This is the same situation most of the children we work with in Haiti are in! The main difference is that of freedom of religion. In Haiti we are free to share the Gospel even in public schools!

Please pray for us as leaders that God would help us encourage each other and share experiences that can advance His kingdom worldwide. Please pray for Dani and his family as well, and for the many Haitian children that are just like him.

January 3

Richard made it safely to Brazil for the AIS International bi-annual leadership conference. The conference starts tomorrow and he'll be back this weekend. If he gets a chance, he'll post pictures from there....Hopefully not just boring pictures of ministry leaders in meetings wishing they were out on the soccer field or the basketball court! ;)

School starts tomorrow for QCS, but we're not sure how things will go with political unrest. People are still angry, but took a rest for the holidays, so we'll see what this week brings...

Our daughter, Joy, whose trip to Haiti last summer was canceled when Richard was shot, is coming Wednesday. Please pray about the fact that the new election is scheduled for January 16th, the day she's supposed to return to Pennsylvania for Spring semester at Eastern U.

Good news! Francoise got moved into her new house. It's rough living for now, but hopefully we can get her set up with the essentials before long. Although it's common for Haitians not to have a kitchen, bathroom, electricity or running water, she still has to figure out how she'll make do in that neighborhood without them. Please pray that her close friend (& ours) Mme Jean Claude and her family can get their house rebuilt next door so they can help each other out.

Happy New Year & Update

We wish, and more importantly will be praying for a new year full of God's protection, presence and blessing in each of your lives.

I arrived in Haiti by myself yesterday and Richard is leaving from Philadelphia today for Brazil for the bi-annual international leaders' conference of Ambassadors in Sport. Our children, Joy and Ricky will arrive in Haiti on Wednesday morning, January 5th.

God did amazing things for us during this trip to see our oldest daughter, Grace, graduate from Biola University in California. The most important thing for her was for us to all be at the opening of her Senior Art Exhibition on December 13th.
We were supposed to fly on American Airlines December 10th so that we could help her set up the show. But, as most of you now know, from December 7-10 there were demonstrations going on in the streets of Port-au-Prince with barricades of burning tires to keep life from going on as usual. This was to protest the fraud in the Nov. 28th presidential elections.

So, American Airlines and other airlines canceled their flights starting Dec. 9th. But the fearless missionaries of Missionary Flights International, decided to try to reschedule their Dec. 9th flight for Friday, December 10th and we were fortunate enough to get on the list for that flight. Of course we still had the challenge of getting to the airport through or around the blockades and we weren't 100% that MFI would be allowed to fly. We had heard that the airport was closed.

After asking some wonderful Haitian friends for help, we came up with this team. They got us safely to the airport (you can read Richard's colorful account of this below). Here's a picture of most of the team and the motorcycle that went ahead of us. It just didn't feel right asking everyone to gather together and smile for a pretty photo of the event. We were smiling at the fact that we had made it to the airport, but we still didn't know what would happen.

Here's the DHL warehouse where we waited for several hours:

Here's us on the floor of one section of the airport. We waited in a few different places and finally got on the plane at 3:30 pm.


We were so grateful to get on the MFI flight! And grateful for the volunteers and missionaries who are willing to do stuff like this!

Sarah Palin visits Haiti under tight guard | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

Sarah Palin visits Haiti under tight guard | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

Ledger-Enquirer.com | 12/10/2010 | Haiti protests ease, US senator pressures govt

This is a report of the situation on Friday, the day we were able to get to the airport and get on a Missionary Flights plane and fly to Florida. We made it to California in time for our daughter's art show and graduation!
Thank you for your prayers!
Click on the link to read and see pictures:

Ledger-Enquirer.com | 12/10/2010 | Haiti protests ease, US senator pressures govt

Candidates reject recount in sloppy Haiti election - Americas AP - MiamiHerald.com

Candidates reject recount in sloppy Haiti election - Americas AP - MiamiHerald.com

Made it to the airport!

I felt like I was on a commando mission: 6 AM: gloves, check; Shovel, check; Crow bar, Check; laptops, check; passports, check; Suitcases, check; Passports, check; Money, check; motorcycle with guide, check; driver and car, check.

All was ready as I surveyed my crack troops: 5 Haitians and the 3 of us. I reviewed the plan: The motorcycle and guide would go ahead and tell us if there was any danger, if there was, they would notify us and try and talk their way through the obstacle, with us behind, or take us on an alternate route.

We synchronized our Rolex's and, put black paint on our faces, put on our flack jackets but before we hit the road, we prayed for the success of our mission: Get to the airport through possible riots and street blockades with burning tires, etc.

As we set out, we did not know the danger that lurked behind every corner - what would the morning hold?

The guide on the motorcycle waved us to go faster - he was concerned that we keep moving through the dangerous streets.

Several times it seemed like he was lost, but he got his bearings and we forged ahead.

So far, so good.

But then it happened, a huge Dragon came out of no where, breathing fire. I held up my weapon, the Bible, and he backed down and let us pass.

We did not know what would be around each corner as we went on back roads I never even knew existed. But our driver assured us he knew where we were.

Then I looked up and saw a crossroad that I recognized, but it was blocked - we would have to take a detour.

This was the moment we were waiting for: We turned onto the main road and braced ourselves for screaming young men burning tires and yelling political slogans... But there was no one! Only the remains of yesterday's tire burnings and rocks and rubble strewn about the road.

When we saw a UN patrol heading in the way we were going, we knew we had almost made it to the finish line!

This is all a long way of saying that we had no problems getting to the airport this morning and hope to be in Florida by this afternoon. God answered our prayers even though our commercial flight on American Airlines was canceled and there are no normal flights going out today. We still have to deal with changing our flight to CA to tomorrow, but at least we will be in the good 'ol USA - maybe I will kiss the ground when we arrive!

Youtube about the demonstrations

Here's a youtube showing what's happening today. I don't really know if all that the reporter is saying is true, but, it shows a lot.

By the way, keep in mind this is not happening on every street. We are about a mile or more from a street where this is happening. Many people are just staying in their homes to be safe. However, those who feel they must, are out there protesting, hoping to have fairer elections in the future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRm9EDWxVoQ

Airport closed - please pray

The airport has been closed today and we are supposed to leave Friday afternoon to go to Grace's Senior Art Exhibition and Graduation from Biola University. We don't expect it to be closed for more than today, but...it wouldn't hurt to pray about it.

Listen to this on NPR:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/12/08/131902356/-streets-of-port-au-prince-are-in-flames?sc=fb&cc=fp

Riots - day after election

This is going on right outside our school campus. However, school was called off, so we didn't see it in person. It started at 7 am.

Elections

I heard a joke on Thanksgiving about the elections. I'm not sure how to translate the names of the birds, but it goes something like this.
The crow says to the hummingbird "Name your child after me." But the hummingbird says "What did you ever do for me that I should name my child after you?!"
Everyone understands when they tell it that the Crow represents Preval trying to tell the people of Haiti who the next president should be. But their answer to him is "what did you ever do for us that we should choose the one you name?"


PORT-AU-PRINCE | Wed Dec 8, 2010 12:13am EST

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Jude Celestin, outgoing President Rene Preval's hand-picked successor, took second place in the first round of Haiti's presidential elections on November 28, electoral authorities said on Tuesday.

But the top vote-getter, former first lady Mirlande Manigat, failed to win more than 50 percent of the votes needed for an outright victory so Celestin qualified for a run-off against her provisionally set for January 16.

-- A 48-year-old engineer and government technocrat, Celestin has the advantage of being the candidate of Preval's ruling Inite (Unity) coalition, which has given his campaign access to state-level support. His first round campaign was clearly well-funded, and in the capital at least won the contest of election posters -- Celestin's mustachioed face appearing against the green-and-yellow background of Inite colors predominated in the rubble-strewn streets of Port-au-Prince.

But there were signs his association with Preval, and his message of continuity, may have hurt his image.

Preval, who cannot stand for re-election after serving two terms in office, has faced widespread criticism for his low-key response to the January 12 earthquake and the current cholera crisis.

Celestin has promised to provide the country with technical schools and create jobs.

-- Although recognized as a hard-working technocrat, Celestin is nevertheless a political newcomer.

Preval's coalition picked him as its formal candidate in an apparent strategy to appeal to the younger voters after it dropped its original choice -- 63-year-old former two-time prime minister Jacques-Edouard Alexis, who went on to run as a contender for another party.

Nevertheless, with the help of the Inite party machinery and funding, Celestin's rallies have been well-organized and drawn crowds wearing the green and yellow party colors.

His own campaigning style has been relatively low key -- he told one foreign reporter he was "not a man of the media."

-- His leadership of the National Equipment Center (CNE), the main state construction company in Haiti which has built rural roads in recent years, gave him some visibility during the immediate rescue and debris-clearing after the January earthquake, although many have criticized the government recovery activities as slow and ineffective.

His backers have trumpeted his CNE experience as a concrete example of just what Haiti -- and its donor partners offering billions of dollars of reconstruction funds -- needs to rebuild after the devastating quake.

Critics accused Celestin and his campaign of shamelessly using state funds to promote his candidacy.

-- Born in Port-au-Prince in 1962, Celestin was educated in Haiti and studied mechanical engineering in Switzerland, according to his official biography. He is a divorced father.

Election results

Tonight the results of the November 28th presidential elections were announced. There were 19 candidates, and none of them got more than the 50% of the vote needed to win the election. Mrs. Mirlande Manigat, former first lady (about 20 years ago) political science professor and apparently voodoo mambo (witchdoctor)got 30% of the vote. Jude Celestin, a construction and vehicle businessman got about 22% of the vote. The two of them will be in a runoff election on January 16, 2011. Michel Martelly, known as Sweet Micky, an entertainer who performs rap and Kompas (popular Haitian music) came very close to Celestin with 21%.

There were a lot of rumors of election fraud and then tonight on television there was a police officer (probably someone in charge- but I didn't catch that) reporting on arrests made during the election. An article a few days ago said that the UN was concluding that there was more fraud than they originally thought during the election. I'm not sure what that means, but most people expect a lot of demonstrating (some has already started)tomorrow and in the next few days. Hopefully people will set their sights on a more fair election in January.

This is difficult for our school, but especially Ricky and I as we are trying to finish up the semester early to go to Grace's (our daughter) Senior Art Exhibition and graduation from Biola University. We leave Friday. Ricky has taken 2 finals and has 4 to go.

Please pray for Haiti.
thanks,
Carol

The Water Filtration System "block house" going up

Election Results

No school again tomorrow because the election results are to be announced then. Many are calling for the elections to be annulled due to fraud. And we've heard that another election will be scheduled. Whatever happens, some people will most likely be angry and demonstrations may become violent.

Preliminary results offered by the website "Haiti election 2010" present Mirlande Manigat, a former first lady, professor of political science and a "Mambo" (voodoo witchdoctor) as having 30% of the vote; Michel Martelly, a Kompas and rap singer might be second.

We'll be safe at home, but please pray for Haiti.

Also, this is a very difficult time to miss school for our high school students and especially Ricky. This week is review time for final exams and since we're leaving a few days early to go to Grace's graduation from Biola & her senior art exhibition, Ricky has to find time to take 6 finals before Friday morning.

Thanks for your prayers,
Carol

Elections

Here's a link to a New York Times article on the election situation:

Basketball Clinic at Petionville Club Refugee Camp

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On Wednesday the day before Thanksgiving, we had scheduled a coaching clinic with 6 Christian Schools in Port-au-Prince so that our visitor Kevin Belmont could use his basketball skills in ministry.

I had also invited Art McMahon, the basketball coach of Quisqueya Christian School, the youth Pastor and Pastor of Quisqueya Chapel, Marc Williams and Bobby Boyer, and Ronald William the administrator of AIS Haiti to help out.

We all arrived a little late at the school, but then we ended up waiting and waiting until we realized that nobody was going to show up except the assistant coach of the school where we were holding the clinic.

So we prayed and God gave me the idea of going to a refugee camp close by and doing a clinic with the kids there. So I called my contact there and he gathered about 30 children. By the time we ended, there were at least 100 kids!

We split up into six "stations" - dribbling, defense, shooting, passing, etc. and divided the kids up.

Thankfully, I had brought a portable basketball hoop which Kevin carried on his back to the middle of the camp.

Of course the conditions were not ideal with the "court" being made of uneven hard-packed mud, but the children had a great time and were all smiles. Kevin overcame the language barrier by demonstrating the moves with great animation and the help of a Haitian coach working with him.

After the clinic I had the opportunity to share the story of how I got shot and share the Gospel with these precious young men. They listened in spite of all the noise and activity all around them. I left enough evangelical books for the camp recreation leader to give one for each participant. Only God knows how the message I spoke will affect the lives of those who heard it, but we are praying that we will be able to follow up with many in the days ahead!

He never earned more than $5,000 US a year, he lived in what we would call poverty all his life, his job was boring and mundane – a gate guard for the UEBH mission in Bolosse for as long as I can remember (over 10 years). In the world’s eyes he was not a man of importance and had very little in the way of material goods. But in the eyes of his wife and children, and I believe in the eyes of God, he was a man worthy of honor and many tears were shed at his passing. He wasn’t perfect, but he was loved by those most important in his life. He died in peace, surrounded by those who loved him – he died a rich man!

Frere Levy (Brother Levy) was a wonderful Christian husband and parent. He and his wife, whom we have known for many years, raised 5 children and instilled in them a love for God, for learning and for each other. He was a gentle man and a beautiful Christian example of praising the Lord in spite of difficulties.

Last week I was upset because I had an appointment to get a check, but the person who had to sign it had forgotten about it. I now had four hours to spend until he would come. God directed me to spend two of those hours with Frere Levy and his family, and now I am so glad I listened to the small, still voice of God.

When I got to the house I was greeted by Naomi and her newborn daughter: Frere Levy's only grandchild. I peaked in on Frere Levy to see if he was awake, but he was sleeping. So I took some time to hold the baby and talk to Naomi and her Mother. Their house had been damaged during the earthquake and thanks to the generous gifts of our supporters, we had been able to help them reinforce the house and enlarge it. So they took pride in showing me all the work that was done.

But Madame Levy was honest about how hard it was to care for her dying husband. She said he would sleep during the day and moan and be awake most of the night in extreme pain. He could do nothing for himself. This had gone on for over 3 months as each day he became weaker and weaker. There are no “Hospices” in Haiti that I know of. No “Nursing Homes”. Frere Levy spent a month in the public hospital in Port-au-Prince, but when there was nothing more they could do for him, he went back to his house, and it is there that he died.

During my visit the other day, four out of his five children appeared one by one. Joshua had come the farthest. He was studying Spanish in the Dominican Republic in the hopes of attending University there next year. He would like to become a Doctor. Then David and Moise came in from the local High School they attend where they are in their last year. Elysee, the oldest son, was not there, but has been with his father a lot. I had just seen him recently so I knew how he was struggling with his Father’s illness.

We all went into Frere Levy's room where he lay on a simple cot. No rich bedding, lizards running though the rafters, a bare cement floor, but it could have been the bedroom of a King as the love and respect his children and his wife had for him was palpable. We started singing hymns in Creole and French and his eyes fluttered open and he started to wave his hands. He was too weak to really move or sit up, but he recognized me during a break in the singing and then we prayed with him.

I will never forget the sight: His loving wife of many years on one end. Naomi holding the baby in the middle, three of his sons beside her, and an extra cousin and a young neighbor boy for added measure. They were all there showing their love and respect for this man who had provided for them and taught them so much about God and life. I realized that this is how I wanted to go.

Sadly, Frere Levy died of Prostate Cancer which in the US would might have been found early and have been treated. Unfortunately, by the time it was detected they had to operate right away and did not get all of it, so it spread rapidly throughout his body and he was literally a skeleton when he died. He suffered much over the past few months, but still kept his faith and would even try and sing along when we sang hymns for him.

But “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints”, and Frere Levy had shown his love for the Lord by being a diligent student of the Bible. Even though he had nothing more than a High School Education, he knew the Bible very well and had won a number of “Bible knowledge” competitions at his church of over 1,000 members. He had also been the President of the parents committee of the Lemuel Football Club that three of his sons were involved in. He encouraged the parents on his committee to visit the Moms and Dads of all the players and talk to them about Christ. In this way many parents of our players trusted in Christ.

So, farewell, Frere Levy. You will always be a great example to me of a man with spiritual riches, put poor materially. Rich in family love, who left a wonderful Christian legacy for his family, friends and church.

Denver Post publishes Photo essay of Amputee Soccer Team

Wow, these are great photos of the Amputee Soccer team taken by the talented Leah Mills. See the comments below for how they have affected those who have viewed them.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2010/10/27/haitian-amputee-football/2519/

These photos are will worth your time!

2 Exciting Things and 1 Scary Thing

Today is Ronald William's wedding day. Ronald has been a key leader in AIS-Haiti for a few years now. Hopefully tomorrow we'll post some pictures. Pray for him and Marie-France--for their future. Marie-France doesn't have a job and Ronald could use a second parttime job. Pray that Marie-France will support Ronald in his work with AIS-Haiti and that they will encourage each other to be closer to the Lord.

The second exciting thing is that the foundation for Francoise's house is being built today. Construction on the house is supposed to start Monday or soon after that. Pray that the process goes well and that she and her children can be under a roof soon. Since we have visitors coming from France and right after that a friend from Crossing Community, they will be back in the tent in our courtyard again. Pray for no rain at night and no hard rain on her tent while they're in it! (They can come into the living room if it rains, but that can be a pain in the middle of the night :) ).

The scary thing is the cholera epidemic. At this point 800 people have died, 12,000 hospitalized and we don't know how many have had it. The worst aspects of it are: people not being treated because health workers are afraid to get (this isn't happening everywhere, but we've heard that it happens); people not getting to the hospital because the driver of the "taxi" (tap-tap) is afraid to get the disease; and people comparing this epidemic to one in Peru where 230,000 people died before it ended (if it gets much bigger the health centers won't have room for all those who need hospitalization and maybe there would not enough antibiotics in the country for it--however the government has said they have enough to treat about that many people). We pray several times a day about it. Please pray with us. We pray that no one else would die from it--it's treatable. Pray for people to have clean water and food, for them to follow the good advice given on the radio and for people to be able to get what they need quickly enough to get better. Cholera creates diarrhea that expels so much water, that a person can die within hours if not treated (according to Dr. Sanjay Gupta's blog).
thanks

Hurricane Tomas

Everyone's trying to prepare for Hurricane Tomas. Richard has been securing things around the yard and house, buying water, gas for the generator, etc. The Haitian government called off school for today and tomorrow. At QCS we still had school today and although it was gloomy and we had a little rain, it didn't really get started until this evening.

Although the government has called for evacuations of the tent camps, they are just asking people to go to the homes of friends and family. There are no places people are being evacuated TO.

Please pray for the people of Haiti. The storm's center is passing just west of us between tonight and tomorrow.

Time video about Amputee Soccer Team!

This is a video put together by Time Magazine about the Haitian National Amputee Soccer team. After watching it perhaps you will appreciate how far the players came from just to get to the World Cup in Argentina and compete.

Below is the original URL if you want to view it on the Time website:

http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,645210272001_2027113,00.html

Discipleship Group

Tomorrow at QCS (where I teach) we are starting discipleship groups. I'm excited to start my group with 5 or 6 high school girls, but I'm a little nervous too because I really want this to make a difference in their lives. Pray that God will use me...work in spite of me, bless them through me, etc. And pray for me to grow along with them. Thanks,
Carol

Amputee World Cup - and the winner is.....

Here is a description of the Amputee World Cup final game:

Uzbekistan Repeats! Beats Argentina 3-1 for 2nd Amputee Soccer World Cup

by Fancisco Rodriguez in Crespo

Uzbekistan confirmed its supremacy in the sport of amputee football by defeating Argentina 3-1 in the final match of the 2010 World Cup. More than 10,000 fans packed the arena for a second straight night to watch a superior Uzbekistani team repeat as World Champions. Uzbekistan also won the World Cup in 2007.

Speed and accuracy were the keys to this young Uzbek team led by its fast front line of Haydarali, Kudrat and complimented by prennial star Azziz leading against a tough Argentine defense. Argentina performed well, but the depth and shooting attacks by Uzbekistan made the outcome a foregone conclusion.

The champions began with a steady pace, he gradually took charge of the match with a game based on skillful ball handling, sharp passing skills, and keeping the ball moving from sideline to sideline.

The Argentina defensive was forced to work increasingly harder, with three defenders close to the goalkeeper Miguel Lemos.

Turahujaef Kudrat, the Uzbenistani keeper, tossed aside all shots against him.

The second half started with a quick goal from Haydarali, then Azziz scored again for the Uzbeks remaining focused on the ball and driving his shot home after a series of blocked shots and rebounds.

Argentina got on tbe board thanks to a drive from midfielder Travagliante Montans which was picked up and slipped into the net by Argentine Captain Hugo Hereñú. A wildly cheering crowd urged its team to gain another goal to make the match even.

But Argentina's hopes were dashed by a great move by Haydarali on the left wing, resulting in his second gol of the night, and a 3-1 lead for Uzbekistan.

The final whistle of the Turkish Referee Huseyin Elberb started a wild celebration by Uzbekistan, which ended the tournament undefeated with 4 wins and 2 draws.

Amputee World Cup Scores

Here is a summary of all the games Haiti has played so far from the iisport.org website. You can also see the standings of the entire tournament at: www.worldamputeefootball.com


Wed, Oct. 21

The Haiti team played their first match of the consolation round against Iran at Viale Foot Ball Club in Viale, Argentina in front of a pro-Haitian crowd of almost 4000.

Haiti played a hard fought match but couldn't overcome their lack of experience as they lost 3-0.

The teams double arm amputee goalkeeper, Cesar, made his World Cup debut in the 2nd half and played solidly, despite a defensive breakdown that caused a goal.

After the match, the team spent a lot of time with the fans, especially the children, who have embraced this team as their own.

Oct. 19:

Haiti fell tonight to the experienced and skillful Russian squad this evening 7-0 in Viale, Argentina. The Russians displayed a total game, with skilled precision passing, ball control, and a very capable attack that the young Haiti team just couldn't contain.

The first half the Haitians tried to play a more defensive game, but the Russians broke the defense as the score at half was 3-0.

After half, with wholesale player substitutions, the Haiti team attempted to open up the match with a little more offensive mindset, however, this allowed the Russians more space and they definitely took advantage of it.

The pro-Haiti crowd at C.A. Arsenal Stadium was solidly behind the Haitian squad despite the final score.

Rick Hofmann, General Secretary of the World Amputee Football Association had this to say when he heard the score, "Your rookies held Russia to 7 !!?? That's a phenomenal performance!" He went on to say, "Being together as short as time as you have, and this being your first real competition, you have no idea of how impressive a performance that is. Holding Russia to 7 in your first international competition. That's truly remarkable! They are, after all, three time World Cup Champions."

Oct 18:

In the second game in two days Haiti did not play well. The men are still learning to adapt to this high-pace world and the emotional ups and downs of competition, and we had to reassure that even the best teams in the world can lose 2-0 under these conditions. Considering that this was only their second game ever and that they have been playing for less than two months, we are proud of their performance.

Oct 17

The Haitian Amputee World Cup soccer team played its first-ever game against the powerful team of England at Arsenal Stadium in Viale, Argentina.

When the final whistle sounded, Haiti lost a hard fought battle vs Eng 2-1. The Haitians overcame early nerves & ended the half 0-0. Eng scored a goal early in the 2nd, and Haiti equalized on what the Argentines call a Golazo. Eng scored the winner about midway in the 2nd. The team played with heart, grit, & determination, …and they all “got stuck in”! After the 1st match, Haiti is 3rd in their group on goal differential.

The lone Haitian goal was scored by Gustave Denis, and even though he let in 2 goals, Emmanuel Ladouceur was great in goal. Considering this was the first competitive match that they have EVER played, and the first time that this team was all together on the pitch was on Aug 14th, their first match was an overwhelming success.

Quisqueya Students help prepare uniforms for distribution

Medical kits being prepared


Uniforms being separated


This week QCS students earned community service hours by helping AIS Haiti group uniforms of the same size into bags of 18. We were given tons of “t-shirt style” uniforms by a town soccer league near Boston. These uniforms will be a great blessing to many teams during this coming year!

In addition, thanks to a generous gift of medical equipment by the Ciotti family at Crossing Community Church we were able to make up 40 first aid kits to distribute to teams far from medical help.

Police receive World Cup Evangelistic Booklets

The month of October is the end of the fiscal year for the Haitian government so this is the month when all of our official documents and car registration have to be renewed. As I was waiting at a police station to get my driver’s license, I saw a young boy who apparently had stolen something with two adults on either side of him, presumably his mother and the one who had been wronged. They were arguing with the policeman behind a desk. This helped me to realize that the Haitian police force needs the Gospel and God’s wisdom in making decisions just like anyone else. So when I had to go back the following day to pick up my paperwork, I took several cases of the World Cup evangelistic booklets I have been distributing as well as some cases of “25 Bible Stories for children” for those policemen/women who have children. When one of the police leaders saw the booklets, he thanked me and said that the whole police force needed the Word of God. I asked him how many police there were at his station and he said 350! So I gave him enough for everyone. Please pray that God’s Word would help the police govern justly and without corruption and that many will put their trust in Christ.

Training weekend in Jacmel

Rich training in Jacmel

On Oct. 16th Ronald, Rich and Jean Paul went to Jacmel to train about 30 volunteers how to start evangelistic soccer teams at 7 schools in the area. This was a follow up training to the work Ronald, Jean Paul and Sylvain did this past summer with the Unchartered Waters Sports Ministry team.

Each school sent a person to be trained as a coach, chaplain and team administrator. After the training, each person was given a certificate and enough soccer equipment to get the team started. In addition, each school received evangelistic booklets with a World Cup theme as well as Bible story booklets in Creole. We also gave each school 18 student workbooks for the “Young Peacemaker” curriculum that we have been training chaplains how to use for the past year.

Cholera Epidemic

This is a report from our fellow missionaries in St. Marc:

We’d like to call people to prayer for our city (St. Marc) and the countryside surrounding it. There seems to be an outbreak of some kind of a water borne disease where people who contract it come down with severe diarrhea resulting in death within 24-48 hours. We do not have concrete numbers of how many have actually died to date, only scattered reports from Haitian Messagers seek aid and purified water saying; “Many Many Many people are dead or sick!”. The hospital in St Marc is filling up with cases and our clinic down the road has been made ready for overflow. hospital ward.

Symptoms point to Cholera: With Cholera the problem isn’t medicine, they claim they have the cure, but getting it to the people in time. We are focused on three things, distribution of purified water, transportation of the sick and education on sanitation. The disease seems to have originate in the countryside (known as the 5th section) where the river has flooded several times over the last few weeks. The minister of health for our area is hot on the case and we are in good partnership and communication with him. We have made our Clinic in Balague (5th Section in the heart of the problem) available as needed, Nouveau Depart Health Center in St. Marc City available as needed and our Mercy Truck Ambulance has already been mobilized transport the most serious cases.

We are taking precautions at our campuses and outreach post, be prayerful for Lubin 4 where we have the Bosseutte family who have been leading a new church and school.

Prayer points at a glance:

* Pray for protection to all health workers and volunteers in the area.
* Pray for a quick diagnosis so that correct treatment can be administered immediately.
* Pray for those who have already lost loved ones.
* Pray for peace in the countryside and for protection for those who live in the high risk areas that may not have access to clean water.

Please pray for Micah and for Francoise

Please pray for Micah of Vapor Ministries who is sick. I haven't been able to get news about him today, but yesterday he had a fever that needed to come down. And pray for his wife, too.

Richard has been meeting with Vapor Ministries people who are planning on starting a center in Haiti. They were at our house for dinner and a presentation of their ministry to some UEBH leaders. They are inspiring people.

Also, Francoise and her three children, who have been living in our house with us really need a place to live. She is a hard worker, but housing prices have gone up since so many buildings were destroyed in Port-au-Prince. Please pray for her to find something safe and suitable by November 1st since we have visitors coming then.

Haiti Amputee Team Practicing in Dallas

Here's a link to an article in the Dallas Morning News about the Amputee Team:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/collin/frisco/stories/101410dnmetamputees.2544f44.html

Praise God, enough money was raised for them to buy the tickets for Argentina.

We'll try to keep you all updated.

Yee Haw - Team arrives in Texas!

Inspite of the team's reservations not being finalized on Friday with the airline, they still let them on the plane and they arrived safely in Miama on Friday afternoon before changing planes and flying to San Antonion, TX where they arrived late at night.

This morning the whole team received a standing ovation in a large church in Texas.

They are staying in a nice hotel, thanks to the generosity of several donors and sponsors.

However, Dr. Fred Sorrells tells me that they still need financial support to buy the plane tickets to Argentina. If you would like to donate, you can do so through iisport.org.

Thanks for your continued prayers as they prepard for the World Cup that starts in just 6 days!

Party and Press Conference

In anticipation of the team getting their Visas yesterday, we planned a send-off party for the player's relatives and a press conference.

About 20 of the player's relatives showed up and we celebrated God's goodness to the team and thanked them for all the sacrifices their families made for them to participate in the World Cup.

Later a local television station showed up and filmed the team getting ready to go.

This was a great ending to a great day for the team!

Lea Mills, Freelance photographer

Thanks to Lea Mills, a Freelance photographer that has been documenting the team, we have some excellent pictures of the team's preparation for the World Cup of Amputee soccer in Haiti. If you would like to see her pictures and contact her, you can do so at leahmillis@gmail.com. You can also see more of her photos at:

http://leahmillis.sites.livebooks.com/

For more about the team, and to donate online, you can visit iisport.org

On Route to Argentina via San Antonio TX!!

The team in front of the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince

What a great miracle God did for us today!!

We were able to get all the Visas done in one day! Unheard of in a country like Haiti. This was only possible because we had the full cooperation of the US Embassy because Dr. Fred Sorrells had contacted the former US Ambassador to Haiti as well as his local congressmen.

It was a long process! Earlier this week we spend 10 hours filling in the applications on line, and then last night we spent another 4 hours filling out another form.

But it was worth it all as now the team is "on route to Argentina". They leave tomorrow morning at 10:30 AM.

Their first stop will be San Antonio, TX where they have been invited to train on the fields of Dallas' professional MLS team.

Then they will head to Argentina around Oct. 16th.

We will keep you posted on their progress in the World Cup Tournament.

Please check out iisport.org for some great photos and more news about the team!

Passports & Shipment Arrive

As an answer to much prayer and hard work, the team received their Haitian passports on Oct. 5th after waiting 6 hours after the time the government said they would be ready.

With the passports in hand, we started booking flights and applying for US Visas.

Yesterday (Oct 6th) Giscard, the administrator of the team and I spent almost 11 hours filling out the US Visa application online, complete with photos being rejected and re-taken, internet problems, and government system problems where all your work would be erased because of a "time out". I felt like putting the person who designed the computer program in "time out"!

On Oct. 6th we also got word that the shipment we had sent to Haiti this summer had finally cleared customs and was ready to be picked up. So while we were working on the Visa applications, we sent two pickup trucks out to Titayen to get the two pallets of equipment that we had sent the end of July. This is an answer to prayer because there is lots of stuff in the shipment that the Amputee Soccer team needs, such as long-sleeved shirts and sweatshirts (it goes down in the 30's F in Argentina at night in Oct.)

Today we go for the US Visas. Please pray that we will be able to get them today so that the team can fly out on Saturday.

Ricky and friends sell hot dogs to raise money for team

Ricky and his school friends helped us sell hot dogs after church to raise money for the amputee soccer team.

Thanks to their help, we ended up selling all the hot dogs and drinks and made a profit of $20 US which was enough to buy lunch for the team today when they went to sign for their passports.

Thanks QCS students!

First day of school

Today was the official first day of school this fall for children in Port-au-Prince.

It was also the first day of school ever for two of the children who have lived with us since the earthquake: Franclene and Kimberly.

They are both in First Grade, and have a lot to catch up on since they never went to pre-school. Carol has been working with them to learn their "ABC's" and numbers.

Many are struggling to pay for school this fall since tuition has gone up after the earthquake.

Pray for Passports and Visas

Dear Friends,

Yesterday the whole team fasted and prayed that we would get the Passports today, and the US Visas later this week.

Gone are the days when you could just hop on a plane or boat and go wherever!

We hope to have a press conference and going away party tomorrow with the players and some of their families.

This is crunch week, so please keep praying!

Dangerous Game

This morning I was called on early to go and take an injured player to a medical clinic. He had been wounded by the crutches of another player. He ended up getting some stitches, and is OK now, but it will take a few days before he can practice.

Please pray for the safety of our players!

Team gets Deluxe accomodations!

Group showers!

Beds for 15!

Since Wednesday night the team has been sleeping at Quisqueya Chapel in order to have 2 trainings a day. We have been feeding them 2 meals a day, which is all we can afford, and they have been doing a morning and afternoon training session.

We have been studying Gideon in Judges and how he defeated 120,000 soldiers with only 300 men.

As you can see, the accomodations are rustic: 15 thin mattresses and sleeping bags in the floor, and group showers to save water because it is scarce!

But the team is improving every day.

Today, however, we had a big disappointment. We were supposed to get the passports but there was a delay.

It turns out that the entire computer system of the Haitian government has been down this week, and that has caused delays in getting all the paperwork done.

We have decided to fast and pray on Sunday until 6 PM, just like the whole country did on Feb. 12th after the earthquake. Only God can unblock the process to help us get the passports and Visas we need to get the team to Argentina.

Please continue to pray for us and fast this Sunday with us if you can to implore God's help on the team's behalf.