Last week we got a call from a friend saying that her husband wasn’t treating her well and was asking for a divorce. He also wanted to take their seven-year-old daughter with him to live with his girlfriend and the child he fathered with her. A couple days later it dawned on me that the reason he wanted her was probably not good. In this country, often step-parents don’t accept the children of their spouses’ previous marriages. And if they do have children with them from another husband or wife, those children can be mistreated. They are sometimes used for child labor and are treated like a servant of the other children. I thought there was a good chance this might happen. An irony occurred to me. We grew up with the story of Cinderella, thinking that it was a rare thing that a step-mother would be so cruel to her husband’s child, but I’ve heard too often about situations like that since I’ve lived here.
Our friend’s husband had crushed her phone when they argued, so I knew she couldn’t call us and it is very hard for her to come see us since she lives pretty far away and has to work 6 days a week to feed her three children. (The father of the children has not contributed much.) So, I really wanted to drive over to her house to check on her and give her a few things—food, etc. to help her. So I was praying for her and about going to see her.
The only day it would really work to do that is Sunday, so Saturday, Richard and I made plans to go after church. This morning in church, I was praying about this a lot. I had never been there, but I knew it was not that easy to get to. Also, I had grading and school preparation to do. Then, when we started driving there, it started raining. I asked Richard if he thought it was unwise to go today. He said he thought it wasn’t that bad, so we kept going. When we got close, Richard couldn’t recognize the road to take to go up the mountain and we took on the wrong road in the pouring rain and came to a very narrow dead end. We had no choice but to go down the steep road in reverse. It was a road made with pavers and I was really nervous that we would slip or something. Even when we made it safely down the hill (Ok, I guess Richard is a good driver after all) Things just didn’t seem to be working out. But I kept praying. Then Richard asked some people on the street for the road that the big sand trucks come down. They directed us to an unpaved mountain road. In spite of the rain coming down the road in a stream, we made it up to her house.
She was so glad to see us and was praising God when we got there. Later she told us she had been praying for God to provide because all she had was a little rice to feed her kids and nothing else. I was relieved to see her oldest daughter was still with her.
We talked to her about taking a few days off work. Really, we don’t think she should have to work at this time of year, because she teaches in a pre-school and school doesn’t start until October this year. As it is, they had her working all summer to this point doing “camp” with the kids, never giving her a day off. Her two-year old has been sick off and on for a long time, including a bout with cholera. We wanted to take her to a good doctor. And since her house is missing 1 ½ walls (tarps are hanging there) and she has some of the materials for it, Richard and I suggested she come stay with us for a few days and maybe her relatives next door could supervise the building of the walls while she’s gone.
Her one-room leaky house (with outdoor tarp/tent area for cooking) is actually an improvement on what she was living in when she went back to this area after leaving our house (where she lived in a tent after the earthquake). The other “house” was a structure of tarps, scrap aluminum and a floor of smallish stones. This one is made of two cinderblock walls, two “tarp” walls and it has a cement floor. Her relatives and many other Haitians live in similar homes. But my concern was the oldest daughter, Bergelin.
Venita told me later that she had the exact same concern I had about her husband’s interest in her. And that she had already rescued and hidden her once when her husband had all Bergelin’s clothes in a bag hidden behind his back. Because of the clothes, she knew he was about to take her so Venita wisked her away to a neighbor’s house before he could find her. Bergelin doesn’t want to go with him because she said he is “hot headed” (tet cho).
Venita and the kids were thrilled to come here and are having a nice time. All except Sara who is sick.
The day after they arrived, Richard spent a day taking all three children, and a neighbor’s child to Dr. Jeudy, the Dr. who treated Richard after he was shot. After that, we had to get some medical tests done and also buy some prescription medications for the children. This ended up taking most of the day, due to the many stops we had to make along the way. At one point, all of the children had to have a blood test, so I ended up holding 3-year-old Gaetan during the test because his mother was holding baby Sarah. He was brave until he got stuck, and then cried those hot tears that stream down the face. But it was over in a flash, and he was back to his own smiley self by the time we got back in the car.
We got home safely, and now everyone is sleeping peacefully after a big day!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Venita needs prayer!
A few weeks ago before Carol got back from the US I went to see Venita and her family at her family's homestead way up on the mountains above Port-au-Prince. It is hard to believe there is such natural beauty just 15 minutes above Port-au-Prince.
I went mainly because I had heard that they had been reunited with their third child who had been staying with relatives until they could afford to send her to school in the fall. Bejano, the Dad, had just gotten a job teaching men about domestic violence in the tent camps. Venita had her old job teaching school back, so with 2 incomes, it finally seemed that they would be able to build a house and live as a family again.
So I was delighted to meet Berjline, a tall, toothless five year old! She was all smiles and giggles and adored her little brother and sister. It was great to see them all together.
But then a few weeks later I got a call from Venita. She was talking very fast in Creole and knew she was very upset, so I asked Margaret, our cook, who is also a wonderful Christian, to try and make sense of what she was saying.
It turned out that Bejano admitted to having an affair with another woman that had already resulted in a baby outside of the marriage. Now he wanted to take Berjline away from Venita so she could help his girlfriend with the new baby, sort of like in Cinderella with the step-mother. Ironically, the man who taught other men about domestic violence threatened his wife and smashed her cell phone in his anger when she refused to let him take Berjline. He had already taken Berjline's clothes and was about to snatch her away, when Venita cried for help and her family hid Berjline for her.
We had been praying about the situation all week, and of course we could not contact Venita because her phone had been smashed. So Carol and I decided to go up the mountain on a Sunday afternoon because on Sunday's there is very little traffic. Unfortunately, it started to pour rain just as we got to the dirt road. The road quickly turned into a river flowing swiftly down the mountain. I looked at the road as a challenge, but Carol was a little frightened. But our trusty Toyota 4WD pickup made it up no problem. Venita was so excited to see Carol, she ran over and gave her a big hug!
It's hard to describe Venita's house when it rains. Picture drips all over the place, and one in particular on the bed where she and the 3 children sleep. In addition, she had 20 bags of cement taking up 1/4 of the house because during the earthquake, two out of the 4 walls of the house fell down. The other two walls are just tarps and plastic sheeting. She said that at night all kinds of insects and animals crawl inside for "shelter".
Later I found out one type of animal that visits her in the middle of the night: Tarantulas! When we were visiting a new-born baby next door, one tried to crawl into the house where the baby was sleeping, so I killed it with a stick.
Since Venita wanted to fix up her house, and had a week of vacation before school started, we invited her and her 3 children to stay with us while the house was being worked on.
Now they are peacefully sleeping in Ricky's old bedroom.
Poor Venita has been through a lot since the earthquake, so pray for her as she faces this next challenge. And pray for marriages here in Haiti and in the US, where Satan still seeks to destroy families by sin and unfaithfulness.
I went mainly because I had heard that they had been reunited with their third child who had been staying with relatives until they could afford to send her to school in the fall. Bejano, the Dad, had just gotten a job teaching men about domestic violence in the tent camps. Venita had her old job teaching school back, so with 2 incomes, it finally seemed that they would be able to build a house and live as a family again.
So I was delighted to meet Berjline, a tall, toothless five year old! She was all smiles and giggles and adored her little brother and sister. It was great to see them all together.
But then a few weeks later I got a call from Venita. She was talking very fast in Creole and knew she was very upset, so I asked Margaret, our cook, who is also a wonderful Christian, to try and make sense of what she was saying.
It turned out that Bejano admitted to having an affair with another woman that had already resulted in a baby outside of the marriage. Now he wanted to take Berjline away from Venita so she could help his girlfriend with the new baby, sort of like in Cinderella with the step-mother. Ironically, the man who taught other men about domestic violence threatened his wife and smashed her cell phone in his anger when she refused to let him take Berjline. He had already taken Berjline's clothes and was about to snatch her away, when Venita cried for help and her family hid Berjline for her.
We had been praying about the situation all week, and of course we could not contact Venita because her phone had been smashed. So Carol and I decided to go up the mountain on a Sunday afternoon because on Sunday's there is very little traffic. Unfortunately, it started to pour rain just as we got to the dirt road. The road quickly turned into a river flowing swiftly down the mountain. I looked at the road as a challenge, but Carol was a little frightened. But our trusty Toyota 4WD pickup made it up no problem. Venita was so excited to see Carol, she ran over and gave her a big hug!
It's hard to describe Venita's house when it rains. Picture drips all over the place, and one in particular on the bed where she and the 3 children sleep. In addition, she had 20 bags of cement taking up 1/4 of the house because during the earthquake, two out of the 4 walls of the house fell down. The other two walls are just tarps and plastic sheeting. She said that at night all kinds of insects and animals crawl inside for "shelter".
Later I found out one type of animal that visits her in the middle of the night: Tarantulas! When we were visiting a new-born baby next door, one tried to crawl into the house where the baby was sleeping, so I killed it with a stick.
Since Venita wanted to fix up her house, and had a week of vacation before school started, we invited her and her 3 children to stay with us while the house was being worked on.
Now they are peacefully sleeping in Ricky's old bedroom.
Poor Venita has been through a lot since the earthquake, so pray for her as she faces this next challenge. And pray for marriages here in Haiti and in the US, where Satan still seeks to destroy families by sin and unfaithfulness.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
The Lord takes away, and the Lord gives
The Lord takes away, and the Lord gives
Our car battery died the other morning, just as we were trying to get Carol to school on time. The annoying thing was that it was less than 2 years old, and supposedly had an 85 month warranty. So I emailed Interstate battery customer service and explained the situation, expecting to maybe get a portion of the price I paid for the battery back.
In the meantime, I got the battery tested, tried to charge it overnight, and had a mechanic look at the car to make sure it was not an electrical problem. All tests showed the battery was really dead, and so I went out and purchased a battery for $160 US.
Our car battery died the other morning, just as we were trying to get Carol to school on time. The annoying thing was that it was less than 2 years old, and supposedly had an 85 month warranty. So I emailed Interstate battery customer service and explained the situation, expecting to maybe get a portion of the price I paid for the battery back.
In the meantime, I got the battery tested, tried to charge it overnight, and had a mechanic look at the car to make sure it was not an electrical problem. All tests showed the battery was really dead, and so I went out and purchased a battery for $160 US.
The story of Bernadette
As we were leaving to get Carol to school on time the other day, we saw a young lady near our gate gesturing for us to stop. We were running late so we didn’t stop, but when I came back from dropping Carol off, she was still waiting near our gate.
I asked her how she knew us, since I did not recognize her. She said she had seen us at Quisqueya Chapel where we attend church, and also knew mutual friends who had helped pay for her schooling when she was young.
Then she began to tell me her sad story: She was pregnant and the Father of her child started to beat her after he found out she was pregnant and didn’t want to get an abortion. I invited her into the house and invited our cook, Margaret, to join us. Margaret is a wonderful Christian woman who is also very wise, and she listened intently as Bernadette told her story.
Bernadette had been badly injured during the earthquake and showed us her disfigured arm and also where they had sewed up her stomach due to internal injuries.
She told us how her church had disciplined her for getting pregnant before marriage and was not allowing her to attend Sunday morning services. We asked her where she was living, and she said with her Mother, who was not a Christian. She said her Mother was very upset about the pregnancy and was very mean to her most of the time.
We asked her if she had ever accepted Christ, and she said she did have a personal relationship with Jesus. I then asked her if she had asked for forgiveness for her sin and showed her 1 John 1:9.
She was quite open and seemed to be sincerely repentant.
We prayed with her after we talked and she shed a few tears. It had probably been a long time since she heard words of comfort instead of condemnation.
After Margaret fixed her a good meal with lots of protein in it she seemed to feel better. As she left, we told her she could come back if she needed more help, or just to pray.
PS: Bernadette came back today and we prayed with her again.
I asked her how she knew us, since I did not recognize her. She said she had seen us at Quisqueya Chapel where we attend church, and also knew mutual friends who had helped pay for her schooling when she was young.
Then she began to tell me her sad story: She was pregnant and the Father of her child started to beat her after he found out she was pregnant and didn’t want to get an abortion. I invited her into the house and invited our cook, Margaret, to join us. Margaret is a wonderful Christian woman who is also very wise, and she listened intently as Bernadette told her story.
Bernadette had been badly injured during the earthquake and showed us her disfigured arm and also where they had sewed up her stomach due to internal injuries.
She told us how her church had disciplined her for getting pregnant before marriage and was not allowing her to attend Sunday morning services. We asked her where she was living, and she said with her Mother, who was not a Christian. She said her Mother was very upset about the pregnancy and was very mean to her most of the time.
We asked her if she had ever accepted Christ, and she said she did have a personal relationship with Jesus. I then asked her if she had asked for forgiveness for her sin and showed her 1 John 1:9.
She was quite open and seemed to be sincerely repentant.
We prayed with her after we talked and she shed a few tears. It had probably been a long time since she heard words of comfort instead of condemnation.
After Margaret fixed her a good meal with lots of protein in it she seemed to feel better. As she left, we told her she could come back if she needed more help, or just to pray.
PS: Bernadette came back today and we prayed with her again.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
YABT Haiti and Diplo Foundation Graduation
One of the partnerships we have through Young Americas Business Trust in Haiti is with the Diplo Foundation. They offer on-line courses in internet governance with the goal of educating those who set national policy in the basics of how the internet is goverend. In Haiti, very few understand all that happens behind the scenes to make the internet work.
After we ate lunch one of the topics we discussed how to protect Haitian children from on-line pornography and child predators. None present knew of any laws in Haiti that have been enacted to address these threats to Haitian society.
This is a practical example of how the Diplo training can impact Haiti.
In addition, I purchsed Bibles in Creole for each person who attended. I said that neither YABT Haiti nor Diplo are Christain organizations, but I am a Christian and had purchased Bibles for them to have with my own money. I left the Bibles on a table, and said anyone who wanted to could take one. Every single one of the participants took a Bible, including the head of the Haitian equivalent of the US FCC (Federal Communications Committee)!
Friday, July 22, 2011
What is it like to drive the back roads of Haiti?
The area where we travelled has no road maintenance, so when it rains, sometimes deep gullies form and mud holes develop that become deep from trucks sloshing through them.
Just last year we were in the general area, and the roads had just been finished so they were in good shape. But after no maintenance for a year, they are getting really bad.
Our most treacherous journey was to Bassin Bleu near Jean Rabel. It started to rain when we were most of the way there, and we stopped to think about whether we should continue. But the rain let up, and Pastor Pierty, who was driving, thought that we could make it.
Even in 4WD we were slipping a bit, especially on the hills, but we still made progress. We had about 5 people in the back as well, and sometimes they were slammed against the rails when we slid.
Then suddenly, while going up a hill the truck began to fish-tail. I looked up and it seemed like we were going to go over a deep embankment on our right. But just at the last minute, Pastor Pierty got the truck under control and we made it up the hill.
When we finally got to the school we were rewarded by a bunch of kids waiting for us inside the small school made of mud walls with a thatched roof.
Thank God the rain had stopped by the time we headed home, and we didn’t have any more problems, but it is definitely a trip me and my Canadian friends will never forget!
Canadians have a Haitian adventure
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From July 11 through the 18th, 2011 we hosted four young Canadians who wanted to help us start teams in 8 schools in North-West Haiti: Art, Nick, William and Kate.
Here is a short summary of the trip in numbers:
Number of decisions for Christ: 60
Number who want to study the Bible: 50
Number of Christian books distributed: Approximately 5,000
Canadians who survived: 4 Canadians who did not: 0
Haitian coworkers: 6 – Ronald, Sylvain, Debreus, Jean Paul, Maxime and Pastor Pierty
Schools visited: 9 Schools who got sets of equipment: 10
Number of complete sets of short, jerseys and socks donated: 13
Number of balls collected: 120
Number of miles driven over some of the roughest roads in Haiti:
Number of flat tires: 1
Each day we got up early and drove over rough roads to visit 2-3 schools mostly in remote areas. When we got to the schools we played games with the children that showed up (it is summer vacation here), and explained to the school director and pastors who to best use the books we gave them. One of the books is called “25 stories from the Bible”. Other titles were: Pilgrims progress in Creole; Sharing your faith; New Testaments in Creole; Growing in the Christian Life and God’s Marvelous Creation.
After playing games with the children, I shared my testimony of how I was shot and showed the children the bullet holes in my truck. Then Sylvain shared the Gospel in a simple way and gave an invitation.
In the afternoons, we held an evangelistic soccer tournament for 8 schools. We handed out hundreds of tracts at these games and at the final we shared the Gospel and 16 people indicated they trusted in Christ.
For three nights we also showed Christian films to the community and hundreds of people attended these as well. Some people trusted in Christ as a result of these films as well. We showed films like “The Combat” and “The Solution” that contrast Voodoo with Christianity. We also showed 2 films for children on the life of Jesus: “The God Man” and “The Jesus Film for Children”.
So we thank our dear Canadian friends for collecting lots of equipment and donations to make this trip possible and finance a great soccer tournament. The team from “Mosquito Bay” won the tournament. This is an Ocean side community know for its quantity of bugs!
Thanks to our Canadian friends from the University of Moncton and this recent team, we have more equipment than we have ever had, and have been able to start 20 new teams just this year, so now we are up to 80 teams all over Haiti!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Mission to the NorthWest of Haiti
Starting today (July 11th), I will be welcoming a team of 4 tough Canadians who I challenged to come work with me this summer to reach 9 villages in this remote part of Haiti.
Our Haitian team of myself, Ronald William, Jean Paul Noel, Sylvain Nelson and Debreus Dreisnel will be joining them on this thrust into an area steeped in voodoo.
We are partnering with our Crossworld Co-Workers, Bruce and Deb Robinson, and 9 UEBH churches in each of the villages we will be visiting.
To attract the community, we are sponsoring an evangelistic soccer tournament throughout the week with the final game on Saturday.
We hope to visit 2-3 different villages each day and do sports with the children and distribute books entitled "25 Stories from the Bible" to each student at the local Christian Schools, about 50% of which have not yet trusted in Christ.
We have found that when a child trusts in Christ, his parents often react positively to his child-like faith and come to Christ as well.
I will be away from the internet during this time until July 18th, so as God brings us to mind, please pray for us!
Our Haitian team of myself, Ronald William, Jean Paul Noel, Sylvain Nelson and Debreus Dreisnel will be joining them on this thrust into an area steeped in voodoo.
We are partnering with our Crossworld Co-Workers, Bruce and Deb Robinson, and 9 UEBH churches in each of the villages we will be visiting.
To attract the community, we are sponsoring an evangelistic soccer tournament throughout the week with the final game on Saturday.
We hope to visit 2-3 different villages each day and do sports with the children and distribute books entitled "25 Stories from the Bible" to each student at the local Christian Schools, about 50% of which have not yet trusted in Christ.
We have found that when a child trusts in Christ, his parents often react positively to his child-like faith and come to Christ as well.
I will be away from the internet during this time until July 18th, so as God brings us to mind, please pray for us!
Hold the Fort!
As I was preparing to lead the Worship service at Quisqueya Chapel this past Sunday, I came across this story:
Near the end of the American Civil war, the Confederate Army under General Hood tried many times to repel a Union army under W.T. Sherman three times its size. On the 5th of October, 1864, the Confederate army of Hood, in a carefully prepared movement, went behind the Union army stationed near Atlanta, GA and commenced the destruction of the railroad leading north, burning blockhouses and capturing the small garrisons along the line. Sherman’s army was put in rapid motion pursuing Hood, to save the supplies and larger posts, the principal one of which was located at Allatoona Pass. A million and a half rations of food were stored here and it was highly important that the earthworks commanding the pass and protecting the supplies be held.
The area was completely surrounded by the Confederates and the Fort was asked to surrender. The Union commander refused and a sharp fight commenced. The defenders were slowly driven into a small fort on the crest of the hill. At this moment an officer caught sight of a signal flag far away across the valley, twenty miles distant, upon the top of Kenesaw Mountain. The signal was answered, and soon the message was waved across from mountain to mountain:
“Hold the fort; I am coming. W. T. Sherman.”
Cheers went up; every man was nerved to a full appreciation of the position; and under a murderous fire, which killed or wounded more than half the men in the fort—the Union General himself being shot three times through the head, and his Colonel taking command, though himself badly wounded — they held the fort for three hours until the advance guard of Sherman’s army came up and the Confederate army was obliged to retreat.
After hearing this story from a civil war veteran in 1870, Philip Bliss, the composer who wrote the melody to “It is well with my Soul”, wrote the words and melody of “Hold the Fort”. Philip died in a tragic train accident at 38 years of age at the height of his evangelistic music ministry and was about to join Dwight Moody in Europe when the accident happened, killing him and his wife, and leaving his two sons as orphans.
Just as the men of the Union army held the fort, we need to remember to “hold the Fort” of God’s Kingdom here on earth against the “Devil’s schemes” and his rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6:12). This church is in a strategic position here in Port-au-Prince! But just as the Union army fought to save badly needed supplies, supplies needed for the Union to win the war, so we must give and supply the needs of this church so that it can be a haven of hope, a fortress for God’s Kingdom here in PAP. Rest assured that God’s Kingdom is coming! In His last words in Revelation Jesus reminds us: “Yes, I am coming soon! (Rev. 22: 20). Until then we need to pray, give and work for the defense and advancement of his Kingdom here in Haiti and around the world.
Hold the fort Philip Bliss
Verse 1:
Ho, my comrades! see the signal waving in the sky!
Reinforcements now appearing, victory is nigh.
Refrain:
“Hold the fort, for I am coming,” Jesus signals still;
Wave the answer back to Heaven, “By Thy grace we will.”
See the mighty host advancing, Satan leading on;
Mighty ones around us falling, courage almost gone!
Refrain
See the glorious banner waving! Hear the trumpet blow!
In our Leader’s Name we triumph over ev’ry foe.
Refrain
Fierce and long the battle rages, but our help is near;
Onward comes our great Commander, cheer, my comrades, cheer!
Near the end of the American Civil war, the Confederate Army under General Hood tried many times to repel a Union army under W.T. Sherman three times its size. On the 5th of October, 1864, the Confederate army of Hood, in a carefully prepared movement, went behind the Union army stationed near Atlanta, GA and commenced the destruction of the railroad leading north, burning blockhouses and capturing the small garrisons along the line. Sherman’s army was put in rapid motion pursuing Hood, to save the supplies and larger posts, the principal one of which was located at Allatoona Pass. A million and a half rations of food were stored here and it was highly important that the earthworks commanding the pass and protecting the supplies be held.
The area was completely surrounded by the Confederates and the Fort was asked to surrender. The Union commander refused and a sharp fight commenced. The defenders were slowly driven into a small fort on the crest of the hill. At this moment an officer caught sight of a signal flag far away across the valley, twenty miles distant, upon the top of Kenesaw Mountain. The signal was answered, and soon the message was waved across from mountain to mountain:
“Hold the fort; I am coming. W. T. Sherman.”
Cheers went up; every man was nerved to a full appreciation of the position; and under a murderous fire, which killed or wounded more than half the men in the fort—the Union General himself being shot three times through the head, and his Colonel taking command, though himself badly wounded — they held the fort for three hours until the advance guard of Sherman’s army came up and the Confederate army was obliged to retreat.
After hearing this story from a civil war veteran in 1870, Philip Bliss, the composer who wrote the melody to “It is well with my Soul”, wrote the words and melody of “Hold the Fort”. Philip died in a tragic train accident at 38 years of age at the height of his evangelistic music ministry and was about to join Dwight Moody in Europe when the accident happened, killing him and his wife, and leaving his two sons as orphans.
Just as the men of the Union army held the fort, we need to remember to “hold the Fort” of God’s Kingdom here on earth against the “Devil’s schemes” and his rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6:12). This church is in a strategic position here in Port-au-Prince! But just as the Union army fought to save badly needed supplies, supplies needed for the Union to win the war, so we must give and supply the needs of this church so that it can be a haven of hope, a fortress for God’s Kingdom here in PAP. Rest assured that God’s Kingdom is coming! In His last words in Revelation Jesus reminds us: “Yes, I am coming soon! (Rev. 22: 20). Until then we need to pray, give and work for the defense and advancement of his Kingdom here in Haiti and around the world.
Hold the fort Philip Bliss
Verse 1:
Ho, my comrades! see the signal waving in the sky!
Reinforcements now appearing, victory is nigh.
Refrain:
“Hold the fort, for I am coming,” Jesus signals still;
Wave the answer back to Heaven, “By Thy grace we will.”
See the mighty host advancing, Satan leading on;
Mighty ones around us falling, courage almost gone!
Refrain
See the glorious banner waving! Hear the trumpet blow!
In our Leader’s Name we triumph over ev’ry foe.
Refrain
Fierce and long the battle rages, but our help is near;
Onward comes our great Commander, cheer, my comrades, cheer!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Mud and Rivers and rocks, Oh My!
For all those fans for 4 wheel drive, have I got a road for you!
Last week I drove from 7 AM to 7 PM on some of the worst roads in Haiti, straddling "mud tracks" 2 feet deep, fording rivers, and beating my tires up on "washboard" rock formations that loosened up every bolt on my Toyota pickup (and even shook some completely loose).
I had a full load of 5 people inside the truck and two men outside sitting on top of 50 cases of Christian literature, soccer equipment and suitcases.
Our first stop was a remote church where we delivered lots of books to be distributed next week during our visit with our Canadian Friends. Then we tried to hook up with a Haitian pastor who had just had a bad motorcycle accident, but couldn't wait until he got home.
Our last stop before heading to La Pointe, was to drop off the rest of the books that will be distributed to 9 different churches between July 11 and 16th. There are colorfull "25 Bible story" books, Pilgrim's Progress in Creole, Bibles and booklets for children that clearly explain the Gospel.
There were also Literacy "primers" to teach children how to read in Creole. When i got to this remote village, I decided to test the reading skills of the children gathered around. To my amazement, even the smallest child seemed to be able to read the letters with ease and even some sentences! The future of Haiti is definitely the children!
To get to La Pointe, we had to cross a wide river that trucks have been know to get stuck in. Naturally, I was a little nervous, and it didn't help that some of my Haitian companions told stories of people they knew who got stuck when water stalled their engines and the car drifted down the river a bit!
We made it across, however, thanks to "guides" that sat on my hood, sometimes pointing in different directions!
I was glad to get even a cold shower that night to wash all the dust off and crawl into bed!
Sylvain and Sylvena's Wedding
A wedding is always a cause of celebration in any culture, but it takes on new meaning in Haiti where most children are born out of wedlock, and many couples don't have the money to get married in a "proper fashion". Teenage pregnancy is still a huge problem here and has been exacerbated because of the insecurity in the tent cities.
So when a couple does their best to celebrate their union in a way that glorifies God, and his goodness in bringing them together, it is indeed a special occasion.
Sylvain and Sylvena met in Port-de-Paix where they attend Ebenezer Baptist Church. She is a Kindergarten teacher, and her students attended the wedding and sang a cute song for the couple. Sylvain is a school teacher and also works for Compassion and Ambassadors in Sport. He also has his own evangelistic ministry in the area that seeks to go into remote areas and share the Gospel.
I was asked to pray at the wedding, which was a great honor, and of course I had to write down the prayer since it was in Creole and I didn't want any mistakes!
I also helped out by driving the wedding attendants to and from the wedding and helping them keep out of the mud, since it had rained earlier that day.
In all, it was a great celebration and reminded me of how thankful I am for Carol and our children, the fruit of a godly marriage - and of course I prayed the same for Sylvain and Sylvena!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Richard arrived safely up north
Thanks for your prayers. Richard arrived safely up north. Sunday, he made excellent time getting to Gonaives in 2 1/2 hours, even though sometimes it can take 4 or more hours.
Yesterday he drove around a lot (about 10 hours) getting to Port-de-Paix and then having meetings in that general area.
Yesterday he drove around a lot (about 10 hours) getting to Port-de-Paix and then having meetings in that general area.
Monday, July 4, 2011
If justice seems so elusive to you that you don't even try to acheive it, is that a kind of oppression?
This is a note I put on facebook this morning.
I was actually invited to a 4th of July picnic and even though I wasn't really in the mood, I knew it would be a good thing to do. I'm glad I did.
Please comment on this note--I'd appreciate your thoughts.
"I'm trying to be in the 4th of July spirit, but I just had a heart-breaking talk with a Mom whose son (one of the most honest, good-hearted, unselfish people I've known) is in jail. He's been like a son to me and it's really hard to accept this. I get angry with people involved in this and disheartened knowing a little of what jail is like in this country. He contracted malaria this week. I'm thanking God that at least the prison provided chloroquine and rehydration fluids.
The saddest part is that it seems the Haitians involved don't feel that they can even try to prove that he is not the one who's at fault. They are so used to the idea that you can't fight "city hall" or anyone (in this case, it's probably individuals), it almost doesn't occur to them to try. And partly because of this, we have been uninformed, and misinformed about what actually happened. It doesn't seem worth it to those involved trying to piece together what happened because they think you'll never be able to prove that he didn't do it. What experiences must they have had if they act this way? Or is it just hearsay? So, instead they are focused on trying to raise the huge amount of money to pay back the organization that is out the money.
To answer my question above....if you think about the Merriam-Webster definition "unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power" it doesn't seem like that's what's happening here, at first. But, what if the LACK of exercise of power or authority allows some people in the society to take advantage of someone else without punishment?
Sadly, we have lost time not knowing many of the facts in this matter because of hopelessness--at least in their society and justice system. They do hope in God, but, I guess like all of us, they only think He will work in certain ways.
Hmmm. Need to go pray some more."
.
I was actually invited to a 4th of July picnic and even though I wasn't really in the mood, I knew it would be a good thing to do. I'm glad I did.
Please comment on this note--I'd appreciate your thoughts.
"I'm trying to be in the 4th of July spirit, but I just had a heart-breaking talk with a Mom whose son (one of the most honest, good-hearted, unselfish people I've known) is in jail. He's been like a son to me and it's really hard to accept this. I get angry with people involved in this and disheartened knowing a little of what jail is like in this country. He contracted malaria this week. I'm thanking God that at least the prison provided chloroquine and rehydration fluids.
The saddest part is that it seems the Haitians involved don't feel that they can even try to prove that he is not the one who's at fault. They are so used to the idea that you can't fight "city hall" or anyone (in this case, it's probably individuals), it almost doesn't occur to them to try. And partly because of this, we have been uninformed, and misinformed about what actually happened. It doesn't seem worth it to those involved trying to piece together what happened because they think you'll never be able to prove that he didn't do it. What experiences must they have had if they act this way? Or is it just hearsay? So, instead they are focused on trying to raise the huge amount of money to pay back the organization that is out the money.
To answer my question above....if you think about the Merriam-Webster definition "unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power" it doesn't seem like that's what's happening here, at first. But, what if the LACK of exercise of power or authority allows some people in the society to take advantage of someone else without punishment?
Sadly, we have lost time not knowing many of the facts in this matter because of hopelessness--at least in their society and justice system. They do hope in God, but, I guess like all of us, they only think He will work in certain ways.
Hmmm. Need to go pray some more."
.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Prayer requests
Here are some prayer requests for Sunday and Monday:
Please pray for Richard today as he drives up to Gonaives and tomorrow when he'll be driving on worse roads to Port-de-Paix and La Pointe.
Pray for the AIS "Team" as they have a lot going on this week up in the north:
1. Sylvain Nelson's wedding! - He has been working with AIS for years and is currently a part time administrator for the northern regions. (Tuesday, July 5th)
2. For book distribution - over 10,000 books to be brought to 3 regions. "25 Greatest Bible stories" and "Book of Hope" (both in Creole, but giving you the English names), and Bibles.
3. For Equipment distribution for soccer teams in 3 regions.
4. UEBH Beraca Conference - Representatives from the UEBH churches and ministries all over Haiti meet together for a few days of teaching, worship and spending time together.
5. Meeting with the AIS-Haiti Regional Committee in Gonaives.
Thank you for praying!
Please pray for Richard today as he drives up to Gonaives and tomorrow when he'll be driving on worse roads to Port-de-Paix and La Pointe.
Pray for the AIS "Team" as they have a lot going on this week up in the north:
1. Sylvain Nelson's wedding! - He has been working with AIS for years and is currently a part time administrator for the northern regions. (Tuesday, July 5th)
2. For book distribution - over 10,000 books to be brought to 3 regions. "25 Greatest Bible stories" and "Book of Hope" (both in Creole, but giving you the English names), and Bibles.
3. For Equipment distribution for soccer teams in 3 regions.
4. UEBH Beraca Conference - Representatives from the UEBH churches and ministries all over Haiti meet together for a few days of teaching, worship and spending time together.
5. Meeting with the AIS-Haiti Regional Committee in Gonaives.
Thank you for praying!
Friday, July 1, 2011
YABT training for Young Life - How to Write a Business Plan
Here are some pictures of the YABT training for the Young Life group that started last weekend and continues tomorrow and Sunday.
Tent Camp for 18 months and still no where to go for many
I couldn't stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks as I sat in a circle together with 14 IDP* (refugee) tent camp leaders and the pastor of the church property where the camp sits. The camp is supposed to be dismantled by the Fall and these people need somewhere to go. We had just finished two hours of discussion about how to help people in the camp understand their God-given talents through ABCD: Asset Based Community Development.
As a North American, I wanted to go in and fix their problems like I order a hamburger at McDonalds. But there are no easy answers when it comes to assimilating the thousands of people in IDP camps back into the mainstream in Haiti. Imagine living in a tent for 1 ½ years! That’s not a week’s vacation with your family.
I’m not sure of all the emotions welling up inside that caused me to cry, but I know deep inside I wanted these dear brothers and sisters in Christ (who were volunteering their time to help others in the tents) to know that somebody had heard their cries and cared about their challenges. I wanted them to know that I (and all who support us and pray for us) was there to encourage and comfort them in a seemingly impossible situation.
I told them frankly that I didn’t know how God was going to deliver them from this situation, but at the beginning of the seminar we all confirmed what we knew: God loves us, and all the people living in tents; God would not ask us to pray for our daily bread without giving us a way to earn it or find it, and God has given each one of us talents and abilities to serve him, and serve others.
Without the caring heart of Mark Bradley, a fellow Crossworld missionary, and his wife, Anne, I would not have had the opportunity to share with and learn from these dear people. But when Mark asked me to visit the camp with him, and we started to talk to Pastor Renes about the challenges he faced, I decided to meet with them to discuss ABCD which I had just read about in the book “When Helping Hurts”.
So with Mark’s help I learned enough about ABCD, and the spirit behind it, to lead a discussion with these leaders.
ABCD starts with the perspective that God has given everyone talents and abilities that they can use to help themselves and others. Instead of asking the refugees what they need, ABCD asks them what they HAVE in terms of skills, community connections, business experience and personal assets. It seeks to engage everyone in finding solutions to pressing community issues rather than doing things for people who “have nothing to offer.” In Mark 6, Jesus started with what people had, a few fish and loaves, and proceeded to turn it into a feast for 5000. When we offer what we have to God, he can do miracles – and that is what Haiti needs right now – lots of individual miracles.
Even though I had never taught this material before, the discussions we had energized me, and God helped me find just the right illustrations to help the group understand the concepts. Once this was done, we worked together on putting together a survey to help people discover their talents. I left it up to them to decide whether they would survey people individually or in groups, and also when and how they would get together to discuss the results of the surveys and hopefully find some ways to connect needs in the community with skills their neighbors have.
I plan to meet with them on July 21st to discuss their findings and try and find ways to link their abilities with my network. In the meantime, please pray for this whole process, and pray that God will make a way for these dear people leave their tents.
Rich
*Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) – people are not technically considered refugees if they are in such a camp in their own country.
As a North American, I wanted to go in and fix their problems like I order a hamburger at McDonalds. But there are no easy answers when it comes to assimilating the thousands of people in IDP camps back into the mainstream in Haiti. Imagine living in a tent for 1 ½ years! That’s not a week’s vacation with your family.
I’m not sure of all the emotions welling up inside that caused me to cry, but I know deep inside I wanted these dear brothers and sisters in Christ (who were volunteering their time to help others in the tents) to know that somebody had heard their cries and cared about their challenges. I wanted them to know that I (and all who support us and pray for us) was there to encourage and comfort them in a seemingly impossible situation.
I told them frankly that I didn’t know how God was going to deliver them from this situation, but at the beginning of the seminar we all confirmed what we knew: God loves us, and all the people living in tents; God would not ask us to pray for our daily bread without giving us a way to earn it or find it, and God has given each one of us talents and abilities to serve him, and serve others.
Without the caring heart of Mark Bradley, a fellow Crossworld missionary, and his wife, Anne, I would not have had the opportunity to share with and learn from these dear people. But when Mark asked me to visit the camp with him, and we started to talk to Pastor Renes about the challenges he faced, I decided to meet with them to discuss ABCD which I had just read about in the book “When Helping Hurts”.
So with Mark’s help I learned enough about ABCD, and the spirit behind it, to lead a discussion with these leaders.
ABCD starts with the perspective that God has given everyone talents and abilities that they can use to help themselves and others. Instead of asking the refugees what they need, ABCD asks them what they HAVE in terms of skills, community connections, business experience and personal assets. It seeks to engage everyone in finding solutions to pressing community issues rather than doing things for people who “have nothing to offer.” In Mark 6, Jesus started with what people had, a few fish and loaves, and proceeded to turn it into a feast for 5000. When we offer what we have to God, he can do miracles – and that is what Haiti needs right now – lots of individual miracles.
Even though I had never taught this material before, the discussions we had energized me, and God helped me find just the right illustrations to help the group understand the concepts. Once this was done, we worked together on putting together a survey to help people discover their talents. I left it up to them to decide whether they would survey people individually or in groups, and also when and how they would get together to discuss the results of the surveys and hopefully find some ways to connect needs in the community with skills their neighbors have.
I plan to meet with them on July 21st to discuss their findings and try and find ways to link their abilities with my network. In the meantime, please pray for this whole process, and pray that God will make a way for these dear people leave their tents.
Rich
*Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) – people are not technically considered refugees if they are in such a camp in their own country.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Prayer Requests
Please pray for safety for Richard as he drives around town. He did a special meeting this morning with the leaders of an IDP tent camp that is going to be disbanded soon. The people need wisdom and help with people getting resettled. Thank God for a church in Pennsylvania who is partnering with the church at this site to pray for, to have a partnership with them and help in whatever way God leads them.
Please pray for Ronald and Sylvain who are up north (again) conducting training.
Pray for the YABT training that will continue this weekend at Young Life.
thanks!
Please pray for Ronald and Sylvain who are up north (again) conducting training.
Pray for the YABT training that will continue this weekend at Young Life.
thanks!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
What is she doing?
"Madame, Emmanuel told us he saw you walking on a thing in a room and you didn't go anywhere! We want to see this thing!" Francelaine & Geovania asked me.
No, I didn't let them watch me walk on the treadmill. And, no, no picture of me on it. ;) But seeing how silly it seems to them, since they have to walk just about everywhere and wouldn't if they didn't have to, makes me think & pray about whether we're really getting anywhere as we put out effort in our ministries.
In fact, our recent CrossWorld retreat was a all about evaluating what we spend our time doing and what effect it has. We read the book "Live Like You Mean It" by T.J. Addington and spent time clarifying what we think God has us here for, what we need to do to accomplish that, etc. It has been challenging and refreshing.
If you would join us in prayer about this, we'd appreciate it. And, I think I need to use our "most used word" of the retreat to ask specifically for prayer...."intentional." Pray that we would be more intentional about all that we are here to do. Thanks
No, I didn't let them watch me walk on the treadmill. And, no, no picture of me on it. ;) But seeing how silly it seems to them, since they have to walk just about everywhere and wouldn't if they didn't have to, makes me think & pray about whether we're really getting anywhere as we put out effort in our ministries.
In fact, our recent CrossWorld retreat was a all about evaluating what we spend our time doing and what effect it has. We read the book "Live Like You Mean It" by T.J. Addington and spent time clarifying what we think God has us here for, what we need to do to accomplish that, etc. It has been challenging and refreshing.
If you would join us in prayer about this, we'd appreciate it. And, I think I need to use our "most used word" of the retreat to ask specifically for prayer...."intentional." Pray that we would be more intentional about all that we are here to do. Thanks
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Training in Cabaret in the North
Here are some pictures of the training that went on up in Cabaret on Saturday.
Each team was given some equipment to start with.
Each team was given some equipment to start with.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Reorganizing the "Soccer Depot"
Working on the depot. We call it "the soccer depot." It's where we keep the donated sports equipment, first aid materials, training materials, Bibles, books, and equipment for showing films.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
And, yes, there's Jean-Paul again. Ronald and others also helped on this project.
Before there were only a few shelves and mostly there were cardboard boxes piled on top of each other. The contents was scribbled on in marker, for example "shirts." This time we have uniform labels on each box that fit into plastic sleeves so we can write on each box exactly how many we take out or add to it. This picture was actually taken before we completely finished the job.
We are setting in place a more organized method of tracking all this "inventory" as it comes in and goes out to the (over 70) teams our 10 regions around the country. We hope to replace the cardboard boxes with plastic tubs over time, but that' the next step. It's good to have the time to do this so that things will be more streamlined throughout the year. And it was really nice to be able to find the tools to work on this project because of Kevin Belmont who helped us clean out and reorganize our personal depot!
BEFORE:
AFTER:
And, yes, there's Jean-Paul again. Ronald and others also helped on this project.
Before there were only a few shelves and mostly there were cardboard boxes piled on top of each other. The contents was scribbled on in marker, for example "shirts." This time we have uniform labels on each box that fit into plastic sleeves so we can write on each box exactly how many we take out or add to it. This picture was actually taken before we completely finished the job.
We are setting in place a more organized method of tracking all this "inventory" as it comes in and goes out to the (over 70) teams our 10 regions around the country. We hope to replace the cardboard boxes with plastic tubs over time, but that' the next step. It's good to have the time to do this so that things will be more streamlined throughout the year. And it was really nice to be able to find the tools to work on this project because of Kevin Belmont who helped us clean out and reorganize our personal depot!
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