Oh man, the last day is drawing to a close.
During debrief this morning we prayed over the evangelical speaker that was coming to a soccer field near the base. There was an estimate that over 100,000 people were expected to come, and we prayed for more. We prayed for people who planned on having a negative influence through stealing or fighting would get rocked and come to know the Lord along with everyone else that attended, and that the Light of God would shine into those people through the speaker.
This morning we went to Lookout Point, which was unbelievable. We could see practically the entirety of Port-au-Prince from the viewpoint. As we looked out over the city we had been serving, we sang pieces of Days of Elijah and Every Captive Free over Haiti. We also prayed over the city, declaring that it has been claimed for God and that the year of jubilee is at hand here. We prayed out peace and the continued raining down of the Spirit of God. Please continue to pray and intercede with us. After our brief session we bought souveniers, mastering the art of bargaining in the process.
On the way to and from Lookout Point, we truly learned about Haitian traffic. Police officers were trying to direct traffic, but only ended up slowing down roads that would have run smoothly if people had been left alone to drive. On the way back from the Point they had closed off the road we had used to get to the Point, which ended with us a bit lost. We drove down some back roads and ended up witnessing a half-collapsed building left over from the earthquake and half-finished homes and other buildings. Eventually a local pastor, Pastor Eric, who was travelling with us, had to ask directions from a nearby family. We ended up driving through a small lake and a gravel pit, but made it back to base safely.
After lunch we headed to an orphanage in Sarthe started by Pastor Reynolds. There we played with the kids, both boys and girls, coloring, playing soccer, talking and making paper airplanes. It is an unfinished building at the moment, but it is going to end up being a two-storey building along side a space that will become as the church, which in part is the sleeping area for the kids right now.
Before and after our visit to Sarthe, we got to stop by the Foursquare church we have been serving this week to say goodbye to the kids and staff we wouldn't see at the base. It was hard to say the least, and we will continue to pray for and remember those children for a long time. It was fun to see God bringing them joy and working through us to show them the love that they need.
During debrief we worshipped and gave each other communion as a reminder and a continuance in our service to each other and our unity as a team. Dan shared the top ten fantasies of returning from a mission trip, and we discussed what to expect while we're processing through what happened this week at home. That said, please continue to pray for a rise in joy and patience in God's timing while we process, and for Him to move through us even in the airports we visit on our way home.
Thank you all for your continued prayer and support. =)
Bondye beni ou!
-Haiti Team
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Hey Everybody! This update is coming a little late, but I shall assume you will forgive us.
The day started off with continued construction work at the church. We finished the roof of the chicken coop (YES!), and through some serious assembly-lining completely finished eight benches: cross braces, sanded edges and anti-corrosive paint touch-ups included. Work also continueed on making shutters, and staining window frames and doors for the school house.
After lunch we visisted the girls' orphanage in the main part of Port-au-Prince. While there, we had planned on acting out the parable of the sower and doing a craft, but things don't always go as planned. We did do the craft, which consisted of more tissue paper flowers and ferns. The girls there ended up doing our hair, actually, both the guys' and the girls' hair; anywhere from braids to pigtails to combovers. We sang some worship with them and were impressed and warmed that they knew quite a lot of songs in English. On the way there and the way back we got to witness more of the day to day activity of Port-au-Prince, from the free-range driving to the street side markets selling everything from papayas to roosters.
Debrief consisted of a couple rounds of the game Psychiatrist, sharing testamonies of what God has done in us this week, concerns about returning home and how to process, and praying over Steve, a member of the team here who is returning to the states on the tenth. It's good to be able to reflect on what God has done this week, but the processing will continue for quite a while.
We leave for home soon, so please pray for continued joy and enthusiasm for the rest of our stay!
The day started off with continued construction work at the church. We finished the roof of the chicken coop (YES!), and through some serious assembly-lining completely finished eight benches: cross braces, sanded edges and anti-corrosive paint touch-ups included. Work also continueed on making shutters, and staining window frames and doors for the school house.
After lunch we visisted the girls' orphanage in the main part of Port-au-Prince. While there, we had planned on acting out the parable of the sower and doing a craft, but things don't always go as planned. We did do the craft, which consisted of more tissue paper flowers and ferns. The girls there ended up doing our hair, actually, both the guys' and the girls' hair; anywhere from braids to pigtails to combovers. We sang some worship with them and were impressed and warmed that they knew quite a lot of songs in English. On the way there and the way back we got to witness more of the day to day activity of Port-au-Prince, from the free-range driving to the street side markets selling everything from papayas to roosters.
Debrief consisted of a couple rounds of the game Psychiatrist, sharing testamonies of what God has done in us this week, concerns about returning home and how to process, and praying over Steve, a member of the team here who is returning to the states on the tenth. It's good to be able to reflect on what God has done this week, but the processing will continue for quite a while.
We leave for home soon, so please pray for continued joy and enthusiasm for the rest of our stay!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Tent City
Can you believe it is already Thursday? Our time abroad is almost complete, and we continue to enjoy every minute of it!This morning began a shift in our usual routine. We finished our last VBS session yesterday, so the entire team struck across the field to the church together to do a variety of constrution projects. I strongly admire the team working on the chicken coop. Working on the aluminum roof, the sun beat down from the sky and reflected back on their faces, even before the afternoon heat struck. The bench building team is also praiseworthy for their cooperation and efficiancy. Our few hours of work saw six benches fully assembled, with only cosmetic touch-ups to go. Another group sanded and stained doors and window sills without complaint, while still another group built shutters for the windows. They were told to do at least four, but those four could easily become twelve or fifteen as the days progress.
After lunch, we had a brief rest time before walking to the Tent City. This area features buildings of all sorts created from a hodge podge mix of materials. Tarps, canvas, spare wood, scrap metal, and the occasional camping tent create this neighborhood that many call home. While the earthquake significantly grew the community, their have been people living there since before the disaster occured.
Walking into the camp we stepped carefully over piles of garbage on a path that wound between mountains of rocks and dirt. We passed Haitian people sitting on the rock piles, systematically breaking the stones into smaller peices to sell. Gathered at the entrance, we split into two groups and waited for instructions. Each group had two or three canvases, a pile of nails, two hammers, and a bag of bottle caps. These tools would provide better shelter for preselected houses in the community. John, the "mayor" of the area, a Haitian, directed us to the different homes that most needed our assistance.
Wherever we walked, a string of children followed us. While some members put up the tarp, others interacted with the kids. Nearly everywhere we went, music played, so we danced with the children, played with the children, carried the children, adored the children, and did all we could in our unique mixture of Creole, French and English to communicate affection and encouragement to these children.
Really, life is hard for the tent community in ways that we American's have likely never experienced for ourselves.
---
Returnning to base camp we prepared for dinner and a return to the church. Currently, an 18 person team from a church in Beaverton, Oregon, is also here in Haiti, staying at the dorms in the church compound. Together, with the entire base staff, we worshiped Jesus.
In a big circle in the back of the sanctuary, led by a pair of guitars and a bongo drum, we contended for Haiti through our songs. It felt marvelous to stand with more than fourty people and talk to God as one. Absolutely fantastic.
The songs wrapped up with prayers for specific Haitians we had encountered as well as the members of the base staff. Afterwards, we gathered again to hear a little about the base's work in Haiti. When they first came down here, they did not have any sort of agenda from America. Everything they do springs from the dreams and visions of the national pastor and his hopes for this country.
Today, I ask you to pray for the base staff. When they first arrived, the leaders had a two year plan. The two years ended several months ago. Ask for instruction for their future, as well as a surplus of grace, mercy, patience and provision for the staff members who live here long term. For our little team, pray that we remember to rely on God's strength, and that we fully live in the fruits of the spirit.
Thank you friends!
-The Haiti Team
After lunch, we had a brief rest time before walking to the Tent City. This area features buildings of all sorts created from a hodge podge mix of materials. Tarps, canvas, spare wood, scrap metal, and the occasional camping tent create this neighborhood that many call home. While the earthquake significantly grew the community, their have been people living there since before the disaster occured.
Walking into the camp we stepped carefully over piles of garbage on a path that wound between mountains of rocks and dirt. We passed Haitian people sitting on the rock piles, systematically breaking the stones into smaller peices to sell. Gathered at the entrance, we split into two groups and waited for instructions. Each group had two or three canvases, a pile of nails, two hammers, and a bag of bottle caps. These tools would provide better shelter for preselected houses in the community. John, the "mayor" of the area, a Haitian, directed us to the different homes that most needed our assistance.
Wherever we walked, a string of children followed us. While some members put up the tarp, others interacted with the kids. Nearly everywhere we went, music played, so we danced with the children, played with the children, carried the children, adored the children, and did all we could in our unique mixture of Creole, French and English to communicate affection and encouragement to these children.
Really, life is hard for the tent community in ways that we American's have likely never experienced for ourselves.
---
Returnning to base camp we prepared for dinner and a return to the church. Currently, an 18 person team from a church in Beaverton, Oregon, is also here in Haiti, staying at the dorms in the church compound. Together, with the entire base staff, we worshiped Jesus.
In a big circle in the back of the sanctuary, led by a pair of guitars and a bongo drum, we contended for Haiti through our songs. It felt marvelous to stand with more than fourty people and talk to God as one. Absolutely fantastic.
The songs wrapped up with prayers for specific Haitians we had encountered as well as the members of the base staff. Afterwards, we gathered again to hear a little about the base's work in Haiti. When they first came down here, they did not have any sort of agenda from America. Everything they do springs from the dreams and visions of the national pastor and his hopes for this country.
Today, I ask you to pray for the base staff. When they first arrived, the leaders had a two year plan. The two years ended several months ago. Ask for instruction for their future, as well as a surplus of grace, mercy, patience and provision for the staff members who live here long term. For our little team, pray that we remember to rely on God's strength, and that we fully live in the fruits of the spirit.
Thank you friends!
-The Haiti Team
Seeds and Coins (VBS Day Three)
The last day of our VBS work passed faster than we wanted. The skits and message for the day centered on the parables of the sower and the lost coin, teaching that as believers, we need to be rooted deep in the Word in order to spread the love of Christ, as well as the fact that we are all lost coins, and God will stop at nothing to find us when we're lost. the kids also worked on a craft of tissue paper flowers and continued to sing worship songs in both Creole and English.
The construction crew continued work on benches, grinding down and painting bench legs and staining wood. Work was also continued on the roof for the chicken coop, getting the rafters up and beginning to get the metal sheets on top. A couple of people worked on doors for a building used for school here, as well.
After lunch construction work continued. The staining was finished and the legs for the benches were all ground and painted with anti-corrosive paint. Benches started to be assembled in the church, as well. There was singing. There was sharing of testamonies and stories of our lives. Before we knew it it was time to return to the base camp.
And wow, debrief was good. We worshipped outside and came inside for the rest, which turned into continued crying out to each other and accountability for confessions. Sean, one of the members of the team here, testified to seeing the Spirit in us as we arrived, and that he, as well as the rest of the team, felt like we were family. The feeling is definitely mutual. It is strange to think we have only known the base team members for a few days! So much life is lived between our 7:30 am meeting and our late night wosrhip. Sean shared how he could tell our team had been preparing spiritually for our time here. This, he believes, is what makes us feel like family.
This unity be needed in the days to come. We begin and end our days with the armour of God to prepare for the spiritual attack we were warned of earlier this week. Please pray that our sense of togetherness continues and that God's work in us as a team and as individuals continues to stretch and grow us, and that we have grace to receive, experience and eventually appreciate that growth and change.
Bondye beni ou!
God bless you!
-Haiti Team
The construction crew continued work on benches, grinding down and painting bench legs and staining wood. Work was also continued on the roof for the chicken coop, getting the rafters up and beginning to get the metal sheets on top. A couple of people worked on doors for a building used for school here, as well.
After lunch construction work continued. The staining was finished and the legs for the benches were all ground and painted with anti-corrosive paint. Benches started to be assembled in the church, as well. There was singing. There was sharing of testamonies and stories of our lives. Before we knew it it was time to return to the base camp.
And wow, debrief was good. We worshipped outside and came inside for the rest, which turned into continued crying out to each other and accountability for confessions. Sean, one of the members of the team here, testified to seeing the Spirit in us as we arrived, and that he, as well as the rest of the team, felt like we were family. The feeling is definitely mutual. It is strange to think we have only known the base team members for a few days! So much life is lived between our 7:30 am meeting and our late night wosrhip. Sean shared how he could tell our team had been preparing spiritually for our time here. This, he believes, is what makes us feel like family.
This unity be needed in the days to come. We begin and end our days with the armour of God to prepare for the spiritual attack we were warned of earlier this week. Please pray that our sense of togetherness continues and that God's work in us as a team and as individuals continues to stretch and grow us, and that we have grace to receive, experience and eventually appreciate that growth and change.
Bondye beni ou!
God bless you!
-Haiti Team
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Good God, Good Day
Another day in Port-au-Prince well spent!
The morning began once more with half of the group involved in VBS prep, while the other half went to the church once more to work on the various construction projects at hand. Benches were stained, built and painted. Progress continued on the chicken coop roof, and walls were built to create rooms in the school on the churh property. In addition, she who love organizing spent several hours organizing the tool shed, making everybody's job a little bit easier. Even though we were not interacting with the Haitians, our morning devotion time reminded us how valuable every contribution is, no matter where it is.
In the mean time, the VBS group chose to tell the story of the Prodigal Son. Their over dramatic performance was well recieved by the children who laughed good-naturedly at our antics. And, today, instead of listening to all of our songs, we were blessed to have the Haitian children sing to us in creole! Some of the songs the team new in English, and the two languaeges bounced off each other between the children and the team. Father Abraham in particular was a huge hit.
The craft team also had a successful day. They led the children in folding and coloring paper hats. Despite attempts to have the children write their own names on their hats, they often wrote the names of the team members. One little girl in particularly continued to insist her name was Tabitha despite all suggestions otherwise.
When VBS had finished for the day, the entire team gathered together to reorganize. Jobs were reassigned as more people came in and some people left to help with the English classes in teh school building. Here, along with members from the Beaverton team, the Americans sat with the Haitians as they learned their directions, then led small groups of two in practicing their new vocabulary. Many of these Haitians came from outside the church community, and members of the team were able to turn a converstaion on "left" and "right" into a conversation of what it means to be a Christian. Isn't it amazing to see how God can work through anything?
We all returned to the base camp for dinner and worship. With the guitar constantly strumming in the background, our song turned into prayer for themembers of our group who had not been feeling well. God came and healed a head ache, changed life through a sore throat, and spoke to another through the various injuries he had in his body. Even pain in a wrist dissapeared, and we didn't even pray for that! Spiritual healing came as well, as team members grew bold enough to step into and share what God spoke in their lives. It is so awesome to see how God will work when the body of Christ chooses to dance in step with him. Even after our official prayer time had closed people gathered in groups of two and three to continue to pray for each other's lives. Tonight became a well spring of testimony for so many people who were healed. It was marvelous.
It is so good to see God work! I ask you to pray that this sense of unity in Christ will continue and that the energy felt at the beginning of the trip will continue. Also, pray for health and protection in the days to come so that we may be prepared for the days that are ahead.
God bless!
-The Haiti Team
The morning began once more with half of the group involved in VBS prep, while the other half went to the church once more to work on the various construction projects at hand. Benches were stained, built and painted. Progress continued on the chicken coop roof, and walls were built to create rooms in the school on the churh property. In addition, she who love organizing spent several hours organizing the tool shed, making everybody's job a little bit easier. Even though we were not interacting with the Haitians, our morning devotion time reminded us how valuable every contribution is, no matter where it is.
In the mean time, the VBS group chose to tell the story of the Prodigal Son. Their over dramatic performance was well recieved by the children who laughed good-naturedly at our antics. And, today, instead of listening to all of our songs, we were blessed to have the Haitian children sing to us in creole! Some of the songs the team new in English, and the two languaeges bounced off each other between the children and the team. Father Abraham in particular was a huge hit.
The craft team also had a successful day. They led the children in folding and coloring paper hats. Despite attempts to have the children write their own names on their hats, they often wrote the names of the team members. One little girl in particularly continued to insist her name was Tabitha despite all suggestions otherwise.
When VBS had finished for the day, the entire team gathered together to reorganize. Jobs were reassigned as more people came in and some people left to help with the English classes in teh school building. Here, along with members from the Beaverton team, the Americans sat with the Haitians as they learned their directions, then led small groups of two in practicing their new vocabulary. Many of these Haitians came from outside the church community, and members of the team were able to turn a converstaion on "left" and "right" into a conversation of what it means to be a Christian. Isn't it amazing to see how God can work through anything?
We all returned to the base camp for dinner and worship. With the guitar constantly strumming in the background, our song turned into prayer for themembers of our group who had not been feeling well. God came and healed a head ache, changed life through a sore throat, and spoke to another through the various injuries he had in his body. Even pain in a wrist dissapeared, and we didn't even pray for that! Spiritual healing came as well, as team members grew bold enough to step into and share what God spoke in their lives. It is so awesome to see how God will work when the body of Christ chooses to dance in step with him. Even after our official prayer time had closed people gathered in groups of two and three to continue to pray for each other's lives. Tonight became a well spring of testimony for so many people who were healed. It was marvelous.
It is so good to see God work! I ask you to pray that this sense of unity in Christ will continue and that the energy felt at the beginning of the trip will continue. Also, pray for health and protection in the days to come so that we may be prepared for the days that are ahead.
God bless!
-The Haiti Team
Monday, March 26, 2012
Vacation Bible School, Day One!
Hello again everyone! Wow today was awesome!
We split into two teams, one to plan a vacation Bible school for the afternoon and one to contine the construction work we started yesterday.
The VBS went well. During the planning time in the morning the team thought of different ways to connect to the parable of the Prodigal Son, including writing a worship song in Creole, the main line of which was, "The son came home, now everybody dance!" There was also a craft involving cut out hearts for the kids to draw something or someone they love on. The older kids even ended up getting members of the team to draw for them. There was also a rotation for a game time and another for worship and a skit, which involved a man named Steve and his son, Joey, who after receiving half of his father's money, spent it on bubbles, which earned him friends. But when he couldn't afford any more bubbles all of his friends left him, so he returned home and lo and behold, his father greets him with joy and a celebration is held.
Wow. The team connected so well with the kids during VBS. At one point Emily began drawing giraffes on her heart, and everyone in the room started drawing them as well. We really got to share in the hope that the children have and the unfiltered joy as well. At another point during the day, after the message and worship, the room of about sixty kids of all ages was asked if anyone wanted to ask Jesus into their hearts and the entire room flooded to the front. Praise the Lord!
On the other side of the compound, a few members of the team continued work on the various construction projects we plan on putting a dent into throughout the week. They include building benches for the church, completing the roof of a chicken coop and building shelving and racks for one of the compound's sheds. It was so good to experience getting to provide practical, physical ministry to the people of the area. After VBS finished the other half of the team came over and the work went twice and thrice as fast. Of course, throughout the day there was always a point that tarantulas were being hunted, and that brought a bit of joy (and in some cases fear) to everyone's hearts.
After dinner we transitioned to a time of worship and prayer. We shouted out praises to the Lord for what He has been doing. Worship was powerful and led into prophetic worship for Haiti and the declaration that the people are FREE and that they are not dead but alive because Christ has called them to be alive! We prayed for a few of the Haitians living here at the house, speaking truths into their lives, that they are called to be leaders and that people will follow them in their faith, that nothing can separate them from the love of Christ and that He hears their prayers SO clearly.
We continued to worship and ended the night with declaring that our baggage was left in Seattle. Our baggage isn't even there anymore because it is in the past, it is done and it is FINISHED! Craig, one of the members of the team stationed here, spoke over the fact that there is an attack coming like this place has never seen before, and we immediately went into prayer and a song of worship in Creole titled, "Jehovah is His name," which declared God's presence and might in battle. We ended the night by praying through the armor of God and confirming God's presensce and protection covering us here. In smaller prayer teams chains were BROKEN. Baggage was dropped off and never reclaimed, and instead we claimed FREEDOM. So praise the Lord!
On that note, dear followers, please continue prayers for protection, strength and the breaking of the spirit of fear so that when the time of our battle comes we may stand boldly and know that Christ is fighting for us. Pray for us to be cloaked in love and unity so that nothing can divide us as a team, just as nothing can separate us from His love.
Thank you so much for your continued support.
See you tomorrow!
Haiti Team
We split into two teams, one to plan a vacation Bible school for the afternoon and one to contine the construction work we started yesterday.
The VBS went well. During the planning time in the morning the team thought of different ways to connect to the parable of the Prodigal Son, including writing a worship song in Creole, the main line of which was, "The son came home, now everybody dance!" There was also a craft involving cut out hearts for the kids to draw something or someone they love on. The older kids even ended up getting members of the team to draw for them. There was also a rotation for a game time and another for worship and a skit, which involved a man named Steve and his son, Joey, who after receiving half of his father's money, spent it on bubbles, which earned him friends. But when he couldn't afford any more bubbles all of his friends left him, so he returned home and lo and behold, his father greets him with joy and a celebration is held.
Wow. The team connected so well with the kids during VBS. At one point Emily began drawing giraffes on her heart, and everyone in the room started drawing them as well. We really got to share in the hope that the children have and the unfiltered joy as well. At another point during the day, after the message and worship, the room of about sixty kids of all ages was asked if anyone wanted to ask Jesus into their hearts and the entire room flooded to the front. Praise the Lord!
On the other side of the compound, a few members of the team continued work on the various construction projects we plan on putting a dent into throughout the week. They include building benches for the church, completing the roof of a chicken coop and building shelving and racks for one of the compound's sheds. It was so good to experience getting to provide practical, physical ministry to the people of the area. After VBS finished the other half of the team came over and the work went twice and thrice as fast. Of course, throughout the day there was always a point that tarantulas were being hunted, and that brought a bit of joy (and in some cases fear) to everyone's hearts.
After dinner we transitioned to a time of worship and prayer. We shouted out praises to the Lord for what He has been doing. Worship was powerful and led into prophetic worship for Haiti and the declaration that the people are FREE and that they are not dead but alive because Christ has called them to be alive! We prayed for a few of the Haitians living here at the house, speaking truths into their lives, that they are called to be leaders and that people will follow them in their faith, that nothing can separate them from the love of Christ and that He hears their prayers SO clearly.
We continued to worship and ended the night with declaring that our baggage was left in Seattle. Our baggage isn't even there anymore because it is in the past, it is done and it is FINISHED! Craig, one of the members of the team stationed here, spoke over the fact that there is an attack coming like this place has never seen before, and we immediately went into prayer and a song of worship in Creole titled, "Jehovah is His name," which declared God's presence and might in battle. We ended the night by praying through the armor of God and confirming God's presensce and protection covering us here. In smaller prayer teams chains were BROKEN. Baggage was dropped off and never reclaimed, and instead we claimed FREEDOM. So praise the Lord!
On that note, dear followers, please continue prayers for protection, strength and the breaking of the spirit of fear so that when the time of our battle comes we may stand boldly and know that Christ is fighting for us. Pray for us to be cloaked in love and unity so that nothing can divide us as a team, just as nothing can separate us from His love.
Thank you so much for your continued support.
See you tomorrow!
Haiti Team
Church
In a large, one room building similar to a warehouse, the Haitian people have church. Although we could hardly understand anything that happened, during our nightly debrief everybody shared that the service had affected them. For some, it was the outstanding endurance of the Haitian people to have church for three and a half hours, and maintain an exceptional level of engagement the entire time. Worshiping in an unknown language held particular weight for the team members who had not experienced such a thing before. As one of the speakers said (in English), you may not understand what is happening, but we serve a God who speaks every language.
This is the only Sunday we will attend the service, so we took advantage of the opportunity to perform a worship song. They were particularly excited to see a “pretty lady” playing bass guitar.
Church ended, we had lunch at the base house, and geared up with work gloves and plastic bags to clear litter from the field across the street. All types of garbage could be found scattered amongst the knee high bushes and the grass, cropped close to the ground by the cows, goats, and donkey who called the place home. We were hot and sweaty, of course. But several people sang, and somebody found a Frisbee that helped to keep spirits high.
From there, we went back to the church to work on some construction projects. Cutting, sanding, and staining wood for benches, drilling holes through metal chairs so the seats could be affixed, and assembling saw horses to aid in the labor. And of course, several people were required to entertain the orphan girls who currently live at the church, to keep them out from under foot. Our eager hands accomplished plenty in our time there.
At long last, the day ended with dinner, worship, and devotions. Last night’s early bed time caught everyone up on their sleep, so tonight many of the team stepped outside or onto the balcony to admire the thunder storm. Lightening lights the entire sky, and thunder rumbles over the roof. Even if one steps into the pouring rain, it only takes minutes in the house to dry again, because it is so warm. But, the weather seems to have deterred the mosquitoes-a blessing for those who already find themselves scratching at bites.
Please, pray for our continued health, safety and team unity as we go about our various tasks. For the Haitians, I suggest praying for education. Some team members (myself included) accidently (we thought it was youth group) sat in on a Business Seminar, teaching the Haitian people how to start their own business. So many of them want to move into a better lifestyle, but do not have the know-how. Pray that the seminars and classes truly stick, and help lead these people into a better life.
I think the storm is interfering with the wifi, so who is to say when this post will be posted? But, thank you for your continued prayers and support!
-The Haiti Team (via Rachel)
This is the only Sunday we will attend the service, so we took advantage of the opportunity to perform a worship song. They were particularly excited to see a “pretty lady” playing bass guitar.
Church ended, we had lunch at the base house, and geared up with work gloves and plastic bags to clear litter from the field across the street. All types of garbage could be found scattered amongst the knee high bushes and the grass, cropped close to the ground by the cows, goats, and donkey who called the place home. We were hot and sweaty, of course. But several people sang, and somebody found a Frisbee that helped to keep spirits high.
From there, we went back to the church to work on some construction projects. Cutting, sanding, and staining wood for benches, drilling holes through metal chairs so the seats could be affixed, and assembling saw horses to aid in the labor. And of course, several people were required to entertain the orphan girls who currently live at the church, to keep them out from under foot. Our eager hands accomplished plenty in our time there.
At long last, the day ended with dinner, worship, and devotions. Last night’s early bed time caught everyone up on their sleep, so tonight many of the team stepped outside or onto the balcony to admire the thunder storm. Lightening lights the entire sky, and thunder rumbles over the roof. Even if one steps into the pouring rain, it only takes minutes in the house to dry again, because it is so warm. But, the weather seems to have deterred the mosquitoes-a blessing for those who already find themselves scratching at bites.
Please, pray for our continued health, safety and team unity as we go about our various tasks. For the Haitians, I suggest praying for education. Some team members (myself included) accidently (we thought it was youth group) sat in on a Business Seminar, teaching the Haitian people how to start their own business. So many of them want to move into a better lifestyle, but do not have the know-how. Pray that the seminars and classes truly stick, and help lead these people into a better life.
I think the storm is interfering with the wifi, so who is to say when this post will be posted? But, thank you for your continued prayers and support!
-The Haiti Team (via Rachel)
Saturday, March 24, 2012
The Arrival
Here we are, it's March 24th. The team arrived safely--no lost baggage, no hold ups in customs-- it all went smoothly. After getting a miniature tour of the Foursquare base and getting settled in, we had a miniature worship session and a couple hours of needed rest time. Then we hopped in a tap-tap and minivan and visited the orphanage currently being constructed by the Foursquare mission teams.
There we met with Mama, who lives in a tent with her family near the orphanage. Last night her tent flooded and she had to leave to sleep in the church, but when we saw them today they displayed nothing but pure joy, which was inspirational and encouraging.
From there we headed back to the church by the base and toured the grounds. The church is currently working on several projects to improve the Haitians' ability to provide for themselves. There was a chicken coop, a Tilapia tank, an eventual (planned) hydroplanic garden, and a bakery, as well as developing a tradeschool.
The bakery itself has an interesting story. The head pastor of Foursquare Haiti envisioned the people of Port-au-Prince coming and worshiping the Lord and dwelling with him, but with that came the realization that they couldn't do so if they were hungry. The bakery project will work to feed those coming in to the church, but will also help earn money through selling the bread they make. The distribution center is also used to hand out manna, a rice-based food high in protein. Continued prayers for the provision for the manna would be greatly appreciated, as last year's crop loss makes resources hard to come by.
Then it was back to the base for a few minutes of rest, dinner, and a devotional time. Our fearless, acrobatic leader Dan shared words he had received for each of the women, and is going to share words for the men when we aren't bent over from exhaustion. With that, we look forward to tomorrow. Thank you for your continued prayers! We are excited for church tomorrow with our Haitian brothers and sisters.
-Haiti Team =)
There we met with Mama, who lives in a tent with her family near the orphanage. Last night her tent flooded and she had to leave to sleep in the church, but when we saw them today they displayed nothing but pure joy, which was inspirational and encouraging.
From there we headed back to the church by the base and toured the grounds. The church is currently working on several projects to improve the Haitians' ability to provide for themselves. There was a chicken coop, a Tilapia tank, an eventual (planned) hydroplanic garden, and a bakery, as well as developing a tradeschool.
The bakery itself has an interesting story. The head pastor of Foursquare Haiti envisioned the people of Port-au-Prince coming and worshiping the Lord and dwelling with him, but with that came the realization that they couldn't do so if they were hungry. The bakery project will work to feed those coming in to the church, but will also help earn money through selling the bread they make. The distribution center is also used to hand out manna, a rice-based food high in protein. Continued prayers for the provision for the manna would be greatly appreciated, as last year's crop loss makes resources hard to come by.
Then it was back to the base for a few minutes of rest, dinner, and a devotional time. Our fearless, acrobatic leader Dan shared words he had received for each of the women, and is going to share words for the men when we aren't bent over from exhaustion. With that, we look forward to tomorrow. Thank you for your continued prayers! We are excited for church tomorrow with our Haitian brothers and sisters.
-Haiti Team =)
Friday, March 23, 2012
Safe in Miami
Hello our faithful followers!
Thank you for your prayers!
We have made it to Miami and are at the hotel for the night!
We head to Port-au-Prince in the morning!
God Bless!
Thank you for your prayers!
We have made it to Miami and are at the hotel for the night!
We head to Port-au-Prince in the morning!
God Bless!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Hey all! My name is Kirsten and I'm going to be heading up the prayer team for Ignite and partnering with PSCC while the team is down in Haiti. God has been SO good and blessing all of the team members with his revelation and giving us a growing heart for Haiti. Something that he revealed to me a couple of weeks ago in church was that he is going to do EXTRAordinary things through ordinary people. "The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and john, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognizd them as men who had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing right there among them, there was nothing the council could say." Acts 4:13-14. In these verses I really felt the Lord telling me that there will be nothing ordinary about this trip to Haiti. The song "Open up the Sky" is what really inspired this as well. When they say that "we won't be satisfied by anything ordinary, we won't be satisfied at all," I felt that we SHOULD expect more than the ordinary when we're talking about God. Of course he's going to bring it in so many incredible ways and it will be SO GOOD! God is going to meet the team down in Haiti in a big way this spring, and I am so excited to be able to pray for them and to hear about all of the EXTRAordinary works he does down there! Please keep praying with us as we prepare our hearts to align with God's and for the Lord to prepare the way. Thank you and God bless!
Friday, February 3, 2012
A story of God's provision!
So, my sister Morgan sent me this e-mail yesterday!
God is good! Though many of us are struggling in getting in the finances the LORD is always faithful to provide! (...and he can be pretty sneaky about it too!)
"So I want to share a testimony of God's love and always-being-with-us-ness!
God is good! Though many of us are struggling in getting in the finances the LORD is always faithful to provide! (...and he can be pretty sneaky about it too!)
"So I want to share a testimony of God's love and always-being-with-us-ness!
Monday morning was the start of second semester, and I got to school, picked up my schedule, and then went to Mrs. MacPhee's class (she's great!) and sat down and people were talking and it was a normal, casual start of class and MacPhee was walking around talking attendance and someone came in and gave her an envelope and she passed it to me and it had my name and my classroom written on it by someone in the office. I didn't really have any idea what it would be besides a book-fine warning or something, so I started opening it and there was money inside and a little note written with super beautiful cursive that said "Thanks for all you do! Don't look too hard into who gave you this!!". There was $100 dollars inside, which fully paid for the rest of the deposit that was due on the 28th (I still owed $70)! WOAH. When God says He will provide, things happen!
Pure and holy God... no one could ever love us like He does!!
PRAISE THE LORD!!!!"
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Haiti 2012
The Haiti Team for 2012 Spring Break has been selected and notified.
We have a few spots left open for more men and also for Puget Sound Christian Center (PSCC) church members.
Our first deposit has been placed and tickets are being reserved.
As we go into planning for the trip we will be looking into each of our individual passions and how what we can do in Haiti to connect with the people using those passions- sports, music, art, dancing, etc.
Currently, our first project will be to research into Haiti. Our team did this last year and we looked into the culture of Haiti and other important things we should know about the country. I think we will be doing this again, so currently the research topics are being established and our first team meeting will be before Thanksgiving to do a quick briefing and team bonding on what needs done before the end of the year.
We have a few spots left open for more men and also for Puget Sound Christian Center (PSCC) church members.
Our first deposit has been placed and tickets are being reserved.
As we go into planning for the trip we will be looking into each of our individual passions and how what we can do in Haiti to connect with the people using those passions- sports, music, art, dancing, etc.
Currently, our first project will be to research into Haiti. Our team did this last year and we looked into the culture of Haiti and other important things we should know about the country. I think we will be doing this again, so currently the research topics are being established and our first team meeting will be before Thanksgiving to do a quick briefing and team bonding on what needs done before the end of the year.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Good times in Haiti
Hey all! So seeing as it’s been a couple months since we got back, Dan asked me to post some more info about what we did while we were there. What can I say, I’m nothing if not punctual.
So where to start? I guess it’s worth saying a little bit about the group we worked with. So the Foursqaure Church’s mission base in Haiti consists of a house that is about a block away from the National Church’s property (the National Church being the name of the church Foursqaure is most directly partnered with). The full-time staff there consists of – if I understand it correctly – three people at least at the time of our visit. That is, Pastor John Booker and his wife Debbie (both of whom were incidentally in America at the time of our stay) and Pastor Mark Olson, who acts as overall team coordinator. Everyone else serving there at any given time is a volunteer. These people give up anywhere from a week to six months of their time to serve at the mission base. I may be getting the details wrong, but that’s how I understand it. Anyways, one of these volunteers was our personal team facilitator, Craig. He has a big heart and a dry sense of humor, and it was a blast getting to know him over the next week and a half! In addition to us, there was always at least one other team living at the house doing their own projects independent of us, though sometimes we got to work together.
They're hard to see in this picture, but we would pass the cows in this field every day on the way from the house to the church. By the end of the trip, we had names for them all... I miss you, Milky Way
Anyways, our time in Haiti was divided between a wide variety of experiences and tasks, but can be generally summed up into two categories: projects around the church complex, and direct service through interaction with local Haitians. First I’ll say a little bit about the stuff we did on the church complex.
So one of the cool things about the National Church complex is that it has, with the aid of the mission base, become much more than just a place of worship on Sunday mornings – rather, it functions as a hub for all sorts of community activity. Here are all the things I remember seeing happen on the church grounds during our visit: Sunday morning service, primary schooling for kids of all ages, English classes for adults four times a week, band practices (mainly the church band), food distribution to the locals, construction of cement pavers to be used by the church or sold, ongoing construction of a housing complex, the raising of chickens for meat and eggs, planting of banana trees, the hosting of a worship concert (which we got to participate in and brought in over a hundred people from the community in attendance!), and probably a couple other things I’m forgetting. Also, as Mark pointed out to us, they had just purchased tanks for raising tilapia (fish) and had plans for hydroponic gardening in the near future. There is also a functioning well on the grounds which supplies clean, fresh water to the mission house and members of the surrounding community. It seems like no matter what time of day there were always people doing something on the church grounds! All of this is part of the vision shared by the Foursquare team and the local pastors for the church effort as a whole in Haiti. (Incidentally, we got to work closely with Associate Pastor Rosenal – probably spelled wrong - while we were there, as Lead Pastor Guy was away.)
This is the church. Or, it will be - at the time of our visit, the church was waiting for the materials to arrive to build a new building. In the meantime they were meeting in a makeshift structure.
So what type of work was it that we did on the church grounds? One word for you: PAINTING! If there’s one thing that took up most of our time, it was painting of the interior of one of the bunkhouses that was intended to house visiting pastors in the future. Actually, we did a lot of work on this building, including hammering in nails, some electrical work, caulking shower stalls, assembling bunk beds… but the thing that I remember most is the painting! We spent a good five or six days painting all of the walls white to prepare them for future guests who would be attending pastoral conferences that the National Church would be putting on. As Chad explained to us, having painted walls is a big deal in Haiti, so it was a good feeling to know that we were going the extra step to make visitors feel welcome and comfortable. Besides, painting can be fun! Just ask Andy and Emily ;)
We did a few other projects around the area, including cleanup at a property that the church just bought to build a new orphanage (there was literally a mountain of garbage piled up on the property because a fallen tree had blocked up a stream), and the planting of banana trees at a nearby tent city. Whatever it was we did, it was great to feel like we were making a difference in the well-being of the community. It was also fun when people from the community would see us working and come up to help us without even being asked – the people there are so friendly and willing to help!
So all of that was pretty fun, but my favorite parts of the trip were when we got to interact with the people of the community directly. Our first opportunity to do this came our very first morning in Haiti when we got to go sit in on one of the English classes being held at the church. There were somewhere around forty Haitians there when we arrived, staring intently at a chalkboard with numerous vocabulary words written upon it. We got to participate in the lesson and help some of the students with the textbook, and then later we got to divide into groups to have some time to socialize. I’ll tell you, this was a bit of a stretch for me – first time out of my own country (Canada doesn’t count!) and here I am a naturally shy person trying to have a conversation with a group of total strangers who speak a different language! But, as I said before, the people there are so friendly, and they all wanted to know all kinds of things about me, like where in America I live, how many siblings I have, what I’m studying in school, and – most importantly – do I love Jesus? : )
Learning some vocabulary words :)
Another really cool thing we got do was visit a nearby tent city and play with the children there. Well, actually, we were going there to plant banana trees for the community – but that pretty much turned into playtime as we were literally surrounding by a mob of children wanting to watch, help, or play! I’ve never had so many children asking me to pick them up or just plain jumping on me and trying to ride me like a horse. I’m fond of saying children love me like they love a trampoline – or in this case, a jungle gym!
Those kids are silly
More about the tent city, though. There are 2000 plus people living in this makeshift community living in pretty squalid conditions. A lot of the residents there are in pretty poor health as well – but fortunately Jordyn was able to bring her medical supplies and help some of them out, alongside the member of one of the other teams who happened to be a nurse! Suffice it to say that the people there are pretty poor - too poor in fact to even send their children to school (which is not free in Haiti, apparently).
So here’s the cool part. A Haitian by the name of Jonas decided to open up a school for the children there. What’s more, he has made it free to attend and is supporting the entire school on his own income. And why, you might ask? Because God visited him in a dream and told him to. Yep, that’s pretty awesome. We got to visit the school later in the week and throw a joint concert with Jonas – we played some worship songs and he played a few songs that he’d written on the guitar, then he shared his testimony with the 200 plus people who showed up, drawn by the sound of the music! We learned after the concert that Jonas didn’t actually own his own guitar, so Dan gave him his as a gift before we left for home.
One last thing I’d like to share is the work going on with orphanages in the area. There are a number of orphanages that the Foursquare base is in partnership with, but we got to visit two of them that they have particularly close ties with. The first is an all-girls orphanages opened up fifteen years ago by a local Haitian. Some of the girls living there when we visited had been there since it opened – there is a wide age range between all the girls from 3 or 4 to 19. Their living space isn’t much to look at, but it’s certainly more than they would have had if not for the orphanage. In spite of that, however, the girls were full of energy and joy when we arrived, and despite the language barrier we were able to form some pretty strong bonds in the few hours we had to spend with them. One of the girls there stands out in my memory because she shared with us her dream of becoming a nurse one day – not an easy task for someone from her circumstance, but she was determined to see it through (it seems that the orphanage owner was paying to send some of the girls to school, which is awesome). Even though we did little more than simply show up to visit for a couple hours, it made me proud to be a small part of helping her realize that goal in that I was part of a team that was helping the church that was helping her! Anyways, our visit to this orphanage was quite a powerful experience, one that I know was quite potent for a few of the members of our team.
The girls at the orphanage (and Mark). Their houses mostly consisted of tents like this.
The other orphanage we got to visit is run by the pastor of another church in the area, Pastor Belan - also probably spelled wrong, but I’m trying here! The orphanage itself was actually well over an hour away from the house, up on top of the nearby hill which was apparently known as Lookout Hill. (Incidentally, the aforementioned property bought by the church is intended for the construction of a new orphanage for Belan to move into when his current lease is up). The orphanage itself is actually just a two-story house, but it’s pretty nice especially compared to the girls’ orphanage. The kids there are all quite young, and there are about 9 of them if I remember correctly. We got to play with them for a couple hours and give them some toys and coloring books. We were sad to leave them there, and more than one of us wished we could take one home with us (I’m looking at you, Andy).
Anyways, that’s just a small bit about what we got to do while we were in Haiti. It was an unforgettable experience. I know that there is a plan in the works for getting us back there again next year, so I for one would appreciate any prayers you could send our way. Thank so much to all of you who partnered with us this year! We couldn’t have done it without you!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
The Word of the Week is Restoration
So, first things first, we've been back for nearly a week and I've yet to make a post about it. Things have been busy, busy, and they aren't slowing down any time soon. Still, I feel like the worst blogger in the world.
So to make up for it, I figured I'd say a little something now about how I feel about the trip and follow it up soon with a more detailed account of what we actually did the rest of the week after Emily's last post!
As you are all aware, there is great need in Haiti right now for hope. As a team, our goal was to in some small way bring hope to the people of Haiti through simple acts of service which would point to Christ who sent us. And so we undertook a lot of projects around the church complex, which either Emily or I will explain more a forthcoming post. But one of the words that kept coming back to mind as we were serving there was Restoration. Restoration of a country that had been through disaster after disaster. Restoration of a people who have been broken and beaten down time and time again. Our short term missions team got to see a glimpse of this restoration happening through the long term work being done their by Foursquare Church as they've poured out into the church leaders there, who have in turn poured out into the rest of the community. And simply put, it was one of the most inspiring, God-filled sights I've ever seen.
The people there have an inexplicable strength of spirit which is evident in the way they do everything - from worshiping God to simply giving a firm handshake. Despite the overwhelming circumstances they face, all the people we met looked to the future with optimism and confidence that things were going to get better. Most of the people we interacted with on a regular basis were church members, and so it should be no surprise that the foundation for their outlook on life was a hope in Jesus Christ. These people were so solid in their faith that half the time it felt like they were ministering to us instead of the other way around. And in the way that they looked to the future I was able to see the restoration that God is working in that country - a restoration that begins with his children simply coming together and proclaiming that He is God and He is in control, and a restoration that will not cease until God has claimed the entire nation for His Kingdom. That's what I believe anyways. That's the kind of confidence that I was filled with because of my experiences in Haiti.
Remember - we serve a God who took His people out of their slavery in Egypt, was with them while they were lost in the desolate wastelands where they toiled for forty years, and led them back out through the other side and into the promised land. What great things will He then do with the people of Haiti, the poorest nation on this earth? What great things will He do in our own nation, which is itself so poor in its own right? I don't know, but I believe that complete, unreserved restoration is the desire of His heart for all His people. I believe we saw a little bit of it in Haiti in our brief visit. I believe we'll see more of it in the days to come.
- David
So to make up for it, I figured I'd say a little something now about how I feel about the trip and follow it up soon with a more detailed account of what we actually did the rest of the week after Emily's last post!
As you are all aware, there is great need in Haiti right now for hope. As a team, our goal was to in some small way bring hope to the people of Haiti through simple acts of service which would point to Christ who sent us. And so we undertook a lot of projects around the church complex, which either Emily or I will explain more a forthcoming post. But one of the words that kept coming back to mind as we were serving there was Restoration. Restoration of a country that had been through disaster after disaster. Restoration of a people who have been broken and beaten down time and time again. Our short term missions team got to see a glimpse of this restoration happening through the long term work being done their by Foursquare Church as they've poured out into the church leaders there, who have in turn poured out into the rest of the community. And simply put, it was one of the most inspiring, God-filled sights I've ever seen.
The people there have an inexplicable strength of spirit which is evident in the way they do everything - from worshiping God to simply giving a firm handshake. Despite the overwhelming circumstances they face, all the people we met looked to the future with optimism and confidence that things were going to get better. Most of the people we interacted with on a regular basis were church members, and so it should be no surprise that the foundation for their outlook on life was a hope in Jesus Christ. These people were so solid in their faith that half the time it felt like they were ministering to us instead of the other way around. And in the way that they looked to the future I was able to see the restoration that God is working in that country - a restoration that begins with his children simply coming together and proclaiming that He is God and He is in control, and a restoration that will not cease until God has claimed the entire nation for His Kingdom. That's what I believe anyways. That's the kind of confidence that I was filled with because of my experiences in Haiti.
Remember - we serve a God who took His people out of their slavery in Egypt, was with them while they were lost in the desolate wastelands where they toiled for forty years, and led them back out through the other side and into the promised land. What great things will He then do with the people of Haiti, the poorest nation on this earth? What great things will He do in our own nation, which is itself so poor in its own right? I don't know, but I believe that complete, unreserved restoration is the desire of His heart for all His people. I believe we saw a little bit of it in Haiti in our brief visit. I believe we'll see more of it in the days to come.
- David
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Haiti Beginnings
Our first few days have been great! Travelling went well without asnyu major problems and we were able to wake up this morning and go help out at an English class first thing. It has been amazing getting to form relationships with the Haitian people and we look forward to continuing to build these friendships. The church already feels like home and it is an amazing feeling being welcomed into their community so quickly and lovingly. The base and church are both beautiful and well secure and doing worship this afternoon was super fun and we had some Haitians join in and sing parts of the song in Creole (which when they sing it sounds like angels!). Well we will write more soon!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Leaving Tonight!!!
We are all packing up and preparing to head out this evening!!! We will be taking a "red eye" flight from Seattle to Florida and then tomorrow we will fly over to Port au Prince! All day today and yesterday I have personally just been overcome by God's joy and excitement over His nation. It is amazing how much He loves us all! He has placed an excitement within us all to go and be with the Haitians! Everything is working out and the Lord is just orchestrating everything now!
He is SO good!
Well, I have to go finish packing!
We are thankful for all your donations and continual prayers!
Love you all!!!!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Four Weeks Until Take-Off!!!
It is hard to believe that there are only 4 weeks (plus a few days) until we leave Seattle to head to Florida...and then Haiti!!!
God is working so powerfully among our team as of late breaking bondages, rooting us deeper in His love, and building our relationships with one another... it's SO AWESOME! The song that says "Our God is greater, Our God is stronger, Our God is higher than any other..." (Our God is Greater- Chris Tomlin) is so true! The LORD is releasing His mighty power and healing among us as of late. He has been highlighting strongholds that we have in our lives and teaching us what it means to give Him all control and flee from trusting in ourselves.
Diana shared today about how the Lord called her to get rid of some of the distractions in her life and in obedience she threw them all away! Now, a tooth ache (a mighty bad one at that) that she had been experiencing earlier in the week and that the dentist could not explain is HEALED! She has NO more pain! PRAISE THE LORD!
So, as a team, we have committed to eliminating the distractions in our lives. They come in all sorts of shapes and forms (people, TV Shows, music, eating, exercise). Not to say that these things are bad... but it depends on how they permeate your life and are affecting your heart. For me personally, the LORD awakened me this morning with the conviction that I needed to let go of my control. I have suffered with eating disorder issues in the past which brought a lot of anxiety into my life as I felt the need to control my body. This resulted in a lactose intolerance, gluten intolerance, and pretty much any type of food intolerance. Last summer the anxiety was prayed off and I felt free... but over the last 6 months I began compromising and the intolerances and anxiety flooded back in. So, this morning, Katelyn and I prayed and the LORD has set me free with the knowledge that he has broken all bonds and lies and has shown me the path to walk in the opposite path of control. (He is SO good!) Our God heals!
The LORD has given us boldness, power, authority in His name! We are called to go out and be disciples to the Nations; but how can we do so if we are trapped in fear and other bondage that is keeping us from living out God's love in POWER? For we are told in John 4:18 "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear..." HALLELUJAH! As believers, Children of God, our Papa gives us POWER in His mighty LOVE! He sends us out to share the good news of salvation in His Son! Our Daddy loved us so So SO much that He sent His Son for us to die on the cross! He loves ALL his children and He longs for them to come and rest in His embrace. He is coming for Haiti. He is rebuilding the nation and restoring His people. He is setting the captives free and delivering them from the hopelessness, the depression, the darkness over their lives!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Something on my heart...
Hello Everyone!It is hard to believe, but there are only 6 weeks left until our team leaves for Haiti!
It has been amazing the past 4 months growing as a team and God has definitely cultivated a heart within each of us for one another and for the Haitian people (and is continuing to enlarge our hearts more and more!) Our Father's love is being revealed in mighty ways day after day and it is so great because His love NEVER grows old!
This past week we have been increasingly encouraged as the Lord continues to bring forth the provision of money, hygiene supplies, and encouragement!
As a reader/ subscriber to this blog I would like to challenge you to be praying for the Haitian football (a.k.a. soccer) team. Apparently, the under-17 team had to withdraw from the big tournament as some team members have contracted malaria. Though there are only a few team members who contracted malaria, once those individuals return home it is very possible that an outbreak of malaria may occur due to lack of vaccination (be thankful to live in the U.S. and receive the vaccinations we do!). The fact that the living conditions of Haiti are still very poor and lack proper sanitation practices means that the spread of malaria is likely if a mosquito (or other carrier) sucks the blood of one of the infected individuals and then goes on to suck more peoples blood. However, we know that our Lord has His eyes on the Haitians! He sees the situation and nothing is out of His range of control!
I feel extremely blessed to live in the U.S. You see, when we are young most people receive vaccinations against such viruses that cause measles, etc. That is why, with the recent case of measles in Portland, there is not a huge worry because the majority of individuals have been vaccinated and are therefore we are not at risk for contracting the disease. Isn't that funny? That a few shots we get before we can hardly even speak can save our lives?! We are so blessed to live in the place we do! Therefore, let us take this blessing that the Lord has placed on our lives (ya, that's right, He has put you where you are for a purpose!) and take action! Let us pray for the protection of His people that do not have the luxuries that we have (yes, shots are luxuries... crazy right?! Bet you never thought about that one... and if you did, very nice!) Let us pray for the children, for the adults, for the elderly, for the workers, for the tent cities. God is coming to redeem Haiti. His plan will be made complete in his timing. His will will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!
We thank you for your prayers and your support as we prepare to leave! You are as big of a part of this trip as we are! Please feel free to share anything on your heart about Haiti and/ or our team (or anything! We would love to hear from you!)
God Bless!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Hygeine Kits!
Well, things are getting pretty busy here at PLU's campus - spring semester started yesterday, and I speak for myself at least when I say it's going to be suuuuuuuuuper busy! But more importantly, things are also starting to really get rolling for the Haiti trip! WOOOOO!
Our team has been preparing ourselves in prayer these past couple weeks, asking God to hone our hearts and focus towards Haiti - hard to believe the trip is only two months away! Now that we've got our basic project plans solidified (as Dan detailed in the last post), we can get to figuring out the details, and one of the first things we're getting started with is the hygiene kits. We'll be taking a portion of our budget and putting those together ourselves and bringing them over to Haiti with us.
Our team has been preparing ourselves in prayer these past couple weeks, asking God to hone our hearts and focus towards Haiti - hard to believe the trip is only two months away! Now that we've got our basic project plans solidified (as Dan detailed in the last post), we can get to figuring out the details, and one of the first things we're getting started with is the hygiene kits. We'll be taking a portion of our budget and putting those together ourselves and bringing them over to Haiti with us.
But wait! Those of you looking for an easy way to get involved in the effort alongside us, you can help us out immensely by contributing supplies towards these kits. The more kits we can put together, the more people we can give access to these essential hygiene tools in order to stop the spread of disease.
Here's a list of the items we're collecting for each kit:
1. Wash Cloth
2. Hand Towel
3. Shampoo bottle
4. Anti-bacterial Soap bottle
5. Toothbrush
6. Toothpaste tube
7. Comb
8. Neosporin tube
9. Nail Clipper
10. Nail File
2. Hand Towel
3. Shampoo bottle
4. Anti-bacterial Soap bottle
5. Toothbrush
6. Toothpaste tube
7. Comb
8. Neosporin tube
9. Nail Clipper
10. Nail File
11. Bandaids
For those of you who are somewhat near Tacoma, you can drop the items off with one of us or at PSCC (services 8:30, 10, and 11:35 AM on Sundays). Otherwise, if you can't get supplies to us but still want to help with the hygiene kits specifically, you can use the online form on the blog's main page and specify that your donation is to go towards the hygiene kits in the comments section. Just so you know, that part doesn't appear until the third page of the form, and this is what the it looks like:
There's a lot more going on in our prep work right now in addition to this. For instance, we're going to be spending time soon learning how to lead worship so that we can get the most out of the seminar we're leading - I'm excited for that! But I just wanted to highlight the hygiene kit thing so as to give a concrete example of exactly what we're doing this April!
Thanks for all your prayers and support so far! We've had some amazing instances of God providing financial support for our team - just in case we needed any more proof that God moves in mysterious ways!
Thanks for reading!
In Christ,
- David
Friday, January 28, 2011
Mission to Haiti
This mission is a group effort by Puget Sound Christian Center and the body of Christ at large to send 13 young adults to Haiti, a country in despair, to proclaim the message of Hope and healing in Jesus. We are going to serve-to serve the people of Haiti, the Haitian churches, and orphanages under the established Foursquare Mission Base and the relationships they have already developed.
We will be the hands and feet of Jesus in humble service,
"Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:28
We are blessed tremendously to have Foursquare missionary Chad Isenhart and his wife Jordyn as part of our team. This will open doors, mostly relationally, that we would not have had otherwise. We will be involved in various projects and will fill in where the greatest needs are.
Projects:
We will be hosting a worship seminar where we will teach the local church contemporary worship songs in Creole, their native tongue. These seminars are also open to the public and often attract a variety of people because of the music. This will be an opportunity to train the church but also lead people into worship and introduce them to Christ.
We are preparing hygiene kits with basic hygiene tools including items like toothbrushes and soap that many don't have easy access to. ( Bad hygiene is one of the leading causes in the spread of disease).
Along with hygiene kits, we will distribute water purifiers, which is particularly important right now to help slow down the recent cholera outbreak. We will distribute these to orphanages, to individuals, and families through the Haiti Foursquare churches.
In all these projects our team will have many opportunities to connect, serve, encourage, and build relationships with the Haitian children, families, and adults. Our goal simply and plainly is to make Jesus known and all of our projects are practical ways to show the love of Jesus and introduce people into a relationship with Him.
13 will go. Many will pray. Many will encourage. Many will give. All can take part. We are asking you to pray about how you can help. Take time to watch the video's on the left column of this blog and let your heart connect with God's and with His plan of redemption for the Haiti people.
Lord bless Haiti, bring salvation and have mercy on the souls, hearts, bodies, communities, families, government and entire nation of Haiti in Jesus name.
We will be the hands and feet of Jesus in humble service,
"Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:28
We are blessed tremendously to have Foursquare missionary Chad Isenhart and his wife Jordyn as part of our team. This will open doors, mostly relationally, that we would not have had otherwise. We will be involved in various projects and will fill in where the greatest needs are.
Projects:
We will be hosting a worship seminar where we will teach the local church contemporary worship songs in Creole, their native tongue. These seminars are also open to the public and often attract a variety of people because of the music. This will be an opportunity to train the church but also lead people into worship and introduce them to Christ.
We are preparing hygiene kits with basic hygiene tools including items like toothbrushes and soap that many don't have easy access to. ( Bad hygiene is one of the leading causes in the spread of disease).
Along with hygiene kits, we will distribute water purifiers, which is particularly important right now to help slow down the recent cholera outbreak. We will distribute these to orphanages, to individuals, and families through the Haiti Foursquare churches.
In all these projects our team will have many opportunities to connect, serve, encourage, and build relationships with the Haitian children, families, and adults. Our goal simply and plainly is to make Jesus known and all of our projects are practical ways to show the love of Jesus and introduce people into a relationship with Him.
13 will go. Many will pray. Many will encourage. Many will give. All can take part. We are asking you to pray about how you can help. Take time to watch the video's on the left column of this blog and let your heart connect with God's and with His plan of redemption for the Haiti people.
Lord bless Haiti, bring salvation and have mercy on the souls, hearts, bodies, communities, families, government and entire nation of Haiti in Jesus name.
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