Sunday, November 29, 2009
Special Needs Orphanage
This blog will give updates on a project in Haiti that will provide a new speical needs orphanage in Northwest Haiti. The details and updates on this project will be placed on this site for all to follow and pray. Please continue to pray for us on this project. God Bless
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Getting to Know Donets'k
Wednesday, June 24th: We flew into Donets'k (it is the southern part of the Ukraine) and hit a hotel. The next morning we met with Pastor Oleg and went to his transistion home. Pastor Oleg works with kids from the orphanage and has built a transistion house with the help of Orphans Promise. When we arrived at the house, Pastor Oleg showed us the property and all he has done to fix the inside up for the kids. The kids that stay in this house are kids that have grauated out of the orphange and now have no job or place to live that is suitable to keep them safe. In the Ukraine, and also in other countries, 65% of orphan girls are forced into prositution and 70% of orphan boys either end up in jail or on drugs. This transistion home is extremely important for these kids and it provides not only shelter but also gives them biblical life skills, computer skills and english skills. The other thing that it does is it gives these kids (that have been denied by the world of a sound family situation) the opportunity to accept Jesus and build a relationship that is real and meaningful.
We met the boys and the girls and they had the house in tip top shape. The building from the outside looked old, but the work inside that Orphans Promise funded, looked great! We took some photos of the computer room, the kids and then then talked to one of the girls that just arrived at the home. This girl was 17 years old. Pastor Oleg told us that she has HIV and that when she came to the home she was sick and very thin and weak. She has been taken care of by the staff that lives in the home and she also got to hear the word and the healing power of Jesus. She now looks great, she has gained her weight back and she is trying to get her life started back on the right track. We are praying for her complete healing.
Before we left the house we met a boy around 10 years old that comes to the transistion home. This boy is not orphaned, but his mother and father are constantly drunk and they do not watch him so he hangs out at the home. This little boy is a social orphan and there are many other kids like this boy throughout most of Eastern Europe. This boy had set up a stage in the yard and sang three songs, he was so excited to show us his talent.
After we left the transistion home, we ate lunch (Ukrainian food is awesome!), we then went to a small business (Curves) that Pastor Oleg opened as a ministry to help him provide money to support the transistion home. There are 42 Curves in the Ukraine and staying healthy has become a big deal in the Ukriane. We went into the Curves and met the staff and prayed with them. The women that worked at the business were great, especailly the main manager of the store. As we prayed and talked, she told us that this business has provided an opportuntiy for them to help women feel good about themselves. Curves was founded by Christains and Pastor Oleg is using his business not only as income for the orphans, but also as a tool to minister to the women that come and work out. We heard stories of salvations and openess to the gospel to many of the women that are members. We are praying for God to continue to bless this business and help Pastor Oleg provide a steady income for his ministry. Pastor Oleg has the rights to all the Curves in Donets'k (Donets'k has around 2 million people). This business will not only provide money, but also opportunties for some of the orphan girls a job and future.
We met the boys and the girls and they had the house in tip top shape. The building from the outside looked old, but the work inside that Orphans Promise funded, looked great! We took some photos of the computer room, the kids and then then talked to one of the girls that just arrived at the home. This girl was 17 years old. Pastor Oleg told us that she has HIV and that when she came to the home she was sick and very thin and weak. She has been taken care of by the staff that lives in the home and she also got to hear the word and the healing power of Jesus. She now looks great, she has gained her weight back and she is trying to get her life started back on the right track. We are praying for her complete healing.
Before we left the house we met a boy around 10 years old that comes to the transistion home. This boy is not orphaned, but his mother and father are constantly drunk and they do not watch him so he hangs out at the home. This little boy is a social orphan and there are many other kids like this boy throughout most of Eastern Europe. This boy had set up a stage in the yard and sang three songs, he was so excited to show us his talent.
After we left the transistion home, we ate lunch (Ukrainian food is awesome!), we then went to a small business (Curves) that Pastor Oleg opened as a ministry to help him provide money to support the transistion home. There are 42 Curves in the Ukraine and staying healthy has become a big deal in the Ukriane. We went into the Curves and met the staff and prayed with them. The women that worked at the business were great, especailly the main manager of the store. As we prayed and talked, she told us that this business has provided an opportuntiy for them to help women feel good about themselves. Curves was founded by Christains and Pastor Oleg is using his business not only as income for the orphans, but also as a tool to minister to the women that come and work out. We heard stories of salvations and openess to the gospel to many of the women that are members. We are praying for God to continue to bless this business and help Pastor Oleg provide a steady income for his ministry. Pastor Oleg has the rights to all the Curves in Donets'k (Donets'k has around 2 million people). This business will not only provide money, but also opportunties for some of the orphan girls a job and future.
Finally Got Internet Connection
Sorry that we have not been able to update the blog, we have had no internet service so there is a lot to read. We have now been in the Ukraine for 3 days and today is day number 4. Obviously Yuri and Natlyia love the Ukraine, but it also has a special place in Colleen and my heart as well.
In the weeks before the trip I had been praying for God to create divine meetings for the four of us and he has done just that in the past four days. God is always faithful and continues to use the four of us to minister
to kids and others along our travels.
Sunday June 21: Met up with Yuri and Nataliya in Detroit at 8pm and heading to Amsterdam at 9:10pm. Arrived in Kiev at 4:40pm (Kiev Time) most of us did not get a lot of sleep.
In the weeks before the trip I had been praying for God to create divine meetings for the four of us and he has done just that in the past four days. God is always faithful and continues to use the four of us to minister
to kids and others along our travels.Sunday June 21: Met up with Yuri and Nataliya in Detroit at 8pm and heading to Amsterdam at 9:10pm. Arrived in Kiev at 4:40pm (Kiev Time) most of us did not get a lot of sleep.
Monday June 22: Went right from the airport to the Emmanuel Center (this is the office for CBN for the Com
monwealth of Independent States, the old Republics from the USSR). Once there we meet up with Galina the director of the training center and Karen Spring (she is from Seattle and helps with OP projects in Ukraine) to say hello. We toured the training center for orphans (this is where 90 kids get biblical life skills training, computer skills, English skills and more. We went to see the computer room and also saw some beautiful bamboo inlaid pictures that kids that have cerebral palsy made in an art room.
After leaving the center, we drove a few miles away to a new medical center that will handle some medical missions for the Emmanuel Center. This center will be a self sustaining ministry that will give lower income patients the opportunity to get quality medical care. There will be a full variety of medical services that will also include medical attention for such things as dental and optometrist, OBGYN and other medical s
ervices.
After leaving the medical facility, we went to dinner at a great restaurant in Kiev. This restaurant sold some of the art work that the kids from the Kiev Training Center made and then displayed it on the walls of the resturant dining room. Dinner was great, but we were all sleepy and went to our hotel room for the night. We have been up around almost 34 hours.
monwealth of Independent States, the old Republics from the USSR). Once there we meet up with Galina the director of the training center and Karen Spring (she is from Seattle and helps with OP projects in Ukraine) to say hello. We toured the training center for orphans (this is where 90 kids get biblical life skills training, computer skills, English skills and more. We went to see the computer room and also saw some beautiful bamboo inlaid pictures that kids that have cerebral palsy made in an art room.After leaving the center, we drove a few miles away to a new medical center that will handle some medical missions for the Emmanuel Center. This center will be a self sustaining ministry that will give lower income patients the opportunity to get quality medical care. There will be a full variety of medical services that will also include medical attention for such things as dental and optometrist, OBGYN and other medical s
ervices.After leaving the medical facility, we went to dinner at a great restaurant in Kiev. This restaurant sold some of the art work that the kids from the Kiev Training Center made and then displayed it on the walls of the resturant dining room. Dinner was great, but we were all sleepy and went to our hotel room for the night. We have been up around almost 34 hours.
Tuesday, June 23: Day three started a little later, we slept in a bit and then went to breakfast with Natalia’s father.
He met us for a few minutes to say hello and a quick bite of food. After breakfast we met with Pastor Yuri and his wife Oksana in the street market around 12pm. We tried to go see a person who we met 3 years ago that worked in one of the booths at the market to drop of some Christian information (I have kept in touch with him for the past 3 years and have talked to him about the Lord), but he was not in Kiev, he had gone to Russia to buy some goods. We met his partner and as Colleen and I were standing talking to his friend Alexander, and two young Mormon men asked us if we were from the US, we told them yes and talked for awhile. The first young man's name was David and he had been in Kiev for almost two years and was about to go home, the other young man’s name was Ken and he had just gotten to Kiev. Colleen and I prayed for Alexander before we left and also asked the two young men to pray with us as well. Knowing a little bit about the Mormom belief and the difference between thier belief and Christianity, we just prayed for power of Jesus and the Holy Spirit over all of us and beleived that they would all know the real Jesus Christ and that the spirit of truth would flood their body. Here is a great picture of Colleen and me in the market trying on our new hats and gas mask. I think I look great! 
After spending around one hour at the market we then went to have lunch and Colleen & Nat met a man in the line of the restaurant from Poland (he had a shirt that said Mercy Ship on it so Colleen went to talk to him). He was with a group of 12 people from Poland and one man from Denmark that were going to a conference that was lead by Messianic Jewish believers. We all connected after eating lunch and prayed with them in the restaurant for blessing for all and that what they were doing as well as us would be blessed and would be fruitful, it was awesome! As we talked to the first man Colleen and Nat met with the shirt (his name was Martin) he told us that the spiritual state of Poland was not really deep, but that God was changing people’s hearts and he was preaching the truth to as many people as he c
ould along with the people in his church.
After lunch we left Pastor Yuri and Oksana (and two other ladies from their church in Moldova) and headed to the airport. We ate dinner next to the airport and took our flight to Donaskt around 9pm. While on the plane we were able to witness to pilot from the airlines we were on, (he was flying home from a meeting in Kiev) and gave him the gospel. As we talked to him his heart opened up and he saw a need to have a real relationship with God through Jesus. It was a divine meeting since his father had left his mother when he was one year old and he has not talked to him ever. This young pilot was orphaned by his dad, just like the orphans that Orphans Promise helps around the world. When you think about it, we are all really orphaned if we do not know our heavenly father. We lead him in the sinner’s prayer once we got off the plane and we have his e-mail to stay in contact with him, his name was Andrew, please pray for him. We got picked up at the airport and Pastor Oleg drove us to our hotel, another late night, we went to bed around 3am.
He met us for a few minutes to say hello and a quick bite of food. After breakfast we met with Pastor Yuri and his wife Oksana in the street market around 12pm. We tried to go see a person who we met 3 years ago that worked in one of the booths at the market to drop of some Christian information (I have kept in touch with him for the past 3 years and have talked to him about the Lord), but he was not in Kiev, he had gone to Russia to buy some goods. We met his partner and as Colleen and I were standing talking to his friend Alexander, and two young Mormon men asked us if we were from the US, we told them yes and talked for awhile. The first young man's name was David and he had been in Kiev for almost two years and was about to go home, the other young man’s name was Ken and he had just gotten to Kiev. Colleen and I prayed for Alexander before we left and also asked the two young men to pray with us as well. Knowing a little bit about the Mormom belief and the difference between thier belief and Christianity, we just prayed for power of Jesus and the Holy Spirit over all of us and beleived that they would all know the real Jesus Christ and that the spirit of truth would flood their body. Here is a great picture of Colleen and me in the market trying on our new hats and gas mask. I think I look great! 
After spending around one hour at the market we then went to have lunch and Colleen & Nat met a man in the line of the restaurant from Poland (he had a shirt that said Mercy Ship on it so Colleen went to talk to him). He was with a group of 12 people from Poland and one man from Denmark that were going to a conference that was lead by Messianic Jewish believers. We all connected after eating lunch and prayed with them in the restaurant for blessing for all and that what they were doing as well as us would be blessed and would be fruitful, it was awesome! As we talked to the first man Colleen and Nat met with the shirt (his name was Martin) he told us that the spiritual state of Poland was not really deep, but that God was changing people’s hearts and he was preaching the truth to as many people as he c
ould along with the people in his church.After lunch we left Pastor Yuri and Oksana (and two other ladies from their church in Moldova) and headed to the airport. We ate dinner next to the airport and took our flight to Donaskt around 9pm. While on the plane we were able to witness to pilot from the airlines we were on, (he was flying home from a meeting in Kiev) and gave him the gospel. As we talked to him his heart opened up and he saw a need to have a real relationship with God through Jesus. It was a divine meeting since his father had left his mother when he was one year old and he has not talked to him ever. This young pilot was orphaned by his dad, just like the orphans that Orphans Promise helps around the world. When you think about it, we are all really orphaned if we do not know our heavenly father. We lead him in the sinner’s prayer once we got off the plane and we have his e-mail to stay in contact with him, his name was Andrew, please pray for him. We got picked up at the airport and Pastor Oleg drove us to our hotel, another late night, we went to bed around 3am.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Our Schedule
Just wanted to give an update on our trip and what we have tentatively planned so people can pray for us and follow us. If you want to see the cities we will be in, click on the maps and they will get larger. We will update as much as possible:
Sunday/Monday: June 21st and 22nd-Leave from Dayton at 6:50pm to Detroit. Leave Detroit at 9:00pm and fly to Amsterdam over night and then on to Kiev and arrive at 4pm on Monday afternoon.
Tuesday: June 23rd-Go to Orphans Promise Training Center for orphan kids, Medical Center and Medical Clinic. May visit an orphanage if we have time. Monday night we fly from Kiev south to Donetsk. Arrive around 10pm.
Wednesday: June 24th-Donetsk Training Center and Children's Transition Home. Meet with Pastor Oleg and see Fitness Center-Orphan Kids Work at Center. 3 hr drive to Berdyansk
Thursday: June 25th-Visit Berdyansk Training Center, Transition living apartments, microenterprise business for graduates (we will also visit the orphanage that the kids that are in the training center lived)
Friday: June 26th-drive to Zaporizhya, Visit baby orphanage where Orphans Promise built a social rehab for moms, then drive to Donetsk (2 hrs). Fly to Yerevan 11pm, arrive at 3am in the morning, we are now in Armenia
Saturday: June 27th-11am-Attend Church. Meeting with Pastors
Sunday: June 28th-8am Leave Yerevan to Vanadzor, 10am Church, Meet with Pastors to talk about building training center for vulnerable kids. Possible Orphanage Visit.
Monday: June 29th-Meet Families that are living in Shipping Containers
Tuesday: June 30th-Head back to the USA through Amsterdam and Detroit.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Preparing For Our Trip to the Ukraine and Armenia
Just wanted to get to everyone that watched our blog to Haiti and let you know that Colleen and I are heading to the Ukraine and Armenia on June 21st with our dear friends from Orphans Promise Yuri and Natalyia Khomiak (we can't wait to spend time with them!!!). We will be heading from Dayton to Detroit (hooking up with Yuri and Nat from their flight from Norfolk) and then flying overnight to Amsterdam and then to Kiev. I will post the total schedule of events sometime this week. We would ask for all that are watching our blog to please pray for us and our families. The Khomiak's have two beautiful girls that they will be away from and we will be away from our four children as well. Both of us have our mothers watching the kids, so please pray for them as well. Thank you in advance for your prayers.
We are all very excited to see what God will do on this trip.
We are all very excited to see what God will do on this trip.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Home Sweet Home!
Just got home late last night. Yuriy and John went to Miami and Rob, Larry and Christian went through Ft Lauderdale. We will update the blog tonight with the rest of our stories and some pictures. For all of you that watched us and prayed for us, we are all very grateful. We felt your prayers and God hand on us.
We also want to express that this can be you!!! There are so many opportunities to be used by the Lord in short term missions. As I showed my kids the photos this morning, they loved the pictures, but had a hard time comprehending the poverty. The ONLY way to really understand the need, the plight of the orphan and vulnerable children is to see it with your own eyes and touch the kids with your own hands. If anyone that is reading the blog is interested, please contact Christian Bunse at 513-226-0565 or e-mail me at cbunse@acosta.com, I will be glad to give you some ideas on projects that you and your church can do to do a mission project.
Thank you and God Bless!
We also want to express that this can be you!!! There are so many opportunities to be used by the Lord in short term missions. As I showed my kids the photos this morning, they loved the pictures, but had a hard time comprehending the poverty. The ONLY way to really understand the need, the plight of the orphan and vulnerable children is to see it with your own eyes and touch the kids with your own hands. If anyone that is reading the blog is interested, please contact Christian Bunse at 513-226-0565 or e-mail me at cbunse@acosta.com, I will be glad to give you some ideas on projects that you and your church can do to do a mission project.
Thank you and God Bless!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Celebration
The walk to the dam for the Baptisms. All the people walked down from the mission to the dam and the Haitian people played music.
Water Baptisms
Just got back from doing water baptisms. Rob got to help out with the baptism. There were 5 water baptism. Donald Curtis from Children's Life line went down with all of the Haitians that were at the Revival along with the Americans. It was awesome!!!
Haitian Lady at the Revival
There was just a lady at the revival with her baby, she has 6 other kids at home and she wanted to give her seventh child to the mission (8 month old baby). She said that she was running out of milk and she had the other 6 kids at home that she need to take care of and did not have a lot of food. If someone would take the baby, she would give it up right now. Her husband has left her as well. She does not have food.
Please pray for her
Please pray for her
Pictures of Elder Home at NW Christian Haiti Mission
These are the wonderful senoir from the center. These are wonderful sprited people that help out with what they can at the mission. Janiel wants them to have dignaty. Just think, in Haiti, they don't have much food to eat, so if you are a senior, you are left to die unless a family member takes care of you. How awesome is God that NW Haiti Christian Mission would care for this people group.
Pictures of the Team with the Kids
Some pictures at NW Christian Haiti Mission at the kid orphanage (babies to 3 year olds). Larry, John and me (Christian).
Pictures from Northwest Haiti Mission
Here are some photos from yesterday. First is a premature baby that weights 2 1/2 pounds. This is the benefit of the birthing center. The mission is getting more and more premature babies and they think it is due to the lack of food after the hurricane. The mothers are noting eating since there is not a lot of food and the babies do not develop. The second photo is from the special needs orphanage.
More of our Drive through the River
Check out the hurst at the end of the video. Cars stall trying ot make it through.
Driving Through A River-WOW!
This was crazy, the only way to get to one of the missions was to drive through this river.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
What a Wonderful Day!!!
Since the last blog last night we have had a great day on Saturday. We spent the day at the NWHM and got to see the entire facility. Janiel has a great heart (he runs the mission). Here is what he has in his Saint Louise mission site (this is the main campus). 1) Baby Orphanage-this holds kids from babies to around 3 years old. After 3 years old, the kids then go out to the new facility in the country around 2 1/2 hour drive. 2) Senior Center-on the facility is a center for older people that cannot take care of themselves. They have rock in chairs like Cracker Barrel and they do different things to keep them busy. This was awesome to see this people group that in the Haitian society would not be much use, find worth. Some of the seniors are blind and have other issues. 3) Birthing Center-There is a center for women to have babies in a clean setting. Before the center, the women were having babies on the ground and getting sick after delivering the babies and in a lot of cases dying and leaving kids orphaned. Now they can have their baby in a clean sterile setting. There were two babies that needed to oxygenate to survive. One was 2 1/2 pounds and the other came in last night as was 4 1/2 pounds. Janeil kept the generators running to keep the babies oxygen running so the babies did not die. They had a baby die a few days ago that was premature, that made all of us very sad. They facilitate 3-4 births a day. 4) Special needs orphanage-The have around 10-13 kids that have special needs. You can imagine that these kids in Haiti are really just left out in society to just die. The kids had a variety of issues, from mental health to physical needs. We discussed a vision from some conversation we had to have physical and occupational therapist from the US come in and work to help these kids' to help them develop. Janiel believes that if they get this type of therapy, some of them can possible get jobs like brick laying (this would be for some, not all, but they can still have a purpose in their lives). The mission could take more special needs kids, but they currently need more space. 5) Medical Facility-they are building a full medical facility, they have a air condition lab as well. They are not too far off get this completed, but they would be able to do surgeries and emergency services. There is not one in the area doing this at all, especially free. It was really cool. 6) Eye Examination Center-They have eye examination rooms that doctors come in a do basic eye care, but also will do cataract surgery. 7) Dentist Facility-They do root canals and other procedures to help people with oral teeth issues. The say the Haitians have a high tolerance for pain during these procedures. I think they are all just happy to have this service. 8) Auto Shop-Since they have HORRIBLE roads, they have to have people (volunteers from the US) come in a rebuild and maintain their automobiles. It was pretty complex, especially for NW part of Haiti.
We did devotionals last night and this morning with the group from the states that were in along with the missionaries that live at the mission. We sang hymns which was really awesome. We left the mission after lunch and then took the hour or so drive back to the airport. The run way in Port-Au-Paix was a street with houses on it. When the plane takes off we pass cars that are on the side of the run way and people are watching on the roadside as we take off. We just cleared the houses (really) when we took off. We landed in Port-Au-Prince around 3pm and then went to another orphanage outside of Port-Au-Prince. I will talk more about that tomorrow, there was a lot more God stuff at the small orphanage we saw after our flight. The good thing is that we got to hook up with Rob again, he is doing fine and had a great time when we were gone. Rob got to hand out "Love Bundles" to the kids at the Christian Lifeline Mission and also got to see two cows slaughtered for the third night of the revival that is taking place tonight (I won't post pictures of the cow being slaughtered, ha, ha). There were also many couples that got married tonight at the mission, it is raining now, and most of us are very tired and beat up from the bad, bad roads.
We love you all, thanks for reading our blog, especially our families. We miss them and can't wait to come back home and kiss them all.
We did devotionals last night and this morning with the group from the states that were in along with the missionaries that live at the mission. We sang hymns which was really awesome. We left the mission after lunch and then took the hour or so drive back to the airport. The run way in Port-Au-Paix was a street with houses on it. When the plane takes off we pass cars that are on the side of the run way and people are watching on the roadside as we take off. We just cleared the houses (really) when we took off. We landed in Port-Au-Prince around 3pm and then went to another orphanage outside of Port-Au-Prince. I will talk more about that tomorrow, there was a lot more God stuff at the small orphanage we saw after our flight. The good thing is that we got to hook up with Rob again, he is doing fine and had a great time when we were gone. Rob got to hand out "Love Bundles" to the kids at the Christian Lifeline Mission and also got to see two cows slaughtered for the third night of the revival that is taking place tonight (I won't post pictures of the cow being slaughtered, ha, ha). There were also many couples that got married tonight at the mission, it is raining now, and most of us are very tired and beat up from the bad, bad roads.
We love you all, thanks for reading our blog, especially our families. We miss them and can't wait to come back home and kiss them all.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Our Day Up in North West Haiti
Our day started out early. We had to be up at 5:30am to head to the airport. We had to leave one of our team members (Rob) back due to an issue with his stomach (may have had some bad water).
Got to the airport and our flight was delayed one hour. The runway was filled with waste from an overspill that happened due to hard rains the night before. We final got up in the air on a 20 seat prop plane and flew up to NW Haiti, specifically Port-au-paix. We were pick up by Janiel who runs the NW Haiti Mission. Our first stop was to a small sea town and a mission location for NW Haiti Mission (NWHM) that they had just started a few years ago. This area had gotten hit hard by a CAT-4 Hurricane last September that wiped out most of the lower houses in the town along with 400 animals and 10 people that got swept out to sea and died. We pick up a young missionary that is from Lexington, Curtis, and he went with us to see the feeding location. The food that got feed to the kids was the food that NWHM received from Kids Against Hunger (Larry B) and that Orphans Promise helped with the shipping. The took at least 1 1/2 hours and was on the roughest road that most of us had ever been on. We had to drive through a river, yes, you heard me, right through a river. We also saw people walking on the roadside, riding donkeys and a ton of kids waved at us and yelled "Bloncs" which means white during our entire driving trip. The kids do not seem to see too many white people so they were so excited to see us drive by and all of us waved at them.
When we got the NWHM campus (one of many), we saw the kids and they were getting feed rice from Kids Against Hunger. It was very sad to see them lined up and as their name was called, they would head up and get their food. Some of the kids do not eat but once a day! We did our video interview with a women that has seven kids she is responsible for, most of them are her grandchildren since her own children cannot afford to take care of them and have to go to another city to find work. This lady only eats once a day if she is lucky and most of that food comes from the feeding centers. She was only 41 and she looked at least 61.
After we did our filming, we ate lunch and then went to head to an orphanage that NWHM runs. We drove at least one hour and hit a road that has too wet and muddy to head down or back up. We had to drive back and could not go. We did get to see a market (this was incredible). The market was packed and the people looked at us and yelled and waved. Only a few people seemed to have an issue with us, but most were waving and also asking for money. The drive was really a blast, it was like driving through the African ride at Animal Kingdom, but real, and much more exciting.
Finally we ended the night in the city of St. Louie. this is the main campus for NWHM. We will see a baby orphanage and a birthing center tomorrow and then head back to Port-Au-Prince. I will include some photos as well later. We love you all and miss our family. God is so good, this is such a great experience and the need for these people and especially the kids is so great.
Got to the airport and our flight was delayed one hour. The runway was filled with waste from an overspill that happened due to hard rains the night before. We final got up in the air on a 20 seat prop plane and flew up to NW Haiti, specifically Port-au-paix. We were pick up by Janiel who runs the NW Haiti Mission. Our first stop was to a small sea town and a mission location for NW Haiti Mission (NWHM) that they had just started a few years ago. This area had gotten hit hard by a CAT-4 Hurricane last September that wiped out most of the lower houses in the town along with 400 animals and 10 people that got swept out to sea and died. We pick up a young missionary that is from Lexington, Curtis, and he went with us to see the feeding location. The food that got feed to the kids was the food that NWHM received from Kids Against Hunger (Larry B) and that Orphans Promise helped with the shipping. The took at least 1 1/2 hours and was on the roughest road that most of us had ever been on. We had to drive through a river, yes, you heard me, right through a river. We also saw people walking on the roadside, riding donkeys and a ton of kids waved at us and yelled "Bloncs" which means white during our entire driving trip. The kids do not seem to see too many white people so they were so excited to see us drive by and all of us waved at them.
When we got the NWHM campus (one of many), we saw the kids and they were getting feed rice from Kids Against Hunger. It was very sad to see them lined up and as their name was called, they would head up and get their food. Some of the kids do not eat but once a day! We did our video interview with a women that has seven kids she is responsible for, most of them are her grandchildren since her own children cannot afford to take care of them and have to go to another city to find work. This lady only eats once a day if she is lucky and most of that food comes from the feeding centers. She was only 41 and she looked at least 61.
After we did our filming, we ate lunch and then went to head to an orphanage that NWHM runs. We drove at least one hour and hit a road that has too wet and muddy to head down or back up. We had to drive back and could not go. We did get to see a market (this was incredible). The market was packed and the people looked at us and yelled and waved. Only a few people seemed to have an issue with us, but most were waving and also asking for money. The drive was really a blast, it was like driving through the African ride at Animal Kingdom, but real, and much more exciting.
Finally we ended the night in the city of St. Louie. this is the main campus for NWHM. We will see a baby orphanage and a birthing center tomorrow and then head back to Port-Au-Prince. I will include some photos as well later. We love you all and miss our family. God is so good, this is such a great experience and the need for these people and especially the kids is so great.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Working hard for the stories and getting details
John has had his pad and pen by his side all day long. Here is a photo of him writing down his thoughts for a good story. My job tomorrow is to get more pictures of Yuri, he is always on the move getting photos.
Video from the Conference Service Tonight
These girls came down from the mountians 5 hours to sing at the revival.
Our First Full Day
Lots to talk about. We got up this morning and had breakfast. Then we got to see the medical mission and meet the doctors that are here from the US (a few from Monroe, Michigan). Lots of kids and babies, a lady with a leg that was burned and had a rapping on it. The mission charges around $1.00 for the service just to give the people dignity. In the medical mission, each person receives the gospel before they get their medical service. The medical mission is also stocked with Pharmaceuticals to help people with all different things. The next closest medical facility is one hour 1/2 away in Port-Au-Prince. Children's Lifeline also feeds around 1500 adults and kids per day (5-Days a week). Haiti women work in the mission make the food for the kids. The feeding helps not just people in the village right around the mission, but they also feed people in the mountains. These people come down 2 to 5 hours to get food. The mission also has a Christian school that has classes up to 5th grade. They are trying to expand the school up to the 8th grade by next fall. Children's Lifeline hires around 60 people from the community. The mission also has some vocational training for the people/kids in the community. They have training for block making and sewing. The students make up to 350 blocks for building per day. This skill is something that helps the people make money and gives them a skill that will help them for life. The sewing area trains young and old women to make bags that they can now sell to help them take care of their needs. We also went out today and saw a piece of land the Children's Lifeline owns in the next community. They now have 108 kids that are getting a Christian Education. Their long term vision is to build a school on the propriety to add another 200 kids plus. This project will cost $40,000.
The other cool thing today we got to see was the dam. Water from the mountains flows into canals that were made in the 60's by the peace core. It was really cool. The Haitian kids jumped into the water and started swimming. The kids are awesome, we all want to take them home with us. They are so beautiful, and all our hearts hurt that they are in such a poor situation.
Right now we are getting ready for what the mission calls a conference. It is like a big tent revival. As I am writing this, they are sing worship music Haitian style. It is cool.
We head to NW Haiti tomorrow am at 8:15am and arrive by plane in NW Haiti at 8:50am. We will stay with Northwest Haiti Mission until Saturday 2:10PM and will arrive back in Port-Au-Prince around 2:50pm. We will drive to see a small orphanage with 13 kids. A lady contact Orphans Promise for help, her husband died and she is really hurting for funding. Pray that God helps her and the kids.
I am hoping that we have Internet in NW Haiti, if so, I will send another blog.
Love you all from the team and God Bless. We miss you all.
The other cool thing today we got to see was the dam. Water from the mountains flows into canals that were made in the 60's by the peace core. It was really cool. The Haitian kids jumped into the water and started swimming. The kids are awesome, we all want to take them home with us. They are so beautiful, and all our hearts hurt that they are in such a poor situation.
Right now we are getting ready for what the mission calls a conference. It is like a big tent revival. As I am writing this, they are sing worship music Haitian style. It is cool.
We head to NW Haiti tomorrow am at 8:15am and arrive by plane in NW Haiti at 8:50am. We will stay with Northwest Haiti Mission until Saturday 2:10PM and will arrive back in Port-Au-Prince around 2:50pm. We will drive to see a small orphanage with 13 kids. A lady contact Orphans Promise for help, her husband died and she is really hurting for funding. Pray that God helps her and the kids.
I am hoping that we have Internet in NW Haiti, if so, I will send another blog.
Love you all from the team and God Bless. We miss you all.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
John and Yuri after dinner
Yuri and John after dinner tonight. They really are having a good time even though the picture seems like they are serious. We are all heading to bed now.
Reading the Word
Rob reading the word at the Hotel at the Airport in Detroit before we leave. We got 3 hours of sleep
From Haiti with Love
We all finally got in today. Larry, Rob and Christian got in around 3pm, while Yuri and John got in around 7pm. The drive was rough, but seeing the people is amazing. The Haiti people seem to be so far in the past as it pertains to our standards in the US, but they all seem happy (the kids, not all the adults). I did feel a bit of the satanic impact of the country when we landed at the airport. Childrens Lifeline has been awesome! We just had a great Haitian dinner. Our entire team is talking and getting to know all of the people that are here. There are a lot of Americans here, they are having a revival and hundreds of Haitian are showing up tomorrow morning at 5am. God is good! We will talk to Childrens Lifeline and see what they are doing to help the Haiti Orphans, tomorrow will be a busy day. We will also go and meet with the towns witch doctor as well and get a better understanding of the mix of Christianity and Voodo that exists in Haiti and this area. We all miss our family and love them very much.
Love from Haiti
Love from Haiti
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Winning Haiti from Satan to Christ
Below is a report from Christian World News. If you click the link, you can see the TV report.
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/231322.aspx
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and is getting poorer every day.
Half the population is under-nourished. One in five children dies before he or she reaches five. The majority in the country don't have access to clean water.
But the nation's top evangelical leader says there are deeper issues that plague his nation.
Haitians made a blood pact with the devil 200 years ago after a witchdoctor by the name of Boukman dedicated the island to Satan.
Lesly - not his real name - is a voodoo priest. He says that is his spirit name. Lesly runs a voodoo temple on the outskirts of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.
He says for the last three decades, he has tended to the desperate needs of many Haitians.
"Many come to me with all kinds of sickness. Some have evil spirits in them," the voodoo priest said. "They ask me to solve their problems and I do. I also help them get voodoo spirits that can look after them in the future."
One Haitan sees the future of his nation in a different light.
"There's a saying in this country that Haiti is 70 percent Catholic and 30 percent Protestant and 100 percent voodoo! But things are changing," the native said. "An army of believers says it is enough that for 200 years, this nation has suffered under the curse of voodoo. Things are changing."
Spearheading that change is Pastor Chavannes Jeune, Haiti's most prominent evangelical leader. On most days, you'll find him traveling around the island with one goal in mind.
"What we are trying to do to our country is to claim it back for the Lord."
Thousands of Christians are joining that campaign with fervent prayer and fasting.
Pastor Jeune visited CBN News in our studios. He talked with Reporter Wendy Griffith about how the the island has changed in recent years. Below is a transcript of that conversation. You can watch the entire interview by clicking play above.
Jeune: Haiti was called a voodoo country, but now I think the Christians are taking over because we have about 42 to 46 percent Christians in the country.
Wendy: And you're seeing a revival now?
Jeune: We are on the verge of revival because their is a lot of room given to spiritual things, even at the national palace we've been granted permission to organize a monthly prayer service, every first thursday of the month, we do that also at the Prime Minister's office and at the ministry of Justice, and also the Parliament, the Congress is open to that to.
Wendy: What impact is that having on the Haitian government?
Jeune: I think they recognize that the current stability and security that is being developed is the result of the Christian prayers and the effort and the will of the government to create this environment.
Wendy: What would you say Pastor Jeune are Haiti's greatest needs?
Jeune: I think the greatest need is, you know, the poverty is so rampant, and we need to create jobs because 80 percent of the people are not working, and the literacy rate is very weak, because it's only 35 percent of the people that can read and write.
Wendy: How is the church on the ground in Haiti helping meet some of those dire needs in Haiti.
Jeune: Well you know that the church is mostly from the poor, bottom line, and I think that the church is doing its best, like in school, we have 39 percent of all the elementary school -- that's the highest percent in the country -- the government only has 11 percent. Also, a lot of development in social work is being conducted by the church in health and in microcredit and in a lot of things like that.
Wendy: Well let me ask you, what can Christians here in the United States and throughout the world do to help Haiti.
Jeune: First, I think that they should continue to pray for Haiti because we are on the verge of a revival and we want that revival to break through.
Wendy: Well, we will pray for Haiti and we thank you so much for being with us.
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/231322.aspx
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and is getting poorer every day.
Half the population is under-nourished. One in five children dies before he or she reaches five. The majority in the country don't have access to clean water.
But the nation's top evangelical leader says there are deeper issues that plague his nation.
Haitians made a blood pact with the devil 200 years ago after a witchdoctor by the name of Boukman dedicated the island to Satan.
Lesly - not his real name - is a voodoo priest. He says that is his spirit name. Lesly runs a voodoo temple on the outskirts of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.
He says for the last three decades, he has tended to the desperate needs of many Haitians.
"Many come to me with all kinds of sickness. Some have evil spirits in them," the voodoo priest said. "They ask me to solve their problems and I do. I also help them get voodoo spirits that can look after them in the future."
One Haitan sees the future of his nation in a different light.
"There's a saying in this country that Haiti is 70 percent Catholic and 30 percent Protestant and 100 percent voodoo! But things are changing," the native said. "An army of believers says it is enough that for 200 years, this nation has suffered under the curse of voodoo. Things are changing."
Spearheading that change is Pastor Chavannes Jeune, Haiti's most prominent evangelical leader. On most days, you'll find him traveling around the island with one goal in mind.
"What we are trying to do to our country is to claim it back for the Lord."
Thousands of Christians are joining that campaign with fervent prayer and fasting.
Pastor Jeune visited CBN News in our studios. He talked with Reporter Wendy Griffith about how the the island has changed in recent years. Below is a transcript of that conversation. You can watch the entire interview by clicking play above.
Jeune: Haiti was called a voodoo country, but now I think the Christians are taking over because we have about 42 to 46 percent Christians in the country.
Wendy: And you're seeing a revival now?
Jeune: We are on the verge of revival because their is a lot of room given to spiritual things, even at the national palace we've been granted permission to organize a monthly prayer service, every first thursday of the month, we do that also at the Prime Minister's office and at the ministry of Justice, and also the Parliament, the Congress is open to that to.
Wendy: What impact is that having on the Haitian government?
Jeune: I think they recognize that the current stability and security that is being developed is the result of the Christian prayers and the effort and the will of the government to create this environment.
Wendy: What would you say Pastor Jeune are Haiti's greatest needs?
Jeune: I think the greatest need is, you know, the poverty is so rampant, and we need to create jobs because 80 percent of the people are not working, and the literacy rate is very weak, because it's only 35 percent of the people that can read and write.
Wendy: How is the church on the ground in Haiti helping meet some of those dire needs in Haiti.
Jeune: Well you know that the church is mostly from the poor, bottom line, and I think that the church is doing its best, like in school, we have 39 percent of all the elementary school -- that's the highest percent in the country -- the government only has 11 percent. Also, a lot of development in social work is being conducted by the church in health and in microcredit and in a lot of things like that.
Wendy: Well let me ask you, what can Christians here in the United States and throughout the world do to help Haiti.
Jeune: First, I think that they should continue to pray for Haiti because we are on the verge of a revival and we want that revival to break through.
Wendy: Well, we will pray for Haiti and we thank you so much for being with us.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Getting Ready for Trip to Haiti
There are five of us getting ready this weekend for our trip to Haiti. I just had a conversation with the team in Northwest Haiti to plan our visit. Also had some great conversation with the team just outside of Port-au-Prince at Christian Lifeline International. We leave on Wednesday Feb. 25th and get into Haiti around 12:30pm and the other team around 4pm.
More to come.
God Bless
More to come.
God Bless
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