Orphans Promise

IHOP Poland!

2011-07-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

Christian (my 15 year old son), myself and Nataliya Khomyak have been in Poland since Friday. We are visiting some friends that have an International House of Prayer room in Warsaw and Wroclaw Poland. We got in late on Friday, but got to experience 2-hours of prayer and worship this morning. It was a great time to soak in God's word, worship and pray. After we were done we took a five hour train ride from Warsaw to Wroclaw this afternoon and will be spending Sunday with the IHOP team in Wroclaw. We unexpectedly made the decision to head to Germany tomorrow with the Wroclaw team to visit the city of Herrnhut, Germany. Herurnhut is the center of the Moravian Church; this movement started in 14th century and still has a presence today. One of the key achievements of the Moravians was 24/7 continuous prayer for 100 years (they did this in the 18th Century)! We are in Poland on behave of Orphans Promise to pray about a partnership with one or both of these IHOP ministries to help orphans, vulnerable children, and women that are human and sex trafficked through Poland. Maciej and Dorota Wolski are leaders in the IHOP in Warsaw. They have such a great heart to serve the Lord and pray for Warsaw and the people of Poland. Currently they are praying and worshipping 4 hours a day. More updates when we get internet. Thanks for your prayers for our trip.

Got to Miami

2011-06-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

Were in Miami tonight, will leave for Haiti tomorrow morning at 9:30am. We get to see Raymonda at the airport and have her for 5 days. We will be doing work at the mission and having some meetings on the adoption and projects. We leave for the Domincan on Thrusday hoping to help children that are being human trafficked. More to come!

First Day with Raymonda

2011-01-13T18:31:00.001-08:00

Tried to post a picture, but the internet is too slow. Were in PortauPrince at the Orphanage that Raymonda is staying until we can get her home. She is sleeping in our room while we are in Haiti. She has a funny little personality. She is 22 months, but is behind a bit in her development. Having her at the orphanage and being able to get nutritional food is really going to help her grow. Here stomach sticks out due to the lack of nutrition over the past 22 months of life. Her mother died 3 months after she was born and her father died before she was even born. In most cases, children like Raymonda would die. Tried to post a picture, but the internet is too slow. We are in Port-au-Prince at the Orphanage that Raymonda is staying until we can get her home. She is sleeping in our room while we are in Haiti. She has a funny little personality. She is 22 months, but is behind a bit in her development. Having her at the orphanage and being able to get nutritional food is really going to help her grow. Her stomach distended due to the lack of nutrition over the past 22 months of life. Raymonda’s father died before she was born and her month died 3 months after she gave birth. In most cases, children like Raymonda (she cannot walk yet due to the lack of nutrition), die before the age of 5 years old. In fact, 1 out of every 5 children in Haiti die before the age of 5 years old, and a lot of these children that die are facing the same challenges as Raymonda. God is good, we are praying for 100% healing of her legs and full recovery from any issues she has from lack of food. We take her to the doctor tomorrow for blood work for the adoption and also see the lawyer on the Haitian end. Thanks for your prayers. Please pray for our four children at home in Ohio, we miss them very much!

The Most Incredible Experience I Have Ever Had! Adrian Center

2010-12-02T21:06:00.001-08:00

This trip was the most incredible experience I have ever had. God revealed himself to me and opened my eyes in so many ways. The night Mrs. Bunse told me about this awesome experience and invited me to go, I immediately felt God speaking to my heart. I knew He wanted me to trust Him, take this opportunity,and ignore all the doubts and fears racing through my mind. In just a few short weeks, God provided all the funds.
The day we arrived, we had a tour of the mission, then went to the village. I instantly fell in love with the people and all of the kids. They are the most beautiful people I have ever seen. They are so genuine and the joy in their smile is unforgettable. These people have so little, yet they are always willing to give more and help out in every way they can. As soon as there was a need and work was to be done, there was always a Haitian there ready to help. Everything we did was appreciated, even the smallest acts. My favorite part of every day, was watching the children go to school. When they stepped inside the gates in their adorable school uniforms, excitement would be on their faces, as they got ready to learn. It made me think of most Americans and how they view school. Every morning I wake up and complain, as I have to face another day of learning. However, with these people it is a privilege to go to school. In just one week I realized I need to trust God in whatever he asks from me and to not take for granted all that I have been blessed with. The people were so inspiring.
Leaving an experience like this is always the hardest part, especially after seeing so many needs that still need to be met. I did not want to leave those people and I wanted to spend everyday with those amazing kids. Even though it's been a few weeks, I have not lost the excitement of my experiences when I first arrived back from Haiti. I talk about it every time I get the chance, to anyone that will listen. I'm pretty sure I am annoying my family by my endless stories of Haiti. But I plan on going back as soon as it's possible; and this time, I hope it's much longer than one short week. I am graduating from high school this spring and I am not still not sure what God's plans are for me. I have a strong feeling it's going to do something involving missions, though. But I sure hope He wants me to go back to Haiti as much as I want to. (:

The Team Travels Home

2010-11-17T11:02:00.001-08:00

Our final day on the trip was spent in travel. We got up early, ate a quick breakfast, stripped our beds, packed our bags on the trucks, and headed out amidst many hugs and tears. The drive to the airport seemed quicker than the drive just a week ago. We were able to get one last look at the country we had all grown to love in such a short time. We quickly unloaded at the airport, headed through security and customs, and soon boarded our planes.

It was interesting to note that the flight from Haiti to Florida was filled mostly with Haitians and missionaries, sprinkled with a few tourists. I know that Haiti appreciates the money brought in by tourism, but those people were a sharp contrast from the rest of us. We used the opportunity in the planes and in the airport to witness to people about what we had just experienced. Many eyes were opened to the poverty and destruction we had seen, but we were also able to share how Jesus was working in Haiti.

After a long day of travel, we were all glad to be home in our comfortable beds. Despite the comforts of home, we would not soon forget our trip and all we had seen and experienced. I know several of us are already planning our next trip back.

Day 7-Last Full Day is Always Tough

2010-11-13T14:44:00.000-08:00

After our morning devotion most of the team packed Love Bundles and VBS supplies for our visits to the orphanages. Several of us went into the village to install a door that we built for a widow; she has been living in her home without a door and only had an old sheet to cover the opening.

Following that, we assembled the team and went to the first stop - Barbancourt School. A well kept property in a neighboring village owned and managed by Lifeline. We sorted the love bundles by age and gender and proceeded to distribute them to the youngest children first from preschool to 6th grade. The children were beautiful, dressed in their uniforms, they smiled and carried their packages while posing for a quick photo. Even the teachers and cooks received the love bundles. All were very thankful.

Our next visit was to a Tent Orphanage also supported by LifeLine. Up until May of this year the 32 orphans that lived there were living and sleeping in tents. Now several beautiful dorms are providing shelter and living conditions to these beautiful children. After a brief worship service we began our VBS program. We split-up the girls and boys and began crafts. Our team members either worked with the girls building colorful bracelets or the boys making necklaces. They all participated and appreciated their new gift. The team was then treated to a drama by a local youth troop that performed an awesome drama about the difficulties of life’s troubles and temptations to the backdrop of the song “Everything” by Lifehouse. It was awesome. After that we handed out candy to all the children and headed out.

Our last stop was for a little R&R after a very busy week; our destination was Wahoo Beach Club in the Northwest corner of the island. We had a great time snorkeling around beautiful coral reefs, colorful parrot fish, and even saw a few jellyfish. After snorkeling we had a great dinner of fresh seafood and did a little shopping from the beach vendors waiting like barracuda.
We had a wonderful day, a week of blessings that will last forever, and a desire to bless Lifeline and the Haitian people.

More Trucks!

2010-11-12T18:28:00.001-08:00

Day #6 - This morning started off with two trucks full of Kids Against Hunger boxes showing up just as everyone started to eat breakfast. Each box contains 33 packets of high-nutrition vitamin fortified rice-soy casserole mix, each packet feeding a meal for six people. So once again we dropped everything and headed down to unload. It took just under two hours with great teamwork. We were able to then finish breakfast and head up to the prayer rock. This morning we were asked to share how this trip compared to our expectations. It was an amazing time of sharing and learning more about everyone. I am so very thankful to have been blessed with the opportunity to come here and share this experience with such a nice group of people. It really feels like family.

We were then off to VBS with the 2nd and 3rd graders. What a fun and uplifting experience it was to work with the kids. We taught them Jesus Loves Me with hand signs. It was awesome how quickly they learned and how excited they were to have us there with them. After the song we told them how much God loves us all and how He makes us all unique. We also told them how happy we are to be here talking to them about Jesus and how much He loves us. Then we helped them paint wood necklaces in the shape of a hand. The children then put their thumbprint on them to show how unique and special they are to God. They were so excited to put their thumbprints on, they were jumping up and down all over the place.

After VBS we headed over to the storage building, next to where the much needed new warehouse will be, to hand out love bundles to the school children. A love bundle is a pack of age appropriate supplies including a towel, peanut butter, school supplies, clothing, toys, toiletrees, etc. It was so wonderful to see the children's faces as we handed them out. During this time there were some kids from the village on the outside of the compound fence watching and they caught Pat’s eye so she had someone bring them around so we could give them love bundles as well. That was really special, they were so grateful to have been included. Those sweet sad little faces staring at us from the other side of the fence became faces of joy. I really am struck by the hearts of those that run this place and how quickly needs are addressed and taken care of. It so touches my heart and makes me want to stay here forever to serve alongside these wonderful people.

After lunch we went to a tent city near Titanyen to hand out beans and shoes. Once we arrived we sang some songs and then headed to the church which consisted of four poles and some tarps for a covering. We each took turns scooping up cans of beans for each child and then each adult to hand out a total of 500 pounds of beans. What a good feeling to know at least for a day or two these people would have food to eat. Next came the shoes, everyone lined up and we fitted them individually at one of several stations. Unfortunately we ran out of large sizes before everyone received shoes. We had one box of crocs that everyone wanted, the rest were mostly flip flops. There is a tremendous need for school/closed toe shoes here, the kids are not allowed into school without proper attire, flip flops cannot be worn to school. I am going to leave both pairs of closed toed shoes I brought here. When I come back I want to bring a bunch of school appropriate shoes. It is really sad that some people don’t have any shoes at all. It is crazy to see the kids running all over the place on the rocks with no shoes. It almost makes my feet hurt just watching them.

After we were finished at the tent city we headed back to the mission for delicious fried chicken dinner. Its hard not to feel guilty eating some of the meals we have while children are starving throughout the country. Yet we are appreciative of the care we are receiving here and know the mission is being good stewards with what they have been given. After dinner, people were getting showered and relaxing and another two trucks of food showed up that needed to be unloaded right away. These trucks were unloaded by flashlight because there is no electricity in the storage rooms. What a blessing that we have had 6 trucks equaling 3 shipping containers in two days(today's trucks alone contained 144,000 meals!). And what a blessing to have a group here to help unload! Praise God, He is good - All the time!!!!!

Market Day

2010-11-12T06:50:00.000-08:00

Day #5 – Wednesday morning started bright and early with two trucks arriving full of supplies from the US. An average of one container per month is shipped to the mission, full of various supplies. No container is the same. Once it passes through customs, which can take a month or longer, the container is unloaded into two trucks and delivered to the mission. The mission never knows much in advance when a container is due to arrive. When they hear the trucks pulling in the compound, everyone stops work to meet the truck and unload. Generally Haitians are hired to unload the trucks, but today the team was able to unload the truck saving the mission money, which took about 90 minutes of non-stop assembly line work to unload the boxes of t-shirts and shoes, 50 lb bags of rice and beans, and various other supplies.

Once the trucks were unloaded, we ate a quick breakfast, then several members of our team headed into Port Au Prince to run some errands while the remainder of us headed up to the prayer rock for our morning devotional. Praise God the illness that hit a few members of our team yesterday was gone and we were able to get on with our day. Those of us remaining at the mission loaded up the truck for a trip to the market. The market is held only a few days a week in each town. The sights, sounds, and smells were different from anything else we have experienced in the US. This is the main shopping area for the locals and is filled with all manner of food, staples, clothing, etc. We passed everything from small pyramids of grains and vegetables spread on blankets to wheelbarrows of coconuts. Near the water were the charcoal fields where the vendors sell charcoal they have made. Many of the people do not have propane or gas to cook with and use charcoal instead. Much of the charcoal is brought in from nearby islands because there are few trees left in Haiti to make charcoal from. The lack of trees is one of the reasons mudslides are in issue here. There is nothing to hold the soil on the hillsides. On the way back from the market, we stopped at a local basket makers to purchase baskets made from banana leaves. After lunch, we painted some more classrooms, played with the children, and built a front door for one of the villagers whose cardboard door had disintegrated.

For dinner, we were treated to an authentic Haitian meal made by one of the local women. Some foods were familiar, others not quite so. Goat, mango, fried plantain, beans and rice were among some of the delicious foods we had to choose from. After feasting we relaxed for the remainder of the evening in a variety of ways – journaling, reviewing our day, star gazing, reading. A couple of the guys from our team attempted to hand wash some of their clothing. A young local boy who frequently helps around the mission, noticed their difficulties and offered to complete the task. Despite the men’s refusal, he insisted, saying “I work for you, Jesus repays me.” At the same time, a man came in with a stab wound. After assessing the injury, the man was driven to a local hospital for stitches. When a villager comes in for assistance, everyone stops what they are doing to help out. Daily we are seeing what it means to live a life for Jesus, something we don’t often remember in the States.

A Hike up the Mountain

2010-11-10T19:27:00.000-08:00

Day #4 – Four AM Wake Up Call – First a quick breakfast and then onto what we thought was going to be an easy hike up the mountain to visit one of the schools the mission supports. We started our hike in the dark and it wasn’t too long before we realized it wasn’t going to be as easy as we thought. Several of our group was already feeling under the weather before we even started, one choosing to stay behind. Once we left the mission compound, the path quickly become rugged and steep. We weren’t even ¼ of the way up before two more members of our group got too sick to continue and turned back with one of the leaders. Several others were feeling ill as well, but were able to continue up the mountain with the help of the teammates. The prayed over each other, cheered one another on with encouraging words, carried backpacks, and even took turns carrying one of the younger girls. It was another great example of the unity amongst the body of Christ.

The scenery was beautiful if we remembered to take our eyes off the path and look up every now and then. The contrast between the beauty of the landscape and the trash strewn along the path was somewhat disconcerting, and the urge to pick up the water bottles and plastic bags was soon replaced by the need to concentrate on breathing and walking. It was humbling to be passed by Haitians of all ages carrying 50 pound buckets of water, bundles of sticks, or bags of bananas running up and down the mountain. And knowing they did this daily was even more humbling. Once we finally reached the top of the mountain two hours later, we were able to see God’s beauty in the beautiful blue of the Caribbean at the foot of the mountains, a striking reminder that He is always present, even amongst the ruin.

Once in the village, we joined the last few school children as they walked to school. We were met inside the school gates by an assembly of children who sang several songs during the morning flag ceremony. While they filed in their classrooms for their school day, we held our morning devotional in the church. Some of the group members shared their testimonies, and we prayed for the school and over the sick team members. We then distributed lollipops to the children, one classroom at a time. These children were different from the children from the village below in that they were much more quiet and reserved, probably a result of minimal interaction with the “Blan” (the “White”). This was the school we had made the benches for and our intention was to deliver them today. The benches were to be brought up the mountain in a truck via a longer route. By the time we were done distributing the candy, the truck had still not arrived and we were concerned that the recent storm activity had washed out that road. At the last minute, the truck arrived and the benches were delivered. We prayed over the pastor and then made our way back down the mountain, letting the two younger girls ride back in the truck. We made a stop at the local voodoo house and were able to talk with the voodoo priest and tour the house. He even allowed us to pray over him before we left. Voodoo is a common belief system in Haiti. The island was dedicated to satan twice in the past; 1991 being the most recent dedication. The walk back down was only slightly easier than the hike up, but what we lost in screaming lungs we made up for in screaming knees. Back at the mission it was a toss up what we wanted more: food or a nap.

After a short siesta, we spent the remainder of the afternoon working on some projects at the mission, building more benches, painting classrooms. Donald Jr, the President of CIL, arrived at the mission after dinner and gave us an overview of the ministry, telling us of its history, and its future goals. We were very thankful for our shower and bed as we ended this amazing yet long and tiring day.

Haiti from a Student’s Perspective

2010-11-10T14:25:00.000-08:00

Haiti is an amazing place. It is very beautiful. We stepped off the plane and it was so sad. Children on the street yelling, “one dollar!” “God bless!” I just wanted to scoop them up and give them everything. We had to take an hour and a half drive to the town we were serving. The road was so bumpy. We got to the village and you hear all the kids yelling and chasing us. There are great people here. They are the nicest people you will ever meet. They will give anything for you. We met Daniel, Mark, Markson, Ensil, Beritone, and Alex. They all will help you if you need any thing. They are also very funny. God has touched my heart so many times this trip. Seeing all the kids, watching them live their lives. If it would be me, I would not make it. They walk with 50 pound things on their head without a problem. Half the children are hungry and the other half get fed by Lifeline. We were helping feed the kids at their lunch time and the difference between the sponsored school kids, and the public kids was amazing. All the school kids were organized and tidy, eating with spoons and manors. Then the populous kids came and it broke my heart. They were eating with there hands and spilling food all over themselves. I saw one girl dropped her food on the dirt floor and pick it up and put it on her plate. I wanted to get her a whole new plate but I knew I couldn’t. we played soccer with a bunch of Haitians and they were really good. Me and another girl are gymnasts. None of them knew what that was so we started doing flip’s and stuff. We drew a crowd. It felt good to make someone’s day.

We hiked up a mountain today. We have made benches for the past few days for the mountain people so we brought them up today. We hiked and someone else brought the benches up on the truck. We were hiking and a girl got sick. She decided to tough it out. She is a really good role model. We all prayed over her and she got better almost instantly. She was still feeling sick when we started again but better than before. It took us two hours to get up the mountain. We got to the school and had a devotional. We were praying over a girl and her family and I started feeling sick. They instantly started praying over me, I felt very loved and special, the color restored in my face and I felt a little better. God does wonders! The girl who was sick and I rode back down in the truck and instantly fell asleep. I woke up and built more benches. I felt A LOT better. We built benches and painted class rooms. Dinner was delicious! We had a ‘meeting’ time and Donald Jr. answered a lot of questions. Tomorrow is market day and also Haitian food dinner. It is so exciting! Haiti is an awesome place. You should come sometime!

- Hannah, age 13

Our First Full Day on the Mission Field

2010-11-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

Day #3-Monday was the first official work day for the team. After an early breakfast, we began our day up at the prayer rock for devotional, worship and prayer where we shared some inspirational words from 2 Chronicles and Hosea. The prayer rock is a large rock at the top of a hill above the main house that is covered with a sugar cane stalk roof and surrounded by benches where we start our day, devoting it to God.

Our first task of the day was to make 10 benches for one of many schools that Children’s International Lifeline (CIL) supports in Haiti. These benches would be going to a mountain village located about five miles from the mission compound. The team worked in unity to plan and build the benches, which incorporate a bench to sit on and a desk top to write on. Some of the team then held Vacation Bible School with 30 first graders, which included a devotional about love and making foam crosses and necklaces, while the rest of us continued to work on the benches. We took breaks to play basketball and soccer with some of the youth and we also observed the feeding of the village children. First the school children were fed. The children that are able to attend the school are those that are sponsored or whose parents can afford to send them. They are clothed in uniforms, provided with school supplies, and fed a hot meal 5 days a week. In addition to the school children, the mission also feeds the “populace” children – those children of the village who did not attend the school. These children are not yet sponsored, but the mission steps out in faith, believing the God will continue to provide for their needs until sponsorship is secured. These children are but a portion of the 3500 children fed a warm meal daily by CIL Haiti.

After working on the benches, we ate lunch and then went for a ride to visit a nearby orphanage, one of the 50 schools and orphanages the mission supports. The orphanage has around 45 children and currently has teams of people from the US that are helping them improve the conditions of the facility. The 15 of us packed snugly into the back of the truck for the cozy yet fun 30 minute drive to the orphanage. We had a great time holding and playing with the children, giving them lollipops and some small toys, sharing the love of Jesus.

After arriving home, we had dinner and talked about the day’s events, sharing our experiences with one another. Throughout the day, many of the Haitian people in the surrounding towns will come to the mission to get help with medical, food and other basic needs. This night after dinner, there was a need to take a sick woman to the hospital in Saint Marc. After carrying the woman through the village on her pallet, and loading her into the back of the truck, Donald Curtis Sr. (he and his wife live at the mission, their son Donald Curtis Jr. is the President of CIL), took one of the team members and 2 Haitians on the dangerous nighttime drive to the hospital. This is no ordinary drive. There are no street lights or traffic rules, many of the cars and motorcycles do not have lights and there are sections where you are required to drive fast to avoid the snipers.

After 60 minutes of prayer filled driving, the crew made it to the hospital and dropped off the patient. The hospital was unlike any in the United States. The sanitary conditions were less than perfect, people were everywhere, cholera victims filling one section. When bringing a patient to the hospital, you are required to bring enough bedding, clothing, food, and water to last for the stay. The protocol before leaving the facility included spraying your shoes with a strong bleach solution to avoid the spread of disease. The group arrived home late after most of us were already in bed, tired from our first long day.

The Children of Haiti are Full of Love

2010-11-08T17:56:00.000-08:00

Day #2. We all got up around 4am (it was daylight savings so we gained one hour and we needed it!), to get to the airport by 5:30am. It was very busy at the airport, but we all got checked in and through security on time. The flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Port-au-Prince is only 90 minutes long!! Such a short trip from one of the poorest countries in the world, it is amazing and hard to comprehend. As we got off the plane we were met by 5 men that were playing Haitian music to welcome the people that had arrived from the US. There was a hat to collect money. For a quick second, I actually thought I was at a paradise Caribbean island and we were headed to the beaches for 6 days of sun and fun.
As we got our bags, Patricia Curtis (her and her husband help run the mission) met us and helped us get our bags organized. It was not too much after we left the airport we were hit with the reality that we were back in Haiti and the need was so great that it is hard to get your arms around. There were kids just outside the airport that were asking for us to respond to them and you could see the need of a country that had been through so much. As we jumped into two trucks and drove to the mission who (it is an hour drive from the airport), many people got their first glimpse of the poverty of Haiti.
We drove by many tent cities that were still being utilized eleven months after the earthquake. There is still an estimated 1.5 million still living in tents. The smells that you get when passing these communities is very hard to explain, there is not restrooms, no sewers, no electricity, nothing but tents made out sticks and canvas tops. I think that many of our team had a hard time comprehending the smells, sights and sounds. The other thing that we got to see was some of the impacts from the earthquake. The mission is approximately 50 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake, but the damage was still very visible in homes and buildings that had been knocked down and damaged by the shaking of the ground.
We unloaded our bags and got situated in our rooms and then had some lunch. Patricia talked to the group and filled us in on the do’s and don’ts and she also shared her heart with all the things that they deal with each and every day. She shared her heart on how the need was so great and also how God had provided for them right after the earthquake when the entire country was shut down and no one knew what was going to happen. Patricia took us for a tour of the grounds and showed us the school, medical facility, church, the cross on the top of the hill and other buildings to help the community.
After we were done checking out the mission, we got to go out to the village. This was an unbelievable experience of children, young and old coming up to all of us, holding our hands, having us lift them up and walking with us. Each child would grab a person and cling on to them. When new kids would see us, they would yell “Blan”, which in Creole means white. These children that have nothing, held on to us like we were their best friends. The love that they showed to our group is indescribable. Many of the children were either naked or had a shirt on with no pants. Some of the children have an orange tint to their hair which means that they are not getting the right nutrition. These same kids that have nothing, were showing us a love that is hard to believe based on the conditions that we were seeing.
After we toured the village, a group of us played basketball and Blake, Christian, Lily, and Hannah played soccer with a group of younger boys from the village. The mission built a large soccer field for the children. All the Haitian kids had flip flops or Crocs to play in, no one had tennis shoes. After the sporting activity we all ate dinner and Patricia went through the week’s schedule of building benches, visiting orphanages, feedings, painting, hiking up to see the mountain families and doing a vacation bible school.
As we were eating dinner, a young missionary that is helping out the mission, Carrie Miller, came in a told us a story that one of the young men that we just got to know (Marck), had a cousin that just died that night. His cousin was just 21 years old and was sick and died. Marck’s cousin lived up in the mountains and had gone to the mission’s doctor to get help a few days before and then went back up to his village in the mountain, but it was too late, he was too sick. This is something that the people of Haiti are very used to and in some cases even expect. The average life expectance is only in the 50’s.
A lot of people talked and shared with each other. We had a long day, and had seen so much in one day that many were tired and went to bed.

Travel Day Has Many Surprises

2010-11-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

Day 1 was a travel day for everyone. We had the majority of the group of 15 people going on the trip fly from Dayton to Baltimore to Ft. Lauderdale yesterday. We did have one coming from Chicago, two from Cincinnati and three from Portland and all of them made it on time and safe (PTL). From the start of our trip God was moving. I had to go back on the shuttle from where we parked our car because we needed some duck tape to make a duffle bag smaller. On the drive back, the lady driving the shuttle asked me where we were going and I told her. I asked her if she knew Jesus and she did. She asked me to pray for her grandson who actually led her to the Lord eleven years ago. She said he had fallen away for his walk and that he really needed prayer. Her church had fasted for him for 3 days and he had recommitted his life to the Lord, but then got put in jail. As she dropped me off to the gate again, I was able to pray with her for her grandson, she was crying. If I would not have had to go back to get the duck tape, we would have never had that conversation.
The next experience was on our flight to Baltimore. For those that don’t know Donna Harnishfeger, she has a BIG heart for our military troops. She sends cards, food, bibles, etc. When she sat down, the person next to her was a man that was in the air force. He was being moved to a US base in London. They talked the entire flight and exchanged addresses. The man also told Donna that she could stay with him and his wife if she was ever over in London. On that same flight, Anthony sat next to a Christian brother who is starting a ministry in the Washington DC area for troubled black youth, they encouraged one another, they exchanged cards and committed to stay in touch and pray for each other.
Our next experience was in the airport in Ft. Lauderdale. Anthony DiPenti got a skycap for all our bags (we all had large suitcase full of clothes, candy, medical supplies, etc). The man that he picked was named William and as we were waiting for our bags, William grabbed out his Bible and was reading it. Anthony and I went up and talked to him and he told us that he was in the process of starting a church and that he was a pastor and evangelist. He really knew that word and encouraged us on our journey to Haiti. We prayed with him and then sat to wait for our transportation to the hotel.
As we were standing at the hotel, there was a man in a wheel chair with two women. My sister-in-law Colette asked me to help them, because the man in the wheelchair had to get up to get in a van. As Anthony, Joe and I helped him, they noticed that they were on the wrong transportation. We sat him back down in his wheelchair. I asked the lady’s who he was with what had happened to him and they told me that they were on a cruise with him and he had a major seizure. He was in his 40’s and was on a cruise for physically challenged people when this happened. These two women said that he had never had a seizure like this and he was not doing well. I asked them if we could pray with him and we all laid hands on him and asked God to heal him. We then helped him get in a cab. The airlines would not put him on a flight since he was so sick, but these women had to get him back to Rhode Island.
I am amazed how God works, we have not even gotten to Haiti to help some of the poorest people in the world and God had us pray and encourage people in the United States. It just goes to show you that there an many people that need God’s love no matter where you are in the world, even in the richest countries, the US. I do believe that we are supposed to help people in our own city, county, state and country. I also believe that we are suppose to also go to the ends of the earth with the gospel as well (the good news), that is why Jesus told his disciples just before he left them and ascended into heaven to be with the father (Acts 1:8-But you receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
We are looking forward to all that God has planned for us in Haiti, but I know that he has already blessed us and we just got started. We thank you all for your prayers; please continue to pray for BIG things in Haiti. I have been praying for salvations and healings as well as showing God’s love to the people of Haiti. Thanks

Getting Ready for Haiti

2010-10-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

We are now 10 days before we leave for Haiti. There will be 15 people heading to Haiti and staying at Children's International Lifeline 50 minutes north of Port-au-Prince. We will be working on projects, playing with kids and sharing the love of Christ with them. I believe that God is going to do some awesome stuff on our trip and our team will be changed by seeing all the need in Haiti. The mission does have some needs and we are trying to collect them before we go, so if you have any, please contact Christian Bunse at 513-226-4123

1. We need some print cartridges for a Hewlett Packard black 98 and color 95. However many you bring would be good we are using this printer for office use as well as school and clinic at the time.

2. We also got a printer it is Hewlett Packard and it is a model 170 the cartridge for it is black 45, and color 23, we are hoping that it will be able to be used in the school if we get cartridges for this one.

3. I also have a family of five that are very poor and they have no good clothes at all, I am sending you the sizes and even if you get some from used clothing or Goodwill that will be fine, as long as they are good quality. Girls size - 10-12, girl size 8, girl size 6 and boy size 5, then there is an 3months, and the mother probably size 7. This little family needs clothes and shoes but I don't know about the shoe size so I will try to help in that myself.

4. If you have some extra shoes of any size that are in good condition we can always use them. You see the children need full shoes for school not sandals or flipflops.

5. Any learning toys or music toys for children would be great. Yes, I know you are going to say they need batteries but it would be great for them to have with the little ones to learn and even the older ones would learn from them.

Thank you so much for asking about the concerns of our beautiful little children that are so needy. May God's Blessings be upon everyone of you!! Patricia”

Man in Armenia needs Prayer for Healing

2010-08-22T15:18:00.001-07:00

Below is an e-mail from a lady in Germany (she is Armenian) that is requesting a prayer for her friend that still lives in Yerevan. He is dying and needs prayer and help now. Please pray for him and if you would want to help at all financially, please let me know.

My name Zhanna. A week ago I learned that our friend is seriously ill. His
name is Wanik is 34 years old and lives in Armenia. He is married and has
three and a half daughter. Now he is very ill and has no prospect of medical
treatment. He is suffering from gastro-intestinal cancer. He lies helpless
at home with strong pain, because of which he can not sleep and eat. About 1/2years he gradually lost his power - the diagnosis is now his wife for a
shock. He was the only one of the family, the money earned. Now the whole
family is threatened by abject poverty. He added there is no way for a good
diagnosis and chemotherapy, is itself a pain not. He needs a very rapid
medical intervention. Unfortunately, neither I nor my husband to provide the
financial means an operating room. He therefore needs your help.

I beg you in the name of Jesus Christ, please help Wanik medically, give him
hope and the opportunity to live on.

Heading into the Mountians of Armenia

2010-07-31T20:45:00.000-07:00

Off to Vanadzor this morning (we are 9hours ahead of cincy), it is a two our drive. This area was hit by the earthquake in 1989 and people still live in shipping containers that had humanitarian supplies in them. If any of you have ever heard me tell the story of the lady we met that lived in one of these containers with her 5 kids and he baby got eaten by rats while they were sleeping. We have helped her start a microbusiness and are hoping to see her. Church service this morning, praying for God's wisdom if I speak agian. After that, we head into the mountains (can only get there by jeep) to see a church in one of the poorest areas in Armenia. We may be setting up another training center for the children of that community. Thank you for all your prayers.

Back in Armenia

2010-07-28T17:49:00.000-07:00

Leaving for Armenia tomorrow night at 3:50pm from CVG to France, France to Yerevan. Pastor Bobby Mills and I will be meeting up with our friends from Orphans Promise, Yuri and Nataliya Khomyak. Our plans are to see two of our current projects, one in Yerevan and one in Vandazor. We also be seeing some orphanages in Gomori. Please pray for God's hand to be on us for this trip. For his hand to be on us and reveal what great work he is doing for these children through the ministries in Armenia that OP supports. We are also asking for divine appointments throughout our trip and unity in the Holy Spirit. Will update throughout the trip. Blessings and thank you

May 17, 2010 How Much Have You Been Given?

2010-05-20T19:53:00.001-07:00

Well, we are on our last leg of the flight home. As we raced to catch our connections, there is not much time to think. But, when we sit on the plane, quiet for a moment, I can’t stop weeping. The heart of God must be breaking for these children of Haiti. Maybe not so much because of the things that I see, but because of what He sees. Because of the worship of voodoo, the polluting of His creation, the exploiting of the innocent, the discarding of the weaker, and the apathy of His people. “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required.” (Luke 12:48) I testify that I have been given much…have you?

May 16, 2010 New Friends

2010-05-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

Up at 4:00 am and to the airport to board the very small aircraft back to Port-au-Prince. The generator was still off so no lights while getting ready- interesting. It was amazing, however, to see how many Haitians were already up and walking in the dark either to fetch water or to set up their “store front” with their products to sell- chickens, mangos, chairs, plastic jugs of gas, anything potentially sellable. Eddy, our scout for buildings for Orphan’s Promise Prosthetics and Orthotics clinic, met us in Port-au-Prince and we traveled to a house for rent just 20 minutes from the airport. This was the 5th and best building we have looked at so far. It was clean and fairly new and had withstood the earthquake without damage. The setup seemed ideal for our purpose, including room enough for a lab to construct the prosthetics, a waiting room, a fitting room, a therapy room and plenty of living and sleeping space for those coming to the clinic to stay and work. Together with the landlord and his wife, we prayed for unity, clarity and a blessing over the owner, their family and the house before we left. We are continuing to pray for a reasonable and affordable rental rate!

Over lunch we met with the Gary LeBlanc, Michael O’Neal and Frank Barrett-Mills from Mercy Chefs. How exciting to hear of their vision to help the people of Haiti in a variety of ways. Donald Curtis from Children’s International Lifeline was encouraged by the new relationship he had formed with them and the assistance Mercy Chefs will be able to provide to him, enabling CIL’s feeding program to increase from cooking for 3,000 children to 9,000 children within the same amount of preparation time.

On our way back to the mission in La Digue, we visited another orphanage. Once at Children’s International Lifeline, Donald, Yuri and I went into the village to film a 14 year old boy who had built his own home. At just about 3 feet wide by 4 feet long, and maybe 4 feet high, he had constructed his home in the side of a hill out of stone and mud. The roof was made of scraps of metal and plastic and it had two windows (holes) and a door which was a piece of metal hinged by some wires. When I crawled inside the tiny house, I was taken back by what I saw. Inside there was a small, tattered blanket and two tin cans sitting on either side of the space. The cans were filled with dirt and in each of them grew a small plant. This ingenious and hardworking orphan boy not only carefully built himself a house, but he intentionally made it his home. I was so moved and so impressed.

My favorite part of the whole trip was going into the village. As soon as we got out of the gator, at least 10 or 12 kids grabbed my hands and arms at a time. More children would gather and pull off another’s hand so as to put their hand into mine. Surrounded, the kids attempted to talk to us in English. I laughed as one girl looked at me and said, “Gimme socket.” When she realized that was not word she was looking for, she went away and came back and tried again, “Gimme handle.” The third time she came up with something just as random and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

We walked over to the river and checked out the dam that the French had built in 1922 to effectively channel the river water into the village so that it is usable for daily living and irrigation. Although the water originates from the mountain when it enters the channel, people swim and bathe in it and animals drink and stand and eliminate in it, so, as the water continues to flow down the channel, it becomes dirtier and dirtier. Yet, people still drink from it. When asked if they could just boil it first, I was sobered to realize that using their supply of charcoal to boil water would mean they would not be able to cook their food to eat. Given the choice, it seems silly to them to boil water.

As we walked, children would bring children to us that needed medical attention. One had a rash all over his body, another had some sort of fungus in his hair and another had a sore on the back of his head. Donald addressed each child, telling them to come to the mission first thing in the morning. The remainder of the daylight was spent watching the children jump into the channels at the dam as a way of “showing off” to the “blancs” (whites). Then, we rode back to the Children’s International Lifeline base to have supper, get packed up and head home.

May 15, 2010 Something to Think About

2010-05-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

This day was spent primarily venturing to the land purchased by Orphan’s Promise which will be the new Miriam Center. Once out of the city, the drive through the country and into the mountains was breathtaking! The ocean was an awesome aquamarine color as the waves softly rolled into the sandy shore. What a stark contrast to the villages where the streets, the rivers and even the beaches are ridden with trash. And an even greater contrast to Port-au-Prince, an oceanside city, where rubble and trash seem endless and vegetation is nearly absent. A feeling of peacefulness verses a feeling of chaos and confusion. When we arrived at the 3 acre parcel of land, Courtney, the director of Miriam Center, walked with the group and explained the potential layout of the new Miriam Center campus. It will truly be remarkable for the children!

As we prepared to leave, we were met by a group of children of all ages. One young girl was pulling a string upon which was attached a car. But this was no ordinary car. It was made of old plastic pop bottles, using the caps as the wheels, a whole bottle as the body and pieces of bottle for the axles. It was so creative and at the same time so humbling. I thought of the boy who walked with us on the property who had made a toy out of two plastic lids and some sugar cane stalk, and the boy in the trash heap who flew a kite made of an old paper plate, some string and a length of thin paper. Then I thought of my own children and the variety and complexity of the toys that they have. What does one do with that? It isn’t so much that they need to have the toys that the children in America have. Actually, I was tickled to see that such simple toys brought joy to children the same age as mine. It was the realization that this was really all they had, and in the midst of their hunger for food, education, and the love of the Father, they found joy in a little plastic car made from a dirty, old pop bottle.

May 14, 2010 Welcome to Miriam Center

2010-05-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

Off to Northwest Haiti Christian Mission where Orphan’s Promise is partnering to build an orphanage for the special needs orphans of Haiti called Miriam Center. Already in existence, Miriam Center is a unique project of NWHCM housing 32 children with mild to severe developmental and/or congenital disabilities. Once at the mission, we were introduced to several beautiful children living at Miriam Center. There was John, Den-den, Owens, Walden, Jimson, Belle and Kem, just to name a few. At this time, the Center is over capacity. With the new Miriam Center, over 100 disabled orphans will be helped. Working together with a team from Orphan’s Promise, Northwest Haiti Christian Mission, Shepherd’s Crook Ministries and Kimmey’s House, we are in the midst of developing a building plan as well as a program plan to address the complex needs of these children. Also, future mission trips are taking shape involving physical, occupational and speech therapists. How exciting!

New to Miriam Center was a 6 month old baby named Cindy. She was brought to the center by her parents who knew there was something wrong with her and felt they were unable to help her and to adequately feed and care for her. Cindy presented with contractures in both of her knees and hips. She appeared to have club feet as well. She was severely underdeveloped for her age and was malnourished. But, Cindy was absolutely beautiful! I held her whenever I got the chance and worked stretching her legs to increase her knee and hip range of motion. She was so sweet, her big brown eyes staring intently into mine, as she managed an occasional smile. I was so thankful she was at Miriam Center where she could receive proper care and nutrition, knowing that if Miriam Center did not exist, Cindy probably would not exist either. There is a magnificent number of children in Haiti just like Cindy and many with greater limitations. These children have significantly less of a chance of survival than a “healthy” child in Haiti, which means that without organizations like Orphan’s Promise and Miriam Center, there is no hope for a future for these precious disabled children.

May 13th -Saving Lives

2010-05-20T19:49:00.000-07:00

Up early and into the city of Barbancourt today. Packed day! We visited the building that Children’s International Lifeline constructed with funding provided by Orphan’s Promise and Life Church Westchester, Ohio. We met the orphaned children and the pastor and did some filming. The building is awesome! With the help of Orphan’s Promise and Life Church in Westchester, Ohio, CIL was able to complete the building of the “orphanage” for only $5,000 in less than 3 weeks! Amazing that such a relatively small sum of money can house and provide protection for 24 children in Haiti. And remember…$2500 was raised in just 3 weeks by a small group of determined Life Church members and matched by Orphan’s Promise. There is definitely more work to be done here. Most of the kids are sleeping on the floor for lack of beds. We gifted the children here with new dresses, underwear and shirts, toothbrushes and hair bands and candy.

One boy from outside of the orphanage came running to our truck when we arrived. His stomach was distended and he had an umbilical hernia, something that is common here because the malnutrition causes their bones, muscles and organs to become weakened. At about 12 years old, he was dirty, of course, with tattered clothes. I rummaged through my backpack and found a pack of peanut butter crackers and offered it to him. I am always amazed how the children smile at you with their beautiful white teeth even when you know they are anguishing inside. He stood outside of the stick and string fence and watched as we interacted and blessed the children inside of the orphanage. I asked him to wait for us so I could talk with him before we left but he was nowhere to be found, and as we climbed into the truck, I felt so sad that I was unable to give him something. Just as we were leaving, however, he came running towards us. Thank you Jesus! We gave him an armful of supplies and as he crossed through the field, I noticed him grab the hand of his younger sister, maybe about 4 years old and meet up with his younger brother, probably about 8. Together, they made their way to his waiting mother standing next to her dilapidated, stone and mud hut.

That’s the thing about Haiti. 78% of the population live on less than $2.00 per day and over 70% are unemployed. As for children, almost half of the population is 15 years old and younger and of that, 50% die before they reach the age of 15. In fact, 80 out of every 1000 children die before they see their first birthday. This is due to extreme malnutrition, lack of medical care and clean water. Haiti is one of the poorest nations in the world! Like this 12 year old boy, these statistics are true for all children of Haiti, not just those considered orphans.

From there, we visited some of the schools that CIL is feeding. It was such a humbling experience to witness the waves of children line up patiently to receive a bowl of beans with spaghetti and some tomato-y type sauce. Even as they stood waiting for spoons and bowls to be washed in between eatings, they were quiet and respectful. Once the school children were fed, the populous children, those at risk living in the nearby village, were served. What a drastic contrast! The school children looked healthy, bright-eyed, friendly and joyful with clean uniforms. The populous children were dirty, shoe-less, tattered and apprehensive. Many had orangish hair, sores, yellowing eyes and distended bellies. It was living proof that these programs are successfully saving the lives and spirits of these beautiful children!

May 12th Christa Story

2010-05-13T17:13:00.000-07:00

Christa stole our hearts. She caught my eye as her young mother attempted to stabilize her in a broken chair so that she could feed her some sort of liquid. As Christa struggled to sit up, her mom began to lose patience. As I walked towards the crying baby, my smile was greeted by a warm but somewhat meek smile from her exasperated mom. Instinctively, I reached out to touch Christa and began to gently stroke her dirt covered arm. Her eyes wandered to meet mine and it became clear to me that she was born with some developmental disabilities. Within moments, Christa's tears turned to a smile and then giggles. Funny how love and laughter transcends all languages. She captured my heart. As I flirted with this beautiful and helpless child, Robenson, CIL's Haitian teacher and translator, communicated with her mom to learn that she is scoffed at and chastised by others because her baby is different. Her innocent eyes welling with painfulness, this teenage, jobless, homeless, husbandless mom of a severely malnourished and disabled child told Robenson of her anguish and hopelessness.

Christa's story is not unlike many children living in Haiti today. Her living conditions and malnutrition are not unlike most children living in Haiti today. Children's International Lifeline has "adopted" this tent city and two others like it totaling more than 8,000-10,000 people. Unimaginable, but they estimate that there are more than 1.2 million people without homes and living in conditions like these, more than half of them children! With every tent city that we visit and multiple others that we see along the road and hillsides, the same questions arise. "Where do they get water? What about toilets? How do they get food to eat? How do they survive? When these tents crumble and the people of Haiti are forgotten...who will help them?"

The good news is that several families have a dry shelter due to the tents that Orphan’s Promise provided to this and other tent cities. Today, we delivered “love bundles” full of hygiene items, clothing, towels, toys, peanut butter and such to this tent city. A crowd of people quickly encircled the Children’s International Lifeline truck as we arrived. More and more people lined up as we handed out the packages as swiftly and as orderly as possible. Christian gave a devotional and prayed a blessing over the people giving glory to the God who promises them a hope and a future in the midst of this horrific devastation. All glory and honor and praises and blessings to you, Lord.

Day 1 in Haiti-Port-Au-Prince. Searching for a building!

2010-05-13T06:58:00.000-07:00

We are anticipating some good stuff out of this trip! We are so blessed to be friends with Children’s International Lifeline (Donald Curtis) and Northwest Haiti Christian Mission (Janeil Owen). Donald took the team to see some buildings for a prosthetics facility in PAP. We took a lot of photos and video footage of the flattened buildings and massive destruction in Port-Au-Prince. We have been praying for God to show all of us clearly what He wants to get done during our trip to help the children of Haiti. The devastation was incredible and it was amazing to see these buildings and think that there are still people entombed inside of the rubble.

We spent a good portion of the day assessing potential buildings to house a prosthetics and orthotics facility in Port-Au-Prince. We saw five buildings, at least two that would work for this project. The up side on both of these locations was the fact that they had second floors with rooms that could house Americans and others that would be fitting the Haitians with the prostheses.

After a long day we headed back to Children’s International Lifeline (CIL) and visited one of the outlying and very poor tent cities. Orphan’s Promise was able to team up with CIL to provide camping tents to house many of the families living there. In most tent cities, the people are living in makeshift coverings made from sticks with plastic draped over to provide some sort of protection from the elements. Now, 4 months after the earthquake, the plastic has holes in it and in many cases torn and barely providing any sort of covering. The reality is that many of these children have lost their parents and other family members as a result of the earthquake and have been relocated to these primitive communities away from all that is comforting to them.

Precious children like Christa, just barely 1 year old but with the stature of a 6 month old, living in her tent with her 16 year old mom… more to come when we return to the mission.

Hanging in Ft. Lauderdale Airport

2010-05-12T03:28:00.001-07:00

Colleen and I flew from Dayton to Atlanta and hooked up with Yuri Khomyak who came in from Virgina Beach. We went on to fly to Ft. Lauderdale, grabbed 2-3 hours of sleep and are now ready to fly to Haiti at 7:30am this am. We'll be looking for a building that will accommodate a prosthetic facility. There are over 200,000 Haitian that have lost a limb in the earthquake, so there is a real need for this type of work in Port-Au-Prince. We will also be heading to the Hotel Montana to get some photos and footage of a statue of Jesus that has no hands (a reminder that we are to be the hands and the feet) . We may also be heading to a very large tent city with over 6000 people to hand out "Love Bundles" for the people in need. Thank you all for your prayers for this trip, we really appreciate them. Love to our children, thank you for all the people that helped us out by taking care of our kids and dogs at such late notice. Yuri says hi to Nat and the girls!!! Love you all

Schedule for Haiti is Taking Shape

2010-05-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

• Wednesday, May 12: Arrive in PAP at 9:30am.
o Look for prosthetics and orthotics building
o Connect with Corrigan Clay. He is in Demas 75
• Thursday, May 13:
o Visit building for orphans (kids in tents)
o Visit tent city in PAP
• Friday, May 14tho Fly to PDP-11am
o Go to NWCHM-Visit Miriam Center and children.
o Talk to Courtney about new building and vision of project
• Saturday, May 15th
o Spend time with children in Miriam Center and Mission
o Head to Bonneau Property
• Sunday, May 16tho Head back to PAP 1pm
o Meet with Gary LaBlanc and Mercy Chef Team
• Monday, May 17th
o Head to airport early and leave for FLL

Getting Ready for Haiti

2010-05-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to leave for Haiti. I fly out Tuesday night to Ft. Lauderdale and catch a hotel with Yuri that night. We have a 7am flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Port-Au-Prince the next morning and will be in Haiti by 9:30am. We will be spending the first two days in Port-Au-Prince looking for a building for a prostheses facility and visiting some tent cities. We also be outside of PAP to visit a group of orphans that Life Church and Orphans Promise helped build with cooperation with Children's Lifeline International(thank you Donald Curtis). We will then take a flight to Northwest Haiti to visit our partners at Northwest Christian Haiti Mission. We will be taking some footage of a project for special needs orphans that will one day house over 100 children. We really appreciate your prayers and your support by following us on our journey. We will be trying to update our blog and post film and photos each day. God Bless www.orphanspromise.com

Christian Alliance For Orphans-Orphan Summit VI

2010-05-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

Colleen and I just returned from the Orphan Summit in Minneapolis that was held on April 29th and 30th. It was a spectacular gathering of ministries and organizations and ordinary people to share what God is doing in response to James 1:27. The conference was overflowing with information about orphan care, adoption and foster care. Some of the speakers included John Piper (Bethlehem Church), Mary Beth Chapman (Show Hope), Tom Davis (A Child's Hopechest) and many others. There was worship music from the Desperation Band and Steven Curtis Chapman. We were encouraged and blessed to be with 1200 other believers that have a similiar passion for helping the least of these. For more information on how to help orphans here in the United States and around the world, please see the offical Orphans Promise web-site at www.orphanspromise.org

Haitian Orphans Have a New Home!

2010-03-14T17:05:00.000-07:00

Last week we got an update and some photos from Donald Curtis of the building that was mentioned in the last blog. Thank you Children's Lifeline, Life Church West Chester, Orphans Promise and all the people that donated to this project. All the parents and children that stayed out in the cold for "The Great Sleep Out" and raised money going door to door, all your work has paid off for these wonderful children. It is amazing how God works, the building could have been built before the earthquake, but it was not, and it now provides a wonderful home for many Haiti orphans. I will be in Haiti on May 12th to May 17th and will be able to see the great work of the Lord. God is good and there is so much more work to do for him.

Shelter Over My Head

2010-02-27T09:52:00.000-08:00

Many of us take for granted that we have a roof over our heads. In fact, I don’t even think about the fact that I am so blessed, that I don’t just have a roof over my head, but I have many rooms in my house, filled with furniture, lights to see with and a piano for music. This is not the case for a small group of orphan children in Haiti. One of our partners, and a good friend, Donald Curtis, called me one day and told me about a group of children that he found that had no shelter over their heads and were living in tents. These children had been orphaned and had been gathered up by a Haitian pastor that loved these kids enough to at least let them stay on his land and provide temporary shelter. After hearing this, the Lord quickened both Colleen and I to take action. I asked Donald, “How much will it take to build these kids shelter (an orphanage)? He told me that with $5,000, his organization (Children’s Lifeline International), could build these children a building/orphanage. With a grant from Orphans Promise of $2,500 in matching funding, our church, Life Church, put together a “Sleep Out” in the cold and raised the additional $2,500 of donations from friends, neighbors and everyday people to get this important job done for the Kingdom and these kids. The building started last week and should be finished very soon. Donald Curtis is in Haiti right now through March 7th and I am anticipating getting some photos of the completed building. In Psalms 68:5, it says: “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling”. God is our shelter, we dwell in him and these children now have a dwelling place because of people like you that wanted to make a difference. If you are interested in doing something to help out orphan children, please contact me at cbunse@acosta.com.

Moving Forward on Speical Needs Orphanage in Haiti

2010-02-20T11:13:00.000-08:00

We are going to start working toward our goal of building a special needs orphanage with Northwest Haiti Chrisitan Mission in the Haiti. We had planned to have this project started by February of 2010, but the earthquake has set our timing back for at least 6 months. The team will be meeting in March to move the project forward and I am praying that we can break ground by June of this year. Our friends at NHCM have already purchased some of the land and through Orphans Promise (www.orphanspromise.org), they will be matching funding up to $50,000 to raise a total of $100,000+ to build this orphange. The need in Haiti for children with speical needs has increased due to the earthquake, so the Lords timing for this project is increadable. Please pray for us, along with Northwest Haiti Christian Mission, Sheppard Crook Ministries and Kimmey's House that we can get this most important project done and start serving these children. God Bless

Special Needs Orphanage

2009-11-29T18:57:00.000-08:00

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

Getting to Know Donets'k

2009-06-25T20:51:00.000-07:00

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.

Finally Got Internet Connection

2009-06-25T05:27:00.000-07:00

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.

Monday June 22: Went right from the airport to the Emmanuel Center (this is the office for CBN for the Commonwealth 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 services.

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 could 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.

Our Schedule

2009-06-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

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.

Preparing For Our Trip to the Ukraine and Armenia

2009-06-14T13:59:00.000-07:00

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.

Home Sweet Home!

2009-03-03T05:53:00.001-08:00

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!

Celebration

2009-03-01T13:30:00.000-08:00

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

2009-03-01T13:10:00.001-08:00

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

2009-03-01T11:33:00.000-08:00

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

Pictures of Elder Home at NW Christian Haiti Mission

2009-03-01T09:03:00.000-08:00

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

2009-03-01T08:50:00.001-08:00

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

2009-03-01T08:44:00.000-08:00

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

2009-03-01T05:50:00.001-08:00

Check out the hurst at the end of the video. Cars stall trying ot make it through.

Driving Through A River-WOW!

2009-03-01T05:25:00.000-08:00

This was crazy, the only way to get to one of the missions was to drive through this river.

What a Wonderful Day!!!

2009-02-28T19:17:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-02-27T19:26:00.000-08:00

Our Day Up in North West Haiti

2009-02-27T18:44:00.000-08:00

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.

Working hard for the stories and getting details

2009-02-26T20:03:00.000-08:00

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.

My Wife's Favorite-Coke in a glass bottle!

2009-02-26T19:22:00.000-08:00

This is for Colleen Bunse

Photos from today! Lots of Great Shots

2009-02-26T18:50:00.001-08:00

Wish we could share more, but lots of pictures.

Video from the Conference Service Tonight

2009-02-26T18:32:00.000-08:00

These girls came down from the mountians 5 hours to sing at the revival.

Our First Full Day

2009-02-26T15:40:00.000-08:00

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.

John and Yuri after dinner

2009-02-25T18:44:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-25T18:40:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-25T17:09:00.000-08:00

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

Winning Haiti from Satan to Christ

2009-02-21T05:40:00.000-08:00

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.

Getting Ready for Trip to Haiti

2009-02-20T20:32:00.000-08:00

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