Man in Armenia needs Prayer for Healing

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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.