What was I doing in Haiti? A new church plant

What was I doing in  Haiti?  I visited this new church plant  in a small village outside of  Port-au- Prince.   They filled the  shelter with people on  Sunday morning in a neighborhood that did not even exist a year ago.  These people were  displaced by the 2010 earthquake and were among the thousands living in "tent cities," temporary shelters created by government and aid groups. They were relocated to this place and  we have an evangelist working to plant a church among them.  This tarp  will be nearly worthless when the rains come. It is torn and damaged in many places.  This little body of believers need a modest, one room cinder block building  for worship and teaching, a center of ministry in this new community.

What was I doing in Haiti? Visiting our children's homes.

What was I doing in  Haiti?  I was visiting our children's homes, taking  new photos and reports, talking with the leaders for the ministries for accountability, encouragement, trouble shooting future planning and assessments of the needs of the children.






The Hope for Life Children's home needs a new kitchen, but so many other things as well.  Which project should have the priority?  Which ones could be accomplished better  or with less expense if pursued along with another?   For example, should we build a kitchen or work on a whole house which would include a kitchen?

Where The Pulpit Was ( The Slum Ministry in Nepal)

Pastor Daniel is standing where the pulpit of the slum church once was.  The city demolished the building and many homes  in order to build a retaining wall.  The "homes" were makeshift shelters made of scraps of all kinds-- but they were all these people had. Now, we have more than 100 displaced families struggling to survive. In addition to the destruction of the church, we had a shelter which was home for 3 widows  of the church.  And--- we had a little unofficial school for the small children in the slum. About 100 children were coming daily to learn reading, writing and arithmetic and  God's  Word. It might be the only education and the only opportunity to hear of the  Savior for these little children.   Allow has already sent some emergency help for this ministry. The partners on the ground have identified a place for the church to meet temporarily and another place to rebuild.   We need to include the widow shelter and the slum school in the new plans as well.  Praying for the Lord's abundant provision for these things in His time.

The Slum Church

 In the slums of the capital city in  Nepal, stood this modest concrete building where a little church   was born and  grew.  Over 100 people gathered weekly  within its walls for worship and various prayer groups throughout the week.  A widow's home attached to one side and a few toilets  were built behind it. In  Feb 2015, the city decided to build a retaining wall along the river in the slum. This church building was  bull dozed down along with many  of the makeshift homes that are typical in the slum community.  People who have almost nothing were running through cold and rain to salvage their few belongings from the bulldozers.  It is a horrible scene that I  can barely imagine and one that I am glad to have not witnessed. The church found a place to meet temporarily, but another building of their own is badly needed.  Praying for the Lord to show us each step.

Burundi in February

The February trip to  Burundi  included pastor training, Bible teaching for children,  new photos and  reports for  sponsorship and the creation of one new sponsorship program in  Burundi.   As in all of our ministry countries, the people struggle with poverty, unemployment, malnutrition and climate issues.  In  Burundi, we also work with a school for the blind and a school for the deaf-- all children who are   truly the least of  His brethren. They have  serious needs and very little resources to meet them.  It is an incredible privilege to be part of this work.

Christmas Trip to Nepal 2014

Our Christmas trip to Nepal has become an annual scheduled event.  The project is important because we make a visit to every sponsorship program  to get progress reports and new photos of the children. It is a huge project because the Nepal ministry is huge.  We have children sponsored in children's homes (which are not really orphanages).  We have children, who live with their families, sponsored under churches. Some of the churches are quite a distance to travel.  We need to take a  1 hour flight to reach the area of one of the programs.  It takes about two weeks to  visit them all. At each stop, we gather the children for the Christmas story.  We distribute Christmas bags.  We  line the children up and take the photos--and each child must fill in the progress report that will be given to his sponsor.  I talk with the leader of each ministry about any questions or problems he has had.  We talk about children who are ready to "graduate" and finish our program and  about new ones who need to come in. We take a team of women for this trip because we need many hands to complete all of the tasks. The Christmas bags are the first big task.  By the time the team arrives in  December, we have already gathered the items to make up the contents of the bags.  I have carried  the things to Nepal in previous trips throughout the year or they have been purchased in  Nepal.  Typical contents are toothbrush,  Christmas craft, school supplies, candy.  Some years they have received  T-shirts,  hats, shoes,  Bibles,  English- Nepali dictionary.  All of these need to be packed individually  in a bag  marked with each child's name.  Any letters from his sponsor needs to go into the bags as well. For  Nepal, we need about 500 bags. Wow.  We are grateful for our team.

Pam and Rebekah

When we take mission teams into any of our countries, we usually have sponsors with us who are eager to meet their child. It is always a special moment, but this one stands out from the rest. Pam is among the sponsors who started with us in the very beginning.  I wish that  I had  kept a record of exactly who it was who first joined with us back in 2003, the one who was  FIRST to be attached as a sponsor with a child.  I do not remember.  I think there were just so many tasks to be done when we first started, that now my memory blurs.  But Pam was certainly  one of those in the first group and what a tremendous encouragement they were. Pam and that group were the ones who first confirmed to me that a genuine ministry had been born- and in its infancy, it demanded my constant attention.  Rebekah was still an infant when her sponsorship started.  We have taken care of her for a long time and will probably continue until she graduates.  When I wrote to her older sister that  her sponsor was coming to Nepal, the reply came very quickly. "Pam  Aunty is coming?"   Yes.  After years of writing back and forth, exchanging photos, Pam   Aunty made a trip to  Nepal and the two met. Sponsorship makes genuine relationships with real people and it meets real needs.  We are never going to know what Rebekah's life would be if  Allow and  Pam had not come along.  The sovereign Lord could certainly take care of her in many other ways.  But I am humbly thankful that He let us be a part of it.   I love this job.