Merry Christmas!!

Hello

Mary and I would like to wish each of you a very merry Christmas as you reflect our Savior's birth. We are spending a day at home with our family here. It is not easy being away from Lori, Justin, family and friends back home during this time, but we are thankful for friends God has given us here. I have been relaxing and meditating a lot today and now I am cooking a turkey and chicken on the grill while Mary, Gertrude, DG, and Rose are in the Kitchen preparing Pies, dressing, red potato salad and other things for our guest tonight. Mary has invited several friends from around the city to have a Christmas diner with us. Mostly foreigners serving here as missionaries or other capacities. The Genadas, Jan Thompson and her family, Drew from Iom, and the Bakers. We will have some food fellowship and song as reflect on what today means to us.

Things are going great in the ministry. Laura Lynn, Julie, Rachel and Terry have gone home for Christmas. They along with Mary have shared with the school children, the true meaning of Christmas through classroom instruction, song, and programs for the children. We are thankful for all God is doing through the body here and thank each of you who are faithful to pray and support.

This morning while I was reflecting on Jesus and His birth, I read Oswald Chambers devotion in My utmost for His highest. He challenged us to allow our bodies to be a Bethlehem for Christ to be formed in us. He asked "have we allowed our personal human life to become a Bethlehem for the Son of God"? He says "the evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that Christ is formed in me. And when His nature is formed in me, It begins to work through me". It has challenged me again to allow God to use my Body for His honor and Glory and it also reminded me again I am here serving because I am connected to Him and He wants to continue to form in me Himself. Lord Help me each day moment by moment to submit my life to You for you to continue to change this clay into your image. Amen!

May God bless you today as you reflect on His birth and what it means to you.

With love in Christ

Emory and Mary

Unrest in Haiti...

Unrest continues in Haiti after release of names of presidential hopefuls. There has been much violence in the capital city of Port-au-Prince with protesters burning tires, buildings and blocking main roads. These are good people who just want their voices to be heard. It is sad that their voice can not be heard through an honest vote, so they resort to violence. Last Tuesday we were returning from PAP and there was a couple of road blocks outside of Lester. Brian Smith was returning this morning, so I awoke early and headed to PAP around 5:30 am. When I arrived in St Mark there were road blocks across the street about every 50 yards. We were able to pass about 5 of them before we reached a place where we could go no further. As we were waiting, they told us it was getting hot and we needed to back up. Sure enough it did get hot as the UN rounded the corner, there were several people hid between houses on the mountainside throwing rocks at the UN trucks. and the UN was firing back at them. They were coming towards the truck and then they motioned for me to pass them where they were receiving rocks and shooting back. I advanced about 50 yards to the next road block and waited. Soon the Haitian police force was advancing in front of the truck to remove road blocks. They stopped a few yards in front of the truck and started moving roadblocks as people behind the truck was throwing rocks at them. I could tell they did not want to shoot with us in front of them. While I was waiting there in the mist of this, Brian called and said his flight was canceled along with all others coming to Haiti due to the violence in PAP. This was a relief that I did not have to go through what lied ahead, yet just behind me there continued shooting and rock throwing from civilians. After about 45 minutes passed, I sensed a peace from God to turn around and head back to Gonaives. As we turned around and moved slowly through the road blocks all was peaceful as we passed out of the city. The violence in PAP is bad with the burning of government offices and other buildings. I talked with Nathan Blessing who is in Lakay this morning and there is much violence there also with the burning of buildings. Attached is Sherrie Fausey's report from PAP for those who do not get her info. Things are very quiet and peaceful here in Gonaives with schools in session. We praise God for that. We thank God for those of you who were praying for us this morning and each day and ask you to continue to pray for Haiti and it's needs of a Government with integrity.

Last night Mary fixed a wonderful meal of stir-fry and rice with beans for the team here. Afterward we shared in a devotion which was very good for the group. It was about relationships with others. During our discussion, there was some good points brought out that I would like to share with you.

1) Our relationships to each other and how we react and respond to one another is more important than the work we are here to do. I think this is so true because the Kingdom of God is about relationships and if we are not right in our relationship with others, then we are not right in our relationship with God. I think this would apply where you are working, if your first priority to demonstrate God's love, and secondly a place of God's provision for your family.

2) It was brought out that mans relationship with God, was before work, therefore more important than the work. Adam's work was a result of a good relationship gone bad.

3) The question was asked how we handle differences. We handle differences, by demonstrating God's love in spite of the differences. When we fail to do this, we are the ones who fail not the other person. In the day of judgment, I do not think we will be judged by if we were right or wrong, but if we did the greatest of these which is love in spite of the differences. As I have tried to demonstrate this in the past, there were times where I thought I was right and tried to be dogmatic about it and then God later showed me I was wrong. God ordains us into relationships and we must choose to love regardless of differences. When there is a difference of will and belief is when we are called to stand strong on the front lines where God's power and glory will shine through.

4) When our relationships to one another shows Christ unconditional love, it is a powerful testimony to those who we are witnessing to and it brings glory to God. When we respond in the ways which Satan would, which is disobedience, then hell and it's furry is glorified. As Christians, as followers Jesus the one we love, we are called to a higher standard when there are differences. Sin is the result of disobedience which means we fulfill the lust of our flesh as opposed to the spirit of God working through us and we respond as Jesus would in relationships. Please pray for us as we seek to do His probable action as God uses others to mold us and make us into the image of Christ.

With love in Christ

Emory and Mary

Prayer request

Cholera and those affected.

Construction projects.

Government and election process

Bus to help with transportation.



Sherrie Fausey's Update:

Please keep Haiti in prayer.

The election committee which was appointed by Preval who supports Celestin for president announced a run-off between Celestin & Manigat. They excluded Martelly who trailed Celestin in the count by only .007%. No one believes Celestin actually even got that many votes and the 3rd candidate (Martelly) is allowed to be included in the run-off if it is close but they excluded him. Now Martelly's followers are burning tires, vehicles, houses, whatever. There is a lot of shooting between demonstrators versus police.

Everything is closed including the airport. My visitors were scheduld to fly out this morning but cannot leave.

We are OK here at the school. The air is full of smoke but it is not likely that any demonstrations will come close to us because we are on a small side road. We plan to stay home.

Please pray for the Haitian people. They have suffered so much already. The corrupt government is the reason help has not reached the people. Now a corrupt election is making it much worse. The common people are worse off no matter what happens. We need a miracle. Our Papa still can do miracles.

God bless you,

Sherrie