Bringing a Haven of Hope to Gonaives

Jubilee

2012-01-12T17:42:00.000-08:00

Mary and I will be leaving on Saturday for Gonaives. A team from our home church, consisting of our Pastor, my sister, and some dear friends, will be going with us. Mary will return with the team on the 21st and I will be staying until the 5th of Feb. We continue to be excited about what God is doing in Gonaives and specifically in Jubilee. We are looking forward to seeing what God has done and continues to do in and through His servants there, as relationships grow in dept and number for the Kingdom of God. Please note the change in our stateside phone number.

In the past weeks I have had the opportunity to talk with several people who are going for the first time. As many of you who have been, the common theme for the first time is nervousness. As I have pondered this, I recognize it is in nervousness and the unknown places, that our dependance must be on God and not from ourselves. We have a great desire to know the future, and therefore, it is the unknown of our futures which, in our American culture we seem to have everything under control and able to handle everything, so we do not need God's dependence. In Haiti, you never know what the next hour or minute will hold, so you can develop a lifestyle of depending on God and looking for His presence. My prayer as we take this time in Haiti, that we depend on God each moment and look for his presence and may we never return to a place where we go though a day or hour where our very survival and livelihood is not totally dependent upon our Savoir. May our plan "A" be to depend upon Him and our backup plan "B", be to depend upon Him. Please pray that this time for us will be a time of spiritual transformation and an awakening to His ever presence and awareness of His desire to live in relationship with us.

We have received additional funding from Cross International to continue construction on the housing project. We should be able to place 8 more families in homes while we are there. Brian Smith will arrive in Gonaives with us in order to lead this effort. We are very thankful for Cross International and those who support their idea of serving the poorest of the poor. Please continue to pray for us and this process, along with the recipients.

In addition to this housing, church in Gainsville Ga. has constructed several pre-fabbed homes which were shipped over on the containers. Butch Bennett will be Visiting Gonaives next week and we plan on erecting some of these. We are thankful to Gainsville First United Methodist Church and Their contribution to the work in Gonaives.

In addition to the above projects, we will be starting the foundation for the medical clinic. The clinic will have 6 private exam rooms, 2 birthing rooms for the midwives to use, , lab, a pharmacy, office, waiting area, and restrooms. It will be a great benefit in the service of the Jubilee community, not only for service, but also in job skills training for medical professionals. We are grateful for those of you who have contributed towards this. We will need an additional 90,000 dollars to complete this project. Please keep this need in your prayers.

Kylie has been in Atlanta for the past two weeks for treatment. Her doctor reported that her MRI showed a decrease in the size of the Tumor. While The family and I rejoice with this news, she still has a long way to go. Please continue to keep Kylie in your prayers. Yesterday at 11am Kylie's brother was born. Mother Rebecca, and baby are doing fine. His name is Aiden. He weighed 6lbs 15oz and 20 inches long.

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of the earthquake in the PAP area. They are estimating 316,000 lives were lost from the earthquake. The country is taking a time of remembrance today. Please pray for these families.

Reflections of Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T13:18:00.000-08:00

As Mary and I are reflecting this Thanksgiving, we are very thankful for all the friends God has given us to encourage us through good and difficult times. We have been blessed in so many ways. Mary is grateful to be back in her home and involved in the activities of decorating. This transition has been very difficult for us, but God is giving us His graces day by day as we walk with Him. We have been moving back into our home over the last two weeks and are near complete with that task. As we have unpacked boxes and moved furniture around, I have found myself in tears several times, wondering how God would allow us to live in a home like this when we have friends like Giny, who lives in a hot tin house with her husband and children which is smaller than our bedroom, while many live in mud huts. And the boxes which we have been unpacking are about the size of many of the boxes in those mud huts which contain all the possessions of our fiends like Madam Jean Baptist who is one of the elderly women. As we unpack clothes and shoes, I am reminded of those who do not have cloths and our friends like David, who we see many times wearing women's shoes just to keep the bottom of his feet out of the mud while we seem to have clothes for each day of the month. I am continually confronted with God in processing how He has blessed us. What portion has He blessed me with, for my own benefit and pleasure and what portion has He given me to share with others who are less fortunate than we. It seems we are continually building bigger closets, barns, garages, to keep more things in. I just realized for the first time, that I have never placed a limit on how many articles of clothing, or how many shoes I am willing to be satisfied with. How much is enough and where do I cross the line of failing to help those who are destitute because I want to satisfy my own greed and lust by wanting one more. As we reflect during this season about our blessings, may God give each of us discernment in our relationship with Him, how much is enough for us to enjoy and how much he has given us to help others.

As I reflect on these things and what I am grateful for during this time, I think of each of you who have realized God's blessing on your life, and therefor you have given out of your abundance so that those less fortunate would have life a little better. Thank you so much for your prayers, contributions, confidence, encouragement, and love towards us and our friends.

We have been very thankful to Kara and her writing contributions during her spare time of many other activities. She will be returning stateside this week. Attached is her update from Gonaives and Jubilee with photos and copy and pasted below without photos. In her update, she talked about the containers arriving with the equipment and materials which we needed. Thanks to everyone for their prayers for these containers. It has been a long time coming, but it arrived without problems in customs or demands for bribes and we praise God for this.

We have been very pleased with Scott Peter's presence in Gonaives. He continues to bring much light to the darkness. Below is his blogspot if you would like to follow how he is making a difference. http://www.scottsinhaiti.blogspot.com

Prayer request
Robert Lane, Mary's brother is home after several stints. Praising Him.
April is back in Gonaives. Praising Him for her recovery
All the activities of transformation in Jubilee.
Kervins continues to need our prayers.
Praising God from who all blessings flow.

With love in Christ,

It is two days before Thanksgiving, and although we aren’t feeling the fall season, we are feeling Thankful. I am thankful that Kervens is sitting across from me; he has had a month full of doctors and nurses and scary situations. Martha Hannah has been on call and God has been in every moment, working as a team to try to get Kervens back to feeling well. After taking him to get tested in Port Au Prince he has been diagnosed with Epilepsy. They are still working to get him on a plan to minimize the effects.

There is much more beauty blooming here to be thankful for! Karen and Kim from Kids Against Hunger visited us earlier this month-- they immediately became a part of our home and family. We are so appreciative of their efforts to keep food in the tummies of our Jubilee kids! Also, the guys’ house is progressing in leaps and bounds. While teaching school, I would look out my window and see the walls climbing higher every morning. And with the recent arrival of Sam Brooks and his construction abilities, the thought of having the house done before Christmas is a little more tangible. Both of the containers arrived undamaged, which was a kind of miracle in itself, bringing us a much needed backhoe. Ben Rustin has been our designated driver, working to smooth out unused land in Jubilee and accelerate other projects in the area. We were also blessed with new tables and chairs from the school. The kids were surprised and thrilled on Monday morning when they each took their own seat and spread their arms across the fresh tabletops.

Chris is still teaching English-- he has opened an earlier class for beginning English, and uses some of his advanced English students as translators. The class is attended so heavily that he had to move to a bigger room, and even then people stand up, line the walls, and pack together elbow-to-elbow on the benches. From the back of the room I watch the wide demographic take notes together, draw pictures to remember better, and pass comments back and forth about how entertaining “Mr. Chris’” explanations are. Before Chris, the only available English classes were taught by semi-fluent Haitians to other Haitians. Now the teachers of those classes have a way to improve their English and continue learning, while their students have a way of checking their pronunciation and context.
The school is being blessed with new revelations concerning how to improve the childrens’ comprehension and learning pace. It is also blessed with the return of April as she brings a fresh look into class and renewed health in her body. Tia, in addition to teaching kindergarten and pre-k, has been mentoring teenage girls and employing jobless Mommas. Her focus has been to bring healing to broken situations and reconciliation where distrust has reigned. She is always pursuing how to provide safer home-lives and restored worth. Laura Lynn is being an incredible Momma to Youvendjy, both of whom we are inexpressibly thankful for. She continues to principle the Jubilee School, as well as mentor young adults and bring advisement to all of our questions concerning relationship building and project management (which sometimes includes doing a little damage control.)

Momma Kati and the trade school are working with Shelley and Corrigan Clay, the founders the ApParent Project, an organization out of Port Au Prince. To call what ApParent Project does “amazing” is to understate their actions. They are truly an example of impact and an example of God’s reformation and restoration. They have been working closely with us to share local artisan resources and they are marketing products made here in Jubilee. So far it has been a great success, providing orders of angels bracelets in the three digit numbers. That, paired with other huge support, guarantees that the artisans here will have work throughout this year. Just writing about it gives me chills, I wish you could see the faces and feel the excitement of these incredibly skilled and creative individuals.

I, after a laborious decision making process, will be returning to the US to continue my education in Agricultural Science. I have been spending my last month here teaching at the school, taking product and project photos, tagging along with Chris to English class as technical support, taking longer evenings in Jubilee, and, of course, writing. Physically, I will be flying out on the 26th of this month, but mentally I am already plotting my return. Haiti feels like my home now, and the people that I eat breakfast with in the morning and walk through the streets with in the evening truly feel like my family. I feel honored to have been able to spend fall semester here, and I feel humbled by the stories I have had the rare opportunity of hearing during my stay. I hope to find a way to communicate these things to you while I am processing it all in Athens, Georgia.

Thank you for playing your part in the vision we all share, and for the encouragement that has come to me directly. I am constantly reminded that the things we do, even if it is just opening our eyes to the injustice, our ears to the stories that need someone to hear them, and our hearts to the love that God wants to fill our lives with, make a much bigger impact than we will ever know. These are the things that bring lasting change, these are the things that bind us together as a global community.

-Kara Morrissey

Kairos #1 in Smith State Prison

2011-11-10T11:45:00.000-08:00

Hello
We would like to thank all of you who have prayed for us over the weekend while we were in Smith state prison. As Randy explains in his summary the National Geographic did a documentary on this prison last year due to it's violence, since then there has been changes in the guard and there seems to be a movement of God there with a warden and Chaplin who have a mission to see each inmate have a personal relationship with Jesus. It was awesome seeing God's hand at work with the Holy Spirit changing lives. Below is a video link by Frank Logue, to some testimonials from the outside team, and a written summary from Randy Ashurst.
With love and thanks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxn1VTE7814

God came down and was glorified at Smith State prison this weekend.

Kairos #1 is over and this was a wonderful weekend for all involved.

But, just like Emmaus these weekends don't just occur. They take about a year of praying, planning, and strength, on many people's parts, to step up and say "here I am Lord." First of all, thank you to our Emmaus community for the strong prayer support and next of all, I want to trumpet that this total scene, for months back, was truly a ":God Thing", for so many reasons. First of all, our team did not have a prison to go to. We tried getting in one in Jesup, and after a few negotiations got word that basically said "there's too much church going on already" and "not enough room for your program." That meant this was not the right place God wanted for us. So, it was back to more prayer and then about 7 months ago, a warden and chaplain landed at Smith State Prison in Glennville with the mission of taking back the yard - one soul at a time. You see, these men are strong Christians and they know that without Christ, taking charge, there's little change for the better. The wheels started turning and the rest is "on the air" as they say in radio.

The "spirit" throughout the weekend was near unexplainable and new members on the team got to be witnesses to numerous miracles, just as the veterans did. How can this all work? Here's a level 5 prison, the next thing lower than "death row," and yet the Spirit came in and rocketed thru so many hearts. Imagine, praise music with about 80 men in a room belting out "Make Me a Sanctuary" and "Lord I Lift Your Name on High." I believe we all saw hearts that were so far beyond the razor wire in those moments. In a word, it's breathtaking. Here's a facility with 1400 residents that's had over 400 stabbings in two years. You may have seen the National Geographic series "Hard Time" featuring this same "dark" place. Yet, for months we've gone in, met the Kairos graduates there (having been through the Kairos program at other prisons), and formed the team and dorm accountability leaders. And, both councils starting working hard to get the weekend going and right on schedule. I must note the job the inside team did was outstanding and totally noteworthy. As one could say "They Rocked!"

Just like Emmaus; what a bonding experience the work is. It seems every moment there was covered in smiles, hugs, and love. Of course Kairos is called God's Special Time and it was. I gotta tell you about the final ceremonies (closing). The chaplain and warden both got on the podium and fully revved up the entire building forcefully proclaimg their mission from day one was that they are gong to win this "yard and compound for Christ -That Satan is now banished from here." We all know about the "open mic" segment and while there were many startling and wonderful testimonies, one, though, will touch me for a very long while. A man came to the podium, said he was 45yrs old, and this week, had done something he had never ever done in his entire life. Visibly shaken, he said "I cried." The table family rushed to support him and hold him up in love. And, the room erupted in cheers and applause. The strength, integrity, and presence of that statement. All I can say was it was a God thing ; For a grown man, in a place like that, to lay oneself that bare, and tell how so much rage, hate, and fear, was gone, and he could now cry tears of love and forgiveness. The love in that room and electricity of the scene will be long remembered by all present. Well,we all serve an awesome God who can reconcile and change anything for His glory.

Oh, a final two things that shows how God blessed this time. First of all, due to so many many of you, at so many churches, baking homade cookies, we took inside over 1200 Dozen cookies. For the first time I've heard of, the cookies were disbursed thru the entire facility to all residents and staff. The chaplain reported to us when he went Saturday evening to the dorms to present "call out sheets," which allows participants to go the next morning -said he was "ambushed" at every dorm by men all excited about Kairos; shouting:"when's the next one? and when can I sign up?" Christians wonder if they can be a witness and how to do it. In Kairos it is basically this: "I stand with you, and Christ who got here long before I did, stands with you also." It's pretty simple and so powerful , and when it happens, and you see lives changed, you can't help but feel it. Oh yea,you'll feel it.

The next one; Kairos #2, comes up next May, and we'll be in touch again asking for prayers, people. and of course cookies. Meanwhile, please continue to pray for the men inside. Pray for the staff, warden, and chaplain, to continue and magnify this movement for Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Randy Ashurst, blissfully reporting from home, for the new startup Kairos at Smith State Prison - Glennville, GA

His timing is always perfect...

2011-11-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

Hello
Mary and I have been back in Waynesville, Ga. for two and half weeks now trying to find our way. It has been a little difficult for us to readjust, but we are finding God's graces as we walk day by day. It has been great to reconnect with family and friends. Mary's brother, Robert Lane is in the hospital icu again with multiple problems, heart, kidney, diabetes. Please continue to pray for him. On Saturday, I was able to reunite with my Kairos brothers who have been involved in prison ministry with for several years. It was a great reunion for me. Thursday we will be entering a maximum security prison and teaching 42 inmates Christianity 101 for 4 days. Please pray for these men that their hearts will be fertile soil to receive the word of God. Attached (with pictures) and below is an update from Kara in Gonaives. Please keep April in your prayers as she recovers from Malaria.

God has been speaking to me a lot lately about relationships, and how I can better love my enemies and those who hurt and persecute me. It seems that we are called as followers of Christ to a deeper level of sharing God's unconditional love, than what we actually demonstrate in our lives at times. It is one thing to love those who return love, but Jesus says "what does this profit us to love those who love us in return"? The hurt from someones words or actions towards us many times stirs up emotions within us, that lead us in the natural to retaliate with words,
actions, or sometimes with an unrighteous silence, to that person or others, that say I will repay evil for evil. The kind of love Jesus ask us to share is not only saying I love you to my enemies, but asking the Holy Spirit to show me ways I can forgive and demonstrate God's love in words and actions, and seventy times seven if needed. In this I realize that the only opportunity to love people in this way is when there is conflict, struggles, and differences of will, opinion, or knowledge. When I reflect on this in my life I realize that in the mirror of God's word, I fall short and it is nothing but the power of the Holy Spirit working in me that could possibly allow me, not only to love, but demonstrate His great unconditional love which He has shown me to others. And I also realize it is only through situations, circumstances, and people God places in my life, which allows me to see the wretchedness within my heart. It is then we have the Holy Spirit in our lives to convict and transform us Spiritually in our words and actions.

Lord today allow me to see how you are wanting to change and transform my life through people, circumstances and life situations, and God, please allow me to see my true heart where you can change and transform my life into the image of your son Jesus Christ. Amen!

Prayer request

Robert Lane, Mary's brother
April as she recovers from Malaria
Kairos Prison Ministry this weekend.
All the activities of transformation in Jubilee.

Kervins is in the Miami Hospital in Haiti this week and is suffering from Meningitis.

Praising God from who all blessings flow.

It is October 28th, and the house is quiet-- the beautiful people who live here are out bringing the kingdom in the different forms they have been called to. Momma Kati is here on the porch, going back and forth between sorting trade school products and experimenting new ways of bracelet making. Her re

lationship with the journal maker, Benson, continues to grow and thrive, as does his skill. With every new basket of journals, ornaments, earrings, and necklaces

that the trade school artisans create, there continues to

be an expansion of personal creativity and professional refinement. To see success in the pursuit of inspiring people, feeding families, and offering a way for communities across the

sea to enable healthy community here in Jubilee makes our heart dance.

Chris is in Jubilee preparing for his three o’clock advanced English class. Instead of just teaching vocabulary and syntax, each day Chris reads through a quote from a great author or philosopher, explaining words as the conversation progresses. This not only teaches English in context, but it opens up a conversation on integrity,

character, morality, and drive.

I sincerely wish you could feel the air of people being empowered in that room!

We are feeling the empty space left by April Komasaki since she flew back to the

US for medical attention.

Since her return into Miami she has been diagnosed with Malaria and is currently seeking treatment. She is eager to get back to her classroom here, so pray that God will quickly restore her health.

As one leaves another returns: Isaac Gardener will be flying into Port Au Prince on Monday to help further the house and garden project, where he has been severely missed. After a minor motorcycle accident and contracting Dengue Fever, he returned to New Hampshire to get an MRI on his knee and heal. He is now back to full health and ready to build! Speaking of which, the “adobe” house is coming along nicely. The guys are spending their evenings researching and their days putting knowledge into action. They have employed three teenage boys to help them, which is also serving as a medium to be a positive influence. Right now they are in the process of laying the foundational

rice bags filled with sifted dirt. Two layers down, sixteen feet up to go!

This week we received the two containers the Brooks had shipped from Georgia, one containing the forms to build more houses, along with rice and school supplies, and the other containing a back hoe. The back hoe is coming just in time to be used on the guys’ house, building the reservoirs for the Jubilee houses, as well as working on the garden. The

garden is coming along as a new fence

goes up around the perimeter and the raised beds are being created.

This month has been a reminder that His timing is always perfect. From last week, as told by Momma Kati: “I was heading home from

Jubilee and a serious looking crowd had formed near the bridge.

Christianna, a lady in the Jewelry group, and also in Martha's medical training class,

walked up to me. She said she came home and found her son not breathing. YESTERDAY Martha taught her class what to do if a child has stopped breathing. She picked him up jabbed her two fingers into his chest, flipped him over and slammed his back.... out popped a huge marble! He was

smiling and very very relieved. There was

such a S T R O N G sense of the Presence of

GOD in that group. Thanking us, but

” knowing it was GOD that brought Martha here.

Arrived in GA & Haiti Update

2011-11-01T16:35:00.000-07:00

Hello
Mary and I arrived in Waynesville Thursday afternoon and are doing well. It was great to worship with our home church on Sunday morning and visit with friends and family. Below is a report from Gonaives, by Kara. It is also attached and on the Blog at love4haiti.blogspot.com Please keep the work in Jubilee in your prayers along with the task which we will be assigned. We are continually amazed at what our God is doing through the Body.

With love in Christ

In the last newsletter I included a picture of Pastor John and Emory in front of the Pastor’s orphanage. That day we visited was the first day I met his wife-- who was very pregnant and smiling ear to ear. Their daughter was born two weeks ago, just a little over four pounds. The first week of her life was a battle; she fought a 106˚F fever and began struggling to breathe, an infection had set in her lungs. Martha Hanna and Kelly Morgan, two nurses from Georgia, had just gotten here, truly on God’s timing, and lovingly spent the next five days working to keeping oxygen pumping and IV’s flowing into her tiny body.

Once she gained enough strength and proved stable, I watched her parents gather their things and take Eznie home-- all the while realizing that had if God not sent Martha and Kelly here at that exact week, this story would have ended very differently. God’s kindness is breathtaking!

More BIG news! The school in Jubilee now has tiled floors. Many thanks to Tony and Saundra McNorton and all that supported the Jubilee Kids Fundraiser! The day the tile was set the kids immediately took their shoes off and rolled around, putting their faces on the cool tiles and running their tiny hands over the grout lines. We also officially have two tiled, painted bathrooms in Jubilee School!

The English class taught by Chris Greene, continues to grow in number and in depth. Chris is using phrases that not only teach vocabulary but great wisdom. The discussions coming from that room are astounding. The Interns also facilitate a Bible study for young adults, twice a week. Again, the questions, the discussions , the depth of hunger for truth are like fresh wind blowing through us all.

The “Greening of Jubilee” was blessed to get several loads of good dirt brought in and we are about ready to plant the raised bed. We have two wonderful gardeners working with us. Moise and Jackyby. Pray for the Greening to become sight!

Chris Greene, Josh and Ben Rustin, and Isaac Gardener broke ground on the construction of their “adobe” dwelling in Jubilee. We drove down to Leogane, Haiti last week to investigate these super-adobe houses built after the earthquake and learn from what those builders accomplished. What we found were inexpensive, relatively easily constructed, houses that were strong, efficient and drastically cooler than the outside temperature. Right now the guys are temporarily living in one of the new poured concrete houses in the Jubilee neighborhood. This alone is creating new depths of relationships in Jubilee. The community is so happy to have them there. They “protect” these guys and give them lots of motherly advice! They will move into their adobe house as soon as possible. We will report the progress!

The Marketable Arts , Trade School : we are forming friendships and beginning to collaborate with other artisan groups here is Haiti…taking it step by step. The ApParent Project in PAP let us “borrow” one of their interns last week to come give new perspective and ideas to the jewelry portion of the trade school. It was both an affirmation of progress already made and a boost in continuing to help the ladies’ refine their craft. We are so thankful . God is allowing us to build toward healthy, life giving businesses that give families options , hope and the ability to feed and educate their children!

The Medical Training aspect of the TradeSchool has expanded three fold since its inception last spring. Martha Hanna is now leading nurses to teach in two hospitals here, in service training on a weekly basis, She is training a class of 12 in Jubilee to be potential nurses aids, to have real paying jobs in the Hospital! And she will begin teaching in the Gonaives Nursing School in November. Mid-Wife training begins Monday with two Mid Wives coming from Georgia to add to the knowledge of the practicing Mid Wives here. This makes such a difference ! Needless suffering ends sometimes with a passing on of some basic information. So thankful these ladies are willing to come ! Pray for Martha, her plate is very very full!

As for me, Kara Morrissey, talking to people and writing it all down has been my “job” here, one that, at times, seems daunting, but has proved to be very rewarding. In every conversation I have felt the heavy presence of God’s hand, opening doors and allowing trust to be built at supernatural speeds. I have been exposed to things and ideas and stories that I could never have imagined. One of the most beautiful things has been catching myself, in the middle of hearing about Jubilee and Gonaives history, wondering if we were still talking about the same place. I love that some of the horrors I have been told these past couple weeks seem unimaginable because of how much progress has been made.

“You cannot just take vices from the people-- you must fill their hands with something better, and they will naturally drop the violence, the addiction, and the selfishness. They, instead, will cling to their new vision.” -Addison, a leader in Jubilee

September 26, 2011

2011-09-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

I sat on the floor in an unused classroom, under the walls decorated with illustrations of the alphabet and vowel charts, watching a dynamic unfold. Seated were Haitian men ranging in age from teens to late twenties; standing were three of the American men I have been living in community with. Welcome to the Thursday edition of a twice-weekly Bible study. Chris Greene was teaching the group a worship song, and sometime during the chorus I realized: this is more than theological discussion. This is binding people together, this is creating a space for two sets of friends from two nations to meet on an even plain. These are men that couldn’t be more different, but find common ground in their pursuit of Truth. The group started with Apps McNorton and one other man in the Jubilee gazebo, and though Apps isn’t in Haiti anymore, what he started continues to grow. From the floor I saw bridges being built; I saw a heart for God in that room that tore through layers of man-made heartache and doubt, replacing it with a yearning to see the face of God in whatever form He would reveal Himself; I saw the kingdom coming, one question at a time.

The first weekend in September Emory facilitated a gathering in the mountains south of Port Au Prince. The objective was to round up the people who have poured into the vision for Jubilee, to get them in one room and discuss community and how individual and corporate relationships play into the will of God. What has been realized is that relationship is the will of God. We aren’t here to provide this community material things. We aren’t here to teach people how to craft. First and foremost, we are here to advocate the worth of each person, as God places worth on each of us. We are here to live out what Jesus lived, and died, for. This changes the dynamic of any vision, it places the individuals and the relationship above what can be accomplished. As Brian Smith said, “We are finished and whole in Christ. Now what defines us are our relationships with each other. We are not striving for a product or an end-- Jesus is the end already. It is the process that matters.” This is lived out well in the connections being made in Jubilee and through working with medical care facilities, local churches, and individual families in Gonaives. These endeavors have never been, and might never be, easy, but they have produced life and what we are harvesting is well worth what was sown. We think it is beautiful now, but the glories of it have yet to be revealed. Kathy Brooks presented an idea during the gathering, challenging the common illustration that we are all climbing the mountain of life, striving to get to the goal at the top. But what if the goal isn’t at the top? A mountain climb suggests that one person can be further up than another or made more progress than his neighbor, or that either of those things matter. It also suggests that there is an end we are trying to reach, and like any goal, the faster we can get there the better. As she put it,“...maybe we are in a field instead, and all that matters is how close we are standing to each other.”

In the mountains we also discussed how to build up this community and each other effectively, instead of unknowingly doing more damage than good. Emory explained that he didn’t want to put rules or limits on this vision, but stressed the importance of walking in discernment and intentional love. Remembering 1 Corinthians 13, it is absolutely necessary that we do everything in love, lest we become resounding gongs or clanging cymbals that do no good. Putting form to the vision meant defining mission statements to allow for better communication, brainstorming ways to keep ties in the states strong and alive, expressing what God has laid on each of our hearts for specifically, and educating ourselves through reading and discussion. Through trying to understand the history and culture of Haiti we were better able to understand what our role is in the relief, rehabilitation, and development of this nation.

We began to listen to what God was laying on our hearts and comparing that with how the community is in need. Needless to say, the two lined up. Ben, Chris, Isaac, and Josh moved into a house in Jubilee tonight, with the intent of becoming as much a part of the community as they can. They want to be with the people, not just go see them. They are also being deliberate in the discipleship of a few teenage boys and the “greening” of Jubilee. Loads of dirt have already been brought in to create a raised garden just outside the school, and more time is being poured in to seeing that the project is one the whole community can be excited about. Grace Deal has also been working in Jubilee, trying to maximize the clinics potential. In addition, she is teaching in-service classes in the Gonaives hospital, which the staff has met with open and thankful arms.

It is Saturday, and it is in this same spirit of thankfulness I am living as another week in Haiti ends and a new one begins.

Kara Morrissey

Vision and Transition

2011-09-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

During the first weekend in September we gathered together to build deeper relationships with one another. We dreamed and formed vision regarding Jubilee and did some strategic planning during this time of transition. As I look each day and consider what God has done, and continues to do, through the Body I am overwhelmed. I am seeing God bring to reality what he showed us four years ago, and it is beyond what I ever dreamed or imagined as God is expanding the work and bringing laborers into the harvest.. Hebrews tells us that Faith is the substance of things unseen; I remember the vision which God originally gave us. I remember seeing them as if they had already been fulfilled, and I remember taking steps in Faith. Now I am seeing them as they are in reality, and yet God is calling us again into the unseen. The weekend also deepened our relationship with one another and caused us to be more committed to each other. We are striving to be intentional in relationships and in all we do. One of the themes we heard throughout the weekend as we focused on one another, was that the structure can never be deeper or broader than the depth of our relationships. What this says to me is that you do not see a task that needs doing and find someone to fill the role, but you identify where God has someone already working on the wall and you let others know what it is they are doing and how they can help fill the gap. In this, God is changing some of our roles and defining others. It has been somewhat confusing because God has called different people from different organizations to come together to help rehabilitate and develop this community called Jubilee. Our attempt in this communication is to let you know who God has drawn to the wall, what their primary roles are, and how we see them played out at this time. Basically, there are three different organizations which are serving using three different emphasis to further rehabilitation and development in the community. Each are responsible for carrying out these functions and for corresponding funding.

When Mary and I began this walk, it was never meant for us to continue here for many years, but God had shown us that He would send other laborers into the field to stand in our place here. God has now sent Beaver, Kathy, and Rebecca Brooks here to stand in our place. They have been coming and going for three years and moved here to live on the 11th of August. Mary is now in North Carolina with our daughter and son-in-law. I will be joining her there on the 24th of this month and then returning to south Georgia in mid-October. The functions listed above, which we are currently doing here in Haiti, we will be doing from our southeast Georgia home. Mary and I will continue to serve in the areas of feeding program, school operation, future school construction, operation of medical service to the community, future medical clinic construction, and elderly care programs. We will also be responsible for the funding of these programs and construction projects. Christian Light Ministries Inc.

(formally Christian Light Foundation) is the 501c3 which we are working under for funding for these projects. I also plan to check back in to the area quarterly in an effort to maintain relationships and continue to directly pour into this vision.

In addition to task listed above Mary and I will be sharing God's vision and work with groups and bodies of believers, asking them to participate through prayer, giving, visiting, and getting involved in the Kingdom of God. We will also be meeting with teams who are coming and help prepare them for a greater impact while they are here. We will also be working with others who are sharing in this vision, both in the states and in Haiti, to see how our synergies of working together will greater impact the Kingdom.

In addition to Christian Light Foundation, Tony and Sondra McNorton, and their team, are also helping with funding in the Brunswick, Georgia area through an organization called Jubilee Kids. Jubilee Kids facilitates persons interested in helping, by allowing them to sponsor a child or give towards the development of the school and community. Doreen Sigman is stateside in Brunswick responsible for, strategy planning for the school, and Laura Lynn Nichols will have field over-site of child nutrition (feeding center and Medika Manmba), school operations, and medical service operations. Working with her will be April Komasinski, Terri Ann Stokes and Julie Arthur. Brian Smith will continue working with the local labor force for new home construction (pictured below) in a part time, as needed, capacity. He will also work with the local community in identifying and prioritizing remodeling necessities. Brian will be working as a community liaison between the two cultures as we collide with one another. Omaha Rapid response is a 501c3 which will be used for the purpose of receiving funding for new construction and repairs.

Kathy and Beaver will be supporting short term teams through scheduling, room, board, transportation, intentional discipleship, and coordinating community task functions while short term teams are present. Kathy is also working on asset-based community development which includes commerce, creating jobs through marketable art, and other venues. They have also initiated an internship program which will support their efforts in community development. Martha Hanna will also be responsible for job-skills training in the area of nursing, which will be coordinating those who have skills to share with the local institutions. Beaver will be working with Martha in this endeavor. Beaver and Kathy have a 501c3, called Much Ministries, which will primarily support these tasks.

Any of the projects can be supported through all of the ministries.

These organizations and efforts are not working independently, but rather attempting to work as one body, retaining flexibility and lending strength to any part in need.

For more information go to:

Emory Wilson

http://www.love4haiti.blogspot.com/

Much Ministries official webpage

www.muchministries.org

Kathy Brooks

http://kathyatmuch.wordpress.com/

Omaha Rapid Response

http://www.omaharapidresponse.org/

Christian Light Ministries

http://www.christianlightonline.com/

Jubilee Kids

http://www.jubileekidsinc.org/

Vision Weekend

2011-08-23T07:46:00.001-07:00

Hello

Hope all is well with each of you. We are continuing to see God's hand of blessing in many areas of the work He has called us to do. We are grateful to have Beaver, Kathy, and Rebecca Brooks with us now. They arrived on the 11th of August. We are very grateful God has called them to work in the harvest field with us. We have been praying for someone to walk with us in this way for some time now and are rejoicing as God is answering that prayer. They are beginning to focus on the task God has called them to in economics, job creation, and job skills training. In the near future, we will be spending more time stateside, sharing the need and vision and inviting others to participate in the Kingdom of God. Please pray for us as we walk in this together.

Mary has had a wonderful time working with the elderly. She has set aside a couple of days where they have come to our home. They are taught how to play bingo, fed a good meal for their physical body and given spiritual food for their spirit. It has been such a joyful time for all involved. Please continue to pray for the elderly here who are in need.

On the 12th of August we were able to pour the other half of the roof on the school. All the doors and windows are in now. We are working towards getting it completed before school starts on the 29th. Laura Lynn, Julie, and April are here now and we are focusing on painting this week. Please continue to keep the school in your prayers as we make preparations to begin.

Benison is not doing well as he is losing his strength. He is not expected to live much longer. Please continue to pray for him and his mother Anise as she cares for him. Jodlin has healed up well. He went to his hometown to try and visit with his brother and sister and when he arrived, he could not find them so he returned. Pastor Genada and Rose have graciously made a place in their orphanage for him and he is doing well after three weeks there. As some of you know Marvin has been in Jan Tompson's orphanage since April. He is doing well now after some sickness in June. Thank you for praying for him. Some of you had the opportunity to meet Mich while you were here. He is also in Pastor Genada's orphanage. Please continue to pray for them and their ministry. God has blessed them greatly.

There is much in the works for the rest of this year. In addition to the Brooks being here, there is an intern program which will begin in September. As we continue in community development, God is leading us to dream and vision together. God is calling us to have a time set apart for this as we seek Him and grow in deeper commitment and relationship to God and to one another. God's word tells us that the world will know we are Christians by our love for one another and we are putting action to that to see how God works that out in our lives. The weekend of September the 2nd through the 5th is the time we have set aside for this purpose. Coming out of this weekend, we believe we will have a clearer vision and defined rolls which each of us play. Please pray for this weekend of relationship building time.

Brian arrived this week and is continuing on the housing project. We are getting near to the end of the actual housing construction. Hopefully we will be putting more families in house next week. Cross international is working toward getting another grant for housing in Jubilee. Please continue praying for the housing needs in Jubilee.

We are thankful for all you're prayers when Emily passed and are now praying as Irene is passing. Please keep Haiti in your prayers during this hurricane season. We will also be praying for you as Irene moves toward the eastern coast of the U.S.

With much love and gratefulness to those of you who have sown bountifully into God's work here.

Prayers and praises

School as we made preparations for beginning.

The Brooks as they adjust and work on projects.

Our vision weekend

Housing project.

Praises for Jodlin's healing and Home. Mich's home,

Prayers and Praises for elderly ministry.

Hurricane season.

Goats for Jubilee...

2011-06-30T18:35:00.000-07:00

Warning:
Some images may be considered graphic.

It is so good to see God's hand at work in so many ways. It has been a busy month during June with many helping hands volunteering time and resources to build relationships into the Kingdom of God. Mary and I have taken a few days off this week and are in the mountains spending time with each other and with God. Her neck is well now. Thanks for your prayers. It is a blessing to step back and take a breath now and then. God continues to be our source of strength and provision.

Kathy has been here this month continuing to work with the mommas in Jubilee to generate income for their families. She has also been helping with the visitors who come. Beaver has been working at their home in Waynesville selling things and making preparations to move. He and Kathy are praying that God would sell or rent their house, they have in Waynesville to someone. Please pray with them as they spend time with family and friends next month and continue preparations to be here in Haiti.

The children and some of the adults from Glynn Baptist church in Thalman Ga. raised some funds to give some of the families some Goats. While Beaver was here in April, he bought goats and gave them to some families. I was able to visit some of them last week and they were very happy for the provision for their families. Thanks for giving to those in Need.

We had a group from Union South Carolina visit with us at the first of the month, and they helped us pour the cement roof on half of the school building. The Haitian laborers working along with the team, poured over 19 yards of concrete in 8 hours It is a blessing to have that completed, so it will be ready when school begins. We are now working on doors and windows for the rooms. Please help pray for funding to continue pouring the other half of the roof. Greg Dixon visited with us with a team from First Baptist Brunswick and then Pastor Wayne from Terry Ann's home church brought a team to visit with us last week. These visitors have been a blessing as they have shared God's love with us and our friends here.

Through much difficulty and learning, we think we have a good route for the containers now and hopefully the two containers will be shipped next week. The cost is seven Thousand dollars each which covers shipping and customs. Team effort has the prefabbed houses which they built along with a local church there, on the containers, which will bring shelter to people in need when they arrive. We also have many items for the school including desk, chairs, filing cabinets, etc. We have forms which we will use for building the cement houses, a cement mixer, a backhoe, Kids against hunger food, and many other items for the work here. Team effort is covering the cost of one of the containers. If you would like to contribute to this shipping cost it would be a blessing. Please pray for funding, and safe, secure passage through the shipping and customs processes.

God brought another young man into our lives the 6th of June. His name is Jodlin and he is 15 years old. He came from St Michelle where he had lost both of his parents some time before. In April an abscess began in a tooth which turned into a huge tumor. Doc brought him to us on that Monday and we were able to get him to a hospital on Wednesday. The team from Union SC was here and very generous to help take care of his initial hospital stay and care. He had surgery on the 16th and is doing well. He has no place to go, so he is staying with us now. After he heals and gets beyond some immediate medical needs, Pastor Genada has agreed to take him in. Please continue to pray for him and his healing.

Brian has been home with his family for a few weeks and will return in a couple of weeks to continue on the home construction. On the 8th of June 8 new families moved into new homes. 4 of these were elderly widows who did not have a place to stay. We thank God for His provision for those in need. Please Continue to pray for this project.

Cross International has helped Pastor Genada build a school for the deaf students. Pastor Genada, Rose and the students are very happy. We praise God for His provision. Please continue to pray for the Genadas and their ministry.

Julie, Laura Lynn, and Terry Ann are home with their families and friends for the summer. On behalf of the team here we are very thankful for your prayers and support without which, we would not see the transformation which God is doing in Jubilee.

Prayer request

Praising Him for healing to Mary's neck

Jodlin as he heals from surgery.

Genada's and their ministry.

Containers funding for shipping, safe and secure passage.

Home construction. people placement.

Kathy and Beaver as they complete transition.

School construction, cirriculum funding, and teachers.

Gonaives bon mache Fire...

2011-05-30T17:22:00.000-07:00

Hello

Mary and I spent the first two weeks in May visiting with friends and family in Waynesville and working on packing containers. On the 13th of May the Kids Against Hunger food which was packaged in Arizona arrived and we placed it on the container also. The containers are almost ready to ship. Please be in prayer concerning the containers shipping and receiving. On the 14th of May I returned to Haiti and Mary stayed for a procedure on her neck which she had completed yesterday morning. She will be returning on Saturday. Please continue to pray for her healing, travel, and transition.

Brian arrived on the 9th of may to continue working on the houses. It is awesome to see how God continues to work. What a blessing it is to see the reality of those who have, meeting with those who have not. Such a beautiful picture of who God is and how the Body of Christ works together. In addition to the 10 houses which are occupied, there are 8 more with roof trusses on them which need paint and metal roof installed prior to occupation. In addition to those there are 8 more with walls installed and currently working on placing the trusses. in addition to these, there are 5 more foundations ready. It is hopeful that when Brian leaves on the 10th of May there will be 26 completed and several more partially completed. Please continue to pray for this effort and discernment from the Holy Spirit as people in need are placed in houses.

The school year ended with a blast having graduation on Tuesday evening and water day on Wednesday. I do not know who had the most fun, the children or the adults. We are continuing the construction on the school building and looking forward to school starting back. We will begin a first grade with kids in school all day. Doreen has given me a budget for the curriculum and it is $6,500 for next year. If you have not already given towards this and would like to, it would be a blessing to the school. Please pray for the school, construction, funding, and teachers.

The (bon mache) or market building in Gonaives burned Friday night. The fire destroyed everything in the building and the roof, though the walls are still standing. There was somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 vendors whose livelihood depended upon this market. The vendors would leave their inventory in the market at night and it would be locked up. Many of the vendors lost everything they had. The new president visited on Sunday to encourage the people and also gave them some hope about replacing the roof on the market. Sunday afternoon as I was looking at it, there were many people looking in with bewilderment and unbelief, as some picked through the still smoldering debris from the fire looking for any valuable remnants. Please pray for those in need as they start over again.

It was a great blessing to have Beaver and Kathy Brooks walking in our stead while we passed time with family and friends in the states. Seeing the change and new relationships is awesome. It is a tremendous thing which God is doing here and the way He moves people as He pleases, to do His will. Kathy and Beaver believes that God is leading them to Haiti full time now. The last few weeks have been bittersweet for them as they make preparations to come. It is always difficult to leave family and friends, but is more important to be in Gods will anywhere than anywhere out of His will. I just read the book written by the wife of Jim Eliot and seen the commitment which he the others with him had to God. The statement he made "he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to keep what he cannot lose" gave such a since of committing his life to God's cause. I believe it is important as Christians for our life and material things of this world to be less important than identifying with God's interest in other people. May we seek this purpose in our lives as followers of Christ. Beaver and Kathy are tying up loose ends and making preparations to come in August. Please pray for them and their family.

Love in Christ,

Prayer request

Mary's neck, travel and transition.

Containers shipping and receiving.

Home construction. people placement.

Kathy and Beaver as they complete transition.

Persons who were negatively effected by fire in market building.

School construction, curriculum funding, and teachers.

Kids Against Hunger and Other Adventures...

2011-04-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

Mary and I have had many opportunities over the last few weeks to visit with Many of our friends. We arrived in Cottonwood Arizona on the 14th of April where some of our friends (Kim Gould and Karen Freeman) were led of God to begin a Kids against Hunger (KAH)satellite food packaging program which will benefit the hunger needs of Haiti.

After the earthquake we had the opportunity to meet Tim Stomer, a representative of KAH. It was through this relationship that this satellite has begun. KAH combines, rice, vitamins and nutrition which supplies all the daily vitamins and supplements for children in one meal. If you would like to know more about them or help curb hunger throughout the world by starting a packaging operation in your community, you can see their work at kidsagainsthunger.org. It was great for Mary and I to be a part of this event which will help curb the hunger pains in Jubilee and throughout the world.

On Saturday the 16th of April, the local churches in the community of Verde Valley and Cottonwood Arizona came together to package 28,512 meals which will be shipped to Gonaives. Praise the Lord for His provision. You can help Verde Vally continue in this effort by giving at kahverdevalley.org or you can E-MAIL THEM .

Since then Mary and I have traveled to Dolores, Estes Park, Auroura, and are now in Alomosa, Colorado sharing with small groups and churches about what God is doing in Haiti. It is great to spend time with friends who have been to Gonaives, and meet new friends along the way. Our friends are making sure we take some time to rest and see some of God's creation, such as the grand canyon, rocky mountains, navajo indian reservations and more. We will be traveling to Omaha this weekend to visit with our friends there before returning to South Ga on Monday and then returning to Haiti the 14th of May. We are thankful to God for friends He has placed in our lives.

Please pray for Mary as she is having neck pains again. She will be seeing the Doctors again next week for treatment.
Continued provision for the children's basic needs.
Job skills training.
Provision of jobs.

Haiti Happenings...

2011-04-14T15:08:00.000-07:00

It has been wonderful seeing the hand of God at work in lives the people of Jubilee. Last week a team from Brunswick visited and shared the love and hope of God with those in Jubilee. It was spring break in the school, so they were able to do a VBS with the children and youth.

Brian has now completed 8 homes and returned home last week to be with his family for a few weeks. You can see the latest update on the home construction at http://www.omaharapidresponse.blogspot.com/ . On Tuesday we gathered 8 of the women who did not have homes and were able to give them a home. The team was able to help them with the painting on the inside and outside of the houses. It was a great blessing to see their joy unspeakable which gave them hope. Four of these women were earthquake victims. Three of them had lost their husbands during the earthquake. On Wednesday of last week the team gathered around these women and prayed with them. On Thursday they were able to help them with many of their needs. We praise God for His provision.

Kathy and Beaver have been doing a wonderful job with the job skills training and this week it was a blessing to see these ladies which Kathy had been teaching how to make jewelry, journals, and wind chimes. On Friday they had an opportunity to bring their crafts to the school where they had an opportunity to sell them. It was awesome to watch these women with hope in their eyes as their things sold. I am sure it was a hope of a new way of life which will allow them to provide for their family with honor and dignity. We praise God for His provision through commerce. Beaver is also leading an effort with the medical community to bring training to nurses and Doctors in Gonaives so they will be better equipped to do their jobs.

With love in Christ

Prayer request

Continued provision for the children's basic needs.

Job skills training.

Provision of jobs.

Update from Kathy...

2011-03-19T08:10:00.000-07:00

Worth it!

We have a morning class where young mothers in the Jubilee are learning to create Journals. It is being taught by a young Haitian man, that approached us about buying some of his journals he had made. The quality is absolutely amazing! So we have employed him to teach this trade to others.

We are in our second and final week off this class and we already have people lined up to begin again next week.

This youn man, Mr. Benson, is one of the best teachers I have ever seen. He is taking everything down to the basics. Teaching how to use a measuring tape and even how to add fractions. He is brilliant and patient and Haitian and a believer as well! We about had church in class yesterday when Nicole Brown ( so happy to have her here this week!) and a friend of Benson’s came in and played guitar!

We are meeting in his house, toward the back of Jubilee..a very simple block structure decked out with two simple benches, well used and old formica table that is literally falling apart from good use.

That is it. That is everything in the house.

And he lives there with his mom and I don’t know how many siblings. ( I’ve met several, and their kids ! )

We needed tools and supplies to start the class, so with money that had been donated to the Trade School we bought some simple things and he actually made some of the tools we are using. Pretty amazing stuff. I think we will soon have a little business here !

The Jewelry Making Class is bursting with creativity. We have one student that I almost kicked out of the mama class and sent to the teenager class at first, thinking she was about 12 years old. The other mama’s had to convince me this young woman was 18 and a mama herself. She has an eye for color combining and putting elements of glass, metal and beads together. Amazing stuff.

We’ve also added Wind Chimes to our repertoire…The teenager class has really gotten into it. We are experimenting with different materials, found objects from Jubilee, sand tumbled glass, small pieces of drift wood, shells, bottle caps… Recycling at its height! Can’t wait to get these perfected and out for all the world to see the beauty in this place!

This week we are blessed to Have Bethany Preston and Lexi Holloway here. They began teaching hand sewing to the Momma class. The class was packed with 18 students…all very eager to learn to stitch. It was beautiful to watch as the young women from two different cultures, with two different skin tones…became as one group….young women who want to sew. Pretty simple, ridiculously beautiful .

We are so happy to have Bethany and Lexi,,,,just wish we could keep them for about a month!

The young men’s carpentry class is continuing to grow. Taylor Brooks is heading up the team this week, with Zach Preston and Daniel Brickhouse. They asked each student, why they are coming to class, what they hope to get from coming. “To learn to build …to help my family…to have skills to get a job” … the answers. They walked the young men through the process of having to figure out the plans, the costs and the overall effectiveness of a project. Adding the calculating skills to the actual building skills they have gotten in the last few weeks. Each teacher comes and gives something else to these young men. They are being equipped and empowered!

Martha Hanna and her Mid-wives , Ruth and Pris, continue to do a stunning job with the local nurses and mid wives of Jubilee. There class continues to be filled to overflowing. They have taught on practical issues that have sparked lots of conversations ! On Monday Miss Ruth “gave birth” to a lovely baby doll complete with his balloon placenta attached! I hear there is a video! The students have all seen Martha’s heart for them and they love her dearly. I don’t know how she will be allowed to leave !

We are also blessed this week to have a medical team from First Baptist Brunswick Georgia here. Led by Shannon Hemenway, they have documented health record for all the students at the Jubilee school, tended to daily wounds and today are doing a clinic in Roboto. What a huge blessing to have them here.

I was amazed to watch my not- so – little girl , Rebecca take charge when a woman showed up with a bloody foot. She immediately got her into the clinic, and started getting her cleaned up. With Nicole’s and Meghan’s help they cleaned , disinfected and bandaged her all by themselves. The lady gave them all big hugs and “thank you’s” afterward. Was a sweet moment!

At night the house is full of creativity , conversations and laughter! We have had some awesome times of worship together and sharing of hearts. It is always refreshing to hear what God is doing in each person and where they see Him in this land.

The rhythm of this place is a far cry from the fast paced “get it done” pace at home. It is sometimes outrageously aggravating to be prepared to start class at 9 am and at 9:45 to actually have to send word to the students that it is TIME! To have to pay 200 USD and then wait 6 days to get our power line restored after an unknown large truck broke our power line. To have an unending stream of needs brought to us 30 times a day!

But honestly , the aggravations don’t even merit thought, compared to the beauty we are blessed to see daily!

I was asked yesterday what one thing makes it worth the effort to be here and to do this. Simple, I turned around and pointed at the women, the Mamas, walking with us. That.

The people , all day, everyday. So worth it.

Thank you for your prayers and support, for trusting us to do this well.

MUCH love from Haiti,

Kathy Brooks

MUCH Ministries, Inc.

www.muchministries.org

Haiti and Other Places...

2011-03-12T05:27:00.000-08:00

Hello

Mary and I are now in Fayettville Ohio after spending last week with our children in NC. We experienced a great week of rest and time with family and time with God. Our son Justin is now attending Armstrong University where he is studying music and has hopes of graduating in December of this year. Our Daughter Lori and husband Scott live in Wake Forrest NC where he is attending Seminary and she is a teacher. It was great to be with each of them this past week. Mary continues to do great with the change in her medications.

We are continuing to hear great reports about what God is doing in Haiti. The job skills training and other things are going great there. We are thankful for the sacrifice and contribution Beaver and Kathy brooks are making in building relationships into the Kingdom of God. Attached is an update (possibilities today) from them which tells a great story of what is happening there. Please continue to pray for them as they work there. Please look at the work which they are doing in Haiti and in Georgia. You can find their information on the "Other Opportunities to Serve" tab located at the top of this page.

Brian arrived on Tuesday and will resume the construction on the houses. We are excited about the opportunities God is giving us to work with the people in the community and provision of Jobs. Please pray for Brian and also for Omaha Rapid response which is the organization which Brian has been participating with for several years. ORR has been helping widows and orphans in Pakistan, Haiti and specifically in Jubilee for several years. Last week I shared with you other opportunities to serve and there organization in Omaha is definitely a great place to plug into ministry. You can find out more about this ministry by also clicking the tab "Other Opportunities to Serve." Please pray for Brian and ORR and the work which they do for the kingdom of God.

We are also thankful for Cross International and the work which they are doing around the world. They are responsible for the financing of the homes which are being built in Jubilee. They are really working hard to get help to the poorest of the poor. Their information is also listed in "Other Opportunities to Serve." Also attached (EQ Housing) is some stories they have written about earthquake victims and ministries which are helping them. Some of these will be recipients of the houses being built in Jubilee. Please look at their work and pray that God would show you how you could help.

With Love in Christ,

Prayer request

School and those who serve there.

Housing project and community

Our personal spiritual growth

Brian, Beaver and Kathy as they serve in Jubilee

Community development and job skills training.

Be devoted to one another in love...

2011-02-22T07:08:00.000-08:00

It is great to be beside my wife again. I arrived on Friday night and we have been resting and spending some time with each other. With Doctor's advise, last Thursday Mary stopped taking her diabetic medicine and she is doing a lot better. It seems that the metformin was causing the nausea. We praise the Lord for this as it seems she no longer needs the metformin. Thank so much for your prayers for her.

On Monday the 14th, Kathy and Beaver Brooks arrived in Gonaives to work in our stead for some time while we are here sharing the needs of Jubilee with churches and individuals and invite them to get involved. We are thankful for them and their sacrifice for the people of Jubilee and the Kingdom of God. While they are there, they will be focusing on community development and job skills training. They will be utilizing teams who are coming during this time, to accomplish these goals.

Dr. Karen McCarthy returned to Gonaives last week with a medical team from Jacksonville, which give life and hope to many in desperate situations. They were able to do a clinic at Pastor Genada's church on Tuesday and in Jubilee on Wednesday and had several clinics in PAP. Please pray for this team as they minister to the medical needs of Haiti in the Name of Jesus. We are thankful for them and for the sacrifices which they make for the Kingdom of God.

We serve an amazing God who continues to change and transform Jubilee. The school continues to go well and the teachers are wonderful as they teach and encourage the children in life giving ways. Encouraging them to do things which will give honor and respect to each other and to God. Brian has went home for a few weeks to be with his wife and will return on the 8th of March to continue the housing project. We thank God for those who have given and sacrificed for those who need a home. May God be glorified through it all. He is worthy!
I have been meditating on what it means to prefer one another in our relationships and in ministry. Romans 12:10 says " Be kindly devoted to one another, with brotherly love, in honor preferring one another". This is easy for us to do with people we love and are close to, but as Christians we are called to do this to people who are not so easy to love to those who sometimes hurt us or do not love and honor us in return. We do not have the opportunity to exercise this kind of love when everything is going smooth, it is when things are in tension that we have this opportunity. I think what is being said, is to make the other person more important than yourself or make yourself less important than the other person. As I have been mediating on this and trying to make the application in my own life God has been showing me how I need to expand this to ministries and how we relate to one another as we do Kingdom work. When Nehemiah was building the wall, it was a community effort which involved each family working on the wall where they lived. The idea was to get the wall up for protection from their enemies. If there is a breach in the wall they could be attacked. So they were not in competition with each other to see who get it done first, whose wall would look the best, or who could gather the most resources, they were working together to protect the community of God's people from the enemy. If all the families finished their work, and one was lacking, it would be as though they had not accomplished anything, because their would continue to be a breach in the wall. I believe as they worked some had more mortar, some had more, rocks, some had more bricks, some had more water, because they had a well. They shared their resources, where they could finish the task and be protected, where there would not be a breach in the wall. As I meditate on preferring one another in ministry, God continues to show us ways which we can prefer another and share our resources where there will not be a breach in the wall for the enemy to come against us. If one of us fail, we all fail. Today I want to share with you a couple of ministries which God has allowed me to witness as they work on the wall of the Kingdom of God. They have put their hand to the work and I would like for you to have an opportunity to know them and pray about how God would have you to help them and get involved in their ministry. Attached is their info and it will be posted on our blog under the heading "other opportunities to serve." I will be sharing others with you in the future and also place them on the blog.

Sherrie Fausey is one which many of you know already. She lives in Port-au-Prince Haiti and I have had to opportunity to work with her for several years. The other is Mike Leland. He has an orphanage, school and works with many local pastors and people in need. His primary work is north of Gonaives. You can see his work at the sites below. Please pray for them and their work on the wall of the Kingdom of God as we build together.
www.newgenerationhaiti.org Blog is http://newgenerationhaiti.blogspot.com/

With Love in Christ,

Prayer Request

Mary; we rejoice in her victories

School and those who serve there.

Housing project and community

Our personal spiritual growth

Beaver and Kathy as they serve in Jubilee

Community development and job skills training.

Reflecting the Love of God...

2011-01-25T11:48:00.000-08:00

Mary is with her sister Cynthia in Waycross. She went to see the internal disease Doctor last Thursday and the test did not reveal any problems. She continues to have nausea after she eats, as she did before she was sick, though with medication she is able to hold food down. She went to her Doctor on Monday and will be seeing a specialist to see what is causing her nausea. I sure miss her being here beside me. She conveys her appreciation for your prayers and intercession on her behalf. Please continue to pray for her.

The work here is going well, Julie, Laura Lynn, and Terry returned to Gonaives on the 8th of January and school has been back in session for two weeks now. It is a blessing to see the children maturing and learning. They love to share with us the English words which they are learning. Laura Lynn has been working towards getting Haitian teachers to help complete this year and for next year as we expand. This week we have a team from Julie's home church in Va. They are having a VBS for the children. Julie is enjoying spending some time with her dad. Please continue to pray for these servants as they represent Him in their task each day.

Brian returned on the 27th of December and is continuing on the housing project. We now have 14 Foundations complete, walls on three houses complete and working on placing rafters on the first house. It is exciting to see a community being built. It is also great to see some of these guys which do not have a lot of work, have jobs to supply their families. We are thankful for Cross International allowing us to participate with them in this project as we work together for the Kingdom of God. It was great to have Jim, Phil and Jeff from Nebraska, here for few days helping out with this project.Brian is here to build houses, his main objective is to disciple and be discipled. As followers of Christ how would each of our jobs be different if this was our primary Goal. Please continue to pray for this community.

Darrin Mitchell from Toccoa Ga has been here since the 26th of December working with local pastors and helping with many different mission projects. It is great to see the the pastors coming together in unity, working together for the Kingdom of God. It was great to have Jim Hambrick here with friend Rick Via for a few days. They taught local pastors and were able to visit some families and pastors in Jubilee and also pass some time with Pastor Genada. Please pray for the local pastors here as they are really on the front-lines here.

We are continuing to meditate on relationships and this morning we had a great devotion with the team from Va. We talked about love and the scriptures were used about the many things which we can have, but if we do not have love for our fellowman, what we have is nothing and we are nothing more than a clanging symbol. It reminded me of the devotion we had a few weeks ago where we agreed that our relationships to one another was more important than the work which we do. If those relationships do not reflect the love of God, then why are we here, we would be just as well to go home. I have meditated on this over the past few weeks and how it would apply to our local bodies of believers in our churches and other Christian organizations. Would it not be the same? Our relationships and love towards one another and preferring one another is more important than the work which our mission produces. The work would only be a conduit to testify of how God's love allows us to work together in relationship. When we say we are doing it in the "name of God" or in the "name of Christ" and Their love in not manifested in what we do through relationship, then why are we doing it. That would be an indicator that our relationship with God is false. God our Father, please help us to walk and represent you in our relations with one another, in a way which truly represent you as we walk in His steps amen.

With Love in Christ,

Prayer request

Mary

School and those who serve there.

Housing project and community

Our personal spiritual growth

New Update on Mary...

2011-01-13T11:47:00.001-08:00

Hello

Mary continues to have some complications, so she will be leaving this afternoon to return to Georgia. She has felt better and strengthened the last few days but continues to experience diarrhea and vomiting. She will see her Doctor and hopefully, prayerfully, get things back on track. Please continue to pray for her. Thanks

With love in Christ

Emory

Update on Mary...

2011-01-07T11:55:00.000-08:00

hello

Mary is now doing much better. The Doctor allowed her to come home where she could sleep last night. The diarrhea continues but is in controllable state at this time. Doctors without borders is the organization running this cholera treatment clinic and they have several french doctors and nurses there who have taken good care of her. We just returned from a checkup with them this morning and everything seems to be progressing well. We give God all honor, praise, and glory for recovery thus far and believing He will give her full recovery. We have been overwhelmed with the responses from you who have been and are continuing to pray for her. We know that God is honoring your prayers as you interceded on her behalf. Saying thanks seems so trivial for all you have done to pray and encourage us, but know we love you and thank you for it.

With love in Christ

Emory

Prayers for Mary...

2011-01-05T18:19:00.000-08:00

Hello

Hope each of you are enjoying the new year. We need your prayers during this time. Mary has cholera. She is being treated in a cholera treatment center here. They gave her 8 units of fluids today and she is taking plenty of oral hydration which seems to be giving her some strength but she continues to have diarrhea. Please pray for this to stop and healing. We love you and thank you for your prayers.

With love in Christ

Emory and Mary

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-25T16:43:00.000-08:00

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...

2010-12-08T13:01:00.000-08:00

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

Identify with Christ's Interest...

2010-11-28T19:29:00.000-08:00

Hello

It has been a few of very trying weeks that have taxed each of us here in Gonaives and Jubilee. It has been one of the most emotional roller-coasters we have been on, but God has seen us through it and He has been glorified in so many ways. I have not been able to communicate with many of you, because of computer issues, so I will recap what has happened in the last three weeks. I am thankful for those at SSCC who have blessed the ministry with a new computer and for Barry Harrell recovering all my files and info from the old one. It is a blessing to be able to communicate with you again. When Hurricane Tomas passed by Gonaives on Friday night November 5th, it left a about a foot of water in the city and in Jubilee. It was a trying time for many families. Laura Lynn and Rachel were able to assist many people during that time by allowing them to come to the school to dry off and have a place to sleep. We thank God for His refuge in times of storms. Julie was at the house and made preparations for the worst along with Amos, Gertrude and Marvins. There was a little water in the Garage but it did not enter the rest of the house. We praise God for honoring our prayers.

On Monday the 8th of November after Tomas left we were faced with yet another storm called cholera. By Wednesday 8 people in Jubilee died from it. The whole team here was awesome in helping those who had cholera. There were many sick in their homes and many sick people came to the school to get help. The hospital in Roboto was not taking anyone with Cholera and the other hospitals were overflowing. It was not a good situation for three days. On Wednesdayfluids to hundreds of people. We praise God for the well which was very timely. We were able to help with education for prevention. Mary, Julie, Laura Lynn, Rachel, and Brian all worked very hard to keep people alive through iv, oral re-hydration, and education. In the mist of the crisis, Nathan Blessing with Cross International traveled to Gonaives with a truck loaded with supplies which we were out of or did not have. We praise God for His provision through this time.

On the morning of Saturday the 13th, the hospital again would not assist people who had cholera. Laura Lynn took several people in who had needs and began helping them again. In the afternoon we were able to return the 5 patients at the school to the hospital in Roboto. Cholera seems to be better, but reports are they are expecting it to get worse. Over 1,600 people have lost their lives to cholera in Haiti. Near 11am that morning, Julie Aurthur who is our teacher from Virginia, received a phone call that her brother Justin Arthur had been killed in an auto accident. I have never experienced this and do not know what this family has had to endure, but I know God has been there with them. Julie was able to get a flight out that evening with Mary going with and beside her. I thank God for Mary's compassion for others which compelles her to minister to them. Mary has returned and Julie will return on the 30th. Please keep Julie and her family in your prayers.

On Tuesday the 16th we received a call from some Doctors and nurses near Cap Haitia who needed a ride to get to the airport on Wednesday. I have never traveled there but the scenery was great and it reminded me of what Jubilee will look like one day. They were able to spend the night with us in Gonaives and made it to PAP in time for their flight. We seen God's hand of protection and provision in a mighty way through this. We thank God for new friends and relationships.

We thank God for his provision through those who have visited with us over the past few weeks. The first week of November, we had a team from the Waycross, Blackshear, Ga. area with us. Their activities included completing the top on the cistern, teaching worship songs to the children in the school, and giving lots of love to many children and adults alike. They also were very good friends who gave us encouragement to keep going. We thank God for those who have worked on this cistern to provide clean water to this community. It was definitely in a good time with the cholera outbreak. On the 12th through the 14th, we had a few representatives from Somebody cares Houston who were awesome prayer warriors for the season we were going through. In addition to praying, they helped with the medical issues, told bible stories with puppets and gave much love to everyone. They blessed the school breakfast program with much peanut butter. They were a great encouragement for Mary. The last two weeks Kathy Brooks has led a couple teams who have worked on many different projects including gardening and small business'. We also had a team here from First Baptist Hattiesberg who have been a blessing helping with construction, medical needs and loving the children. Brian Smith has been here for a few weeks working on the housing project. We now have two foundations completed and are working on the walls of one. He will return soon to continue on this project. We thank him and those from Omaha who are working beside us in Jubilee. We praise God for those who visit us and bring the hope of God's unconditional love with them to share with us and our friends.

If you would like to see more updates on what has happened the last few weeks, you can look at muchministies.org, omaharapidresponse.blogspot.com, omaharapidresponse.org, or you can find Laura Lynn on facebook at lauralynnnichols. Many of you have asked how you can help with the school. There are opportunities to help in the school through jubileekidsinc.org or see attached (attached coming soon).

The presidential election was held today with much violence and people dumping ballot boxes in the street. It is expected to bring unrest. Please continue to pray for the government and this process.

I hope each of you have had a wonderful week this week as you have reflected on what you are thankful for during this season. As I have reflected the last few weeks, the thing that I am thankful for is God placing people around me who in the mist of a battle run towards the sound of the gunfire. Through all that has happened everyone involved has served selflessly and had the interest of others as more important than their own lives and welfare. I think that is what Oswald Chambers is talking about as he encourages us to identify with Christ's interest in other people. As we continue to ponder Jesus' probable action I am realizing that many times it calls us to a place of sacrifice and suffering on the behalf of others which is what Jesus set an example for us to do. I have found that I have failed in this area so many times because I thought what was on my agenda was more important than what God wanted to do in the lives of others, therefore I followed my desires and missed identifying His interest in others. Lord help us each day to deny ourselves and follow in your light and your steps in Jesus name. We thank you for your prayers and support and are blessed to see God honoring our prayers as we work in the Kingdom together.

With love in Christ,

Prayer request

Mary is doing much better with very little nausea.

Provision for medika manmba
Cholera and those effected.
Construction projects.
Government and election process
Bus to help with transportation.

Cholera Epidemic

2010-11-11T07:51:00.000-08:00

Hello
We are once again in a storm of a different kind as the cholera epidemic is taking the lives of many and leaving others very sick. Monday morning when we reached Jubilee 2 people had died and later in the morning another. Brian had sent one man to the hospital on Sunday and they turned him away. Many went to the hospital on Monday to be turned away and sent home. So we began to do what we could. Laura Lynn was able to administer several IVs and we encouraged people to drink plenty of water and educated them as best we could in prevention. We set a water station and begin to give people clean water. We thank God for the well and it's provision. On Tuesday we were overwhelmed with sick people again and continued to do what we were doing the day before. Four more people died in Jubilee. Yesterday around midday the hospital begin to receive people again, so we took about 12 people we had there to the hospital and encouraged others who were sick to go there. Over 60 have died here in Gonaives and over 600 in the country. It is amazing to see the team here work so well and with such dedication and selflessness in the mist of this storm. Below is a report from an NGO of what is happening around the country. Our fears are this is only the beginning. Please continue to pray for the people here and let others know, as I still do not have my full contact list.

With love in Christ

OPERATIONAL BIOSURVEILLANCE

Current official stats are more than 9,971 cases and 643 fatalities.

In some areas of Haiti, we have confirmation that in-patient statistics are under-reported by as much as 400%.

There is no question of under-reporting. If we assume the case counts are 1/4 the true community load, then we now have nearly 36k cases shedding pathogen into the environment. We believe the true statistic to be closer to more than 50k based on the degree of under-reporting. This is an uncontrolled, uncontained epidemic of cholera that has exceeded public health capacity to investigate and assess every site reported and every sample received.

Evidence now suggests the epidemic has crossed the border into the Dominican Republic, which was expected.

HOPITAL ALBERT SCHWEITZER: EPIDEMIOLOGICAL DATA

We thank our colleagues for sharing this important information from the world-renowned Hopital Albert Schweitzer. Of particular note is the bimodal peak of the epidemic curve, likely reflective of waxing and waning transmission in the patient catchment area of HAS along the Artibonite River, particularly as transmission is seen in rural areas. It is clear epidemic activity in this area of Haiti has not ceased.

CAP HAITIEN, BAS LIMBER, LIMBE: IDIS CAT 5

The Cap Haitien / Bas Limbe / Limbe region is now assessed to be an IDIS Cat 5. Medical response grid failure is imminent without immediate intervention.

From an HEAS partner:

I made a visit to both Limbe hospitals yesterday and brought more supplies to Bord de Mer Limbe clinic (Haiti Village Health) where I ended up staying night due to huge volumes of rain and assisting with cholera patients here. Even with the rain (likely causing many to never make it) clinic is seeing 5-10 patients a day. 6 to the hospital this morning one of whom died. Late last night we were at (Hospital) Bon Samaritan which is overflowing with patients. The last two days had been crazy and they were hoping to set up a second tent today to accommodate increased patient load.

The situation at the other Limbe hospital (Government hospital St Jean) was worse. We brought a patient there only to discover that a huge tent and building full of patients was being attended by no one. There was no doctor or nurse present, dry IV bags, and when we asked how a doctor could be reached no one really knew. All patients from the clinic are now being routed to Bon Samaritan after stabilization with IV or oral fluid and the hospital has said to send them along no problem.

Also had another report from Clinic Ebenezer who said they were overrun with patients and on their last box of saline. Staff have been overwhelmed and they are looking for nurses.

I think that things are not great at the hospital (St Michel) or at the gymnasium where they are putting the suspect cholera cases. I had thought that MSF was all set up, but they still won’t be for a couple of days apparently. There have been a number of deaths in the community around FSM (Fort St Michel), and I understand people don’t want to stay at the gymnasium. I also understand that they are treating people at Milot. I have been in touch with people from the Baptist Convention Hospital in Quatier Morin, about possibly opening a ward there.

I have been speaking with contacts in PAP and they are hoping to send more supplies and staffing but many more are needed, as you can see how the spread is happening.

CHOLERA IN CAZALE

From an HEAS partner:

The clinic in Cazale started seeing suspected cholera cases yesterday. Stool samples have been sent to the capital for confirmation. They have only seen a few cases so far, and have adequate supplies and personnel. I will update if this changes. Cazale is located about 5 miles inland (up in the mountains) from Cabaret. Many of their patients walk for 6+ hours to get to them, so people often show up in pretty bad shape. Their first patient required 7.5 L of LR and 3 L of ORS before he urinated.

PORT DE PAIX: 20 FATALITIES REPORTED

CAP HAITIEN: 165 HOSPITALIZATIONS AND 7 FATALITIES REPORTED

GONAIVES AT IDIS CAT 5

We have multiple sources reporting 60 fatalities in Gonaives both in medical facilities and out in the community over the span of 48 hrs. This is an instance where timely warning coupled to rapid medical response surge was not successful. The mayor of Gonaives reported people were forced to walk to the hospital because taxis refused to transport them. He was quoted as saying, "Patients have died on the way to the hospital, the bodies are wrapped in blankets and placed near the cemetery in the city." The transport of these bodies were observed by locals, who now have mounted protests over the handling of the situation. At this point, establishment of a CTC is in development.

LA POINTE: CHOLERA REPORTED, WITH COMMUNITY ANXIETY NOTED

We have report of community anxiety due to cholera patient demand placed on the BERAKCA Hospital in La Pointe. As a result of a Request For Assistance, HEAS is mobilizing response assets to support the community. La Pointe is flanked on both sides of the coast by communities that have already reported cholera.

HEAS SITREP 11.9.10

SUMMARY
Current official stats are more than 9,500 cases and 583 fatalities. In some areas of Haiti, we have confirmation that in-patient statistics are under-reported by as much as 400%.

There is no question of under-reporting. If clinically apparent case counts are assumed to be 1/4 the true community load, then nearly 36k cases are shedding pathogen into the environment. We believe the true statistic to be closer to more than 50k based on the degree of under-reporting. This is an uncontrolled, uncontained epidemic of cholera that has exceeded public health capacity to investigate and assess every site reported and every sample received. Substantial political interference and resultant lack of proper coordination at the Health Cluster and WASH levels continues to severely compromise timely reporting of information critical to save lives. This has been a problem since the earthquake in January 2010. Haitian officials have declared the cholera epidemic to be an issue of national security, which may further contribute to political interference in information sharing.

Evidence now suggests the epidemic has crossed the border into the Dominican Republic, which was expected.

KEY UPDATES
Cholera has now seeded the Haitian environment in more sites than can be properly assessed. Evidence of community transmission is present in multiple sites such as the northwest, greater Port au Prince area, and strongly suspected in the southern peninsula. Transmission modes include waterborne, food contamination, and human-to-human contact.

Transmission in the original epicenter of the epidemic along the Artibonite River has decreased substantially and shifted to surrounding rural areas, extending to the northern coast. As feared, cholera transmission in communities along the coastal highway between St Marc and Cite Soleil likely resulted in dozens of indigenous cases now identified in Cite Soleil, with dire implications for Port au Prince. Multiple confirmed cases without travel history to Artibonite have been documented in both Cite Soleil and Port au Prince, and hundreds more suspect cases have been declared inside Port au Prince. Significant political interference prevents full clarity of the situation inside the city. As of this report, HUEH and other major medical centers inside Port au Prince are stable and able to handle the patient flow.

Sporadic, unconfirmed rumor suggests cholera has reached Carrefour, however this information is treated with a high degree of uncertainty. Eventual confirmation in Carrefour is expected. Other areas have reported cholera such as Grand and Petit Goave; confirmed or not, this would not be unexpected. All suspect cholera cases tested in Leogane have reportedly been negative, however it would not be unexpected to see confirmation in the very near future. Suspect cholera cases have been reported in Les Cayes, Jacmel, and several other rural communities in the southern peninsula. We assess it is highly likely the epidemic has indeed extended to the southern peninsula.

The issue of “suspected” versus “confirmed” reporting and decision points for action have been hotly debated inside the HEAS community. As was observed in the United States during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, the number of samples collected is disproportionate to the ability of LNSP to process them in a timely fashion and publicly declare confirmation status. The entire nation is now sensitized to report cholera, however many have never seen cholera before. This implies means the false positive rate is likely increased. Diarrheal disease not due to cholera is caused by a wide variety of other endemic pathogens and is seen this time of year during the major rainy season. All of this acknowledged, hesitation to verify or assume “cholera until proven otherwise” may mean the difference between 1 and 10 fatalities for a given community. This is a tremendous challenge to the HEAS community.

We find that the pattern of reporting, particularly with rural villages in the north with minimal baseline medical capacity, initial IDIS ratings reach Category 5 and then are quickly downgraded to Cat 4 once medical response is mobilized and responders become habituated to clinical care for cholera patients. Much of Artibonite Valley is now rated at IDIS 3 or lower.

Port au Prince is currently rated at IDIS Cat 1 to 3, depending on the specific site, with strong potential to reach Cat 5 in the coming days. Cite Soleil is likely to reach Cat 5 conditions before Port au Prince.

The closest site reporting cholera to the border with the Dominican Republic (DR) is approximately 10 miles and is not on a major roadway. That said, 3 suspect cases have been reported with positive travel history from Haiti to DR, and no acknowledgement has been provided to-date by DR officials. We assess it is highly likely cholera is inside DR’s borders. The HEAS has coordinated with DR officials to provide situational awareness to enable preparedness.

The major rainy season normally peaks in October and persists through November. We assess the pass-through of Hurricane Tomas provided environmental enhancement of cholera transmission due to flooding. We expect to see continued effects for the next several days.

STATUS OF THE BIOSURVEILLANCE GRID
The HEAS is a community of more than 600 online and offline ground medical responders, international experts in cholera ecology, operational biosurveillance analysts, meteorologists, veterinarians, sanitation specialists, and public health officials. The membership includes international NGOs, IGOs, UN, US agencies, and private citizens with specific, relevant expertise.

The HEAS Mid Action report, based on the initial 150 days of operations post-earthquake, displays the power of operational biosurveillance-facilitated distributive networking for early warning and rapid response. The HEAS community has now evolved into a self-regulating body that processes tactical event warning and forecast information to prompt verification and rapid “swarm” medical response activities. It is the largest group of its kind operating in Haiti.

CONCLUSION
The cholera epidemic in Haiti proceeds in an uncontrolled, uncontained fashion and will likely encompass all of Haiti within a matter of weeks. Ecological establishment will be pervasive regardless of ongoing response efforts.

Efforts to improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation are as challenging as they were post-quake, and now additional vast areas of Haiti will require similar attention. It is unlikely effort will be mobilized quickly enough to forestall the spread of cholera. Public health intervention in the areas of education, hygiene, and training of medical responders will continue to be important. However, the default operational position now is not to prioritize effort to prevent spread but to prevent or mitigate unnecessary fatalities. The HEAS is narrowly focused on early, actionable warning coupled to “swarm” medical response. We have observed time deltas between warning and imminent healthcare facility collapse can be as short as 24 hrs. The HEAS has encouraged high false positive rate reporting to ensure communications with involved medical facilities and staff can be established and resources mobilized quickly enough should they be
required. This process has already assisted several overwhelmed facilities and likely prevented unnecessary loss of life.

It is notable the function of the HEAS, as facilitated by operational biosurveillance analysts, is distinct from public health operations with a different focus, scope, and operations tempo. Although complimentary information sharing between the two communities would likely be more productive than maintaining a separation of operations, we have found public health involvement aside from consultative input to be largely irrelevant. This is a similar observation to what was observed during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic and likely reflects a well-understood lack of agility in public health function during rapidly evolving infectious disease crises and disasters.

The HEAS coordinates with other foreign nations about the situation in Haiti. As discussed above, DR will likely be the second country in the region to experience epidemic conditions. It is difficult to anticipate the next involved country thereafter. Advisories were sent by the HEAS to key elements of the United States medical community on 10/21, 10/22, and 11/4 in an effort to sensitize clinical awareness for travelers or patients transferred from Haiti. The discovery of cholera in travelers or patients from Haiti inside the United States will not be unexpected.

Continued independent "smart swarming", utilizing distributive networks for situational awareness, is strongly recommended with an expectation for a protracted period of response operations.

Eventual regionalization of cholera in the Caribbean is a strong possibility but not a certainty if the pandemic of the early 1990s is a guide.

ST MARC REGIONAL CASE COUNTS SUBSTANTIALLY DECREASED

We now have reports from HEAS partners in Villard and Pont Sonde that, as with the majority of the St Marc region, cholera case counts are substantially decreased now:

[Villard] We have collected numbers from our "UTC" in Villard, (just north of Pont Sonde and St Mark) and number of patients saturday was 10, Sunday was 2. They called to say that, after the rains, a few more were sick 'from time to time' but that it is all. This is down from 35/d last week and a peak of approx 115/d.

[Pont Sonde] Thankfully, we have had no deaths at the clinic and the number of cases has dropped dramatically.

MORE CHOLERA IN PORT AU PRINCE WITHOUT TRAVEL HISTORY FROM ARTIBONITE

From HEAS partner:

We have now 2 more patients who have rapid tested positive for cholera 01 at Hospital Bernard Mevs. One is 41 year old woman who lives in Salt in La Plain in a house, also has not travelled outside of her area in over a year. The other is a 33 year old woman who lives in a tent city not 10 minutes from Hospital Bernard Mevs that is called Cite Renord. Her water source is apparently a communal water source; she also has not traveled. This water source in this tent city should likely be investigated.

Update...

2010-11-07T15:46:00.000-08:00

Hello
We arrived in Gonaives yesterday afternoon. Things are well here and we continue to pray for our friends in need. The water entered many houses but is drying up today. I think my computer has crashed again, so I do not have many of my contacts. Please let others know we are OK. Thanks for your continued prayers.

With love in Christ

Hurricane Tomas Update...

2010-11-05T18:33:00.000-07:00

Hello

Mary and I are in Port-au-Prince today. We returned with a team from Blackshear which was supposed to fly out today. The flights have been canceled and they are now scheduled to fly out on Sunday. It has been raining here today with very little wind.

The water is beginning to rise in Gonaives. Pastor Genada, his family, and orphans have moved to the motel to prepare for another flood. Please pray for them as they minister to those in need around them.

Laura Lynn and Rachel are in Jubilee ministering to those in need there. Jubilee is probably one of the highest places in the city. We intended the school there to be a refuge in time of need. There are many houses there now which have water in them. We praise the Lord for His provision for those in need during this time. Laura Lynn and Rachel are in good spirits and doing what God puts before them. Please pray for them and the people in Jubilee.

Julie is at our house with Woobens, Amos, Gertrude, and Marvins. Water is not in the house yet, but they are making preparations and moving things upstairs. The house has two stories and is near the Mountain. When I talked with her a few minutes ago, she was in good spirits as they move things around and look for opportunities to minister. Please pray for them as they work this evening.

We met with Nathan with Cross International today and he gave us some food to take back and share with those in need. We are grateful for God's provisions. Mary has been burdened today to be back with the people she loves. We plan to travel back tomorrow if the roads are good. Please pray for us as we travel.

With much love in Christ,

Laughter brought to Jubilee...

2010-10-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

Doreen Sigman returned with another group from First Baptist Brunswick to work with the teachers and children in the school. It is always great to see the progress the children are making. They brought much laughter and fun with them for the children of Jubilee. On Friday night they showed the film Madagascar. The children are still going around saying "movin--movin" and asking to see it again. They also did a talent show on Saturday evening and many in the community showed up to watch it. This was a great time of family friends and community.

The team was wonderful in spending much time showing God's love to these little ones. Darrin young returned to finish the project on the composting toilet for the community. This will certainly be a great blessing to the community and help with the spread of disease such as Haiti experienced this week. Delono was a worker who helped with the construction on the toilet. Last week his wife gave birth to twins. Mike Hodge traveled with the team and it was a blessing having him and Darrin help out with the construction on the building. We were able to pour several more post and perlins. We are also praying for someone to come and oversee the construction project here. Please continue to pray for continued provision for building and someone to stay for a while to help out.

Joel Hannon led a team from New Hamshire this week. They were involved in many activities which helped build relationships into the Kingdom of God. Joel's wife Nancy and two daughters Naomi, Lydia, and Marilyn worked with the deaf school at pastor Genada,s church. It was good to see these relationships continue in dept from the past years. They also worked with Laura Lynn in the Jubilee school on Wednesday, teaching and encouraging the children.

Joel, his son Joey and Mark helped to build a cistern for the community. It has been a great blessing to have a well with good water and now with the cistern, the community will be able to have fresh water. It was a lot of work digging a four foot deep hole and building forms to mold the concrete, but it is near complete and we will be putting a top on it this week where the community can start using it. This is another way which will prevent the spread of diseases.

Dr Chris with his daughter Rachel and three nurses from Colorado had several clinics in Jubilee and Roboto which was a great blessing to those who do not have money to buy medicines. During the clinic some twins which were just born, were brought in. The mother died during childbirth and the aunt was taking care of them. Please pray for their family as they mourn this loss.

We are hearing that there has been 330 deaths with the Cholera outbreak and as many as 4,700 hospitalized. This has been difficult for those who have lost loved ones and those who have been and are sick. We have helped by bringing community awareness and taking extra precautions for ourselves. It seems that things are getting better at the moment. Please pray for this situation and those who are sick and have lost loved ones.

On Saturday November the 6th there will be a silent auction in Brunswick, Ga. to benefit the children in Jubilee. It will begin with a time of praise and worship. Attached is a flier which gives the date, place and time for this. You can also see other ways to get involved at www.jubileekidsinc.org We are thankful to those who see the need and are being doers of the word. Please pray for this event and those who are organizing it.

With much love and a big thanks from Mary and I to those who are praying and supporting what God is doing here. We are continually in awe at Him and His work.

With Love in Christ,

Prayer Request

Mary is doing much but continues to have minor stomach pains, and nausea.

Provision for medika manmba

Cholera and those effected.

Someone with construction experience to help with building.

Auction which will be held Saturday.

Is Anything Else Christianity?

2010-10-10T06:58:00.000-07:00

Hello

Mary and I arrived back in Gonaives last Saturday evening. It was great to spend a couple of days with Beaver and get caught up with all that has been happening while we were away. We are very thankful for Beaver and Kathy continuing to build into the Kingdom of God while we were away. Attached is some ideas which he shared with us for the time which he spent here. As you are beginning to enjoy a few cool nights there, we have been trying to readjust to the hot climate here. Mary has had some issues with nausea for a few weeks and it continues. Please continue to pray for her.

Everything in Jubilee is going great as we continue to build relationships there. We now have a well which produces good water. The school is working like a smooth oiled machine with some of the children reading in English now. The area near the market where the community cleared the garbage looks wonderful and they have started a community garden there. The medika manba program continues with about 30 severely malnourished children. It is a high nutrition peanut butter which is making a difference for these children. It is costing 1,050 dollars a month to maintain this program. Please pray for God's provision. We are also looking for a bus to help out with our transportation. We are looking for something like a shuttle bus with seats that will carry 20 or 25 people. It needs to be in good shape for the roads here and needs to be a diesel engine. If you know someone who may donate or help with this, please contact us. We would like to ship it from the states. Please pray for God's provision.

We are grateful for God's provision of a backhoe which we will have shipped over. Also thankful for God's provision for the container and items for school and construction. Please be in prayer about the shipping and receiving through customs of these items. I know it is only through Him and His protection that this can be accomplished.

While we were in the states, it was great to see many friends and family and spend time with them. It was a special time of spiritual growth for me as I spent time with God and in the word. While there, one of the books I read, was the book "In His Steps" by Charles Sheldon. It is a christian classic which has been around for years, but I have never read it. The phrase "what would Jesus do?" was most likely coined from this book. It was about a Pastor who challenged his congregation to make a promise for a year. Each person as they made decisions in their moments of life were to ask the question "what would Jesus do?" I know many of you, like I have, have heard the phrase, seen the belts and bracelets, and even quoted the phrase. The difference in the book was each person was to follow the question by acting out in their life what they thought was the probable actions of Jesus. This was based on each persons own convictions and they were not to judge others by their convictions. The result was community transformation and lives being changed. The tragedy of this, is the book is Christian fiction and not a reality. Since I have read this book, it has stirred my soul and forced me to ask the question "Is anything else Christianity?" It seems we can pray in the mornings and then we are able to pass through the day without including God in our small and big decisions of life. If we as Christians really did this, I am sure that our lives would be different. If we are followers of Christ, we do have the Holy Spirit with us to lead us through the small details of our life. It takes more than knowing what Jesus would do, it takes acting out Jesus probable actions in our life so that we truly and rightly represent Him. I would like some feedback as you ponder "is anything else Christianity?" Please pray for me as I strive to walk in His steps, though I fail many times. I encourage you to read this book and see if God speaks to you through it.

With love in Christ,

Prayer request

Healing and readjustment to environment for Mary

Provision for medika manmba

Provision for bus.

School children and those who are giving their all for these children

Here are some pictures from our visit at home:

Returning to Haiti...

2010-09-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone

Mary and I are doing fine, we are in south Fla and will be meeting with our friends at Cross International tomorrow morning before returning to Haiti on Saturday morning. It has been a joyous time of spending time with friends, family, and sharing with he Body of Christ here. One of the things which has made it a blessing while here, is having Kathy, Beaver, and Rebecca Brooks to walk in our stead in Gonaives. Kathy has returned this past Saturday and Beaver will return Monday. Below is a report from Kathy about the awesome things which our God is doing. Thanks to all of you who gave us a little of your time while we were home. Please pray for us as we return and continue our disciple making process.

With love in Christ

Psalm 119 :32 I will RUN in the way of your commandments when You enlarge my heart.

I guess ordinarily it is not a good report when we find out that our heart is enlarged….but when it is the hand of God that is stretching and making space it is indeed a good thing.!

Beaver and I and Rebecca and the many others that have been in Gonaives for the past two months are so grateful to be a part of the Beauty of Transformation in that place.

Blessed. To be a part of what our beautiful God is doing in Gonaives…Jubilee …and in each of us.

Beaver spent time gathering the young fathers of the community and talking about what it looks like to walk with God in the Kingdom of heaven here on earth. . How being a husband and a dad that loves God and loves their families is so crucial to the way the community develops and the way the children grow. He gently corrected and instructed for Life…not condemnation, but for a future and hope .

Construction on the new school and clinic building continued … I realized how very important it is to build this space. I believe every action is a prayer…and creating space for education, and health is a vivid prayer that says, God we agree with you for the transformation of this community! We say no to manipulation and fear and bondage..we say yes to clarity of thoughts, an ample supply of food and basic needs and that every person live with hope and destiny.

The school in Jubilee stands out as a monument to HOPE and Love. It is a place where Jesus is made known through genuine acts of kindness, small almost imperceptible ways of honor and love. It is a place where children get much needed food, love , security and letters, words, ideas, hope and possibilities! This will change the future of this country.

It has no walls. It does not exist inside the walls of a closed compound.

This is RADICAL for missions in Haiti. Emory and Mary Wilson chose this.

On purpose. And

I think God is making a huge statement to the world.

Fear is not the boss. Love is.

Relationship is more important than stuff and love is stronger than blocks. It is a huge radical proposition,. It is working.

Much of my time was spent time physically creating a compost center for the community to use …bringing their fruit and vegetable peelings that otherwise would go in the dump. The goal is create a stockpile of good healthy soil that anyone can use to grow gardens in their own homes. We also invested in planting several trees in the community spaces…mango, banana and coconut! David, the young father that is heading up the program has started a seed bed of veggies and flowers to share with the community. We are so excited about this project!

One of the other things necessary to plants to flourish , besides good soil, is ‘sweet” water…dlo dulce. Specifically without salt…In the last week , we were introduced to a local artisan who was drilling wells in the nearby area and coming up with sweet water. After checking out his work and watching in fascination as the men drilled for water by hand…we hired them. We should have sweet water flowing in a few more days.

We spent one week teaching the kids about plants and ecosystems that promote plant growth…we took 20-25 kids at a time to a beautiful banana and mangro grove where fresh water flowed from canals drawn from the nearby river….then we all ran down the path that led to the river itself…what followed was ecstatic kids (and a few adults as well) playing and splashing around in flowing beautiful water! I call that school .Laura Lynn , Rachel Greene and Terri Stokes were the model teachers splashing and being splashed!

We got a vision of how to move forward with the plan to create a Training School We are starting now to plan the curriculum that will train people in practical job skills and incorporate math, basic business plans and the idea of how to use micro-finance for small business start-ups. Our goal is that Haitian men and women can develop businesses that produce life giving -sustainable resources for their families and help build strong communities.

Thank you for all the many people that have prayed for us and the ones that also financially support the work of Mary and Emory Wilson in Haiti. What a very good investment you have made! They are so very loved and appreciated by the people of Gonaives!.

Grace and Peace!

Kathy Brooks

2010-09-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

Mary and I are doing fine as we finish our time here in the states and prepare to return on the 2nd of October. Please continue to pray for the work. Below is a note from Laura Lynn. It sounds as if God is continuing to do mighty things there. I am thankful for those God has chosen to help there. With love in Christ Emory and Mary

Things are going really well here, school is incredible! 100 kids all learning and growing, we have started the adult adult literacy class and that is going really well. With Kathy's touch the school is looking better and better! We have added another section to the Medica Mamba program, our nurse is going once a week to an orphanage that has about 15 malnourished children there. Our two American teachers are doing incredible things at the school and helping the children's grasp of the English language progress much faster! We are looking for a wheelchair for a young lady who has to scoot on her hands and backside to get around. One really cool thing to see has been the community gathering together to decide they want to turn the area where people dump trash into a community area, so they are cleaning up all the trash and planting flowers and putting up lights, the whole community is working together!