Update...

Hello Friends


 Hope all is well with each of you. I would like to again thank you who have been praying for and supporting the work in Gonaives, Haiti. I was there the last week in June. I am continually amazed at what God is doing there through those who are there. The second floor of the school is looking great as construction continues on it. Below is a note from Kathy which gives an idea of what real change is about.

      The medical clinic is running well from the original building. We have placed the construction of the new medical clinic building on hold while focusing our efforts and resources on continuing with second floor of the school so it will be available when school resumes in September. Brian has arrived in Gonaives this week and is working on the school in order to get the roof on before school starts. Please pray for funding to complete this and to continue with the medical clinic.

       Most of the team are here in the states, now, working jobs for support for next year, Please continue to pray for each of them in their different roles.

       The Kia truck which we have in Gonaives has been a very good and dependable machine, but is in need of some rest. While I was in Haiti, Beaver and I were able to place a deposit on a new truck which will be for transportation to and from PAP with teams and supplies. Since then, there has been $20,000 committed to the truck and we are need of $10,000 more. Please make this a matter of prayer. If you would like to donate to the truck, please donate at muchministries.com   See photos of truck attached.

       Many of you have asked where you can get the jewelry and journals which are made in Jubilee. You can now order them retail or wholesale at secondstorygoods.com

      Brian, Cody and family are making plans to move to Gonaives in September. Please pray for them as they make this transition. In addition to working on the school roof this week, Brian is continuing work on the living quarters for his family.

      God is leading us to have another time of prayer and visioning for Haiti. This will be held August 9th through the 12th at Honey Creek in Waverly, Ga. Please pray for us as we come together to look for the vision of God and the work is expanded.

Please continue to pray for funding for medical clinic and truck. Also pray for the team and upcoming prayer and vision week end.

 Below is a note from Kathy

A note i wrote about my week....thought i could share it with you guys !

 Preti mwen .

 

Borrow me, Can i have a loan. Ba'm ti kob. A little money.

 

this week i noticed an increase in this request.  It is not unusual for folks to ask for money straight out for a specific need for a medical situation, or a school bill or a bit of a hunger issue.

 

But it was a little disconcerting to have four or five of the folks that i know are working in the guilds that are making, baskets and jewelry and rugs and such asking for loans.

 

" Like, didn't you just get paid for your goods, yesterday?"  Geez ~ ( I'm thinking - but don't know how to say "geez " in kreyol...so I don't say it out loud, not to mention that attitude would not be very Christian , ha ! ) 

 

So I start asking,  What is going on?  where is the money you just made?

And I  begin to understand ...

 

~  many ( 40 ) that i know of have started savings accounts.  Each week they put in so much into their account. They do this in groups.  and each week one person gets the whole pot. So if 10 people put in 100 dollars each week, each week, for ten weeks, one person gets 1,000 dollars.  Which is an awesome way to save money, invest in others in your community and there is plenty of healthy community "support" to make sure you keep the deal.

 

~ They are also investing in live stock, starting other small businesses and putting money back (usually someone else is holding for them) for school fees and supplies coming up in September. 

 

So therefore, they have a shortage of " pocket money " because they are thinking Forward , Investing.  

They (someone somewhere) told me it takes a year of consistent sustainable income for us to change the way we see our resources. If we never leave the feeling of desperate, we will always use money for relief for the moment.....but if we begin to gain confidence...we will plan for the future. 

 

~ Two  of the ladies that make Angels and have been with us for many months now, pulled me out of the workshop the other day...wanting to show me what they were working on (I thought great...they want me to buy something...where is my faith? )  but NO, they wanted to show me that they were in the middle of building new real Concrete homes, elevated out of the mud ....to replace the mud and stick and tin homes they are presently in.  They were BEAMING with pride.  They kept hugging me and saying thanks to God for bringing businesses to Jubilee. 

 

~ And then the day ended with a friend...who is an Angel Maker,asking to speak with me.... waiting  patiently for me to finish with the sewing group...i finally made it out to speak with her and the first words i caught were..." "Prete mwen"...i was like, "Christella, Not you too !"  i said, "love, i can't , everyone is asking for a loan today" (slight hyperbole there, like 4 people, not the entire population) 

 

Anyway, this precious friend said, no mommie , no....You GAVE me..Ou te prete mwen....a loan last week...as she slipped the bill she owed me into my hand !

 

eyeieyei !

Borrow me

some grace~ 

 

blessed are those who huger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied

Courage !

Kathy Brooks

Jubilee

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.