Laughter brought to Jubilee...

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?

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...

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

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!

Couple of Updates...

Hello

Mary and I have been enjoying time together as we spend Time at home. Mary's neck is doing great now and the Doctor has released her. We have been spending much of our time with friends and family. Over the past two weeks, we have spent time with our daughter Lori and husband Scott in NC, visited friends of Haiti in Galax Va. and Franklin WV. This past weekend we were able to spend time with our son Justin and also visited friends of Haiti in Darien and Blackshear Ga. Below are a couple of updates from Kathy Brooks. It has been such a blessing having her and Beaver work in Gonaives while we are away. We love you and continue to thank you for your prayers and support of what God is doing in Haiti. You can see more about Haiti at the following sites; http://love4haiti.blogspot.com/ muchministries.org

With love in Christ

Emory and Mary

Sept 7 2010 Gonaives Haiti

This small community of jubilee is undergoing a metamorphosis. God knows when it began.. When did the first prayers go up on behalf of this small corner of the world? What nameless faceless child of faith began to speak LIFE and HOPE over this community,.

I believe those words brought Emory and Mary Wilson here….and now so many others that have added their love and prayers and action to the Speaking of Life and Hope.

The school opened to over 100 students…up from 40 something last year. What a difference in the students who began last year and can now read full sentences in English! Laura Lynn has a staff of five..3 Haitian teachers and 2 Americans. They work together to see the kids learn letters, sounds, songs. And countries of the world.

We enjoyed the PTA meeting last week. The attendance by the parents was extraordinary. Many of them work as volunteers to help pay their child‘s tuition. ( which is very very small ) The parents heartily expressed the difference in their kids…they were bringing home what they were learning at school.

I think sometimes it is difficult for us to understand how important this is. Communities left to ignorance can be so easily manipulated by fear and violence. Education opens minds to truth and real communication the very words themselves giving people a different way to think about things. .

We’ve started a composting area for local people to toss their peelings and paper scraps.The salty soil here msut be ammended to creat "bon ter" good earth for planting.... It is right in what has always been the “dump” area….beside the dysfunctional toilets that were built by the government 3 years ago. IT has begun! We bought Banana trees from a local grower and planted them near by to aid the idea of growing things….we hope to start many plants and share them with the community and good soil becomes available.

Of course I’ve found it necessary to paint a simple garden mural on the back side of the dysfunctional toilets….I will find a way to slap some paint on something!

T he new building that will house classrooms, bathrooms, and a clinic are well under way. We are waiting for the iron worker to complete the doors and windows so we can begin to move classrooms into this space.

Today Beaver is beginning the construction of a simple Gazebo type structure…a meeting place…that offers shade and a simple benches . This will give the community a place to gather that is not inside the classrooms where children are trying to learn! It will also give us a place to hold training opportunities in the future. The idea is a six sides concrete slab with simple block and concrete slab benches, built in…the roof with be thatch and extend out to create the most shade possible. It is amazing how much shade has to do with what you can do here. Literally , you just can’t stand for long without it.

Makes me really appreciate God giving the Israelites that Cloud by day!

Terri Ann Stokes and Rachel Greene have come as teachers . Each day they return back to the house with stories and triumph …and stories that would break your heart. ! They are exhausted after teaching 6 classes in the heat and dust…but after a rest, some dinner and a cool shower, each night they are pulling out ideas, making lessons, drawing charts, and hand making writing assignments for the next day..

Simply , going way above and beyond the call of duty. These two are not “trained” teachers..yet they are acting like they have been leading classrooms for years.. I am a teacher and I know what I am talking about here ! They are taking this job seriously…and having a ball , I might add. Last week they had three of their students over after school to draw, play soccer and to eat dinner ….I think this was their favorite part. One little tiiny guy ate three huge platefuls! We thought he would literally pop!

“Tia” (Terri’s new name.). was beyond happy with herself…this particular little guy is an orphan living with his aunt and the youngest in the household of 10 kids. Last on the food chain, so to speak…

The phrase…this is what it looks like …continually runs through my mind. It’s not flashy, it’s not big, it could be missed if one wasn’t looking for it but I believe that this is what it looks like when the kingdom of Heaven expands…the meek are blessed, the hungry fed, the naked clothed , the sick made well …honor among brothers and sisters who speak different languages. Transformation of us all !

For all that financially and prayerfully support this work...it is a sound worthy investment! Thank you for being a crucial part to what God is doing here!

from Jubillee

Kathy Brooks

Emory, this is a post i wrote a week ago

hello friends, Aug 30.2010

from Kathy brooks in Gonaives., Haiti.

i was explaining to a little guy the other day how his actions were louder than his words. in a learning moment, we were discussing that he was communicating his choices .through his actions... he was telling me what he wanted ,by what i saw him do.

interesting how true.

I've thought a lot about how our every movement is a prayer..communication....how God can see what we "want" by what we do. We are both shouting and whispering through our actions each day.

a few years ago on a trip to Gonaives with Emory and Mary we all walked out onto the salt flats of Jubilee blanc and cried out for life. And abundance of food, ..for destiny of its children and for growing things to spring up out of the ground.....these i remember.

today there is a school with over 100 students, these are young kids who would otherwise not be learning how to put sounds together and form words and make sentences and very soon begin to read books and eventually write papers that will stun the world.!

It is messy and it is loud, , it is sometimes hot , though usually there is a breeze blowing mercifully through the tin walls. Dust collects on every surface.

And under nourished kids get fed and loved here. this simply constructed space was built as a corporate prayer of many showing what we really want. And it is changing the destiny of thee children, their families, this community and of a nation.

Laura Lynn Nichols, the school administrator, head teacher, handy man, youth group leader, community nurse, construction overseer ( at times) Creole speaker, tender hearted , ( but will chase you down if you back-talk her), young woman that wears two miss matched flip flops, one of which is held together with bright orange duct tape.. and travels via motorcycle. .. is beyond compare...really.

Her actions sing a song to this community and to God and to all who can see. She ain't playin" either,... yesterday i watched her make a hand washing facility (to put beside the new 4 stall toilette ) out of a five gallon bucket and a water tap...BRILLIANT ! , so people can wash their hands after "twalet".that to me, is a prayer that says," God, i don't want babies to die from bacteria and disease, that can easily be washed off of their brothers and sisters hands each day.

One of my prayers, this trip is that beauty and life giving calories would grow in this salty soil in the modest yards of the homes here. That "bon ter" good earth would be "re created" literally in the middle of the garbage pile. I am no expert on composting…Natasha coaches me from the Marketplace phone…will it work? I don’t know..I do know it wont work if I don’t try….so i look like a fool and dig pits and paint on the back of stopped up toilets to pray my prayer for plant life to grow here in this place.

on the plane flying here we filled out our custom forms. one of the questions asked our reason for visiting Haiti. Rebecca asked…“should i check the box for recreation.?“ which she read to me as RE-creation... i laughed and said yes baby, yes.

this is our prayer.

　

Grace and Peace!

Kathy Brooks

Back to School...

Hello, Due to the computer crashing, I have not been able to communicate the last few weeks. This morning during devotion, I was reminded about our need to prefer one another and I shared with the group about how it is pride in my life which allows me to think of myself more highly than others or more significant than others. I do this many times by thinking I am more right or my opinion is more important than theirs. Once we realize this is happening, we must be intentional about putting others first. We do this by renewing our minds to let them be more significant or placing them in a higher place or a more important place than we are. When we do this, we can then become their servant and convey God's unconditional love to them. Please pray for me as I try to always look to others as more significant than I,and allow the spirit of God within me to place my pride on the cross and die to selfish ambitions and motivations.

Mary received treatment on her neck on the 29th of July. She has had some soreness from the procedure, but is doing better now. Thank you for your prayers and continued prayers for her.

Group from Bland Va. led by Jim and Debbie Hambrick repaired some houses in Jubilee, did VBS with children, and did a VBS with an Orphanage north of Gonaives. It was a great time of building relationships. The group from Toccoa also worked on Houses and did VBS in Jubilee. It was a blessing to have them serve here. The group from First Baptist Brunswick was here this past week and were instrumental in making preparations and starting the school on Thursday. They also started the construction on a composting toilet for the people in the community. It has been a great few weeks of work as the teams built relationships for the Kingdom of God. We praise God for those who are praying giving and visiting to make a difference for the Kingdom of God.

I will be going home today to Join Mary for several weeks. While there we will be resting, visiting with friends and family, and sharing about what our God is doing with different groups. If you would like for us to share with your church or group, let us know.

Beaver Brooks is here this week and will be Joined by Kathy this evening. They will be standing in the Gap here in Gonaives as work continues on construction and school begins. I am so thankful that God provides all we need. I am thankful for Kathy and Beaver for their service in the Kingdom of God.

School started this week and it was great to see all the smiling faces on the children and their eagerness to learn. We were able to find a place for all of them to learn as construction continues on the building. We were able to pour the cement on the floor on the east end of the building and also pour more columns on the west end this week. We praise God for HIs provision in His work. Please continue to pray for God's provision as we move forward with this.

There have been several turns of events over the past few weeks with gaining permission to use the land for housing. First the Mayor of Gonaives passed away, then we sent a letter to the one who was in charge, then there was another interim placed in Charge this past week. We were able to meet with him and his staff yesterday morning and see God work in a way in which only God can. They gave us permission to use the land and we will be working towards finalizing the paperwork this week. Bryan Smith will be arriving this week to begin building up of the land for the housing. Please keep this process in your prayers.

With love in Christ

Prayer Request

*Construction and provision.

*Continued favor from God as we process paperwork and begin work on Housing project.

*Praises

*Mary's neck pain is almost gone.

*Favor from God for land.

A group led by Ron Ham from First Baptist Nahunta visited with us this week. They were a blessing to many people in Jubilee as they built relationships in several different ways. They were able to replace a leaking roof on a hut of one of the families there. They also placed a roof on a house for one of the widows. What a blessing it was to those families. On Monday and Tuesday they along with the team from Omaha Rapid response and the pakistani Doctor from the UN, held a medical clinic for the people of Jubilee. There was many people helped through their efforts. They also were able to encourage a few of the Pastors from the churches in the area and work with local pastors. On behalf of those who recieved help this week, we say thank you. There continues to be so many people who need help. It sometimes is overwhelming as we see the distress in their faces. Please pray for those who are less fortunate and in need.

Omaha rapid response has been working in Jubilee the last two weeks. It has been a blessing to see them working with the children and bringing hope to them. They did several vacation bible schools in Jubilee and Roboto areas and played soccer with some of the youth and young adults. This week they put the finishing touches on a house which they are building for one of the widows there. It is awesome to see God changing lives through those He sends. Please pray for those who are making a difference by building relationships into the Kingdom of God.

Mary continues to have pain in her neck, but the Doctors are continuing to give her treatment. I miss her and it is difficult with out her. Please continue to pray for her healing.

We have been offered the opportunity to build some homes in Jubilee for people who have been displaced by the earthquake. In order to do this, we need some land. We met with the Mayor this week and will meet with him again soon. Please pray with us for God's favor as we work with the Government officials to aquire land for this project.

With love in Christ,

Prayer request.

Mary's healing of her neck.

Construction and provision.

Favor from God for land.