Haiti Update - Tuesday

We had a great start to a new week yesterday (Monday). I had an extreme amount of fun teaching some of our interpreters sign language! One in particular has taken a huge interest in it. He asks everyday for more signs. He is putting the vocabulary words together and signing his own sentences!
We jumped in the “tap tap” (our transportation trucks) & started off on the day…not knowing what was in store. We were surprised to arrive at a church … and all our other assessment teams were there! It was actually great to be in the same place with our other team. It was a meeting with associational leaders and individual pastors regarding the distribution of the Buckets of Hope! There were approximately 120 pastors in attendance. We began with a great time of worship. Then a 4.8 aftershock had about 1/3 of the people running out of the building! (Yesterday fire…today earthquake…the California team seems to be making a name for itself!) There was a lot of confusion & yelling in the moments afterwards. Some refused to come back in the building. The SBC Disaster Relief workers all stayed inside the building. Then Mike, John, Gail and myself began to go to different walls in the building (I on the floor) and began praying. The pastor began to sing praise songs…slowly the people began to return to the building. Discussion went on and people were able to sign up for Buckets of Hope. The confusion and fear were to the point of jeopardizing the continuing of the meeting. We are convinced the prayers that we offered up brought peace to the very chaotic situation. There was a huge emphasis from the pastors & leadership at the meeting that NOW is the time for Haiti to know Christ. From March 7-14, the pastors are going to focus on evangelism and church planting with rebuilding. They hope to add 300 churches to the association of 900 in the area over the few months to be followed up with Buckets of Hope arriving. We are seeing a glimpse of the magnitude of what Christ is doing in Haiti with the earthquake. We are seeing the opposition and spiritual warfare against what is being done in the area. There was an incredible amount of UN and foreign military presence on the street today. Our security detail has been excellent…never leaving our side.

Our teams then split back up. We assessed churches and homes of church members. I prayed with 4 children and led them to the Lord . Praise the Lord!

When we got back to the house…Brian discovered that the AC unit had broken and water had flooded the part of the room where his clothes were. Hmmmm….earthquakes, fires…flood??? Everyday seems to be an adventure with our California team!!

Today was another great day of ministry! Our interpreter who is learning sign language also is a singer. He brought one of his cd’s that he is working on and had me listen to it It was in French…and was beautiful Christian music. It brought tears to my eyes!!

As we went out today we had many moments that were precious. There were a couple of people that really stood out. The first place that we stopped at …had a group of children come to me. While the men assessed the building…I began talking to the children. They were all from that church. One of the little girls, Valentina…continued to grab my hand and follow me around. Another woman I prayed with was a Christian. Her son was rescued from the rubble when the church’s 2nd story collapsed. He made it out alive with a broken leg. I prayed for her…and when we were done we just had a quiet moment together. Her eyes were filled with tears…just also filled with hope. Another man lost one of his borders from his house. That person had been helping support the family financially. His little daughter was ill. He bought some bread for her as we were standing there ready to pray. It was a touching moment for me…as God led me to pray for her and the bread. Pray that God will multiply their provisions like he did of old with the fish and the bread.

One more older woman I prayed for at another church also had tears as we prayed. Yet the tears they have are not from devastation. It is more the comfort that God is bringing to them…as they really are filled with hope in Christ.

As we were driving through the streets…Mike & I were towards the front praying for the city. As we talked about God’s covering over the city…we saw a building that said, “Grace of God Barber shop!” God’s grace is overwhelming. He is the one that will restore. We are thankful to be a part of the efforts here.

Thank you for your prayers. Our team appreciates your partnership in our journey!

Merci!
Eydie!

Prayer Requests:
1.. For all those that are receiving Jesus as Savior. Pray for the pastors as they follow up with those individuals.
2. For the people of Haiti that need continued prayer. Many are experiencing symptoms of post traumatic stress. Many are asking for prayers that they do not “loose their minds.” They are having many physical symptoms such as headaches and racing hearts.
3. Our team as we have one more day of ministry tomorrow. Pray that our last day will be fruitful. For me it is always an emotional time of leaving. In this very short time we have come to love the Haitian people.
4. Those coordinating efforts here in Haiti and back home with various Disaster Relief teams. There are so many teams from all over the United States that are flowing in and out.
5. Pray for a sense of peace.
6. Pray for the people of Chile with the earthquake they have experienced as well.
7. Pray for my team leader, Mike, our Lead Assessor, John and myself as Lead Chaplain. Our other team members…Brian, Joe & Gail as well. We have had an absolutely AMAZING team! I have been blessed beyond measure.