Reflections on Sunday and Monday

Yesterday morning we got to worship for about 30min. nonetheless. That was cool. After unloading the tent materials and worshipping with the Haitians for a brief time, we loaded up the four of us plus Pastor Marcel (a Haitian-American staffer with GCA) and our good friend Frank M. Man, it was so good seeing Frank. I know what an impact Frank has had on so many of you back home. Frank just gets a twinkle in his eyes when he talks about the people of Nebraska. We crammed in the back of the SUV with Chris, Gene, Trey and I in the back row seats. The trip to Mirebalais took about 45 minutes from Croix Des Bouquets. GCA spent ten years working in Southern Haiti in Cayes with ESMI. Recently the Lord gave them a new direction to do ministry in Central Haiti in Mirebalais. Marcel and Frank showed us the guesthouse they were beginning to build as well as the land they had acquired... really exciting stuff. Mirebalais is beautiful country, much like Les Cayes. We visited a couple of ministry sites, one with an orphanage for the blind. Also, we met the mayor of Mirebalais. Mirebalais is a town of about 200,000 people that just grew to 300,000 because of the vast exodus of refuges leaving Port au Prince. And then one of the highlights of the day was meeting with 11 student leaders from various Universities in Port au Prince: that was powerful. These student leaders represented another 120 students who had come to Mirebalais to gather together and think how best to help their people long-term. These young people were articulate and thoughtful about moving beyond relief to development in their own country. I can't even imagine being in their shoes, all of them having lost multiple classmates to the earthquakes. We made an agreement to help them with food if they would help us with offloading the incoming shipment. There are only six of us to tackle a container with 40,000 lbs. of food and water, so these young people will be a great help. We are expecting the container at midnight. PRAY FOR ITS ARRIVAL. We will put together a crane and offload the container with these Haitian students tomorrow. PRAY FOR THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CRANE. And then we will put the food in the hands of pastors and leaders within Marcel's trusted networks (Marcel's wife's family is from Mirebalais) to distribute. PRAY FOR THE DISTRIBUTION. Pray that all the food and water will get to those in need. There are multiple stories of the people getting hold of relief items and then selling them on the market at a profit. That is unacceptable. Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide the distribution efforts here in Mirebalais. Thank you for your powerful prayers. They ARE the work of God here in Haiti right now.