Haiti — Team Enters Final Prep Week

Hello Crossroads!

John Newton here on behalf of the Haiti team. I wanted to say a big "thank you" for your prayers and generous support. Because of you we will be able to take a suitcase full of medicines to Pastor Benoit and the other leaders of Chambellan Baptist Church. It's not too late to donate. This Sunday we will have the donation basket once again by the exit doors of the lobby. As a point of remembrance, we need tablet antacids, Tylenol (generic or brand), aspirin, ibuprofen, gauze, band-aids, medical tape, cold medicine tablets/gels (NyQuil or equivalent), and healing ointment (Neosporin or equivalent). We can't take liquids, though. Medicines like these are vitally important in Haiti and can serve as a powerful ministry tool for Pastor Benoit and his church. The ability to take care of their own congregation, medically, and offer help to the town is beyond value. Chambellan isn't a city and medical help is not easily accessible. So your donations are an amazing blessing to our sister church and its community.

In other news, our seven-person team is continuing to prepare for the week-long trip southeast. Our team consists of Sheldon Sanders (trip leader), Kenin Lynes, Mike McMaster, Kent Baxter, LJ and Ruth Scott (longtime Haiti vets), and myself (trip pastor). Other than LJ and Ruth, Sheldon has been several times to Haiti and I've been once (in 1995). The other guys are rookies. They have no idea........ how blessed they will be.

We have several other gifts for our sister church and one major task in which to assist. We're bringing new dishes for the pastor and his wife to use as they host church and community gatherings, a few personal items for the women of Chambellan Baptist Church ("CBC"), hand fans for the congregation that have wording on them commemorating our church partnership, and a few other items for the school. One major item is a plaque that we've purchased for Pastor Benoit to hang on a church wall. It also commemorates our 20 years of partnership and our love for them.

Our mission is also to assist in the repair of the auditorium's roof, damaged badly by a hurricane last summer. We're not sure how much actual labor we'll be doing but our presence there makes a statement about our care and love for the church. In the tropics, a good roof is a necessity, especially during hurricane season. Interestingly, we will be in Haiti during the traditional peak of the Atlantic hurricane season (September 10th), — when Caribbean storms usually develop. There's a prayer request for ya!


PRAYER REQUESTS —

• Language Learning. We are all scrambling to grasp the Creole Language before we go. So far we've got a few phrases and common greetings down but communication is always key to a successful trip. Pray for us and our interpreters.
• Travel Safety. I wish I could say the voyage to Chambellan was routine and perfectly normal but we will be boarding three airplanes over two days and driving across the mountainous Haitian peninsula on our journey to rural Chambellan. Last time I was there the drive was eight hours of four-wheeled boulder hopping. LJ tells me it's a little better now. As always, please pray for a smooth trip.
• Our Health. Any time you're in a different culture, especially in a third world country, immunities are tested to their max. And sometimes they fail. Please pray for our immune systems and for our ability to endure the travel, long days, and weather.
• Our Sister Church. We love our brothers and sisters in Chambellan. The church is a real light in what could be a very spiritually dark place. Haiti is known for its Voodoo, animalistic religions, and overall spiritual darkness. Chambellan Baptist Church has not only remained steadfast in its mission to reach and disciple the people of Chambellan and its surrounding area but it has grown and flourished in the midst of great hostility. It is an overseer for several small mountain churches and its school is amazing. Please continue to pray for Pastor and Madam Benoit and the deacons (like our elders) as they shepherd the people and seek the Lord's will for His church.

I'll be your official trip reporter. Buckle up! And prepare to be amazed at the work of our God.

Poland — Parting is bittersweet....

We really appreciate the hard work Susan has done faithfully writing this blog during our trip.   I don't think she has access to a computer today, so I'm going to add a few of my thoughts. 
Last night was the closing of the Missions Conference.   It was so hard for all of us to say goodbye to the children and missionaries.   GEM isn't going to have a conference next year because they plan on having an outreach at the London Summer Olympics instead.   So for many of these missionary kids it will be a full two years before they see each other again.   One message that they told us again and again was how much it meant to fellowship with other kids who were going through the same struggles as they were.   Many of them go to schools where they are one of the only Christians.   They are often ridiculed for their faith and beliefs.  During the week they shared with us how they have tried to share their faith with their friends and neighbors.   These kids are amazing and I'm so proud of every one of them.  Here are just a sampling of some of the pictures we took this week.   We will have a program on Sept. 11th (after the 2nd service) where we will share more stories and pictures.                        -Sarah

These are the bird masks the 9-12 year olds made after learning about God creating the birds and the fish.

The entire childcare team.

  

Andy with all of her puppets!

The 9-12 year olds with their pop-tab bracelets they made.

Poland — ...my mommy forgot to pack my teddy bear...

Sorry for not posting last night, but we had used up every last ounce of our energy on the kids, including down to our fingertips.  Our day starts at 0715 with breakfast, and we are going non-stop until 930 at night.  And we cherish every minute. 
Everyone is so thankful that we are here.  Even adults that do not have kids are so appreciative of the fact that our church would send a group of people all the way to Poland to take care of their kids.  We are overwhelmed by their gratitiude.
The kids are full of energy, and they seem to be having fun.  The games are going well, the crafts are a big hit, and the devotionals are amazing.  These kids know their bible; I mean they really know it.  They love singing the Christian songs;  they do not just sing them, these kids are worshipping! 
I am constantly humbled by these kids.  They love the Lord and make no bones about it.  Many of them do not have Christian friends and are even teased for what they believe, yet they continue to hold strong to their beliefs and continue to talk to their friends about Jesus.  But at the same time they are kids - kids that need encouragement, kids that need prayers, and kids that need hugs.  During prayer request time we were talking about the friends that we know that do not know Jesus, and we were praying for them.  One little boy chimed in and said that his mom forgot to pack his teddy bear.  He said that he was ok, but that his teddy bear might be sad.  These kids are just everyday kids that happen to be on the frontlines of the spiritual battle.
I am equally impressed by the missionaries.  They are so amazing.  I am at a loss for words when it comes to describing these amazing people.  They are regular folks, just like you and me, but they have done a most incredible thing - they have put a face to our faith.  They are putting themselves out there in the enemy's territory and showing people what the love of Christ looks like.
Please pray for the missionaries at this conference, and for the other missoinaries that CBC supports.  If you like, send one a quick email to let them know you are praying for them.  They would be thrilled to know that someone is thinking of them.