0 degrees of separation

Pastor Erimus called today and we spoke for the first time. There is now 0 degree of separation between me and people directly affected by the earthquake. To listen to this man, on the other end of the phone, and hear him talk about his church, his people, their needs and appreciation of prayer... I can't even put into words what it was like to be directly connected with and speaking to someone there, to hear about their community first hand. And when he asked ME how my church is doing, how I am doing...I was humbled beyond words.

I got off the phone with my emotions and thoughts going 1,000 miles a minute for these people and what could I, one person, possibly do for him and his specific community very much in desperate need. I can't do anything, but thankfully "nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37). And so I pray. I've stopped everything and prayed today for them and for God to direct me and lead me and use me in this situation in whatever capacity He chooses. Its not about me or what I can do, its about what God can do through me...

Unexpected phone call...

Going to Haiti just got a step more real for me today. Not just because I have spent the past two days taking the Critical Incident Stress Management workshop, a two day training program that prepares you to provide basic crisis intervention services ("psychological first-aid") to individuals in acute crisis using a structured system, but because of a call I got on my cell.

Well, maybe not because of a call I got (my cell was turned off after all - I, mean was in class) but because of who it was that called and left a message - Pastor Erimus Bernadin, of Église Taberable du St. Ministère.

That's right, not even two days ago I was matched up with a church, given information (posted below), and asked to pray for this group of people, when today I go to check my voicemail and hear a message I can barely understand the first time except for one word (or name, rather) - Erimus.

I knew AIM would tell the church that they had been "matched" with me for prayer, but I did not realize that they would be able to contact me. So, I was definitely caught off guard. The message was very brief. But, hearing a human voice, who I have a face and very specific needs to match with, has taken my trip to Haiti and my relief involvement to a whole other, much more personal, level...

If you're reading this, I would love you to partner in prayer with me for these people with very, very real needs. I would love to be able to tell them that you and I are praying for them, specifically, and that Église Taberable du St. Ministère is not forgotten.

Église Taberable du St. Ministère

Exciting news today! I've been matched with an individual Haitian church through AIM's
Church-to-Church Partnership Program that I will most likely get to visit while I am in Port-au-Prince. So, for the next few weeks/months I'm going to be praying specifically for its pastor and members. I'm so excited for this opportunity to connect with people over there this far ahead of my trip.

Below is what I already know about Pastor Erimus Bernadin and his church, Église Taberable du St. Ministère:

Number of people in their community: 1000 people

How many families affected: 23 families

Community needs: to be reconstructed

Vision for community:

1. We need the church to preach the gospel of Christ
2. We need a school to prepare children for the future
3. We need a clinic to give medical care to people

Prayer needs: That God may have mercy for the nation and lead the people in the path of justice; then we’ll have testimonies for the glory of God.

Committee names: Erilme Lamour – construction supervisor; Chilene Jean – Teacher; Gladys P Dorval – Nurse; Abelard Belizaire – lawyer (student); Dieudonne Paul - reporter.

Reflections on divine pruning

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."~ James 1:2

My pastor has been drilling into us these past 6 weeks that “pain doesn’t always have to hurt,” and reflecting on some of the difficult times from this past year on my life it is so obvious how much good has come out of everything, including my trust in God having a GOOD plan for me. Even if I didn’t want to be having those trials at the time, I can genuinely say I would take them on again, without hesitation, in order to be who I am and where I am now. Without a question, I wouldn’t be going to Haiti. I wouldn’t be hanging out with a foster kid each week and seeing her come out of her shell and change in awesome ways before my eyes. I wouldn’t be the one being blessed by spending Saturdays in the park having Church with my homeless neighbours. I wouldn’t be one of the faces greeting people as they come in to the sanctuary on Sunday. NONE of this is me, it is all Christ working in me and it humbles and blesses me to have Him use me in these ways.

Today I was reminded that "You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it " (Maya Angelou) :: Thank you Lord, for showing me who I am, what I can come out of, and what I can rise from in You. Amen ::

I Have a Dream... For Haiti

"But to die a dreamer surely must be better than to die a cynic. To have lived life in hopes of creating a better world has got to be better than to die pretending that nothing was wrong in the first place, right?":: Amen to that.

Read more at I Have a Dream... For Haiti :: Blog entry by Californian pastor Dustin Metcalf, written in response to his time in Haiti in 2009.

"The widest thing in the universe is not space, it is the potential capacity of the human heart"~A. W. Tozer

Go On a Mission Trip to Haiti with Adventures In Missions

Adventures in Missions (AIM) is the organization I'll be going to Haiti with in June. This video is just a brief snapshot of what I could be doing during my time there.

Fast Facts....

• The human loss from the 7.0 earthquake (and 33 aftershocks ranging from 4.2-5.9) is estimated around 212,000; 3 million people are now in need of emergency aid after major earthquake.

• Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

• 80% of the population in Haiti is living under the poverty line; it is one of the most densely populated and least developed countries in the Western Hemisphere.

• Most Haitians live on less than $2 a day.

• Haiti has no regular military forces. The Army, Navy, and Air Force have been demobilized.

• Religions: Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16%, none 1%, other 3% - Note: roughly half of the population practices voodoo.

• The Haiti telecommunications infrastructure is among the least developed in Latin America and the Caribbean.