CONTINUED BLESSINGS

REPORT ON TEAM FOR SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2010

We serve a mighty God!  There is no doubt that God has his  hand on our mission team.  He continues to bless them with an abundance of food, water, supplies, blessings and protection.  There is power in prayer and the name of the Lord!  

Our team had another "good day" serving in Haiti.   The medical team continues to see patients from sunrise to sunset.  Dr Karen McCarthy has such a heart for our Haitian friends  and she is tireless in her efforts to see as many patients as possible during the day.   Allison and Cindy complete her team with warm personalities and great nursing skills.  It is incredible to watch them in action and see how efficient and caring they are with each person.   On this trip, they added Debbie's  medical knowlege and organization skills to the team and created a powerful force.  What a blessing that we can take the medical team in to the  people rather than waiting for them to come to us.  On past mission trips, walking the ravine with Dr. Karen and her nurses was one of the most memorable parts of the journey.  The ravine is one of the poorest, filthiest places in the city.  People live along the banks in make shift homes of cardboard, cloth and plywood. Entire families may live in one small room with no floor or furniture. They drink from the same water in which they bathe and wash clothes while pigs wade through trash right beside them.   Needless to  say there are many sick children there.  Most of the children in Sherrie Fausey's school are from this area and they are given food and loving care while under Ms Sherrie's watchful eye.  Since this area had so little to start with, it hasn't changed that much since the quake.  The medical team has walked the ravine trying to help these families in addition to the clinics.  On Sunday they will be setting up a clinic to minister to the people around Pastor Cenor's "church on the rooftop".  That is going to be quite a challenge as the homes are built into the steep mountainside and there was great loss in this area. On Monday, the team will be working a clinic at Karen's again.   Please keep them in your prayers. 

Pastor Michael Grooms preached at the clinic site today and 6 lives were saved.  Mesi Jezi!  (Can you guess what this means in Creole?) Pray that there will be a revival among the people of Haiti as God begins to heal this land. Praise God that we have Christian doctors, nurses and laborers who give God the glory as they work.  Thank you Pastor Mike for the sharing of your anointed word.  The team will be having a praise and worship service at the clinic site Sunday morning with Pastor Cenor's congregation.  Pastor Mike will be preaching with a translator.   Oh how I wish I was there with them! Haitians truly enjoy their songs and  worship - there will be a whole lot of clapping and praise going on in those hills Sunday! Pray that more souls will be saved as Pastors Mike, Jonathan, and Jim share their faith.

It appears that the larger support organizations have quite a supply of food and water just sitting at the airport waiting to be distributed.  Many of the volunteers have never been in Haiti before and are actually

afraid to go out into the communities with the Haitian people - probably due in large part to the alarming reports of violence being played on CNN and other news channels.  How frustrating to know much needed water and nourishment is just sitting there unused . Jeff and the guys on the Georgia mission team  are making sure  the people around the school and  the ravine area are getting supplies. They have been making numerous trips to the airport to load up supplies and distribute them to those most in need.  It is amazing what you can do when you walk with  authority!   I understand some people even got crutches today! You rock, Jeff!

Kathy Brooks is doing a GREAT job running the base camp until Sherrie returns in the near future.  They have secured a generator, set up a working bathroom, and the Haitian cooks are preparing meals for the large group of children and adults now staying there.  They cook in large pots over open fires - lots of beans and rice!  Peanut butter, poptarts, and MRE's (military version of tv dinner) are the popular foods now. The Haitian laborers have completed  one of the outer walls and  continue to work hard to complete the rest of the security wall. 

The team has loved the beautiful songs of praise that can be heard coming from the street during the night and early morning.  Last night there was one beautiful voice that stood out like the voice of an angel.  Jim was so taken with it that he sought the lady out today.  He found a 20 year old woman behind the captivating voice and made a video of her singing to share with us when he returns.  He invited her to join the team for their evening devotion time and she serenaded them with three solos.  Jim said it was simply amazing!

In the midst of all this praise report, the reality is that there is an overwhelming amount of work yet to be done, and the conditions are really rough. The safety of our team continues to be a major prayer request.  There are thousands of starving, frustrated, hurt, homeless people filling the streets.  It has to be overwhelming for our team to know they are leaving soon when the need is still so great.  The next few days will be very emotional for them as they feel torn between their two worlds.  Please hold them up in your prayers.

I pray each of you supporters will enjoy a day of rest and restoration on this beautiful Sunday.  Thank you for standing in the gap with me for this important  mission team.   To God be the Glory.