Sharing Christ In Unexpected Places

Bonjour tout moun! (Hello everyone)

It is hard to believe that my time in Haiti is now down to just two short weeks. This past week I got to spend in the Dominican Republic. It was an amazing adventure and God taught me so many things while I was there. My friend Callie and I have gotten to know a few missionaries from Santo Domingo, who invited us to join them in their work for one week. Callie and I boarded a bus as the only two English speakers and made an 8 hour journey to Santo Domingo. Although it was beautiful we experienced reverse culture shock after living in Haiti for the past few months.  We were blessed beyond belief to stay in a great mission house. Throughout the week we got to spend two days teaching English in two different primary schools and 16 different classes. I never knew how much I would enjoy teaching basic English! We also got to spend a day helping at an orphanage for mentally and physically disabled children. It was one of the most well functioning special needs orphanage I have ever visited.

Our trip was great, but all of the luxuries of Santo Domingo cannot compare to the best part of our trip when we were privileged to lead one of our taxi drivers to Christ. After talking with him over a 30 minute taxi drive about Christ and the love that God has for him, he wanted to give his life to Jesus! He also went to church with our missionary friends the next day. We arrived back to Haiti safe and sound Friday evening and got to spend Saturday teaching another art class for children. Tomorrow I will be helping facilitate a medical clinic and later this week visiting one of my very favorite orphanages in Haiti. I cannot wait! I ask that you all be praying over the next two weeks as my season in Haiti comes to an end. 

Thank you so much for supporting me this entire journey! God has used you in huge ways to impact my life through this season. Even the smallest prayers have been heard by God and powerfully released in Haiti.

Holly Angelina

One Cup of Tea At a Time

by Bryn

Thousand Cups of Tea

It is hard to believe that it has already been 2 years since I visited South Asia for the first time and it stole my heart. During my first trip here I was sitting on the beach during a beautiful sunrise when my new friend began crying from her sadness that her people group do not know the truth. She began talking about how it was “a thousand cups of tea” before she became part of the Kingdom through believing in Jesus Christ. This statement has really stuck with me. Most of us in America believe that entering the Kingdom is an instantaneous call and decision to believe in Jesus to enter the Kingdom. In this country, from our experience and talks with many of the m’s here, entering the Kingdom happens over a “thousand cups of tea.” Relationships are built and the people not only hear, but experience what it means to be in the Kingdom. I love going to the mountains around an hour away from our house and driving near the tea fields that last for miles. Men and women go out and pick the tea daily for the ripe leaves and they pick them and take them to the factory where they dry for 24 hours or so and then are put through a process and ground. As I think about the name God called me, I realized that it has multiple parts and meanings. Sometimes I am to be the person picking the ripe leaves off and sharing with those people a sip of the tea, the good news of the Kingdom. But, I may only be giving that person their first cup of tea and thousands more cups need to still be had till they believe in the only way, Jesus and the cross, to truly enter the Kingdom.

James:

We have a lot of school holidays here… a lot! During my last two years as a teacher, the seemingly

random Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian days out of school were synonymous with life— I desperately needed time to catch up on school work! This year, however, I have turned a page, and feel much differently about these days. On the one side, I love them for the extra time they give me to spend with Courtney. On the other, I don’t enjoy the inconvenience of lost time with students. Two weeks ago, however, the Lord had very, very special plans for one such holiday. James (not his real name) is a student I’ve known for three years now. He was a sophomore when I came to BAIS, and I mostly knew him through his 5th grade brother, with whom I immediately built a strong connection.

Last year I had the privilege of working with James in both praise teams and my Vocal Ensemble class, and it’s always struck me as funny how much he and his younger brother’s personalities remind me of me and my brother, Derrick. James is a senior this year, and he works as an assistant for me every day during first period. I teach every day except for Wednesdays, so I’ve tried to set that time aside to talk with him. See, James’ dad is not a Christian and doesn’t even live in the same city (though his parents aren’t divorced). It’s a less-than-ideal situation, in my perspective, and so I’ve always tried to be available for James and his brother. So a couple of weeks ago, James was talking about his uncertainty over college—whether to go to Korea or the States. When I asked him he seemed surprised. No one had really talked to him about it or encouraged him to.  James and I got together on a random Thursday holiday two weeks ago to pray—and what a time of prayer it was! God spoke so clearly and showed James a completely different path than what he was thinking. James has accepted it in faith, even though we still don’t know all the details. He was concerned his family wouldn’t approve, but the Lord seems to have taken care of that already. I’m so excited for him, though the journey is not over. Please pray for the Lord to grant wisdom to James as an immature Christian and to me as a mentor-figure in his life. Also please pray for us as we continue to share the love of Christ one tea cup at a time! 

Provider, Protector, and Healer

 By Holly: 

It has been a very eventful past few weeks in Haiti. I just want to thank you again for all of your prayers! They mean more than you could know in this season of my life.

I want to update you on everything that has been going on and ask for some specific prayer. Yesterday, we were able to visit my beloved orphans at Pastor Emmanuel's. It ended up being one of the most heart breaking moments of my life because many of the children were very ill. We were not informed before arriving of the sickness that was going on and were not able to treat them immediately. By the grace of God, good support, and praying friends the kids were picked up and taken to receive treatment. All the results have not some back, but there are some severe, possibly chronic illnesses being blood tested currently. When I got to Pastor's yesterday many of the kids were covered in open, oozing sores that looked to have started as a fungus. They were complaining of being in so much pain and many were approaching us and pointing to their wounds. My sweet little Santonio, who is about 2 years old sat on my lap emotionless and slumped over with fever and what looked to be an eye infection. Chelmie, a sweet little boy about 5 years old clung to me and showed me his hand that was swollen two times its normal size because he had gotten a severe insect bite. Those are just a few of the cases. It seemed that at least half of the 32 kids had something pretty severe going on. Please be praying for these children. The Pastor and his wife are truly doing all they know to care for these 32 orphans and spill out their whole hearts of love over them. They are just in need of practical necessities and are living on such meager means. If the kids were not with them they would literally be on the streets starving to death. Please join me in prayer for these ones. I know and wholeheartedly believe that Jesus sees them and hears their cry. I believe that He is provider, He is protector and He is healer. I believe that He will care for the orphaned. That is who He says He is! Please pray that all God's promises would come to pass over this orphanage! They need us to stand in the gap for them. They need us. (I've included pictures of some of these kids and details about them.)

On a lighter note, two weeks ago we had a team from San Diego, CA for 10 days and they were absolutely amazing! We were able to host a medical clinic and a 2 day VBS at two different churches. They both went fantastic and we were able to minister and pour into so many people. Unfortunately, during that week some of us found ourselves quit sick. I ended up catching flu virus from the team that took a few days to recover from. On top of the flu, 3 days after recovering I found out that I had contracted a parasite. Thanks to Jesus we caught it early enough to treat and I am feeling great now! 

I have also had an amazing opportunity to get to know several other missionaries over the past 3 weeks. They are currently living with the American missionaries for World Orphans. Callie and Jessica are interns, while Sandrea is the teacher for the missionary family. Its been wonderful getting to know these girls and talk and pray with them through the first few weeks of adjusting to Haiti. I have gotten to visit and learn about other organizations here and we are hoping to make some more connections as the weeks progress. We have also been so blessed to start a bi-weekly worship and prayer small group that is Haitian/American mixed. Our second meeting is this Saturday. Please be praying over us as we praise Jesus and intercede for this nation and one another. 

The next couple days are unplanned, but I am looking forward to seeing what Jesus wants to lead us in. I will continue to send you all updates and if anyone would like more details about my time in Haiti or needs prayer themselves just send me an email! I would love talk with you!

Blessed in the Storm

    

 As many of you have heard this past week was a difficult one. Two Saturdays ago we were in a car accident where a Haitian woman was badly injured when she walked into our van going 60mph and then we had the tropical storm Isaac knocking on our door. My friends here and I have spent the last five days physically, emotionally, and practically recovering from it all. Thanks to Jesus we did not receive any damage from the storm and all of the orphanages and churches we work with are strong and well too. I am beginning to learn how resilient the Haitian people are. They are a people who walk in faith that God protects them and bounce back very quickly as storms and other trials hit their country. (Just to clarify, the 2010 earthquake was a whole different story and trial for Haiti and did leave them in shambles for a long while). Between the bad car accident, my first experience in a hurricane/tropical storm, and a great need to talk things through with someone who could fully understand me, I was feeling pretty down and depleted. That evening, last Sunday, I received a phone call from a missionary here in Haiti that I have gotten to meet on a few occasions. She is 25 and currently living in Haiti and in the process of adopting her sweet 3 year old daughter Phoebe Kate. Jessica asked if I would be interested in accompanying her to a 2 day trip to the beach, her treat. I knew this was the sweetest gift to me from the Lord. The Lord used those few days to replenish me and give me one of the kindest friends. I am very grateful to know Jessica well now and we found that we had so much in common. Yesterday we were also able to take a trip to visit one of Haiti’s most beautiful landmarks, a waterfall called Sodo. It was again a peaceful and fulfilling day with our wonderful Haitian friends.

I cannot give you all enough thanks for your prayers while I have been in Haiti. I thank you all for praying through these past few weeks especially. They have been a crazy ride, but Jesus is faithful and true to all of his promises. I know there were many moments that your prayers were keeping us above water and from losing hope. 

            This next week coming is full of exciting opportunities. A team from California is coming to work with World Orphans. We will be loving on tons and tons of children and embracing the beautiful people of Haiti with Christ’s love. I am really looking forward to it! After they head back to the states we also are making plans to visit some of the orphanages that my heart is connected to the most. I’m sure many pictures and stories will come soon!Thank you again for your prayers, support and encouragement. They mean the world to me.

This week if you all could be praying for:

-       The continual perfect leadership of Holy Spirit, that my spiritual ears would be all tuned in to His voice, so much clarity

-       Amazing and deep times spent in the Word and in prayer

-       My Haitian friends and family (specifically blessings and open doors for my hosts Ron and     Vanessa Watson)

-       Recovery from any storm damage caused by Isaac in Haiti

-       Open doors for ministry and evangelism

-       Continual wisdom and understanding in Haitian culture

-       Grace upon grace to learn more and more Creole

-       Direction for the next 3 ½ months and when I arrive back home

-       More and more faith to trust Jesus

-       Simply to know God more

Indianapolis: Seeing Lives Changed

 By Jeremiah Brown

Today, August 26th, we held our fourth "Sneak Peek" service for Generation Church.  These "Sneak Peek" services are our preview services that allow our community to see who Generation Church is and allows us to practice getting things in order for a weekend experience.  Leading up to this preview service has been a bit different than the previous three.  For instance, Friday we had a team of individuals from Thompson Station Church that came to serve our community, and help us get the word out about Generation Church.

 

They worked hard!  Friday was all about praying and connecting with our community.  We prayed over a few potential site locations for Generation Church to move to for our Saturday night services.  We also began surveying one of the newer neighborhoods, to which we had a lot of positive response and very interested individuals.  Saturday was filled with surveying two more neighborhoods and a movie on the lawn event.

 

The movie on the lawn was a huge success as we had about 250 people show up, to which we gave away FREE popcorn, and partnered with the local HOA.  We even had several interesting conversations.  (One little girl asked me to change our Pandora playlist from 90s Pop to something she "could dance to").  From this community event, we witnessed a brand new family join us for our "Sneak Peek" service.

Finally, we know that God is moving here and this weekend has had a huge impact in Noblesville because as Cyndi and I were walking through Meijer this evening we were stopped by a young pregnant woman.  This woman happened to be at the movie event with her two daughters.  She he stopped us and thanked us for putting on such a community event and it allowed us to share with her about our church...for us this is something we can REALLY DANCE TO, because life change is beginning to take place!