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Haiti Here We Come

What an amazing day it was today.  At 11am at Kansas City International airport, 14 Restore attenders and many of their friends gathered to send them off to Haiti with prayer and celebration.

This is our first all Restore Church team to make a trip to Haiti.  And to top this experience off, word on the street is that on Sunday they will worship at the new church in Cavaillon.  I am so excited for them and yet so jealous. 

I can't wait to hear the God stories that will be written in the next five days.

Haiti Church Construction - Moving Fast

In November, Restore Community Church took up a special one day offering to help start a church in Cavaillon Haiti.  We took a journey of prayer, faith, and sacrifice and God completely surprised us when the offering totalled $90,000.  That was enough money to buy the land, build the church and also 3 children's homes for 120 orphan children.  Contruction is well underway on both the church and the homes.  Here are some photo updates.

Church building in January.

Church building in March.

The dedication service for the church is scheduled for late April

Children's homes in January

 

Children's homes in March 

 

Kids should be moving in within the next 90 days.  Our first Restore trip to Cavaillon is scheduled for April.

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Generous - Going Glocal

Sunday at Restore we concluded our series, Chasing the Almighty and we looked at what it means to be generous.  This has been a great series that has expanded our view of money and resources and how we can move from consumed, to free, to generous.  We asked each Restore attender to help us with our local and global intitiaves.  Locally we are dreaming and praying that as a new church plant we could become self supporting this year (a year ahead of schedule).  People responded very postitively and we are well on our way.  This will put us in a much better financial position to reproduce.

Also, we have developed a partnership with C3 Missions.  As a result, last November we took up a special offering to help start a church in Cavaillon Haiti.  On that day we collected $65,000 and had a matching gift of $25,000 for a $90,000 total to help start a church, build a facility and build two children's home on piece of property in Cavaillon.  Since that time another family at Restore decided to fund the third children's home.  So by this summer there will be 120 orphans living in the childrens' homes at Cavaillon. 

It takes $40/month/child for clothing, food, care, education, medical support...basically all living expenses.  We want to have each one of those kids sponsored by a family or individual at Restore.  On Sunday we made our first ask and received a strong response and 50 kids were sponsored on that day.  I am so looking forward to having all 120 sponsored by this summer.  We were able to show the following powerful testimony of Mike and Beth Fox, who started C3.

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Restore Gives Away $64,000

Sunday was one of the most amazing days I have ever experienced.  I am humbled, astounded, and just blown away at the incredible generosity of the people of Restore.   

It was just over a year ago that I was asking God to help us become a generous church….a place where we used the God-given resources we steward to make an eternal impact in the world.   I had no idea that God would answer that prayer at such an early point in the life of this church. 

Sunday at Restore was a major step in becoming a generous church.  We prayed that we could have an offering of $25,000 that would be matched by a supporter outside of Restore for a total of $50,000 to start the church and build a facility in Cavaillon Haiti.  And God did “immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine.”    

As the tally came in, I was speechless.  The total offering received from the weekend at Restore Community Church was $64,050.  That number exceeded anything I could have wrapped my mind around.  That amount included only the offerings from Restore and doesn't include any of the matching funds. 

All I can say is that it is a complete and utter GOD THING.

I can't wait to see thousands of people in Haiti 'find their way back to God' as a result of this generosity.

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Janet in Haiti - The World is Changing

On Thursday, Janet and 17 other women headed to Haiti with C3 Missions.  It was a last minute decision for her to go since someone canceled their reservation. 

She called me yesterday from the property where El Shaddai will be planting their 39th church in Cavaillon.  I got the chance to listen in as they prayed fervently over that piece of God's creation.  On Sunday they will be setting up a tent on the land and having a worship service at the same time we will be taking up an offering at Restore to build the church on that piece of property.

I can't wait to see how God uses this relationship to help people find their way back to God...even to the ends of the earth.

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Sent to Haiti

 Friday morning at 7:30am, 7 men from Kansas City including two from Restore, chartered a plane and flew to Haiti to assist in much needed relief efforts for the people of Gonaives.  This city of around 300,000 has been decimated by flooding caused by tropical storm Hanna.  For nearly two days now, this entire city has been without food or water.  One of our partners, C3 Missions, has two children's homes in this area with 250 kids under care and were the catalyst for this trip.   Their partnership with Mission of Hope has provided access to food supplies in Port au Prince.  They have secured two UN helicopters to transport the food into the ravaged area.  The orphan homes will be the distribution point for this food to those in greatest need.

TV channels here in Kansas City picked up the story and you can read/watch about it here.  Please pray for Alan, Mike, Joe, Ed, Brad, Rustin and Dan as they serve so many in need with the love of Jesus.

Haiti Here We Come

This afternoon, three of my very good friends and  Restore attenders boarded a plane bound for Haiti.  I am so proud of Patrick O'Connell, Charlene Garrison, and Sue Ann Boyd for taking this trip to further explore how Restore can make an eternal difference in the lives of orphan children and their communities in Haiti. 

The trip sponsored by C3 Missions has 20 people going from numerous churches throughout KC.  I pray that this experience leaves each one of them changed, just as it did my sons and I when we traveled to Haiti in June.

If you read this, take a moment and pray for Patrick, Charlene, Sue Ann, Jimmy and the others on this wonderful adventure. 

Haiti - Church Planting

In 1995, Louis St. Germain planted his first church in an area called Cambry just outside Les Cayes.  Well actually, that wasn't the first thing they did.  Initially they literally built a bridge over a ravine that created access for over 10,000 people no matter what the weather was like.  Then they purchased a piece of land and dug a well for fresh water that they made available to the community and it still serves nearly 1,000 people.  And then they started the first Good Shepherd Church.  Since that time at this church they have opened a school for 500 kids, a medical clinic that serves hundreds on a monthly basis, 5 orphan homes with over 200 kids, and a call center that employs over a dozen adults.  It was a blast speaking there last Sunday. 

Since that time 37 additional churches have been planted in Haiti..in remote mountain villages to major cities.  One of their largest churches, Les Cayes, was started in a night club and just one year ago moved into its permanent building.  That church now has weekly attendance of over 3,000 people.  I got the opportunity to speak at the 6am service.  What a thrill to communicate God's Word to a different culture in a different language.  Thanks Dony. 

Our trip to Haiti had a particular purpose.  We are investigating the possibility of a partnership between Restore and El Shaddai that could lead to a church plant.  This absolutely seems to be a situation where God is at work and it would be privilege to join Him.  We will keep praying about what our next steps should be.

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Haiti - Orphans part 2

One of the most amazing things I witnessed while in Haiti was the spiritual passion of these kids.  At most of the orphan homes we visited the children sang us a song like above and then recited some Bible verses and then we prayed for the kids and they prayed for us.  Now none of these thing are amazing in themselves...however, the majority of these children have only been in a home for 8 months to a year.  So one year ago they are on the streets or in the mountains, with no contact to education or church.  A year later they are singing praises to God.  Reciting from memory entire chapters of the Bible (one group did Psalm 17) and passionately praying for others.  That is the power of the local church invested in the lives of the "least of these."

The overall C3 Missions/El Shaddai model is working.  It takes $40/month to support each orphan.  With this support, they provide resources for food, clothing, education and staffing.  They have a "Mama" for every 10-15 kids who lives with them and provides cared, instruction and at times discipline.  Each group of orphan homes has number of ladies who some cook and others who do laundry.  $10/month goes toward the children's' education which hires the teachers and buys books and supplies.  They also have security people at each location to ensure the kids are in a safe environment.  So not only are these homes providing a safe Christ centered environment for hundreds or orphans, they bring much needed jobs and finances into economically depressed areas creating revitalization.

The model has also worked very hard to ensure the lifestyle of the orphans are the same as the community.   The accommodation are modest at best and their creature comforts are the same as their classmates who attend school with them.  This seems to go a long way at not creating a class system or animosity toward these kids.

We got the chance to visit 3 homes which were under construction or nearly complete.  Our special privilege was the chance to dedicate and pray for the kids who will be moving into "Denise's House of Hope" in the next few weeks.  This home has been sponsored by the Dietrich family who attend Restore.  I know that these 60 kids lives will be changed for eternity by this generous investment.

 

 

Haiti - Orphans

Over the past four years an amazing partnership has emerged between C3 Missions and El Shaddai Ministries in Haiti.  Through numerous God Things, Mike and Beth Fox visited Haiti in the fall of 2004.  They met with brothers, Louis and Dony St. Germain, to talk about building an orphan home.  At that time there were 9 boys in one home at a place called Cambry.  What has transpired in the last four years is nothing short of miraculous.  By the end of 2008 over 1,000 orphan children will now have a home, be clothed and fed and will be attending school.  This past week I had the privilege to visit six of the churches where fourteen orphan homes are located. 

We first visited that initial location at Cambry.  As we toured the entire campus (church, school, medical clinic, bakery, and homes), Dony St. Germain (on the right) shared the vision of El Shaddai and their holistic ministry approach.  They have their 4 E's...

Evangelism
Education,
Empathy
Economic Development (or Empowerment) 
 

This is more than a memorable slogan.  They are truly living this out.  They don't build any orphan homes where there is not a church.  They have schools located on each property or very near each orphan home that is not only for the orphans at that location, but also for the community (ex: at the Camby location, there are 200 orphans and 500 students at that school).  At each location they are working at developing businesses and mircrocredit opportunities to create job opportunities (currently Haiti has a 70% unemployment rate).  That is the strategic transformational planning stuff that gets me fired up.

Now for the heart stuff.  On this trip I got to take along my sons Jake and Mitch.  At Cambry and later at Cayes, I watched as these special young men (okay I'm partial) went from clearly uncomfortable interacting with these kids to playing soccer and having these wonderful children climbing all over them.  A young boy named Jeffty captured Jake's heart and clearly gave more than he received.  On Sunday after we attended church, Jeffty pushed his way through three kids to get to Jake and jumped into his arms.  At Cayes, a little boy named Devon grabbed hold of Mitch and the two were inseparable.  Even though they couldn't communicate, Mitch found a way to teach Devon how to beat box.  Now that was hilarious to hear and see.  Oh yeah, three little ones became my peeps for the weekend... Bobyson, Vivian and Ogli.  I hope they remember me (Pappy Troy)....I won't forget them.