Just thinking about this...

ONE person has the ability to COMPLETELY revolutionize the life of an abandoned child, a foreigner, single mom or a widow.

Tom Davis, Fields of the Fatherless

The Day 2 Chronicles 7:14 became Reality in Haiti‏

I just watched this video about what beautiful things God is doing in Haiti in the aftermath of the horrific earthquake. It moved me to tears...

I received it through this email below:

Breaking Christian News | 528 Ellsworth St. SW, Albany, Oregon 97321 | Email: editor@breakingchristiannews.com

February 12th: The Day 2 Chronicles 7:14 became Reality in Haiti

Aimee Herd (Mar 8, 2010)

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." –(2 Chron. 7:14)

On February 12, 2010, President Préval of Haiti called his nation to 3 days of fasting and prayer in place of the regular Mardi Gras celebration.

Not long after the devastating earthquake wreaked havoc on Haiti, President Préval made a monumental decision; together with his people, he would humble himself before the Lord, calling on Him for forgiveness and healing for his land.

It was the time of the Mardi Gras celebration, but the people of this impoverished nation were more than willing to change their plans, as their hearts had already been broken.

President Préval announced to his nation that there would be 3 days of fasting and prayer in place of the usual annual festivities. There were only about 5 days to organize the vigil which was to take place before the earthquake-ravaged presidential palace.

But, would the people heed the call to prayer? Would the people come?

Indeed, they did. Hundreds of thousands of Haitian people gathered in a picture of true repentance; hands uplifted to God, tears streaming. The prime minister arrived. He didn't speak a word, but he cried for an hour, then left and returned with Haiti's President. Reportedly, thousands came to Christ during that time, with over 100 voodoo priests turning to Jesus.

I invite you to watch a video report of what took place that moved me to tears. CLICK HERE to watch it, or on our FEATURED VIDEO link.

The following are excerpts from a report on Haiti by Francis Frangipane:
A couple weeks ago we drew our attention to the Haitian Christians. We talked about how, in the days after the Port-au-Prince earthquake, in looking for human interest stories, media reporters actually filmed these Haitians praying and worshiping God. There the Haitians were, singing hymns of praise to God. One clip I saw showed hundreds of Christians in absolute defiance of the surroundings, singing and marching in a field. With uplifted hands, and faces that beamed their trust in God, these Christians demonstrated the power of faith. As best as I could tell, they were mostly unaware of the cameras. Yet, the secular news media had become a virtual stage upon which God showcased the faith of His people. It was powerful.

Like Job who, in spite of his sudden and catastrophic losses, bowed low before God in worship (see Job 1:20), so our Haitian brethren showed the world a similar depth of character. Certainly, their collective heartache and loss were as deep as any in Haiti, yet the anchor of their soul, unmistakably, was Jesus Christ.

We must also add Chile to our prayers and giving. So many there are suffering, and we must pray. Yet, I'm concerned, lest our prayer focus be drained away from Haiti. Will you join me in praying daily for both Haiti and Chile?

Let us continue to give, but also be wise. Let's support Christian aid groups who, even as they minister to the needy, also testify of Jesus Christ. The Bible says to "ask for rain in the time of rain." In other words, we must know the season of divine activity and pray accordingly. Right now, the mercies of God are kindled toward Haiti. Revival and healing are occurring in this island nation. Indeed, even the news media are reporting of conversions:

"Since the earthquake, the country has been spiritually transformed. People from a whole variety of religious backgrounds, including voodoo, one of Haiti's two official religions, are pledging to devote themselves anew to Christianity."

All this is just a beginning, but something genuine is awakening spiritually in Haiti. Let us join in prayer and stay faithful before God. The Lord has set His heart to bless the people of Haiti and restore them to Himself. Even in this time of great heartache, there is coming forth a great harvest.

Source: Francis Frangipane Ministries

a few photos

Kylie fell off a tree (2m high) on Sunday and hurt her foot (no break, ouff!). She's almost healed now, but has been getting a kick out of walking around on crunches (as she says).
In this photo she's also showing off her 2 missing front teeth - - -
And - believe it or not, Jeremie sprained his ankle on Monday and had to be on crutches, too.
Thankfully, he too is pretty much healed already, which is amazing, since he's had other sprains and he knew this was a bad one.

Thank you, Jesus!

Here is Kylie with a little rabbit that Nathalie and Lewis found at their farm house one morning last week. Nathalie brought it to us and Kylie instantly fell in love with it!
Sadly, it was too young to be separated from its mother and died the next day...

Video-update on Haiti

This update (1 week old) from Haiti is about what YWAM has been able to experience/help in the aftermath of the earthquake. There IS hope - let's continue to pray!
Also for the victims of the earthquake/tsunami in Chile!
Lord, have mercy!

22 years today!

This day was (once again) so full that I've hardly had time to reflect on THE DAY - 22 years ago - when Rich and I got married - in snowy Switzerland! Most beautiful day - and what a life since!!!

Never would we have thought that 22 years down the road we'd be in New Zealand, watching our 4th child - a beautiful 6-year-old girl, put on a very dramatic-creative show especially for us to watch, with our 3-year-old (almost) adopted brown-skinned, black-haired precious Maori son clapping for her - alongside us...(just before bedtime)

Not to mention our 3 oldest that went off to a youth meeting at church - with 2 overseas-guests...

Rich was gone all day today and will be also all day tomorrow for a training (he's doing a 6-month training to become ambulance officer), and I was going to drive kids around to a volleyball-tournament (Leilani), work (Jeremie) and entertain Kylie and a friend, plus Shayden... and do grocery shopping, laundry, house-work, baking for the church.

What a wonderful surprise when I found one of our guests (who also helped with the running kids around) putting together these beautiful bouquets for us (even bought a couple of vases for them!)! That sooooo warmed my heart - - - especially since this anniversary is pretty much a non-celebrated-one for Rich and I - because of him being gone and me being so tired.

He also treated us to take-away-pizza and nice cake!
WOW WOW WOW!!!!! I feel so blessed! THANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH (you know who you are and yes, I won't mention your name)!!!!!!!!!!

Just for accuracy-sake - Jeremie put together the second vase-arrangement - he's getting real good at it, too!

The photos don't really do them justice, but I thought I'd share my joy anyways :)

In case you've been wondering...

... I am still alive - and well... - more or less.
I feel like I've just arrived at the finish-line (hopefully) of a 6-month marathon.
Extremely exhausted.
After 40 guests in our house in the last 10 weeks - the last ones left yesterday - I've had to refuse 3 more lots of guests that asked to stay with us yesterday - nope, sorry!
Time for catching up - rest - family - - - everything and everything has suffered from my/our intense busy-ness.

If you want to read something VERY inspiring/challenging, click here for a new entry on Katie's blog in Uganda.

Hopefully I'll be "back" in bloggy-land soon :)

AIDS

I am overwhelmed, stirred, blessed, exhausted, excited - - - Call2All finished last night.
There is SSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much that I could say, but don't have the time now.

One of the workshops I went to was about HIV/AIDS and the response of the church.
ABSOLUTELY mind-boggling! Every Christian should hear this and see the figures, facts and faces...

Everybody in Africa is either infected with HIV/AIDS or affected by it and you CANNOT have an effective ministry there unless you address this in some way.

Read this story fresh from Katie in Uganda - - - and it might touch you in a more personal way, like it did me.

Lord, PLEASE stir the hearts of all Christians with the plight of people dying from Aids and all those affected by it!

If 19 fully loaded 747 planes were to crash today, we'd sure hear about it in the news, wouldn't we?!

EVERY DAY, the equivalent number of 19 fully loaded 747s die of Aids.

E.V.E.R.Y. Day!!!

Today!

Tomorrow!

The next day!

EVERY day, the number of people dying of Aids is 3 times the amount of people killed during 9/11!

I could go on and on - about the child that dies every minute - of Aids - and the 4,110 Christians that die of Aids every day... and...

Haiti again

Latest Update from YWAM Haiti
"A Spirit of Despair...the Power of the Love of God"

Scene from the devastation in Port au Prince. Photo: Jude Eugene

“Today, we bought fifteen 25lb bags of rice in St. Marc. To our knowledge it was the last available rice in all of St. Marc city and province! This is getting serious, friends.”

YWAM Haiti national director, Terry Snow, opens his latest report with these words. As masses of people flee the devastation in Port au Prince, food and fuel supplies around the city are also diminishing. YWAM St.Marc is scrambling to prepare for the influx of refugees and has already secured venues to set up camps and store aid supplies.

Crucially, aid supplies have still not arrived where they are needed. Terry is negotiating with the authorities to open the port in St.Marc and allow aid supplies to pass through for little or no fee. YWAM associates are assembling containers of food in Florida – contact relief@ywamhaiti.org if you can help by donating containers of food or building supplies. A list of urgent needs will be provided.

And another article taken from YWAM's website:

Hope Emerges From Haiti's Rubble
Infant and mother found alive!

Alive! Appeal for prayer for Haiti's orphans! Photo : Kristian Snow

On Monday, January 18, hope was slim for finding survivors underneath the collapsed buildings in Port au Prince, 6 days after a 7.0 earthquake devastated the city.

But YWAM rescue teams have an unending supply of hope, and when they came upon a group of survivors seeking help, they sprang into action. A four-month old baby girl was discovered pinned under a building. She was removed from the rubble and rushed to a makeshift hospital with a large cut on her head. Local people said that the infant's mother was still under the building, but presumed dead. Undeterred, the YWAM team began digging to find her. To everyone's surprise, she was found alive - extremely dehydrated and in need of hospital care, but alive and expected to recover!

YWAM National director, Terry Snow, pleads for prayer for the children of Haiti as teams of church and agency leaders form strategies to cope with the crisis around them. "One of our volunteers spoke with one young boy that was actually thought to be dead!" reports Terry. "He had already been placed in the morgue in a closed room...morgue workers heard knocking on the door and were shocked to see that this young boy was still alive!"

A doctor at a makeshift hospital in the province of St.Marc, where YWAM is setting up refugee camps, asked YWAM to take charge of a group of orphans left without family or caretakers. Terry goes on to say that their biggest need right now is financial aid and prayer. YWAM International has raised over US $50 000 through our global online donations, for YWAM Haiti relief efforts, with more generous giving and donations of supplies through local centres around the world.

To donate to YWAM Haiti's relief efforts, click here.

YWAM teams from around the world are responding to the crisis as YWAM Haiti appealed for help. MercyWorks from Tyler, Texas has already arrived with supplies and will be assisting with the coordination of medical relief and hosting teams. RescueNet has also launched a disaster response team, and other YWAM centres are serving Haiti’s victims by collecting supplies, sending funds, sending volunteers and praying.

Prayer seems to be in the breath of YWAM volunteers in Haiti as they work tirelessly against overwhelming odds, fueling that most essential need – hope – in the tragedy around them. YWAM Haiti staff are responding with hope for the future, even as the full extent of the damage to their nation unfolds. Terry declares that, “This is our time to demonstrate the power of the love of God,” as the rest of the team agrees that this is an opportunity to rebuild the foundations of Haiti and see positive change for the future of this devastated nation.

Donations can be made to YWAM Haiti's relief efforts by clicking here.

Blog from Haiti family

Here's a blog you can read up on.
It's a family living there and giving first-hand news.

LET's PRAY, folks, let's pray!!!

Helping in Haiti

Being part of YWAM has got this amazing benefit that we are like a big family with the same values.

Whenever I think of investing into disaster zones, I've got no hesitation to help through YWAM. YWAM staff are all volunteers (no salary) and - for the most part - extremely motivated, hard working, with excellent morals and integrity.

So, if you want to give to help in Haiti and want to do it through people you can trust, all you need to do is to go directly to this page:
https://www.ywam.org/secure/donations/donate.asp?project=10

To get a brief report on the situation and YWAM-Haiti's previous work in relief, it's right there: www.ywam.org under "NEWS".

Let's be generous and share the little we have. Even a little - given by many people - will go a long ways in Haiti at the moment!

"We make a living by what we get. But we make a life by what we give." Churchill