"I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made the heaven and earth." ~Psalms 121:1-2 (ESV)
Dear Praying Friends,
The news out of Haiti continues to be concerning. If we kept our focus on the political chaos in the capital, the gangs' control of the main roads in and out of Port-au-Prince, the continued plight of the very poor for food across the island, the increase in kidnapping now targeting church leaders, etc., discouragement would set in and fill our mind and soul. The psalmist reminds us to look up, beyond these situations, to the Creator of heaven and earth. Only then will we see that God is still at work amidst the anarchy.
October 14 marked two months since the quake. But let's look beyond and see what God is doing. Here are a few snapshots of activities on Thursday, October 14:
On October 14, the Casa Major School was in session, like so many other Christian private schools. In one of the updates, we showed the demolition of Pastor Clotaire's school, medical clinic and home. School re-opened on October 4 for most of the island. Pastor Clotaire was able to salvage other older buildings, make it as secure as he could so that these students would not lose another year! Be encouraged by this man's faith to do whatever he can for the 400+ students until God provides all the resources.
On October 14, in the city of Mirebalais, over 70 pastors gathered for ongoing training in Reformed Theology. They are preparing to become part of Reformed Churches of Haiti (RCH), a nationally recognized denomination which God graciously allowed ESMI to establish for the 189 churches.
On October 14, Joseph is making progress. In our last e-newsletter, we asked for prayers for this young man from La Hatte. He fell from a tree during the quake and the outcome was not looking good when the medical team saw him. But praise God, after a 12-hour surgery on September 28, Joseph is slowly learning to walk again. To God be the glory! And thank you for praying!
On October 14, these two young men arrived in a nearby Caribbean island to attend medical school. Guillou and Louis were among the 71 children who came to the ESMI orphanage in Port-au-Prince from Cite Soleil, a neighborhood known for gang violence. When the 2010 earthquake struck, this orphanage, with the help of ministry partners, was moved to Lundi in Jeremie. These young men graduated at the top of their class and did well in the National Exams. To date, there are now four students studying medicine on this island, and three of them are from Cite Soleil. Exciting to see what God is doing and will continue to do in their lives!
On October 14, ongoing construction and re-building of 7 churches and 2 schools. Due to the recent escalation in the kidnapping of pastors in Port-au-Prince, ESMI leadership is being very careful when and where we start re-construction. Please be in prayer for our Christian leaders for God's protection and strength to persevere in these days gripped with fear. Because of this, ESMI leaders and team are still working on Phase III but a little "quieter" and slower than Phase I. Thank you for your partnership in the rebuilding effort.
$500,000 MATCHING FUND VIDEO
Thank you for partnering with us in this challenge. We praise God for your response. We are about 37% in monetary giving to this matching fund challenge. If we were to also include your gifts in kind received since the challenge, we are over the 50% mark! Thank you so much!
Praise and Prayer Requests
Praise God for the Matching Fund Challenge that will go from September 27 to October 27; pray for God's provision through His people for the remaining 50% to come within the next 10 days.
Pray for Haiti that there will be peace, and for fair elections to be held at the end of the year
Due to the attack on churches, Christian leaders are very afraid. Pray for security and for the churches to continue to preach the Gospel in the midst of persecution. Some have closed their doors due to the recent kidnappings of pastors.
Pray for the medical team that will travel to Haiti. Pray for the trauma seminar that will be presented to the pastors
Thank God that we were able to purchase all the trucks needed for the food distribution and the rebuilding effort
Pray for the construction workers not to be discouraged in the rebuilding effort as they too need to rebuild their homes but lack the resources to do so
Pray for Joseph who has another surgery to do soon
Pray for the many refugees here in Central Florida needing housing, jobs and approval of their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in order to work.
Thank you for praying with us and seeing how God answers.
WAYS TO GIVE
To donate online, go to the DONATE NOW button and select DISASTER RELIEF
OR
Send a check to:
El Shaddai Ministries Int'l, Inc.
c/o The Keyes Company
2121 SW 3rd Avenue, Suite 101
Miami, FL 33129
Memo: Earthquake Relief
