Pray with us this week!

Is any one of you in trouble?  He should pray.  Is anyone happy?  Let him sing songs of praise.  Is any one of you sick?  He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.  If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.  James 5: 13 – 16.

We are thankful that the mayor of Delmas has declared this week to be prayer week in Port au Prince.  Throughout this week there will be prayer services held at the mayor’s office and in people’s churches.  People are encouraged to spend time in prayer, dedicating issues to our God in prayer.  People are praying for the government, for the health, for hunger, for faith, for clean drinking water, for stability in the country and many other issues.  We at Adoration love this idea and are going to spend time in prayer with our staff and our students. 

We would love it if you could join us this week and pray for the issues mentioned above but specifically for the three issues mention down below for Adoration.  Please dedicate some specific time this week in your homes, at your work place, as you drive or wherever you are to pray with us. 

1.       Registration for the school and the centre.

2.       Land purchase for building a school.

3.       Housing project: building of houses for families that still live in tents or need their houses repaired.

‘Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.’ 1 Thessalonians 5:16 – 18.

Painting and moving!

Once again we are in the process of moving and painting.  For the 3rd time in almost nine months we are moving and rearranging things again.  Yesterday I had some youth from a local church, Kati, Cadeau, and Randy and Karen help.  Thanks for the help guys we really appreciate it. 

ps:  Chloe: hope you like your room colour!  Love you!

Medical team!

Adoration open its doors this morning and welcomed another medical team in. Sitting before them and waiting for the clinic to begin was about 150 people.  These people came with all kinds of illnesses and are seeking some help from the doctors and nurses that have flown in from New Hampshire and Vermont.

Opening devotions

Preparing before the clinic starts.

Explaining how the prescription works.

Listening for the right translation.

Checking blood pressure.

Writing a prescription.

Happiness?

When a friend asked me to go with him and some others to Thomossique (a place which I had never heard of) I was at first a little leery of going because I didn't know what I was getting into. After a little prodding, and maybe even some pushing, I decided to go because it is not too often you can travel such a far distance, leaving your family behind. In my case, with Mindy gone, I really had no excuse to not go. And my friend promised that the road was a lot better than it was five years ago. It was mostly paved now. Five years ago it took almost 14 hours to get there, now it only took six hours.  I decided it was now or never; I might not receive this opportunity again so I may as well take it.

I was told to arrive at his house at 5:30 Saturday morning so we could begin the adventure. I didn't know what to expect or what we would see. Off we went, and on the way we picked up one lady and another two pastors. The trip had begun! For the first four and a half hours the ride was great. The road was paved, the scenery was beautiful, the mountains were fun to climb, the view was amazing, and I saw things that I have never seen before. We arrived in Mirebalais,  stopping for a quick breakfast of spaghetti and hot dogs with ketchup and hot sauce. Yummy! We carried on and the scenery was still amazing, along with the ride. Then we hit the city of Hinche. We turned right on road number 308 and that's when I saw the last of the pavement for the next 24 hours or so. There were lots of bumps, lots of spots where I thought, "there is no way you are getting through this Zach!" We drove through stream after stream...up and down the mountains we went. As we drove I got to see more of God's creation; green vegetation, cliffs, rivers, birds and different kinds of animals. After about an hour and 15 minutes we arrived in Thomossique.

We stayed there for the next 26 hours. This town in the middle of nowhere is about 20 kilometers or a 45 minute drive to the Dominican border.  My friend and his entourage had meetings all Saturday afternoon so I was on my own- ready to explore, ready to read, and ready to relax! It had been awhile since I had been out of Port au Prince and I was excited to have time to just hang out.

First I walked for an hour and half. I saw so much- a type of house I had never seen before, field after field where people were working hard, many different kinds of people. I walked and I walked and as I walked I was attentive to my surroundings. I became aware of a town with no electricity, no running water, no indoor plumbing, no indoor bathrooms, many mud huts, and a well by the church where people gather, not only to get water, but to catch up with on the happenings in each others lives. As I walked and as I sat watching the people I wondered how they could be happy? Here I was thinking, "How am I going to survive a night without electricity, running water, indoor plumbing, and a fan to keep me cool at night, among other things?" They are missing out on all that; they do not have it like we have it.

On Sunday I was bbming with a friend of mine in Canada (yes there are cell towers there) and we ended up talking about noticing the happiness right in front of us. And then I looked at the people I was staying with, all the people around me, and I noticed that they were in fact happy. Not only happy but content with what they had. They know about electricity, they know about indoor plumping, they know about all the perks that they 'could' have but don't. They are satisfied with what God has given them.  This threw me back a little bit. How much do I take for granted? How much do I expect of things to be there? I was quickly humbled, yet again, when just before we left the hosts gave us going away gifts. They did not have much but offered us food to take back to our families in Port au Prince. We graciously accepted the gifts.

Looking back on this weekend, I am thankful for the trip and the good reminder that I should be content with what God has given me. My eyes need to be opened to appreciate all that I have! God has greatly blessed me and for that I am thankful. I pray that I may be reminded of this more often then not and to turn to God with a grateful heart.   Philippians 4: 10 -13!

'Great is thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided-
Great is thy faithfulness, LORD unto me.'

A card Chloe made me!

Chloe made this card all by herself for me, except most of the writing.  Love it and thank you Chloe!

Chloe's new chairs

I was driving with Ruth Van Dam earlier today and saw these guys walking down the street with these chairs on their heads and thought immediately of you Chloe!  These chairs are for you Chloe, a place to do your crafts, to do your homework.  Now all I have to do is make a table to match, should be fun!  So here you go my dear Chloe hope you like them!!!  Love you and miss you tonnes.  (Don't worry Chloe we are going to paint them for you.)

A Gated Community

In Haiti we live within walls, walls that surround our houses.  This serves as protection for our families and the different things that we own.  Usually on these walls we have barb wire to keep all people out.  It makes it difficult for anyone to come and go.  The only way to get into our houses is through our gates.  In Haiti there are many different types of gates.  Throughout the past couple of months Kati has been taking pictures of different gates in Haiti.  Here are thirty of them...Click here to see the gates.

We are a COMMUNITY!

On Wednesday I witnessed, for the second time, the handing out of report cards at Adoration Christian School.  The handing out of report cards at Adoration is completely different than handing out report cards back at John Calvin School in Smithville- the only other school that I have worked at to hand out report cards.  The handing out of report cards here is a full out assembly.  The assembly begins with singing; if you have never heard the Haitian people singing praises to our Risen King you are truly missing out!  After a time of prayer there was a message given to us by our pastor, Pastor Octavius.  This time he spoke about our LORD and Saviour and how He conquered sin, death and the devil.  We then had the privilege of listening to every class present a song or Bible text they had memorized.  Some of the teachers sang a song for us as well...'Great is Thy Faithfulness'.  A true witness of how faithful our God has been to us so far in this year.

Then the time came for the reason why we had gathered...to receive the awards and the report cards.  During this time it is breathtaking to watch the reactions of everyone present.  The students sit on the edge of their seats.  They are nervous, they are anxious and they are frightened.  I am convinced that everyone had butterflies in their stomach, parents and students alike.  You see, most are so unsure of how they have done and everything they had done in the past control (semester) comes down to this.  Tests, assignments and everything else the students have done does not count on their final marks.  At the end of every control the students write exams and their report card mark is based on these exams alone, nothing else.

First the awards are handed out. There are awards for never being absent or late, awards for best achievement, and awards for highest marks.  Only eight students hadn't missed a day or weren't late this year.  Then came the awards for highest marks and best work ethic.  Some students came with heads lifted high while others had the look of shock- who me? really?  Other had tears in their eyes.  I looked at the parents and saw pride on their faces because their child had done so well.

Next was the report cards. Some of the children have the privilege of going to the front first to get their report cards while other parents make the walk from their seats to get their child's report card.  The reports are then opened and the children and parents glance at the one mark at the bottom.  This total mark has to be higher than 5 out of 10.  Anything lower is a fail.  There were fist pumps and grins and smiles and shoulders sagging and tears.  Seeing the different emotions appear on the faces of parents and students was also interesting to watch.  Pride, joy, happiness, sadness, and disappointment were just some of the emotions.  But the most interesting thing that I witnessed was when a boy, who could not wait for his father's glance, got out of his seat and ran to sit with him to look at that mark.  Immediately he relaxed, and his body was less tense.  I did not even have to see his face to know he had passed; his body language spoke it all!

As we sat through this assembly I noticed that we are a community.  In this community we can share, talk, laugh, cry, and be proud together.  This school community has been through a lot and will continue to go through good times and bad in the coming years.  Yet, this was a time of community when its people could come together to sing, read the Bible, pray and share in the education of their children.  God has blessed this community, God is with this community and we pray that this community may continue to grow stronger and closer to Him.  We are a COMMUNITY!

Scenery in Haiti

God is working! Hallelujah!

'Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."'  Matthew 28:18 - 20

There are many different areas that you can see the LORD working in the small country of Haiti.  God has called a lot of different people to Haiti to work for Him.  God's name, and God's Word is going out.  There was a group of people discussing God's Word the other day and one of the 'blancs' mention that the Haitians must be getting sick and tired of all the whites that are in the country.  The person replied by saying that the NGO's can leave but the missionaries need to stay.  The work that has been done in education, in the churches and the lives of every day people needs to continue, needs to carry on.  The missionaries and all those that work to further the gospel need to carry on.  If Haiti is going to be a better country, people need to work on the broken relationships: God, self, others and creation.  And this is what the missionaries are trying to do here in Hait.   


So for this blog update a friend of mine, named Kati, and I would like to present to you friends of ours that are making changes in Haiti with the LORD's help.  Part of these profiles will be on my blog and there will be a link to Kati's blog where you can read the rest of the profiles.  We encourage you to check out their blogs or websites.  We also encourage you to pray for the prayer requests that they have.


click here to read the rest of the profiles.


Howard and Ruth Van Dam along with children Taressa, Natasha, Micah and Malieke are serving in Haiti with the Christian Reformed World Missions. In Haiti they along with several co-workers are partnering with 6 Haitian Christian organizations. These organizations are serving God through church and school leadership training, community development and church development. Howard consults and works closely with one of these partners along with serving as team leader for the office, assisting work teams in the construction aspect, and numerous other responsibilities and projects. Ruth focuses on the home front and works part time as assistant administrator of the office.  All four children attend Quisqueya Christian School from grades 7 to 12.


Prayer requests: Pray specifically for our partners that their ministry will effectively transform communities in the name of Christ.

Blog: Click here to check out the Van Dam's blog

Hello! My name is Jill Rutz. In May, I graduated from Appalachian State University in North Carolina. I graduated with a degree in Elementary Education.


I spent the last two summers in Haiti working with Campus Crusade for Christ. During that time, God gave me a heart for the culture and people. The Lord opened doors and paved a way for me to teach at Quisqueya Christian School.


I am currently teaching 2nd grade at Quisqueya. I pray that each child in my class would come to know the Lord in an intimate way. These children have the opportunity to be the next lawyers, doctors, teachers, and politicians of the country. I pray that they will be a generation that helps change Haiti for Christ!


Prayer requests: Please pray for the children to come to know the LORD in an intimate way, please pray for the children to make a difference in Haiti in the years to come.

Blog: click here to check out Jill's blog.


My name is Tim Kikkert and I work for Samaritan's Purse International Relief in Haiti. I work with the organization here as an logistics coordinator; my basic tasks entail management of Samaritan's Purse inventory and assets in the country and doing whatever I can to assist programs and their staff in running their programs as smoothly as possible.
Though the organization is perhaps best known for Operation Christmas Child, a project that distributes shoe-box Christmas presents to children around the world in an effort to show them the love of Jesus, we also have many other programs currently running seeking to educate, train, support and serve the Haitian people in the wake of the 2010 earthquake. Some of the other projects that Samaritan's Purse is presently involved in here in Haiti are medical clinics, maternal child health education and training, rubble removal and road building, community water and sanitation improvements, likelihoods training, recycling centers, orphanage and school construction and support, pastoral training and discipleship, and evangelism.


Prayer Requests- continued discernment and wisdom as we continue to seek the best ways to come alongside and support the church and the people here as they continue to rebuild and build anew.  Pray for reconciliation; that the hearts and minds of the Haitian people may be transformed by the grace of God that this country may be a witness to the world of the power and saving grace of Christ.  Pray for open doors for ministry here in Haiti and for spiritual and physical protection for the church.  The leadership of Samaritan's Purse in Haiti and in our International head office in Boone, North Carolina.

Hi, I am Lesley Toussaint, formerly Millar and am living and working in Haiti with my husband San Diego and our 14-month old daughter, Julianna.  I am working with the Christian Reformed Church of North America and their ministries in Haiti.  I have been here since 2007, originally as a volunteer and became a full-time staff in September 2008.  I train and mentor a small Haitian organization called Perspectives Reformees Internationales en Haiti (PRIHA). It  is an evangelical organization that focuses on preaching the Gospel and training people in discipleship.  PRIHA uses radio as a means for reaching the masses.  They have a 15-minute radio program in French recorded by an African pastor named Paul Mpindi who God uses to speak His word profoundly.  He preaches the Gospel in a way that makes people understand and convinced of its truthfulness.  Currently, PRIHA has over 40 radio stations that play the program in partnership with us for almost nothing.

PRIHA also has a Bible Study by correspondence which it uses to train Haitian Christians in Bible Study.  The Bible Study has 3 levels and students graduate after each level.  PRIHA has over 4,000 students enrolled in its Bible Study.  I work with local staff and provide training in administration and finance for them to become self-sufficient and run the ministry on their own.   I have been working with this ministry for 3 years now and in 1 year’s time we plan on having it become completely independent and run by local Haitian staff.   This organization faces a lot of challenges, one being resources, both human and finance. 

Prayer Requests: Please pray that God will provide the appropriate people and finances for His work to continue. 

Hi, I’m San Diego Toussaint and Haitian-born and proud!  I am working with Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) in Haiti.  Our main office is in Leogane, which is the epicenter of the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti.  We work in many different communities surrounding Leogane providing basic needs after the earthquake, including food, water and shelter.  We have built around 2,500 temporary wooden shelters for people in these communities.  We have also built many latrines and helped improved people’s living conditions in regard to health and sanitation.  Currently, we are helping people recover what they lost in the earthquake in terms of livelihood.  We are helping farmers to get seeds and start re-growing their crops as well as merchants who sell locally to obtain loans to re-purchase their merchandise.  This is in the hopes that these peoples’ lives can be restored to where they were before the disaster of Jan. 12, 2010 struck them.  My role with this organization is to manage the office and its activities.  I organize all of the logistics and procurement of these our office needs as well as help in the running of the administration.