I would like to say a heart-felt “THANK YOU” to all of those who supported the Disaster Relief Team trip to Haiti with donations and prayers.  

I know its late to be sharing a trip report, but with the media attention distracted by oil spills and the economy, maybe this can be a reminder to keep the ongoing plight of our Haitian brothers and sisters at the forefront of our prayers & efforts.

The trip was the highlight of my last 6 years of ministry. I’ve been all over the world with the Charlotte Eagles, been to amazing places and had hairy experiences, but going back to the land of my youth ranks right up there at the top. I was invited by World Hope International to put together a team, and 7 other guys from the Tabernacle volunteered to go with me.

We called our team “Crew 424” in honor of the FireHouse Youth Ministry and the local Venturing crew, who both use Deuteronomy 4:24 as a theme verse. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. Fueled by a passionate fire for God, Crew 424 got geared up, our shots, updated passports, raised over $20,000 and deployed in less than 30 days.

For a community our size, in one of the hardest hit states in this tanked economy, this was nothing short of a miracle.

World Hope assigned our team to the soccer stadium in the city of Leogane, just west of Port-au-Prince. Leogane sits right on top of what was the epicenter, and we found a community entirely devastated. There were about 4,000 refugees living on the soccer field, and on our first day we drove straight from the airport to survey the camp from the top of the stands.

Desperate people had crowded there in shacks, shanties, and tents fabricated out of whatever people could scrounge. It was dirty, people were hungry, many still had wounds from the disaster, and everywhere there seemed to be fear and hopelessness. Even the structures that were not flattened were empty – no one really dared to be indoors.

Standing on the top of the stadium steps, our World Hope contact gave us our mission:

 “Love the people in this stadium. Build them a clinic, treat what you can, but whatever you do – love these people.” It sounded a lot like marching orders from Jesus.

Crew 424 piled back into our vehicles and motored another 45 minutes down the highway to our campsite - the old Wesleyan compound in Petit Goave. Our bags of equipment had not arrived (thanks Air France). We had none of our gear, tents, tools or equipment - only what we carried on our backs.

That night, as we climbed into borrowed tents, more than one of us were wondering if we would be able to be of any use during our 8-day trip. However, we were united by one simple faith in our sovereign God. We believed He had a plan and that our job was to trust Him and hang on. 

The Eight Marks of a Disciple Study Guide is now available as a free download to accompany the audio CD. The study guide is designed to enhance individual or group learning on each of the eight marks. Click HERE to download for FREE. Check it out! Use it. Pray for God to transform lives through it!

"John, In December God connected with a teen in Atlanta GA and who ended up giving his life to Christ. After returning from the Love Mercy Youth Convention I mailed him your CD. He went through it and mentioned to me how it impacted his life. I have had other teens in my Youth Group say the same thing. I wanted you to know that your CD is effective in helping with the transformation process. It is the first thing I give a teen after they make a commitment to Christ to help them in that first 10 days. It is one of the most effective tools I have to give out in my youth ministry. God really lead you in this and wanted to let you know that God is using it."

~ Brad

I grew up in Haiti, the son of missionary parents, so naturally the earthquake has been heartbreaking for me personally. It's felt like 9/11 all over again, but with 60 times the loss of life - and a much larger logistical nightmare to overcome. Haiti was in bad shape to begin with, and so this has been a disaster on top of a disaster.

The rubble-covered streets in the news images are the streets I grew up on, so I have been getting a steady stream of calls, emails, texts and facebook messages from people asking what they can to help Haiti. I am no expert, but have been closely following the reports on the news, of respected NGO's, and of personal contacts on the ground. So if you desire to really help Haiti, the three most important things that you can do right now are (in order): Pray, give, and then (and only then) Go.

1. PRAY - so many people say they are praying for Haiti, but are they really or just saying that? Have you actually stopped, bowed your head and talked to Almighty God about the people of Haiti? We need to pray for their daily needs, for medical attention, for the relief workers, for the leadership, and the re-building. We need to pray for the devastated infrastructure, for the orphans, for the police, and for the missionaries. Prayer is huge, and as we pray I believe God will show us what prayers we can be a part of answering.

2. GIVE - the worldwide outpouring of financial support is heartwarming. Millions of dollars are pouring in, but millions more will be needed. Hollywood, long the "great Satan" in the eyes of the church, raised over $57 million in one night - fantastic. But most of the money will come from everyday people that give sacrificially. Haiti has long been forgotten until this crushing blow, we need to give money now more than ever.

3. GO - MAYBE. My contacts on the ground have recounted horror stories of well-meaning volunteers showing up without a clue. No lodging, no tents, no drivers, no food, no water, and no knowledge of the culture or language. They ended up clogging up the system as others on the front lines had to help sort them out and in some cases dig into relief supplies to feed them. There may be a time to go to Haiti to serve, and re-build - but non-professional volunteers need to wait until the appropriate time. Furthermore, we need to honestly ask ourselves why we want to go. One guy said in some cases - it might be better to just send the money you were going to spend on a plane ticket. 

Personally, my giving is directed towards an initiative called Hearts & Hands for Haiti - you can donate to this effort by clicking the icon on this website. H3 is an initiative to get relief, medical care, and supplies to missionaries and relief workers already in Haiti. They were there before the earthquake, and they will be there after the TV cameras leave. The know the people, the culture, the language, and the situation on the ground - and are already leading the relief efforts on the ground. If we can help them - we will be helping from the inside out.

CNN did a great piece one of these efforts that simply proves the point [How Missionaries Are Helping]. I wish I could be there right now to dig through the rubble or help out in any way, but at this point I think this is the wisest place to start. I encourage you to do the same. I believe in H3 not only because it is run by members of my immediate family, but because every dollar goes straight to the need.

All contributions to H3 are tax-deductible and will be receipted. Those who wish to donate by mail should make checks out to "Shunem Ministries," with "Haiti" on the memo line. Send to: Shunem Ministries, PO Box 1422, Noblesville, IN 46061.

Graduation Commencement

Students & parents alike approach graduation days with mixed emotions, because this rite of passage marks both an end and a beginning. There is happiness, relief, some sadness maybe – but mostly it’s about hope. We look ahead to the future and ask: “what’s next?” for each 2009 grad. Most of them have plans, dreams, aspirations, but above all hope. If they don’t, then they live the rest of their lives longing for the days when they were 16 and in high school – like Napoleon Dynamite’s pathetic uncle, living in a van down by the river, telling everyone about how he could have won State.

Parents are hopeful too – hopeful that they loved enough, said enough, and invested enough to prepare their child for this great big world. (And hopeful that “the first year at NMC while living at home to save money doesn’t mean he’ll be living in the basement until he’s 30, eating nacho’s a playing Xbox 360). Teachers are hopeful too – I’ve been on that end of it before, and know that most of you don’t do this for the money – you genuinely want to see the lives you’ve invested in succeed, excel, and most all glorify God.

But the most important hope that you carry is the collective hope of the church. Not just my church, or your church, or this church, but all the churches that make up the bride of Christ – the invisible and universal group of true believers who have not given up their hope in our Great God & King Jesus Christ. You see, since the church was first established at Pentecost, since the time of those great days of Acts, the church has always been one short generation from extinction.