Issue 12, May 2008 

Update on Famine in Haiti

Here is a letter that was recently received from Pastor Lesly Bertrand:

Dear Sister Judy,

Greetings and blessings to you in the name of the Lord Jesus! Thank you so much for your efforts to help us in Haiti. First of all forgive me for the long delay that I take to communicate to you. I purchased and distributed food for the orphanage and for the churches. I also had the annual conference for the Mirebalais churches area (mountain area) the place that you were last time. I took the opportunity to distribute some food to five churches. The way I did that was I gave the food to the pastors and then they distributed to their members. I distributed 50 bags of rice of 25 lbs of each, 25 containers of vegetable oil of 5 gallons each and 40 bags of pinto beans. The price of the products is getting higher and because of that the hungry people are angry and they are getting in the street to loot and plunder the super market and food storage.

Since last Thursday the famine which is very hard from day to day and the price of all things are getting high, they ask the government to do something and if they are unable to do something that would be better they leave their position. For four days everybody is staying home because everything is blocked and stopped, the banks, the schools  are closed, there is no public transportation even the international airport is closed, no vehicle on the street and the streets are empty, only the demonstrators and the people who are looting  are in the street. Even if you have cash money with you, you cannot buy anything because the stores are closed. As a result five people are killed 4 in Cayes (south) and 1 in Port au Prince; 50 people are injured from the bullets of United Nations Force. I briefly describe to you the situation of Haiti right now. In later correspondence I will give you a report how the money are spent for the food distribution and for the children orphanage program. Thank you for the $2100 that I received from LHI. It was very helpful to us. Blessings to you, In His service,

Pastor Lesly Bertrand

We received $1,000 from our churches and individuals during April in response to this need and this week we sent the money on to Pastor Lesly.  Thanks to all who responded so quickly.  Additional funds are still needed to meet this need.

Report of South America Trip

Bill Wachtel and David and Lynne Krogh traveled to Peru and Uruguay April 5-13.  Bill spoke at the Sunday morning service in Lima on April 6 and on Saturday night April 12. David and Lynne also  spoke briefly with Bill translating.  We spent time Sunday afternoon, Monday, and Saturday discussing the ministry following the death of Pastor Beder in February.   Gaston, the brother of deceased pastor Beder Ucanay, has been preaching at the church and it is agreed that he will serve as the new pastor with the help of several other dedicated believers.  Gaston has been discipled by his brother for the past several years and he is currently taking some classes at a seminary in Lima.  Gaston is well grounded in the truths of Scripture and is a very capable person to serve as pastor.

We were delighted to see that the attendance at the church has improved from our last several visits. There is a good spirit in the church.  The widow and children of Pastor Beder are very active in the church and seem to be doing well.  Maria has a ministry with the women of the church, and her daughter Maria Mercedes plays the keyboard for worship services.  Maria’s son, Josue who is 13 takes part in services with Scripture readings and short messages.

The city of Lima has been doing some road construction near the church and the earth moving equipment and jack hammers have weakened the rafters in the roof of one of the rooms in the church.  The rafters have cracked and the roof is sagging.  We would like to help the congregation replace the roof with new rafters and covering.  The cost is approximately $1,200.  Individuals and groups are invited to help with this expense. The funds will be much appreciated.

We traveled on to Montevideo, Uruguay where we met Mauro Gonzalez, 34, who has been in contact with Anthony Buzzard, Bill Wachtel, and Beder Ucanay for more than two years.  It has been his desire for someone to come to his country to baptize him so that he in turn can baptize those who have been studying with him.  It was a privilege for Bill Wachtel to baptize Mauro in the Rio de la Plata, a huge river that separates Uruguay from Argentina.  After being baptized, Mauro then baptized two individuals that he has been working with: Bruno, a 19 year old outstanding young man, and Doris, a second mother to Mauro.  With these three baptisms, we now have the nucleus of a new Church of God congregation in a new country in the Western Hemisphere.

Mauro is involving others in his Bible study and he along with Bruno and Doris have a real desire to reach out to those without Christ.  Mauro also has contacts in Argentina and Chile who have been studying the Scriptures.  He plans to travel soon to these two countries to baptize those who have been studying.  Our prayer is that these individuals will start Bible studies and churches in their countries.

We are thankful for safety, good health, good meetings, and smooth travel during our trip.  We also are thankful for the individuals and groups who provided financial support to make this trip possible.  About $2,500 is needed to finish paying for the travel expenses.  Thanks for any help you or your mission group can provide.—David Krogh

Lynne speaking to the congregation translated by Bill

Maria and her family

Mauro as he is about to baptize Doris

David, Bruno, Mauro, and Bill before baptisms

David and Pastor Gaston

Africa Trip

Plans are being finalized for the trip to Africa this summer.  Joe Martin will be leaving on June 2 to travel to the Congo where he will meet Pastor Vince Finnegan.  They will minister to contacts there for a week.  Jim Mattison, Rebekah Martin, and Erica Fitzsimmons will then meet Joe in Malawi on June 9.  The team will spend three weeks in Malawi and Mozambique primarily teaching pastors on week days and holding services in the churches on Sundays.

The team will travel on to Zambia for three days to meet with a group of pastors who are affiliated with several current ABC students.

From Zambia, they will fly on to Kenya for a week.  The team will be staying with the Onyango Family in Nairobi.  Two ABC students have come from this family, Becky who graduated in 2006 and Anne Mbeke Fischhaber who graduated in 2007.  Another family member, Brenda, is trying to secure a visa to come for the next semester at ABC that begins in August.  The team will also visit Sammy Chacha, a 2007 graduate of ABC who lives in Kaimosi, Kenya.

There has been a sizeable increase in airline ticket prices since last year and with the additional stops, each team member is expected to raise $6,000.  We will appreciate any help you can provide toward this expense.  Also, please be in prayer for the final preparation as well as praying for the team while they are gone on this lengthy trip.

Mexico

Dean Moore spoke with Lupe Badillo recently. Her dental work has been completed. She is very grateful to those who provided funds for this work to be done. Things are going well with them. She continues with weekly Sunday school though the attendance is much lower than she would like. She is looking forward to the team’s visit this summer.

The Mexico ministry trip will take place July 20 to August 13. Four individuals will be leaving Oregon, IL the morning of the 30th to drive to the border. Those team members are Randy and Mariann Hall, Devon Buse and Judy Myers. All are members of the Oregon church. Rachel Carr and Amanda Homewood from the Lakeshore Bible church will join the team in Harlingen on August 1st and Randy and Rhonda Barton from the Cornerstone Church will fly into Harlingen to meet the team on August 2nd. Financial help with this trip is appreciated. With the rising cost of gasoline, we anticipate the travel expenses to be larger than in the past.

VBS Fund Raising Projects

We often receive requests for suggestions of mission projects that could be funded in part with Vacation Bible School offerings.  Here is a list of current needs:

Haiti Famine Relief - $1,000

Support for recent trip to South America - $2,500

Support for team to Africa in June and July - $10,000

Support for team to Mexico in July and August - $2,000

Funds to secure Sunday School material for Mexico - $100

Bibles for Simple Teachings Church in Georgia - $200

Roof Repairs in Lima - $1,200

Bicycles in Africa - $80 each

Bibles for Africa - $5 each

Food for orphans in Africa - $12 per bag

Tin for roofs in Africa - $13 per sheet

Cement for churches in Africa - $14 per bag

Silent Auctions

When teams visit mission fields, native items are purchased and brought back to be used in silent auctions.  Auctions have been held at the annual General Conference and Christian Workers Seminar as well as a few churches.  Would your church be willing to hold an auction?  Everyone has a good time and lots of money can be raised for our mission trips. If your church is interested in having an auction, please contact us and we will send items from several fields that can be auctioned.  Please send your requests to jmlhi@aol.com or Judy Myers, 6898 E. Brick Rd., Oregon, IL 61061.

Thanks to those churches that have held auctions already.

Prayer Request

Dean Moore who has been very active in the Mexico mission work for over 40 years has been struggling with a bad case of shingles for the past several months.  Please pray for healing for him.  Thanks.