About the Earthquake In Haiti

As you know, the Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.

I am sure many of you have been seeing the devastation on television. If you would like to contribute to the relief efforts in Haiti, you can make checks to Partners In Christ and mail them to the address for Partners In Christ below. Please mark them for Haitian relief fund. We will see that 100% of the funds get to those in need in Haiti. We have a working relationship and a direct connection to pastors in Haiti. Thus the funds can go directly through these pastors and churches to help those in need. Thank you for your compassion.

Carl Key
partkey@zoominternet.net

Friday December 16, 2011

Message from Miguel Angel Castillo
Pastor, Bible Foundation Church
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Dear Pastor and Brethren,

May the grace and peace of God be with you and your family!

We give thanks and praise to our Lord for having provided the necessary means to attend the children of Shekina Orphanage in Haiti, and rescue them from their deplorable condition. But we also thank you for your prayers and cooperation in this work of mercy, especially Pastor Keith Maddy, Brothers Matt Fisher and Ava Barker from Alberta, Canada, and Bible Church of Jesus Christ in Santo Domingo, for responding so generously to our call for help on behalf of these children. May God recompense each one of you according to His mercy and love!

The amount of food we brought for them was so abundant that we believe they will have more than enough for an entire month. We also paid two back salaries owed to the five teachers of the orphanage, and gave a portion of food to each family in the community of La Plaine, where the orphanage is located. Pastor Luis Arocha –of Grace Baptist Church of Santiago– who is an agronomist, also took advantage of this trip to instruct the farmers on how to cultivate short cycle products in an effort to counteract the paternalistic attitude that prevails in Haiti.

We hope that each one of you will continue praying for Shekina Orphanage and the community of La Plaine, and for us so that God would help us to continue this ministry of mercy for these children.

In the love of Christ, your servants,

Pastor Miguel Angel Castillo, and

Miguel Ariel Castillo, Director of Missions

Bible Foundation Church

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Saturday July 16, 2011

Message from Pastor Miguel Angel Castillo
Pastor, Bible Foundation Church
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Dear loved ones,

Below you have a brief report of ministry activities provided by Pastor Miguel Angel Castillo. Pastors Castillo and Francisco Guzman are our two most well known servants for work in Haiti. They both have been involved in Haiti for over ten years. The needs remain great. They are in it for keeps along with Jean-Pierre Kawas who serves as a liaison and expert translator. I am their servant in the U.S. and can provide a seamless connection for support for their efforts. Many thanks for your interest, prayers and financial contributions. Love in Christ, Keith Maddy

Translated by: Keith Maddy

Pastor Miguel Angel Castillo

Pastor, Bible Foundation Church (Iglesia Fundamento Bíblico), Santo Domingo

Thrusday January 13, 2011

Message from Pastor Miguel Angel Castillo
Pastor, Bible Foundation Church
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Dear Pastor and Brethren,

May the grace and mercy of God be with you!

Today marks the first anniversary of the Haitian earthquake, a phenomenon which caused such a great tragedy that the Haitian people have not been able to recover from, nor can they by themselves. But as you all know, in addition to this tragedy also came the cholera epidemic which broke out a couple of months ago.

This epidemic, according to official reports, has killed more than 4,000 persons; but we know that the death count is much higher. The Lord has used this tragedy to test the love He has poured in our hearts, so we can in turn demonstrate this love by serving in Haiti. It has also served to move many hearts to serve, showing by their good works that God has a people willing to sacrifice. Thank you brethren for having helped in this time of sadness, many more people than you can imagine. Thank you for your prayers and your gifts to help alleviate the pain and need of so many disadvantaged persons.

Please continue praying for our work in Haiti which we will take up again next week; for our physical safety, because every day it is more dangerous to circulate in many communities; for the children we are helping in the Shekina Orphanage and other places; for the pastors and their churches with whom we are working with in different regions of central Haiti.

Our prayer to God for you is that He would recompense you according to His mercies and that your work will continue shining before men. (Psalm 41:1-3; Isaiah 58:10-12).

In the love of Christ,

Pastor Miguel Angel Castillo

Pastor, Bible Foundation Church (Iglesia Fundamento Bíblico), Santo Domingo

US Contact:

Thrusday December 2, 2010

Message from Pastor Miguel Angel Castillo
Pastor, Bible Foundation Church
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Dear Pastor and Brethren,

May the grace and love of God be with you and your family!

This is a general report of our recent trip to Haiti.

First, we would like to say that our labor has been under attack by the enemy of the Church and the work of Christ, and it would be almost impossible to come out of this combat without being wounded. We know that every battle for the Lord’s kingdom has its cost. We would first like to refer to the cholera situation. Brother Joel Jean-Louis, who works for Foundation Hope and collaborates with us, sent us a report on how this epidemic is really affecting Haiti. We can corroborate with everything he says because of our first-hand experience in working there. The report is the following:

“As you requested, I’m sending you a report on the epidemic, according to the local news and my personal point of view.

The local authorities say that the cholera caused 1,275 deaths in Haiti since it appeared during the last week of October. This was stated in a report by the Haitian Ministry of Health. The cases which have been treated in the hospitals have risen to 22,512, not counting the 55,189 cases of contamination up to November 18th.

From my perspective, I believe that the numbers referred to in the news are no more than a disguise far removed from reality, and for various reasons:

1. Culturally speaking, most of the people who live in the countryside don’t go to a hospital when they feel sick, but prefer to consult with a witch doctor. Considering the number of clinical cases that have been reported, we can assume that there are many more cases that have not been accounted for.
2. Due to the lack of communication in the countryside, it is very difficult to count the true cases of deaths and of contamination. This is another reason why we can assume that the number of cases goes far beyond what has been reported.
3. The third and most important reason why they don’t tell the truth about what is really happening is to facilitate the elections programmed to be held in 4 days. Reliable sources have confirmed that strict orders have been given to the media to distort the number of deaths and contamination cases as well as the true situation.

In Port-Au-Prince the pressure is intermittent. Today it is OK but tomorrow, who knows? Sometimes there are violent manifestations against the people of MINUSTAH, as was the case in Cap Haitian, and Port-Au-Prince heats up… *Yesterday several people died in political confrontations and today the media reports that there are more than 80 thousand people affected by the virus and more than two thousand have died. We have information from some pastors that they are digging common burial grounds in several locations; so the situation is becoming very difficult for missionary trips at this time. (Note from Pastor Castillo*)”

What is being done on our part to alleviate the situation?

1. Grace Baptist Church of Essex, Ontario, Canada, sent 500 intravenous serums with antibiotics and the necessary nutrients, 5,000 oral serums and 12,000 purified bottled water, which we took to the region of San Marcos -one of the most affected areas- to alleviate the situation.
2. Pastor Josué Raymundo also sent 500 intravenous serums that were taken to other affected communities.
3. Grace Baptist Church of Papillon, Nebraska, was present with a large delegation headed by Pastor Lou Sloger. They not only worked in the construction project, but also brought all the needed material to cover the entire school year of Shekina Orphanage which they sponsored. They also brought medicines, food, clothes for the children of that orphanage and the one in Santos, and a lot of other aide. We thank God for this church and her leaders since they have been involved for quite some time with all these projects in Haiti.
4. Also working with us was Sister Mirna Guillén, a specialist in the prevention of contagious diseases, instructing the people in those communities on how to avoid cholera and other contagious diseases.
5. Pastor Keith Maddy has been involved in all these projects since the start, an in each step we take he has been supporting all our work in Haiti.
6. The Children’s Hunger Fund and Foundation Hope have been continuously sending great quantities of food, hygiene boxes, water purification filters and other aides to alleviate this situation which seems to have no ending in Haiti. Our God is sovereign!
7. A group of brothers and sisters from Bethlehem Church of Pastor John Piper also assisted us in the construction project during this time.

This report could have been more extensive, but since we would like it to be read in your churches, we didn’t extend ourselves giving more detailed explanations of all these great works our Lord is doing through your support and prayers and for the glory of Christ and His kingdom. Your assistance has been inestimable in all these works of mercy! (Isaiah 58:10-12)

Before closing, we would like to ask that you pray for us because the cholera has already entered our country; and precisely two of the persons infected with the virus are from the Ozama River community where our Bible Foundation Church is working. Also please pray that we may be able to continue with our pastoral training program this coming Saturday as well as the course on the History of The Protestant Reformation which is attended by more than 140 pastors and church leaders of the Dominican Republic. Finally, pray that the danger of the cholera would soon pass in Haiti so we can continue our work there.

In the love of Christ, your servant,

Pastor Miguel Angel Castillo

Monday November 22, 2010

Beth Lutz Godi

Beth is the daughter of Pastor Tom and Sue Lutz of Edgewood Baptist Church in Anderson IN. She is married to Ken Godi and is an RN. She and her husband are in love with serving the Lord in Haiti Please enjoy, praise God, and pray over this wonderful report. Thanks, Keith Maddy

Thoughts on Haiti November 2010

Our first trip to Haiti was in February, 3 weeks after the earthquake. At that time, the needs were overwhelming. We came away feeling like we had hardly made a dent. But, God drew our hearts to the Haitian people. We also fell in love with the godliness of the Dominican pastors. We tried to get back all spring and summer, but God kept closing doors. Then, all the pieces fell together and we found ourselves headed back to Haiti with IBG.

The weekend before heading to Haiti, we attended a national mission conference. We were overwhelmed by the sermons and presentations we heard, especially the ones on "When Helping Hurts". At the same time, the news was full of news about a tropical storm and epidemic cholera hitting Haiti. For the past year, we have pondered what it means to help Haiti and how we as American Christians can do that best for the glory of God.

Now, as we look back on our week in Haiti, our hearts are heavy and confused.

We are more aware of a need for earnest prayer for the Haitians and for the Dominicans who go back and forth into Haiti. We are instruments in the Redeemer's hands, but He must do the ultimate works of grace that are so necessary for salvation and true change among the Haitians.

Ken spent the week doing hard manual labor in La Plaine. He worked alongside men from Nebraska , Minnesota, DR, and Haiti. They created a drainage system for the well to help keep the water clean and the cows out of it. They also created a water system from the well to the showers and toilets.They mixed cement by hand, dug a foundation by hand, and laid the foundation for a multi-purpose building that will either be used for an orphanage dining room or a church. The men worked away in 100 degree heat,, despite blisters on their hands and cemented boots. I was so impressed by their desire to work hard and their constant attempts to share the Gospel with the Haitian villagers. They spoke to the village people about the foundation of the building and what makes a solid foundation for our lives. They sang hymns and had smiles. The Haitian men worked just as hard, wanting to do work and wanting to be part of the team.

I learned to be flexible as plans changed everyday. I learned that sometimes our plans are not God's plans. His plans are higher than ours, even when we can't understand them. His glory and His kingdom are ultimate, not our agenda or desires.

I spent one day at Shekinah orphanage doing medical assessments on the children to facilitate in their adoptions. It was a joy to be around the children and Natasha, the orphanage director. It was a pleasure to work with Keith (man who has his MBA and has an executive job) and see him humble himself to do menial tasks like weighing the children. The kids loved him. It was fun to watch Sam, a college kid from Nebraska, get right on the kid's level and play hard. We did face painting, balloon animals, sidewalk chalk, and spent time hugging the children. I also got to see little Esther, the girl we fell in love with on our last trip. She has grown and matured but is still a doll.

I spent several days at La Plaine interacting with the village women and children. The children were craving love and attention. Some of the guys played soccer and Duck, Duck, Goose with them despite the language barrier. Those women work so hard doing the everyday tasks of cooking, cleaning, and caring for their children. They were joyful and seemed content. Oh, that we as wealthy Americans could be that content!. Several of the women also helped us clean cabins and mattresses- they worked till the work was done without complaint.

We also drove to the inner city, slums of Port au Prince where crime is high and poverty is extreme. We even had to have a police escort because the area was so unsafe. It broke our hearts to see how people are still crammed into tents, shanties, and living on the street. Oh that God would regenerate their hearts and help them transform their ways.

One of the highlights of the trip was sitting around the dinner table at the IBG house. Vidal’s wife spent hours preparing delicious meals and cleaning the house for us. We often ate outside, laughing and talking and praying. It was encouraging to talk to Pastor Lou, Pastor Sam, John, Hernando, and so many others to see what God is doing in their lives. It was uplifting to see how well the team interacted despite not knowing each other prior to this week. It was convicting to see the sacrificial labors of Pastor Pena and Pastor Castillo- to see their passion for souls.

Our trip was also filled with discouragement. Satan was out and roaming causing Haitian’s to lie and manipulate. It was a spiritual battle fighting the battles of Voodooism and centuries of corruption in Haiti. It was discouraging that we didn’t get the opportunity to provide a new home for orphans.

But, we feel like a seed was planted in the tiny village of La Plaine, that the Gospel was heard. Perhaps, God will use our time there as a time of revival for that village.

There is still so much need in Haiti.

On the plane ride home, we met a girl who had been in Haiti for 3 years doing public health. She said that they estimated that cholera would sweep through Port au Prince in the next 3 weeks, killing as many as 100,000 people. Satan doesn’t want the Gospel to go forth or the Light to shine in Haiti. Yet, the field is ripe and the workers are few. We must continue to pray for Haiti, continue to support Pastor Pena and Pastor Castillo, and continue to go and send Christians to Haiti to advance the Kingdom of God. We must preach the Gospel and care for the widows, the outcast, and the orphans. Our desire for the Haitians should be that they would know and claim Micah 6:8 as their own, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Friday November 12, 2010

Jean-Pierre Kawas and Pastor Walter Dort
Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Dear friends,

We are working very hard on the rabbit project.

Please, continue to pray for our families, ministries and our country. we are living very bad days in Haiti. Many people were killed by the earthquake in January, this November we had the storm Tomas that caused a lot of problem. And before that, another plague called cholera attacked my country. This situation is worse than the earthquake. This sickness strikes all the country. Every day more that 100 people die with cholera, it's horrible. We don't know what to do. This week I went to my country side in the north of Haiti to participate to the funerals of my aunt, what I see is incredible. The people have no good water to drink, no water to bath. I spent three days with my parents in the country side without bathing due to the lack of good water. It's hard to see how people die from cholera.

1. Please, pray for us in Port au Prince, the problem is there too. The condition is hard for us in Port au Prince because this capital is full of tent cities where people are living in very bad condition - no good water, no good food, no infrastructure, no hygiene, no electricity, high pollution and prostitution.
2. Pray for my home town Saint Michel, where I was born. There is no hospital for the people, pray also for Gonaives, all the northern part and the Artibonite where Cholera is most severe.
3. Pray for our family and our ministry.
4. Pray for Pastor Raymond's family who are in Gonaives (my co-pastor).
5. Pray that we may get the supports and supplies in order to keep on helping our people and communities.

God is good!

Pastor Walter in His service.

Very dear Pastor Walter:

Thank you so much for your update and prayer list. I promise to forward this request to many churches with whom we have fellowship requesting their involvement. As you well expressed, God is good and also in control. I would like to share with you in this special moment, the slogan verse of ESPERANZA: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11-12)

To your prayer list, I would like to include one more request and it is concerning the elections in Haiti on the 28th of this month. Let us pray for the future and stability of Haiti. On this will depend that from all the funds that were promised, part may start to flow in after the establishing of a new government in February.

With love in Him,

Jean-Pierre Kawas

Friday October 29, 2010

Pastor Francisco Guzmán
Trinity Bible Church
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Dear Brethren in Christ:

May the grace and love of our blessed Lord and Savior be with you!

We take this opportunity to thank you for praying for the Haitian pastors who have been participating in our training conferences in the town of Terre Rouge in Northern Haiti.

Most of these men are still suffering from hunger and other calamities with their families because of the echoes of that terrible earthquake which drowned that impoverished nation in the deepest misery.

By the grace of God, last Monday the 25th (August) we joined Foundation Hope in the first meeting with a group of 50 pastors to whom I preached on "The pastor's duty to provide for his family."

Give glory and praise to the Lord for He not only has given us good words of comfort and encourage to share with them, but also the necessary funds so they can start their own businesses with the money they will soon receive as a loan.

Please pray specifically that:

1. The Lord would grant wisdom to the Brethren of Foundation Hope who are giving them good counsel and follow-up.
2. The Lord, who has provided the funds, would provide them with the means to make a living and multiply the fruit of their labor.
3. The Lord would keep providing us so we can continue helping more men like these who are in a similar situation of hunger and need.
4. The Lord would give strength in the midst of the anxieties caused by the cholera epidemic that now threatens our Haitian brethren and the nation in general.

In the love of Christ,

Your servant,

Pastor Francisco Guzmán

Monday September 27, 2010

Message from Kari
Grace Baptist Church
Papillion, Nebraska

Brethren,

Megan, Lindsay and Heather are in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic with the Castillos for the weekend.

Megan provided this update and prayer request for us. We will continue to keep you updated and ask for your continued prayers with the work in Haiti!

Also, many of you may recall "One Way" Beth Milbourne who originally traveled with IBG Haiti Fund as an RN, but only purchased a one-way ticket until May/June.

She has since returned to Haiti to serve as a Medical Director at one of the facilities. They have been severely impacted by the storm. Please pray for Beth, and the entire JP facility!

In Christ,

Kari

Hey Kari,

This morning Pastor Castillo informed us that yesterday there was a bad storm in Haiti. 12 people died in that storm, so please be in prayer because each time it rains hard someone dies. He also showed us supplies they are sending. They have 50 boxes of food packs (45 each box, each pack feeds 4), providing complete nutrition for each meal. They also have hygiene boxes with tissues, Vaseline, toothbrush, toothpaste, baby powder, q-tips, etc. The Castillo's have a shed in their backyard filled with camping supplies, rice, baby food, spaghetti, juice, water, beans, dried fish, and many other things that they are slowly taking over the boarder. You can also see from the picture that they are bringing a refrigerator, which is a big deal I am sure. Anyway, he just wanted us to share this with you so do what you wish with it. Love you are miss you.

Love,

Lindsay, Megan and Heather

Message from Francisco Guzmán
Pastor, Iglesia Bíblica de la Trinidad (Trinity Bible Church)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Saturday September 11, 2010

Beloved Brothers in Christ,

Please receive warm greetings from your brothers at Trinity Bible Church.

Thank you for your prayers for the pastors conference recently held in Terre Rouge, Haiti. The Lord was with us from start to finish.

The ministry of the preached Word was extraordinary. Our hungry and thirsty souls were satisfied, the time for questions and answers was magnificent, pastors Noble Vater, Bart Carlson and I, unworthy servants were used by the Lord Jesus Christ for the blessing of all. The Lord enabled Jean-Pierre Kawas to translate efficiently and with an anointing from above.

Moreover, beloved brethren, I want to ask for your prayers and help on behalf of the pastors and leaders who were present at the Pastoral Conference we held in Terre Rouge from August 26 to 28 this year.

After every conference I had meetings with about 15 pastors who narrated to me the terrible providence and the dire need of those who are living together with their families and churches. The sheep of their flocks do not produce meat or milk, or wool because the fields are dry, their land does not produce and the sky withholds its rain to wet their pasture.

The heart breaking extreme poverty in Haiti has been mired in for generations and has been exacerbated by the shock waves from the earthquake that continue to starve everyone in the same way.

We see the urgent need for us to go to the assistance of pastors who are dying of hunger with their families.

Pray that the Lord will give us the resources we need in order to loan money to those who want to start small businesses with their families by the sweat of their brows to earn "their daily bread."

Seeing the good results we've had with the ministry of micro-loans administered by La Fundación Esperanza (The Foundation of Hope) in northern Haiti, where some 3,000 families are benefiting from small businesses that have been established, we believe that the Lord can also use these loans to bless pastors and their families.

We want to end the unscriptural paternalism that most of these men are accustomed to in order to begin to bring glory to God through dignified work and since their churches cannot pay them a salary.

Attentively,

Francisco Guzmán
Pastor, Iglesia Bíblica de la Trinidad (Trinity Bible Church)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Wednesday September 1, 2010

Message from Nobel Vater
Pastor, Iglesia Bautista Bereana (Berean Baptist Church)
San Juan, Puerto Rico

To brothers in Christ and friends interested in the ministry in Haiti.

Again, please receive our greetings, sent to you by the mercy and grace of the Lord.

This is being written so you can join with us in giving thanks to the Lord for answered prayer in the case of our mission in Haiti carried out last week and on the past Lord's Day, August 25-29. About 175 pastors and another 40 leaders attended, with quite a few being present for every session. Two young "beefs" were killed, one on Wednesday and the other on Friday, so there could be fresh meat (remember there is no refrigeration) to go along with the rice and beans.

Haiti is suffering in many ways. No one can trust those in charge. Little has been done since the earth quake. Now elections are coming up in November. The next administration is to begin in February. Only the Omniscient Ruler of heaven and earth knows when some positive steps may be taken. For example, right now there is a whole trailer full of food stuck at the border which the government wants to profit from while Haitians suffer. Apparently the only person who can negotiate the release is an important person from Red Cross who is out of the country and will not be back until about mid-September. So things go. The study of "Providence" is good and necessary.

Furthermore, there is crime, kidnappings and other stuff (though it is not as bad in the area where we work as in other areas). The Lord kept us from harm and from sickness and refreshed our souls in different ways. He took care of our families. Hurricane Earl threatened PR and the winds were strong enough to make my wife nervous, cause power outages, scare the airplanes out of PR, and leave us with a cancelled flight. JetBlue has good prices but I have serious doubts about their handling of matters like these. Brother Ramos and I ended up paying about $400 per seat to American Airlines to be able to get back to PR last night, but as far as I am concerned it was worth it, just to get back to the church in which God has placed me and to the wife he has given me. I am pretty sure he feels the same way.

Francisco (Paco) Ramos experienced the blessing of God on this trip. He worked too, sitting beside pastors Guzmán and Carlson, translating from English to Spanish or Spanish to English as the case required, while Jan Pierre Kawas was translating into Creole for the whole gathering. It was a delight for me to see him interacting with the children on the Lord's Day after worship, while we waited to be picked up.

On the Lord's Day, pastor Carlson preached and/or taught 3 times in 3 different places; pastor Guzmán preached to a large congregation in the a.m. at the church whose building we use for the seminars and I preached there in the p.m. In the morning I was out in the country at a very poor community where there is a church with which we have had close ties from the very first. I have been going to Haiti since around March of 1999. On one of the first trips, we stopped at that community, surrounded by fields, without electricity of course. We were on our way to Terrier Rouge, it was night time, it was clear and the stars looked like they could fall on top of us. I preached in a building that had no walls, just poles supporting the beams and rafters of the roof, which was made either of metal or maybe just plain palm leaves at that time. There were perhaps 4 kerosene lanterns giving off a little light. I could barely see the faces of the people. The man who was then pastor has gone on to be with the Lord and now a younger man is there whose heart beats with ours in many ways as far as I can tell. They now have a concrete building with a good metal roof and seating for 100 or more, I would guess. I reckon there were around 60 present, and the attention was good as I preached from John 10:27-30, even giving a brief review of the doctrines of grace as found in John's Gospel. Pastor Temacul, who almost always has been my translator on the Lord's Day ministries in Haiti, again helped out in that way. If I start to describe him, this letter will be a lot longer. I am thankful for the ties that bind us.

The Lord took care of the flocks where each labors (of course, Trinity in Montville has pastors Chanski and Smith and many other capable men; and pastor Guzmán has pastor Dante as a fellow elder, but the Lord, in His own way, provides for Berean in San Juan, although I do not have a fellow elder yet). Our families were well, although pastor Guzmán's wife had something like the flu while he was away, but the Lord has been with her and she served us well both at the beginning and end of the trip to Haiti. She and the rest of us were uneasy on our first arrival at Santo Domingo. The electric had been off unexpectedly and unusually long, so that their inverter was beginning to fail, and we were facing a really hot night without fans. We decided to pray for our trip and also ask the Lord to restore the electricity. We had barely begun to pray when that happened and it did not go off again all night long. He hears before we ask.

Please praise the Lord for His manifold goodness to us which has been demonstrated in so many, many different ways. Please pray for lasting effects from the ministry and that we can continue on serving the Lord in that place.

Yours by the goodness of the Lord,

Noble Vater
Pastor, Iglesia Bautista Bereana (Berean Baptist Church),
San Juan, PR

Pastor Saladin and Jean Pierre Kawas in one of the sessions

Jean Pierre Kawas and some of the brothers at meal time

Pastor Saladin at Assembly Shalom

Click on the pictures to see a larger image.

Tuesday August 3, 2010

Message from Baptist Churches Serving Haiti
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your Name is near; men tell of your wonderful deeds.
Psalm 75:1

Beloved brethren,

We thank the Almighty for His blessings to us, and also express our gratitude to you all for your prayers elevated to the throne of grace, for our trip to Port-au-Prince Haiti to teach the course "Biblical Counseling I" from the 23th to 25th of July, delivered by Pastor Eduardo Saladin and translated by Jean-Pierre Kawas.

We thank God because the pastors that attended the course have received His word, not as the word of men, but as it is in truth the word of God, which operates in us believers. In this occasion we dealt with the importance of biblical counseling, its nature, and a biblical approach to how problems occur and how to solve them in the light of the Scriptures.

Twenty five pastors attended this first training. IBSH decided to work with a smaller group this time in order to establish a closer contact and be able to give them more personalized follow-up. All of them are pastors of good reputation and sound doctrine, and desire to learn and implement the principles of the Word of God in their lives and their churches.

The pastors were very enthusiastic during the training workshops and expressed their desire that in the next training to be held in the month of October we teach them about marriage and would love for their wives to be invited as well. God willing, the topics we will try to cover in this next training will be: God's design for marriage, the role of the husband, the role of the wife, communication, conflict management, finance and intimacy in marriage.

On Sunday morning we were invited to worship at the Assembly Shalom where Pastor Saladin preached a message on how to tackle problems biblically, which was well received by the brethren in the light of the troubles they are experiencing.

According to the plan mentioned in our previous letter, yesterday ten volunteers traveled to Port-au-Prince to serve at two orphanages for five days, allowing us to minister to many children in great need of love and salvation. This will follow up on the work done by a previous group we sent a few months ago. We beg you to pray that we can see the fruits of their labors, including the conversion of many of those precious boys and girls.

Thanks again dear brethren. To God be the glory!

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Psalm 100: 1-3

Monday August 2, 2010

Message from Pastor Louis Sloger
Grace Baptist Church
Papillion, Nebraska

Dear Brethren:

I have just returned from the Dominican Republic where I had a very long and productive meeting with Pastors Miguel Angel Castillo, Newton Pena and Luis Arocha. Most of you know that Pastor Castillo is from Iglesia Fundamento Biblico in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Pastors Arocha and Pena are from Iglesia Bautista de la Gracia in Santiago, Dominican Republic. We thank the Lord for the spirit of cooperation shown by these two churches and those of us who are trying to make some impact in Haiti.

Pastor Newton Pena	Pastor Miguel Castillo	Pastor Luis Arocha

We continue to coordinate medical clinics, evangelistic endeavors, and many efforts concerning food and clothing in Haiti.

Supplies at IBG Haiti Fund	Medical Volunteers	Clinic Medications

The most significant endeavor, however, will be ongoing oversight and financial support of approximately 100 orphans. We have two different groups of orphans. One group is the Shekina Orphanage located in the area of Santo, Haiti. We have often referred to this group as the "Santo Orphanage." The Shekina Orphans are in a stable and secure environment with faithful adult supervision.

Shekina Orphans with Pastor Castillo

The other, larger group is not yet named. It is located in LaPlane. The situation in LaPlane is much different than at the Shekina Orphanage. Currently, the children that will settle there are in neither a stable nor a safe condition. We have already constructed and completely furnished the homes to house these orphans in LaPlane.

LaPlane Orphans w/ Newton & Castillo	New Homes at LaPlane	Furnishings for LaPlane

The greatest need in LaPlane is to obtain a well, a pump, and a cistern or other clean water storage and latrines/bathrooms. Once these immediate needs are met, we also plan to build a kitchen/cafeteria and thereafter, an assembly hall for worship and other community activities. Please pray that at least the well, pump and bathrooms get done as soon as possible, and that the other buildings can get done in a timely fashion.

We could use financial help for these endeavors. We have established a monthly budget for the two orphanages that will provide food, clothing, shelter, education (both academic and spiritual), monthly trips to Haiti for continued oversight and updates of the conditions, and stipends for some adult workers. We anticipate the initial monthly budget for all of the above to be approximately $6,000.

We again desire to express our gratitude to all who have contributed to this mission of mercy. At this time, however, our church, along with some funds previously raised through Keith Maddy (Heritage Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY), are the only certain financing that we have as we go forward. Please prayerfully consider a one-time gift or ongoing support, either of which would be greatly appreciated. We will be getting the names and birthdates, as well as much background information on the orphans in the upcoming days. Any additional information any of you desire will be provided upon your request. Do not hesitate to contact me for any additional information.

To God be the Glory,

Lou Sloger

Thursday July 22, 2010

Message from Baptist Churches Serving Haiti
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

- TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN -

As communicated in our previous reports, we are a group of Baptist churches in the Dominican Republic that have decided to work together with Esperanza International (a Christian organization) to provide spiritual and material support to the Republic of Haiti, following the earthquake of January 12.

In the first weeks after the tragedy we were able, by the Lord's grace, to establish a base of operations in Port-au-Prince; send thousands of boxes of food, as well as water, tarps and mattresses; and also provide medical services to wounded and sick.

On March 12 and 13; just two months after the disaster, and with the blessing of our God, we delivered a conference in Port-au-Prince for about 225 pastors and leaders about a Christian perspective of natural disasters; biblical counseling; and the faith of Nehemiah. The preachers were Pastors Sugel Michelen, Eduardo Saladin and Francisco Guzman. The Holy Spirit's presence and work was evident during this conference! We hope those that attended are now better equipped to comfort and encourage the Lord's people.

Our next step is to continue training 40 of the same pastors in biblical counseling. With this goal in mind we plan to have two more sessions on this subject: one in this week and the other in October. In this regard, Pastor Eduardo Saladin and our brother Jean Pierre Kawas will be traveling to Port-au-Prince very early next Friday. Pastor Saladin will teach on Friday and Saturday and Jean Pierre will be translating into Creole for him. They will also be preaching on the Lord's Day in one of the local churches. Please pray for them, that their preaching and teaching is used mightily by our God, for the edification of the churches.

Beside the teaching program, we'll also be doing a trip on August 2 with ten volunteers to serve at an orphanage (Haiti Children's Rescue Mission) for 5 days, allowing us to minister to many children in great need of love and salvation. This will follow up on the work done by a previous group we sent to the same orphanage a few months ago.

Another priority in our plans to serve Haiti is to enable church members in Port-au-Prince and people from the communities around those churches to start small businesses in order to fight extreme poverty. This program is going to be managed by Esperanza, providing training, coaching and microloans, using funds provided by Iglesias Bautistas Sirviendo Haiti (IBSH). Something very similar has been done during the last six years in Northern Haiti by Iglesia Biblica de la Trinidad and Esperanza International and now more than 1,500 families are enjoying the benefits of this program.

This is the strategy that IBSH has designed and we would greatly appreciate your prayers for all these projects. We are eager to see the Lord blessing our work for His glory and the salvation of many. As we have mentioned in a previous communication, Haiti is a nation in great need, and we plan by the Lord's mercy to continue our labors in this beloved country for many years to come.

In the love of Christ,

• Iglesia Bautista del Nuevo Pacto
• Iglesia Bíblica de la Trinidad
• Iglesia Bíblica del Señor Jesucristo
• Iglesia Fundamento Bíblico

Click on the pictures to see a larger image.

Monday July 12, 2010

Message from Miguel Angel Castillo
Pastor, Bible Foundation Church
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Dear Brethren in Christ,

May the grace of God and the love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be with you.

This is a brief report on our work in Haiti from Saturday June 26th to Sunday July 4th.

First of all, we would like to thank God for having helped us overcome all the difficulties and problems that always arise in the work we are carrying out in these circumstances.

Secondly, we would like to thank each brother and sister who participated with us in all the work we undertook in the various places we are helping. To the pastors, nurses, doctors, and each volunteer who came from the United States and Canada, as well as our Dominican and Haitian brethren: We thank the Lord for each one of you.

We would also like to thank each one of you for your support in this ministry of mercy to rescue all the abandoned and orphaned children we are helping, as well as your aide for the churches and pastors. Our gratitude goes to Pastor Lou Sloger of Grace Baptist Church in Papillón, Nebraska, and Kari Viles, his administrator and coordinator in the USA (she is our angel); Pastor Keith Maddy, an indefatigable servant for the work in the Dominican Republic and Haiti; Brothers Keith Loson and Robert Griffith of Grace Baptist Church in Essex, Canada; The Children's Hunger Fund (CHF) for their cooperation in providing food and other aide for the children; and Shane Crys, who is an example of love and diligence in Christ's work.

Now we would like to briefly list the work we completed in this trip.

We formed two groups. The first one went to the region of Saint Mark, and was composed of Pastors Greg Nichols, Oscar Arocha, Newton Peña, the doctors and nurses. We received reports that the preaching and the medical operatives were a great blessing, and that our gracious Lord –through His Holy Spirit– powerfully assisted each one of the expositors, bringing edification to the saints and salvation to the lost.

The second group, composed of your servant (Pastor Miguel Angel Castillo), young volunteers from the USA and other brothers and sisters of Foundation Bible Church of Santo Domingo, was in charge of finishing the prefab houses for the orphaned children. We thank our Lord that these houses were installed and equipped in record time. There are already 40 children living in them. We are now praying to be able to build a well from which they may extract water. The closest place to get water is 3½ miles away and through a very dangerous path. This is the reason why 30% percent of the young girls of this place have been violated. We would also like to build 10 latrines to free this area of contamination. Also, we would like to deliver food, cloths and washing material for "Shekina of God", which is the orphanage where we housed the first 28 children we rescued from the earthquake tragedy, and that now houses 33 children.

Dear brethren, there are so many more things we could say about this work which cannot be registered in a single report; but this brief summary can give you a general impression of what was accomplished. In all this, our only intention is to glorify our Lord by serving those who are most in need.

In the love of Christ,
Your servant,

Miguel Angel Castillo

Wednesday June 30, 2010

Message from Francisco Guzmán
Pastor, Trinity Bible Church
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Dear Brethren in Christ:

With this report, we would like to move your hearts to praise and thanksgiving to our Lord for the work that He has allowed us to do, by His grace, for the expansion of His Kingdom and the blessing of His people in northern Haiti.

1. The Churches

   The spiritual impact of our pastoral conferences are producing in the lives and ministries of the more than 200 pastors and their churches is evident in that region.

   Dozens of pastors and leaders have taught or are currently teaching the London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689, doing away with the doctrinal syncretism, animism, fatalism and voodoo influence that have caused so much damage in the churches, resulting in churches firmly grounded in sound doctrine, faith and love.

   Most of these men received and are currently applying pastoral doctrine, offering their churches expository preaching as well as pastoral guidance and supervision in the lives of their flock.

   Please pray that the Lord would continue to prosper and bless their ministries. Also, pray for the next pastoral conference we will hold at the end of August this year.

2. Planting New Churches

   Four years ago, Brother David Pierre started a work in Terre Rouge with our assistance. God has greatly blessed this first Reformed Baptist Church in Haitian territory. A group of 130 brothers and sisters meet under a hot tent built with old canvas and worship the Lord singing with all their hearts.

   We left everything ready to start construction of their new church building. Please pray that the Lord would provide all the necessary resources so we may soon be dedicating it to the glory of God.

   Last Sunday we were in Coloni, preaching to a group of 120 brothers who had studied the Confession of Faith. After preaching we had a meeting where they proposed Brother Alexis Jonas as their pastor.

   This man has assimilated the teachings in the conferences and has grown in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Please pray that the Lord would guide us in the steps we must follow to help them in the ordination process, if it is the will of God.

3. The Compassion

   We thank God for providing us for the works of mercy among the poorest in the land. Thousands of food rations are being distributed among those displaced by the earthquake and very poor families of northern Haiti.

   Please pray that the Lord would supply us to meet their material needs so we may obtain the key to their hearts and preach the gospel of grace.

   Hope Foundation and CHF have been our deacons used by the Lord to channel the aide. Pray that the Lord would open the doors of the Haitian ports and custom agencies to bring the merchandise into the country without hindrance. Pray for Jean Pierre Kawas, that the Lord may grant him much wisdom in translating and coordinating the different ministries in Haiti.

4. The Poverty

   We spent several days visiting the pastors and churches in the different communities of the northern and northwestern regions. We were able to confirm how the echoes of the earthquake continue to shake the households and families, submerging them in horrifying misery.

   There is no place we set our sight where we cannot see desolation and death. The faithful pastors have an extraordinary burden on their shoulders as they see their sheep dying of hunger and of simple illnesses.

   The destruction of the universities in Port-Au-Prince has provoked an awful emotional collapse in the Haitian youth who see their dreams of progress and prosperity frustrated, as with the death of so many of their professors much of their hope has also died. I met with several of the pastors' children who asked me for help them in this situation.

   Let us pray that He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, may multiply their harvest.

Please pray that the Lord would continue providing for us so we can bring spiritual and material food; as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 9:12, 13, "For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all…"

Your servant in Christ,

Francisco Guzmán

Wednesday June 23, 2010

Message from Miguel Angel Castillo
Pastor, Bible Foundation Church
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Dear Brethren,

May the grace and mercy of God be with you!

On Saturday the 19th we held our conference: "The pastor as a disciplined disciple" with John Crotts, Pastor of Faith Baptist Church of Sharpsburg, Georgia, and also author of the booklet "Mighty Men". This conference was attended by the pastors we train every month as well as pastors from different churches.

Also, on Monday the 21st we started our Summer Bible School for the poorest children living in the vicinity of our church. Despite the heavy rains that are falling in most of the country the attendance surpassed our expectations. Glory to God!

Please join us in thanking our Lord for granting us the privilege of serving among pastors who have a great desire to learn more of God's Word, and for this poor neighboring community living on the river's edge that we are also privileged to serve in the Lord's Kingdom.

Also, please pray that our Lord will bless us in our next visit to Haiti on Saturday the 26th. During this trip with the brothers of Grace Bible Church of Santiago, Pastors Greg Nichols and Oscar Arocha will be preaching the Word. We will also erect the prefabricated houses that are already in Haiti with the construction crew. We will also carry out great medical operatives with Dominican and American doctors and nurses.

Also, there will be pastoral training and preaching every evening in a region called San Marcos. For these operatives and preaching we rented speakers, generators and construction equipment. Please pray for all the teams that will be working during those days, especially for Pastor Newton Peña of IBG; for the brothers from USA, for Keith Lozon and Robert Griffith from Canada, and for your servant, that the Lord may heal me from an intestinal infection so I may travel in good health. Also pray that we may be able to cross the customs agencies and check points without any problem, and that all the equipment we will bring: the food and cloths for the children of the orphanages and 7 stoves of solar panels –which will be a great blessing for the orphanages and hospitals– may be cleared through.

Dear pastors and brethren: We thank God for each one of you, Pastor Lou Sloger and Sister Kari Viles of Grace Baptist Church of Papillón, Nebraska; Pastor Keith Maddy, for his great efforts in getting this work going, for Pastor Richard Valade of Essex, Canada and the other brothers from Canada who have so lovingly prayed and helped in this work; for Hope International and CHF and their donations in food and school items for the children; and for each brother, sister and child who pray for us. May our gracious Lord recompense each and every one of you according to His riches in glory (Matthew 25:34-40)

In the love of Christ, your servant,

Miguel Angel Castillo

Monday June 14, 2010

Message from Kari Viles
Administrator, Grace Baptist Church of Papillion
Papillion, Nebraska

IBG Haiti Fund is undertaking a large-scale evangelism conference with mobile medical clinic Monday, June 28th through and including Sunday, July 4th in St. Marc, Haiti. The Word will be preached each and every night, in a public forum. Mobile Medical Clinics will be held during the day! We need your prayers that the Lord would continue to work powerfully to the saving of souls! We need a large number of medical volunteers to staff this project! It is anticipated that well over 15,000 will hear the truth about our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ through this effort!

It is anticipated that not all of them will seek medical attention from the clinics, but we do anticipate that a large number of them will!

Any and all medical doctors, nurses, technicians, nursing assistants, and medically trained personnel, who are interested in serving Christ through this opportunity should contact Kari Viles at Grace Baptist Church of Papillion, Nebraska, Email: kari@gbcpapillion.org (402) 331-5984, who is coordinating all volunteers for this project! The costs for volunteers is $250 (food, ground transportation, etc) and the costs of their RT Airfare to and from Port au Prince, Haiti (generally under $900). Medical volunteers will fly into Port au Prince on June 26th, stay at the IBG Haiti Fund house overnight, and depart for St. Marc on Sunday, where they will set up for the clinics and prepare to start first thing Monday morning. They will then fly out of Port au Prince on July 5th.

In Christ,

Kari Viles
Administrator, Grace Baptist Church of Papillion

Monday June 7, 2010

Message from Keith Maddy
Representing Iglesias Bautistas Sirviendo a Haiti (Baptist Churches Churches Serving Haiti)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Dear Friends and Lovers of Haiti

Jean-Pierre Kawas sent this originally to a brother who is really committed to serving Haiti. It seemed worthy to be sent out to everyone. For being here in the Dominican Republic and having been at the event called Returning to the Cross with John Piper as the keynote speaker among several other highly gifted preachers, I find myself greatly encouraged. Jean-Pierre performed the simultaneous translation for the 46 Haitian pastors in attendance among the 7,000 who came for the 3 day historic conference in Santo Domingo. JP met with the Hatian pastors after the last session.

This is Jean-Pierre's note:

Thank you so much for your interest and determination to keep this work in prayer.

We are planning to go for our 2nd training trip in PaP on Friday the 23 of July and come back the 25th by air to work with a smaller group of about 30 to 50 every 3 month approximately.

We are also planning for our 2nd volunteers trip to work with orphanage the 1st week of July. We will be working on trying to cross the border again with 2 containers of goods for Haiti after having trouble with one container from IBSH and 2 containers from Pastor Castillo and IBG from which we had the privilege to provided the goods from Esperanza's warehouse beside the prefabricated houses they purchased to donate in Haiti.

Finally, I would like to ask for you to pray our training trip to northern Haiti from the 23th to the 26th to train 4 churches from PaP that are part of our theology training group of 30 to 50, 2 churches existing from P Castillo's training in Plateau Central and 4 also previously existing relationship with 4 of P Guzmán's churches he is working in the north.

So we will be training total 10 churches from Haiti as a Mercy Network to use Food Packs distribution at appointed homes from said churches to show the love of Jesus Christ for 3 month time and built up confidence during that time for these churches through servant that will be using in the visitation of the homes to preach the gospel. Every 3 month, they will switch to different homes. Each of these churches will be visiting about 60 homes for a period period of 3 month taking Food Packs showing the love of God and do their best to evangelize.

We will appreciate profoundly your prayers for these projects!

With love in Him!

JP

This is from another brother working in Haiti know by Jean-Pierre Kawas:

I wanted to share the video below. Maybe you have seen this...

But this is such an answer to prayer. All of my life, since I can remember, the Christians had been praying for spiritual revival in Haiti. And things just kept on getting worse and worse, even though, the gospel was steadily being flooded into Haiti. Once we had a president that was promoting voodoo and wanted to renew a pact with the devil about Haiti. I remember the Christians throughout the country stood together and performed a 1-day fast and prayed against that particular ceremony that was to be performed.

God not only answered our prayers against that ceremony but 1 week later, (after that presidents' attempt to that that evil pact), there was a coup d'etat and he was exiled out of Haiti.

The Lord through the earthquake also brought about a repentance and spiritual revival in Haiti. We spoke to the Haitians from our church there, and there are saying that people are seeking out Christians to learn about repentance and salvation. One brother of our church has his house flooded with people and he's been able to proclaim Christ. Our pastor said that the church services are doubled in size with people wanting to know God.

All I can say is Praise God!

Behold the goodness and the severity of the Lord!

Thank you for your prayers for Haiti Chérie,
Grace

"where sin abounded, grace abounded much more"
(Rom5:20)