Looking How God is Helping You Through the Economy of Today

This is a time of "Trust and Obey" for men trying to provide livings for their growing families. We need more of those stories of God's provision and His interest even in the little things of life to egg us on to greater trust that he will see us through. Our goal is not to become rich, but to be obedient and see those things he would have us to do. I want to inspired you want to be inspired, so let us share here those stories no matter how small, that are proof of God's Faithfulness. Thank-You.


One evening my wife and I prayed for a van. We needed a vehicle and had not enough money to buy anything. I half joked that we should pray for a free van. The next day a brother offered a van for us to drive that I never knew exsisted. It was old and worn, but has been serving us for a month already. It taught me that God is so good to us beggars. Just trying to Praise God. Please send in your story to jonluketws@gmail.com

Sorry posted a little late!

Dear Friends:

Kevin Bronson will be giving a report on Haiti this Sunday evening in Winton church. If you want to call in to listen here is the info:

Winton Church, 03/28/2010, 7:00pm PST, Call 760-569-6000 enter PIN 781797.

Prayer Request

I humbly ask for prayers from anyone out there. I am launching out on a small store venture. It is to support my family and to be an outreach to the community. I am in a rougher end of town, the business next door had an armed robbery last month. That is not the aim of my prayer request. I am praying for a town and area revival. It is amazing how Christian men and pastors find their way to our store when we are not even open. They want to visit. There is a cry all around in these hard times. I have a limited budget and have been doing most of all the work myself in remodeling. We work from 7 or 8am to 10:30 at night for the last month and a half. We are getting close to completion. One more week. I just want to provide a living for my family and reach out to the downtrodden. Please pray that we can be successful if it is the Lord's will. Miracles have happened here and there, but really I want you to pray for this community, because there is a real cry. I just felt moved to write this request while working and thank-you! Demopolis AL

Urgent Prayer Request for India: Christians being Persecuted

Subject: Urgent Prayer Request
Hey guys, we are serving one God as one Body. Let's lift up our prayers for India!

Lord open our spiritual eyes to share in the suffering of our brothers and sisters in India and around the globe Lord. We mourn with those that have lost their loved ones. Show your mighty power Lord! Only You can save Oh God! Open up the gates of heaven and send your mighty angels on the way for rescue! Keep them Lord. Protect your children Lord. Shower them with your grace, love and provision. There is none like You God. We trust in Your Holy Name Lord Jesus. All these things we lift them up to You.

Urgent Prayer Request from YWAM, Orissa

This is is a request for prayer for YWAM missionaries and their churches in Orissa, India. The request came from Mable Hurst, an associate of HCJB Global. Please read and make this a matter of urgent prayer.



Dear beloved sponsors and friends of Good News India.



We have never seen anything like this. We knew that Orissa was the most resistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned. And we brushed off the continuous threats and harassment we faced as we went about His work. But none of our staff imagined that they would see this kind of carnage..... And it seems to be totally under the radar of the Western Media .....



Let me explain.... A militant Hindu priest and 4 of his attendants, who were zealously going around the villages of Orissa and 'reconverting' people back to Hinduism, were gunned down by unknown assailants in Central Orissa last weekend.


Immediately the Christians were blamed. The cry rose up...'Kill the Christians!'And the horror began.... In the past 4 days, we have first hand witness to hundreds of churches being blown up or burned and many, many dozens of Christian tribals have been slaughtered. For no other reason than they bear the name of Christ.


Night and day I have been in touch with our Good News India Directors spread across 14 Dream Centers in Orissa... they are right in the middle of all this chaos.

In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer protection, a group of 70 blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff and destroy the home. They were not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage to our Dream Center by throwing rocks and bricks and smashing our gate, etc. They have promised to come back and 'finish the job.' Our kids and staff are locked inside and have stayed that way with doors and windows shut for the past 3 days. It has been a time of desperately calling on the Lord in prayer.

More police have come to offer protection. In Kalahandi, the police and some local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and kids about 3 minutes notice to vacate. No one had time to even grab a change of clothes or any personal belonging. As they fled, the blood thirsty mob came to kill everyone in the building. We would have had a mass funeral there, but for His grace. In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homes and missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors turned them away by saying that there were no Christians in this area. So they left. We had favor. The same thing happened in Balasore.

All our dream centers are under lock down with the kids and staff huddled inside and police outside. The fanatics are circling outside waiting for a chance to kill. Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby Catholic orphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in the house and burned them to death. Many believers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road.... even women and children. At another orphanage run by another organization, when this began, the Director and his wife jumped on their motorbike and simply fled, leaving all the children and staff behind. Every one of our GNI directors that I have s poken to said: 'We stay with our kids.... we live together or die together, but we will never abandon what God has called us to do.' More than 5000 Christian families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have fled into the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for the authorities to bring about peace. But so far, no peace is foreseen.

This will continue for another 10 days..... supposedly the 14 day mourning period for the slain Hindu priest. Many more Christians will die and their houses destroyed. Many more churches will be smashed down. The Federal government is trying to restore order and perhaps things will calm down. We ask for your prayers. Only the Hand of God can calm this storm. None of us know the meaning of persecution. But now our kids and staff know what that means. So many of our kids coming from Hindu backgrounds are confused and totally bewildered at what is happening around them. So many of their guardians have fled into the jungles and ar e unable to come and get them during these trying times. Through all this, I am more determined than ever to continue with our goal: the transformation of a community by transforming its children.. Orissa will be saved... that is our heart's cry. If we can take these thousands of throw-away children and help them to become disciples of Jesus, they will transform an entire region. It is a long term goal, but it is strategic thinking in terms of the Great Commission.



What can you do? First, please uphold all this in fervent prayer. Second, pass this e-mail on to as many friends as you can. We must get the word out and increase our prayer base for this is spiritual warfare at its most basic meaning. We are literally fighting the devil in order to live for His Kingdom. The next 10 days are crucial. We pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa.



Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please pass it on and help us to get as many people to partner with us on this cutting edge effort to fulfill His mandate: Go and make disciples of all nations....Prayer works!



Blessings, C &S W Col 2:2 MBITeam Facilitators to YWAM frontlines

Part II of Building Tents in Haiti

Building Tents in Haiti PART II
by Trevor Toews

February 17th – We decided the first task was to get the temporary shelter built so we could set up the sewing
process inside of that. We had a little trouble figuring out the instructions, but by evening the “shop” was
complete and we also planned out the layout of the entire tent building processes. There is a large area of the
shelter used for pulling lengths off of the rolls of tarp material and another large area where the sewing machine
will be set up to sew around the edges of the tarp pieces. At the end of this diary, there is a description of the
design of the tents for those of you who are interested.
February 18th - Today was a great day. Got tons done on setting up the processes. Roland Koehn and Jerry Nichols,
two CDR committee men got here last night and laid out some expectations of what they wanted done by such and
such a time. It's a tall order, and will require working Saturday, but we made huge progress today. Lots of great
ideas coming from everybody all day to get the tents built smoothly and efficiently. I set up the sewing machines
today and we wish we had another one of those big bench type ones, but oh well. Put a drill bit halfway into the
palm of my hand today which hurt. We built the plywood floor in the big tent, built jigs, built the first complete
prototype tent and worked out the kinks, organized all the tools and supplies on shelves in the container, and
made patterns for cutting out the tarps. I think we'll do princess seams. Ha ha. Tonight we had a meal of chicken
rice and beans cooked by some native women that were hired in here. They will do a lot of the cooking once there
are 16 more boys here. 11 coming Saturday. Might still be able to go see quake damage Saturday afternoon but at
least we will be out and about for sure. The idea is to go out Saturday morning and put up individual tents at
several of the brethrens places before starting the tent city. Many of these will be to replace homes that have
severe damage. So finally we will be able to get around. I haven’t been off of the compound here yet since arriving
from DR. The tent has improved substantially, now costs 140 dollars in raw material and I would say could
withstand a heavy gale. It is markedly better than many Haitians lived in before the quake. We are enthused about
the design. I was inspired by Luke 5:1-11 and brought it for devotions this morn. The draught of fishes is the kind of
day we had.
February 19th - Today was bad. Sat at the breakfast table and discussed the immense amount of work to be done
before the boys come on Monday, and got a plan in place. But then Jamie, the missionary from Cazeau called and
said things had come up and they had to move back to Cazeau immediately. So most of the guys went to take care
of that deal. Totally foiled our plans. They call this getting Haitied. Anyway, I worked at the tent project all alone all
morning and made a couple mistakes that took extra time. Discouraging. Things were getting me down this
morning. Anyway, Dean got sick and so I plugged away until lunch, then Roland and Jerry helped in the afternoon.
Slow progress when we need so much help. Got most of the jigs built and things are almost set up for production.
Tomorrow we are starting even earlier and Gonna try to complete three tents. If we get them done, which I don't
think we will, we will go see the quake damage. I am so tired of just being on this yard for 4 straight days now.
Anyway, better days are coming.
February 20th - I can't write long but I have to tell you we did go in to Port au Prince this afternoon. It is far beyond
comprehension. Total devastation. I will remember it and will have to tell you some other time. We are leaving
early tomorrow to go to Orianie, A congregation up in the mountains about 1.5 hour from here. So I need some
sleep. Finished ALL the setup this morn and produced two complete tents. So we are ready for boys to come now.
It’s been a hard week. Practiced a lot of Spanish today because our chauffeur brother Enock speaks Creole and
Spanish and none of the others knew either one, so I sat in the front and tried to converse. Tomorrow he will be
the driver again so I will get more practice. It’s good for me but I'm sure that's what made me so tired.
Raymond Withers had an accident today. Truck swerved in front of his four wheeler and he lost control and hit a
power pole hard. He is stable but can't remember short term yet. Last report was its getting better. Some cuts on
his face and arms.
Pray for these people in Port tonight. So many are sleeping on filthy streets, in sickening conditions with no
solution or hope for years. Its stunning.
February 21st - We got 10 more guys eager to work in the morning. We are faced with some interesting challenges
getting started this week but by the end of the week it all should be rolling along. We have had an awesome
weekend. Worked yesterday until 2 o'clock then brother Enock took us into downtown Port au Prince. Wow.
Incomprehensible. There's work for 10000 people for 10 years cleaning that mess up. Very, very sad. People out on
the streets that sleep out there in the rain on extremely filthy pavement. Trash everywhere. The stench of death.
Main electrical wires tangled up with rebar and rubble. Burning piles of junk including one skeleton. Zero hope.
Zippo. It’s pretty bad. The saddest part is that everyone seems to be going on with life, as this is just simply the
new “normal”. I did not see one single piece of equipment (trackhoe, dozer, loader, etc.) nor any manual crews
cleaning up the mess. The few electrical wires that still work have been tapped into in a very crude way in places,
and two wires run down to supply power to a freezer, where someone is selling a little food etc. It seems like they
are just making do, but yet it looks like it will be this way for a long long time. No one seems to be tackling the
huge task of cleaning up. They are walking around the piles of rubble as if they’ve been there for years. It’s hard
not to despair.
Today we went up to a mission church called Orianie 1.5 hour drive away. Totally amazing. Elevation 5400 ft.
Beautiful terraced fields up it the fog. Just gorgeous. This mission started less than a year and a half ago. Last May
they baptised the first member there. Now they have 35 members and attendance hovers around 140 with a
record of 200 all in a church as big as your garage. You should come listen to these people sing. If their faces
weren't pitch black they'd be beet red from singing so loud. But its beautiful. Awesome experience. Went to
Anthony and Darla Penners for lunch. They are under the Haitian church mission up there from St Mary’s. The
drive back I sat in the pickup box and all the villagers and farmers stop and stare and the children run after us
shouting "blancos!" (Whites) or "give me a dolla!". They are super cute little people. All with a ready white smile.
We got back for the service at 4 pm and then after that they have singing practice, which is a finger snapping, hand
clapping drill. They are really good. This evening we got to know the new guys and laid out a plan for the week.
February 22nd – Spent the day training 3 of the boys in the sewing department. I thought youth boys and sewing
machines wouldn’t mix too well, but some of them really catch on quickly. We sewed 9 sets before noon and 6
more after lunch. Way better than I expected for the first day! The welding department also did well. Dean showed
two other guys the ropes on that end, and they completed 15 frames. A lot of the other boys were doing odds and
ends that still were needed around the place. They put a roof over the wash area and fashioned a shade tarp over
the welding operation. The sun is so hot! Great day.
February 23rd – We all loaded the truck this morning and went down to the tent city. What an experience! The
truck that CDR bought is a very ugly blue cab-over GMC with an enclosed van box on the back. We have cut some
windows into the front of the van, so after everything is loaded, all of us not lucky enough to ride in front crawl up
in there and try to find a place to stand where we can see out and get a little air. The driving in this country is
nothing short of ridiculous, and you have to hang on dearly if you don’t want to get hurt. We careened down into
Port, and were fascinated by the sights, sounds and smells of that dirty, bustling city. Never a dull moment if you
have a window to look out. We drove through markets, and through impossible grid locked traffic. Then we turned
into a very tight back alley and somehow squeezed through to another back alley, and then another. I soon
realized that these were actually streets. They build the houses so close to the streets and many places are only 9
ft wide, not even enough room for a pedestrian to stand as the truck passes through. The electrical wires are often
only about 12 ft high too, so someone has to get out and make sure they don’t snag on the top of the truck. A
crowd had already been following us for several blocks when we broke out into a wider area and saw the tent city.
It is a large vacant lot, about 500 x 800 ft, that appears to have been used as the town dump for many years. Pigs
and chickens and goats are rummaging around in the smoldering pile of trash at one end of the lot. There are
already about 300 tents, if I can call them that, set up all over this lot. A few of these are nice, store-bought tents,
but most are made with tree branches and threadbare cotton sheets. They don’t even have rope, so the “guy
wires” are strips of sheets tied together and fastened not to a stake but a broken cinder block from the nearby
rubble piles. I had to wonder why they even bothered with these tents. The rain would run right through them,
and they are usually only three sided, so privacy must not be the reason. We definitely will be improving the living
conditions 500% with the tents we have to offer.
On arrival, a swarm of people came out of the ramshackle tents and began to press in on us. Wow. What a
challenge to try to get our bearings with all the people talking at once! A few of them spoke English and
immediately asked us the questions that I am sure everyone else was asking in Creole. “I need a tent. How can I get
a tent? Do you need my name so I can get on the list?” We were very relieved to be able to tell these people that
there is a Haitian committee that looks after the distribution of our tents. We only are the construction crew and
can’t say who gets the tents first. We tried to clear a large area and started pulling the frameworks out of the
truck. Many of the people started helping us, and over the course of the day, some of them stuck with us and
really caught on to the whole process. It was hot. We kept someone at the truck all the time to guard the tools
from theft. Fifty children ran circles around us and many of them congregated at the back of the truck. Such
beautiful children! One little girl had a nasty burn on her hand and we dressed it with a bandage. She was such a
trooper.
We went to the Cazeau church for lunch, which is right beside this vacant lot. It was another great meal of rice,
beans and chicken, prepared by a cook lady that has been hired by the committee. The committee consists of one
of our brethren, and several other local men. They impressed me as very capable, level headed fellows who seem
to be in complete control of the daunting task of staying fair in the distribution of the tents. After our late lunch it
was soon time we needed to go home. We quickly set the tents that we had built in their places. The lot has been
surveyed carefully and we have a map where the tents should go to let the lot drain naturally without running
through the tents too much. We did not have time to stake down all the tents, but we did manage to get them all
erected and finished without the floors. Then it was time to leave and get out of town before traffic got too heavy.
Considering that it was the first day and we were in new territory, we all thought the day had gone reasonably
well.
One interesting thing that happened today: Since there were a number of natives that were helping to build the
tents, we got a little too comfortable handing tarps out of the truck to the eager hands of these men. One Haitian
passing by saw the handing out going on and came over and held out this hands too. This was not noticed, but
when we got to the last tent, we were missing the main tarp! An excited conversation ensued among the local
people and someone said they had seen a man carrying the tarp off. He said he knew who it was and he would go
get it. So a group of about 20 men went off in search of our missing tarp. One of our group, Kevin Koehn, who
knows a little Creole, went along. When they got near this man’s place, the group told Kevin he better head back,
they didn’t want a white face among them. So Kevin came back and told us what was going on. I sort of figured
they wouldn’t get that tarp back, and we would have to make another one. But we worked on the remaining tents,
and after about 20 minutes, there was a huge commotion and a lot of yelling and cheering. I looked, and here
came a large group of people carrying that tarp. It was really amusing. Right behind them was the man who had
thought he owned the tent for such a sweet short time. He was not a happy chap at all. He ranted and yelled for a
long time. Kevin went over there to hear what he was saying and it seemed like the guy had really made an honest
mistake. He thought that we were giving these things out. Kevin told some of the leaders to explain to him that we
were handing the tarps out of the truck to those who were helping with the project. After this was explained to
him, he said that yes he understood how it had all happened, etc. but he did not want to understand. He needed
that tarp and he was just mad about it all. He was still blowing off steam quite some time later when I peeked out
of the tent I was tying. I guess he finally left. The local community, the people who are in this tent city, are very
protective of the help they are getting from us, and don’t appear to be letting outsiders come and join the city until
they all have their tents. This vigilante justice system is really quite intriguing!
February 24th - Briefly, we sewed and welded 15 more tent kits today while over half the guys went down to the
tent city to finish the dirt work and install the floors in the 15 we set up yesterday. It was a cooker today. I sweated
gallons of water off the end of my nose. The shop tent has no air moving through it and is quite cozy. I had the
same three men working with me as I had on Monday. This evening we did the normal. Supper, shower, planning
tomorrow, singing, chores, etc. Also played a few rounds of take four. Good day. We face a few challenges. Some
relatonships that needed working out in the household, and some brethren that really need tents and are getting
perterbed that we haven't come yet. Problem is we have no way to haul the large frameworks to these remote
locations with the current design. So we are trying to design a more transprtable tent for these situations.
February 25th - Another good big day. I stayed back with 5 others again today and we built 18 tent kits, a new
record. Also had time to clean the sewing machines and clean up around the place. My word it was hot. We really
need a big fan in that shed. Then we loaded up for a huge day tomorrow. Gonna go to the tent city plus to several
of the brethrens places to set up all fifteen tents. We want to do all the dirt work, floors, etc. Which is more than
we have ever done in one day by quite a ways. I'm sure it will be a hard day, but I'm really glad I can see the tents
come to completion like this. The people are so happy to get a tent. Lots of rewarding experiences in store for the
boys that will work here. The tent factory back here at Fond Parisien is working well. There are 5 boys that we have
trained to sew, and that will be enough to keep training more. They all have a good handle on things, so it feels like
I could easily leave now.
GNIF is now going to blast on Saturday, so it looks like we might be able to see the action. That should be fun. Also
want to tour the orphanage before I leave, and maybe the hospital where these nurses that are staying with us are
working. Sunday morning we are taking the bus back to DR and will spend afternoon and night with Andrales and
his family again. Will probably go to church there. Then Monday I come home!
February 26th - We all, fifteen guys, went down to Cazeau. Set up 10 tents in less than two hours. Lots faster than
expected so we think it might be possible to build and erect 15 total a day like we had originally hoped. After that
we went and set up 1 and then 3 and then 1 at several of the brethrens places. Oh my! They live in such desolate
little houses. And now they are all broken up from the quake. We saw beds made of 6 cinder blocks and 2 planks.
Walls on the verge of falling into their cramped little yards. We tried to rake the crushed cinder blocks as smooth
as possible and set up the tents on that. They have so little but we left them with just a bit better living conditions
and they were so happy. The neighbors pressed us for tents, accused us of not loving them, of not being fair, etc.
What do you do? The scenes we have witnessed are so hard to explain. Almost unbearable despair. Somehow life
goes on. I was sad today, even though it was a good day. Sad for these people, a little lonesome, and getting very
weary of the long hours and heat and hard work.
We walked down to the lake tonight, about a mile and a half, and went swimming. It felt wonderful. It is so
beautiful down there. Palm trees, little corn and sugar cane farms, cows, etc. Also sat in a neat little patio
restaurant that one of the brethren owns and sipped a Pepsi in glass bottle. Life was good again. Anyway, its
supper time now. I washed dishes last night, so tonight it will be some other little chore and will be able to go to
bed early maybe. I've tried to every night but its always 10:30.
February 27th - Today we asked for the day off from the tent building project. We being Dean and I since it’s our
last day. The rest of the guys worked from 7 to 11 am and produced 8 tent kits, erected 4 at 3 different remote
locations, plus had a flat tire and got it repaired. Definitely a capable group of guys that will take the project and
run with it now. We now have 56 tents built and 42 of them are on site. Good for the first week. The weekly goal
we have set is 60 tents built and installed. Dean and I joined up with the GNIF crew and went up to help on the
Lasstic Canyon project. Lorne Toews, Dan Klassen, Bruce Shartner and three other Shartner brothers, Virgil ??? and
Neil Toews, and Kevin Bronson are working there together with Raymond Withers. They gave us a tour of the
project, showed us where they will build a dam, canal, and pipeline to route 16000 gallons of water to the valley
below. Then we got to work. Actually worked harder on our day off than most of the other days we've been here.
We ground and mixed 2100 lbs of fertilizer and diesel fuel, carried it in buckets to the bore holes and loaded the
holes. Also learned how to hook up a blast pattern, pack boosters, etc. It was interesting. Lorne was the blast
director and did a very professional job of everything. We cleared the blast site of all the many curious Haitians,
then climbed a hill and Lorne orchestrated a perfect blast. No fly rock. Just a nice crunching sound and a large part
of the mountain laid into the stream below. We walked around the rubble a while and then cleaned up. The rest of
our guys had come up in the truck to see the blast so we rode back to town with them, always an eventful ride
with people yelling at us all along the way. Tonight, I am packing up, leaving some maintenance instructions with
the guys, etc. Can't believe it’s over. The 2 weeks have flown by in some ways, yet it seems I've been here a long,
long time. Anyway, tomorrow brother Enock will take us to Jimani and we will get on a bus to Santo Domingo.
There we will meet up with Vic, and he will take us back to Luis Polanco’s for night. Might catch the evening church
service. Hope so.
February 28th - Right now I am crammed in a bus on the way to Santo Domingo. It’s a 24 passenger bus. Our
luggage takes up 5 seats right in the back and somehow I count 36 people on the other 19 seats. No one is
standing, but they have boards across the aisles on every row, etc. I happen to be against the window on the row
where the wheel well is taking up the space where my legs need to be. This puts my feet at almost the same level
as my seat and my knees at chest level. My jeans are digging into my skin behind my knees, and if I think about
straightening my legs it’s all I can do to keep from throwing a fit. Oh well, it’s only a 5 hour bus ride with no stops.
My bladder had to submit 2 hours ago. In order for me to get out, at least 12 people would need to first. And at
least there is air conditioning.
But we've said our goodbyes. Some of the people I really learned to appreciate. Enock took us to Jimani and we left
from there. Should get to La Catalina in another 1.5 hours where Vic will fetch us.
Later: Vic took us to Nino and Kaylene’s home for a late lunch. We sat in the gazebo and ate a terrific lunch and
enjoyed the laughter and hospitality of this fine family. I tried my best to talk to Nino and their older girls Diana
and Pamela, and again wished for more Spanish. I enjoyed talking with the girls. They were very patient and
helpful and talked nice and slow for me! After a while, we drove over to Luis’ and unloaded our luggage. Then we
drove about 15 minutes to a rocky beach on the Caribbean Sea. It was beautiful and I was fascinated by the
strange looking rocks. I collected a few. Soon we went back and got ready for church.
The church service was warm and inspiring. The missionary from Ocoa, Ron Hauder had a message and there was
some good singing. Afterwards, there were some testimonies and us 4 white boys (Dean, Darcy, Shannon and
myself) sang a quartet. The people wanted us to sing another one but we decided to sing a little more after church
instead. After closing, we spent a long time in the front church yard visiting and singing. I was really impressed by
the 4 or 5 intermediate girls singing capabilities. Nino and Raphael’s girls and some others sang some Spanish
songs so beautifully. They wanted to sing English with us, which we did, but I kept telling them it was nicer to listen
to them. After a while, we walked back to Luis’, stopping at Kaylene’s sisters house to meet them briefly. Jenny had
prepared us some delicious mashed yucca and chicken casserole, with fried plantain and some kind of native juice.
We again, sat in the gazebo and enjoyed the enthusiasm and fervor these people have for life. It was a jolly, lovely
time. Finally, we bathed and went to bed.
March 1st – We got up way too early and went down to the airport. The whole day was a bit of a blurr. I slept on
the two flights a lot. For some reason we laid over in Philadelphia. It was so good to get back to my dear family in
Denver. We spent the night there and enjoyed the next day as a family at the Children’s Museum, etc.
A memorable trip!
THE TENT DESIGN
We use ½” and 3/8” hot rolled smooth round bar and weld up a rectangular framework. The frame consists of (5)
18 ft bars running one way and (5) 10 ft bars running the other way, to make a 10 ft x 18 ft grid. There are also a
few angled bars in the framework for added bracing.
We use the same ½” bar and bend a hook onto both ends of a 11 foot piece. We make two of these.
We use 3/8” bar and bend a hook just like the ½” ones, only on these we also bend the entire bar into a
large V.
The main tarp is 20.5 x 12 ft. A small rectangle is cut out of each corner and the inside of this rectangle is
hemmed for added strength. Then the long edges of the tarp are folded first 4” and then 2” and are sewn with a
rope trapped into that fold. The rope is left long on both ends. The short ends of the tarp are just doubled over
once and a nylon strap is sewn into this fold. So all four edges of the main tarp have to be sewn and then it is rolled
up and tied for shipping.
The tarps for the end walls are cut into the shape of an arch, then the nylon strap is sewn onto the curved
edge to reinforce it.
The floor of the tent is just a large square piece of tarp. The corners are turned up and sewn to make a 9”
deep pan that will keep ground water from running into the tent.
We also make (2) heavy tent stakes with a full hook on the top.
All of these pieces are transported to the tent city, or site, in a truck. The first step is for 4 men to each
take a corner of the large rectangle frame work and bend it into an arch. The straight ½” end hooks are use to keep
the arch from springing back into a flat gridwork again. Then the crotch of the 3/8” V-hooks go under these end
hooks, and the ends of the V-hooks fasten about halfway up the arch on the main frame. This provides a angle
brace on each end wall and makes the tent very stable.
The end wall tarps cover the end wall and are fastened with zip ties to the framework. A few ties are left
missing to provide a door flap on one end and a vent flap on the top of the other end.
The main tarp drapes over the framework and the ends are tucked underneath the side walls so they
come inside the tent. This flap is laced to the framework inside the tent with rope. This is done along both sides of
the tent and the lacing is then cinched tight. On the ends of the tent, the main tarp hangs over about 6 inches and
overlaps where the end walls were zip tied on. The rope which was sewn into these edges, is cinched tight sort of
like a sweatshirt hood.
The entire tent, 10ft x 10 ft, can be carried to the exact location where it will set and the two stakes are
driven in so they hook the crotches of the V-hooks. This makes the tents even more stable.
The floor of the tent is laid and tucked into place and the sides of the “pan” are held up with zip ties to the
walls of the tent.
The tents are white on the outside, black on the inside. A 6 ft. man can easily stand anywhere in the
middle 4 ft x 10ft area of the tent. These cost $135 in material and take 2 man hours to produce and 2 man hours
to erect. They are weather proof, and only a hurricane or fire could really destroy them.

FRONT LINE REPORT: BUILDING TENTS IN HAITI

I was very enthused to see this report in my inbox this morning from my former Sugar Hill Mission, NYC roomate and friend, Trevor Toews of Center, CO. He had informed me a week or two past of going to Haiti to volunteer his time. Here is his report. He informed me that it was constructed out of hastily written emails, etc. He didn't have time to really go through it and edit out the grammar errors, etc. Yet I will inform you everything on Operation Noah is done pretty hastily and we don't sweat the small stuff as long as the message shines through. I took the liberty to break it up into parts. So thank you Trevor and may you readers continue to be inspired to pray and remember our "neighbors" and brethren in Haiti.

Haiti Tent Project
by Trevor Toews

PART ONE: Just Getting There

This is a conglomeration of the emails I sent back home while I was in Haiti, as well as some added comments, etc.
I wrote after I was home. Feel free to call me if something doesn’t make sense.
February 15th - I left home at 4:30 Monday morning. I just had to drive to Alamosa, 30 minutes away and get on a
small plane to Denver. I had the idea to call ahead and make sure the plane wasn’t cancelled or something. Sure
enough, it was. Cancelled due to mechanical failures, apparently, although I was pretty sure that I was the only
paying passenger and they had decided it wasn’t worth it. So at 4:45, I turned around on the deserted highway,
and sped toward Denver. There was really little chance I would make my 9:15 flight, since it is usually a 4 hour
drive to the airport. I faced icy roads, Denver rush hour, one fuel stop, and then the long morning lines at DIA
ticketing and security. I was pushing the speed limit all I could and I came up behind a certain white car, which I
pulled out to pass. It was the Park County Sherriff and he didn’t like how I was going 72 in a 65 and also following
pretty close. He was a nice chap and we decided on a written warning. At that point I just told the Lord that if he
wanted me to get that plane, He would have to work a miracle, because I wasn’t going to push too hard anymore.
Well it happened. Somehow, there was zero traffic through Denver at 7:45-8:15. And somehow there were no
lines at the ticketing counter and they let me go through the crew only line in security. It was as if Denver and DIA
were waiting for me and I whisked through the entire process quicker than I ever have. I got to the gate as they
were boarding. What a relief. Flight to Denver, I sat beside a very enthusiastic pianist and we chatted almost all the
way. I met Dean Fricke from Grafton, ND in Miami and we got reacquainted. It’s been years since we attended
class together. At 5:00 we boarded the plane for Santo Domingo.
We landed in DR after a cramped flight in a full 767. Dean had had to gate check his carryon and had inadvertently
left his passport in that bag. They didn't let us have it back at the gate here in SD so we didn't know what to do
because we didn't think we could get through customs to get to that piece of luggage. We decided to try. Went
through about 3 lines and finally got through without the passport. Different than home. Then we searched high
and low for his luggage etc. Asked around in awful spanish, etc. Finally found the luggage but didn't make it out to
the street until an hour after the plane. Nobody was there to pick us up so we called around to the missionaries
etc. Victor Miller, the coordinator that is in charge of conveying volunteers from DR to Haiti had not checked his
email and wasn't aware we were coming in til 11:30. So we were on our own for a few hours. Found an amigo and
managed to get the point across that we were needing to exchange some cash. He said no banks were open. But
he exchanged 20 bucks for us at a good rate. Then we asked around for a mapa. Couldn't find one. A taxi driver
saw us asking around and came and offered his services so I started trying to ask about the area. Where we could
eat etc. All in hideous spanish and gestures. Finally established that he would take us 15 km away to some
restaurants. It would take 10 min and would cost us $20 one way. Of course that was too high so we bargained a
while and got him down to $24 round trip. Well the place was no 15 km. More like 2. But here was a nice little
dimly lit patio restaurant serving fish and chicken. I spent a while slugging through ordering with them there. Oh it
was delicious! A whole fish right out of the freezer and rice and beans just like we’ve had at Paul and Carolyn’s. We
sat and talked to Rogelio our taxi driver. He was just waiting til we were done and then he'd take us back. During
supper, I called Vic and he asked where we were, then a little later he stopped by. Made us feel a little more
secure by chatting fluently with the restaurant folks and Rogelio. Then we transferred our stuff to Vics van. Turned
out we had paid too much for taxi even after trying so hard. Anyway, after a while we drove back to the airport to
wait another hour on another plane load of people. Vics are nice. Talked a while. Then the others showed up.
Darcy Nightengale. Shannon Unruh. Norma and Jima, two older ladies coming as nurses. We crammed, I mean
crammed! our luggage and bodies into this van and drove through the quiet streets of SD. Big modern city. Now
we are out west of town. Gonna all stay at Luis Polanco’s (Andrales' parents) house for night. They say it will be
very cramped. Andrales will be home tomorrow morning so hoping I can finally meet him. Heading to Haiti right
away in morning. Some of us have to take public bus and I offered to be one of those. Awesome day.
February 16th - Woke up this morning after not near enough sleep. Had gone to bed at 3 am and woke up at 7,
which is 12 to 4 mountain time. We were staying at the home of Luis Polanco who has a nice big compound with
enough floor space for all of us to sleep inside. He is Andrales' father and Andrales, with his wife Jenny, lives right
next door as well as his only sister Natalia and her husband, Otwal. I had a cold sponge bath which was long
needed, then came out to meet Andrales and Jenny. They are a super nice couple with 3 children. We talked as
best we could with his limited English and my limited Spanish. I wish so bad we could have really visited. Dave has
talked so much about this amigo. Anyway, we had fruit and pan in the gazebo, then devotions. It was funny, we
were sitting there and someone asked Andrales how old he was and he said 31. Then he asked each of us boys
how old we were and everyone tried to say the number in Spanish. When he got to me I said, “veinte y siete” and
then it hit me and I said “o no veinte y ocho!”. And Andrales caught on that it was my birthday and really started
hooting. I hadn't thought of it yet. They all sang HB in both languages and then the Polancos sang another
traditional BDay song with hugging actions and stuff. Fun. We went over to see Natalia in her house because she
had an accident and can't walk very well right now. She knew me from my songs and from Harlan’s sister Sheila.
She also writes songs and we sang one of hers together. She talked and talked and we finally had to go. Loaded the
van again. No small feat. Then drove 5 hours to Haiti. Lots of sights and sounds along the way. Somewhat
uncomfortable but we had a good time driving and talking. Stopped and walked a while through one town. Nice
roads. DR is very civilized. Happy people, all out and about, seemingly with little to do. Stopped for 3 coco frios to
drink. Talked lively about many topics. Finally got to the border. WOW what a difference! Instantly more people,
dirty, dusty atmosphere, deplorable roads and a sense of weight and poverty. We were waved through the
checkpoints, then drove along the lake which has no outlet and is slowly rising, lapping at the edge of the road and
threatening many buildings. Saw lime mines where they dig everything by hand. Short drive to Fond Parisien and
found the church. Big building and amazingly good accommodations. Electricity running water showers real beds
fans etc. There have been several brethren working on converting the back half of the church into a unit house.
Met a lot of people that are involved here. Had a good lunch then unpacked and settled in. Dean and I went out to
look at the supplies. All the tarps, rebar, sewing stuff etc. Is right here where we live. All the work will be done here
except assembling the tents onsite. Also we are setting up a 24 X 40 big tent to do the sewing in since it will rain a
lot. We were suddenly faced with the immense responsibility of this task as it really was. I always thought this
project was a snap. Not so when faced with the real picture. Where to start. How to set up. So many variables.
Powdery white dust 2 inches deep. We laid out plywood for a temporary floor, I set up a new welder, then we
worked the afternoon on building one prototype tent. It’s almost done but Dean already had a tarp sewn so I
didn't touch the machines yet. Just welded and brainstormed until dark. After supper, Lydia Mandella, an older
nurse told us all her fascinating conversion experience about leaving the hutterite colony in ND and coming to the
church. Then I showered and went to bed.(Part II Tomorrow)

Wrapping Up Lasstic Project For This Year

Dear Friends,

Praise the Lord! Just as the rains are to begin falling on Haiti, the GNIF crew has accomplished our goal this season! Thanks to all the volunteers; the contributors, the workers, and of course, for all of the prayers! To all of the volunteers that were on the list to go, but didnt get the opportunity, we sincerely hope you will stay with us for the project continuation in early 2011.

Here is a little update from Kevin Bronson a few days ago of the Lastic Canyon project work that is wrapping up for this year. "The penstock is completed as far as we can go this round, and the thrust block is poured. Left for tomorrow is an anti-climb fence to keep the little tykes from climbing up and falling off over the cliff. We blasted our 2nd and last shot. There was a little fly rock, but not more than Loren expected and warned us about. This shot moved a lot of rock. Bruce worked about 4 hours digging it out to grade, and has about a day's worth of digging left."
It was kind of a bittersweet day as they packed everything up at the canyon and prepared it for next year. A lot had happened...a lot of "where do we go from here?" scenarios, and now to have our revised goal accomplished......its really nothing short of amazing!

Most of the crew is flying out Monday, the 8th. Kevin flys out Friday, the 12th; Larry and Darrell have tickets to fly the 16th, but hope they can change their tickets to the 12th also.


--
Good News International Foundation
Associate Writer - Daniel Jantz
209.409.4597
Atwater, Ca

Lasstic 3/2/10 Update

Here is some Lastic Canyon news with a little overview of what has happened within the last
couple weeks.

At long last on Monday, February 15, the containers were finally released from customs in Miragoane. They had the containers free and clear, but not the detonators. They were still held up in customs, because some official seen the word "explosive" on the manifest and put the brakes on. Supposedly only a few high officials in the police department can approve shipments of explosives, and he was hard to find! Having faith that they would finally get the detonators and the window before rainy season was long enough to do significant work, GNIF began to contact our volunteers for availability. Amazingly the skilled volunteers that we needed were ready to go! Six volunteers: Bruce Schartner – Enderby, BC – as excavator operator with mountain / rock experience, Mike Schartner – Fort Vermillion, AB – as drill operator, Dan Klassen – Swanson, SK – as driller’s helper, Larry Schartner – Fort Vermillion, AB – and Darrell Schartner – Hesson, OT – as welders, and Virgil Unruh – Linden, AB – as interpreter. They all arrived at the La Ramona airport in the DR on Monday afternoon, Feb 22. While the crew was in the DR, they heard from the Senator that the detonators were ready to pick up, so Travis Toews, a CSI boy, went over to pick them up. He
expected a “small payment” would be required, but just as they were getting to that point, another tremor hit. Everybody scrambled for the door, and the fellow helping Travis hollered over his shoulder to get those things and get out. Travis took him at his word, and they had the detonators that evening!

Now for more recent news about the Lastic Canyon Project. Kevin has been quite busy with fuel and supply runs. The drill continued to give some fits, and had a few hydraulic hose problems, but they had the drilling done for the first blast Friday night. Saturday morning while the welders and equipment guys finished the first phase of the penstock, the rest of the crew mixed anfo and loaded the holes. A few helpers from CDR were there, and together we loaded 47 holes with about 1 ton of anfo.
As they were preparing for the first blast, the Casec (sheriff) was advising people to get away through a megaphone. Loren gave a short orientation on how to guard the area, and six teams of two (one white to run the radios, and one black to speak to any passer bys that were found) headed out to their designated vantage points. All together, they could see all of the neighboring hillsides and trails that pass through the area. I don’t know what the people were told exactly, but they have never seen the canyon so deserted! None of the guards saw even one animal or person, and normally there would have been many.
After Loren made one more check and sounded warning blasts on his horn, he lit off the first blast at 3:32 PM! It was picture perfect, with the whole section doing a little heave and settling down the slope with a minimum of noise and no flying rock! Cheers sounded as they saw the first big step of work completed!
Once Loren sounded the all clear, everybody converged on the blast site. The locals ran faster than they did, and did they ever holler and scream! They were totally amazed at what had happened. There wasn't any trouble keeping people away from the first blast, but will have no problem at all in the future.
Yesterday, the 1st, was spent doing some repairs on the drill while the excavator operator dug out the rubble from the blast. The entire 1st section of the bench is now to grade and looking good. The excavator operator also was sent to dig off what they thought was a foot or so of overburden on the back end of the site. This area was expected to be the biggest blast area, with an estimated 50’ cut required. To everyones surprise, he kept on digging into what was thought was solid rock, and has now excavated from 12’ to about 15’. This has caused a review of plans, and they are trying to figure out if they can run the penstock higher up the cliff than was previously planned. If this works, they will likely only have to do some spot blasting of a few knobs, and to deepen a sump area. This is still a decision in progress, but it seems likely they will be ready to begin extending the penstock yet this week.
The weather has been holding steady at the job site, although clouds are building on the mountain tops most afternoons, and first indication that rainy season is just around the corner. So far it has not rained on site, although it has been raining in PAP and to the west. If the weather holds, they should be able to complete the goal of finishing the blasting and penstock this season.




Good News International Foundation
Associate Writer - Daniel Jantz

The Silent Sermon

This was sent to my e-mail by a friend. I do not no where it originated. I post it to edify and hopefully it is beneficial- you be your own judge.



THE SILENT SERMON



A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him.

It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited.

The pastor made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone then he sat back in his chair, still silent.

The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead.

Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The pastor glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, 'Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the firey sermon. I will be back in church next Sunday'.

We live in a world today, which tries to say too much with too little. Consequently, few listen. Sometimes the best sermons are the ones left unspoken.

The Lord is my Shepherd ----- that's a Relationship!

I shall not want ----- that's Supply!

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures ----that's Rest!

He leadeth me beside the still waters -----that'sRefreshment!

He restoreth my soul ----- that's Healing!

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness --that's Guidance!

For His name sake ----- that's Purpose!

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death--that's Testing!

I will fear no evil ----- that's Protection!

For Thou art with me ----- that's Faithfulness!

Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me -----that'sDiscipline!

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies------that's Hope!

Thou annointest my head with oil ----- that'sConsecration!

My cup runneth over ----- that's Abundance!

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life----that's Blessing!

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord -----that'sSecurity!

Forever ----- that's Eternity!