Health Update

First, let me apologize for not posting in AGES, please forgive me. I have several blog posts started that never got finished. So much has happened and I'd love to go back and posts some updates but honestly the thought is pretty daunting right now. So here's a little, well somewhat long update on what I've been going through for the last five months. 

I suffered from chronic fatigue for over 13 years and many, many trips to the doctors, tests after tests after tests just to be put on handfuls of medications. Over six years ago, I set on a different path and began seeking healing through diet and nutrition. I had AMAZING amounts of energy, lost 80 pounds and kept it off for five years. I had found a healthy weight and stayed there, even when I fasted or detoxed, I maintained my weight. I was eating about 95% raw and vegan with an occasionally sushi treat. What can I say, I LOVE sushi!!!!!!!!! You can read more about my story here. About three years ago, I began to get lazier with my eating, I moved to Hawaii and had no control over my food prep, in 2010 spent three months in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, got a parasite, and in 2011 spent three months in Japan and Thailand. I tried to stay raw as best I could but it wasn't always possible. I had several food allergies (dairy, corn, almonds, and yeast), many people prayed for healing and I would attempt to eat those items again, only to make me sick again. Progressively I began having more and more food intolerance. I did several detoxes and a few 40 day fasts, I introduced Kombucha and Kevita drinks into my routine to incorporate probiotics. I began running again in July through October and was feeling and doing great. 

On October 13, 2012 was the Ironman World Championship in Kona. The best of the best come to compete. I was volunteering with a professional triathlete's ministry leading up to Ironman and was super busy for months. On Wednesday, October 17th, I went to the office early, bringing my Morning Glory Drink with me. A good 40 ounces, as I had been doing every day for weeks. Around 11am I went to check the mail and say goodbye to a friend that was leaving that day and quickly began to feel very ill to the point I thought I was going to pass out. I returned to the office and went home immediately. Crawled in bed and slept until the next morning. I thought I was so exhausted from working so much, yet something in my spirit told me to call the doctor. Now I hadn't been to the doctor in over 8 years and hadn't even had health insurance for about seven years so for me to go to the doctor is a big deal, after all, 13 years of repeated doctor visits in tests got me sicker. Since I was a new patients, they told me someone would have to call me back to schedule the appointment. I called right when the opened at 8am, by 4:30pm I still hadn't heard back so I called again. They couldn't get me in for 8 days, I pleaded and said something wasn't right, I had been sleeping for a day and a half, after talking to the triage nurse, they squeezed me in the following Monday. I continued to sleep from the time I came home on Wednesday at midday all weekend until my appointment. The longest I was up was an hour here and there. They ordered a blood work which I had done the next day and the following Monday I got a call from the nurse saying that I was really anemic and the doctor wanted to order some additional diagnostic tests. Back to the lab the following day. This continued on for weeks. What I really appreciate about the doctor (actually the Physician's Assistant) that I was seeing is that he did NOT just prescribe me meds for the anemia, which turned out to be due to iron-defficiency. He was really working to figure out what was causing the anemia. 

This continued on for 8 weeks, tests after tests, with no answers. I was hoping to use medical science to tell me 'what' was wrong so I could use alternative medicine to correct it. It didn't make any sense to me, as I was taking in plenty of iron in my diet. I told the doctor repeatedly that it really seemed like an absorption issue to me. One of the tests they did appeared that my iron was in a normal range but my ferritin (iron storage was almost nothing) and hemoglobin was low. Ferritin is what gives you energy so needless to say this made sense that I had NO energy, ZIP, ZERO! And that I continued to spend my days in bed, sleeping, barely able to move. Any kind of activity, even going to the grocery store and coming right back was physically exhausting. I began doing a lot of my own research in the little time I was actually awake. I came across an article that talked about one of biggest causes of Iron Deficiency Anemia was due to improper balance of gut flora (good bacteria in your digestive tract). Let me back up a sec, right before Thanksgiving I went to see an allergist. My list of allergies had significantly grown. I'm now allergic to peanuts, pecans, black walnuts, sesame, soy, beef, chicken, lamb, pork, turkey, and eggs, in addition to the previous allergies. Nice, huh! Oh, and I'm asthmatic so got a breathing treatment and prescription for an inhaler, which I went through in two weeks. My doctor prescribed a maintenance inhaler and another emergency inhaler, which seemed to help a bit. He also encouraged me to try an iron supplement, which made me really ill and therefore haven't been able to take. I've tried taking it in smaller doses, different times of the days etc. 

Fast forward to February..........still tired, still no energy, back to eating almost only a raw food diet and staying away from allergens. Still no improvement. Take that back, I progressed to napping daily but not sleeping all day! Let's go back to the article I read about gut flora being the main cause of iron deficiency anemia, this made a whole lot of sense to me. Since I'm allergic to dairy, I can't eat yogurt and therefore don't any probiotics, which help with gut flora (good bacteria). When I went to Haiti and the Dominican, I did take some while I was out of the country. As I mentioned before, I've done a lot of detoxes and fasts over the last few years, sometimes for health, sometimes for spiritual reasons and sometimes for both. Detoxes are good to give your body, specifically your digestive tract a break and flush the toxins out. One thing I never gave much thought to was probitics and restoring proper balance after cleansing my system. When I first began the healing process in 2006, I followed Dr. Don Colbert's Bible Cure book for Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia. I cut out everything processed, everything white (flour, sugar, potatoes, rice, etc) and sugars (including fruit) for over 3 months (may have been closer to 6) to clear candida (overgrowth of yeast in my digestive tract). For the last month, I've eaten a pretty good raw food diet and still no improvement. 

Fast forward to March........I'm staying with a friend in Orlando, resting and focusing on getting well. Six days ago we began doing a candida cleanse. We are following The Candida Diet, my friend, Mariah, is doing it with me. It makes a HUGE different when you have someone doing it with you and supporting you! I'm super thankful for her hospitality for the last four weeks and her friendship! We haven't eaten in six days, just a vegetable broth twice a day, a detox drink three times a day (water, liquid bentonite clay, and fiber mix) followed by water, and a liver flush in the evening. It's been good. You do this for seven days and then begin a strict diet (no sugars and other foods until symptoms improve), adding a good probiotic and anti fungal. So that's where I am today. Oh, I forgot to mention, in less then seven weeks, I packed on 30 pounds, which doesn't seem to be budging! Super frustrating when you are eating so healthy. 

All this to say, I have faith! I believe! I know the Lord is watching over me, I know He has my best interest at heart and He is in control. I know I will be healed and I'm doing my best to REST, learning to REST in Him and continually wait on Him! I would appreciate your prayers and I will update you on my journey to restored health! Stay posted for lots of good healthy recipes. Feel free to message me if you have any questions or want more specifics please email me at mailfontaine@yahoo.com. I would love to hear from you and to know how I can be praying for you as well. 

Lots of love, Christine

Prayer Request: For complete healing (in God's timing), financial provision (as a full time missionary I rely on financial gifts of other, if you'd like to support me on a monthly basis, please contact me for more information or use the link on this page, provision for a car, vision and direction. 

Outreach to Japan and Thailand!

I've been staffing the photogenX DTS (Discipleship Training School) this quarter and we are about to leave for outreach. This summer I am leading a team of 11 to Japan and Thailand! I'm beyond excited!


My team is absolutely amazing!


Here is what we will be doing and the ministries we will be working with: 


We leave Kona on June 29 and go to Japan for three weeks. We will spend a night or two in Tokyo and then head North to the areas affected by the Tsunmai. We could work in cooperation with Samaritan's Purse in a city called Sumita or Ishinomaki. Most likely we will do relief work, food distribution, prayer walks etc, yet we were also asked to possibly set up a simple studio to take portraits for people that have lost everything. 

We leave Japan on July 21 and head to Thailand. We will spend a day doing cultural orientation, then a day doing a prayer walk around Bangkok and head to Pattaya. We'll be working with the Mercy Center in Pattaya from July 24 - August 14. 

MERCY runs a shelter for children at-risk. They truly provide a home for them with all the necessary amenities (food, shelter, clothing, schooling) as well as the love and support of a family. MERCY also runs two projects in various slums around Pattaya. Known in Thailand as chum chon air at, these areas are very much in need of aid. They provide food, clothing, medical care, and other needs to the people living there. They particularly look to help the children and women who are at risk and those who are severely destitute. We can help pack up the food for short day trips and pray and talk with the people. MERCY also provides an early learning / day care center. They provide low to no cost care for children and families in chum chon areas. For the long-term, MERCY gives referral to other community services that are available to help the communities overall. MERCY also runs a student scholarship project. They aim to provide scholarships for students who have been referred by the local school authorities. These students have demonstrated an ability and desire to pursue educational and/or vocational training. MERCY supports these students’ families as well, providing food, clothing, medical care, and spiritual support. MERCY appreciates any help in improving the homes of these students. Lastly, MERCY partners in a with Hand to Hand Ministry. They visit the prison to pass out food and water three times a week and give counsel, practical assistance, prayer, bibles, and other resources as appropriate and as available. MERCY helps facilitate connections with national embassies and families for international prisoners as much as they are able. We will likely hit the streets and talk to and pray for the bar girls and lady boys as well. For more information please visit http://www.mercypattaya.com/. 

August 15-August 31we will be working with a Local Thai Church. In downtown Bangkok is a church of about 30 members, but their congregation is growing rapidly. Pastor Ta, lead Pastor of Mercy Church, has a huge heart for the lost, and much compassion for the hurting people of Thailand. His main ministry within the church is done through discipleship. He is in constant contact with the people of his church, meeting for several Bible studies throughout the week, and visiting them at their places of work. Many people in his church work in the bars and pubs of Bangkok, working as singers, dancers and bartenders. At first glance, it may look like something most Christians would intentionally stay away from, but the more you read the Word, the more you will find that this kind of ministry is exactly what Christ has called us to do! Think about it, what a wide open harvest field! So many hurting, and lost people work in those bars, in the dark places, and we have the only light that can reach them, and save them. It says in Mark 2:17, that "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."This is exactly the work that Christ came to earth to do, and we at Mercy Church are continuing in that. We can prayer walk and reach out in the areas of Thonglor, Sukhumvit, Ekkamai and Phetburi – right in the middle of Bangkok traffic, noise, business, and needy people! We can also go and visit with local students, both high school and university, and take them out for an ice cream, a meal, a free English lesson – classic friendship evangelism. We can also be a part of the development of the church by sharing our testimonies, singing a song, performing a drama and even preaching a message. They also have a sister church in nearby Sakeaw province. 

September 1 - September 13 we will be working with the MST Project. I'm excited about all of our ministry but this is one that sticks out to me the most, because if you cut off the demand, there is no longer a need! 

Many of the men who come to Thailand looking for sex are hurting and in need and are trying to fill that need and hurt with love and intimacy. Yet, the love and intimacy that they seek in a red-light district is not the answer. When the MST Project first started there were a few people who said that there was no hope for these men, that they were better left alone or ignored. But where is the compassion of God in that? They do not look at these men for where they currently are but rather for where they can be with a transformed heart. How many of us grew up in a broken home, have looked for love and intimacy in all the wrong places, or have struggled with issues that are common to men; yet God has brought about redemption in our lives. The MST Project wants to reach out to these men and be an example of restoration and redemption.

It is our responsibility to go to these men, when very few will, and bring the love of God to them in an area where they least expect it, by those whom they least expect it from. These men are like us, and it is our hope that these men will experience the love and the hope that is found in a relationship with Him. The Father’s love is available to all, in all places and at all times. The hope we have in Him will cause a man to return to his wife and become a husband. Will cause him to return to his children and become a father. Will cause him to return to his community and become an example, not a statistic. http://www.ywamthai.org/mstproject

We'll spend 3 days debriefing in Thailand and then begin our trek back to Kona on September 17, where we will debrief with the other five teams.
 


Please prayerfully consider partnering with me. I need prayer partners, financial support and/or referrals (do you someone that might be interested in partnering me?). Please feel free to leave a comment with your email and I'd be happy to answer any questions or share more information. 


You can make your tax-deductible donation online here. 


Thank you for your prayers and support! I cannot do this without you!

From graduation to staffing.....

So I graduated my DTS last week and joined staff the next day!

I knew that I was called to Missions about eight years ago and have prayed and waited and prayed and waited and waited, etc etc and finally felt called to come to YWAM in September 2009 and came to Hawaii to do my DTS. Within 24 hours of arriving in Hawaii, I felt God tell me three times that I was supposed to stay in Kona, join staff and not go home. I wasn't quite sure how it would all work about but I was trusting God. I wasn't sure exactly what I would do either. I knew I was supposed to work with photogenX, but that was all I really knew....talk about faith!

I was asked to work with the Sex+Money. Sex+Money: A National Search for Human Worth is a documentary about domestic minor sex trafficking and the modern-day abolitionist movement fighting to stop it. The documentary is due to be released in April 2011 and the team will begin a 50 state distribution tour to screen it and have panel discussions with policy and law enforcement and other spheres of society, including the church. I will be working with Carmen to help plan the distribution tour. I am also the building manager for the building I am living in, which houses about 90+ students and staff. It is an amazing opportunity for me to disciple the girls in my building. I also have three work duty students that will clean the building and it's surrounding. 


YWAM is celebrating it's 50th year this year and this quarter is the largest in Kona with over 650 students. In December we will have a week long 50th Anniversary Celebration, we expect to have 2,000-3,000 people attending. There's lots of extra preparation to be done for the 50th too. So this quarter will be a busy one! 


Please keep me in your prayers as you think about me. 


I would love to hear from you and how I can pray for you too. 

10 days in Orlando = happiness

I left the base in the Dominican Republic at the crack of dawn. Elizabeth woke up to say goodbye to me, she had also left me a note and some balloons by my bag in case she didn't see me, everyone else was dead asleep! I waited until I was on the plane to read it, it was so encouraging and sweet! I was waiting downstairs when Orlando, the taxi driver (ironic, huh?), showed up 20+ minutes EARLY, yes early, to pick me up. The ride to the airport along the coast watching the sun rise was absolutely amazing. SO many emotions were running through me....I was sad and disappointed to leave my team/family,  was excited to see friends I hadn't seen in 6 months, I was comforted to know I could rest for a few days and try to get well again, I was nervous to go back to the states after all the devastation haven been ruined for ordinary living and so much more!

Amanda picked me up at the airport, I thought she would just pick me up on the curb but she was waiting inside, what a pleasant surprise! FIRST stop just down from the Orlando airport....STARBUCKS! We ran some errands and had lunch at Designer Greens (a salad joint), eating CLEAN food never tasted SO GOOD! Then she dropped me off at my dear friends, Jeremy, Grace and Connor's and visited with us for a while. Connor was born a few weeks before I left for DTS and I was at the birthing center when he was born, so it was awesome to see how much he had grown. Some other friends of ours were out of town and had left their car, so I had use of a car the whole time I was there. I made four airport runs in the process, but it was totally worth it! They left a few days later for a long weekend, so I had the house to myself for a few days and just relaxed!

Unfortunately I wasn't able to see everyone as so many people were busy, but I enjoyed the people I did see. I was able to go to youth group the night I got there and attend church the following week. Jeremy had free tickets to Universal so we went one day. I connected with some friends I met in Haiti at the YWAM Orlando base and joined them for family night, worship and dinner at the base and another night I joined them at some friends house for an amazing dinner and game of Settlers! I wasn't able to make it out to see the new base, but it wasn't because of lack of effort. I also joined my LIFE group one night and stayed at my friends - Brian, Wendy and Garrison (where I stayed the last few weeks before leaving) for a few nights.

I celebrated my birthday the day before I flew back to meet my team! I hung out with Amanda and my friend, Kathi, took me to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch and we had Thai Crunch salad, my favorite and the inspiration for my Spice Thai Salad on my other blog. For dinner my friend, Mariah, took me for all you can eat Sushi, my favorite! It was an AMAZING day!

Back in the DR.......Sickness, Angels and Growth

Going back to the DR had mixed emotions for most of the team! Personally I wasn't very excited about it, many of the team members were not excited about the rules we had previously, but we all had open minds and submitted everything to God. Christian Fox, one of our DTS leaders came the day after we arrived back in the DR and we had a fun day at the beach. It was Christian's birthday so we threw him a little birthday celebration and he brought us candy, which everyone was excited about.

Beautiful Beach!

Christian was a little tired from his travels. :)

Denine is on staff at the base in the DR, she is an incredible woman of God. I really love and respect her.

A boy we befriended on the beach, he was in love with Emily and Elizabeth. 

I continued to be nauseas, which was no fun! :(



Our second day, we went on a tour of downtown. Here are a few pictures....

Elizabeth and Emily bought friendship bracelets!

And this is how people exchange money! :)

We went to a little shop that had amazing fresh juices and coffee.

Color art available on the street.

And there's a KFC that delivers! :)

That night we went to Denine's church.

Sunday we had a day of rest and then went to speak at Laromi's youth group and then visited with her family. Laromi is one of the girls that is part of King's Kids and volunteer's at the base. She was like part of our team. A few of us shared testimonies.

After a few days of rest we began planning our ministry. Unfortunately, I continued to be nauseas and every time I ate, by stomach hurt really bad. Both Emilys continued to be sick and so did Elizabeth. Elizabeth was the first to go to the doctor and came back with the news that she had an amoeba. She had to go back a few days later so the four of us ended up going. We went to a private hospital and that is where we met our Angel. We met Dr. Angel, who was from the Tampa area and spoke fairly good English, in the Emergency Room. We explained our symptoms and he walked us over to the lab and ordered stool samples and blood work and told us to come back in 24 hours for the results. He gave us a prescription, as he was pretty sure we had parasite. He also gave us instructions on what to eat and explained that it was most likely that we got the parasite from dirty water! NICE, huh! We trucked home, ordered our prescription on the phone and had it delivered to the house, yes, delivered to the house or base! The next day we took a taxi back to the Hospital to get our results and found our Angel, who again walked us through everything. The results were negative so he sent us over to see a Gastrointestinal Specialists. He walked us over and checked on us several times while we waited to see her, as she wasn't in yet. OH, I forgot to mention we never paid for an ER visit, just the lab test and the the Gastro. The GI Doctor ordered a series of test, one being multiple stool samples that needed to be grown 48 hours, so back we went home with our sample cups AND back to the hospital the next three days, to drop off stools, get results, etc. The end result, two of us had parasites, one had an amoeba and the fourth undiagnosed. This meant we missed ministry for almost two weeks. We spent TONS of time locked up in the house doing nothing but resting and taking care of each other. We prayed and worshipped together. God met us and I really feel like this was a time of growth for each of us. The last day we went to the hospital Emily Rice was really weak and had to get several bags of IV fluid pumped into her.....which we never had to pay for! Thank you to our Angel!

In the midst of all of this, I was trying to close on my house, which I sold via a 'short sale'. All the paperwork was overnighted to me in the DR. I needed to get about 8 pages notarized, which had to be done at the American Embassy since I was out of the country. So in the midst of being miserably nauseas and sick, I traipsed down to the American Embassy to try to get my papers notarized. Cyrielle, my outreach leader, and Dani, one of my team mates, had a appointments for their Visas so we all went together. Unfortunately I had to come back the next day, I tried to go in with them BUT they had stuff they couldn't take in so I had to stay outside for several hours by myself. FUN....NOT! Remember, I'm not feeling good, it's summer and it's HOT, but I survived! So I came back in two days, only to find out that I stood in line for a while JUST to get an appointment for the following day......UGHHHHH.....REALLY!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, God was challenging me! I also received paperwork indicating that they charge $50 USD for EACH notary! WHAT????? Considering I needed at least 8 pages notarized, that was over $400!!! I soon figured out a one way ticket to Orlando to be at the closing in person was MUCH cheaper. I talked to my outreach leader and called our school leader and got approval to book a flight to Orlando and then meet my team in Miami for our flights back to Kona on September 16. So I booked my flight and packed up and headed back to the mainland for 10 days. It was a really hard decision to leave the team, but considering that I hadn't been well for almost three weeks and the ridiculousness of the notary fees and appointments, it seemed like the best decision. Turned out there was a document that needed to be signed on the day of closing that could have lost the whole deal if it didn't close the day it did, so everything worked out perfectly! 

This also meant spending my birthday with friends! :) 

One night in Port....and back to the DR

We spent one night back in Port-au-Prince before heading back to the Dominican Republic for our last four weeks of outreach. The base moved out of the Children's Home and into a church where some of the Mission Adventures teams had stayed. It was 'very' different! BUT it was amazing to see our friends again! Emily Rice and I were invited out for a 'going away' evening with some of the staff. We all shared what was next for each of us and some of our fondest memories of Haiti. It was a super nice night out with friends and good food to boot! It was also sad saying goodbye to everyone.

The next morning we went over to Peterson's house (the base director) and waited for our transportation. A few of us girls went to a local store to buy food for our journey! When our transportation arrived we were super excited, it was a luxury little bus with air condition and enough space that we were not on top of each other, we actually got to spread out a bit. The bad part was, I was quite nauseas most of the way but I managed to not get sick.

Our border crossing was NOTHING like going to Haiti. It wasn't a market day and things were so vastly different, we cruised right through.

St. Marc: Weeks 4-6

It was a sad day to leave the Children's Home and the family we had in Port-au-Prince! 

This is going to sound really odd, but it was really sad to leave our tents where we slept behind! We boarded up a bus with all our stuff and headed to St. Marc, about two hours from Port-au-Prince where YWAM has had a base for about 25 years. I was really sick for hours the morning we left, I'll spare you the details but I went from getting sick to boarding the bus with a pan and praying a ton that I didn't get sick on the trip and yes, God heard my prayers and I made it. Our new living quarters were a cement room with no screens, where we encountered tons of mosquitos, frogs, spiders and the sort! We had fans in the room but the electricity went out at night so they didn't prove to be much use! I had been challenged with what I could eat with all my food allergies but I was super blessed to have a salad prepared for me at each meal and often an avocado to go with it! Much of the food was prepared with corn oil, with corn being one of my allergies, I couldn't eat much off the food line. 

The base was 'quite' different! There weren't any children to play with or daily worship each evening as there was at the Children's Home in PAP. There was no wireless internet, the connection was hit or miss, along with the electricity and there were only a few wires to connect your laptop or computers to rarely got online. There was a prayer room and a pool though. We also had the freedom to go out of the base in pairs. You could catch a 'moto' (a moped) that would hold 3 people into town for 25 cents each. The motos were fun to ride and although looked scary, because the traffic goes any which way on either side of the street/sidewalk/etc, but I always felt safe! :) 

Twice a week (Thursday afternoons and Sunday mornings) we went to the local prison and worshipped and talked with the prisoners. The first day we were there, we prayed with a lady to receive Christ and gave her a bible. God is good! Phillipson is one of the full-time Haitian staff that started this ministry and God has used him to transform lives of those he's encountered there. The conditions were insane! :( The women were all in one cell and the rest were men. Some of them had served their time but they are required to pay a fee to get out and many didn't have the resources or family to help them so they would be there long after they needed to be. There were 30+ people per cell! The prisons we have in America would be like luxury hotels compared to what the Haitians had! One of the days that we were there Phillipson got permission from the guards to take pictures with my camera and then handed it back to me and asked me to take more so here are some of the shots we got.

There was another team there with us this day doing a drama. This gives you an idea of what the prison looked like.

The men and women would gather at the door and listen intently to the message.

Many of them would write notes to give us.

Phillipson sharing a message.

A different view, they were doing construction on the upper level. In the middle is where clothes were laid to dry.

This picture doesn't really give an idea of how crammed they were in there.

This man was crying as Phillipson prayed for him.

This guy had just gotten out of prison, had given his life to Christ and was now coming back to  share his testimony and help with the prison ministry.....amazing transformation!

Squeezing in the little space of a window to hear the message and worship.

Steven, one of my team mates from Canada. Steven is a measly 6'7", so we never had to worry about losing him in a crowd! :)

We brought bibles to give them and they loved them! Some wanted bibles in English so they could learn English.

The girls had the privilege to minister to ladies from the Brothel once a week. Margaret had made a decision to leave the Brothel the week we arrived and gave her life to Christ. I had many opportunities to hang out with Margaret and hear her story, it wasn't until I heard her story that we learned she was sleeping on the street since leaving the brothel and then several women at the base helped her find a home to stay with a local pastor and we took up a collection to help her get her food business going again. I was able to go with her to move into her new home and we prayed with her, she was so happy and cried and cried. Her husband died in the earthquake and she was forced to go to the brothel to earn a living, where she would have sex with as many as 10 men a day for as little as $1.25. By the time she paid the brothel for rent, she was making less then a $1/day. To hear her story, broke my heart! Margret continued to come to the Tuesday afternoon sessions when the ladies would come to the base. 

One of the things I worked on while being in St. Marc was the Eyes of Hope documentary our team was working on. We interviewed police, pastors, rice workers, the Mayor, an UN worker and lots of other people. Our team split into three different teams, some of the girls went to the Brothel several days a week, a group of us worked on the documentary and another group worked on stories for our 30 Days of Prayer book for Voice for the Voiceless, a photogenX ministry, and a second book in the series, 30 Days of Hope, which focuses on individuals doing something to fight each injustice. There's a link on the side bar of this page, if you'd like more information or want to order a book. 

Several of my team members have been sick on and off. The last week in St. Marc, I got Dengue Fever and was out of commission for about 3 days. Being sick in a four world country, sleeping on a concrete floor, where it's very hot and the closest bathroom is a soccer field away, was no fun! I was better for our last few days, but fairly weak. 

The base had a big crusade the last week we were there each night. They worked with 30 local pastors and had buses and trucks picking people up and brining them in. There were a few thousand people there. One thing I love about the Haitians is they know how to worship!!! 

St. Marc was not affected by the earthquake, however there was lots of rubble and poverty like we saw in Port-au-Prince, which made me wonder how much of the rubble we saw in PAP was from before the earthquake!

One of the girls that hung out in front of the base. 

One morning we went out before sunrise to interview rice workers and watch the sunrise. I caught this on the way back in a moving vehicle.

Craziness in the market. 

This is where Denison, one of our translators lived. We went to visit his house.

This is typically what the back of a 'moto' looked like, packed with people!

People ride on the top of buses! Yes, on TOP! 

Dani asking a UN worker for directions.

UN road check.

Signs like this were visible everywhere in Haiti!

'thank you Father'

These UN workers were really nice to us!

Haiti: Week 3 - Salvation, Soccer Tournament and Food Distribution

We spent the entire week in Cite Soleil. It was truly a Glorious week! Each day/week we pray as a team to see what the Lord is leading us to teach, do, etc. The first day at the end of teaching we began a time of ministry. While I was praying for this one lady, I strongly felt like I was supposed to share the Gospel, so while I was praying I incorporated it into my prayer. I could see and feel the ladies around being drawn in. The next lady wanted to pray to receive Christ, she said she wanted to be baptized to but then changed her mind. Same thing with the next and another and then a guy. WOW! I was so blown away, FOUR people in a row accepted Christ into their hearts, being forever changed! We left and went for lunch, away from the tent city so we didn't have to eat in front of people and came back to hang out with the kids and talk to people. As soon as we got back, a 17 year old boy walked up to Elizabeth and I and said he wanted to pray to receive Christ! Again I was blown away, we hadn't been there very long, and he didn't look familiar, I asked him several questions, wanting to make sure he understood what he was doing and then prayed with him. I felt the Spirit leading me to ask him if he wanted to be baptized, which he did, so Elizabeth and I baptized him right there! His name is Samuel. Little did we know that another 18 year old boy named Sony was watching and wanted to accept the Lord as well! We told Samuel that he now had the Lord inside of him and could lead others to Christ, so he led Sonny in a prayer and then baptized him! This reminded me of how Jesus taught the disciples, and how the Love of Christ is contagious and can spread like a wild fire, if we get out of the way and let it! SO SO SO encouraging! What a blessing and privilege to be a part of leading 6 lost souls to Christ! He doesn't need us to do any of this BUT He allows us to partner with Him, this really blows me away, that He uses sinners, like myself to accomplish the work of His Kingdom! Each day we were there this week, we saw more and more of power of His Love!

On Tuesday, Jorn, Hilary, Cyrielle and Dani stayed back to do an interview with Peterson, the base leader, so we had a small team. We started our morning in prayer before we left the base as we usually did. Jill, taught about 'Intimacy with God', and we followed with a time of ministry. Jill and I were praying for a lady named, Helene, who had asked for us to pray against spirits that were haunting her, she prayed to receive Christ and Jill started to say "Holy Spirit come and fill her....", before Jill finished her sentence or it was translated, Helene fell to the floor screaming and shaking, immediately everyone backed up a little and started praying over her. Jesus showed up again and used us to cast out demons from this lady. This happened over and over again this week, there were so many people taunted by the demons and such Freedom was released as they met Jesus right there in the middle of the poorest, most dangerous place in the world! Thank you Jesus!

On Friday, one of the Mission Adventures teams that was there had organized a soccer tournament and Valternir, a brazilian cook, prepared a feast for lunch and in the evening we had worship. What a FULL, FUN, GLORIOUS day! There was such a big crowd gathered for the tournament, they had different color jersey's donated for each of the teams. Debbie Walker, a dear sister I met in Haiti from the Orlando base, and I were talking to a group of ladies and sat and helped them cook and sell their food. I learned how to make several different things. This was probably my most favorite day of all!

 

My teammate, Emily, with baby Johnny from the Children's home where we stayed.

 Vogley, one of the Haitian staff, with baby Johnny.

 Mike is from the Salem base and was leading a Missions Adventure team.

These girls were so sweet! They were SO excited EVERY time we got there and followed us around. :)

So BEAUTIFUL!!

Dani holding a baby and teaching.

My friend, Deb, from the Orlando base settling a disagreement! LOVE her!

Getting ready for their match.

Anacias is on staff in Haiti.....his shirt was a tad small for him. 

Deb trying some fish

Deb learning to make Haitian food.

The lady we were cooking with.

Me helping make food to sell. It was HOT and SMOKEY but so much fun!

Fish and madinar (sp?)

Bread fruit frying

Our amazing brazilian cook serving at the food distribution.

Everyone fell in love with Garrison, especially Emily.

Jill letting the kids play with her hair.

Steve was trying to convince this little girl to put her dress back on. 

Hannah hanging with the kids.

Hannah and Elizabeth

Lucy and her husband, Peterson, run the base in Port-au-Prince, this is their baby, Tabby!