Maybe Another Trip Into Haiti

Good Afternoon to all!  We pray that everyone made it through the storm safely on the east coast.  We are doing well down here. 

Please pray for another trip that I may be able to take into Haiti within the next few weeks.  Brother Darren and I are going to try and visit Brother Fred Wall and his wife, up in the northern part of Haiti.  There is also an orphanage, run by two women (Kathy and Alice), that we are also going to try and visit.  I believe that Kathy and Alice have been running this orphanage for over 25 years.  Brother Darren and his family also lived there for a few years, helping out with the daily operations.  Hopefully, if the Lord allows, we can go up there and be a blessing to them for a few days.

Brother Fred Wall and his wife Joyce have been on the mission field for over 30 years.  I am looking forward to making this trip and seeing all that the Lord has done for this brother and his wife.  Please pray for Sister Wall, as she is still recovering from a surgery that she had in the States, back in July.

Thank you again to all who are praying for us as we seek the Lord's guidance and direction. 

To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
Jude 1:25

Brother Chris and Family

Hello All...

Good Afternoon to all!  I hope and pray you all are doing well.  We are doing fine down here and are praying for our brethren up north as they prepare for Hurrican Irene.  I just wanted to update you all with what is going on.  We are currently waiting on the Lord to see what he would have us to do next.  Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to wait.  But Gods word says:

Psalms 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Psalms 37:7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

Psalms 62:5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

So often we want to try and figure out everything, instead of praying and waiting on the Lord to show us.  The Lord would have us to trust him daily and lean not to our own understandings.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Please continue to pray for us as we seek the Lord's guidance and direction.  I'm very thankful to have such loving and caring brethren back home.  Thank you to all who have sent emails of encouragement, are praying, and have sent support.  The Lord is wonderful and gracious, may we serve him today with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. 

We love you all dearly and are grateful for everything!

2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

In Christ our Precious Savior,
Brother Chris and Family

Another Storm

Good Morning!  I hope and pray you all have a wonderful day in church.  I'm just writing real quick this morning to ask you all to pray about this storm.  If it continues on the path it is currently on, it will hit near the capital as a Hurricane.  Please pray that this storm will continue to stear north of us.

We love and miss you all!

Brother Chris and Family

Back From Haiti

Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
Psalms 55:22

I hope and pray all is well with everyone back home.  Thank the Lord, I returned safely home from Haiti on Monday.  I am very thankful for all of you who prayed for my safety and trip.  The Lord heard your prayers and helped me in many ways.  Below are a few pictures that I took while in Les Cayes, Haiti.

Most of the buildings in Haiti are old and run down. 

Here are some Catholic statues.  Most of the people in Cayes come here to pray.

This is one of the few gas stations in Cayes.  The owner of this gas station has a man that walks around the parking lot with a shotgun.  This helps things to run as smooth as possible.  When there are riots they tend to attack the gas stations and stores.  They loot the stores and gas stations then try to burn them down.

Brother Maurice and I looked at this piece of property in the city of Les Cayes.  The owner quoted us a price of $500,000 U.S. dollars.  The property was between 1-2 acres and had a small house on it.  Prices of land and homes are extremely expensive in Haiti at this time.  Another home was going for $250,000 and I would not have paid $40,000.  To put things in perspective, a bag of cement cost around $7.00 dollars in the Dominican Republic, in Haiti the going price is around $70.00 a bag.

Please continue to pray for us as I try to find the Lord's will.  I believe that the Lord has closed the door to go to Les Cayes, Haiti at this time.  So I will continue to pray and wait on the Lord to see where he will lead and direct.

Thank you again for all of your prayers and support!  We love and miss you all dearly!

Brother Chris and Family

Leaving Tomorrow For Haiti

Good Evening Brethren,  I hope and pray all is well.  I'm planning on leaving for Haiti tomorrow morning and will return on Tuesday, Lord willing.  Please pray that the Lord's will be done in this trip.  I will be looking for a possible place to rent for our family.  Please pray for my safety and also that the Lord would watch over my family while I am gone.  I also have one more prayer request and that is for my son Joseph.  He has had a rash all over his body for the last few days and we have yet to figure out what is causing it.  Please pray that the Lord would clear it up.  We have been using some medicated cream, but it has yet to work.

Thank you again for all of your prayers and support!

Brother Chris and Family

This Week in Pictures - Edition #5

I hope and pray you all are having a good weekend.  I thought while I had some time I would put some pictures up of the last week here in the Dominican Republic.  I guess this week's edition could be entitled Snakes, Storms and Swimming Holes.  How's that for waxing poetic? 

Tropical Storm Emily brushed by us without incident. Thank the Lord there was no damage done in the area that we live in. 

Please continue to pray for me as I attempt to take another trip over into Haiti this coming Thursday.  Lord willing, Brother Maurice and I will be looking for a home for our family to rent.  I am asking for all to continue to pray for us, for this can only be done through the Lord's wisdom, grace, and mercy.  The spiritual battles are real and somedays you just want to pack it all up and go home, but the Lord is gracious and faithful.  The flesh does not want to be obedient to the workings of the Lord.  So often I want to try and figure things out according to my own wisdom, instead of resting upon God's word and his promises.

Proverbs 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

So often through the day, the Lord puts us through trials, in order that we may learn to rest upon and trust him.  If there are times in our life when we are tested and tried and we yield to the flesh, we will then only seek comfort and help from the world and our own selfish nature.  To many Christians to day are turning to worldly methods to deal with the problems in their lives, instead of turning to God and his word.  War is not easy nor is it a good time.  War is hard and so often the result is death.  May we war to put our flesh on the cross each morning and draw near to the God who loves us beyond anything we can learn or comprehend.

Matthew 16:24-26 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

1 John 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

I'm not very smart, nor do I have a college degree, but one thing I do know is that the Lord wants us to fully trust Him in all areas of our lives.  It not just something a preacher says to make a good sermon, but it is our life.  If we turn to our own wisdom, we will quickly make a mess of things and will not have a close relationship or walk with the Lord.  My desire is to draw nigh to our great Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ, and see his hand work in our lives.  The world needs to see a true Christian, not just one in word.  May we all desire to love the Lord more and rest in his everlasting arms.

I hope you all enjoy the few pictures I have below.



This was the Boa Constrictor that I found in the road near Brother Darren's house.  It was dead when I found it, some Haitians had killed it right before I arrived.  They tied something around its head, I guess to make sure that it was dead.
I brought the snake back home to show my wonderful wife. (edit by wife:  Next time, I'm hoping for a chocolate bar for a "special surprise" instead of a dead reptile.)

This snake measured around 5 1/2 feet.,  pretty good size for a snake down here!  Snakes don't have much of a chance down here of getting big!  (another edit by wife:  I wish the same was true of the spiders and rats!)



The boys and Eliana got a kick out of seeing a snake this big.




Trying to find the waterfalls.  This road was a dead end on the side of the mountain.



Joey in deep thought.

The view as we drove back down the mountain.

There was a huge drop off to our left as we drove back down. 

Us standing on a rock at Mata de Maiz.

This a beautiful place to see if you come to visit.  It is located very close to our home.

Eliana spent her time fishing for minnows.

It was a blessing to be able to go to this waterfall.  It is a privilege and honor to be able to serve the LORD our God!

Thank you again to all who pray and support the work here in the Dominican Republic and hopefully soon in Haiti.

Brother Chris and Family



Baptist History Three

A.D. 1555

  The Waldenses in Calabria about the same time were suffering severe persecutions.  At one time eighty persons had their throats cut, and afterwards their bodies were divided into four quaters.  Thirty miles were then planted with stakes, and a quarter of a human being was placed upon each of these stakes.  At one time a young man was carried to the top of a tower where he was commanded to confess himself to a priest, who was present.  This he refused to do, replying that he had already confessed himself to God.  He was then cast headlong from the tower.  The next day as the viceroy was walking at the foot of the tower he saw the young man still alive, but suffering from  having nearly all his bones broken.  The viceroy kicked him on the head, exclaiming, "Is the dog yet alive? Give him to the hogs." 

These are but samples of the brutal outrages carried on at this time against the Waldenses in Calabria.  This was done too, in the name of Christianity, and by the authority of "the church."  Was this a church of Christ?

This was all done in the name of catholicism.  May we as Baptist awake out of our sleep and fight the good fight of faith, while we still have light.  May we not get intangled with the things of this world, but serve our Savior with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  I post these stories, so that we may not forget what our brethren of old have sufered for the faith.  We may again someday face the wrath of Rome, may we be ready to stand for the Lord Jesus Christ!  Below is a quote from a Catholic Bishop that lived in the United States, please read what he wrote:

"We confess that the Roman Catholic church is intolerant, that is to say it uses all the means in its power for the extirpation* (the defination of extirpation is below) of error and sin; but this intolerance is the logical and necessary consequence of its infallibility.  She alone has the right to be intolerant, because she alone has the truth. The church tolerates heretics where she is obliged to do so, but she hates them mortally and employs all her force to secure their annihilation.  When the Catholics shall be here in possession of considerable majority, which will certainly be the case by-and-by, although the time may be long deferred, then religious liberty will have come to an end in the Republic of the United States.  Our enemies say this, and we believe them.  Our enemies know that we do not pretend to be better than our church, and in what concerns this, her history is open to the eyes of all.  They know, then, how the Roman church dealt with the heretics in the Middle Ages, and how she deals with them today everywhere she has the power.  We no more think of denying these historic facts thean we do of blaming the saints of God and the princes of the church for what they have done or approved in these matters." 

Written by the Bishop of St. Louis, MO, in December, 1883, through his official organ, "The Shepherd of the Valley."

*The definition of extirpation is as follows: 
EXTIRPA'TION, n. The act of rooting out; eradication; excision; total destruction; as the extirpation of weeds from land; the extirpation of evil principles from the heart; the extirpation of a race of men; the extirpation of heresy. 

The church of Rome would establich an inquisition in America today, with all its horrible instruments if she had the power. So her officials tell us and we should thank them for their candor.  Who can doubt that this church--this false church--is the woman arrayed in purple and scarlet, which is mentioned in Revelation and called "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATONS OF THE EARTH."

Everything in Italics is from the book: Compedium of Baptist History, showing the Origin and History of the Baptist, from the days of the Apostles to the present time, with an Original Chart, giving a comparative view of some of the Denominations of Christians with which they have come in contact. 

By J. A. Shackelford.

Louisvillle, Kentucky:

Press Baptist Book Concern

1892

Some Things to Pray About....

"So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors ther was power; but they had on comforter." Ecclesiastes 4:1

First, I want to say thank you to all who prayed for our safety through this storm.  Thank the Lord that storm did not cause much damage (atleast in the area that we are in).  It is still raining, but nothing like the last day and a half.



Brother Maurice and his family.



Secondly, Would you all please pray for me as I try to take another trip over to visit Bro. Maurice LaPierre next week (Lord willing).  Please pray that the road ways will be passable, especially at the border.  I believe the Lord is leading us to move over into Haiti by December or January.  When I go to visit next week, I will be looking for a home to rent, so please pray that the Lord will lead and direct us to the right one.  Below I have listed some things listed that we need prayer for:

#1.  A home to rent in Les Cayes, Haiti.
#2.  That the Lord would show us the best way to move or stuff from the Dominican Republic to Haiti.
#3.  Whether or not I should sell the truck (duty on a vehicle into Haiti is extremely expensive).
#4.  The possiblilities of an orphanage or kids school in the future.
#5.  The best way to move my family over once we have a place to stay.
#6.  Safety in all that we do and the Lords will to be done in all things.
#7.  That the Lord would continue to help us all learn Kreyol.

#8.  Prayer for Brother Maurice and his family, as he tries to help us with our move into Haiti.



Pastor Maurice's church in Les Cayes. 
He built the church on the side of his house



I covet each and everyone of your prayers, as we attempt to move over into Haiti and eventually try to start a work with the orphans. 

Thank you again for all that you have done for us. May the Lord bless each and everyone of you!

Brother Chris and Family

Rain and Some More Rain

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update.  The storm has stalled for the last couple of hours to our south.  It started to rain around 6:00pm yesterday and has not stopped yet.  We are praying that the storm will now pick up speed and move away from the island.

I believe that I read the storm is 105 miles southeast of Port-Au-Prince.  All of this rain is not good for the condintions of some of these homes down here.  Pray that we will not have any flash flooding or mud slides, especially in the mountains of Haiti.

We have had on electricity for the last 14 hours.  I am praying that they will turn it on at some point during today.  Right now I'm using the inverter for the computer and internet access.

We love you all and are thankful for all of your prayers.

Brother Chris and Family

Prayer Request

"The LORD is my rock, and my fortress; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower."  Psalms 18:2

Good Morning to all!  I hope and pray everyone is doing well. 

It looks as though we may be getting a little bit of rain here soon.  Please keep us all in your prayers as this storm approaches the Dominican Republic and Haiti.  I had to make a descision on whether to stay at our home in the mountains or head into the Capital (Santo Domingo).  I have decided to stay in the mountains.  The mountains have been know to have flash flooding and mudslides, so please pray that neither of these things would happen.  The house that we are currently in was washed away during Hurrican George (Category 3).  The owner has recently put up a cement wall around the home, so pray that all goes well.  Also, please pray for all those in this area.  There is limited space for shelters and most of these homes are not built to withstand these types of storms.  We may not have electricity for the next few days and also pray that our water supply stays good. 

Thank you for all of your prayers and support!

Brother Chris and Family