I recently returned to Haiti and want to update the church on the challenges we face and the progress being made. I held three assemblies while I was there, all of which were well attended. The people are deeply grateful for the outpouring of love and generosity from Nazarenes around the world and are filled with a hope and confidence that only the Lord can give. I will go back to Haiti the weekend of July 4, 2010 for a day of planning with our district superintendents and to participate in our seminary commencement and an ordination rally.  The latest reports from the field indicate the following: 

• At least 109 Nazarenes were killed in the earthquake, with hundreds physically injured.                         
• More than 60 Nazarene churches were severely damaged or destroyed.                         
• Seventy Nazarene church schools were badly damaged.                         
• More than 1,500 Nazarene homes were destroyed.                         
• Churches outside Port-au-Prince are reporting that thousands of evacuees have shown up in their communities, adding stress to already underserved areas. 

The restoration of the Petit Goave church building was completed on April 9, using Alabaster money for materials and a Work & Witness team from Findlay, Ohio, USA. This is the first church to be completely rebuilt after being destroyed by the January 12 earthquake.                         

Our superintendents in Haiti have set the following priorities for rebuilding: churches (symbolizing hope and stability for the country), schools (representing preparation for the future), and housing (meeting current needs) for our pastors and people. Some of our superintendents and pastors had their homes destroyed and are living in very difficult circumstances.                         

Four Work & Witness teams have worked in Haiti since the earthquake. In addition to the Petit Goave church being completely rebuilt, two churches have been repaired. Beneficial improvements and repairs have been made on the Nazarene seminary campus. (Photos, reports, and other information about these accomplishments can be found here).        

Currently we have 46 additional churches to repair and 18 to completely rebuild. The L'Acul de Leogane church building will be finished next week by the Smith Center, Kansas, USA, Work & Witness team.  The Church of the Nazarene has Work & Witness teams coming each week. Churches being completely rebuilt and/or repaired by means of Alabaster offerings and the sacrificial giving of Work & Witness teams will make a tremendous difference in Haiti. So far a total of 37 teams have been scheduled to help.                         

Evidence of the devastation remains overwhelming, and the labor of cleaning up the rubble of buildings is tedious. Workers are doing what they can, but it is a painstakingly-slow process when using hand tools. The Church of the Nazarene in Haiti is actually moving relatively quickly in their efforts to rebuild.                         

In terms of development projects, Haitian leaders have named education, agriculture, and health as top priorities.                         

While food supplies are still a problem, Nazarene Compassionate Ministries (NCM) Haiti is continuing to distribute food to families with the greatest needs. This week alone they are working to distribute 40,000 pounds of rice and other food donations as well as purchasing food in the country so churches can give it to people in their communities. For more on the rice distribution, please click here.                         

In the next few weeks NCM expects to receive and distribute 250,000 pounds of food, 50,000 pounds of water, and more than 14,000 Crisis Care Kits. Additionally, NCM Haiti has begun creating church garden projects that will provide food in communities for years to come.                         

The Church of the Nazarene is in the process of distributing hundreds of tents and more than 1,000 tarps for people without homes.                         

There are 30 Children's Safe Place camps that are underway or beginning in the next two weeks to specifically help a total of 3,000 children as they work through their grief.                         

In order to increase our capacity to help, the Church of the Nazarene is hiring national staff to do the expanding work of NCM Haiti under the leadership of Pastor Walliere Pierre. They are contributing by coordinating the post–traumatic counseling and Children's Safe Place ministries and by working with local churches to create community gardens, etc.   This is important for the long–term health of the church in Haiti.                         

Local people told me that there are still bodies in the rubble of some collapsed buildings. The Haitian government does not have manpower for the necessary search and recovery operations. NCM Haiti is training pastors and lay leaders in grief and trauma counseling on four districts in order to help people who are dealing with the after-effects of the quake.  I am grateful for the regional team members as they serve sacrificially in this hour of need. They are doing their best to direct and lead the efforts of the church. The task is great, and our resources are limited. Our local leaders and missionaries face the huge challenge of meeting many demands all at once.

Even organizations who work with catastrophic situations on a regular basis are being severely stretched.  While there are many competing, short–term demands, let's continue to be patient in working with our missionaries and volunteers. Keep scheduling Work & Witness trips. Continue to give generously. Pray without ceasing as we support those on the field who are providing leadership for the efforts of the Church of the Nazarene. They need our prayers for safety, strength, and endurance.

In and for Him,

J.K. Warrick General Superintendent  (bgs@nazarene.org)

Mr. Zaretsky will set a table with items traditionally used at the Passover meal and detail their spiritual significance.  He will also explain the connection between the events of the first Passover in Egypt and the redemption that Jesus accomplished, as well as the deep bond between the ancient Passover feast and the Christian Communion celebration today.

Jews for Jesus has presented “Christ in the Passover” at over 38,000 churches. It has been enthusiastically received by Christians who appreciate learning more about the Jewish backgrounds of their faith.  It is also a tremendous opportunity for Christians to share with their friends – both Jewish and non-Jewish – who Jesus is and why He came into the world. 

This event will be of interest to a wide variety of ages; children and families are most welcome.

PLEASE PLAN TO COME AND BRING A FRIEND!

There is no admission charge, but a freewill offering will be received in support of the ministry of Jews for Jesus.

• On the Sundays in Lent, the Pastors and Upward Ministries Team will be presenting a series of services on the theme “Honest to God: Learning to Pray in the Lost Language of Lament.” 
• The colors in our worship space will feature the traditional Lenten color purple, and also other colors that are associated with the various emotions we will be considering throughout the sermon series.
• On March 29 at 7:00 p.m. – the Monday of Holy Week – we will be hosting guest speaker Jeremiah Zaretsky from “Jews for Jesus” who will lead us through a very special worship experience entitled “Christ in the Passover.”  Plan to come and invite a friend!
• Every Sunday throughout the year is celebrated as a Day of Resurrection, a “feast day,” not a “fasting day.” This means that the Sundays in Lent are not considered a part of Lent.  Therefore, if you are fasting during Lent, consider taking a break from it on Sundays!

You may also donate to Nazarene Compassionate Ministries Canada (NCMC) online by following this link.

Dr. Warrick also wrote follow-up reports on the situation, and you can find them here:

• January 21
  
• January 28
• May 7
  

Click here to find a more recent update and video report from the perspective of a Haitian Nazarene, entitled "The Ground Shook - Our Faith is Not Shaken." 

Here is an article entitled "A New Perspective on Haiti," by a Nazarene pastor from California who recently returned from a tour of the ravaged island nation.

For information about the Canadian Nazarene response to this tragedy, please follow this link.

For information about how best to direct your giving, please click here.

Most importantly of all, please join with your Nazarene family around the world in lifting up your prayers to our Heavenly Father on behalf of His hurting children in Haiti!

"Now there are no words to describe the situation in Haiti. As the national coordinator for the Nazarene compassionate Ministries, this is the first time I have experienced things so bad in my life and see so much death.    What we need immediately are the following: nose masks, antibiotics, medical supplies, water, kit food and others things relative to relief.  God bless you and your church. "

B.  Shipment of Goods: If you have any of these goods (above) to donate, please contact Dell Marie Wergeland werge@telus.net  who is coordinating shipments.   Not everything is appropriate.  Please consult with her before sending goods.   NCM Canada has shipped one container of relief goods already and is in process of shipping a second one.    NCM-Caribbean is encouraged by the generosity shown by many Nazarenes, such as Obed Santiesteban from the Southern Florida District.  Santiesteban has offered NCM the use of his cargo company's warehouse space, as well as the company's assistance with shipping containers of supplies to Haiti.  
 
C. Relief Teams: If you want to be part of a team to go to Haiti and help, NCM-Caribbean shares the following message:

We are grateful for your availability and willingness to help. We are continuing the process of assessing the specific needs and how the Church of the Nazarene in Haiti can best respond to this tragedy. We expect that the immediate search and recovery efforts will take awhile before we .can begin to work on longer term recovery efforts. If you are interested in being notified when response teams are needed, please email ncm@caribnaz.org.    We've had many people Email and call about the need for immediate response teams after the recent earthquake in Haiti.

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat.  In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible not coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions.  Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

1.Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).
2."Hands-off-the-face" approach.  Resist all temptations to touch any part of face.
3.Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms.  Simple gargling prevents proliferation.  In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one.  Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.
4. Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. Not everybody may be good at using a Neti pot, but blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton swabs dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.
5. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C. If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.
6. Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction.  They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

Greetings church Family from Keya:
 ... I don't think many of you know this, but myself and my best friend Thomas from Calgary First Church are going on a small world trip come September. We'll be leaving around September 10th I believe for the beautiful country of Uganda in central eastern Africa. There we plan to spend just under 4 months working with an organization called Another Hope Children's Ministries. It's a Christian Community Based Organization registered by Wakiso District Council. it's mission is to bring hope through providing love and care in a Christian environment to the orphaned, street children and children from poor families in Nansana, Wakiso District and the surrounding areas.
Both Thomas and I have a real passion for kids and seeing God's work done through them and the joy that they bring always. We're also going to have a very special opportunity to go and visit my beautiful sponsor Daughter, Brenda Namaganda in her home village through Compassion Canada.
Sometime near the end of December, our time in Africa will end and we'll be heading to Australia to volunteer at a Christian summer camp called CYC on Phillip Island (south east coast of Australia). We know a few really awesome guys out there through Harmattan and hopefully just travelling around after their summer season ends . (End of February)
We are very excited about this opportunity, and hearing God's direction while we're down there. There are so many children in the world who just need a little love and affection and to hear about our Lord.
So,  I ask that while I'm gone you'd keep me and Thomas in your prayers. That'd we'd be able to follow the Lord's direction in our trip, that we'd be safe and that we would be able to offer our best to the people and children we meet and grow to love.
Also, I would absolutely love to be able to bring some kind of monetary gift to the Ugandan Orphanage. They run on a solely volunteer basis and house about 50 kids that they pay to put through school. However, this trip is depleting my bank account to it's lowest in a while, so I'm looking to donations from friends and family for this gift. This is a wish list they have at the orphanage and will give you an idea of where your money would be going.
• School supplies such as Exercise books, Pens, Erasers, Pencils, School bags, Teaching aid materials, Toys
• Sports/playing equipments e.g Football etc
• Clothes and Shoes
• Toiletries such as Tooth brushes, Tooth paste, bathing soaps etc
• Salary for care takers (2 caretakers each is paid $30 per month)
• DVD player
• Television screen (which we can buy here)
• Video Camera
• Tools. Both average household tools (e.g., screwdrivers, screws, nails, hammers, etc.) and heavier equipment
(electric saws, sanders, nail guns, plastering equipment, etc.) used for building are useful and difficult to obtain here at high-quality levels. As AHCM is in the process of building a home for them to move into, these types of tools are most helpful.
• Electronic Household Items. Good quality rechargeable flashlights (torches that have rechargeable batteries), electronic clothing irons, laptops or desktops and diskettes, etc. are all difficult to obtain here. If you choose to donate electronics, please be sure and bring any adaptor plugs that are necessary for their use and try to bring rechargeable items and not items that use battery cells as any garbage stays on site.
• Kitchen Equipment. They prepare meals for about 50 people minimum each day; any kitchen equipment that can help to prepare items faster is most welcome. For example, choppers, sets of very sharp knives or knife sharpeners, sharp and durable potato/carrot peelers, funnels for pouring liquids from large pots into small flasks, etc.
• Health Items. A great deal of money are spend by the home on such things as for stomach upset/ acid reflux. Common in Uganda, the children do not drink enough water and often headaches and pains go after the children are asked to drink some cups of water, but when dehydration is not the problem, a trip to the clinic for simple items can be costly. Anti-fungal medications and creams, pain medications, antacids, antihistamines for allergic reactions, would all be useful and first aid equipments.

I thank you for being such a wonderful place for me to lean on while I was growing up and for supporting me in what I choose to do now. Any form of support is very appreciated. Please remember to pray. The Lord is good and he hears all of our concerns. I know that this trip is in His hands and it will all come together. I love you all very much and I'll be back before I leave to visit and speak. 

P.S. from jo - If you are interested in contributing to, or learning more about the orphanage's Poultry Project, please visit their website at www.GlobalGiving.com/3335   

We face relationship crises everywhere we look. 

Perhaps we see it most clearly in marriage.  Nearly all of us have been touched somehow by broken relationships, either in our own families or in the lives of close friends.  And Christians are not immune from the crises.  George Barna, president of Barna Research Group, said in recent years that Christians seem to have as many divorces as non-Christians.  His research on church growth revealed that overall church growth and commitment is down and is continuing to go down. 

George Gallup in 2004 did research with church members and discovered that the #1 reason people stay in churches is because of building close friends at church!  If they feel disconnected, they leave and hunt for a church that is not just "friendly" but a place where they can build "closer and deeper friendships."  This is why the small group movement has taken off.  Small group growth has doubled every year for five years  in the United States, whereas overall church attendance is down over 10% in the last decade.

Relationship struggles are not limited to marriage and family.  Most of us have also experienced strained church member relationships, broken friendships, unresolved conflict in our workplace and even in our communities.  The front page of our newspapers remind us every day that relationships are in crisis.

What will we do about it?  How should we combat these relationship disasters?  What can we do to make sure our fractured relationships don't stand in the way of God bringing a mighty and much-needed revival in our churches and to our land?

I want to extend a challenge.  I want to encourage you to get "life-on-life" with others, to help those outside of your closest circle to enjoy the benefits of strong, healthy relationships.  The need of the hour cries out for you to do what you can to help multiply healthy, satisfied, revitalized relationship among the people all around you.  Together we can lock arms and work toward change.

Blessings,

Gary Smalley

How do we hide God’s Word in our hearts? Two simple activities that any of us can learn to do: MEMORIZE and MEDITATE. Memorizing gets God’s truth into our heads; meditating (repeating it out loud; reflecting on it; praying over it) gets it from our head to our hearts, from where it will actually change our lives.

Proverbs 4:23 says: Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life (NIV). When your heart is saturated with God’s truth, the life that gushes forth from your heart will bear the marks of God’s holiness!

Here are some Scriptures to start with:

• Romans 5:3-5
• 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
• 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
• Romans 8:28
• James 1:2-5
• Deuteronomy 6:4-9

In a recent sermon, I told a story which came from Gary Smalley's newest book, called Change Your Heart, Change Your Life. If you'd like to read that story again, click here to go to the first chapter of Gary's book. You may also want to follow this link to find some further insight and instruction from Gary on how this process has worked for him!

God bless you as you undertake this wonderful journey of transformation!

- posted by Pastor Doug Herbert