Our goal and intent of the summer was to train the leaders of the school the curriculum that will be taught. The curriculum is Discipleship Essentials by Greg Ogden. The curriculum was translated into Creole by Grand Rapids West International Church of the Nazarene, a local Haitian congregation. Although the training looked a little different then what we anticipated, it was completed and received very well. The curriculum uses a small group and encourages the group to discuss deep things about their faith and Biblical truths. Open discussions of these types rarely happen in Haiti, and we are excited to watch people become open about their faith, struggles, and sharing how God has molded their lives.

As the opening date draws near for the school, (September 13), the number of people signing up is soaring. This is the only Creole, non denominational, Bible school in the country. People are hungry to learn more about their Creator, and Ebenezer DTC has the area buzzing. We have worked hard to make a schedule for the school that will be impact those attending, while keeping in mind that they are responsible for their families well being. Here is what a typical day will look like for the discipleship school.

6:30 -  Personal devotions centered on the scripture of the day
8:00 - Breakfast for all students]
8:30 - Corporate worship for all students and staff, centered around topic of the day
9:30 - Students complete the workbook chapter of the day. Students that struggle with reading will be paired up with good readers and do the lesson together.
12:00 - Lunch
1:00 - Discipleship students meet in small groups. 8 people will be the class limit.
5:00 - Supper
7:00 - All students meet together once again to discuss what was learned about that day, and spend time in prayer.

One day a week will be spent with an emphasis on the lost and hurting. Devotions, and worship will be spent with a focus on the lost, and the needs of the local community. The prayer time will be centered on reaching the lost in the name of Jesus. The day will then be spent either in door to door evangelism, or service work such as painting houses, working in the tent cities, or spending time with the sick and hurting.  We are VERY excited about this portion of the school. We believe discipleship is not only learning curriculum, but getting out and meeting needs. This will be especially good for the pastors taking the class, as one goal we have is to break cultural standards where the pastor is the one served. Please pray for this.

Our first class will be eight potential leaders. Our hope is that after the first class we will have two or three discipleship classes running simultaneously. This is why we have the corporate worship time in the morning and overview time at night. We will do any necessary tweaking after the first class is over.

At this time we have the funds to support the school (including literacy) for about two months. Costs include food and lodging for the students, $50 per student to hire someone to tend their garden or supply food for their family, teachers and staff salary, as well as utilities. We are trusting and believing God to provide for all of our upcoming needs. If you would like to become a monthly donor, or make a one time gift, this can be done on Donation page of this site.  If you would like to know more about Ebenezer, or have me come and speak at your church or meet with your mission team, please contact me. God has put us here for such a time as this. The harvest is ripe and the laborers are few. We hope to raise up an army of laborers in Haiti through the discipleship school and we would love to have you partner with us.

The last spiritual update will focus on Proclaimers and Bibles. For now, please keep praying for the people of Haiti, and help people remember their desperate need.

The goal of Ebenezer is to help Haitians that THEY are the missionaries in Haiti, and that they are much more effective at witnessing than those of us who don’t exactly fit in with the culture. We were able to see this in action from our first day in Haiti. In our first week we saw almost 20 people accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, all of them witnessed to by Haitians that were working with us. By the end of the summer the number was in the hundreds, to the point that we lost count. The great thing is that THEY were not forgotten. Every new convert was followed up on, discipled, and integrated into a local congregation. We were able to witness much of the follow up, and it was refreshing to see. There was often a steady stream of people coming into the Ebenezer grounds to meet with pastors there.

One of my favorite people of the summer, and stories, was John Rene. When I was in Haiti in January I met John as he showed me the damage of the little village behind Ebenezer. He walked me through, showed me the damage, and introduced me to many of the people there. When we returned in June one of the first things I did was go back there again to see how the people were doing. Right away I met John again and he showed me how things had, or had not progressed. After we toured the village we went back to his house where he proceeded to ask a question about God, and why all of the destruction was allowed. The 2 Haitian men I was with, Boss and Jacob, answered his question and proceeded to share the gospel with him. Within 10 minutes he fell to his knees and accepted Christ as his savior. In following visits with him he shared with me how Pastor Marc had continued to check on, and take care of the people around Ebenezer, and how that impacted him, and how our love shared the truth about Jesus. When I asked him if he needed anything, he answered, ” I needed 2 things. One was to get right with God. Now I am, and the other does not matter.” What a beautiful testimony. When we received the first of the proclaimers, he was the first to receive one. You could hear the proclaimer all day, and sometimes late at night. One night i walked down by the water and there he was with his prolcaimer. When he saw me he stood up, threw his hands in the air, and praised God with everything he had.

His roof was in really bad condition, so when the first team came down, we decided to bless him by putting on a new tin roof for him. He was so happy but was not content to watch the team put it on, he jumped right up and did most of the work himself. During this project, a local vodoo priestess was watching. Some of the team spoke with her, not knowing who she was. Then the Haitians who were there, including John, talked with her and before we knew it, she was on her knees accepting Christ as her savior. She is another story for another time.

When we put on John’s roof, I shared with him that he was not getting the roof because he accepted Christ, but because he had a need and as Christians our lives should be dedicated to helping those around us that are in need, who God gives us to help. This became HIS life as we witnessed him many, many times helping others in many amazing ways, including helping us often when we would lose power, or other things, he was always the first to come help out.  John was scheduled to be baptized the same week we put the roof on. The day he was to be baptized he came to me and said he can’t be baptized as he is living with a woman, with kids, and not married. He wanted to get married before he was baptized. This is a long story, too long to write here, but Marc and I talked with him over the summer, and our last day at Ebenezer, John was married! Brenda and I were even honored to be the best man and bridesmaid! A better way to close out our time there we could not have asked for. We were not able to see him be baptized, but that has been done now too. Praise God!

As the houses started coming, we needed to hire men to work on them that we could trust, and who would do a good job. John is a carpenter and mason by trade, so he was the first one hired. He works SO hard, and always with a smile and great attitude. A worker like him would be almost impossible to find here in the states. His life from the first week emanated Christ in every aspect. We were so honored to watch him enter his new life, and grow as a disciple of Christ.

This is just one story. I planned to share more, but will have to wait until a later date. Again, so many like John are right now, still living in the desperate state that Haiti is in. They want to work, they are a blessing as they bless others. Our goal and belief is that when Haitians reach out with the gospel, thousands of John Rene’s will find their hope in Christ, and from there, the country CAN change for the better.

We also pray that those we have working now to rebuild Haiti can remain working. We need continued funds to make this happen. Please consider signing up as a monthly donor. Even $5 a month will make a difference.

I will continue with the spiritual update soon. Physical update to follow.

The situation of the people affected by the earthquake is bad, really bad, and getting worse. Sanitation is non existent, food is scarce, and the hope of recovering on their own is impossible. We watched children become more and more malnourished. Watched tent cities growing in size instead of diminishing. Watched as more and more people became sick because of the situation. Still, life goes on for the Haitian people. The life they have is now the norm for them, and although they are desperate, they move on and try to acclimate to the new standard. Many are without hope. The hope of all the relief organizations finally helping the situation in Haiti diminishes by the day. As more and more new expensive vehicles fill the streets with signs depicting what organization funded the car, as toilets are built and then padlocked so only relief workers can use them, and as more time goes by with no progress, hope goes with it. Yet, many are finding hope in the one place that will not let them down. They find rest and peace in Jesus Christ. The people that were spared by the earthquake believe they have been spared for a purpose, and are now searching for that purpose. Many are turning to Christ. Every Ebenezer church I visited this summer was overflowing with standing room only. One report I heard was over 40 new believers baptized a month. This is only one congregation of one named church. This is happening all over. Churches are working together to reach the lost. The harvest is ripe in the earthquake torn regions of Haiti, and we were able to witness it first hand.

The summer we planned on was so much less than what God actually had planned for us. We usually settle for so much less than the amazing things God has planned. We feel so blessed to have been witnesses to His amazing power and provision. There is so much to share it is going to take a series of letters. This summer we saw the kingdom move in the physical and the spiritual realm. I want to spend plenty of time on both. The need for both is overwhelming. I don’t want these notes to get too long as I know many wander so I will keep them short.

I do want to make the needs known through these updates and ask you to prayerfully consider partnering with Ebenezer.  We are praying for 50-100 monthly donors to fund the discipleship school opening September 13. We also want to keep the house building going. 27 houses up, 300,000 to go. God can do that. In the next couple weeks I will fill you in on the details of the summer. Please remember the people of Haiti in your prayers. They NEED you. I can not emphasize that enough. Please understand that their suffering is not exaggerated. Quite the contrary as it is under reported and often forgotten. Ebenezer will not allow these people to be forgotten. Thank you for helping your friends, family, and congregations remember.

It’s hard to believe, but the time is finally here for us to head off to Haiti for the summer. Our summer looks a lot different than it did when we made the plans, but the goal is still the same. We will be laying the foundation for the discipleship phase of Ebenezer and building relationships with those whom we will be serving. We will also be assessing the ongoing needs from the earthquake, and doing what we can to help. We will do our best to keep you all posted.

God has been faithful in our preparations, and we know we are in the center of His will. Our prayer is that we will glorify Him in all we do and say, and that we will see God’s power transform lives and empower the people we work with to reach the people of Haiti with the gospel. Here are a few other prayer requests:

• That Discipleship Essentials will be well received and the need for discipling will be realized.
• That Haiti is spared from hurricanes this summer.
• For health and safety of our children.
• For the 5 teams that will visit this summer. That they will be blessed in their work as they bless others.
• That we are able logistically and financially to resume all classes in September.

Thank you all for your support. Remember, you can now donate monthly to Ebenezer either electronically by going to the website, or we can mail envelopes to you. Your continued support is so appreciated. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, and God bless. See you in September.

We have been overwhelmed by the support from many people and we are in awe of what God has already done. Donations made through this site will go toward continued relief efforts. Beyond that, they will be used for rebuilding which we hope to start this summer.

If you are on Facebook, please look up the Ebenezer Discipleship Training Center group and become a member. We are updating often and we hope to continue doing this while in country.

Thank you for your continued prayers. Haiti needs the gospel more now than ever before.  We are thankful for the Ebenezer network already in place to minister to so many in need.

Our mission in life is to be devout followers of Christ and to fulfill the Great Commission among the unreached in Haiti through training, sending out and assisting qualified laborers in partnership with the Body of Christ.

We desire to see Haiti, Haiti’s people, and its churches transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit, made possible by the grace of God through the sacrifice of His Son.