Sending Some Relief to Haiti

I wanted to wait to post about this tragedy until I had two big pieces of information to pass along. One is that a Pastor we know well named Francois Norcilus was in Port-au-Prince to attend a funeral when the earthquake hit. We have finally gotten word from his son that he is alright, but tells us the situation there worsens by the hour.

I also wanted to pass along some information from a relief organization we work with called Aid for Developing Countries. I just got this email from Bill Moore…

Brandon,

I am sending out a call for help. We are putting a team together to go to Haiti as soon as we can. This event is changing (for the worse) by the hour. Many people are asking me what can be done. So many that I am no longer tracking the number of calls we are handling but it is heavy. What I can tell you now will be different soon. However, we have heard from some of our partners and we have offers of everything from satellite phones to medical clinics. Water and food will be the most important resource that we can provide. Renita, and I should have a team of people put together by Thursday to go to Port Au Prince. The most important resource that we can have now is money. I do not say this to be crass, but we may have to purchase items where we can when needed. We will have to make these decisions on the fly.

From our previous mission trips, we have a lot of friends in country that we will rely upon as we arrive. I have had limited contact, but as they get more communications we will be able to check on our associates. Please be in prayer for Bro. Francois Norcilus, our local missionary. He has not been located yet. (note above) Jean Claude, his family, Emanuell Samuel, Theodore Trusaunt, and many others that we have not heard from. Right now search and rescue is paramount, but we will soon have to deal with the dead and living. PLEASE keep these in your prayers. I will try to keep you informed as often as I can. Please feel free to pass this along to as many people that you know.

May God give strength to those in the field.

Bill Moore, President,
Aid for Developing Countries
A 501 (c) (3) Public Charity
EIN # 26-0483101

Send donations to:
502 Northeast A St
Bentonville, AR 72712

Contact AFDC
Phone:479-426-3029
Fax: 479-927-2459
Email: wdmcel@msn.com or
Bill@afdc-haiti.org

Bill has led at least a dozen mission trips there and his relief organization currently works toward providing cleaner water in some of the more remote areas. I know Bill – he’s a member of my church and I’m on the Board of this organization, so I tell you without a doubt that it’s a trustworthy way to support people who are going there to meet huge needs head on.

Pray for their team as they try to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Give if you can by sending donations to the address above. And help spread the word!

Just Be Good for God’s Sake

I’m sure you never have those punched-in-the-gut, get-real-with-yourself moments the way I do, right? My wife has just taken on a position of teaching Bible to 6th and 7th graders at Lifeway Christian School. She’s a bit nervous about her ability to excel at it. After a conversation we had the other night, I’m convinced she’s ready! Her question to me was quite simple, and I can’t get it off of my mind. Ready for it? Do you do the good things you do for the sake of God, really? Or do you do them to make yourself feel that you’re good? Ouch!

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Relationship Principles for Life (Part 1)

When I was a kid, I can remember having occasional “family meetings” in which Mom and Dad (who usually, at this point, had “had it”) would sit us down and lay down some “new rules.” Generally this mean no more eating in the living room or leaving half-drunk soda cans lying around. We made it as much of a challenge as possible for these rules to stick, and eventually life would return to normal. I know… we reap what we sow…

Here’s a major lesson that this illustrates. Rules are an ineffective means for managing relationships. In other words, you can’t force someone to obey, love, or respond sensitively by use of a rule. You can, however, convey principles that become a part of our core, that drive our moment-by-moment decisions. For example, setting a rule of “no smarting off to your brother” probably won’t last, but establishing the principle that “we respect our siblings” is a principle that can be learned and applied to a variety of situations over the long haul.

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The Storehouse Is Almost Ready

Today was exciting in that we received an enormous amount of food at a great price for Bethel’s new Storehouse Ministry which will be launching Tuesday as our way of feeding hungry people in northwest Arkansas. We’re still in need of food and volunteers, and probably will be for a long time to come, but we’re getting closer.

I’ve been moved by the spirit of cooperation and teamwork going into this venture. It’s a blessing to me to be a part of a church with such a great spirit. We’re currently talking about being on a Search & Rescue mission with God, and this is part of it. Feeding people helps, but our greater vision is to feed the soul, to introduce people to a relationship with Jesus Christ, and to see lives changed forever.

Pray for us. Donate food if you’re close by and don’t already give elsewhere. Volunteer if you’re a part of our church family. Can’t wait till Tuesday!