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You’re Changing Lives
Through your continued support of Lifeline’s ministries, lives were changed for eternity on February 14: 19 of Lifeline’s school students or former students from Laregal Christian Church (Haiti) were baptized! Please pray for these new believers: Esnel Alexandre, Edrass Gaspsard, Santiana Duchard, Cherline Louis, Wiguelson Charles, Samese Gerveaux, Miglaide Brice, Stanley Brice, Lovensky Duchard, Bruno Pierre, Monette Delice, Tamusta Mexila, Jeantal Jasme, Wideline Michel, Jean Wesley Sintil, Eldo Bernazil, Eliam Dessilien, Samuel Chervil, Emmanuel Joseph.
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Praises
Haiti
- Praises for the ministry partners who responded to the financial needs associated with the fire in Haiti and the loss of the generators. The damage is estimated at around $100,000; thank you for our generous donors who partner with us! The repairs are coming together quickly.
- The newly remodeled sections at Lifeline’s Mahotiere campus were a wonderful setting for our leadership seminar in Haiti earlier this month. Once again, God provided exactly what we needed.
Honduras
- The recently “restarted” church in Choloma had 3 baptisms. Keep these new Christians in your prayers. (see photo)
- For our young girls at the Omoa Children’s Home who celebrated their 15th birthday! Seeour email from 2/24 to learn more about this cultural celebration in Honduras and how the church is ministering through that custom!
USA
- CRAM (Christ Reaching Asia Mission) is organizing ABC events to pack food for Southeast Asia. 285,000 meals were recently loaded from the Lifeline warehouse and are on their way. They have a goal to send a million meals in the coming few years. CY Kim spoke about the effort at a recent CRAM dinner. (see photo)
- Praises that David & Becky Carpenter, one of Lifeline’s child sponsors, have half the funds needed to build a home in honor of their daughter Skylar, who passed away. This home will be built for their new little sponsored child, Beatrice.
- Cathi Lester’s test revealed a benign cyst in her kidney. Praising God that it is nothing more serious. Cathi is Lifeline’s Travel Coordinator.
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Prayer Requests
- Pray for the upcoming leadership seminar with pastors and teachers in Honduras.
- 3 different teams will be traveling to Honduras in March, who include: an all-men’s maintenance team working on repairs and upgrades; a MEET Team to learn more about Lifeline’s work in Honduras, and a leadership seminar for pastors and teachers.
- Safe travels for all our staff. Bob & Gretchen DeVoe (Founders) and Bobby & Lakey Curlee are heading back to the U.S. for a few weeks after being in Haiti. Bobby (Lifeline’s Plant Manager) goes to Honduras with the men’s team. Keith & Christi, Lifeline’s Laborlink Work Team Directors, are visiting churches in the Oregon area. And the many travels by the other staff, too!
- Prayers for the Ohio88 project, where we aim to have an ABC food packing event in each county of Ohio!
- That the NACC food packing would be a great place for local congregations to gather together and serve.
- Pray for Darwyn Sanchez, Lifeline’s Director of Schools in Honduras, as he incorporates the 5 Core Values being used in Haiti to reform our schools there. The Honduras teachers will be introduced to these core values during a seminar with Andy Sims, Lifeline’s Leadership Development Director, on March 14.
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People, Projects & Programs
Intervention Teachers:
Introducing a New Concept in Haiti
An update from the Education Task Force
Julia Keener and Martha Menefee-Walker, of our Education Task Force in Haiti, recently sent us this report from Haiti when they were there to continue their teacher observations and teacher development work. We thought the report was so encouraging, we just had to share!
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As Etzer explained to her
[the inspector] the role,
the benefits, and the steps
the teachers take to document, track and assess student progress, the inspector’s excitement and interest
grew and grew.
She stated that she had never heard of this type of position before, that Lifeline’s Grand Goave school was the ONLY school in her district with intervention teachers.
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“We are having a wonderful experience working with Grand Goave Christian School’s principal, Etzer. We are so impressed with and fond of this godly man. His love for his job, his interest in strengthening the academics in the school, his constant attitude of “let’s give this a try”, have all been so welcome and confirming to us. He has become a wonderful partner and friend to us.
“One of the new concepts we introduced in October 2013 was the introduction of “intervention,” by hiring 2 new teachers to serve as intervention teachers who now provide support to students who have been struggling, pulling identified students into brief 20-30 minute small group sessions to work on areas in which they have difficulty. One of the intervention teachers in the morning works strictly with 6th grade students who failed the 2013 year-end national exam, which determines who can be promoted to 7th grade; the students who wanted to persevere and try again are now concentrating their efforts, with this teacher’s help, on passing the next year-end exam to ensure their promotion to 7th grade. That’s the background. Now, for the encouraging news!
“In late October or early November, an inspector from the national Ministry of Education came to the school for an annual inspection and evaluation. Etzer explained to her that many new things were happening in the school, including the hiring of 2 intervention teachers. The inspector was unfamiliar with this role. As Etzer explained to her the role, the benefits, and the steps the teachers take to document, track and assess student progress, the inspector’s excitement and interest grew and grew. She stated that she had never heard of this type of position before, that Lifeline’s Grand Goave school was the ONLY school in her district with intervention teachers. Not only that, but she stated that she would introduce this idea not only to other schools she oversees in her assigned district ofHaiti, but also would in fact take this concept of intervention all the way to her boss in Port au Prince! We joked with Etzer that he might soon be called to be a presenter at national education forums and to get ready for some phone calls!”
As intervention was introduced at the school on a trial basis, we have procured funds to cover the salaries only through the end of this school year. Because we have seen the immediate impact of these new teachers on the education here and are even more convinced of the need for it, we need to procure funds to continue the program.
If you have a heart for education in Haiti, would you please pray about and consider making a financial contribution toward the Education Task Force budget of $20,000 for the first year and which includes salaries for these teachers.
If you have questions, please direct them to Julia Keener, Education Task Force Chairperson, at Julia@Lifeline.org.
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Devotion
I Saw the Whole Thing!
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“…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea
and Samaria,
and to the
ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8b (NIV)
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As I waited for the traffic to move, the squeal of tires from behind me was a most unwelcome sound and then came the CRASH. My Suburban surged forward and the sound of plastic/glass/metal in an unholy symphony raining around me. I had been hit from behind by someone far more interested in his phone than his surroundings. The impact was enough that the person leaped out of the car in front of me to see if I was okay. She was stunned that I was fine and after seeing parts of the car that hit me had gone under her own vehicle, she had to check on me again.
As soon as we knew that everyone was physically sound, the witness came up and gave me a business card. She said, “I saw the whole thing. So, if you need someone to testify in court or give a statement, just call.” My truck wasn’t damaged, his car was totaled, and I just let it go. But, it did give me pause. Why would someone be willing to give of their time and energy to see justice get done in so minor a thing as a car accident? She just put it out there, that she would make sure people knew what happened in order for justice to prevail. All of that over some damage to a car and maybe a stiff neck.
What would you have done if you witnessed this accident? Would you have so willingly offered your testimony? What if you saw something worse, say an assault or even a murder, would you tell what you knew in order to see justice done?
The truth is, we see worse than this every day. We see people dying in sin and we know the cost. In Romans, Paul tells us that “the wages of sin are death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:23) We have the ability to do far more than help make a person financially whole. We have the ability to help make people ETERNALLY WHOLE. All we have to do it WITNESS! We have to be willing to obey His call to be witnesses. Luke tells us that Jesus called the disciples to be His “witnesses in Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) We carry on that tradition of speaking truth and witnessing both the sin in the world and the gift of the Son, who died and rose. Will you testify about this truth to someone this week? Will you join us as we do so “to the ends of the earth?” God Bless and keep witnessing!
by J.D. Hite, Lifeline’s Connections Director
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