GPC Summer Mission Team

This summer's Grace Point Church Haiti Mission Team is now making preparations to travel to Haiti in late July. We have 14 team members who will be doing a variety of ministries very near the epicenter of the January 12 earthquake. Over the past couple of months, Joy House has been able to build several transitional houses in the area with the funds donated to date. Our team will have the opportunity to construct more of these structures providing we have the funds available to do so.

In addition, we will be teaching basic hygiene classes due to the vast numbers of people now living in very confined conditions. Tent cities have sprung up everywhere and with no infrastructure, the potential for the rampant spread of disease is eminent. We will be conducting bible schools for children, teaching adult bible studies, providing sewing classes, doing hut-to-hut (tent-to-tent) evangelism, and have opportunities to participate in evangelistic services in the evenings.

Please pray for this team as we prepare for the task God has placed before us.

John & Kay Rodgers

While in Haiti in early February, Norma's daughter Sherry interviewed me regarding the earthquake which had happened just 3 weeks prior. In the hectic pace of things following the earthquake, I had totally forgotten about the interview until browsing the Joy House website a couple of weeks ago. After watching the video, I realized it captured not only my thoughts and feelings related to the disaster, but also one of the many aftershocks. The video can be viewed at: http://joyhousephotos.shutterfly.com/318

Thanks to all who have given toward building transitional homes. To date, enough funds have been received to build 11 structures. If you have been thinking about giving toward this cause and have not yet done so, I encourage you to make a donation as soon as possible. We will continue building these homes every time a team goes to Haiti and we have funds available. Joe will be returning home from Haiti this weekend and we will get an update on the progress made this past week. The goal was to build the remaining 9 homes.

For anyone interested in going with our team from Grace Point this summer, the deadline to register is tomorrow, Sunday April 25th. I will be in the lobby following all 3 services to collect your completed and signed covenant along with your $200 deposit.

John Rodgers

Temporary Home for Jesus Church at Santos

Once the debris from Jesus Church at Santos had been cleared a few weeks ago, the leadership of the church devised a plan to build a temporary facility in order to have a place out of the elements to worship. Attached you will see the structure which the leader of the church, Reginald and some church members built.

Update on Pastor Eddie - He is out of the hospital and is feeling much better. It was confirmed that he had malaria. Matthew also had malaria and is recovering.

Pray for Joe and Norma Patterson - Norma will be traveling to Haiti tomorrow in order to prepare for a team which will arrive late this week to focus on building as many transitional homes as possible with the funds which have been designated for the project to date (last I heard was an additional 6 homes). Joe will be leaving this Friday to travel to Haiti to help the team with building the transitional homes.

Pray for us as we recruit a team from Grace Point to travel to Haiti this summer. Deadline to sign-up is Sunday, April 25th.

John & Kay Rodgers

Homeless Count and Death Toll Increase

The latest estimates of the number of homeless people in Haiti directly due to the massive earthquake have risen from 600,000 to somewhere between 1 million and 1.5 million! In addition, the death toll has now been revised from 240,000 up to 300,000. The rainy season has arrived in full force and reports of diseases such as malaria and typhoid have been increasing significantly! We received news today that Pastor Eddie is in the hospital but we do not know why he was admitted. Matthew is recovering from Malaria and is doing much better. Roland has been ill and is also recovering.

The great news is the first two transitional homes have been built. Zet, one of the cooks for Joy House is a single mom and her home was destroyed in the earthquake. She was the first to receive a new home. The second was built for Pastor Benito who is an interpreter for Joy House and also pastors the Church at Gran Savon. In addition, enough money has been received by Joy House to construct an additional 5 transitional homes! A team is scheduled to arrive in Haiti in just over a week and will hopefully be able to build all 5 homes while there.

Thank you to everyone who has given to this very worthy cause. If you have not yet made a donation for transitional homes and would like to give, please go to haitijoyhouse.org and make a donation through Pay Pal or you can write a check to Joy House Ministries and mail to PO Box 6643, Springdale, AR 72766. Please write "Haiti Transitional Housing" in the memo of the check to be sure it makes it to the correct fund.

Norma Patterson, founder of Joy House along with Daina Kennedy and Rita Robertson returned home from Haiti 10 days ago for some much needed rest. Thank you ladies for giving of your time, talents, and resources to help the people of Haiti as they begin the long recovery process. Norma and her husband Joe will be returning to Haiti in approximately 1 week to make preparations for the next team arriving to build the transitional homes. Please pray for them as they take care of all the details in order to get ready to go back to the country they love so much.

Please pray for us as we begin the process of organizing a team from Grace Point Church to go to Haiti this summer. We have had many people who have been with us on past trips who have shown an interest in going with us this year. In addition, we have had a significant number of people who have never been to Haiti and some who have never been out of the U.S. who are also interested in going. Please pray that God will bring those individuals to us whom he has called and are willing to make themselves available to be used to make a difference in the lives of the people of Haiti.

John & Kay Rodgers

Faith & Works

James 2:15-16 If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," but you don't give them what the body needs, what good is it?

Much of the media and the world have moved on with life, and the problems in Haiti seem to be behind them. But, for the people of Haiti, those problems are still very much a part of every minute of their life right now…and will be for many days and months to come. Thank you to all who have donated to Joy House over the past couple of weeks…God has blessed and Joe was able to return to Haiti this past Thursday with enough money raised to build SIX houses!! God bless those who have given sacrificially to help the people of Haiti. Most of the conversations we have had with Daina and Rita over the past week, it was either raining at that time or there had been rain overnight. These houses are going to get people out of the rain and save lives. Joy House has also just finished building a latrine for the tent city in Gran Savon. This will be a big help in preventing the spread of disease in a small area where there are a lot of people living so closely together.

Two teams – one from Living Hope Baptist in College Station, Texas and the other from Baptist Collegiate Ministries in Oklahoma have spent the past week working at Joy House, and when I say work, I mean WORK! They were able to completely clear away all of the debris from the church and also helped feed people from Jesus Church at Santos, Gran Savon, and Pastor Edie's church. Thank you teams for all your hard work and for accomplishing SO MUCH in such a short time!

Pray for the current team of 23 that is from Northwest Arkansas as they continue the work at Joy House this week. They will continue repairs and construction as well as helping with the doctor's house, which is right next to the compound.
Continue to pray for Norma and Rita as they are both not feeling well and pray also for Daina. Pray for their strength and endurance as they will be providing meals for the team this week.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and gifts…for being a part of what God is doing in Haiti. The passage from James asks the question "what good is it if we talk, but don't do?" Well, so many of you through your prayers and giving have not just had words, but actions behind your words…Thank you. Matthew 25:34-40 describes you well. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.' "Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'

Thank you for reaching out to people who have been "overlooked" for a long time.

John & Kay