The orphans had been sleeping on the rocky bare ground, completely exposed to the rain and the dirt.  It is now the rainy season and the children are finding it more and more difficult to attain food and supplies. Please help Touch Heven Ministries ditribute meals to feed these hungry children by making a donation on the website.

I wanted to catch you up on what is happening with Bill and myself since I came back from Haiti.  Yesterday I sent out the newsletter and I also sent out the requested DVD’s of my Haiti experience.  I did send some of you who did not request it a copy because Bill and I really wanted you to see what transpired from our angle.  To anyone who did not make a request for one and would still like me to send you one, just let me know.  But wait until Monday or Tuesday to see if your newsletter arrives with a DVD inside before you make the request.

We have 2 medical teams coming that I really wanted to take into Haiti.  This is really funny.  As most of you know, Bill is the mover and shaker.  I’m the organizer, reorganizer, triple-organizer and here I am asking every team, “Let’s go to Haiti, okay?”  The 2 medical teams coming wanted to stay in the DR, which is perfectly fine but Bill and I got a chuckle out of my pushiness:  “Let’s go to Haiti, people…no plan, let’s just go!”  God has done such a work in me as far as planning, replanning and triple-planning.  While I was there helping the Haiti refugees, one morning I was so frustrated with the fact that I couldn’t organize ALL of the relief efforts…and I mean all of them…from Port-au-Prince to Barahona… the way I wanted to.  I ended up just full of laughter during my morning devotions and I said, “Okay, Lord, I have no plan.  Not happy….but I will trust you today.”  And that’s how the rest of my trip went.  When something we had planned at the last minute didn’t pan out, we shifted to the next best thing.  This has given me such freedom…and Bill as well….to be okay with trusting and going.  But, that can be taken overboard as in “Okay, medical teams….let’s just go right into Haiti.  I don’t know where we’re going but they need you….let’s go.”  The practical side of me, though, always reverts to, “I don’t want anything more or less than God has for us.” And this came in handy when both medical teams said they would serve in the DR and possibly Haiti at some later date.  So, guess what?  There is a couple coming in May (she’s a nurse) that wants to spend their entire time ministering in Haiti!!!  Yeah!!!!  Ask me how happy I am.  And the best thing about this is that they have a lot of experience in Haiti, as does Bill, so they would be very flexible to go with whatever happens.  It will be a great learning experience for me and will help pave the way for more medical teams next year to go to Haiti….with a plan.

Here is the devotion I received today online:  I wanted to share it because with Bill leaving Wednesday, I’ll be with Nicholas in Cleveland and taking him back and forth to school until they let out March 25th.  Him and I will fly down to the DR together so he can spend 10 days with us.  He is so excited!  But Bill and I would covet your prayers as we venture back and start to meet the needs of the Haitians as the Lord guides us.

We covet your prayers.  Blessings, Karen

GO “IN THE SPIRIT”

You can go “in the Spirit” to any nation on earth. You can touch an
unreached people while on your knees. Indeed, your secret closet may become the
headquarters for a movement of God’s Spirit over an entire nation.

I think of Abraham’s example. He prayed over godless, wicked Sodom. The Lord
answered him, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I
will spare all the place for their sakes” (Genesis 18:26).

When Abraham heard this, he began to negotiate with the Lord. He asked, “(If)
there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for
lack of five?” (18:28). Abraham was asking, “Lord, what if there are
forty-five righteous people among those fifty believers? What if only that many
are praying seekers? Or, what if there are only ten upright people who seek you?
If only ten call on you, will you spare the city?” God answered Abraham, “I
will not destroy it for ten’s sake” (18:32).

This passage tells us something about the Lord. He is willing to save entire
societies if he can find a band of righteous people within them. This speaks of
people who seek his face for the sake of their nation.

God goes even further on this issue than he did with Abraham. In Ezekiel 22,
God speaks of finding just one praying believer who will stand in the gap: “I
sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap
before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none”
(Ezekiel 22:30).

At the time of Ezekiel’s prophecy, Israel was polluted spiritually. The
prophets were profane, violating God’s law left and right. And the people
were oppressed, vexed on all sides, full of lust, robbing one another. Not one
person among them cried out to the Lord. Nobody stood in the gap to intercede.
Yet God would have saved the entire nation for the sake of just one
intercessor.

If you cannot physically go to the nations, you can be part of the support body
of intercessors. And we are to assist those who have given themselves to go to
the nations. When Paul writes of his journeys, he mentions not only Timothy and
Titus as his helpers, but also Lydia and the other precious women who aided him.
These were all devoted servants whose assistance helped touch entire nations
with the gospel.

 The captivating stories of recounted by IDF soldiers aroused the audience and even left many members in tears. Salvation of lives both in active duty and during the recent Haiti rescue and relief mission was a proud focus for celebration.  The bravery of one soldier was honored for his recent heroic efforts in saving another IDF soldier in battle. The unexpected reunion of the two on stage was an incredibly powerful moment for everyone in the room! 

TOUCH HEAVEN IS CALLED TO SERVE HAITI PROPHETICALLY AS MINISTERS IN THE SPIRITUAL RECOVERY AND RENEWAL OF THAT NATION. PLEASE PRAY FOR US AS WE ARE WORKING THE PLANS FOR A CRUSADE AS CALLED FORTH BY THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR MAY / JUNE IN THIS SAME LOCATION. THE LORD HAS PROCLAIMED THAT HE SHALL SHOW THE LIGHT OF HIS GLORY IN THIS NATION AND CAUSE THE WORLD TO WONDER AT HIS AMAZING POWER AND GRACE AS HE POURS OUT HIS BLESSINGS AND PROVISIONS. MORE TO FOLLOW.

Let me be clear that we have not and do not judge the need of someone we can help by the measure of their faith. Not once have we qualified a single person prior to giving them what we had, nor is this a program standard for our assistance during the crisis mode of this mission. As best we can estimate at this time, we have “touched” tens of thousands of orphans, adults, and families in some manner with supplies and / or medical attention.  To date we have collected and shipped over 565,000 lbs of food, water, medical supplies, and basic needs. No doubt, these recipients are from mixed faiths. We do visit and qualify the organization or “camp” that is requesting assistance to do our best to assure that the supplies actually make it to those who are in need, and are not pilfered or re sold.

What was not included in this AP report was the essential body of my comments. I explained that our commission as ministers of the Gospel is to have compassion on whomever we can, to respond to their need with what we have. I responded to a direct question from Paisley which asked: “What would I do if I knew the person in need was a voodoo worshipper?” I responded that we would help them, but that everything we do is for the Glory of God and that we are committed to share our hearts. She then expanded her question to ask “Would I continue to help them knowing they were still practicing Voodoo?” I responded that I would show them our love by helping them and that I would hope to become their friend, and then as their friend, that our compassion and love might be the difference to lead them to Christ. She then asked “How long would we continue to supply them?” To that I answered that “I am not sure we could continue to support them in the long term because we would not want to perpetuate that process.  We equate [voodoo] with witchcraft, which is contrary to the Gospel.”

Let there be no doubt that the love of God is our driving force, and He loves everyone. Jesus taught that if we say that we have love, but do not love our neighbor, then we really do not have the love of God in us. That is why we have indiscriminately worked so hard, day and night, to help out urgently during this crisis mode for Haiti. Our mission is born and driven out of our love for God, which is the source of our compassion for those in need, and which is further fueled by our zeal for the Gospel. The Great Commission of Christ is to “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” (Mark 16:15).  We do not apologize for that nor do we minimize our determination.

Myself and two members of the Touchhaitinow.org team returned yesterday from Haiti to the U.S.A. to continue our efforts here to collect more food, medical supplies, tents, and support for distribution in Haiti. Our efforts are relentless to collect, ship supplies, and distribute supplies into the areas that we are introduced to that we can help.

Two other members of our team are in Haiti and continue to coordinate our efforts to remote areas that have not been receiving aid. Angela Lizote, acting as TH operations coordinator, reported today that she inspected the refugee area of Pouville, which is reporting outbreaks of typhoid and in desperate need of help. This is a priority mission for TH and Angela is working with Operation Blessing to deliver and distribute food and water to Pouville as quickly as we can. Dr. Rik Celie (founder of Doctors on a Mission)

flew in to meet me in Haiti last week and took charge to set up the first clinic two days ago at  Camp De David compound in Carrefour.  We were able to procure over $20,000 of medical supplies for this clinic which is serving the entire neighborhood without qualification. Dr. Rik is now working at Zion Foundation, on top of a mountain in Merge, where we were led to 400 isolated families camped in make shift tents consisting of needy people from the surrounding village. We were able to procure over $ 30,000 of medical supplies for this medical effort. Coincidentally, this specific mountain in Merge is recognized for its historically strong voodoo presence. The throng of children and adults cheered two days ago gave thanks to God and sang songs as we unloaded ten tons of baby food, rice, peanut butter, and water to them. I did not ask them who their God was and they clearly knew Who ours’ is. We did not preach to them (in all honesty we did not have the time). We opened the clinic in Carrefour at the same time and I needed to get back to insure our people were safe and secure.  I only told them that we love them and that God loves them and that Jesus hears their cries. I promised that we would make our best effort to get more supplies to them as soon as we could. There were tears from all of us, many hugs and embraces, and compassion was flowing. Angela is coordinating this effort now to get another truckload of supplies to them again this week.

I met Paisley, the reporter who wrote this story, in Port au Prince by chance. I have great respect for her and accept that she is an articulate, bright, and focused professional. She asked me if I felt tension between Christians and voodoo followers. The quote she printed by me is accurate: “There’s absolutely a heightened spiritual conflict between Christianity and voodoo since the quake.” It is interesting to note that the incident reported in this AP article was instigated when voodooists interrupted a resident Haitian Christian prayer meeting.

We ask for your prayers and support as we pledge our best efforts to continue in the mission of compassion that we have been called to serve. To those of who you have written hate mail to me, please know that I do love you and forgive you and I can only hope that your judgments were premised on a lack of understanding of the full story. To the few who were wise to call and discuss this with me, I thank you that we were able to reason together and count you as my friends. To one and all, we desperately need your help for us to continue on. To God be the Glory.

In His Service,

Frank Amedia

Pastor Jean Jean-Louis, has been named the THN Ambassador. He is a native Haitian who served with the United Nations in Haiti, prior to relocating to the Miami area. He is a prominent Pastor in Miami and has answered the call in his life to serve his people and His God even as he helps to direct the Kingdom building tasks that TouchHaitiNow is committed to. Assisting Pastor Jean Jean-Louis is Pastor Gary Ross, the Acting Director for the THN Mission.

From this strategic base of operations in Haiti, THN is able to serve and network with local pastors, churches, family members of U.S. Based Haitians, and special needs projects. Rev. Frank Amedia, founder and Director of Touch Heaven Ministries, has committed that THN will help Pastor Jean Ernest Chervil to get his orphanage and school back in operation and to assist the members and congregation to recover, ministering to their physical and spiritual needs. On a broader scale, THN will be partnering with other local pastors similarly to help them in their recovery and to help them rebuild their churches, many of which are destroyed.

Touch Haiti Now will be providing current reports from on the ground relevant to the physical and spiritual recovery of the nation of Haiti. You are invited to visit TouchHaitiNow.org, and subscribe to the Real-time Update List to stay current with a real vision of what is and what shall be.