Rob in his office and Blake, our 4th engineer.
Saturday, July 03, 2004
Monday, June 28, 2004
Newsletter - June 2004
Hello Friends!
The time on outreach in Puerto Castilla, Honduras has passed so quickly. Today, the last of our short term volunteers fly home. This is a bitter-sweet time. We are excited for our newly formed friends as they do the last minute packing and receive the final hugs and kisses before boarding the bus which will take them to begin their journey home. We trust that we will see each other again, some sooner than others and we know that this has to be. However, for those of us remaining it reminds us of the loved ones so far away and sometimes seldom seen. We don’t regret being here or being committed to full-time missionary work. There is no other job we would rather have. We are still living our dream and feel we are in the center of God’s will for our lives. We thank each of you, our friends and family, for being a part of the dream and for allowing us to share it with you!
The time on outreach in Puerto Castilla, Honduras has passed so quickly. Today, the last of our short term volunteers fly home. This is a bitter-sweet time. We are excited for our newly formed friends as they do the last minute packing and receive the final hugs and kisses before boarding the bus which will take them to begin their journey home. We trust that we will see each other again, some sooner than others and we know that this has to be. However, for those of us remaining it reminds us of the loved ones so far away and sometimes seldom seen. We don’t regret being here or being committed to full-time missionary work. There is no other job we would rather have. We are still living our dream and feel we are in the center of God’s will for our lives. We thank each of you, our friends and family, for being a part of the dream and for allowing us to share it with you!
As we write you today, the last surgeries for this outreach have been done, the various departments have tallied the statistics and the last boxes are being loaded into the cargo hold, and we prepare for sailing. Our destination is first to Cozumel, Mexico for a few days of rest and relaxation. Then we continue on to our next Port-of-Call Galveston, Texas. We are to be there for 29 days. During this time we will be gathering and loading humanitarian relief supplies to take to St. Marc, Haiti. Do you remember the previous newsletter earlier this year when we reported to you, how the demonic strongholds were being torn down? There was to be a celebration and recommitment of the nation to the devil and Voodoo worship at the site of the previous pact with the devil 200 years earlier. This was prayed against and in fact defeated. There has since been a Christian President installed and prayer in the Capital. What a victory! Now the nation is in need of relief from recent natural disasters that have left many without homes or any form of shelter. We are very blessed to serve in this capacity. We have already begun to see how God is working in preparation for us to take relief supplies to Haiti!
.jpg)
We will then return to Galveston, Texas to re-supply and prepare for a return outreach back in Puerto Castilla, Honduras. We are so excited to be able to return and continue the work that has begun. There are many relationships that have been established and efforts that are beginning to bear results. We will depart Galveston, Texas on September 21st and are planning to remain in Honduras until mid December. We are hoping to return to a USA port for Christmas.
We hope you are enjoying looking at the website and all the pictures! We think it is important to share these with you … so you can see what God is doing through you! We pray for you and think of you often, as we close this newsletter our constant prayer for you is this... “That your life will be as wonderful as it was in the mind of God the day He made you!”
God’s blessings,
Rob and Denise
We hope you are enjoying looking at the website and all the pictures! We think it is important to share these with you … so you can see what God is doing through you! We pray for you and think of you often, as we close this newsletter our constant prayer for you is this... “That your life will be as wonderful as it was in the mind of God the day He made you!”
God’s blessings,
Rob and Denise
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Thank you for all of your blessings on our 31st Anniversary! Rob surprised me with notes from many of our friends and family! Also, he surprised me with a wonderful CHOCOLATE cake with FUDGE CHOCOLATE frosting! Yum Yum! Tyrone, our 5 star Chef, baked it and it was wonderful!! Actually...he baked two of them that day, because he baked one and it accidentally was served at lunch time to the crew! So...Tyrone baked another one to surprise me that evening after dinner!
Monday, May 24, 2004
God is at work in Honduras!
May 23, 2004
Hello Friends,
We are well into the outreach here in Puerto Castilla, Honduras. This is a very wonderful time to be part of this vibrant community. We are able to reach out in so many different facets simultaneously. One of the highlights of each week is on Friday morning, when as a community we gather and here and see updates for the various departments. We hear how God is working is so many lives. This past week we had our first pediatric surgery on an 18 month old beautiful little girl named Cecilia. You can see pictures of this on our website www.mercywatch.com under the page Honduras Spring 04.
Hello Friends,
We are well into the outreach here in Puerto Castilla, Honduras. This is a very wonderful time to be part of this vibrant community. We are able to reach out in so many different facets simultaneously. One of the highlights of each week is on Friday morning, when as a community we gather and here and see updates for the various departments. We hear how God is working is so many lives. This past week we had our first pediatric surgery on an 18 month old beautiful little girl named Cecilia. You can see pictures of this on our website www.mercywatch.com under the page Honduras Spring 04.
.jpg)
We also have heard wonderful reports from Bob Brownlee, our Community Development Services Manager. He, Ken and Dave….. Along with Skip…..and Juha…….have been very active in going to some very remote villages to educate the people on some techniques for purifying water using clear plastic 2 liter bottles provided by Coca-Cola and some corrugated tin. In addition, we are providing seeds for Moringa trees that they may grow and some of the leaves which has already been processed into a powder. They are explaining the nutritional value of the tree's leaves along with how to use it. Their classes have been well attended, with over 700 persons already attending. Bob Brownlee has been very encouraged by the response he has received from a local Principal who wanted to have Bob come and provide this training to his teachers. Bob shared the material with the principal and offered to have him share the presentation with the teachers himself as Bob observed. Some of the pictures for this are also available on the website.
During this outreach unlike any other outreach before, we have two separate operating rooms in which operations are ongoing. Adults are being seen and operated on in the Dockside Unit (DSU) off the ship. The Dockside Units are portable units that have been erected; our electricians have completely equipped them with proper lighting and electrical circuits for the many instruments and equipment required in an operating room. They are also equipped with air conditioning. This frees up the two small operating rooms onboard the ship for the pediatric surgeries. The week before last, Bud Busby from the International Operations Center came and prepared the anesthesia equipment for the surgeries and then assisted in the surgeries this past week. We are blessed presently to have not one but four anesthetists volunteering.
.jpg)
.jpg)
The Dental and Optical team has been working very hard, serving patients. The dental team is very happy to be performing more restorative procedures. Doctor Bob is very gentle and does a wonderful job. The Dental Hygienist assisting him this past week is Tabitha from Romania. The personnel in the Optical Clinic have been seeing hundreds of patients and have to brave "sand-fleas" while doing their work. The sand-fleas are so small you don't see them (we call them "no-see-ums", but you certainly know when they bite you. We have yet to determine the correct combination of Deet spray to combat them effectively.
.jpg)
The Engineering department has been a blessing in providing all of the comforts of home onboard electrical, hot water for showers, filtered water for drinking and laundry, air conditioning, sewage the essential amenities that are often taken for granted. The deck department has been working diligently on chipping and painting the ship and providing security services for us. The Information Technology department has done a wonderful job of keeping all the bits and bytes in order to allow us to communicate not only with you our friends and family, but also with our vendors, home office and all of the potential volunteers waiting for information on our schedule so they can join us.
.jpg)
The Human Resources department has been working overtime, coordinating our changing schedule with the many volunteers. They are truly a blessing to all of us. We so much appreciate their tireless efforts, and the loving, gentle attitude that permeates all that they do. Do you ever wonder if God is calling you to volunteer for a couple weeks or several weeks? Do you possibly think, "What skill could I offer"? You may be happily surprised at the opportunities that are available. Denise would love to hear from you if you are at all curious and feel God leading you to Missions or a mission experience.
%20(Custom).jpg)
In the last couple weeks we have had to cancel our Public Relations Tour to the Great Lakes and inform the applicants that were planning to join us there that we don't know where we are going! We feel their disappointment and encourage them to see what God is doing …. And encourage them to serve with us where ever we go! It looks like that will probably be Galveston, Texas! I feel that God is in the process of releasing His ship from Public Relations to spend more time serving the needs of the people! Public Relations may need to be done differently in the future…due to the changes in the ship and port security regulations! It's exciting to be a part of what God is doing!
As we continue on this outreach, please continue to cover us in prayer. We very much appreciate all of the prayers that you offer on our behalf, not only for us individually but collectively as a ministry. People sometimes ask us how can we volunteer and not get paid. It is when we see God moving in a person's life and that we are a small part of that. You couldn't put a price on such experiences; we are blessed in tangible and intangible ways.
.jpg)
Sunday, May 09, 2004
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
April 2004 Newsletter - We are underway to Puerto Castilla, Honduras
APRIL 2004 Newsletter
Hello Friends,
As we write this letter to you, we are on the way to Puerto Castilla, Honduras! The last tasks of dry-dock 2004 were completed in Mobile, Alabama. On April 20th, we sailed under our own power from the Bender Ship Yard to the Alabama State docks and began the task of reloading supplies and provisions in preparation for Outreach to Honduras. We are happy to report that our sail to Honduras began on Monday, April 26th at 6:00 pm with a scheduled arrival date of April 30, 2004 in the morning. We are still in the process of finishing up putting the remaining cabins back together and hope to finish most of them by the time we arrive.
During our extended stay in Mobile, we have been blessed by the gracious and generous attitudes of the community. We have experienced this personally as we have met with various families that opened their homes to our crew with families. Allowing our crew families to share their homes during the dry-dock period, as no children were allowed in the ship yard during the time when the ship was in the Dry Dock. We have experienced this generosity professionally, too, as many vendors and merchants have both donated goods and services or provided them to us at cost or considerable discounts. These donations range from CUMMINS donating a new emergency generator, to Kimberly-Clarke telling us to bring the largest UHAUL truck we could get so they could fill it with donated office supplies and paper products. A local businessman toured the Caribbean Mercy in January and wanted to bless the crew by donating food from his restaurant. The BAR-B-Q and side items he donated fed the crew for three days.
We are anxious to be reunited with our shipmates, who went ahead of the ship, in Honduras along with the twenty-five plus volunteers who are awaiting our arrival. We know that we go in the Lord’s timing and that the stay here in Mobile, Alabama was all part of His plan. Just hours before we left, several people from a local hospital in Mobile finished installing the oxygen system that will be needed for the pediatric eye surgeries we plan to do in Honduras.
We are glad that our efforts on the website have been so well received. We intend to update the pictures weekly and that will usually happen over the weekend. For those of you that may not have visited it yet, the web address is www.mercywatch.com. Here you can see many of our photographs from our travels, our latest newsletter and a convenient way to contact us and stay in touch. We hope you find this helpful and we welcome your comments and suggestions. Please keep writing to us, it is a great encouragement.
We were also blessed in taking a short weekend trip to Jacksonville to see our family. Jason and Jeff and their families are doing well, we very much enjoyed seeing them. Some pictures from this most recent trip are on the website under Family and Friends. Kendall is now walking and running all over and quite a busy girl. Such fun!
We have been blessed this past week to have our former Captain Jon Fadely and his wife, Angie, spent a few days with us as they have traveled from Mercy Ships International Operations Center in Garden Valley, Texas. We were doubly blessed Thursday evening in our community meeting when Captain Jon delivered the message. There was a wonderful time of worship lead by a visiting Pastor and his wife. Mrs. Delia Knox sang “My Alabaster Box” and other selections she had recorded beautifully and was truly an inspiration to all of us as she brought our focus on Jesus and His amazing love for each of us. One of our Able Seamen, David Little, played a wonderful version of Amazing Grace on his trumpet. He also reminded us of how often we use the word amazing and how it seems so inadequate when trying to describe the character and qualities of Jesus.
We had some mixed emotions as we hailed farewell to Ciaran, Lillian and Joy Holden (Joy is thirteen months old), one of our families onboard. They are leaving the ship to continue their ministry with Mercy Ships at the International Operations Center in Garden Valley, Texas. They have been on the Caribbean Mercy for 3 years and Ciaran served as the Chief Engineer. Lillian served as a part of the Medical Team and as a Mom! Joy served as our badge checker and more importantly as our Joy-Joy! Ciaran will take on his new position as Engineering Superintendent for the Caribbean Mercy.
As we left Mobile, we also said farewell to a couple from upper state New York, Steve and Kim McLean. He is a pastor and Kim is a teacher. They came for the month of April as a part of Steve’s sabbatical. Steve served in the pantry and as a carpenter to help get the cabins back together. Kim served in Housekeeping, plus many other areas. We were supposed to be in Honduras, but since we weren’t they agreed to come to Mobile. They were a huge blessing to the crew and served in every way they could. We look forward to seeing them again, hopefully they’ll be able to come while we are on outreach.
As we sail to Honduras and leave the shipyard phase, there are many blessings we take with us from our stay in Mobile, Alabama. One of these is in the form of an offering and claiming the promises of God. The picture to the left shows the medical department during dry dock (the green is the new steel that was replaced). In one of our community meetings there was an offering taken to help defray the cost of the “dry-dock” phase. The offering was given by the crew and was for the amount of $750.00. This amount may seem insignificant until you use God’s word and stand on His promises and trust Him. The total bill for the “dry-dock” was $750,000, three-quarters of a million dollars. What percentage of the total bill would $750.00 be? What would a 100 fold blessing from the Lord be? We didn’t manage the offering to come up with this figure. Do you believe God will honor sacrificial giving? Do you believe He will bring honor and glory to Himself through his people? We do and trust you do as well.
As we prepare to go to Honduras, we ask for your continued prayer covering for us individually and collectively as a ministry. We thank you for your faithfulness in supporting us with your emails, cards, letters and financial support.
We are learning to more and more to seek and trust the Lord. With each new adventure God brings new revelations of Himself. We thank you for your part in enabling us to live these adventures. Thank you for sending us and freeing us to answer God’s call on our lives. Our prayer for each of you, our friends and family is that you will experience your own adventures with God. That your happiness will be complete and you will be confident in knowing how much Jesus loves you. We love you!
God’s blessings,
Rob and Denise
Mercy Ships, m/v Caribbean Mercy
Hello Friends,
As we write this letter to you, we are on the way to Puerto Castilla, Honduras! The last tasks of dry-dock 2004 were completed in Mobile, Alabama. On April 20th, we sailed under our own power from the Bender Ship Yard to the Alabama State docks and began the task of reloading supplies and provisions in preparation for Outreach to Honduras. We are happy to report that our sail to Honduras began on Monday, April 26th at 6:00 pm with a scheduled arrival date of April 30, 2004 in the morning. We are still in the process of finishing up putting the remaining cabins back together and hope to finish most of them by the time we arrive.
During our extended stay in Mobile, we have been blessed by the gracious and generous attitudes of the community. We have experienced this personally as we have met with various families that opened their homes to our crew with families. Allowing our crew families to share their homes during the dry-dock period, as no children were allowed in the ship yard during the time when the ship was in the Dry Dock. We have experienced this generosity professionally, too, as many vendors and merchants have both donated goods and services or provided them to us at cost or considerable discounts. These donations range from CUMMINS donating a new emergency generator, to Kimberly-Clarke telling us to bring the largest UHAUL truck we could get so they could fill it with donated office supplies and paper products. A local businessman toured the Caribbean Mercy in January and wanted to bless the crew by donating food from his restaurant. The BAR-B-Q and side items he donated fed the crew for three days.
We are anxious to be reunited with our shipmates, who went ahead of the ship, in Honduras along with the twenty-five plus volunteers who are awaiting our arrival. We know that we go in the Lord’s timing and that the stay here in Mobile, Alabama was all part of His plan. Just hours before we left, several people from a local hospital in Mobile finished installing the oxygen system that will be needed for the pediatric eye surgeries we plan to do in Honduras.
We are glad that our efforts on the website have been so well received. We intend to update the pictures weekly and that will usually happen over the weekend. For those of you that may not have visited it yet, the web address is www.mercywatch.com. Here you can see many of our photographs from our travels, our latest newsletter and a convenient way to contact us and stay in touch. We hope you find this helpful and we welcome your comments and suggestions. Please keep writing to us, it is a great encouragement.
We were also blessed in taking a short weekend trip to Jacksonville to see our family. Jason and Jeff and their families are doing well, we very much enjoyed seeing them. Some pictures from this most recent trip are on the website under Family and Friends. Kendall is now walking and running all over and quite a busy girl. Such fun!
We have been blessed this past week to have our former Captain Jon Fadely and his wife, Angie, spent a few days with us as they have traveled from Mercy Ships International Operations Center in Garden Valley, Texas. We were doubly blessed Thursday evening in our community meeting when Captain Jon delivered the message. There was a wonderful time of worship lead by a visiting Pastor and his wife. Mrs. Delia Knox sang “My Alabaster Box” and other selections she had recorded beautifully and was truly an inspiration to all of us as she brought our focus on Jesus and His amazing love for each of us. One of our Able Seamen, David Little, played a wonderful version of Amazing Grace on his trumpet. He also reminded us of how often we use the word amazing and how it seems so inadequate when trying to describe the character and qualities of Jesus.
We had some mixed emotions as we hailed farewell to Ciaran, Lillian and Joy Holden (Joy is thirteen months old), one of our families onboard. They are leaving the ship to continue their ministry with Mercy Ships at the International Operations Center in Garden Valley, Texas. They have been on the Caribbean Mercy for 3 years and Ciaran served as the Chief Engineer. Lillian served as a part of the Medical Team and as a Mom! Joy served as our badge checker and more importantly as our Joy-Joy! Ciaran will take on his new position as Engineering Superintendent for the Caribbean Mercy.
As we left Mobile, we also said farewell to a couple from upper state New York, Steve and Kim McLean. He is a pastor and Kim is a teacher. They came for the month of April as a part of Steve’s sabbatical. Steve served in the pantry and as a carpenter to help get the cabins back together. Kim served in Housekeeping, plus many other areas. We were supposed to be in Honduras, but since we weren’t they agreed to come to Mobile. They were a huge blessing to the crew and served in every way they could. We look forward to seeing them again, hopefully they’ll be able to come while we are on outreach.
As we sail to Honduras and leave the shipyard phase, there are many blessings we take with us from our stay in Mobile, Alabama. One of these is in the form of an offering and claiming the promises of God. The picture to the left shows the medical department during dry dock (the green is the new steel that was replaced). In one of our community meetings there was an offering taken to help defray the cost of the “dry-dock” phase. The offering was given by the crew and was for the amount of $750.00. This amount may seem insignificant until you use God’s word and stand on His promises and trust Him. The total bill for the “dry-dock” was $750,000, three-quarters of a million dollars. What percentage of the total bill would $750.00 be? What would a 100 fold blessing from the Lord be? We didn’t manage the offering to come up with this figure. Do you believe God will honor sacrificial giving? Do you believe He will bring honor and glory to Himself through his people? We do and trust you do as well.
As we prepare to go to Honduras, we ask for your continued prayer covering for us individually and collectively as a ministry. We thank you for your faithfulness in supporting us with your emails, cards, letters and financial support.
We are learning to more and more to seek and trust the Lord. With each new adventure God brings new revelations of Himself. We thank you for your part in enabling us to live these adventures. Thank you for sending us and freeing us to answer God’s call on our lives. Our prayer for each of you, our friends and family is that you will experience your own adventures with God. That your happiness will be complete and you will be confident in knowing how much Jesus loves you. We love you!
God’s blessings,
Rob and Denise
Mercy Ships, m/v Caribbean Mercy
Saturday, April 24, 2004
Oxygen installed in the Operating Room
.jpg)
Installing the oxygen in the Operating Room on the Caribbean Mercy.
Our medical department needed to have an Oxygen suite installed for the breathing air to be used during surgery in the new pediatrics procedures. Nordan-Smith Welding supply in Mobile, Alabama (www.nordansmith.com) donated the equipment and six cylinders of oxygen to allow this process to be completed. Technicians from the local hospital, Providence Hospital, also donated some equipment and their time and expertise to install all of this equipment.
Thursday, April 22, 2004
During our dry-dock phase, the previous electrical dumb-waiter was removed as it had become inoperative. A new manual dumb-waiter was procured from Miller Manufacturing, Inc. Rohnert Park, California and installed by our engineering staff. This was a very nice system, yet when installed there were no doors to enclose the openings from the dumb-waiter. All the food from the galley must be transferred up stairs one deck for serving in the dining room.
Several companies were contacted to provide a possible solution and we settled on Wheatbelt, Inc. Rolling Shutters of Hillsboro, Kansas. These shutters normally sold for $800.00.
When the owner and president discovered the ministry of Mercy Ships by looking at our website, he offered the complete package with shipping for $225.00. Praise the Lord! These doors are now installed and look and work excellently!
When the owner and president discovered the ministry of Mercy Ships by looking at our website, he offered the complete package with shipping for $225.00. Praise the Lord! These doors are now installed and look and work excellently!
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
.jpg)
While working with the advance team in Puerto Castilla, Honduras, our fellow crew member and Academy Principal, Alicia Robbins became aware of a need for school supplies in a village of Dos Bocas. The teachers in Honduras are responsible to supply the school supplies they need. She relayed this need to Andrew Smith, one of our Academy teachers, volunteering this school year with the ship in Mobile, Alabama. He mentioned the need in Dos Bocas to our students who were encouraged and anxious to see this need met.
While we were in Mobile with the ship in Dry Dock, our Academy students and staff were blessed by using the facilities at Cottage Hill, Baptist Church to conduct classes. As the students would discuss their plans for raising money and finding supplies to met the need in Dos Bocas..... they were overheard by one of the ladies working in the cafeteria, who wanted to help. She spread the word and contacted different people in the church and went around to local businesses to get donations. This enabled the Academy staff and students to bring to Honduras over $1,000 dollars of school supplies. Praise the Lord!
.jpg)
.jpg)
Friday, April 16, 2004
.jpg)
Kimberly-Clarke was contacted during our shipyard phase in Mobile, Alabama and asked if they would consider donating some paper products. To our pleasant surprise they not only agreed to make a donation, but told us to bring the largest UHAUL truck we could get to carry all of the products they would donate.
They supplied many types of paper products, including toilet paper, paper towels for the galley and pantry. Thank you, Kimberly-Ckarke for your generosity. We praise the Lord for you and for His provisions!
They supplied many types of paper products, including toilet paper, paper towels for the galley and pantry. Thank you, Kimberly-Ckarke for your generosity. We praise the Lord for you and for His provisions!
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
.jpg)
While in Mobile, Alabama we were blessed and observed the Mercy of God when Cummins Corporation donated this Diesel Generator Set. This will replace our Emergency Generator. Our current emergency generator is the original one for our ship and is 52 years old! This new generator is approximately 4 times the power of the old generator. It is also one of the most reliable engines according to Blake Mile, our senior motorman and Blake is very familiar with Cummins engines being a former mechanic for Cummins Canada! This same engine is used in Canada by mining companies to provide electrical lighting (24 hours a day, everday) and they expect to get 10,000 hours from the generator! We will use this engine to provide emergency power for the ship...so it will probably last at least another 50 years or more! To purchase this generator would have cost approximately $25,000 or more! Praise God for His provisioning!
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Newsletter - March 2004
Hello Friends,
We are so blessed to be able to communicate with you via email. We are continuing our “dry-dock” phase in Mobile, Alabama. As many of you know we are required by our classification society DNV to have our ship in dry-dock twice in a five year period. To accomplish this we schedule dry-dock periods for each 2 ½ years. During this period many systems of the ship are inspected to determine their seaworthiness, as well as planned maintenance that can only be accomplished while the ship is out of the water.
We are so blessed to be able to communicate with you via email. We are continuing our “dry-dock” phase in Mobile, Alabama. As many of you know we are required by our classification society DNV to have our ship in dry-dock twice in a five year period. To accomplish this we schedule dry-dock periods for each 2 ½ years. During this period many systems of the ship are inspected to determine their seaworthiness, as well as planned maintenance that can only be accomplished while the ship is out of the water.
During this period we are truly blessed as artisans from many varied industries come to the ship and donate their time and talents to accomplishing the extensive work required. Although there is much work there is also a balance of time to worship and praise our Lord Jesus. Each person who comes and serves is a blessing, as well as those who sacrifice and send them. Denise and I are constantly encouraged and thankful as time and time again, the Lord meets the needs of this crew and Mercy Ships as a ministry.
It would seem as schedules are made and schedules are changed around this dry-dock phase that there would be a great deal of frustration and anxiety. This is not the case.
There is a sweet, sweet spirit in this place… We can see it in each face, we can hear it in each voice, yes! There is a sweet, sweet spirit in this place…it is the spirit of the Lord.
There is a sweet, sweet spirit in this place… We can see it in each face, we can hear it in each voice, yes! There is a sweet, sweet spirit in this place…it is the spirit of the Lord.
Lunchtime!
Lunchtime!
Originally uploaded by MercyWatch.
Lunch in honor of the Technical Crew and the Shipyard Workers on Aft Deck.
Denise in Gumby suit
Denise in Gumby suit
Originally uploaded by MercyWatch.
This picture is of Denise in a GUMBY suit. These suits are used to keep us afloat in an emergency and also to make us bigger, brighter and different in the water so that search and rescue can find us. Rob describes them as trying to put a Playtex glove on your entire body!
The Sgt Kozak
The Sgt Kozak
Originally uploaded by MercyWatch.
The Sgt. Matej Kocak ship was being launched out of the dry dock with the help of three tugboats. The 600+ foot ship got away from the tugs and came across the river and ran into our dry dock!
The force of the meeting sent our floating dry dock down the river about 24 feet! The service lines for electricity, water, sewage and various gas lines (propane, acetylene, oxygen and compressed air) were severed from the shore connections. God was with us and protected our ship as no one on the crew or shipyard workers were hurt during the surprise meeting. This was a miracle and we are truly blessed.
Denise and I would like to thank you for continuing to support us with you prayers, your cards and letters and email and your financial support. You have been faithful and we count each of you as a special blessing. As we travel and are often far away from home, it is with pleasure and thanksgiving that we think of you. Several of you have asked for the address to send donations to and we’ll include it at the bottom of this newsletter.
During this dry-dock phase as we prepare for the Easter season, we have been involved ministry wide in forty days of prayer and fasting. Each day there is a different devotional written by one of our Mercy Ships family and these include several prayer points to help us focus on the source of our strength Jesus.
Would you join with us in praying for the following prayer points?
* The continued safety of our crew and the shipyard workers.
* Our advance team in Honduras (Jacinto, Alicia, Kathia) as they await our arrival and our new sailing date of April 21st.
* Continued favor with the Immigration officials with Homeland Security for visas for our international crew
* Our leadership team as they seek the Lord for guidance and wisdom.
* The many volunteers who are being asked to adjust their itinerary to serve with us because of our delay in dry dock.
* Each of you our friends, and family for the continued presence of Jesus in your life. That you will see yourselves as the wonderful sons and daughters of God that you truly are.
Would you join with us in praying for the following prayer points?
* The continued safety of our crew and the shipyard workers.
* Our advance team in Honduras (Jacinto, Alicia, Kathia) as they await our arrival and our new sailing date of April 21st.
* Continued favor with the Immigration officials with Homeland Security for visas for our international crew
* Our leadership team as they seek the Lord for guidance and wisdom.
* The many volunteers who are being asked to adjust their itinerary to serve with us because of our delay in dry dock.
* Each of you our friends, and family for the continued presence of Jesus in your life. That you will see yourselves as the wonderful sons and daughters of God that you truly are.
Saturday, October 18, 2003
Hope to see you in Jacksonville
Dear Friends,
We are very much looking forward to seeing you while we are in Jacksonville! The plan is for the ship to come into downtown Jacksonville on the morning of Thursday, November 6th. There will be a Mayor’s Reception that evening and we will also be welcoming many new crew members. It will be an exciting and busy day! The ship schedules many receptions during the time of Public Relations Tours to share the vision and invite specific groups to learn about our mission and how to serve with us. We will be docked in Jacksonville until December 2nd.
We have arranged to have a private reception for our friends and family in Jacksonville. You are invited to join us at this reception on November 15th from 2:00 pm until 4:00 pm. Please let us know by November 9th if you’ll be able to come so we may plan for the refreshments and notify the ship tour staff of your attendance. We will be docked by the Adams Mark hotel downtown on the Riverwalk just north of The Landing. You will need to first register with the tour staff on the dock and then go on the tour. At the end of the tour they will bring you into the reception which will be held on the family side of the dining room on the Promenade Deck near the International Flag Landing. We will need to finish the reception promptly at 4:00 pm, because the dining room staff will need to prepare the family dining room for dinner which is served at 5:00 pm. We hope you’ll be able to come and be our honored guests.
We would also like to spend time with you individually during our stay. Since our time will be limited and we will also be working, we will need to plan our time so that we can be available to see all of you and be able to give a private tour of the ship, if you’d like. We hope you will understand and know that we are really looking forward to sharing our new home with you. You may join us onboard for meals such as lunch during the week or dinner. We also have a community night gathering on Thursday evenings at 7:00 pm. Unfortunately, the ship requires us to notify them of guests ahead of time, so please let us know if there is a time that you would like to join us. We are also limited in the number of guests that we may have onboard at one time for times other than the reception.
If any of you would like to stay onboard the ship overnight, please let us know as soon as possible. We have many guests from all over the US and world that visit the ship during this time. Our CEO and founder, Don Stephens, and his wife, Deyon, will be onboard for a few days near the end of November. We are having a change of CEOs, from Trevor Walker to Udo Kronester, on Nov. 20th. So as you can see this will be a busy time. Please contact us and we will do our best to meet your schedules.
You can reach us on the ship phone (504) 739-5139, this is a number in New Orleans (where our satellite switch is) and our email address is robert.miller@mercyships.org or denise.miller@mercyships.org. We look forward to seeing you in Jacksonville!
May God bless you abundantly today!
God’s blessings,
Denise and Rob
Mercy Ships, m/v Caribbean Mercy
We are very much looking forward to seeing you while we are in Jacksonville! The plan is for the ship to come into downtown Jacksonville on the morning of Thursday, November 6th. There will be a Mayor’s Reception that evening and we will also be welcoming many new crew members. It will be an exciting and busy day! The ship schedules many receptions during the time of Public Relations Tours to share the vision and invite specific groups to learn about our mission and how to serve with us. We will be docked in Jacksonville until December 2nd.
We have arranged to have a private reception for our friends and family in Jacksonville. You are invited to join us at this reception on November 15th from 2:00 pm until 4:00 pm. Please let us know by November 9th if you’ll be able to come so we may plan for the refreshments and notify the ship tour staff of your attendance. We will be docked by the Adams Mark hotel downtown on the Riverwalk just north of The Landing. You will need to first register with the tour staff on the dock and then go on the tour. At the end of the tour they will bring you into the reception which will be held on the family side of the dining room on the Promenade Deck near the International Flag Landing. We will need to finish the reception promptly at 4:00 pm, because the dining room staff will need to prepare the family dining room for dinner which is served at 5:00 pm. We hope you’ll be able to come and be our honored guests.
We would also like to spend time with you individually during our stay. Since our time will be limited and we will also be working, we will need to plan our time so that we can be available to see all of you and be able to give a private tour of the ship, if you’d like. We hope you will understand and know that we are really looking forward to sharing our new home with you. You may join us onboard for meals such as lunch during the week or dinner. We also have a community night gathering on Thursday evenings at 7:00 pm. Unfortunately, the ship requires us to notify them of guests ahead of time, so please let us know if there is a time that you would like to join us. We are also limited in the number of guests that we may have onboard at one time for times other than the reception.
If any of you would like to stay onboard the ship overnight, please let us know as soon as possible. We have many guests from all over the US and world that visit the ship during this time. Our CEO and founder, Don Stephens, and his wife, Deyon, will be onboard for a few days near the end of November. We are having a change of CEOs, from Trevor Walker to Udo Kronester, on Nov. 20th. So as you can see this will be a busy time. Please contact us and we will do our best to meet your schedules.
You can reach us on the ship phone (504) 739-5139, this is a number in New Orleans (where our satellite switch is) and our email address is robert.miller@mercyships.org or denise.miller@mercyships.org. We look forward to seeing you in Jacksonville!
May God bless you abundantly today!
God’s blessings,
Denise and Rob
Mercy Ships, m/v Caribbean Mercy
Sunday, October 05, 2003
God is with us in Dangriga, Belize!
Hello Friends,
We serve an awesome God and He Loves us! Greetings from Dangriga, Belize. It has been an eventful couple of weeks since we last wrote. We have seen many lives changed, either through physical healing or spiritual renewal. Mercy Ship’s crew is able to show God’s love through many different facets:
• Praying with the patients on the dock as they await their surgery
• Celebrating with the patients as the eye patch is removed the day after surgery and they have sight!
• Meeting with the ladies at a local church to teach them cross-stitch and to build relationships – last week, much more prayer was shared one on one and singing of praises to the Lord
• Digging and moving five tons of dirt and mud by hand to open a water source for a local community
• Praying with and befriending two teenage girls that had been raped in a remote village
• Organizing and conducting a day at the park for the local children, including games, prizes and clowns.
• Meeting with the men of Dangriga weekly in a combined study of “Wild at Heart” to help us rediscover our God given hearts and value as men of God
• Joining in worship with the local churches
• Encouraging the pastors and congregations to continue the work God has given them here in Dangriga, Belize to continue to make a difference in this predominately non-Christian culture, by the testimony of their lives
There are many stories we could relate to you, each touching and a witness to God working in people. We would like to just share one for now.
Onboard the Caribbean Mercy we have two diesel generators which produce our electricity. They are made by Caterpillar and are very reliable. Normally we run one at a time, alternating between them so as to prolong the life of each motor. One morning about two weeks ago, while we were in our morning devotions, an alarm went off in the engine room, shortly followed by the ship blacking out as we lost all electrical power. The engineers, and fire team responded as they had been trained in an orderly and well rehearsed fashion. The fire alarm was sounded and the crew exited the ship accordingly. The Captain announced over the PA system that this was not a drill. The crew on the dock began praying, as we knew this was another spiritual attack. In short order, electricity was restored, the all clear was sounded and we were allowed to return to work.
The next morning at our morning devotions, the Chief Engineer advised us of the cause of the blackout. A bearing on the operating generator experienced failure causing the generator to shut down. The smoke from the engine caused the fire alarm to sound. Our other generator was fully operational and the disassembly of the failed generator was performed and the needed parts were ordered through our Marine Operations department at the International Operations Center, in Texas. They were air expressed to Miami and then flown into Belize City, Belize. This all took place within a little over a week. Meanwhile, we prayed that the one operational generator would continue without problems. Without it working, we would be totally in the dark, except for emergency lights.
On September 26th, Denise and I drove from Dangriga, to the airport in Belize City, Belize to retrieve the parts. This is a 100 mile trip and takes about 2 ½ to 3 hours. We arrived at 5:00 pm after getting some final direction at the airport terminal to the freight forwarders office. We were then informed that they close at 5:00pm. The customs inspector had already locked his office, counted out his money and was prepared to leave. We explained the situation to him and asked him to provide us the parts. He agreed to help us, if his supervisor would approve it. We went back to the airport terminal and Denise went inside to ask the supervisor for leniency. We had already paid $3.50 for 5 minutes of parking and Rob didn’t want to pay another $3.50 so he stayed with the truck. In short order, Denise returned and indicted the Supervisor would not approve the release until Monday. Frustrated, we called back to the ship to advise the Captain of the situation. She, also, was disappointed, but told us to have a nice dinner and then she’d see us when we returned to the ship. We did enjoy a nice dinner at a local Chinese restaurant and had a safe drive back to the ship.
Arrangements were made for the return trip on Monday, September 29th . Don Golden, a fellow crewmember and good friend, volunteered to make the trip with Rob as Denise had many previous commitments scheduled for Monday. Don and Rob left the ship early at 6:00 am headed for Belize City, International airport. We arrived safely at 8:30 am and awaited the opening of the Customs office at 9:00 am. Upon his arrival, the customs inspector looked briefly at us and our paperwork. Making no motion to us, he left the room. We waited until 9:20 and then asked one of the attendants if she thought the inspector would call for us, to which she replied no, we should go over to his office. OK, so we went, another customer was already in his office, so we waited. Finally upon arrival in his office, the inspector advised us we have incomplete paperwork, and he can not release the parts to us. This begins a series of calls between, Don and our Shipping Agent. Part way into this process we run out of minutes on the cell-phone so Don has to go back to the airport terminal and buy more minutes for the cell-phone. Now with more minutes, Don contacts the agent and is asked to wait while he attempted to get the paperwork sorted out. We waited until about 10:30 am.
Then Don called the Prime Minister’s wife’s office (this is the office of BCVI – Belize Council for the Visually Impaired- the organization we are working with closely in Belize) and spoke with her assistant Henry, who we had established a relationship with during their visit to our ship. Henry volunteered to speak with the Head of Customs for Belize and asked that we call him back in one hour. True to his word when Don called back we were instructed to go back to the supervisor at the airport terminal and he would sign a release form for us. We returned to the terminal as directed and the paperwork was signed. We returned to the customs office and proceeded to get the needed parts. Rob went into the office, while Don worked with the man in the warehouse to start loading the parts on the truck. Finally at 12:00 the truck was loaded.
During all of this process, we remained calm and as cooperative as we could. At this point the customs inspector asked if we had a cure for a disease his son had. He thought all of the people on Mercy Ships were doctors. Rob explained he wasn’t a doctor and was not aware of the disease he spoke of. The customs inspector explained that his four year old son had a disease that caused him to get white spots and then his skin would flake off. At this point, Don came into the office and Rob explained to Don the request of the father. Don asked if it would be alright if we prayed with the father for his son. The father was very moved by this offer and graciously accepted. We both placed our hands on this father and Don prayed for him, his son and his family. We were thankful for the opportunity God presented to us to pray with this father, son and family. We were again reminded that the real reason we are involved in this ministry is to affect people’s lives with the love of Jesus Christ and to proclaim the Gospel. The generator parts are merely used to maintain a tool to this end. May we be ever faithful to God’s calling.
God’s blessing,
Rob and Denise Miller
Mercy Ships, m/v Caribbean Mercy
rob.miller@mercyships.org
denise.miller@mercyships.org
www.mercyships.org
We serve an awesome God and He Loves us! Greetings from Dangriga, Belize. It has been an eventful couple of weeks since we last wrote. We have seen many lives changed, either through physical healing or spiritual renewal. Mercy Ship’s crew is able to show God’s love through many different facets:
• Praying with the patients on the dock as they await their surgery
• Celebrating with the patients as the eye patch is removed the day after surgery and they have sight!
• Meeting with the ladies at a local church to teach them cross-stitch and to build relationships – last week, much more prayer was shared one on one and singing of praises to the Lord
• Digging and moving five tons of dirt and mud by hand to open a water source for a local community
• Praying with and befriending two teenage girls that had been raped in a remote village
• Organizing and conducting a day at the park for the local children, including games, prizes and clowns.
• Meeting with the men of Dangriga weekly in a combined study of “Wild at Heart” to help us rediscover our God given hearts and value as men of God
• Joining in worship with the local churches
• Encouraging the pastors and congregations to continue the work God has given them here in Dangriga, Belize to continue to make a difference in this predominately non-Christian culture, by the testimony of their lives
There are many stories we could relate to you, each touching and a witness to God working in people. We would like to just share one for now.
Onboard the Caribbean Mercy we have two diesel generators which produce our electricity. They are made by Caterpillar and are very reliable. Normally we run one at a time, alternating between them so as to prolong the life of each motor. One morning about two weeks ago, while we were in our morning devotions, an alarm went off in the engine room, shortly followed by the ship blacking out as we lost all electrical power. The engineers, and fire team responded as they had been trained in an orderly and well rehearsed fashion. The fire alarm was sounded and the crew exited the ship accordingly. The Captain announced over the PA system that this was not a drill. The crew on the dock began praying, as we knew this was another spiritual attack. In short order, electricity was restored, the all clear was sounded and we were allowed to return to work.
The next morning at our morning devotions, the Chief Engineer advised us of the cause of the blackout. A bearing on the operating generator experienced failure causing the generator to shut down. The smoke from the engine caused the fire alarm to sound. Our other generator was fully operational and the disassembly of the failed generator was performed and the needed parts were ordered through our Marine Operations department at the International Operations Center, in Texas. They were air expressed to Miami and then flown into Belize City, Belize. This all took place within a little over a week. Meanwhile, we prayed that the one operational generator would continue without problems. Without it working, we would be totally in the dark, except for emergency lights.
On September 26th, Denise and I drove from Dangriga, to the airport in Belize City, Belize to retrieve the parts. This is a 100 mile trip and takes about 2 ½ to 3 hours. We arrived at 5:00 pm after getting some final direction at the airport terminal to the freight forwarders office. We were then informed that they close at 5:00pm. The customs inspector had already locked his office, counted out his money and was prepared to leave. We explained the situation to him and asked him to provide us the parts. He agreed to help us, if his supervisor would approve it. We went back to the airport terminal and Denise went inside to ask the supervisor for leniency. We had already paid $3.50 for 5 minutes of parking and Rob didn’t want to pay another $3.50 so he stayed with the truck. In short order, Denise returned and indicted the Supervisor would not approve the release until Monday. Frustrated, we called back to the ship to advise the Captain of the situation. She, also, was disappointed, but told us to have a nice dinner and then she’d see us when we returned to the ship. We did enjoy a nice dinner at a local Chinese restaurant and had a safe drive back to the ship.
Arrangements were made for the return trip on Monday, September 29th . Don Golden, a fellow crewmember and good friend, volunteered to make the trip with Rob as Denise had many previous commitments scheduled for Monday. Don and Rob left the ship early at 6:00 am headed for Belize City, International airport. We arrived safely at 8:30 am and awaited the opening of the Customs office at 9:00 am. Upon his arrival, the customs inspector looked briefly at us and our paperwork. Making no motion to us, he left the room. We waited until 9:20 and then asked one of the attendants if she thought the inspector would call for us, to which she replied no, we should go over to his office. OK, so we went, another customer was already in his office, so we waited. Finally upon arrival in his office, the inspector advised us we have incomplete paperwork, and he can not release the parts to us. This begins a series of calls between, Don and our Shipping Agent. Part way into this process we run out of minutes on the cell-phone so Don has to go back to the airport terminal and buy more minutes for the cell-phone. Now with more minutes, Don contacts the agent and is asked to wait while he attempted to get the paperwork sorted out. We waited until about 10:30 am.
Then Don called the Prime Minister’s wife’s office (this is the office of BCVI – Belize Council for the Visually Impaired- the organization we are working with closely in Belize) and spoke with her assistant Henry, who we had established a relationship with during their visit to our ship. Henry volunteered to speak with the Head of Customs for Belize and asked that we call him back in one hour. True to his word when Don called back we were instructed to go back to the supervisor at the airport terminal and he would sign a release form for us. We returned to the terminal as directed and the paperwork was signed. We returned to the customs office and proceeded to get the needed parts. Rob went into the office, while Don worked with the man in the warehouse to start loading the parts on the truck. Finally at 12:00 the truck was loaded.
During all of this process, we remained calm and as cooperative as we could. At this point the customs inspector asked if we had a cure for a disease his son had. He thought all of the people on Mercy Ships were doctors. Rob explained he wasn’t a doctor and was not aware of the disease he spoke of. The customs inspector explained that his four year old son had a disease that caused him to get white spots and then his skin would flake off. At this point, Don came into the office and Rob explained to Don the request of the father. Don asked if it would be alright if we prayed with the father for his son. The father was very moved by this offer and graciously accepted. We both placed our hands on this father and Don prayed for him, his son and his family. We were thankful for the opportunity God presented to us to pray with this father, son and family. We were again reminded that the real reason we are involved in this ministry is to affect people’s lives with the love of Jesus Christ and to proclaim the Gospel. The generator parts are merely used to maintain a tool to this end. May we be ever faithful to God’s calling.
God’s blessing,
Rob and Denise Miller
Mercy Ships, m/v Caribbean Mercy
rob.miller@mercyships.org
denise.miller@mercyships.org
www.mercyships.org
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
Hello From Dangriga, Belize
Hello Friends,
Many of you may be wondering what happened to the newsletter we receive from Rob and Denise monthly. Well this month has been a challenge. Not in that we haven't taken the time to prepare a newsletter, or have tried to send you one. We have done both. In reviewing the newsletter after it had been posted. We found (1) not all of you were included in the newsletter. Not because we didn't try and include you, but you just weren't. So we tried to post the information to you in separate emails. some could open the email some couldn't. (2) Also while reviewing the newsletter we discovered that three of the verses in the text we used were omitted. Our text was drawn from Ephesians 6:12-20. In the document we create offline and then merge into the newsletter this information was there. When we proofread the message prior to posting the verse was there. Isn't it interesting that the entire point of this newsletter is "Spiritual Warfare". Denise and I archived the newsletter after we went in and inserted and corrected the verses and still the archived copy when viewed today was incorrect. So would you please look at the archived message the one previous to this message in our Mercy Watch and ignore the scripture as written and read it from your own bible. We have never had this happen before, and trust you will join us and see that there is and important message that the word of God is displaying and the devil just doesn't want you to get it.
May you be blessed abundantly today as you seek to serve the Lord in all you do.
Blessing,
Rob and Denise
Many of you may be wondering what happened to the newsletter we receive from Rob and Denise monthly. Well this month has been a challenge. Not in that we haven't taken the time to prepare a newsletter, or have tried to send you one. We have done both. In reviewing the newsletter after it had been posted. We found (1) not all of you were included in the newsletter. Not because we didn't try and include you, but you just weren't. So we tried to post the information to you in separate emails. some could open the email some couldn't. (2) Also while reviewing the newsletter we discovered that three of the verses in the text we used were omitted. Our text was drawn from Ephesians 6:12-20. In the document we create offline and then merge into the newsletter this information was there. When we proofread the message prior to posting the verse was there. Isn't it interesting that the entire point of this newsletter is "Spiritual Warfare". Denise and I archived the newsletter after we went in and inserted and corrected the verses and still the archived copy when viewed today was incorrect. So would you please look at the archived message the one previous to this message in our Mercy Watch and ignore the scripture as written and read it from your own bible. We have never had this happen before, and trust you will join us and see that there is and important message that the word of God is displaying and the devil just doesn't want you to get it.
May you be blessed abundantly today as you seek to serve the Lord in all you do.
Blessing,
Rob and Denise
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Greetings from Dangriga, Belize!
Hello Friends,
We have completed our first month of outreach in Dangriga, Belize. It is amazing to see the Lord at work. There has been much spiritual warfare here. Your prayers for us and for the team that is here and those that are yet to come are needed and appreciated. We are told by Paul in Eph.6:
(12) “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (13) Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (14) Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, (15) and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. (16) In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (17) take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (18) and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (19) Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.”
We have seen that the power of prayer has sustained us during each outreach we have been involved with. That by the very word of God we are empowered and protected. Strongholds are torn down and captives are set free. It seems difficult to accurately present to you the full impact of your prayers. We’d like to share one example from the director of the YWAM base in Haiti.
Hello Everyone,
You may recall a recent report of how it was heard that there was a big voodoo ceremony to take place at the original sight where Boukman sacrificed a pig. The ceremony had ended prematurely and there were reports that there had been much confusion and no sacrifices were made. Brian Shipley and Illioney St. Fleur, two of our YWAM staff leaders, have just returned from the sight today to give a first hand report of what they found and heard with their own eyes and ears. I hope your faith and prayers will grow as this nation of Haiti is clearly on the breaking point of a great move of GOD!
Terry W. Snow
National Director, YWAM Haiti
Report on the events at Bois Caiman August 14th, 2003 By Illioney St. Fleur and Brian Shipley
About a week and a half ago many of you heard a report from us that there was a story circulating in Haiti that a great Voodoo ceremony had been planned for Bois Caiman on the night of the 14th of August, and that there had been plans for a large number of animals to be sacrificed as a memorial of the sacrifice made on the night of August 14, 1791. The story was that some kind of confusion happened and the sacrifices were never done because of the united prayer efforts of Haitian churches and churches in many countries around the world. We wanted to verify that report so we drove 4 and ½ hours this morning to get to the actual site at Bois Caiman so that we could find out first hand what happened. Here is what we learned.
The receptionist at a hotel located less than 2 miles from Bois Caiman told us that they had reservations for several government officials for that night who were supposed to participate in the ceremony. Those officials never showed up. She and another employee of the hotel said that because the churches had joined together in prayer that “Satan had been chased away from the land” and that “NOTHING had happened that night.” We were excited to hear that news, but we decided that we would continue on to the actual tree at Bois Caiman where the original sacrifice in 1791 was made, and where the ceremony was to be held just 2 weeks ago.
As we drove down the narrow dirt road leading to the place, we saw two banners spread across the road that read, “Voodoo, the source and root of our Liberty!” When we arrived at the famous tree at Bois Caiman, what we found was a VERY DEAD TREE, large and impressive, but dead nonetheless. Interesting that the tree marking the place that is supposed to be the very “source and root of Haitian Liberty” is dead. Even more interesting is the fact that it is a fertile and well watered area and we saw literally hundreds of verdant trees all around, but only the one was dead. It sure seems that God is making a powerful statement that the real source of Haiti’s Liberty is not Voodoo!
There is a church located less than 100 yards from the tree so Illioney went inside to ask if anyone there could give a report on what happened August 14th. The news was the same as what we have heard everywhere else. A man in the church said, “Big sacrifices were planned for that night, but not even an ant died!” That man also shared with us another interesting report. He said that some time ago (within the last 2 years) sacrifices had been made at the tree by two witchdoctors in order that during a worship service a fire would break out in the church to kill the pastor and any believers worshipping there. Not long after that, both of the witchdoctors died, but the church is still standing and the only fire that has ever burned in the church (besides the Holy Spirit) is at the cook stove in the kitchen where they make rice and beans every day for the kids who attend school in the church building.
The Devil is indeed a roaring lion, loud and sometimes frightening, but it’s all smoke and mirrors. As Revelation 12:10 and 11 says, “...For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; and they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”
When we were in the Dominican Republic, we were able to witness first hand the power of God in a Haitian Refugee Village. Our Mercy Ship teams built a church for the Christians to worship in. We also taught agriculture, had a health care clinic and solar oven seminars.
Denise and I thank each of you for the investment you make in our lives. Through your prayers, letters of encouragement, phone calls and financial support. We are truly blessed, to have each of you as our support team.
We were doubly blessed this month of August as our youngest son Jeff was married to his lovely wife Valerie on the 28th. This was a time of celebration and reconciliation for our family. Denise and I were unable to attend, but were blessed to have Denise’s father (Pop-pup), family friend Vivian, and Aunt Dawn and Aunt Donna with her daughter, Erin, come from Maryland and Delaware to honor Jeff and Valerie. This was answered prayer and made Jeff and Valerie feel loved and honored. We would like to thank all of our friends and extended family members who helped to make this a special day for Jeff and Valerie; we realize that many were unable to attend but held Jeff and Valerie up in their prayers. Thank you! Aunt Dawn took nine rolls of pictures and is sending them to us after they are developed. We’ll be anxious to forward some of these along to each of you, our family and friends. We love each of you and feel your love for us.
Our prayer for each of you is, “May your life be as wonderful as it was in the mind of God the day He made you”.
God’s blessings,
Rob and Denise
Mercy Ships, m/v Caribbean Mercy
Ship’s phone: 504 739-5193
Cabin ext: 246
Email: denise.miller@mercyships.org
robert.miller@mercyships.org
website: www.mercyships.org
Postal address:
Rob and Denise Miller
Mercy Ships, m/v Caribbean Mercy PO Box 2020 Garden Valley, TX 75771-2020
We have completed our first month of outreach in Dangriga, Belize. It is amazing to see the Lord at work. There has been much spiritual warfare here. Your prayers for us and for the team that is here and those that are yet to come are needed and appreciated. We are told by Paul in Eph.6:
(12) “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (13) Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (14) Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, (15) and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. (16) In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (17) take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (18) and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (19) Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.”
We have seen that the power of prayer has sustained us during each outreach we have been involved with. That by the very word of God we are empowered and protected. Strongholds are torn down and captives are set free. It seems difficult to accurately present to you the full impact of your prayers. We’d like to share one example from the director of the YWAM base in Haiti.
Hello Everyone,
You may recall a recent report of how it was heard that there was a big voodoo ceremony to take place at the original sight where Boukman sacrificed a pig. The ceremony had ended prematurely and there were reports that there had been much confusion and no sacrifices were made. Brian Shipley and Illioney St. Fleur, two of our YWAM staff leaders, have just returned from the sight today to give a first hand report of what they found and heard with their own eyes and ears. I hope your faith and prayers will grow as this nation of Haiti is clearly on the breaking point of a great move of GOD!
Terry W. Snow
National Director, YWAM Haiti
Report on the events at Bois Caiman August 14th, 2003 By Illioney St. Fleur and Brian Shipley
About a week and a half ago many of you heard a report from us that there was a story circulating in Haiti that a great Voodoo ceremony had been planned for Bois Caiman on the night of the 14th of August, and that there had been plans for a large number of animals to be sacrificed as a memorial of the sacrifice made on the night of August 14, 1791. The story was that some kind of confusion happened and the sacrifices were never done because of the united prayer efforts of Haitian churches and churches in many countries around the world. We wanted to verify that report so we drove 4 and ½ hours this morning to get to the actual site at Bois Caiman so that we could find out first hand what happened. Here is what we learned.
The receptionist at a hotel located less than 2 miles from Bois Caiman told us that they had reservations for several government officials for that night who were supposed to participate in the ceremony. Those officials never showed up. She and another employee of the hotel said that because the churches had joined together in prayer that “Satan had been chased away from the land” and that “NOTHING had happened that night.” We were excited to hear that news, but we decided that we would continue on to the actual tree at Bois Caiman where the original sacrifice in 1791 was made, and where the ceremony was to be held just 2 weeks ago.
As we drove down the narrow dirt road leading to the place, we saw two banners spread across the road that read, “Voodoo, the source and root of our Liberty!” When we arrived at the famous tree at Bois Caiman, what we found was a VERY DEAD TREE, large and impressive, but dead nonetheless. Interesting that the tree marking the place that is supposed to be the very “source and root of Haitian Liberty” is dead. Even more interesting is the fact that it is a fertile and well watered area and we saw literally hundreds of verdant trees all around, but only the one was dead. It sure seems that God is making a powerful statement that the real source of Haiti’s Liberty is not Voodoo!
There is a church located less than 100 yards from the tree so Illioney went inside to ask if anyone there could give a report on what happened August 14th. The news was the same as what we have heard everywhere else. A man in the church said, “Big sacrifices were planned for that night, but not even an ant died!” That man also shared with us another interesting report. He said that some time ago (within the last 2 years) sacrifices had been made at the tree by two witchdoctors in order that during a worship service a fire would break out in the church to kill the pastor and any believers worshipping there. Not long after that, both of the witchdoctors died, but the church is still standing and the only fire that has ever burned in the church (besides the Holy Spirit) is at the cook stove in the kitchen where they make rice and beans every day for the kids who attend school in the church building.
The Devil is indeed a roaring lion, loud and sometimes frightening, but it’s all smoke and mirrors. As Revelation 12:10 and 11 says, “...For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; and they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”
When we were in the Dominican Republic, we were able to witness first hand the power of God in a Haitian Refugee Village. Our Mercy Ship teams built a church for the Christians to worship in. We also taught agriculture, had a health care clinic and solar oven seminars.
Denise and I thank each of you for the investment you make in our lives. Through your prayers, letters of encouragement, phone calls and financial support. We are truly blessed, to have each of you as our support team.
We were doubly blessed this month of August as our youngest son Jeff was married to his lovely wife Valerie on the 28th. This was a time of celebration and reconciliation for our family. Denise and I were unable to attend, but were blessed to have Denise’s father (Pop-pup), family friend Vivian, and Aunt Dawn and Aunt Donna with her daughter, Erin, come from Maryland and Delaware to honor Jeff and Valerie. This was answered prayer and made Jeff and Valerie feel loved and honored. We would like to thank all of our friends and extended family members who helped to make this a special day for Jeff and Valerie; we realize that many were unable to attend but held Jeff and Valerie up in their prayers. Thank you! Aunt Dawn took nine rolls of pictures and is sending them to us after they are developed. We’ll be anxious to forward some of these along to each of you, our family and friends. We love each of you and feel your love for us.
Our prayer for each of you is, “May your life be as wonderful as it was in the mind of God the day He made you”.
God’s blessings,
Rob and Denise
Mercy Ships, m/v Caribbean Mercy
Ship’s phone: 504 739-5193
Cabin ext: 246
Email: denise.miller@mercyships.org
robert.miller@mercyships.org
website: www.mercyships.org
Postal address:
Rob and Denise Miller
Mercy Ships, m/v Caribbean Mercy PO Box 2020 Garden Valley, TX 75771-2020
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
