Acts 29 in Haiti

songs from the wilderness

It seems like it has been foreeeeever since I put up my last blog. Besides making sure ministry continues in Haiti the work continues here in Ohio. One of the greatest times I have is being able to minister at Teen Challenge. I can relate to so many of the guys (and now gals) at T.C. because my testimony of being trapped in sin is where many of them are at now. Lets face it...you don't go to Teen Challenge because you are wanting an extended vacation in Milford, Ohio! The director, George Martin turned me onto a CD made by one of the young men that had gone through the T.C. program. The title is "songs from the wilderness" by Craig Aven. I took the CD out of the case and put it in my CD player. It hasn't stopped since. I have it constantly playing throughout my house. It is a great CD! I can hear the pain and breakthrough in the words as every song worships our Lord. I encourage you to get a copy at http://www.teenchallengecincinnati.org/shelter_cd.htm. Once you get a copy, let me know what you think.
 

Memories of the other side of the world

As we pray and plan our strategies to reach the nation of Haiti, I can't help but remember back 15 years ago to a trip to the Philippines. (As you can tell by a little "thinner" Don and hairstyle #14!) Little did I know that during that trip the strategy I saw would be affecting my plans even now. As I watched these pastors and leaders talk about how to reach their country, I remembered thinking to myself that they really have a plan. Please pray with us as we get our paperwork and finances in order to see an entire nation touched by God! If you would like more info, feel free to contact me at acts29haiti@yahoo.com.

Changing Gears

Changing gears from missions to men's ministry will be exciting on Saturday, September 12th. Many of you know the onslaught of what the devil offers men these days through the internet. Countless marriages have been destroyed through sexual addiction. 6 out of 10 men find themselves trapped. Some of you know that I worked in the pornography business for 5 years before becoming a Christian. I found out that Jesus was not intimidated by my sin and embraced me with open arms. Then He began the work of cleaning out all the garbage that I had packed away in my mind. I have found that freedom feels real good! But I am not unaware of the devils schemes and I have to be on guard at all times...just like you do. So join us this Saturday as we open God's Word to find out about victory, forgiveness and the power to live in purity. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at acts29haiti.com.

Good news...Bad news...for the truck

It was a good week and bad week for the big red truck. After a flat tire last month I realized that just one spare isn't enough. So my friend, Jeff in Ohio comes to the rescue with another tire rim for the truck. I went to Goodyear in Port-Au-Prince and $500 later I have two new mud tires on the front and 2 spares (I had 2 new mud tires put on the back during the hurricanes last year). After that I was able to replace both mirrors that had been broken several times by trees and passing trucks. I also was able to get an oil change and inspected all the drive-train. So besides a few more smaller repairs needed, the big truck was ready for some more mountain roads.

 The bad news is that on my way back to the airport a huge rock flung off from a bus tire that was passing me. I watched, almost in slow motion, as the rock sailed into the air right for my truck. Three seconds later a heard the thud of the rock hitting me. I looked intensly at the windsheild and door windows. To my surprise they were not broken. I thought I had escaped! Then all of a sudden I heard the noise of wind coming into the cabin of the truck. I looked into my rear view mirror and saw my back glass shattered in pieces. It seems that the rock bounced off my ATV motorcycle in the back bed and shot through my back glass. URGH!

I was quite discouraged about all of this when I remembered this picture I took last month. It is a mountain road that took us to the village of Font-Baptist. In that village 100 people accepted Christ. And it was that big red truck that got us there. So I feel blessed...broken window and all.

Good news...Bad news...

Ok...the bad news first. My head is still in a blur from a non-stop 5 days in Haiti. The good news is I brought back some great Haitian coffee beans which usually snaps me out of the fog very quickly!

 This last week was certainly "interesting". I was thankful that I was able to meet with everyone I wanted to on this trip. But the enemy sure was making it hard. From a motorcycle accident that happened in front of our truck to a dear friend overtaken by a demonic spirit to a rock coming through the back window, the week was full of up's and down's. It was one of those trips where I was very glad to get back to Ohio. Now having a couple days to look back on everything, a lot was accomplished. A big thank you to everyone who watched over us through prayer. You are making a difference in our lives and the nation of Haiti.

Heading Back Next Week

I will be heading back to Haiti next week. My goal on this trip is to get the truck ready for a busy winter. The bad news is that on our last trip I found out that a mouse was living under the hood of the truck. He decided he was hungry and started chewing on the electrical wires. The good news is that I was able to find this quickly and will make the needed repairs. Also after blowing out a tire on my my recent trip up the mountains to Duko-1, I realize that one spare tire won't be enough. So I will be adding a second spare tire. Finally I will be replacing the mirrors on the doors as both of them have been damaged by trees or passing trucks.
 My other goal is to meet the principals of two of the three schools that we plan on supporting this year. I was able to buy notebooks and pencils for the 400 students. This will certainly place me over the limit on suitcases for the airplane. If you could help offset this cost of $150 ($75 per bag) that would be a huge blessing for this trip. If you have any questions, feel free to email me. Thanks!

Fresh Videos!

Michael has just put up some fresh videos on our You Tube site. You can see for yourself the 100 people Laura lead to Christ on the top of a mountain. Check it out! www.youtube.com/acts29haiti

Over 100 SALVATIONS!!!

I was taken back by how green and cool it was on top of the mountains above Williamson. I have seen the mountains many times from the bottom, but never have been on top. There is a good reason for that: a very bad road. But now that we were up there I wondered to myself why I had never been there before. As we walked to the school I saw many children gathered around Laura. She has been in the mission field enough to know exactly what to do. So her, JB, and Sonel instantly began a kids club for them. I was in a good conversation with a man when I began to hear the gospel being preached. I interrupted our conversation to walk over and see what was going on. To my surprise, Laura was giving an invitation for the children to accept Christ as their Savior. I quickly grabbed a camera and took some pictures as over 100 children accepted Christ that day. I was a taken back as well as our interpreters on how well Laura presented the gospel. Her story was about the woman at the well and when Jesus asked her if she wanted "living water where she would never thirst again". Needless to say I will be going back up the mountain as soon as I can to follow up on what happened. As always, I appreciate everyone who prays for these type of encounters while we are in Haiti.

Right place at the right time

The testimonies out of our trip to Fontbaptist are many. It took a few hours up the mountains to reach this unreached area. There were 4 smaller villages on the way there. Michael had an encounter with a woman that was supernatural. He was at the right place at the right time. I 'will let him explain.

I would like to share one story that meant a great deal to me this last trip to Haiti. After traveling three hours into the mountains, I finally arrived to a village called Doku-1. I went first alone, on our yellow ATV. A few minutes behind me was my dad and some of our team in the Red Ford Truck. While the team held a kids club for about fifty children, I stepped away to go evangelize and meet some people of Doku-1. Patrick, my Haitian friend, went with me. Together we admired the coolness of the village. The reddish ground, made more of clay than dirt in some areas, made the green of the trees and the white of the surrounding clouds really stand out. We found a path and followed it until we came to a house made of mud and concrete powder. It was leaning, unproportional and painted a light blue. “Ona” I asked before entering the area. “Respa” I heard the lady on the porch say. In Haiti, to enter some people’s property, it is appropriate to first knock on some nearby tree and say “Honor”, and if they reply “Respect” then you’re welcome to come in. So we met Madame Cansayla. After we talked of the village and Haitian life there, I asked her what she thinks of God. She replied with quite a sad story. Not too long ago, her husband died in an accident, not must time passed before her dad also died. And then her oldest and seventh child died of sickness. She explained that she cries everyday and it’s hard for her to approach God because she feels hurt and alone. Wow. What do I say to that? What would you say? Well earlier that morning I read 1 Peter and told God that on this day I would be sure to share the Word and let scripture do its work. And so turning to 1 Peter, I shared with her that those who are in Jesus will have to experience various trials and tests, yet it is to test our faith. Our faith, more precious than gold.  She began to get watery eyes, and when I asked her if she would like to accept Jesus, escape hell, and have His direction through the trials, she agreed. With hands held, together we prayed and today our family is a little bigger. As soon as we said amen, one of the persons in our team had come to tell us that It was time to go. Yes, God is faithful. Yes, His timing is perfect. I want to say thank you to everyone who help support our family.

SUPERNATURAL ENCOUNTER!

Dons Journal, July 29, 2009: So I didn't have any plans to go to Titanyen. In 2008 it seemed that God opened many other villages to me and Mission of Hope was doing a good job there. But we went to see Aledis the Voodoo Master and once again give him the gospel. He wasn't home but Michael asked if he could visit a friend named Rolando while we were there. I said OK as long as it is fast because I had other places to go. While he was talking to Rolando I asked Sonel(my interpreter) to join me as I saw a lot of people close by Rolandos house. I said "Lets see if we can stir up some trouble". Sonel always knows that means evangelism. So I ended up talking to a lady who said she was back-slidden. She described how she got involved with a man and after that walked away from God. I asked her what is keeping her from "sliding back" to Jesus. OK...GET THIS...She said she heard from a young boy the day before about a man named Pastor Don who leads people to Christ. As she heard him talking she said "if this Pastor Don would just come to this village, and I would see him, I will do whatever he asks to have Jesus back into my life". Sonel's eyes got huge! But before he could tell her who I was (she didn't know me) I asked him to ask her why why she would wait for that Pastor Don guy. She said that people in the village always talk about him and that he is a missionary that knows how to get people to God. What a FREAKED OUT JOY it was to tell her who I was. I was just as amazed by the story as she was seeing me. Needless to say she got marvelously born again.  How cool is that!?!?!?!

 THANKS to everyone who prays for us on these trips. I know these supernatural encounters happen because of your prayers!