General

Like most of the world I am stunned and saddened by the horrific damage done through the  earthquake that leveled the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince last week. Scores of thousands of people are dead and an entire city is now struggling to survive then rebuild. Thankfully, many nations, organizations, churches, and individuals have stepped into the rescue and relief effort which will be needed for months and years to come. We must continue to pray and do all that we can to help.

Youth With A Mission has had long-term workers in Haiti for decades. We operate a number of ministries out of two properties located in St. Marc, about sixty miles from Port-au-Prince.

Regretfully, we also lost a beloved co-worker in the earthquake. One of our Haitian familes on staff with YWAM St.Marc were living in the capital on a time of sabbatical. Evodie St. Fleur was killed in the earthquake, leaving behind her husband, Illioney, and young daughter, Abigail. The St. Fleur’s had been on staff at YWAM St.Marc since 1995. We appreciate your specific prayers for Evodie’s family and friends.

A 22-year old missions volunteer from our home town in Port Orchard, Washington was also killed in the quake. Molly Hightower was halfway through a year of service with Friends of the Orphans–a work dedicated to orphans and disabled children. She worked in a daycare center in Port-au-Prince in a building–the Father Wasson Center–that also served as her residence (she lived on the fifth floor). Her body was found at 4:30am on Friday, January 15.

These are only two of the thousands that perished. Listen to the words of Youth With A Mission Haitian director Terry Snow as he describes the incredible scene and subsequent needs of the island nation:

1/13/2010 5:10 PM 

“I was sitting with our leadership team when the room began to tremble. EARTHQUAKE! We quickly realized that this was an abnormal rumbling. We have experienced minor trembles in times past but not like this one.”

“We all bolted to the exit. Soon we saw everyone out in the center of our campus field as the earth continued to tremble. One of our walls had some plaster begin to shack loose, but then it stopped. Thank God! The city erupted with screams and shouts! Most of our cell companies were down, electric went off, but then one of our new DTS student’s cell phone rings.”

“People are telling him that many buildings have fallen. There is much destruction in the capital Port-au-Prince! We have received word that many housing units have collapsed and government buildings as well, but still no clear reports. Everyone only had 45 minutes before the sun set and now they are pretty well in the darkness.”

1/14/2010 07:19 AM

“Every 30 minutes to an hour the house rumbled and shook from the after shocks of the earthquake that has devastated the capital, Port-au-Prince. It was hard to sleep wondering if you should run, wait or ignore it. All I could think about was the thousands that had no where to sleep in Port-au-Prince 60 miles away from our city, St. Marc. We were up early to see the video footage and pictures of the Presidential Palace destroyed and so many other buildings we once knew. We feel in some ways as helpless as the victims in Port-au-Prince in the since of shock and not knowing what to do or where to start.”

“Communications are still down, airport is closed for today so we have decided to send in a observation team to see what connections they could make. Haiti has no infrastructure much less a crisis management team. I suspect that Port-au-Prince is crying even louder this morning as the reality of their situation tumbles on them.”

Later on in the day, Terry shared this eyewitness report:

“Dead lay in the streets, possibilities of mass burial sights talked about on the radio. People wandering the streets, city parks now filled with people camping out in them. The situation is more worse than dreamed! Yesterday we sent an investigative team to Port-au-Prince (PAP) to take a first hand look at the situation.”

“I will not easily forget what Rodney Gephart and Wayne Snow said when they had returned. “The situation is worse than it has appeared on TV!” My heart sank and instead of crying I felt a numbness come over me as they began telling me of the dead, the buildings that had collapsed and then to hear that they could not find any information on who is doing what as far as cordinated efforts for immediate response and longterm recovery.”

“Our Leadership Team went late into the night trying to assemble all the data and strategies on how to begin with assisting the victims of the earthquake. Praying for wisdom from God! We know He has a plan. We have seen him take us through many floods and other situations that were greater than we could bare in the past and by GOD’s grace, mercy and power we will see this through! How ummeasurable is His love! Nothing is impossible concerning Him!”

On Friday, Terry shared this update on the relief effort:

01/15/2010 8:50 PM.

 “We bought  two 25lb bags of rice in St. Marc. To our knowledge it was the last available rice in all of St. Marc city and province! This is getting serious friends. What the UN and Government people may not be taking into thought is the mass number of people that are evacuating Port-au-Prince (PAP). This is devasting the supplies in the province.”

“One of the largest wholesalers in St. Marc has empty depots tonight with no word on when he might be able to get more bulk food! Victims of PAP are now beginning to fill churches in St. Marc and we are looking at potentially staging two additional camps here in this city as well as our staging points in PAP. FUEL is gone, vehicles are being parked! We have to have fuel if we are going to survive, much less help the victims!”

“We have been very busy and have made great headway in developing a plan to begin assistance. We would like to begin preparing food and passing out sacks of purified water very soon! Instead of doing this today we focused on staging points to host teams, connect with the US Embassy and develop the infrustructure needed to assist in a positve way!”

“Please understand that all the banking systems have collapsed due to communications and the main offices destroyed in the capital. Hopefully tomorrow we will see our Haitian bank begin to open or release some funds for our use. We are finding other ways to obtain funds as well. The Haitian government is not funtioning and we have a team working to try and find a way to get the port of St. Marc opened for humanitarian supplies.”

“Our YWAM base has 3 acres of land that we could make available to park containers for unloading, organizing and then shipping on to Port-au-Prince. We have placed a call to YWAM Volunteers to come and assist in administrative ways to help in organization of the many teams that have already written ready to come. As mentioned we have currently found two staging points that could provide housing for these teams. We have a possibility of up to 10 additional places as well. Airplanes were seen flying in and the US Embassy was still very packed with people trying to leave. The smell of dead bodies is growing stronger and there seemed to be a spirit of despair crying out through out the city.”

1/17/2010 – 5pm.

“Yesterday our YWAM’ers in Port-au-Prince (PAP) came upon people seeking help and a four month old child was discovered pinned under a building. Our rescue team from YWAM sprang into action. After some time the child was removed from the rubble and rushed to a make shift hospital with a large cut on her head. Once there everyone tried to find a responsible person. After asking where the baby’s mother was, the people with them said she was still under the building.”

“The YWAMers rushed back to hear people saying that she was under the building, dead. Our YWAMers began to dig to find her. To everyone’s surprise they found her ALIVE! She was extremely dehydrated and will need hospital care but it seems she will recover! YWAM St. Marc Gym has become a make shift recovery ward for the overflowing hospital. Yesterday a Doctor asked one of our YWAMers “What are they going to do with all these orphans.” He claimed that none of the children at our center had known living parents and the orphanage caretaker is not in the country. “Would YWAM take these children?” he asked.”
 
“One of our volunteers spoke with one young boy that was actually thought to be dead! He had already been placed in the morgue in a closed room with the dead. After placed there and the door closed, morgue workers heard a knocking on the closed door and was shocked to see that this young boy was still alive!”

“Strategies are forming on how to best cope and minister during this situation. It is very intense and difficult, but let us all pray for the children of Haiti.” 

I hope reading this eyewitness account moves you to pray and get involved. Our family and ministry are giving to the relief effort and you can too. Size of gift doesn’t matter–just share from the heart. There are many worthy organizations I would encourage you to support. As we saw in the Hurricane Katrina disaster, Christian organizations because of their compassion, staff of the ground, and lack of bureacracratic red tape, are often the best responders and rebuilders. I recommend:

• Convoys of Hope
• World Concern
• World Vision
• Youth With A Mission

And let’s keep the suffering peoples of Haiti in our fervent prayers. God Himself is the only one who can truly bring both immediate and long-term hope to the people of Haiti. He can work in their hearts. He can restore faith and purpose. He can reveal his love through his people.

If you’re interested in sending a church team or youth group to help in the long-term recovery efforts of Port-au-Prince and the nation of Haiti, Youth With A Mission can also help you. For information contact : relief@ywamhaiti.org.

May we all remember these words as we face the challenges and disasters of life:

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the mountains quake and the earth be removed.  God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved. God shall help her. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:1,5,10).

When Ann Coulter is on point, there are few voices that can equal her logic, humor, and clarity of truth.  As usual, she comes after “liberals” in this article–but I encourage you to interpret that word as anyone resisting the message of salvation that is found in Jesus Christ.

Her take on Brit Hume’s wise words to Tiger Woods is absolutely brilliant and exceedingly redemptive. It’s the best “tract” I’ve seen on Christianity in a long time. Share it widely and apply its truth to your own life.

If You Can Find a Better Deal, Take It!

by  Ann Coulter  – Published 01/06/2010

Someone mentioned Christianity on television recently and liberals reacted with their usual howls of rage and blinking incomprehension.
   
On a Fox News panel discussing Tiger Woods, Brit Hume said, perfectly accurately:
   
“The extent to which he can recover, it seems to me, depends on his faith. He is said to be a Buddhist. I don’t think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So, my message to Tiger would be, ‘Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.”
 
Hume’s words, being 100 percent factually correct, sent liberals into a tizzy of sputtering rage, once again illustrating liberals’ copious ignorance of Christianity. (Also illustrating the words of the Bible: “How is it you do not understand me when I speak? It is because you cannot bear to listen to my words.” John 8:43.)
   
In The Washington Post, Tom Shales demanded that Hume apologize, saying he had “dissed about half a billion Buddhists on the planet.”
   
Is Buddhism about forgiveness? Because, if so, Buddhists had better start demanding corrections from every book, magazine article and blog posting ever written on the subject, which claims Buddhists don’t believe in God, but try to become their own gods.
   
I can’t imagine that anyone thinks Tiger’s problem was that he didn’t sufficiently think of himself as a god, especially after that final putt in the Arnold Palmer Invitational last year.
    
Brit Hume is a Christian, but according to Shale, that’s not apparent from his inarguable description of Christianity. Of course, given the reaction to Hume’s remarks, apparently one has to be a regular New Testament scholar to have so much as a passing familiarity with the basic concept of Christianity.
   
On MSNBC, David Shuster invoked the “separation of church and television” (a phrase that also doesn’t appear in the Constitution), bitterly complaining that Hume had brought up Christianity “out-of-the-blue” on “a political talk show.”
   
Why on earth would Hume mention religion while discussing a public figure who had fallen from grace and was in need of redemption and forgiveness? Boy, talk about coming out of left field!
   
What religion — what topic — induces this sort of babbling idiocy? (If liberals really want to keep people from hearing about God, they should give Him his own show on MSNBC.)
   
Most perplexing was columnist Dan Savage’s indignant accusation that Hume was claiming that Christianity “offers the best deal — it gives you the get-out-of-adultery-free card that other religions just can’t.”
   
In fact, that’s exactly what Christianity does. It’s the best deal in the universe. (I know it seems strange that a self-described atheist and “radical sex advice columnist like Savage would miss the central point of Christianity, but there it is.)
   
God sent his only son to get the crap beaten out of him, die for our sins and rise from the dead. If you believe that, you’re in. Your sins are washed away from you — sins even worse than adultery! — because of the cross.
   
“He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:14.
   
Surely you remember the cross, liberals — the symbol banned by ACLU lawsuits from public property throughout the land?
   
Christianity is simultaneously the easiest religion in the world and the hardest religion in the world.
   
In the no-frills, economy-class version, you don’t need a church, a teacher, candles, incense, special food or clothing; you don’t need to pass a test or prove yourself in any way. All you’ll need is a Bible (in order to grasp the amazing deal you’re getting) and probably a water baptism, though even that’s disputed.
   
You can be washing the dishes or walking your dog or just sitting there minding your business hating Susan Sarandon and accept that God sent his only son to die for your sins and rise from the dead … and you’re in!
   
“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9.
   
If you do that, every rotten, sinful thing you’ve ever done is gone from you. You’re every bit as much a Christian as the pope or Billy Graham.
   
No fine print, no “your mileage may vary,” no blackout dates. God ought to do a TV spot: “I’m God Almighty, and if you can find a better deal than the one I’m offering, take it.”
   
The Gospel makes this point approximately 1,000 times. Here are a few examples at random:
   
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16.
   
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8.
   
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23.
   
In a boiling rage, liberals constantly accuse Christians of being “judgmental.” No, we’re relieved.
   
Christianity is also the hardest religion in the world because, if you believe Christ died for your sins and rose from the dead, you have no choice but to give your life entirely over to Him. No more sexual promiscuity, no lying, no cheating, no stealing, no killing inconvenient old people or unborn babies — no doing what all the other kids do.
   
And no more caring what the world thinks of you — because, as Jesus warned in a prophecy constantly fulfilled by liberals: The world will hate you.
   
With Christianity, your sins are forgiven, the slate is wiped clean and your eternal life is guaranteed through nothing you did yourself, even though you don’t deserve it. It’s the best deal in the universe.

A new year has begun with its challenges and opportunities. What might be the best way to launch the year of 2010?  How about coming back to radical faith through fasting and prayer.

I first learned about prayer and fasting through my early YWAM training and Bill Gothard’s Institute in Basic Life Principles. I found it hard to fast at first–my stomach and appetites still had greater control over my mind and body. But the more I persevered–just as an athlete does in intense training–the more I learned to appreciate being with God in this special way.

In the 1990s Dr. Bill Bright challenged the American Church to 40 Days of Fasting and Prayer for spiritual awakening in our nation and world. I took a few forty day fasts during that time, usually sipping on fruit juice only. It wasn’t easy–but it was very good. Your mind is so much clearer when you fast and God seems closer than ever. Sexual temptations are lessened during a long fast because much of sexual desire is related to the foods we eat.

Once when I was finishing a forty day fast I really didn’t want to start eating because I felt good, temptations were minimal and it was easy to hear from God. These are the personal benefits that come from fasting and prayer.

But the greatest benefit is the privilege we have of co-creating with God in the lives of individuals and even nations through extended times of fasting and prayer. Daniel fasted for his nation and the angel Gabriel visited him and showed him a future he was helping to shape.  Jesus fasted and prayed, and by doing so, overcame the temptations of the devil and went on to carry out the plan of salvation which would bring blessing to billions around the world.

In 2010 a number of Christian leaders and organizations are fasting and praying for the first 21 days of the new year. I am fasting lunch every day and seeking God’s face. Whether you fast for the entire three weeks, or a meal a day, or one day a week, I encourage you to join in to impact the lives of those you love and re-direct our nation toward Christ.

Let’s “Seek God’s Amen in 2010” by fasting and praying in the new year. The following article by Billy Wilson will help show you the way.

21 Days of Awakening

 By Billy Wilson

America’s greatest need is spiritual revival. The United States has seen an awakening in every century of its existence-except this one.

In the 18th century, the First Great Awakening swept thousands of colonists into the kingdom of God, and the courage to break free from Great Britain germinated in the soil of awakened hearts.

The 19th century witnessed the Second Great Awakening, which shook the American frontier with dramatic results. Entire denominations doubled their memberships in just years.

In the 20th century, the Pentecostal-charismatic movement had a global impact. During the last 100 years, nations of the world have been touched, and more than 640 million people now claim to be Spirit-filled.

America’s history has been informed consistently by significant spiritual renewal. However, we are now one-tenth of the way through the 21st century and, as far as we know, the U.S. has yet to experience a fresh awakening.

The ineffectiveness of the American church pushes us to ask some hard questions of God and ourselves:

Have we allowed ourselves to be preoccupied with political, social and peripheral issues more than with the nation’s greatest need? Have we spent billions fighting political and social battles while losing the spiritual battle for the souls of a new generation? Have we chosen the easier way of carnal weaponry while neglecting God’s more challenging way of spiritual intensity?

Have we picketed more than prayed, fought more than fasted and lashed out more than loved? Have we been duped into hoping that righteousness would be installed from the top down rather than recognizing that true awakening comes from the bottom up?

Does the church in America need to experience a fresh grace through repentance? Do we need a deep cleansing and renewal?

I believe that the answer to these questions is a painful and convicting yes.

Today’s church is desperate for a deep and transformational revival that will change the spiritual landscape of our country again.

The question is, what would an awakening in 21st century America look like? What would happen if God shook this nation during the next decade? How would we know if revival and awakening were occurring?

Answers to these questions were discussed several months ago in Northampton, Massachusetts, during a gathering of more than 75 Christian leaders in the city once known as an epicenter of the First Great Awakening. These leaders identified 20 significant indicators of a contemporary awakening-10 in the church and 10 in the culture. You can read their conclusions online at AwakeningAmerica.us

The leaders, who represented a broad spectrum of evangelical denominations and ministries, also banded with several hundred ministries in the Awakening America Alliance to seek God for a new Christ-awakening in the United States.

Now, as a way to pursue the spiritual renewal we need, we have an opportunity to unite at the start of this second decade of the century to humble ourselves through fasting and prayer.

The Awakening America Alliance has designated January 1-21 as “21 Days for a New Awakening” to answer God’s call through the prophet Joel to “declare a holy fast” (see Joel 1:14).

Fasting from a pure heart with proper motives will help lead us into the brokenness required to receive God’s next move in our nation. Fasting brings spiritual benefits because it helps us humble ourselves, presses us toward personal cleansing, focuses our hearts and weans us off earthly distractions.

It allows for heightened sensitivity to God’s voice and positions us to bring deliverance to the captives. Fasting and prayer facilitate a personal renewal of our connection and intimacy with Jesus. His presence and pleasure become our reward.

Ultimately, the renewal of the church and of the nation will depend on people who respond to His call. True spiritual awakening in this century will be a grass-roots movement in which intimacy with Jesus is restored one heart at a time, producing the fruitfulness and freshness we all desire.

Why not let the 21st century awakening start in your church. More importantly, why not let it start in your heart?

Billy Wilson is executive director of the International Center for Spiritual Renewal and executive officer for Empowered 21: Global Congress on Holy Spirit Empowerment.