Seth Barnes, Founder and CEO of AIM, posted this on his blog over the weekend:
"Backed by corrupt government officials, an orphanage we work with in Carrefour/Port-au-Prince, Haiti has been trafficking its orphans.
Suspecting foul play, we've been investigating for the last year. We've not been ready to go to the media until we had the facts.
As a result, the orphanage director is now in jail, but the 75 children left in the orphanage are still in danger. A worker said, "The kids are in terrible condition - the doctor gave them some prescriptions, but we doubt that the medicine will ever be administered to the children. Instead, the medicine will probably be sold."
The problem is that those running the orphanage are still protected by corrupt government officials. Our goal is to get this information to media outlets in order to put pressure on the government to protect the kids.
An AIM staff member just returned from Haiti and filed this report:
The situation at the orphanage is an EMERGENCY right now as kids are sick and dying and still disappearing. We're trying to mobilize any connections in politics and media to expose the corruption and put an end to it. The lead investigator, said we "hit the jackpot of corruption."
What we've discovered:
• Food gets donated to SOG orphanage, but disappears very quickly, while children remain malnourished.
• Reports by the children of physical abuse by orphanage workers.
• Reports by the children of sexual abuse by orphanage workers.
• Clothing when donated, instead of going to orphans, gets sold.
• Dozens of children have disappeared.
Another report about Katia illustrates the urgency we feel:
One five year-old girl, Katia was in the worst condition I have seen of any of the kids. A couple of months ago she had mumps from head to toe; a month later she was in a body cast that covered her from her waist to her feet. When he found her on Saturday she had an extremely high fever and like all of the other children - horrible skin conditions. She was lying on a bench and someone moved a bench towards her but she didn't have the energy to move out of the way. She has lost most of her weight and she couldn't even lift her head. After pleading with the "caretakers" of the orphanage, they released her to let us take her to a local medical clinic.
The doctor at the clinic examined her and determined that the infections are destroying her; she is nearing death. She only weighed 14 pounds. He told us that if she doesn't get proper care right away she will die of infections and malnutrition. He gave us a prescription and orders to give her a high protein drink and medicine three times a day for the next two weeks.
Recent reports indicate Katia now weighs a mere 11 pounds.
We can't waste any time as the kids are in serious jeopardy right now. I have the complete file and can email it to you if you'll contact Seth by email. Please distribute this blog by twitter. Use these hashtags: #cnnfreedom, #endslavery, #not_for_sale
You can also sign this petition. We are petitioning CNN to bring their international media voice and passion for ending slavery into the Son of God Orphanage. Please urge CNN to expose the corruption within the Haitian government, and allow international organizations to secure the children from the child traffickers who are now controlling the orphanage."
Sometimes, the heartbreak and the injustice seems so big. Overwhelming. But for these children, signing your name could help save their lives. It takes 30 seconds to sign this petition, but our prayer is that 10,000 will sign it. Please distribute this email to your family and friends, encouraging them to add their names to the list.
Here is the link: http://www.change.org/petitions/the-freedom-project-expose-human-trafficking-at-son-of-god-orphanage-in-haiti?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&utm_term=own_wall .
If you are interested in joining us for project leader training in Dublin, Ireland, I wanted to let you know that there is still time to sign up! So far, we have 8 people signed up and committed to go, but there's still room for a few more. Also, in a post that was written few weeks ago it was mentioned that the deposit of $150.00 is due October 15th. I wanted to update you and let you know that the amount is due by November 1st. (If you pay after November 1st, the cost will go up $150.00.)
Also, for those of you who are committed and wondering where to send your payment, send it to:
Adventures in Missions
Attn: Accounting
Ireland Trip: PL Training
6000 Wellspring Trail
Gainesville, GA 30506
On the memo line of the check, please include the trip code: 11IR1204A.
If you are interested in going or if you have any questions, please feel free to email me at julieengelsman@adventures.org
If you were the PL for a Youth Group trip this summer and did not send the evaluation link to the group leaders, please find the link to the location you led below and send it to them. We need these evaluations by Friday, September 16, 2011. They help us evaluate and improve trips in the future!
God is on the move around the world. You know that, that's why you read this blog. You want to be a part of the movement. And the best way to be a part (while you wait on God's timing to go) is by following the story on facebook. We bring you the up to date information first through this venue. Maybe you take a trip with us, maybe you just read our stories. Either way, we want to be in touch with you.
Like us on facebook – www.facebook.com/Adventures.in.Missions and follow us on twitter @aimissions.com
Thank you for all you you do to help God's people in your corner of the world!
If you are interested in joining us for project leader training in Ireland, there's still time to sign up. The total cost of the trip is $900, but in order to reserve your spot on the trip we will need a $150.00 by Octover 15th. If you would like to commit to be a part of this trip, if you are interested in the trip, or if you have any questions, please contact Julie Engelsman at julieengelsman@adventures.org.
Thanks!
If your home sat directly in the path of an F5 tornado, what would you do?
Below is the story of a woman named Miss Grace, who believed that her God could not only move mountains... he could alter the very path of a tornado.
_______________________
While on a prayer walk, God showed up to affirm that we were where he wanted us to be. We drove past a side road I felt like we needed to drive down, we both had similar thoughts so I pulled over to a car behind me pass. The car pulled over too and out popped Paster Mike, the pastor of the church we were staying at, he prayed with us and we pressed on, this is when we have our first exchange with Mrs. Grace. We asked permission to walk her land and searrch for a something that our friend lost in the tornado. We exchanged names and I asked her if we could come back to her house in a little while and talk with her.
We were then led to the house behind Miss Grace's to a man named Spencer, where a porch light and fire where confirmation from God that he wanted us here. A simple exchange turned into Spencer telling us his story and how the tornado has effected him. His house was literallu obliterated to rubble.
After we left Spencer's we went back to Miss Grace's to talk with her. On the way Emily prayed for Miss Grace to give us a cookie and let us use her bathroom because by this time it was after 1. We walked in to Miss Grace's house like we had been acquainted for our whole lives. We offered her a water and she said, "I already have some cold drinks waiting for you." We started talking to Miss Grace about the tornado and she casually mentioneed how she rebuked that and went on with friendly banter.
Miss Grace began to tell us a story that blew my mind, you see all the houses around Miss Grace's were destroyed or signifcantly demanged by the torando and hers was standing strong. Miss Grace told us how she stood on the back porch as the F5 torando approached her house and rebuked it, she cried out to the lord "In the name of Jesus I rebuke you and command you to rise up and go over my house." She said she was screaming out to God as she stood on her back porch and this mile wide torando approached. She explained about the muck and mire blowing all over her and in the next moment the tornado rose up and went over her house. This was a mind blowing story and I was in awe of God, yet still struggling with unbelief. Thinking this woman could not be true and then in the next breath she said, "Do y'all want a cookie?" I had them for you when you walked in, but I got distracted. In that moment I nearly fell out of my chair. We asked God for a cookie, it may seem little, but he provided. As I look back I understand that God sent me to Miss Grace's house as a gift to see what faith that can move a mountain looks like.
On this trip I have learned to look for God in the small moments, but know that he wants to do big things and we will show up when we ask. We just need to be open to what God is telling us. He is there in the whispers and the wind. He answers our pleas for a cookie and he will answer the plea of Miss Grace to lead crusades and revival in Northern Alabama.
As I am ending this blog I pray for boldness to share this adventure with total strangers and to my friends which is not usually my style. I also ask for continued prayer for more faith and my occasional struggles with unbelief because our God is an awesome God and he deserves all the praise and glory.
Hello there!
Are you interested in being trained as a project leader for a short term mission trips? Would you like to receive hands on experience and personal training? Then you should consider joining us for our project leader training trip to Dublin, Ireland!
This trip will be taking place, December 4th-December 10th. The cost of the trip will be $900.00 plus the cost of airfare. We are looking to take a group of 15 people or less, in order to be very focused in our training and to give more individual attention to our potential project leaders.
Further details of what this trip will look like: You will fly into Dublin, Ireland on December 4th. Immediately we will lay the foundation for you to understand what it looks like to run a trip effectively and what it looks like to have a successful short term trip. You will each be placed in a small group that you will work with throughout the week. In your small groups you will spend time doing ministry together, along with each of you taking a turn to lead each other as a project leader, and then giving each other feedback. You will be given small challenges to face that project leaders face when they are on the field, and your group will work together to meet the challenge (i.e. find an inexpensive hostile to host your group for the night, find a ministry partner to do ministry with, etc.) You will learn how to teach listening prayer by being taught and by having practice teaching this, again within your small group. Along the way, you will be coached and encouraged as you project lead your small group. And at the end of every day, we will will gather together over a meal to debrief the day: sharing with each other our challenges, encouraging each other in what we see God doing, and learning from each others experiences.
We are so excited for this trip and to be able to offer this type of training! Like I have mentioned before, we would like to keep this to a small group, and therefore we would love to know as soon as possible if you would like to commit to being a part of this training. If you would like to commit to being a part of the trip or if you have any questions, please contact Julie Engelsman at julieengelsman@adventures.org or Connie Rock at connierock@adventures.org.
Below is a story from a participant, Catherine Smith, about a woman she met on her missions trip to Atlanta. What an incredible story!
When I went to the park to evangelize to the people there, I met a lady named Melanie. I was nervous, but I trusted in God and started talking to her. It started off very casual. We talked about the weather, birthdays, etc, and then about her family. When talking about her only son she began to tear up. However she quickly wiped them away. We continued to talk, and once I thought that she was getting more open and comfortable with me, we began to talk about how she had gotten into this situation as a homeless person
One word; “Drugs” brought her tears back. She told me that one night she was so consumed that one night while she was high she got into a horrible [car] accident at a warehouse she was at in order to get drugs. Due to the accident she broke her pelvis bone, but that didn’t stop her from her need for drugs. She crawled on her hands, but didn’t make it very far because she had accidentally set her feet on fire, from which she suffered 3rd degree burns, and lost consciousness. Tears were falling as rain as she was telling me this story.
I said to her; “So God saved your life.” (Earlier I had found out that she was a Christian.) She nodded and said that if it wasn’t for Him, she would’ve been gone a long time ago. God really broke my heart for Melanie as I was hearing her story. She’s been sober for 18 months, and that put a smile on both of our faces. What touched me the most was how kind, beautiful and giving she was, or still is. She made me realize how lucky I was to have a home and family and friends that love me. I realized that I should be beyond thankful for what I have. I prayed for her and she was so thankful and I was so touched by God’s love for her and her ability to be so open and loving despite the situation she was in.
The next day I got to see her again. As soon as I went up to her, a smile appeared on her face. I talked to her once again and prayed for her once again. We hugged each other multiple times and she told me that it’s such a pleasure to see me and that she loves me. I was shocked that it’s only been two days but she loves me. I didn’t know what to say… then I realized that I love her too. She’s my sister in Christ and I really truly do love her. I am extremely thankful that God put me in her life and vice versa. I will continue to pray for her, just as I promised, and I will never forget her this amazing experience or God’s love for all His children.
I have been receiving many requests from project leaders who have gone through training within the last year, but have not actually been coached on a trip, that they are now interested in going on a shadowing or coaching trip. This is super exciting because we love getting our leaders out on the field to experience the fullness of what project leading entails. Our only dilemma is that we have found that we have more people that desire to be coached than we have trips available for this fall.
Therefore...we had to find a solution. We decided that we should really create a trip that is specifically designed to train project leaders, that would be considered a shadowing/coaching trip. The participants of the trip would be only project leaders. We would simply run the trip like a normal trip, doing ministry together, but we would simply take time out in the middle of what we are doing to debrief what's going on, to talk about the best way to handle things as a project leader, and spend some time coaching as well.
As we were in the process of discussing this idea, and potentially doing this in a domestic location, I asked "Do we have to do this in the US, or can we dream really big?"
So then I suggested, "Why don't we do this in Ireland?" At this point, everyone in the field support cubicle chimed in with excitment, making suggestions of what this trip could look like, and contributing their own thoughts and dreams of what ministry in Ireland would include.
However...as much as we LOVE the idea, we realize that we really can't pursue this dream unless you guys love it too! After all, we can't go to Ireland to coach project leaders if project leaders aren't interested...this trip is about training you!
So, this is where you come in... we really need your feedback:
If we planned a trip to Ireland in which you could be coached as a project leader, would you want to go?!?!?! We would run the project December 4th through 10th and we would be doing the majority of our ministry in Dublin, Ireland. The cost of this trip would be your airfare+the cost of being a participant (this exact price is yet to be determined, based on the number of participants/project leaders being coached).
We want to start making plans soon, so if you could please let us know as soon as possible if you would be seriously interested, we would greatly appreciate it! To contact us, please email me at julieengelsman@adventures.org
