It’s been too long since we’ve chatted so where do we begin?
Well – we were just given 666 pounds of potatoes, our incredibly generous pork farmers have once again given us 600 pounds of beautiful pork, and a tiny, super yummy bakery in Harley Ontario is happily going to make ALL our pie crusts this year from scratch, at cost!
Our local Sobeys and No Frills, with huge joy, have consented to us putting up massive, 6 X 8 foot signs directly in front of their stores advertising our pies!
A packaging company in Woodstock sold us our pie boxes for close to nothing, we have put up beautiful posters all over town and beyond, and by November 1st there will be 50 yard signs strategically placed throughout Paris, and oh, the potato farmer thinks he can finagle us 400 pounds of apples, so, the pie adventure is in full swing!
We’re still praying in 600 pounds of chicken and 400 pounds of carrots and have no doubt that our faithful God will indeed provide, because He loves those hungry bellies in Haiti and right here in Ontario infinitely more than we ever could!
Our goal is to make 2000 pies because the need has never been more desperate and with your help – WE WILL!
Remember – you don’t have to buy a pie for yourself – you can DONATE it back to us and when you do you will get a tax receipt – AND we will get to give it away to one of these three places -
THE FOOD BANK run out of Cedarview Church in Paris that is a lifeline to so, so many!
RIVERSIDE 83 that operates one of the coolest and yummiest, inspired by Jesus, Cafés in Simcoe, that provides free meals six days a week to anyone whose struggling and also delivers meals to shut-ins, and operates a shelter for the Homeless!
SVET, who look after over one hundred Ukrainian and Russian families in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, that by the way have come to know our Jesus and now meet together every Sunday to worship Him together at the BASE Church!
Last year because of your generous hearts out of the almost 1700 pies we made, we were able to give away over 1300 of those pies to the hungry in our own backyard and oh, how we’d love to double that!
Like always – your $20 goes to help Ancy, help Haiti where the need is just staggering!
DREAM BIG WITH US trucks water into the prison twice a month so that over 1000 prisoners can have clean water to drink.
DREAM BIG WITH US feeds hundreds of kids and families that simply would not eat if Ancy didn’t feed them.
DREAM BIG WITH US provides PLUMPY MAMBA, a nutritious supplement that tastes like peanut butter to schools, to the prison, to the mental asylum and countless others in Nan Rasin. PLUMPY MAMBA is locally made by an amazing NGO in Haiti, that’s been around for two decades, called Food and Meds for Kids.
Like we say every year – YOU ARE NOT JUST BUYING A PIE – you are saving lives – here and in HAITI – so we THANK YOU in advance for buying a pie or dozens of pies!
We also thank Doug Pelton for donating to us once again, a 45 foot freezer truck along with all the fuel to keep it running for two weeks – and all our volunteers that so faithfully show up to be the hands of Jesus!
Living to make HIM famous one belly at a time,
Maurice and Sue
Well, Ancy was held at gun point this week and shook down for money, which he wisely never carries. When they discovered he had nothing, they beat him up and walked away, which very rarely happens. The bandits kill people daily who have nothing to appease their greed. Ancy said,
“It was Jesus. It was Jesus who made them walk away.”
Oh, and guess what Ancy did the following day? He arranged for a water truck to bring the monthly supply of water to the prison, then he together with his family, cooked and fed over a hundred kids.
Fear is real, but Ancy refuses to let it rule him. The nights are the hardest. He has no electricity so it’s darker than dark and every time the wild dogs start barking it signals that the bandits are nearby. For this reason, Ancy spends most of the night awake, alert, praying and on patrol, then grabs some shut eye, during the day when he’s not dropping off Plumpy Sup – a nutritional supplement that has the consistency of peanut butter that both the adults and the kids absolutely love, or maintaining the property, or visiting the prison or meeting with the police to talk about protection for a medical clinic he wants to set up.
Yes, he has met with two doctors and a group of nurses who are willing to come to the village and set up a mobile medical clinic – but they can’t do it without armed guards – and the police told Ancy this week that as of right now, they don’t have enough ammunition to protect the team and the five hundred plus villagers who the clinic would service from the gangs. They told him that our area – Nan Rasin – is the most dangerous and most volatile so although they want to help – they just don’t have what they need to do so.
Ancy, is now asking Jesus if there is another place, close enough to Nan Rasin that He’d like the clinic to be set up in. The need is dire and mammoth and the people are just too terrified to venture to the hospital, and even if they do, there is no guarantee that it will be open because of how the gangs have taken over.
The market we shopped in has been burned to the ground, so all our families have to travel into Cap Haitian to find food and to do that, is quite literally putting your life in danger.
But here’s what’s also true.
In the midst of the turmoil, chaos, and terror – our GOD is in control, not the gangs. JESUS is there and is strengthening His remnant.
Ancy regularly meets with fellow believers to pray and like the early church they are emboldened to press on because it’s all for JESUS!
So, when the Holy Spirit puts Ancy on your heart – please pray.
When you see that line scrolling on the bottom of your screen telling you that Haiti is in crisis – please pray.
We can’t express what an honor it is to be Ancy’s, ‘Aaron and Hur’. It is such a privilege to do what we can here, so that he can do what Jesus tells him to do there. Like parents we are incredibly blessed by his heart – while at the same time constantly asking Jesus to protect, guide and encourage him like only He can!
We are looking forward to making thousands of pies – and to hosting eleven FEASTS this winter – including one for our Spanish sisters! We can’t wait to have another MASSIVE YARD SALE in the spring and the planning for ALWAYS SISTERS 2025 began even before this year’s started!
We love doing what we do because it’s all for our JESUS!
And what we do for JESUS is never in vain.
Not ever.
When Maurice was taking his boys from shack to shack delivering food and visiting the ones that even the Haitians wouldn’t go near, he had no idea that one of those boys would grow up and fearlessly take the baton and become the face of Jesus to so very many.
And what you are doing for JESUS is not in vain either.
Your faithful sword wielding for your family, the love and grace you shower on your annoying neighbor, the financial investments you make into the Kingdom, the choice to be merciful and forgiving to those who have hurt you or to grit your teeth and persevere in the midst of an unspeakable loss or trial – it’s not in vain.
There is coming a day when it will be worth it all.
Esther Kerr Rusthoi was a fellow sheep, who was not a stranger to suffering. She served in a large church in Los Angels, but poor health kept her bedridden most of the time – yet she refused to let pain and frustration define her. The easy thing would have been to just roll over and let self pity take control, but Esther knew even in her weakened condition, she was created to make Jesus known, so she wrote songs, that long after she died, were sung all over the globe.
Our prayer for you is that as you read the truth contained in this timeless song, that you too will be persuaded that it truly will be worth it all, when you see JESUS…
Oft times the day seems long, our trials hard to bear,
We’re tempted to complain, to murmur and despair;
But Christ will soon appear to catch His Bride away,
All tears forever over in God’s eternal day.
It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,
Life’s trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race till we see Christ.
Sometimes the sky looks dark with not a ray of light,
We’re tossed and driven on, no human help in sight;
But there is one in heaven who knows our deepest care,
So give Jesus all your problems – just go to Him in prayer.
Life’s day will soon be o’er, all storms forever past,
We’ll cross the great divide, to glory, safe at last;
We’ll share the joys of heaven – a harp, a home, a crown,
The tempter will be banished, we’ll lay our burden down.
Ah we can’t wait – but - until then, we’re going to keep doing whatever He tells us to do until we see His face!
Yes and AMEN!
Maurice and Sue
Today Joshua (aka Ancy) and his buddy Caleb (aka Peterson) received a thank you letter from the Chief Inspector of the Prison, that we just had to share with you. Their courageous hearts are such an example for all of us. Just like original Joshua and Caleb, they know that although there are for sure staggering giants in the land, their God is beyond bigger. Please continue to say their names to Jesus as they continue to showcase all of who He is to the least of these.
Good evening Ancy and Peterson,
I am happy to write to you today to thank you for supporting the prison so many times during the year when times were really difficult. Your support really did the prisoners good because they got food to eat and juice to drink. We will never stop thanking you very much. I also want to say thank you very much to the support staff and we will continue to pray that they can get even more support to continue to help us help the prisoners who are still in need. Thank you very much.
The Chief Inspector
The ‘support staff’ is each of you who have bought a pie, who have supported the Massive Sale for Haiti, who have purchased a devotional, who have come to ‘Always Sisters’, and who have generously given to DREAM BIG WITH US.
We add our prayers to the Chief Inspector’s: “That even more support will pour in so that we can continue to help them, help the prisoners who are still in need”.
And we too - THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Living to make our Jesus famous,
Maurice and Sue
You know in God’s reality there is no Christmas and no Easter – there was simply a RESCUE MISSION.
One cannot separate Jesus’ coming to earth with the reason why He came. The two are one and the same. Jesus left heaven, He laid aside His deity, clothed Himself in human flesh, became an embryo that was planted inside the womb of Mary, who pushed Him out of her birth canal into a cave that was reserved for sacrificial lambs. Yes, our Jesus was born within a cave where elite shepherds looked after young ewes, that were set apart to be taken to the temple to be sacrificed. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes, which in the original text describes the strips of cloth that the shepherds wrapped the legs of their lambs in to protect them from breaking.
Jesus came into this world as the LAMB OF GOD.
Jesus was introduced by John the Baptist as the LAMB OF GOD, and one day we will stand around His Throne and sing with one voice, “WORTHY is THE LAMB who was slain to receive power, and wealth, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory and praise!!”
So yup, in God’s reality, there is no Christmas and no Easter, there was simply a RESCUE MISSION, a perfect plan of redemption, where JESUS willingly was led like a lamb to the slaughter, to be the final sacrifice for our sins. It’s simply impossible to talk about His birth without talking about His death and His resurrection, because it’s all one, glorious, mind-blowing story, that we who believe it, get to tell the world!
You know what else is true?
For those of us who have been gloriously rescued, every, single, day, is a celebration of how Jesus came to this earth and purchased our freedom with His own precious blood.
Ah yes, we should never, ever, lose the wonder, that Jesus, who being in the very nature GOD, did not consider equality with GOD something to be used to His own advantage; but rather made Himself nothing, by taking on the very nature of a slave, being made in human likeness – and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6-8)
This staggering truth should always drop us to our knees in absolute wonder and awe.
Ancy is still in Haiti making sure the 1200 prisoners, including many woman and children, along with all the families in Nan Rasin are fed and cared for. A few weeks ago he recruited his family tree to come and cook up a feast at the prison, and wow, what a feast it was! He whatsapped us from within those hurting walls and oh, how we wish you all could have seen his face.
He was beaming with joy.
Yes, beaming.
Everything Ancy owns could be stuffed into a grocery bag. He’s never had running water, electricity, or indoor plumbing. He didn’t even have a bed up until a year or so ago. His country is in continuous chaos, and his life is in constant danger, thanks to the bandits that no government has been able to curtail.
There is absolutely nothing in Ancy’s earthly existence to make ones face beam, but you see Ancy has Jesus, and when you have Jesus, you not only have all that you will ever need, but you also know that this, isn’t all there is!
Ah yes, Ancy knows that this earth is nothing but a pit stop on the way to his forever home, but he also knows while he’s still here, he has a story to tell to his nation!
And oh, what a story it is!
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only, begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have everlasting life! For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but to rescue the world through Him! Yes, we were enslaved in Satan’s slave market until JESUS, the very one who breathed this world into existence, willingly laid aside His deity, put on flesh and came to earth to pay our ransom with His own blood! But death could not hold him! No, our Jesus ripped the keys of death out of Satan’s boney fingers and now He sits on His throne praying for us night and day until He comes back to rescue us again and bring us to His Father’s House!
If that doesn’t’ make your face beam with explosive joy, nothing will.
Ancy beams because he knows Jesus.
Ancy beams because he gets to tell the story of all stories to his hurting, broken nation.
Ancy beams because he gets to be the hands and feet and heart of Jesus to the lost, the lonely, the broken and the forgotten.
Ancy beams because he knows that this is not all there is and that what’s coming will far outweigh any and all trials he is trusted with here on earth.
So, are you beaming?
The LAMB OF GOD knows you and loves you like crazy. Your name is permanently tattooed on the palm of His hand. He has promised to never leave you or forsake you. He bottles your tears. And soon and very soon, He’s going to crack the clouds and bring you to your forever home, but until He does, you get to tell His story and be His Ambassador to those who are living in darkness.
May we all BEAM brightly until He comes…
Yes and Amen.
Living to make Jesus famous,
Maurice and Sue
Last week the inspector of the prison took Ancy to see many inmates who are desperately ill and in need of immediate care. The prison has no resources to draw from to help these men, woman and children that are quite literally wasting away. Ancy and his little, but mighty team are gathering provisions, that they will deliver in person, and we guarantee you, that when they do, they will be beaming. Yup, beaming.
Ancy has asked us to thank you all very much, for giving money so that he can keep meeting these continuous needs. He also wants you to know that he prays for you.
If you would like to help Ancy, help Haiti, please click on our donate button below. You can also send an e-transfer to info@dreambigwithus.org or mail a cheque to the address below.
We add our thanks, to Ancy’s thanks.
Thank you for your generosity!
UPDATE ON ANCY
Many of you have been asking about Ancy. He’s been in hiding, as is his little team, but because the heart of Jesus beats in Ancy, he has made sure the prisoners received their truckload of water, and has been desperately trying to figure out how to feed the kids without putting anyone in danger.
The bandits have set up camp right next to our property. Grandma who just turned 100 last February is heartsick over the whole thing and we are so sad that she has been forced to endure such terror.
We arranged for Ancy to go to the Dominican Republic and stay with some friends of ours until prayerfully the chaos dies down and the bandits move on, but he needs a VISA and the bandits have blockaded the roads which in turn have forced the few shops and offices that were open, to close.
So, we wait.
We wait for our God to make a way, where in the natural, there is no way.
And as we wait on our Lord, He has promised to renew our strength and give us wings like eagles which enable us to soar far above what we see, to where we can see what HE SEES.
And what we see is that our God is bigger and stronger than any and all evil that dares to oppose Him!
What we see is that our God has a plan, and although we don’t know what it is, we know it’s perfect!
Yup, we know that His purposes cannot be thwarted, and that He is famous for bringing beauty out of ashes!
So, we wait with hearts full of expectation for our God to WOW us yet again, and while we wait for the miraculous, we will make pies and raise a truckload of money to continue what He has commanded us to do, believing with all our hearts that He will indeed make a way for us to do it!
OUR GOD HAS THE PEN AND A PLAN!
Your prayers make the difference between life and death, so please don’t stop!
Maurice and Sue :)
“OUR GOD IS OUR SHIELD, OUR FORTRESS, OUR GLORIOUS SWORD, AND OUR VERY PRESENT HELP IN TIME OF TROUBLE, SO WE WILL NOT FEAR, BUT PUT ALL OF OUR TRUST IN HIM!”
The bandits came to our property today and held a gun to Ancy's head demanding to get into the containers. They broke the lock off of one of them, and carted off what they could carry. They tried to get into the other container but they were unsuccessful because they are welded shut.
Ancy knows they will be back. He went to the police but they said they weren't working today. They are terrified of the bandits, as is everyone in Haiti.
As we type this little email, Ancy is welding shut the gates to our property. We just told him that all we care about is HIM and the rest of our families in Nan Rasin - that what is in the containers doesn't matter to us - it's HIM and everyone else matters, so to please not try and be a hero!
He has such a burden for his nation.
He loves the kids so much and has continued to feed them and make regular trips to the prison to feed them, despite the danger!
Haiti is blessed to have Ancy - his heart is just so beautiful and brave!
We told him we'd ask all of you to pray.
Again, we don't care about the 'stuff' but we sure do care about Ancy and his little team and all the families in Nan Rasin that count on him.
So, will you please pray with us!?
Our God is our shield, fortress, glorious sword and our VERY PRESENT help in time of trouble - so what else can we do except call out on His Name and TRUST IN HIM! Thanks so much and we will keep you posted! ~ Maurice and Sue
Ancy
YOUR $20 WILL FILL A LOT OF BELLIES!!
The deadline to order your pies is OCTOBER 31st - and when you do order your pies, please know that you are saving a life, that we believe, will change a nation!!!
OUR GOD IS SO FAITHFUL!!
HE NEVER FAILS and NEVER BREAKS A PROMISE - NOT EVER!!!!
A farmer has donated the BEEF - and SITLER'S BAKERY in Conestogo - which happens to be the BEST BAKERY on the planet - has happily said "YES!" to making our pie crust this year!!!
AND we had a beautiful follower and lover of JESUS, DONATE ALL THE MONEY NEEDED to provide the prison we are blessed to help, a NEW AND IMPROVED WELL - so they won't be forced to drink salty water anymore!!! Maurice has talked to the WELL PEEPS and as soon as they can get into Haiti this WELL will become a reality!!!
YAHOOZIE JESUS!!!
And YAHOOZIE for the heart that said "YES!" to the nudging of the Holy Spirit!!!!
ANCY - known in Nan Rasin as "THE BLACK MAURICE" was contacted by prison officials this week to come to talk about a pressing need within their walls.
There are a couple hundred women in this prison who don't have sufficient feminine hygiene products or soap - and the water, like was mentioned is salty.
We are going to send ANCY the funds needed to purchase what these women need, in country, which will in turn support the barely breathing Haitian economy!
In the past few months we have been able to jump start THREE business ventures through our MICRO-LOAN initiative and we are happy to report that they are doing well! It is through one of these new "stores" that Ancy will purchase what's needed for our sisters in the prison!!
HOW COOL IS THAT?!?!
If you feel the nudge of the HOLY SPIRIT to help towards this need - we thank you in advance!!!
We are also happy to report that all the Nan Rasin kids got their school supplies and say THANK YOU TO YOU for making that happen!!!
OH, IT IS JUST SO FUN BEING THE HANDS AND FEET OF OUR JESUS!!!!
Before we close this little update - again, the DEADLINE for ordering your pies is on OCTOBER 31st - which is only 6 weeks away - so put your orders in now!!!
AND PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!!!!! We'd love to surpass 2000 pies this year - maybe even hit 3000!!!! Yup! Our "PIE TEAM" is up to the task!!!
Remember - even if you don't live in the area - you can STILL order pies to be given to the NEEDY right here in Ontario - and you will receive a tax receipt to boot! We're partnering with a few FOODBANK'S and other organization that help the hungry and we're excited to bless as many families as we can on this side of the ocean!!!!
Your $20 is NOT buying a pie - it is filling a belly - the yummy pie you get is simply a bonus!!!
HAVE A BLESSED DAY!!!!
May your eyes be fixed on JESUS - the author and finisher of your faith!!!
May your thoughts be on THINGS ABOVE and not on your temporary now!!!
May your heart be filled with HIS JOY that doesn't depend on your circumstances and HIS PEACE that is beyond human description!!!
May you live dead, so that JESUS can truly be alive in you!!!
LIVING TO MAKE JESUS FAMOUS,
Maurice and Sue :)
Here is a pic of the kids receiving school supplies.
How precious that when we give to the least of these we are giving to JESUS!!!
WHAT AN HONOR!!!!
Yes, HAITI is praying for YOU!!!
The ones that according to the world's standards have absolutely nothing - are praying for you! Ancy and his family - who live in a cement block, one room house, with at least eight people - whose floor is the ground and whose ceiling leaks a river every time it rains - and whose toilet is a hole outback - are praying for you...
This young man's heart is so precious and so JESUS like.
He has taken on the role of caretaker of not just the property, but of the families that live on and around the property very seriously. His Mom and Grandma love preparing food for all the kids and honestly it's probably the cleanest piece of land in the whole country. Ancy knows Mr Maurice's distaste for garbage to be strewn everywhere - so yup - it's the cleanest acreage in the nation!
He's also overseeing the building of a wall - that because of bandits with guns - we needed to put up around the four containers and the two vehicles. And when we say overseeing - we mean overseeing. He's meticulous. He does things right the first time because his teacher was Mr Maurice.
When we look at Ancy we see a man after God's own heart and that's beyond exciting for Nan Rasin.
You know - JESUS says that a person's life does not consist in the possessions that he has - but rather about WHAT IS COMING!!! This temporary life is just that - TEMPORARY - so our focus is supposed to be on our final destination - not where we are!!!
"So - don't store up for yourselves treasures here on earth - STORE THEM WHERE YOU'RE GOING!"
"Don't worry about tomorrow - JUST TRUST HIM FOR YOUR DAILY BREAD!!!"
"Seek FIRST HIS KINGDOM and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS!!!"
"Sell your possessions and use the money to clothe the naked, feed the hungry and and give shelter to the homeless!!"
Think about those words for just a second!
Can you imagine if we actually FOLLOWED Jesus the way HE longs for us to follow?!
Did you know that the word FOLLOW in the original text means TO DISOWN ONE'S LIFE?!
So when JESUS says, "COME AND FOLLOW ME!", what He is actually saying is, "COME AND DISOWN YOUR LIFE! Put to death your desires and embrace what I DESIRE! Put to death YOUR WAY and bow to MY WAYS!"
Ah if we disowned our lives...
There would be no more kids going to sleep hungry!
There would be no more prisoners going without food, not just in Haiti, but in so many other places around our world that so need the Body of Christ to BE the BODY OF CHRIST.
The world would SEE the REAL JESUS and He'd be irresistible...
AH, there is nothing more beautiful than watching THE BODY OF CHRIST be HIS HANDS and HIS FEET and HIS HEART and HIS VOICE to the poor, the lonely, the destitute, the hungry, the thirsty and those that are desperately lost in their sins.
Oh JESUS - help us to TRULY FOLLOW YOU!!!!
For the sake of our world that is so messed up - that is so in turmoil - that is so confused and hurting - help us to pick up our crosses and crucify our flesh and BE WHO YOU LONG FOR US TO BE!!!
Give us the courage to look away from the temporary to our FOREVER HOME so that we will LIVE LIKE WE ARE LEAVING, because WE ARE!!!
May we choose to see EVERYTHING through the lens of ETERNITY, because that will change the way we pray, the way we give, the way we react to adversity - oh, IT WILL TRANSFORM THE WAY WE LIVE - which will point the world to YOU!!!
May we choose not get caught up in civilian affairs!!!
May we guard our minds against being deceived into thinking this is all there is!!!
PLEASE - take our faces in your hands and tilt them to your face because in the LIGHT and GLORY of YOUR FACE - everything else fades away!!!
YES and AMEN.
We join our prayers with Ancy's - and pray that with every sunrise you wake up expecting His return - that throughout your day HIS PRESENCE and HIS PROMISES will be more real to you than your circumstance - that in this crazy covid chapter that you will choose to just do the free fall into THE ARMS that will never fail you - AND that our Father will BLESS YOU IN ABUNDANCE for your generous giving and constant prayers for the least of these...
Like all of you - and our whole world - we have no idea what tomorrow holds - and we don't have to - because JESUS is already there and HE has COMMANDED us to LIVE FOR TODAY and not worry about tomorrow - so that is what we are doing!!!
THANKS AGAIN for your incredibly lavish giving in 2020 - your receipts will be in the mail shortly - BUT INFINITELY BETTER THAN A TAX BREAK - YOUR REWARD IN HEAVEN WILL BLOW YOUR SOCKS OFF and make you REAL glad you LIVED for what's coming and not the temporary!!!!!
LOOKING AT THE SKY AND LONGING FOR HEAVEN,
Maurice and Sue
Seriously?!?! Yup! GOD’S WORK, done GOD’S WAY, receives GOD’S SUPPLY!!!!
That was Hudson Taylor’s response after God provided for what He had been called to do in China as people scratched their heads and wondered HOW ON EARTH that kind of money was coming in!?!?
GOD’S WORK, done GOD’S WAY, receives GOD’S SUPPLY!!!
So…when He whispers an idea into your heart, no matter how improbable or inconceivable or impossible it MAY sound; no matter how many people roll their eyes when you tell them what God told you to do; no matter whether our world is in the middle of a pandemic where unemployment has skyrocketed, and money is scarce to say the least…when GOD gives you a plan, you best carry it out and get ready to be amazed!!!
So…that’s what we did.
We put up a movie screen, and offered the community of PARIS – a FREE MOVIE EXTRAVAGANZA on FOUR CONSECUTIVE SATURDAY NIGHTS - got the PIZZA MAN on board – cleared the shelf at Dollarama of all their JUMBO bags of POPCORN – blitzed the town with posters and THE PLACE WAS PACKED OUT EVERY WEEKEND – and when it was all said and done – our God stirred the hearts of hundreds of people to give DREAM BIG WITH US - can we get a DRUM ROLL PLEASE - - - - - - - - - - - - $13,500!!!!!
Seriously?!?!? YUP! GOD’S WORK, done GOD’S WAY, receives GOD’S SUPPLY!!!!
Some of those dollars were raised at an impromptu YARD SALE in the front lawn of Arlene, Maurice’s sister – who like us – couldn’t have her MASSIVE SALE as usual, so together with a few friends decided to host a private yard sale – that brought it in $2700!!!!!
Seriously?!?!?! YUP! GOD’S WORK, done GOD’S WAY, receives GOD’S SUPPLY!!!!
He loves HAITI and PARIS infinitely more than anybody on earth ever will, and THAT is the GOOD NEWS that we get to tell everyone, both here and there!!!
Ah, there were so many eternal conversations on those four Saturday nights – so many hearts were touched to look into this whole JESUS thing – plus on the other side of the ocean, Ancy and Noe now have the resources to keep being JESUS to JESUS!!!!
So…here’s another GOD INSPIRED IDEA…why don’t YOU have a PRIVATE YARD SALE or a MOVIE NIGHT and give the proceeds to DREAM BIG WITH US?!?!?!!
If we could have a couple dozen people take up that challenge – then our families in Nan Rasin AND the kids from the surrounding area that Ancy feeds, AND the kids and prisoners Noe feeds, would be lovingly and amply cared for throughout this coming year!!!
Of this we are sure - there are NEVER a shortage of bellies to feed in Haiti – not ever!!
So, if you’d like to host a MOVIE EXTRAVAGANZA – we can hook you up with the peeps that will make that happen for you – and if you would like to have a private YARD SALE – well, you know how to do that!!!
As for what’s next on the DREAM BIG WITH US calendar – it’s our PIES FOR PRISONERS adventure!
Last year we sold 500 pies and this year we’re shooting for 1000!!
Is there something you can do, you ask?!?!?!
Well, yes, there certainly is – and it’s this…
If you have frozen berries or peaches that you’d like to donate, we’ll take them, AND we’re also going to make SAVORY PIES this time around, so we’re looking for FARMERS who would love to donate a whole whack of chickens or turkeys AND even a side of beef!!! If you’re a farmer and Jesus is tugging on your heart to help us out – please give us a shout!!!
Is there ANYTHING more fun than being the hands and feet of JESUS to the lost, the lonely, the hungry and the forsaken?!?!?!
And is there ANYTHING more exciting to watch how when GOD’S WORK, is done GOD’S way, it receives GOD’S SUPPLY, for which HE GETS ALL THE GLORY for?!?!?!
We don’t think so either!!!
Determined to do things GOD’S WAY and for HIS GLORY until Jesus comes bursting through those clouds to take us to our forever home…
Maurice and Sue :)
That's what JOB said to THE LORD in the midst of his suffering and ginormous loss!!!
I KNOW - I am certain - I am persuaded - I am convinced - that YOU - the GOD WHO SPOKE THE WORLD INTO EXISTENCE AND NOW HOLDS IT SAFE IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND - CAN DO EVERYTHING - ESPECIALLY the impossible!!
I KNOW - I am certain - I am persuaded - I am convinced - that what YOU HAVE WRITTEN - cannot be erased - that YOUR STORIES are never paused, but that YOU ARE CONTINUOUSLY WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES to achieve your PURPOSES, for YOUR GLORY!!
Since we've left Haiti - THE STORY HAS CONTINUED!!
Just yesterday, two of the "kids" that Maurice poured his life into, that are now in their twenties, bought, prepared and served up a feast to 59 VERY HUNGRY kids that came to our property, hoping to find Mr. Maurice.
"Mr. Maurice always gave us a job and food! Now, what do we do?! Where do we go?!"
Ancy thought to himself, "I will do like Mr Maurice did!"
Ancy's been doing A LOT of that since we left, and it's absolutely AWESOME to watch it all unfold!!! It's what we pray for!! It's what we want!! Haitians helping Haitians!!
So, we have officially made Ancy and Noe, our fellow Jesus lover who feeds the prisoners and the street kids, our "DREAM BIG WITH US AGENTS" on the ground!!
This means that we send them $1200 plus each month, to buy food to feed the starving, so that they can be the hands and heart of JESUS to the hungry and the broken, so that they can be the face of HOPE in their nation that epitomizes hopelessness!!
It's just beautiful!
And you know what else is beautiful!?!?!?
Maurice finally got his surgery date and it's NEXT WEEK!!!!
We heard that HALLELUJAH!!!!
AHAHA our GOD IS FAITHFUL and we KNOW you'll be faithful to keep praying like you have been for months!!!
AND...because we are unable to have our annual MASSIVE YARD SALE for Haiti due to the COVID crisis - we are hosting a "DRIVE-IN MOVIE EXTRAVAGANZA" 4 SATURDAY NIGHTS in row - starting August 15th - right through to September 5 - and depending on the response, we MAY even extend that!!!
This will all take place in the CEDARVIEW CHURCH PARKING LOT and we can't wait to bless PARIS, who we believe God will COMPEL to bless Haiti!!!!
The MOVIE EXTRAVAGANZA is FREE, but we are giving everyone the opportunity to make a donation, that will change a life that will change a nation!!!!
Please pray with us!!! Our God gave us over $30,000 last year, and WOW, it would sure be AWESOME if He could squeeze enough hearts to do that again!!!!
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!!!!
AH yes, our friends, THE STORY CONTINUES, whether it's obvious or not, our GOD is famous for working in ways we cannot see, to achieve HIS purposes for HIS glory!!!!!
This we KNOW!!!!!!
Resting in HIS ways,
Maurice and Sue :)
A rare glimpse of the prison. How can we not help?!
Hope to see you there!
It's all about where we choose to focus our gaze...
If our eyes are fixed on JESUS and His GREATNESS, then everything else, disappointment, sorrow, pain, even a pandemic, fades away in the light of ALL HE IS!!!
JESUS says that before He comes back to take us to our forever home - there will be widespread deception, famines, wars, economic instability, massive earthquakes, hurricanes, warring political systems, ethnic conflicts, pestilence and chaos, and that when we see these things, to LOOK UP for our REDEMPTION is at the door!!!
Those words LOOK UP in the Greek text literally mean -
BEND YOU NECK UPWARDS AS FAR AS IT CAN GO, AND WITH EXCITEMENT AND JOY START WATCHING FOR MY RETURN!!!!!!!
REDEMPTION in the Greek text is translated, DELIVERANCE FROM THE CONSTANT AND BITTER HOSTILITY FROM THE ENEMY OF OUR SOULS - AND FROM THE PERSECUTION FROM THOSE WHO SERVE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't quiver in fear at all that is starting to unfold, don't hang your head in despair and worry, don't wring your hands wondering what ON EARTH you are going to do - LOOK AT THE SKY - because it won't be long until our JESUS comes and takes us home!!!!!
AND AS FOR THESE TWO SPARROWS - WE CAN'T WAIT!!!
Maurice's surgery, like thousands of other surgeries, has been postponed, but GOD IS SOVEREIGN - so we trust Him and LOOK UP, not only for His return, but for a miracle, and not just for a new hip, but for the nation of HAITI...
COVID 19 has invaded that already desperate country and as you can well imagine if it spreads, it could wipe Haiti off the map. Most of Haiti does not have access to clean water - they wash in the same place as the pigs - and social distancing is impossible as many families sleep on the ground shoulder to shoulder in their shacks - and even at the best of times, food is scarce - so we LOOK UP and cry out, "JESUS! HAVE MERCY!"
"Dream Big With Us" is making sure that all our Nan Rasin families are fed and have whatever else they need - and that's possible because of YOUR HUGE HEARTS, so thank you to those that have followed the nudge of The Holy Spirit and sent money just because He told you to!!!!!
NOE, an awesome lover and follower of Jesus who was born and raised in Haiti, and the one who also is receiving each month a portion of the proceeds of the pie sale to feed the prisoners - ALSO does his very best, to feed throngs of street kids, as often as he's able.
Yesterday,126 of these kids landed at his door, and thanks to the swiftness of Western Union, we were able to send Noe some money to purchase rice and beans - and AGAIN - a big "THANKS" to those who have obeyed the Holy Spirit's nudge - ESPECIALLY to the couple who e-transferred $1000 to us yesterday morning - seriously, GOD'S timing is SO perfect, it's ridiculously crazy awesome!!!!!
On the average Noe is able to fill these hungry bellies TWICE a week - which is wonderful, BUT if you'd like to enable him to feed these precious hearts ON THE REMAINING FIVE days of the week, we will, WITH JOY, put that provision into his hands!!!
Now that we are our own charity (YAHOOZIE JESUS!!) cheques can be made out to DREAM BIG WITH US - or you can e-transfer your gift to info@dreambigwithus.org and you will receive a tax receipt!! (WOW, feels good to be able to write that!!!)
SADIE was in her seventies when I first met her and was bent right over due to severe arthritis in her spine. Yet, when Sadie walked around, she NEVER looked down, but always up, and to do that, she had to stretch out her neck as far as it would go.
It wasn’t easy for Sadie to look up.
She had to use every muscle to force her head in an upward position, but she did it, all the time, and that’s what Jesus is asking us to do.
Even when it’s easier to look down, LOOK UP!!!!
Even when it takes all your will power and stubborn determination, LOOK UP!!!!!
Stretch your neck as far as you can and FIX your eyes on what is coming, not what is, because when you do, everything else that is tugging at you to look down, will disappear!!!
LOOK UP!!!
It’s almost time to go home….
Yes and AMEN!!!!!!!!
Looking at the sky,
Sue & Maurice
There is ALWAYS a bigger story playing out than the one we are privy to!!
It may LOOK like nothing is happening; that God has forgotten and forsaken you - but trust me, He works in ways we cannot see!!
Butterflies wouldn’t be butterflies, if as caterpillars they didn’t spend time in the cocoon!! Ah yes, what LOOKS like a dried up blob of mud on the outside, is actually a nesting place for a NEW BEGINNING!!!
It’s only in the darkness of a cocoon where a caterpillar can be transformed into a new creature - and that season cannot be hurried along because the ONLY way this evolving butterfly can strengthen its wings, is by flapping against the inside of the cocoon - which it continues to do until its muscles become strong enough to break open the cocoon!!
If this action is interrupted or bypassed, the butterfly will NEVER be able to fly because it will have not gone through the NECESSARY PROCESS of becoming strong!!
My friends, you may FEEL trapped - you may FEEL like you’re flapping your wings for nothing - but THE TRUTH is that the harder you flap your wings, the stronger you will become - and at the appointed time, the walls of the cocoon will crack open, releasing you to fly!!!
SO, in the darkness, in that place where it feels like you’ll never see the light of day again, FLAP YOUR WINGS!!!!
Exercise your faith and tell your soul that what’s coming will far surpass what has been - because COCOONS are where strength is perfected and NEW LIFE is created!!!
This is the TRUTH that we are choosing to live in right now and that He longs for all of us to embrace, because quite frankly, there's just way too much at stake in all of our stories, for us not to!!!
Since we last chatted, we have returned and have settled back into Canadaland.
Maurice is now on THE LIST for a new hip - and they say the wait could be six months or more.
Charitable Status application #4 has been submitted by our lawyer and she says it's looking very hopeful.
Our Nan Rasin family are doing okay and thankfully are in constant contact despite the continuing protests, no gas and lack of food that brings daily chaos to that desperate nation.
Please continue to pray for Maurice. We're thankful he's now on THE LIST, but SIX MONTHS is a very long time to endure the already incredibly debilitating pain, so to say your prayers are needed, is a huge understatement!!!
And please, please, please, continue to pray for our families in Nan Rasin - and for the entire nation of Haiti that Jesus has promised to rescue.
Asking God to show us what HE sees,
Maurice and Sue :)
“Bonswa zamines”, or as we say in English, HELLO FRIENDS :)
Have you ever read a book where you've had to put it down for a second or two because you just can’t believe what you just read?! You know, the kind of story that has you biting your nails and holding your breath, where you really don’t know what’s going to happen next?!?
We’re in the middle of that kind of story right now!! This epic tale has had the miraculous woven into it since the beginning!! God has astounded us with His provisions and His ways!! He’s had us on the edge of our seats filled with antiicpation, so much so that at times it was hard to breathe!! Watching the container part of this story unfold was one of those times!! It’s been exhilarating, but recently the story has taken an unexpected twist that has left in place where we have to trust, tho we do not understand.
Maurice’s hip has deteriorated to the point where it seizes up on him when he exerts himself in the smallest of ways. His pain and frustration level is off the charts because of not being able to do what he’s always done.
As someone who has had front row seats to this man’s determination, let me tell you that if sheer believing that Jesus can do anything brought forth the miraculous, Maurice would have had his new hip a long time ago!!
We have prayed with expectation for three plus years and watched it worsen, to the point where he’s become disabled and unable to do what he longs to do.
In light of this horrific, debilitating, constant pain we have come to the conclusion that we need to return to Canada in order to get this looked after.
Please pray for the favour of God as Maurice begins the process of getting a new hip. We are believing that there will be beautiful miracles along the way and that by the end of this unexpected path, Maurice will emerge pain free ready to return to Haiti to finish the assignment that our God has entrusted us with!!
I have prayed much about staying in Haiti on my own, but don’t have a peace about doing that, much to the relief of my family and friends - so I too will return to Canada and continue to raise awareness for this desperate nation that He has gripped my heart for, and quite possibly as Jesus leads, from time to time fly back with a few friends to check on our families. We have secured the containers, and hired Antsy to keep a close eye on them for us. We have also looked after school fees for the kids Maurice has helped for years, and made provision for our Nan Rasin families to receive food while we’re away.
It will be brutally heart wrenching to leave, yet there is a deep settled peace in knowing that this “hard to understand” part of the story, has been written just like the “exhilarating miraculous” parts of the story, since before there were stars.
Our sovereign God knew all about this chapter because He Himself wrote it for a purpose, that we may or may not, understand one day.
What we know for sure is that He never fails, never lies and never leaves us!!
What we know for sure is that He wastes nothing, brings beauty from ashes and always, always works everything together for our good and His purposes!!!
What we know for sure is that He goes before us, chases us with His favour, and never breaks a promise!!
What we know for sure is that no matter how we feel or what we see, what God declares WILL BE - so YET WE WILL TRUST...
Next on the schedule is our MASSIVE YARD SALE on September 28th in Paris, Ontario!! Please pray for that day along with our charitable application process and please, please pray for the hip replacement journey!!!
And just so ya know, we are still believing for a miracle - whether Maurice wakes up pain free one day or whether God uses the hands of a skilled surgeon - however God does it will without a doubt have the miraculous stamped all over it!!
Trusting with all of our hearts...
M & S
Matthew writes that Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the Kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures and the paralyzed, and He healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, from the Decapolis, from Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed Him.
When He saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came and sat around Him and He began to teach them, and the crowds listened...
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.....
Back in those days, much as it still is today, you were considered blessed if you had lots of money and possessions, or if you were healthy and problem free, but when Jesus sat on that mountainside and began to teach what we now call The Beatitudes - His words turned that definition upside down and inside out.
The first truth He declared, was that in the Kingdom of God, the blessed ones are those who are poor in spirit - those who realize they are nobody without God.
The Greek word Jesus used for the word POOR describes a person who has nothing and no hope of ever having anything more than nothing.
Jesus used the exact same word when He talked about Lazarus, the beggar, who was lying at the gate of a rich man 'longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table'. He was desperate for scraps, for peels, for garbage, for leftovers, for just a crumb. This man was so helpless that he was unable to ward off the stray dogs that came and feasted on his oozing sores.
So what Jesus was actually saying was more like, "Blessed are those who know that without the generous, kind, merciful benevolence of God, they would for sure die..."
William Carey was born in 1761. After he came to know Jesus, he was driven by an intense burden for those in India who had never yet heard His Name. At a conference of pastors he got up and expressed how their was a need to go across the seas to tell those living in darkness what we were so fortunate to know. His passion was ridiculed and he was told to sit down - but William Carey refused to let go of what He knew Jesus had put in his heart to do.
He writes in his journal, "If Jesus were The Lord of India, what would it look like?! What would it look like?!?! What would be different?!?!"
In 1793 he took his pregnant wife and three boys and boarded a ship for India, a land Jesus had told him to love and serve, a land that desperately needed to be ruled by TRUTH, not deception.
It wasn't easy, in fact he writes that it was miserable. He had no money, no food and no friends. He and his entire family got sick with malaria which resulted in his five year old son dying and his wife having a nervous breakdown.
"I'm in a strange land. Not one Christian friend, a large family and nothing to feed them - but I have GOD and His Word is sure! This is indeed the valley of the shadow of death to me - but nonetheless, I rejoice that I am here, because GOD IS HERE!!"
In 1799 a page turned and he began to see fruit from his labor. In 1800, after SEVEN LONG YEARS of loving on the people, he baptized his first convert and two months later he finished translating the New Testament into Bengali. Over the next 28 years, he translated the ENTIRE Bible into India's major languages - of which there were 209!!!! He also did his best to stop some of the horrible practices that pervaded India, such as widow burning and the killing of children for human sacrifices. By the time William Carey died, he had spent 41 years in India without ever going back to his country!! Throughout those four decades he said he just did whatever Jesus told him to do. And throughout those four decades he suffered from a recurrent fever, he limped from an injury he'd sustained in 1817 and his wife never did recover from her emotional anguish. If you were to visit William Carey's simple grave today, you would see a stone with the following inscription that he requested be written.
WILLIAM CAREY
Born - August 17th, 1761
Died - June 9th, 1834
A wretched, poor, and helpless worm,
On Thy kind arms I fall...
William Carey was intentionally poor in spirit to his last breath. He knew he was nobody trying to tell the world about THE SOMEBODY that had rescued his soul!! He knew that on his own, breathing, let alone enduring and being productive in God's Kingdom, just wouldn't be possible. He knew that without His Father's constant care and nearness, life just wouldn't be doable - but he proved every single day, that as long as he was in the arms of his God that he could expect great things and that anything was possible!!
The way he lived inspired countless hearts, including Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael, George Mueller and David Livingston, to leave what was known and cross the seas to make Jesus famous. Although they never met, William Carey taught them by example that the only way to endure the darkness and hardships that always accompany an abandoned 'YES!' to Jesus - and the only way to be blessed and fruitful amidst that darkness and hardship, was to live in the shadow and rest in the arms of The Almighty!!
Every day we are reminded by our own weaknesses that we are nothing without THE SOMEBODY who died so that we could LIVE!!! We are reminded that HIS strength is made perfect in our weakness and that HIS grace is always enough for every single need that presents itself!!! What a relief it is to know that HE is The One with the pen - that HE is The One who is in control - and that all that's required from us is to stay in His arms!!!!
Please continue to pray for Haiti - and for us as we do what Jesus tells us to do each day.
Two little worms in Haiti who are so thankful for that place between His shoulders...
M & S
P.S. This is a brand new song that's worth listening to...
“No, the answer is a for sure NO!! No, you cannot open the container on your property!! It MUST be opened at the port!! No, the answer is NO!!"
“Suplay – PLEEEEASE Parola – please!! It is a BIG problem for us to open it at the port and repack it at the port! Suplay – PLEEEEASE Parola – can you do anything?!?!”
“No, the Director says NO!!”
“Can we please speak to the Director?”
“Ok! Let’s go!”
We walked down her winding staircase saying under our breath, “Lord of the BREAKTHROUGH – please break through!!!” As we meandered through the crowded streets to our vehicle that we had to park blocks away due to the congestion, we continued to pray for favor. Our hearts envisioned favor and mercy chasing us and faithfulness and truth leading us!! We were expecting a miracle!! After a short drive, which included a wrong turn, that in Cap Haitien adds crazy on top of the already crazy, and danger on top of the already existing danger, we arrived at the Customs Office.
It was jammed with hot and sweaty people all talking in a high decimal level which makes it hard to decipher whether they’re angry or just excited. All we know for sure is that it’s LOUD and when you combine it with the honking of horns and din of traffic outside, it creates that flight hormone everyone talks about – except there is nowhere to flee to!!
We stood outside a door for a few moments until it opened and Parola motioned for us to follow her inside.
We found ourselves in another office, this one air conditioned, which always feels like Christmas morning, and were told to sit down on the two chairs facing one of the three desks in the room.
A man entered and basically repeated what Parola had already told us.
“No, the answer is a for sure NO!! No, you cannot open the container on your property!! It MUST be opened at the port!! No, the answer is NO.”
“Suplay – PLEEASE sir – is there anything you can do for us?”
“No, the political situation is too bad!! The Director says it must be opened at the port!!”
Director?! We thought he was the director!
“Where’s the director?! We need to talk to the director!!” we plead.
I stood up and took the hands of who we found out was the ASSISTANT Director’s and said, “Please sir, you must help us! It is impossible for us to repack this container at the port!” while all the time praying that our God famous for doing the impossible, would move on the heart of this man as He moved on the heart of King Darius.
“I will see what I can do. I will talk to him. One moment.”
Parola took us back out into the stuffy hall filled with angry or maybe excited, all sweaty people and told us to wait. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a tall Haitien man in a suit.
“Sue, this is the Director” whispered The Holy Spirit, so I reached out my hand towards him as he walked by me and prayed that God would give us favor and change the heart of this king that had the power to grant us our request.
Sure enough, he was the director and soon we were sitting in front of his desk while Parola and the Assistant Director presented our case pretty much at the same time.
Everything happens all at once in this country.
It is always a frenzy.
When we were in the Assistant Director’s office there were two more officials dealing with people at the same time we were being told ‘NO’. And as we were trying to reason with him, we were getting messages from our shipping company in Canada who was attempting to deal with a logistical problem that our shipping agency in Haiti had created.
It’s never just one problem. It’s a continuous tsunami of confusion, corruption and deception, yet in the midst of the insanity our breakthrough God, broke through.
The Director was texting his wife as our people were talking to him. He appeared totally disconnected and disinterested in what they were saying. We just kept praying, very aware that all of you were wielding your swords on our behalf – and believing with all of our hearts that nothing is ever IMPOSSIBLE with our God.
Suddenly, the distracted Director mutters in English, “Ok. Sure. It’s okay.”
And faster than you can blink – the absolute “NO!” turned into a “YES!” and we were being asked to leave the office. I grabbed the ‘kings’ hands while telling him that he was a good man. He smiled as he scribbled his signature authorizing our container to be trucked UNOPENED to our property!!
But it wasn’t over yet.
The Port was refusing to release our container because of the amendment to the consignee that Parola had made without our knowledge. It was consigned to her company with Maurice as a back-up, which she approved, but that morning, she took her name off, leaving only Maurice’s name on the Bill of Lading, which made it different from the one that was issued in Canada, which was the one the Port authority was given when our container arrived.
For the next four hours we went back and forth with the awesome peeps on the Canadian side that were trying to fix this problem, while trying to convince the Haitien Port authorities to release our container based on the fact that Maurice’s name was on the Bill of Lading – but this time the answer was an irreversible “NO!”
God writes real nail biters doesn't He?!?!
His stories are never, ever predictable!!!
Sometimes He changes the heart of a king, and sometimes He allows the king to inflict horrible suffering.
Sometimes He dispatches angels to break us out of our prisons, and sometimes He allows us to be sawed in half.
Sometimes He allows us to be thrown to the lions so that we can watch Him shut the mouths of the lions.
Sometimes He allows us to be thrown into a furnace seven times hotter than normal so that He can show us that He is with us in the fire.
Our Sovereign God does whatever He knows is going to make us like Jesus and whatever will ultimately bring Him the most glory, so we pray for a miracle, and trust Him when He does things HIS way to fulfill HIS purposes!!!
We left without our container, but with an assurance in our hearts, that our God would finish what He started. By that evening the amended Bill of Lading arrived, but by the next morning manifestations had erupted throughout Haiti, bringing the nation to a standstill and everyone with no gas and very little food. However, by the following evening, because of God’s grace and beautiful favor, our little area actually had gas, for one night, (there’s been no gas since!!), so we quick brought the vehicles and the gas tanks and filled up.
Just as we were leaving Maurice heard someone call his name.
At first, he didn’t recognize him because he’d shaved since we talked to him in his office at the Custom’s building!!! Yup, we were talking to the Assistant Director of Customs who happens to live very close to our property!!
He was all excited to see us and assured us that our container would be in our hands, unopened as soon as possible!! Within 48 hours our container was put on a truck and driven to us – despite the shortage of fuel that still paralyzes the country – AND the continued manifestations!!
A Customs agent accompanied it and at first demanded that it be emptied, but after some Holy Spirit saturated negotiations, and a ton of sword wielding in Canada, he agreed to just have us take the tractor off and leave it at that!! Three hours later, the tractor was off – because to take the tractor off, meant emptying a third of the container’s contents – but our Nan Rasin family lent their hands and we got the job done!!
The next day we returned, and although we so prayed for a crane to just lift the container off the flatbed and on to the property so we could empty it at our leisure, God did not send a crane, but instead sent a crew from the Port to lend us their muscles!! So, between them and our own boys – we had a team of ten, including us, and by the end of the day – all 43,800 pounds of provisions in the container was emptied and put away in two forty-foot containers!!!
There’s a LOT of organizing to do, but God’s strength never runs out!!!
Yesterday as I was lugging bins from one container to the other, our neighbor came up to me and expressed how sorry he was that we had to do so much hard work. He said, “Madame Sue, the container is so much trouble for you!” I smiled through the sweat, and pointed to the sky while panting, it was all for JESUS – to which he burst out in a grin and shouted ‘OUI! OUI!! ALL FOR JAZEE!!!!’
AND IT IS!!!!!
EVERYTHING we do is because of Jesus and for JESUS!!!!!
He gave His life so that we could LIVE and make Him famous - so how can we not live a life worthy of the calling we have received!?!?!
How can we not stand firm in the faith when the storms come when He is stood firm for us when everything inside of Him screamed for another way?!?!
This is HIS STORY – that we are blessed to have been written into!!! He will forever have our hearts whether we’re living in the realm of the miraculous or we find ourselves in a prison cell having to remind our souls of what is true!!!
He can still change the heart of Kings!!
He still makes the impossible happen!!
Having our container delivered to our property unopened would have been enough for us – but having it come in the middle of unrest and when there is no gas – well, that’s just flippin’ awesome!!!
But along with the awesome comes hells flurry!!
Any servant of GOD who has said ‘YES!’ to one of His assignments faces a continuous onslaught and knows the shade of the broom tree - but they also come to know that they are not alone under that broom tree – and that God always gives us just what’s needed to complete the task we’ve been given!!
Thank you so very much for praying and whatever you do, please, please, please don't stop!!!
The enemy HATES Jesus!!!
The enemy HATES Jesus in us!!!
The enemy HATES the stories GOD WRITES!!!
And He is relentless – totally RELENTLESS in trying to steal, kill and destroy!!!! We have a target on our backs – but GREATER is HE that is IN us then any arrows that are aimed at us – however there are moments in the heat of the war when our minds are deceived into forgetting what is true – so we beg you, don’t ever put down your swords!!!!
Whatever you are facing today – know that He still changes the hearts of kings and still moves anything that dares to stand in the way of what HE HAS DECLARED will be!!!!
Swords in hand,
M & S
The container has arrived in Cap Haitien!!!!!! We will be at the port tomorrow morning around 10 AM - so start wielding your swords!!!!!!!
Please pray that they consent to taking it to the property to empty!
We are believing and expecting for THE most MIRACULOUS "container arriving to Haiti" experience EVER!!!!!
THANKS SOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!
M & S
