I’m back from Haiti! Wow, what an experience I had there. I can hardly believe I was only there for about 9 days. We started off our trip with plane delays giving us one overnight stay in Miami, then onto Haiti. We arrived in the evening on Tuesday, November 17. Outside the airpot there was a mob of people trying to take our luggage for us, but we were told not to because they would expect a tip. Once we were on the bus we had a two hour trip from Port au Prince to St. Marc where the YWAM base was. We had some training on our disaster relief work and then we were off to sleep.
Wednesday the fun began. We set out to the 5th section of St. Marc in a little town called La Grange. We went through a lot of spiritual warfare that day. We all stood/sat in the back of the work truck while Terry Snow (the director of the YWAM base) attempted to get us through all the mud to the town. It was only by God’s protection and help that we were able to make it all the way there. The people were so excited to see us. We set up the equipment and began our process. A few people from our group went out and did investigating of the homes. They had to figure out, with the help of our Haitian translators, the names of the families, how many people lived in the house, telephone numbers (who would have thought they would have phones when they can hardly find food to eat), and then they had to evaluate the condition of the home and the families needs. Then the rest of us, myself included, entered this data into the computer and took pictures of the people to make ID cards. Amazingly the rain held off while we were there (it appeared the clouds separated and was raining in the mountains and the ocean but not in the section we were in. Isn’t our God Great!)
The next day we went to another town, Desfouneau, and did the same process while Terry went and handed out the Blue Cards to La Grange so that they could get food boxes. On Friday we went back to La Grange to hand out the food boxes. The drive is about 1-1.5 hours and we had to take about 4 trips to get all the food boxes to the town. We started with a group leaving at 6 am and the last group arriving at 3 pm. During this time we taught the school kids our names, played hop scotch, did some dramas, took photos, and just had fun with the kids. Then Alyssa and I gave our testimonies, Luke gave a little sermon, and then we started handing out the food boxes. There was some chaos, but everyone ended up getting their food box and we were able to head back to the base. It was an amazing day!
Over the weekend we went to the local market, ate out at a local restaurant, relaxed and performed our dramas, gave testimonies/sermons and worshiped at the bases Church service. Then another week began.
Monday we had some issues with Gervie (another town) lying to us, so we ended up packing up and leaving early. The town was filled with Greed, so we had a time of prayer for them that evening. Tuesday we headed back to Desfouneau, we performed our dramas, gave testimonies and a sermon and then handed out food boxes. The town was very appreciative and very cooperative about waiting in line. Some people even stopped in our prayer line to be prayed for longer. It was so awesome to see. Then we went to a small town called Ba-Lalle who were so excited to see us and hear what we had to say. We performed our dramas again along with testimonies and a sermon. Many people accepted Christ and we were able to have a time of prayer for the people there. Then after lunch we went to a town called Luben, which Terry had just recently gone to for the 1st time in his almost 20 years of ministry there. We handed out food cards. I had a following of kids the whole time I was there :)
Wednesday a group went back to Luben to hand out food, while the rest of us helped out with the Children’s Academy that they had on the base. We did some dramas, told a bible story and then headed to the different classrooms. I helped out the kindergardeners. They were so cute, we attempted to make 3D pumpkins and then we had snack break and watched part of WALL-E. In the afternoon we had a lesson from Terry Snow. In the evening the base was celebrating everyones birthdays for the month of November, we played TrainReck, threw the birthday people in the pool, and had cupcakes. It was a fun evening.
Thursday we made our way home to St. Croix. We had issues getting back though. Our flight out of Haiti was delayed so half of our group ended up staying in Miami because Immigration took so long and the other half of us barely made our flight to San Juan, PR. But we made it and we are all trying to rest up this weekend.
The outreach overall was life brought a lot of light towards missions for me. The people in these towns had such an amazing joy for how little they have. There was one man that was helping us control the lines, showing people where to go. He was so happy and he had lost his house in the Hurricanes (Hanna and Ike) and probably had hardly any food or possessions. He was such an example for all of us. God really helped me through my fear of public speaking and He helped me see that my words could bring someone to Christ. I am so excited to learn even more about God and about going to Nicaragua in January. I think I will truly come home a changed person. OUR GOD IS AMAZING, HIS LOVE IS STEADY AND UNCHANGING!
Thank you to everyone for your prayers while we were gone. God’s power was definitely proven while I was in Haiti. I know that it is through prayer that we were able to do the work we did there.
I hope to get pictures uploaded soon, but it takes a long time because our internet is so slow. Thanks again for your patience in this area :)
Love in Christ,
Kathy Beth Miersma
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Haiti Info
Hello Everyone! Here is some information regarding my Haiti mini outreach.
I was asked to answer some questions, so here we go:
-where exactly is our group going? We are going to the YWAM base in St. Marc, Haiti
-what are the needs of the people there? Haiti was hit by 3 hurricanes within 3 weeks and has a lot of damage due to these. Most of the country is very poor.
-what are your needs as a group? For us students, we are preparing our testimonies and for the group as a whole just that we have a lot of preparations before we leave on Monday.
-what type of ministry will you be partaking in? VBS, Disaster Relief work
-what are you hoping to accomplish there? Anything specific? We want to share the Gospel with the people of Haiti, right now we feel that we are going to try to impact the children the most.
-what has God shown you all to be praying for so we can join with you...give us the specifics? We have been shown that we need to pray for the people and their willingness to be open to the gospel, for the children, and that we can be a light and sow seeds of love.
-what are the dates and times of your flights so we can cover you all in prayer? Flight to Puerto Rico leaves at 6:30 am on Monday (we did not go through daylight savings time) We return in the evening on Thanksgiving Day.
-will you be joining another organization/ministry while there? Who are they - names, ministry, needs? We will be working with YWAM Haiti
-how are the finances of your group...for the school, outreach, and the next one? Right now we all have our money up through our mini outreach, some people have all their money but there are some needs yet. The base as a whole is very tight on money and could use any extra funds.
-do/will you have an outreach itinerary/schedule that we can follow along with dates/activities so we know what to be praying for and when it's happening? We do not have any itinerary/schedule yet. We will most likely not have access to the internet while we are gone, so I'm not sure if I will be able to let everyone know either.
-how about you? How can we pray specifically for you!? I am really nervous about speaking in front of people and sharing my testimony. We will be utilizing a translator and I am worried about using words that will not translate well.
Thank you all for your prayer support!
I was asked to answer some questions, so here we go:
-where exactly is our group going? We are going to the YWAM base in St. Marc, Haiti
-what are the needs of the people there? Haiti was hit by 3 hurricanes within 3 weeks and has a lot of damage due to these. Most of the country is very poor.
-what are your needs as a group? For us students, we are preparing our testimonies and for the group as a whole just that we have a lot of preparations before we leave on Monday.
-what type of ministry will you be partaking in? VBS, Disaster Relief work
-what are you hoping to accomplish there? Anything specific? We want to share the Gospel with the people of Haiti, right now we feel that we are going to try to impact the children the most.
-what has God shown you all to be praying for so we can join with you...give us the specifics? We have been shown that we need to pray for the people and their willingness to be open to the gospel, for the children, and that we can be a light and sow seeds of love.
-what are the dates and times of your flights so we can cover you all in prayer? Flight to Puerto Rico leaves at 6:30 am on Monday (we did not go through daylight savings time) We return in the evening on Thanksgiving Day.
-will you be joining another organization/ministry while there? Who are they - names, ministry, needs? We will be working with YWAM Haiti
-how are the finances of your group...for the school, outreach, and the next one? Right now we all have our money up through our mini outreach, some people have all their money but there are some needs yet. The base as a whole is very tight on money and could use any extra funds.
-do/will you have an outreach itinerary/schedule that we can follow along with dates/activities so we know what to be praying for and when it's happening? We do not have any itinerary/schedule yet. We will most likely not have access to the internet while we are gone, so I'm not sure if I will be able to let everyone know either.
-how about you? How can we pray specifically for you!? I am really nervous about speaking in front of people and sharing my testimony. We will be utilizing a translator and I am worried about using words that will not translate well.
Thank you all for your prayer support!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Holy Spirit Week
Sorry for the late posting, we didn’t have internet from Thursday till today.
Just a recap of two weeks ago (Oct. 27-31). We talked about... the separation that happened due to the fall, who God is and who we are (why wouldn’t we want a relationship with God when we know how it can be), Implications of the Cross, our condition in life versus our position with God, why it can be hard to grasp God’s grace and acceptance for us, a loving response to God’s grace and love, spiritual disciplines and finally we learned about the difference between living by the flesh and living by the fruits (Galations 5:19-22). This was an awesome week of reassurance of what I believe, Thank you Jesus!
Last week we were learning about the holy spirit. Mike Phillips had been showing us how the holy spirit fits into the trinity. He shared with us how the holy spirit lives in us and therefore, God is in us. It is an awesome realization that I know I have known for years, but never took to heart that God is always here with me because he lives inside me through the holy spirit. And when I have a relationship with him then God can speak directly to me. Mike shared with us that in the Bible Pharaoh, Balem, and Belshazar all heard God, but because they did not share a relationship with Him like Adam, Noah, Moses... they heard Him through Physical means--other people, other things. This may be a hard thing for you to believe and I am still coming to an understanding of how and that He does speak to me/you.
Thursday we had an awesome lesson. One thing we learned was about the lies that satan likes to put in our heads. Lies about shame, fear, abandonment, we are not/cannot be loved, we can do it on our own (independence), powerless, tainted, hopeless. In all these things we can know the truth, but still believe in the lie. I’ve struggled a lot with the lie of not being accepted as I am, that people won’t love me or like me for who I am. Therefore, it is hard for me to believe people like me. I try to show them a person that I think they will like but isn’t really me and sometimes I feel I don’t know who the real me is. Last week Thursday God reminded me of two memories from my childhood, one time where I felt rejected by classmates and one time when a friend and I were both enjoying life on the swings at recess. The lie is something I still believed today, that because I felt rejected I am rejected/not accepted by others. God showed me that I had taken the situation in the wrong light and therefore making the lie seem like a truth up until now. God is working in me to find joy when others are having a good time and to not think that because I wasn’t the one that was funny or brought the joy that I am not a joy bringer. Wow! I feel so free, so happy, so at peace with who God made me to be.
I want to thank everyone for your prayers, I know that your prayers are allowing me to open up to God, to myself and let God work in me to be the person He wants me to be, His servant. I ask that you continue to pray for God to reveal himself to me and that I may be reminded of His grace and love and peace. That God will become Alive in me!
When we allow God into our lives, to have a relationship with us we will be forever changed!
God Bless all of you!
In Christ,
Kathy Beth Miersma
Random Information:
*On November 17 my DTS will be leaving for Haiti for almost two weeks for our mini outreach.
*On January 13th my DTS will leave for Nicaragua for about 6 weeks for our big outreach.
Please pray for our preparations.
Just a recap of two weeks ago (Oct. 27-31). We talked about... the separation that happened due to the fall, who God is and who we are (why wouldn’t we want a relationship with God when we know how it can be), Implications of the Cross, our condition in life versus our position with God, why it can be hard to grasp God’s grace and acceptance for us, a loving response to God’s grace and love, spiritual disciplines and finally we learned about the difference between living by the flesh and living by the fruits (Galations 5:19-22). This was an awesome week of reassurance of what I believe, Thank you Jesus!
Last week we were learning about the holy spirit. Mike Phillips had been showing us how the holy spirit fits into the trinity. He shared with us how the holy spirit lives in us and therefore, God is in us. It is an awesome realization that I know I have known for years, but never took to heart that God is always here with me because he lives inside me through the holy spirit. And when I have a relationship with him then God can speak directly to me. Mike shared with us that in the Bible Pharaoh, Balem, and Belshazar all heard God, but because they did not share a relationship with Him like Adam, Noah, Moses... they heard Him through Physical means--other people, other things. This may be a hard thing for you to believe and I am still coming to an understanding of how and that He does speak to me/you.
Thursday we had an awesome lesson. One thing we learned was about the lies that satan likes to put in our heads. Lies about shame, fear, abandonment, we are not/cannot be loved, we can do it on our own (independence), powerless, tainted, hopeless. In all these things we can know the truth, but still believe in the lie. I’ve struggled a lot with the lie of not being accepted as I am, that people won’t love me or like me for who I am. Therefore, it is hard for me to believe people like me. I try to show them a person that I think they will like but isn’t really me and sometimes I feel I don’t know who the real me is. Last week Thursday God reminded me of two memories from my childhood, one time where I felt rejected by classmates and one time when a friend and I were both enjoying life on the swings at recess. The lie is something I still believed today, that because I felt rejected I am rejected/not accepted by others. God showed me that I had taken the situation in the wrong light and therefore making the lie seem like a truth up until now. God is working in me to find joy when others are having a good time and to not think that because I wasn’t the one that was funny or brought the joy that I am not a joy bringer. Wow! I feel so free, so happy, so at peace with who God made me to be.
I want to thank everyone for your prayers, I know that your prayers are allowing me to open up to God, to myself and let God work in me to be the person He wants me to be, His servant. I ask that you continue to pray for God to reveal himself to me and that I may be reminded of His grace and love and peace. That God will become Alive in me!
When we allow God into our lives, to have a relationship with us we will be forever changed!
God Bless all of you!
In Christ,
Kathy Beth Miersma
Random Information:
*On November 17 my DTS will be leaving for Haiti for almost two weeks for our mini outreach.
*On January 13th my DTS will leave for Nicaragua for about 6 weeks for our big outreach.
Please pray for our preparations.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Week 3 complete, onto week 4
Another full week jammed packed with information. Last week was a very emotionally intense week. I learned about the father heart of God. God’s love for us is so big. However, knowing about God’s love is not the same as knowing (experiencing) His Love. God wants to share with all of us how much he loves us we just have to be willing to accept it. We also need to understand God’s love for us to truly know who we are (our Identity). We must deal with our past so that we can move onto the present and we need to remember that we will see God in the the future and that can be our reassurance when we have accepted Christ into our life. Last week we also talked about what hinders us from receiving God’s Love, Insecurity and finding confidence through understanding God, and we talked about forgiveness. Overall, it was a challenging week with a few tears, but good tears :)
The Weekend! Our excitement for Friday evening was going to Office Max and Kmart :) to get a few supplies and be in air conditioning and then going to Wendy’s for Frosty’s and Fries. On Saturday we went into Christiansted which is about 15 minutes from Suny Isle where the base is located. We did some perusing of the shops and looked around at some of the boats that were damaged from the Hurricane. Sunday we just relaxed at the base after Church.
Week 4 begins. This week we have Eileen Hartzler talking about Grace and Holiness a.k.a. Forgiveness and the Cross or Foundations of Christianity. This week, like all the weeks will be intense; new information mixed with review of previous knowledge. Our speaker is a little more of an introvert so not as in your face intense as the last two weeks, so this will be a little bit more relaxing than information overload :) I am excited as always to see what God is going to show me this week!
I hear the weather back home is a little cold and maybe sleetish/snowish. I will say that although I love the warmer weather, I did feel sad that I am missing out on beautiful leaves changing and white substances falling from the sky. I’m sure I will get over it quickly though :)
Love in Christ,
Kathy
Verses on God is Love! 1 John 4:7-12
Song: Majesty by Delirious
Here I am humbled by Your Majesty, Covered by Your grace oh friend. Here I am knowing I'm a sinful man, Covered by the blood of the Lamb. Now I've found the greatest love of all is mine, Since You laid down Your life, The greatest sacrifice.
Majesty, Majesty. Your grace has found me just as I am, Empty handed but alive in Your hands.
Here I am humbled by the love that You give, Forgiven so that I can forgive. So here I stand, Knowing that I am Your desire, Sanctified by glory and fire. And now I've found the greatest love of all is mine, Since You laid down Your life, The greatest sacrife.
Majesty, Majesty. Your grace has found me just as I am, Empty handed but alive in your hands. Singing Majesty, Majesty. Forever I am changed by Your love, In the presence of Your Majesty. Majesty.
We're singing Majesty, Majesty. Your grace has found me just as I am, And I'm nothing but alive in Your hands. We're singing Majesty, Majesty. Forever I am changed by Your love, In the beauty of Your Majesty. Majesty.
The Weekend! Our excitement for Friday evening was going to Office Max and Kmart :) to get a few supplies and be in air conditioning and then going to Wendy’s for Frosty’s and Fries. On Saturday we went into Christiansted which is about 15 minutes from Suny Isle where the base is located. We did some perusing of the shops and looked around at some of the boats that were damaged from the Hurricane. Sunday we just relaxed at the base after Church.
Week 4 begins. This week we have Eileen Hartzler talking about Grace and Holiness a.k.a. Forgiveness and the Cross or Foundations of Christianity. This week, like all the weeks will be intense; new information mixed with review of previous knowledge. Our speaker is a little more of an introvert so not as in your face intense as the last two weeks, so this will be a little bit more relaxing than information overload :) I am excited as always to see what God is going to show me this week!
I hear the weather back home is a little cold and maybe sleetish/snowish. I will say that although I love the warmer weather, I did feel sad that I am missing out on beautiful leaves changing and white substances falling from the sky. I’m sure I will get over it quickly though :)
Love in Christ,
Kathy
Verses on God is Love! 1 John 4:7-12
Song: Majesty by Delirious
Here I am humbled by Your Majesty, Covered by Your grace oh friend. Here I am knowing I'm a sinful man, Covered by the blood of the Lamb. Now I've found the greatest love of all is mine, Since You laid down Your life, The greatest sacrifice.
Majesty, Majesty. Your grace has found me just as I am, Empty handed but alive in Your hands.
Here I am humbled by the love that You give, Forgiven so that I can forgive. So here I stand, Knowing that I am Your desire, Sanctified by glory and fire. And now I've found the greatest love of all is mine, Since You laid down Your life, The greatest sacrife.
Majesty, Majesty. Your grace has found me just as I am, Empty handed but alive in your hands. Singing Majesty, Majesty. Forever I am changed by Your love, In the presence of Your Majesty. Majesty.
We're singing Majesty, Majesty. Your grace has found me just as I am, And I'm nothing but alive in Your hands. We're singing Majesty, Majesty. Forever I am changed by Your love, In the beauty of Your Majesty. Majesty.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Week 2 plus a Hurricane--Complete
Wow, what an amazing week I had. Last week our speaker was Kristy Wilke. She shared with us on how to hear God's voice and the many ways he speaks to people. One of the topics she talked about was intercession and how we need to ask God what is on his heart and wait for him to speak to us. This was very challenging to me since it is something that I have never done before. Prayer in itself is not a new concept, but actually waiting for God to reply in a real way is. She shared with us on how it takes time and practice to learn God’s voice. One way God spoke to me last week was through a visual picture of a set of feet lowering into water. As a group we prayed for what God was trying to say to us and other people spoke of taking caution, not just stepping out, but taking it slowly. It was amazing! God has been working in me so much the last two weeks, I can hardly imagine what will happen by the end of my five months.
Last week Wednesday I experienced God’s mighty power and protection through Hurricane Omar. We had heard that a tropical storm was going to come through, but did not expect a hurricane. Wednesday afternoon at lunch they told us what our jobs were in preparing for the storm and not to worry. People were cleaning, preparing food, and boarding up windows. It was a great time of bonding with each other and praying for safety. I was a little nervous, but overall I believe God’s peace was surrounding me. The base had a few power lines come down and lots of branches, but everyone and the buildings were all fine afterwards.
This week we have a speaker named Matt Atkins that is from Washington. He is teaching us about the Father Heart of God. So far he has shown us that God’s love is amazing and we can see it when we love one another. There is a lot more he is sharing too and will share, so I will save that for another time.
I hope all is well for everyone back home. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. It means so much to me that I am not alone in this experience. Everyone of you is apart of it too.
Love in Christ,
Kathy
Last week Wednesday I experienced God’s mighty power and protection through Hurricane Omar. We had heard that a tropical storm was going to come through, but did not expect a hurricane. Wednesday afternoon at lunch they told us what our jobs were in preparing for the storm and not to worry. People were cleaning, preparing food, and boarding up windows. It was a great time of bonding with each other and praying for safety. I was a little nervous, but overall I believe God’s peace was surrounding me. The base had a few power lines come down and lots of branches, but everyone and the buildings were all fine afterwards.
This week we have a speaker named Matt Atkins that is from Washington. He is teaching us about the Father Heart of God. So far he has shown us that God’s love is amazing and we can see it when we love one another. There is a lot more he is sharing too and will share, so I will save that for another time.
I hope all is well for everyone back home. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. It means so much to me that I am not alone in this experience. Everyone of you is apart of it too.
Love in Christ,
Kathy
Friday, October 10, 2008
It's Friday already :)
I would like to start off by thanking everyone for your love, prayers, and support. This experience has already been a blessing and this is only the first week. Well, as I stated in my last post, I arrived on Saturday evening and then Sunday a group of us went to a beach next to the Hotel on the Cay. It was gorgeous. I've always seen pictures of water that has many shades of the color blue, it was amazing to see in person though :) God's creation is marvelous!
The first week of school has begun. There were ups and downs, but overall I am very excited to get started with the speaker lectures. The first few days we had an overview on the base, the history of the base and the island, values and guidelines, and homework assignments. We also had a faith/trust exercise where we were blind folded and were led around and someone spoke to us about what God will do in our lives, this was my favorite and most moving part of the week. We also had a lecture on Intercession. I am still a little apprehensive, but I think in time I will understand and be able to participate in the experience more.
The DTS (Discipleship Training School) Staff and Students are great! I think we are all going to get along quite well. The DTS staff includes Lori (DTS leader), Veronica, Ligia (from Brazil), Luke, and TJ. We have six students including myself; Morgan (my roomate), Alyssa, Hannah, Bob, and Jonas (from Switzerland). I hope to get a picture up of everyone soon :)
Thank you all again for you support and prayers.
God Bless,
Kathy
The first week of school has begun. There were ups and downs, but overall I am very excited to get started with the speaker lectures. The first few days we had an overview on the base, the history of the base and the island, values and guidelines, and homework assignments. We also had a faith/trust exercise where we were blind folded and were led around and someone spoke to us about what God will do in our lives, this was my favorite and most moving part of the week. We also had a lecture on Intercession. I am still a little apprehensive, but I think in time I will understand and be able to participate in the experience more.
The DTS (Discipleship Training School) Staff and Students are great! I think we are all going to get along quite well. The DTS staff includes Lori (DTS leader), Veronica, Ligia (from Brazil), Luke, and TJ. We have six students including myself; Morgan (my roomate), Alyssa, Hannah, Bob, and Jonas (from Switzerland). I hope to get a picture up of everyone soon :)
Thank you all again for you support and prayers.
God Bless,
Kathy
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Safe and Sound
I've made it to St. Croix. It's been a long day, beginning at 3 a.m. and ending around 8 p.m. All my flights went well, with little delay. I was met by 3 of the staff members, they showed me around the base and now I am excited to see what it looks like in the daylight. THANK YOU for all your prayers today, I know they helped calm my nerves and helped me to board the plane :)
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