JiHM

Sunday update from the land of sun and fun

2009-07-05T21:51:00.003-05:00

Dear friends, family,

Maryland: We have 7 wonderful people visiting from Maryland and we have enjoyed them here as they assist in ministry. They have been a blessing to us and the folks here in Haiti. Thank you Amy for making this trip happen.

North to Alaska: One of our board member couples from Florida, Anna and Bill Blaisdell took a trip to Alaska for the 4th of July week. The day they arrived, the governor resigned. Not sure if Anna is planning on being their new governor or what is going on.

Fondi, our school director: His mother is dying from TB. She has been suffering for a few weeks but they have begun to plan the funeral. A funeral is cheaper if you buy it before a person dies so they are making preparations today. Pray for the Moses family and for mom who is on her way to Glory.

Jony/Peterson: Pastor Chad and his wife, Julie Ricks, from Cincinnati, Ohio have asked to adopt these precious brothers and have begun the process here in Haiti. We are so excited for the boys and their new family, but we will miss them.

Finances: I know economic times are tough around the globe and we too have experienced a budget shortfall at JiH for the past four months. Please continue to pray for improved economic conditions for everyone. If you find a few coins lying around and send them to JiH we will put them to good use for ministry in Haiti.

School is out for the summer: So I have a houseful everyday. Takes some time to get adjusted, but I always do.

Honduras: In reading a letter from a missionary there, he said NOT to believe the media in their reporting of what is going on. He said the people protesting aren't even from the country. I also noticed Israel supports the coup. That might tell us something.

Lost my room: One of my older sons, Bobby, was jumped a couple weeks ago and beat up pretty badly in the village near his aunt's home where he lived. He was beaten with rocks inside towels.

He suffered internal bleeding and had surgery this past Sunday. His surgery took place downtown in the General hospital, the largest hospital in Haiti. While visiting him, I got so upset, downright angry. The place is a dump. When you walk in the door, you walk over trash, and the smell of human waste and urine is overwhelming.

Bobby was in a room with 50 other people, no electricity for fans, one nurse, dirty beds and floor and a real mess. I was angry that these people, thousands per day are forced to deal with this. His surgery was successful they said and he was to be in the hospital 3 weeks recovering with a cut from his bellybutton to his chest.

Four days later, they released him. The doctors said they haven't been paid in 6 months by the government so they were going on strike. The hospital was sending people home. I quickly told Bobby he could come to our house. Friday he moved into my bedroom. I had planned on putting him on a mattress on the floor but he could not even walk, so he could only get into my bed. The past few days I have been sleeping in the living room, and Jony has been sleeping in my room with Bobby, taking care of him. Pray for Bobby, he is in bad shape, probably should still be in the hospital but is safe and comfortable.

I have to admit while sleeping on the floor in the living room last night I began to mumble to myself. Losing my room, losing my bed, my privacy................Then I began to think about what sacrifice is, too many times we do something for someone when it is convenient to do. Real sacrifice is when it isn't so convenient. I will enjoy my time on the floor while Bobby heals.

Finances, part 2: With our contributions down the past 3 months, I thought this might be a good time to let you know what our monthly budget of $10,000 goes for. To some of you this will seem like a huge amount, to others you will think it can't be enough. Whatever the case, we run this ministry for that amount.

The following happens:
*89 very poor children go to school, and get a hot meal everyday
*100+ children at the Good Samaritan Orphanage are cared for
*A church of around 300 is in full operation
*Ministry in the garbage dump and the nearby village ministers to around 300 weekly
*My home is a home to 24 people, people God has placed here for me to care for and make disciples
*A mentoring group of 20 young men between the ages of 16-25 are being discipled
*Over 500 people eat daily, because of this ministry
*Insurance on vehicles, medical insurance on me, house rent, and much more is paid
*A full time staff of 26 people, being Jesus in Haiti, teaching others how to be Jesus in Haiti

The above happens because God has blessed you to give. If you can help financially, please do, if not, please pray that the budget is made for July. I have committed to pray 3 times per day every day this month to ask God to provide for our budget to come in. Will you join me in prayer as well? Thanks!

Hope you enjoyed the update. Drop me a line. May God bless, tominhaiti

The Last Day of my Life

2009-06-25T21:33:00.000-05:00

Hi from Haiti,

Today I was putting together a plan for our ministry and family when the time comes that God takes me home, to Glory. I'm sure it doesn't sound like a fun thing to do, but it is very important not to leave things in confusion.

After making the plan, I began to think about death. I thought about what people say when someone dies:

"Wow, such a normal day, he got up, had some toast, read the paper, took Fido for a walk then mowed the yard. Then he had a tuna sandwhich, took a nap and read some. He then went to the store on the corner for some bread and milk, got some gas and came home. We then had supper, watched some tv and then..............he was gone."

A normal day and we are always curious of these types of details.

I was thinking, what if this was said: "He got up, had his devotions, prayed for about 30 minutes and had breakfast. He dropped some food off for a needy family, mowed the lawn of widow Elsie, and later took brother Alfred to his eye appointment. He met with his friend Russ and shared the Gospel with him, and they had a good talk. He read his Bible for awhile, played hoops with the neighborhood kids, helped me make supper and we had devotions at the table with the kids. Later, he played monopoly, helped pick up around the house, and went to bed, and never woke up." My point is this, each day is a gift, each hour is a time we never get back. My dad used to say "everything done for us will pass, only what is done for Christ will last." What are you and I doing each day, each hour, for Christ that will last for eternity? How precious do we treat each hour?

Are we doing for others, are we sharing our faith, are we spending time with our family instead of our laptop, are we being Jesus to those around us? Are we the hands and feet of Jesus?

I can do better, I will do better. See, I don't know when my last day is but when that day comes, I sure hope my last days account will please my Lord. tominhaiti

Still Plugging

2009-06-23T23:22:00.000-05:00

Dear friends,

Hello from hot Haiti. Although I know it is hot where most of you live, two letters are the only difference...AC!

Tuesday update:

The Gophers are gone: Every group who visits us on a missions trip is full of wonderful, loving people. The group of 14 who just left yesterday was no different. I don't know when I have enjoyed a week so much. I laughed hard, cried harder and made friends for life.

This group, led by Pastor Dave from Becker, Minnesota made an eternal difference on these people of Haiti, and a fat old missionary guy. Thank you gang.ps- only weakness this group had was they were Twins fans, and didn't like Tiger fans

Time off: I am taking a few days break before a missions team from Washington, D.C. visits next week. The boys finished school today so summer is here.

Kindergarten graduation: This past Friday 8 students graduated into the first grade and we had a ceremony for them as is custom in Haiti. They dragged me up front and one of the teachers read a speech she had written to me. One line touched me "pastor Tom, we can say this in 4 languages but really there aren't enough languages in the world to properly say thanks for what you have done for these 89 students, and us, the teachers."

Elections: This past Sunday was Haiti's 2nd attempt at electing it's 19 senators. The first time only 11% voted and was marred by violence and some say fraud. They tried it again and maybe only got 5% this past Sunday, although that hasn't been announced yet.

WJC: The past two days we have had electricity NON-STOP. Normally it comes on at 4pm and is off by 4 or 5 am. For 48 hours it hasn't stopped. One of the boys said "Wow, Bill Clinton is already making a difference." I had to smile thinking of all you Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh fans gritting your teeth when you heard that one.

Yo Addrianno: I met the younger brother of one of my boys, Sonson, this week. He is 5 and his name is Addrianno. I didn't know he existed. What a sharp little boy. I brought him home after church with us and he stayed until today. He is back with his Mom who is very poor and not very stable emotionally. I am praying what to do.

This past week I was talking to one of the boys and he said "Today I saw my dad, I hadn't seen him in two years. I was on a tap tap going down the road and I saw him by the road, I waved to him and he didn't wave back. He saw me but didn't wave back. Thank you poppy for being my REAL dad."

It is hot here, and gets very discouraging at times but then someone comes along to encourage and remind us that we are making a difference. Pastor Dave who just left said this to me "Tom, in America we make lots of Christians, but very few disciples. Here in Haiti, you are making disciples."

I can't end this without thanking my dad for instilling that in me. 12 years ago today, June 23rd, 1997, we laid my dad to rest. Dad, I miss you, I love you and I will never forget you. I am so happy you have enjoyed 12 years in Glory, with the Savior you loved so much. You told me once "Haiti is yours, go conquer it for Christ." I'm trying Dad, I'm really trying. Love, Tom p.s.- leave a light on will ya?

The Heat is On

2009-06-13T14:04:00.000-05:00

Dear friends, Saturday afternoon

The past couple weeks has been very productive, and very busy for me at times. Just yesterday a wonderful team of high school students left us to head back to Cincinnati, Ohio. What a group they were. They did something that was a little different, instead of making the rounds; they wanted to focus on just our school and orphanage. For 4 straight days that is where we were.

They also took pictures (over 200) and had a machine that printed them and on the last day we presented each child with a certificate, with their picture on it, saying they were a special child of God. The fun part was handing them out. All of our visiting Americans and Haitian staff formed two lines. We then called the kids names one by one and each child walked the gauntlet getting high fived, hugged and clapped for.

It was so special to see these kids with eyes so big and smiles bigger, hearing their name and walking that line, feeling so loved. This was no small feat when you think of calling the names one at a time, of over 200 children, while standing in the sun cheering and clapping. Very hot and tiring but oh so worth it. This was these kids championship moment, and they will never forget it. Thank you SonRise Church of Cincinnati for coming, for loving and for leaving.........................such a big part of your love behind.

We are enjoying a couple days of rest here and then are excited to have 14 adults from Minnesota arriving this Monday afternoon for a week of ministry. They will be taking the mountain walk doing evangelism, teaching training seminars for our staff and much more. We can't wait pastor Dave.

Yes the heat is on but like anything else, the body adapts. Tomorrow morning we are taking the family up to the top of the mountains overlooking Port Au Prince for some sightseeing and time away. Might stop at the national stadium on the way back for a soccer game. They boys sacrifice so much when groups come. They love it but all lose their beds and space so tomorrow will be a day for the boys.

Some on my board didn't like me telling our shortfall the past couple months and telling the amount we were short. Both months someone covered the shortfall but my methods seemed tacky I guess. I was simply trying to let you know that we need prayer and help in this area. When we have a shortfall, I don't suffer. I still have a home and a hot meal everyday and a electricity. Who suffers are those who don't have what I do as budgets are cut for shortfalls. When I say what we are short, I am not asking for money, just letting you know our need, what you do with that knowledge is up to you. Did I mention we were $5000 short this month? (kidding of course)

We did go through a death here at the mission headquarters. I don't want to alarm or upset anyone but Tabby, one of my turtles died this past week. We are waiting on the autopsy.

All the 5 points of light are going strong. Our school graduation is this coming Friday. What that means is the students in kindergarten graduate to the first grade and every school has a big whoopty do over that. The sad reality is 99% of these kids won't graduate high school in most schools so they celebrate when they can. We will change that with our school. Our oldest class is 4th graders and in 8 or 9 years we will have a high school graduation to top them all. Thanks to your help to make this happen.

Thanks so much for your prayers, emails and financial support. Jesus really is in Haiti, living in us, we are His hands and feet as we proclaim the gospel to these precious people. Thanks so much for your part in this. tominhaiti

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck, Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. | Suite 155 | 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive | Fort Wayne, IN 46814

Are You Guarding Your Treasure

2009-06-03T21:12:00.000-05:00

Hi,

Yesterday as I had my morning devotions, I finished up the book of first Timothy. Talk about saving the best for last, in the very last verse of the book, it says "guard the treasure that has been entrusted to you." That really struck me. I began to think of what had been entrusted to me. 150 orphans who call me Pappa Tom and sometimes crowd around me and squeeze me with all their might.

89 students at our school, none who would receive an education or daily food, without Grace Emmanuel School

200+ in the village of Merjay, receiving love, hope and the life changing message of the Gospel, for the first time

A church of several hundred, preaching the gospel, making disciples, teaching them to do the same

A $9200 monthly budget to make this ministry happen and feed over 500 people per month

A staff of over 30, (including school staff)

And most importantly, 19 young people and children who call me dad. Yes, I have been entrusted with much, an overwhelming amount of treasure. I am guarding these treasures with my life, as I am supposed to. Thanks to God, and to you for making this possible. How about you, do you know the treasures in your life, have you added them up, are you guarding them..............with YOUR life? Just asking. Take care, tominhaiti

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

End of May Update

2009-05-31T07:09:00.002-05:00

Dear friends,

Victory Celebration: 11 years ago had you told me I could sit through a 5 hour church service and love it, I would have called you loco. Last night we celebrated our 5th anniversary of Victory Bible church with just that, a 5 hour service. We had 8 different singing groups, 5 from other churches, a Mother's Day (tomorrow in Haiti) celebration of our mothers, oldest, youngest, most children, etc.....We honored staff and church members who didn't miss a service all year. After 3 hours we then began our praise and worship time for an hour, then an hour of preaching. We then fed all the folks, about 500+ and gave them cold drinks, which took another 45 minutes. My perch was on the stage and my worship time was watching our folks worship. What a grand sight seeing a packed house, and a hundred outside standing worshipping God. I have had Americans tell me "of course they can worship that long, they have nothing else to do." GIVE ME A BREAK. These people are no different than you and I, they do what interests them, what excites them. There is other stuff they could be doing, but they choose to spend this amount of time with God. Maybe my American friends could learn a lesson here.

I ended up being the bouncer at the door because when people hear about food, folks that did not attend the church service, bum rush the church and try to get in. It was mine and Bebe's job to keep them out. We did it.

By the time I got home by 10 or so, fixed supper for 25 people, I was ready for bed. Today starts year 6 of Victory bible church. I told the folks last night, "you will all be able to sit down for our next anniversary service, our new church will be built." They cheered.

Mini Miracle: Okay, you naysayers will say this is a coincidence or whatever but to me this was a real intervention with God. I was leaving my room on my way to the truck to leave for English class in Merjay. I was closing the door when I heard "Go back in, you forgot something." I jumped a little, then walked back in not having a clue what I forgot, I had everything. I walked in my room and my eyes fixed on a bottle of pain pills. I walked over, laughed, picked them up and put them in my bag. As I pulled into Merjay, I was greeted by Bebe, of my staff. He said "do you have any pain pills, my head hurts so much I can't stand up." I smiled and said, "I'm sure glad you're sick", he said "what?" I then told him that "him being sick revealed to me how God works and how much he cares for you." I told him why I had the pills. Coincidence?

Finances: My treasurer informed me last night that May was looking tight and she thinks we didn't make budget. This concerns me for one big reason. If we get behind, there is something that I am "forced" to do. I will have to come to the states for a few weeks to raise the funds back up. For some reason, when people see me, when they hear what God is doing, they give.Don't get me wrong, I love having you take me to Applebee's or sitting at your table with your family eating mashed potatoes and ham, speaking in your church, and all the fun that goes with a visit. However, Haiti is where I want to be, as selfish as that sounds. I have much work to do as we start the actual building of the church, our new ministry at Merjay and a family of 22. If my board asks me to go, I will go and I will do what I have to do, but here is what I would like you to do. Pray that the finances will come in so I can stay and do what I am called to do, minister to these wonderful people. Last month we were $350 short, and someone covered that. This month looks to be around a $1000 or so. We can't expect someone to cover that but, please pray that for June we hit our goal of $10,000+. Folks, 500 people eat per day, have clean water and medical services when we hit our budget. Disciples are being made, we can't slow down. Thanks in advance.

New drivers: I now have 3 drivers in my family. Manel, Jony and Claudy each received their driver's license recently and are they ever happy. I can't get behind the wheel anymore and they are doing a great job, minus a few mini heart attacks for me.

Bill Clinton: Someone let me know that Mr. Clinton was in this for the money and that working with Haiti, he would get his cut. I understand this, he is a politician but my point was simply, his name recognition will help bring much needed help and business to this place that so badly needs so much.

Help wanted: I am officially asking you to pray that God sends me another missionary or two to help with this work.

Here is what is needed:*A pastor and wife: a pastor who could help train our pastor and staff as we make the transition to our new church, an executive type pastor. Hopefully his wife would have children's and youth experience. This is a start, we can talk, I just know that I need someone to come along side me, to help continue to train and prepare this ministry for the future. Someone does not have to be married to come join our ministry. If you are interested or know someone that might be, please contact me. We would set up a plan for you to visit and see where God leads. This is very important for the growth of this ministry.

Money: Did I mention we were down in May, oh, I did, excuse me, delete this sentence.

That is all for today, so much more to share but for now we will quit. Thank you for your prayers for me, for my family and for these wonderful people of Haiti. God will bless you for your support. tominhaiti

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

All In A Days Work

2009-05-27T20:59:00.002-05:00

Dear friends of Haiti, Wednesday afternoon

In a few moments I leave for our weekly kid's club followed by our leadership meeting in Merjay. I have been so busy, nearly overwhelmed with "stuff" that I have not been able to write you, for this I apologize. I have enough for a book but don't want to overwhelm you so will send this in two parts, today and tomorrow.

Our going ons....
Property update: I have taken some good natured ribbing about raising money to build and church, then not building it. We have some good news. Just yesterday we were given the green light to build as all our legal documents are in order. That seems odd but two major missions, (you have heard of them) in Haiti have both had to buy their land a 2nd time, after they built their buildings. They both had to do what we have been doing for the past few months, and buy it twice. We wanted to get this right the first time, and we did.

In the next couple months you will be seeing many pictures and hearing all the news of the church/school going up. Stay tuned, we are all so excited.
Flooding: Many of you have emailed me about the terrible flooding and loss of life you have read about in Haiti. This has not yet hit our points of light, so has not affected us, although our heart breaks for those it has.

The big 5: This Friday night, we will be celebrating 5 years of Victory Bible Church. Our pastor does it up big with a 5 hour service. We can't wait. We will have standing room only as always, probably 600 people. God's Word will be heard!
Speaking of big ones: I celebrated my 53rd birthday saturday night by preaching at church. Later at home I heard this noise, thought maybe the rapture was happening. It ended up being my family, of 22 people, walking in with pots and pans banging them singing happy birthday to me. They enjoyed that. I just hope the next 53 years are as good as the last 53.

BREAKING NEWS: You are the first to hear this. When I brought 2 year old Jony home and his 4 year old brother Peterson, it was only because God said to. After a few months, it is clear that I can't be the father, and mother they need. With much prayer and thought, God has shared with me that these two little ones need a mommy and a daddy. It will be hard to let them go but it is the right thing. They are happy here but..............they are missing so much. I am so busy I don't want them to become an afterthought. They need daily care, minute by minute and I am not able to give that. If you are interested, please let me know and we will work out the details. You won't be sorry.

Prayer needed: Fondi's mom, Fondi is our school director, is critically ill. She has tuberculosis. Please pray today for her.

Electrocution: I knew with power coming to the village that someone would get hurt. What I didn't think was that someone would murder someone with it. This week someone planted a bare live line on the ground in front of a house, on purpose, and the couple walked on it, and both died immediately. Very sad.

Mr. Clinton is in the house: No matter what party you follow, the appointment of Bill Clinton from the UN to Haiti is a great accomplishment. He will bring attention and much needed funds to this country. This will be good for Haiti.

Summer is here: Wow and wow, 3 days ago the burners were turned up a notch, summer is here. I say this to the couple hundred people coming in the next 60 days, enjoy.

Did you pay your taxes?: We had people with big guns show up at our house to tell us our taxes weren't paid and they were going to chain our house shut. Our landlord did not pay them and they are coming after us. Yikes, not much we can do but hope he pays them and we are pressuring him.

May Funds: You still have time, a few days left so this is a reminder. We were $350 short last month. We need to make budget to keep things going. Thanks so much for your commitment to God through this ministry.

Yesterday I was filling 40 jugs of water for the orphanage and a man called me over. He said "are you really Jesus in Haiti?" I said no, not the actual one but I represent the real one. He then pointed to his mom and said, "she wants to talk to Jesus." I explained that she could, right here and now.

Yes, I do represent Jesus in Haiti, just as you represent Jesus where you are. How you doing in this area? Are you representing well in all you do, your work, your play and at home? Important you know. take care, tominhaiti

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

Haiti Through the Eyes of an American Teenage Girl

2009-05-22T16:20:00.001-05:00

Dear Friends, I wanted to share an email I received from a young lady who has visited us. It is the perspective of Haiti seen through the eyes of an american teenager on her first visit.

I peer out the window, overlooking the slums of Port-au-Prince. Trembling with anxiety, excitement, overwhelming curiosity, the plane comes to a halt. I wait in a line of unfamiliar faces as the crowd shuffles down the stairs. Stepping into the Haitian sunlight, the stench of burning garbage, the heat, and the anticipation engulf me. The distant mountains paint the background of the peaceful sky. Mumbles of Creole fill my ears, a melodic hum. I'm here. I'm finally here. The streets are bustling, a chaotic mess. Cars dodge past one another. I sit in the back of the truck, the wind rushing into my face, filling my hair with dirt and dust, and I finally feel free. I'm not trapped inside the walls of Mariemont. I don't have to be perfect. I don't have to fit the mold of the "cookie-cutter" image.

The sun begins to set, radiating a beauty unlike any I have seen in the states. Hues of purple, magenta, and orange illustrate the canvas against the horizon. Children run alongside the road, waving emphatically, with illuminate grins painted across their faces. The tired, worn eyes of an elderly woman gaze into mine, crying for help, for hope, for a future. She gathers the goods she had been selling that day from underneath her small stand, identical to the neighboring stand, selling the exact same products. On the corner, a defeated man resides in his wheelchair, for he is missing both legs. Draped in filthy rags, his piercing eyes stop when they reach mine, as a smile is uncovered in my expression. I see their pain, their suffering, their hunger. It is no longer a question of want, but a question of need. As I step foot through the door in the cement wall surrounding the garage-size school, children, clad in red and white checkered uniforms, immediately race to my side, grabbing at my hands, wrapping their skinny arms around my waist, almost knocking me to the ground. Shouts of excitement and laughter echo in my ears as the orphans cling to my body. A little girl carefully runs her fingers over my fingernails, examining, in awe, the pink polish covering them. She has never seen nail polish, a simple accessory almost everyone has in the states. Several little girls begin speculating my hands, noticing the contrast of my skin color, because it is not often they see an American. Katai's face is covered with stains from tears and sweat. Only a few inches shy of my height, I smile at her. Her morose expression melts away as she reveals a grin. She hugs me, grasping to my body, longing for someone to love her, to accept her. Her beautiful smile is no longer hidden behind her sadness. I hurt for these orphan children, for the elderly woman on the side of the street; for the teenage mother, younger that I, desperately searching for someone to help her sick baby, for the man who has lost his sight and is, therefore, good for nothing. I had been so ignorant. How can I live in such a materialistic society while the people of Haiti suffer? I will not go and I cannot go back the same. I have been forever changed.

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

Super Sunday

2009-05-17T22:28:00.000-05:00

Dear friends, Sunday PM

I trust you had a great Lord's Day and are ready for another week we have been given to be Jesus to those around us.

This past week I have had the pleasure of hosting Pastor Jason Huguenin and his wife Jen, from Brookview Church in Seattle. They have been wonderful guests and poured themselves into all 5 points of light. They have added lots of laughter to our life also.

Last night was our weekly church service and we had a full house. The village of Source Matles, about 60,000 strong just received electricity for the first time in the history of man kind. The excitement has been wonderful. However, it costs about $30 to get the power company to run a line to their house.

I had this great idea for church. We gave everyone tickets, and then after church we drew and gave away 4 "free power" hookups. The 4 families that won were so happy. We also gave away about 300 pounds of rice to about 30 people. Was an exciting way to end our service. My prayer is that the 52 first time visitors we had who heard the Gospel, will come back and end up with Life eternal.

Today we went to the Good Samaritan orphanage and had church with the kids, then gave each girl a doll and each boy 2 little cars. We had so much fun with them.

There was still about 2 duffle bags of toys and sports equipment left so I stopped at a small, Haitian run orphanage that I new about, 4 blocks from my home. This orphanage has 30 kids and are well taken care of, very clean, but living on almost nothing. We went in and gave the kids kites, jump ropes, soccer balls, teddy bears and much more.

We were also able to leave 150 pounds of rice for them along with oil and such. Then we got home and walked over to the soccer field to watch the "Osbeck soccer team" play the neighborhood teens. During the game my son, Sonal, went down and thought he twisted his ankle. It didn't swell but he was in so much pain after we carried him home, we thought it was broken.

Manel and Altimae took him to a doctor who fixes soccer injuries in the village. He said his ankle was dislocated and he put it back into place. I didn't know you could discloate an ankle. They were home a few hours later and Sonal seems fine. A real answer to prayer. Cost of the doctor, 6 bucks. Can't beat that!

Tomorrow is the biggest holiday in Haiti. It is flag day and the whole country will be in a patriotic uproar. Dance bands walking down the street, flags on all cars, a real day of celebration. I am taking our guests to see the presidential palace and the festivities downtown, then off to the airport for their noon flight.

Then I rest and prepare for a big week. Thanks so much for all of those who pray faithfully for this ministry and trust us with your finances. May God bless you a hundred times over. tominhaiti

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

Fun Time is Over

2009-05-10T12:41:00.000-05:00

Dear friends,

Well my vacation is over and I am sitting in the Miami airport, waiting to board my flight to take me home, to Haiti.

I have had a wonderful time with my grandkids and Marco and DeAnna. I will so miss story time at bedtime, milk, high speed internet, hot water, KFC and baseball on the radio, along with much more.

I look forward to getting home and hitting the ground running Monday morning with so much to do, fun stuff.

It was funny, I was leaving Dayton and Homeland security called me to the desk. They said they found my two six shooter guns, and that was okay, but the caps with them were confiscated. Poor Ricardo will have his guns, but no caps to shoot. I hope they didn't put me on some kind of list.

My oldest son, Manel, just got his driver's license while I was gone, so he will be thrilled to pick me up at the airport. I am anxious to see my 22, eat supper with them and spend time with them.

This week I received our April financial support. After I added and subtracted all the numbers, it seems we were about $350 short. This is the first time in over 130 months, since I have been in Haiti, that we have not made our budget. However, here is what I think happened. I think one of you simply forgot to mail a check for that amount. If you let me know this is the case, and you send it in, our streak of 11 years will be still going.

I tell you this for one reason. Please pray that we continue to make budget and that God will provide in this area. There is nothing more comforting than not having to worry about the finances or having to send "money" emails every week to stay afloat. As you have noticed, I have not had to ask for money for months and months.

Some on my board still think I need to make a fund raising trip but have agreed to let me stay and do my work here, as long as we keep making budget. This is where I want to be, these are the people God called me to. Thanks so much for your help in making this ministry happen. Tom was not in Haiti for a short time, but Jesus never left. God bless you, tom

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

Cinco de Mayo

2009-05-05T09:49:00.001-05:00

Dear friends,

I am writing you this from the Queen city, that is the only clue you get. I am here for a few days, enjoying my grand kids and getting some rest. I have made many trips to the states in 11 years but all have been for fundraising and church presentations. This is my first real vacation, and I am enjoying it.

Last night as I lay on a mattress, with 3 grand kids hanging on to me, as I shared my famous bedtime stories, it was fantastic.

All is well in Haiti, I am going back Saturday morning early to get back in the fight. However, still gotta visit Chuckie Cheese, a couple parks and some more bedtime stories, as well as the usual Quarter pounders.

My board at their yearly meeting granted me a monthly salary and I have been saving for this. Thank you to my board.

With communication like it is, I am still able to text and email daily to stay on top of things. I know, it is my vacation but Haiti is what I love and 2 minutes now, might save me 2 months of work. Gotta stay on top of stuff.

We have a pastor and his wife coming next week and we are excited about this. Much is going on in our points of light and the fact that I can take a short break and have trusted men and women keeping things going is a real encouragement to me.

Sunday night Marco hooked up with my son Manel via web cam and I talked to all the boys, they could see me and me them and that is awesome. Little 2 year old Jony just looked at the camera and could not figure out seeing my face and hearing my voice in a little box. He smiled though.

So I rest, I tell stories, I chase, I tickle and I love this precious family of mine, here in the home of the Bengals. (do you know where I am yet?) This is awesome, God is good isn't He? Take care, tomincavscountry

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

Weekend Update

2009-04-25T23:53:00.000-05:00

Hi,

I want to say another great big thank you for your continued support, we continue to be able to do what God has called us to do. Here is an update on the 5 points of light. Good Samaritan Orphanage: This continues to be a challenge for us to meet the needs of the children, but with God's help and yours, we are making a difference. I was going through some old pictures yesterday and ran across a picture of my 2 year old Jony, long before I took him home. It just so happens Jayden, my grandson, first took a liking to him. He was following him around one day last year on a visit to the Orphanage.

Victory Bible Church: We continue to plug on waiting for our church to be built. As you know, we ran into some legal issues on the deed and are almost finished with this. My board did not want to begin to build and then have us lose our property on some slim oversight. We have had 7 meetings in the past month and everything is in order to finalize paperwork so we can build. It will get done.

Grace Emmanuel School: We are finishing up another successful year. Our school has become a very strong point of light for us. Fondi Moise, the director, has done a fantastic job hiring and training good, Christian teachers. This summer Fondi will be leaving the position as school director to become the School Superintendent. Fondi will be taking on administrative responsibilities for our mission as well. One of our teachers is being promoted to the directors position, one he is well qualified for.

To all of those of you who sponsor children, thank you so much. I don't get a chance to thank you individually, like I would like, but know your sponsorship is making this all possible and is well worth it.

New Roads outreach: As you know, we have expanded from being just at the garbage dump to the nearby village, Merjay, where many of these folks live. We are meeting with and training 10 leaders. This Wednesday when our staff got to the village for kid's club, the leaders had already assembled all the kids and were doing kid's club, early. Jony told the staff to just let them finish. They did great!

60 young men and young women are also being taught English. The people in Merjay just love learning English, the Bible and about life. One of their favorite lessons in our class is "In the news". I take the top 2 or 3 stories in the world and share what is going on. They are void of this news and really enjoy this time.

Mission home: My home with the 17 boys, 4 staff, and myself is going really well. God has really blessed our efforts and the family is really coming around. We have family fun night on Monday's where we spend 2 hours playing games. Tuesday and Thursday is Bible study night with lessons led by each Roger and Altimae , and Wednesday is family meeting night where we discuss any problems or things that are going on.

I don't know the end game but I know this, God has placed in my care some of the most unbelievable, incredible young people in the world. Those of you you who have come can verify that. I am blessed by my Haitian family, humbled that God has chose me to lead them, and so thankful that YOU have chosen to invest your time and finances into the lives of these people. Thank you so much! I am taking a break for a couple weeks before guests begin to arrive. We are so excited to have vistors from the good old USA coming from about the middle of May to the end of July, and then some. Thank you to those of you who are making this sacrifice of time, energy and money to come make an eternal difference in the lives of these people. tominhaiti

PS- My Detroit Tigers are only a game out of first, told you they would be good.

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

Who cares if he's alive or dead?

2009-04-13T22:01:00.001-05:00

Dear friends, Monday night

I trust you all had a great Easter weekend, as the basis of our faith was celebrated all over the world. We had a great weekend, here is an update on the going on's:

Friendly visit: We want to thank the Hassey family from Ohio for coming and doing ministry with us for the past week. Thank you Kevin, Roseann and your 3 wonderful kids, Meg, Kate and Steve.

The word Meg in Creole means skinny so Meg got called skinny all week, which she didn't mind. Claudy thought Kate's name was Cake so she was called Cake all week. Thank you folks for coming, and giving and leaving..........part of your heart behind.

2 and 2: One of the first things our Pastor Jackie told me when I met him 3 years ago was that God promised him 2 boys and 2 girls when he was married. At the time Pastor and his wife had 2 boys and 1 girl. Well, yesterday, Easter Sunday morning Eve Rose Delice gave birth to a baby girl, just like God said. Pastor was called midway through church Saturday night to be with his wife. I am going in the morning to visit the baby, and get the name. I suggested naming her Esther on Easter but we shall see.

Birthday Boys: Tomorrow night we celebrate two birthday's here, Dearson, whose birthday is Tuesday and Manel who has a birthday Wednesday.

English anyone: Last Thursday was our first English class at Merjay. It was so exciting to pull up and see over 50 people, men and women, all dressed up, from this very poor village, all walking to English class. Then to stand before this class of 51 people sharing the word of God, using English as a tool was incredible. I wish you could have seen the spark in their eyes, the hope on their face. They found out that this class is much more than about learning English, it is about eternity. I can't wait for this week. Pray will ya for this new ministry?

Elections: Next Sunday Haiti has it's elections minus the candidates of the largest political party, the Lavalas party. The government of Haiti voted to not let this party of our former president Aristide run for office and they are hot. When they are hot, things get hot so please pray for this weekend and the possibilities of what could happen.

Church: This past week at church, was a real challenge for me. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Case in point;

*The truck that brings people from Pastor Jackie's village broke down, we had to drive and get these folks.

*Our sound system man didn't show up, the sound was off kilter all night and way too loud.

*Pastor left quickly to be with his wife having her baby, with me shoving him out the door.

*The oil was not checked by our generator man before church and half way through, the generator stopped. Luckily it has a system to protect it so after oil was put in, we continued church with power.

*A few other odds and ends made it a very challenging night, but, we survived.

God cares he's alive: 5 years ago one of my ministry staff came to me and said he had his nephew living with him but he could not take care of him. I told him I would take the 7 year old boy to my home. When the 20 year old parents found out, their only comment was "who cares if he's alive or dead?"

I took this precious little boy home and found out that I had my hands full. I had never seen such a BAD little boy. Putting peanut butter in the VCR, cutting my truck tires, stealing, breaking stuff, you name it, he did it. The final straw was when he began to leave our yard without permission. This was during the days of kidnapping, which were happening on our street. This was very dangerous for him to do.

I tried everything, spankings, yelling, being his friend, timeouts, everything, plus lots of prayer but nothing worked. He was so bad for our family, I regretfully took him back to his uncle, admitting defeat. Very, very sad.

This took place the day after school was out that summer. Two months later the uncle called saying this little boy was begging to come back to "poppy's house". I broke every world speed record to go pick this little boy up. 4 years later, little Steven has become a wonderful 12 year old boy. He was in our drama at church as a 12 year old Jesus. I thought of his past, his parents, and how far this little boy has come in 4 years. He has become one of the best boys, oh, still gets in the normal trouble but what a guy. He went to town with me today and we had a blast talking and laughing.

We got home and he helped me make supper and serve it. Another example of why I am here, why you do what you do. A little boy, not only given up on by the world, but thrown away by his own parents. A boy who is becoming a young man. A young man who will become a man. A man who will change his world, because of Jesus, in Haiti. Thank you all, for Steven, and for the lives he will touch with the life changing message of Jesus Christ. tominhaiti

The World is a Pretty Big Place

2009-03-31T16:07:00.002-05:00

hi from haiti,

Most of you know that life on the mission field is not really fun. Very rewarding, but not fun. Laughter, the way I am used to, doesn't happen.

This and several other things, make life on the mission field very difficult. I worked 25 years in ministry in the states so I have something to compare it to. Daily attacks by satan are the norm, big, small, and everything inbetween. With God's help, you learn to cope. If I had to throw some numbers at you I would say 60% of the days are not great, 30% are really bad and 9% are good. 1% are great.

I don't mean to depress you, not seeking smypathy but feel most missionaries anywhere in the world would tell you this. Just a fact of being here. Doesn't mean I can't have joy in the days that aren't so good, just means they are very tough.

One of the 1% days happened the other day. Many times in my life, things and events have happened that made me say "yes, this is why I exist". This past Thursday was one of those days.

As you know, we sent a team to the Love a Child Mission, run by Bobby and Sherri Burnett, to translate for a team of 27 doctors doing medical work. All 10 we sent I would consider "my sons". 7 of them currently live with me, and the other 3 have in the past. This really was "my team". These are the young men that I have poured my life into, for nearly 11 years.

This was also the FIRST time they had done ministry apart from me for such a stretch. We called this our first mission trip. I dropped them off last Sunday at a pick up point and they went to the Love a Child Mission, which borders the Dominican Republic.

On Monday they and the doctors took a trip in a caravan of about a dozen SUV's and trucks up a river bed to a mountain village. The other 3 days were spent at Love a Child doing a medical clinic. You can check out the pictures at loveachild.com and read all about it.

When pickup day came, Thursday, I was very excited to go pick up my gang. I was supposed to be there by 4 but by noon I was really to roll. I took off to make the hour trip and was there by 1pm. I slipped in the church and saw hundreds of people crowded outside and over 20 work stations in the church/medical clinic.

What a joy to see each of my boys, with a doctor treating people. As I walked around, it was so neat to see each of my boys smile when they saw me. As I passed by, the doctor must have realized who I was because they always stopped and said "is this him, is this Tom?"

Each doctor/nurse warmly greeted me and said "what a boy you have here, what an outstanding young man, thank you so much." I was blown away by the reactions of these professionals. When I slipped in the dental clinic, I saw the doctor down in the patient's mouth pulling a tooth. Bebe had his back to me and was working away. Then he glanced at me and yelled "ohhhhhhhhh." Everyone jumped and I felt bad but he was happy to see me.

For two hours I watched my boys work, doing ministry. It touched me to see young men who were able to give back to God, and their people, for all God had done for them. I was very happy but had no clue the best was yet to come.

A young lady named Ashley came up to me and introduced herself as the director of ALL Joyce Meyer medical teams. She takes teams all over the world, doing clinics in every country you can think of. What she said to me, took my breath away.

Ashley shook my hand and said "Mr Osbeck, I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, this is the best team of translators we have worked with ANY PLACE IN THE WORLD." I stopped breathing. I didn't know what to say. She went on to explain how other translators didn't know english very well, were always sneaking away and really didn't care about the people. They were there for money or free medicine. She explained that my team wasn't just translating, they were doing ministry. She could not stop thanking me and talking about these boys. My heart began to work again after a few minutes but I was in shock.

Finally about 4:30 the clinic ended, we got the church cleaned up and I had to take the boys to the "dorm" to get their bags. Ashley asked me if I could stop back by so the doctors could say good bye. I said sure. We went to get the luggage, the boys had a surprise pot of spaghetti waiting for them which they quickly devoured and then it was back to the church to say good bye. What happened next I will never forget.

We pulled up to the church and one by one my boys filed into the church, as the first one walked through the door, I heard applause, sounding like a thousand people. These doctors, professional men and women from all over the United States were in a circle and applauding the boys as they walked in. They then thanked them for a job well done.

Then Altimae, my praise and worship leader sang a very special song to them. Then one of my boys asked if they could pray for the doctors. My team then raised their hands over the doctors and all at once, out loud, prayed for them. I was watching the doctors and during the song and the prayer, they were all weeping.

When our prayer was finished, the doctors prayed over our boys, we took pictures, lots of hugs, then we were off. I drove home listening to the wonderful stories of my boys, forever touched by this experience.

I know as Christians the only validation we really need is from God. However, to experience this, to know that, yes, we are doing something right, was a huge encouragement. Can't get any better than "the best in the world."

My oldest son Manel was even chosen to do some commericals for the Joyce Meyer television show. He came home singing "I am a friend of God" and is a new man. He asked me if he could do this the rest of his life. Pray for Manel.

There you have it, a full report from a very proud poppa/mission director. Our team represented us well. More importantly, they represented God well. Thank you for your large part in making this happen. This is why we do this, to preach the Gospel, to make disciples and TO TEACH THE HAITAINS TO DO THE SAME. This past week, they did the same. Again, thank you for your support of finances and prayer. For some reason, while many missions I know are struggling financially, you have kept the amazing pace going for us and all budgets are being met, and some. Thank you. May God bless you. tominhaiti

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

Taito dad

2009-03-22T18:18:00.000-05:00

Jesus in Haiti Ministries

Saturday morning I received a text. It simply said "Taito dad". As soon as I read it, I knew what this improper English meant, although I prayed I was wrong. I called my staff member Pierre who is still learning English and asked what his text meant. He told me what I feared, "Tytoo is dead".

Tytoo, is Ed Hughes, my canadien friend missionary here in Haiti. Ed is the man in his 70's who was kidnapped twice, and shot in the arm which caused his arm to be amputated. Through all this "stuff" Ed could have left Haiti, like many others have, but he did not. Ed was faithful to the call that God laid before him.

I met Ed my first couple months in Haiti in 1998. A few years before I arrived, Ed came from Canada to work on generators at the Canadien Embassy in Port Au Prince. Ed was unsaved and was drinking his life away.

One day he was on the beach living in his boat he had come to Haiti in and saw some hungry children. He gave them some cookies, then began to give them bread everyday. Shortly after that, Ed received Christ as his personal Savior right here in Haiti. He bought some land, built a house and began to take these little ones in. Today, many years later, this is what he was doing:

*Raising money for and sending nearly 100 kids to school daily, not only that, he picked them all up every day in his truck and took them to school.
*Caring for around 22 children in his home on the beach
*Taking food boxes to the elderly of his village every month
*Feeding over 100 of the village orphans at his home, everyday

Ed was also an EMT so did lots and lots of medical work for the people in the village of Simmonet where he lived, not far from our church. Haiti lost a true friend! I once told Ed that he really was Jesus in Haiti. We will miss Ed and his love for these kids, and his Lord.

All of Ed's kids went to Hope Mission school so Hope was there yesterday, providing care for the kids. We have offered our help of course in any way we can. Pray for these precious children who have just lost their dad, their provider and friend.

Details of Ed's death are a little sketchy but we know this. Sometime in the early hours thieves came and took everything in his depot. At some point Ed fell off his two story roof and hit his head on a stack of cement blocks, probably dying instantly they say.

We don't know how the two events connect or if they do at this point. About 12 different stories are out there. At this point it doesn't matter, what matters is we will miss our friend. The good news is, we know Ed is in a much better place.

"Lord, please tell Ed we promise to take good care of his kids and will continue to reach Haiti with the Gospel. Tell him he is loved and already missed. Tell him the whole village came to his house and forced the Hearse to stop, so each could walk by and pay their respects as they wanted to see Ed one more time. Tell him to leave a light on".

JOYCE MEYER MEDICAL CLINIC: After a very tough week, and a tough day dealing with Ed's death yesterday, and church, I needed a good day. Today was a good day. 27 doctors and nurses with the Joyce Meyer team is in Haiti to do a 5 day medical clinic. Today I took 10 of our young men to translate for this team. I can't really explain the feeling I had as I met the truck at the pick up point, and saw each one of my "boys" get into the truck. Each gave me a hug, and crawled in. I thought, "wow, the reason I came to Haiti was to preach the Gospel, make disciples and teach the Haitians to do the same." Today, seeing 10 of our young men, taking on such a big responsibility, sharing the gospel through the great gift of medicine, I was very proud. Not proud for anything I have done but proud of an amazing group of young men that God has allowed me to be involved in their lives. Pray for Jony, Roger, Altimae, Bobby, Bebe, Shadrach, Matthew, Claudy, Tito and Manel as they stand side by side with these wonderful folks from Joyce Meyer Ministries. Please go to loveachild.com for a complete report on this clinic, and lot of pictures of the new clinic my team will be working at.

There you have it, a partial report. I am tired, very tired. I am resting today, getting ready for another big week, a week of sharing the Gospel, fighting off the enemy, and loving those around us. May God bless you as you are Jesus in ?????? tominhaiti

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

March Madness

2009-03-20T10:49:00.002-05:00

Jesus in Haiti Ministries

hi, This has been an interesting week for me. My own kind of madness. I have had a family situation, stateside that I would appreciate you pray for. This has weighed heavy on my mind as I continue the work here.

Also I received an email from a man, someone who was my friend who shared his new belief system. Shared the fact that everything I believed is lies, my dad who was a pastor was teaching lies and even his own parents.

He went point by point on how misled I, and all Christians are. Even said that "Jesus" in not Biblical, the name that is. Lots and lots of stuff. I read though it and was going to let it drop. I even prayed about it. The next day I knew what I had to do. I sent an email to this man, letting him know what I thought of his views, and the words he said about my dad.

Sometimes you have to confront evil, head on and I feel this is directly from the evil one. I tried to do it in love, letting him know I love him, and will be praying for him.

After the first email, I realized "in for a penny, in for a pound". Several emails later, it was all over. Him saying I have been decieved, me telling him I will pray for him. Still disconcerting to see and read what some "christians" are teaching in today's world.

His biggest point was that "Jesus" was not born on Chrsitmas day, so it is a false holiday. I shared with him that I have several boys who have no idea when they were born so I pick a date, and we celebrate their life. That is what we do with Christmas, we don't knw the exact date so we use December 25th, simply to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

This is the mini rainy season so we have been getting soaked every night from 7-9pm. Today I had to leave the house at 4am, taking the boys to their big government exam for schools. Here you attend whatever school you want, but must pass a government test to be legit. I was home by 5 something, very tired. Then it was taking the rest of the boys to school at 7, as the roads were to flooded for them to walk.

Just finished a pot of sloppy joes, the boys are coming in here and there from school, eating lunch. Tonight is visitor night, several of the boys friends will be here. Tomorrow is church!

One exciting item: The Love a Child Mission is having a huge medical clinic next week. They contacted all the missionaries in Haiti, asking for translators, they needed 16. They found 6, and we, little oh us are providing 10. I told them that these aren't translators, they are ministry staff who happen to speak English. I think this shows how God has blessed me, for me to be providing 10 of the 16 for this team of 27 doctors and nurses coming.

I take them Sunday afternoon, they come back Thursday night. It will be a great expierence as they will be traveling to the mountains Monday for a clinic, then back to the Love a Child Mission for the next few days. Pray for this clinic, and our staff and they have the oppurtunity to do this. 5 of the team going are my boys, from my house.

There you have it, ah, what a great time of the year. Spring is here, the college basketball tournament, and my beloved Detroit Tigers on the verge of a championship season. Take care all, have a great weekend, tominhaiti

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

37 In The House, Wow.

2009-03-15T11:15:00.001-05:00

Jesus in Haiti Ministries

Hi from Haiti, Sunday night

I trust all is well with your family and the race you are running for Christ. I have been non stop busy since January 1st and am finally getting a couple week break here. Here is an update on what has happened in the past couple weeks:

MISSIONS TRIP: We just had the pleasure of hosting a group of 15 college students from IPFW in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Wow, what a wonderful 8 days. These folks climbed over a mountain, visited our orphanage, our school, our church, New Roads ministry and stayed in our home, as well as walking the villages, sharing the Gospel. Thank you Dr. Jeff and team for coming, for loving, sharing and giving so much. Also, thank you for leaving, part of your heart behind. You are already missed!

FRIDAY THE 13TH: Because our visitors arrived and left on Saturday night, they were going to miss church. Well the old guy still has enough pull so I asked the pastor if we could do church on Friday night this week. He agreed. Normally we start church on Saturday with about 40 people present, then another 200 or so people come late. This week, our first ever Friday service found a packed church, when we started. All of us were so excited to see this happen and I am sure we will discuss at our next staff meeting the possibility of moving service to Friday, every week. Saturday is laundry day, market day, funeral day and so much more. We shall see, maybe until our new church opens this will be a good move to make. Church was awesome with our visitors doing a very powerful and moving drama for us.

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU: All 89 of our students at Grace Emmanuel School are now sponsored. Thanks to all of you who make this happen and support our school in this way. There are a few of you who are a few months behind and I would ask that you either catch up or allow us to find someone else. Thanks!

BUBBA WAS IN THE HOUSE: That's right, former president Bill Clinton visited Haiti this past week to promote Haiti to the world and to try to get businesses to come here. He said "Haiti is a good investment" so, I am sure he is talking about the Jesus in Haiti Ministry because if you invest in our ministry, you invest in Haiti.

MERJAY: Merjay is the village where most of the folks from the New Roads Garbage dump live. We have made a decision to make our presence felt in a big way, where they live. We have rented a two room office and start this week with: English classes, Bible studies and leadership training. The Gospel is shared in the English class also. We will also be helping the elderly with monthly rice. We are so excited about this.

This past Friday we took our visiting missions team to Merjay and did a Bible club with well over 300 people crowded around us under a tree. Please pray for this village of about 3000 that is wide open for the Gospel.

THANK YOU SO MUCH: I have heard other missionaries talk about donations being down 40-50 percent. Ours are actually up so I am thanking God and those of you who have not forgot these precious people. May God bless you. tominhaiti

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

Ridin' for the Brand

2009-02-23T20:01:00.002-06:00

Dear friends, Monday night

End of the month update from the island of Hispanola! Tomorrow is Mardi Gras, the ending of the Carnival here in Haiti. Last Friday I took most of my boys to church camp at another mission. Was funny how dropping them off made me a little sad. As they walked from the truck with their luggage and blankets, I thought of that recent country song "there goes MY life". It has been quiet around here, but I have got much done.

Today I spent several hours with Fondi and Jony talking, planning and plotting our ministry and discussing our staff. Was well spent time. One thing I will not ever allow our ministry to do is become stagnant. We must continue to move forward, sharing the Gospel and making disciples.

Tomorrow we have 4 guests coming for a week. These are dear friends and we look forward to an exciting week sharing our life and ministry with this family. The older girl is a professional nanny by trade so guess what, I get a break from Jony and Peter for a week. I hope she is ready.

Church was really down this past week. With over 40 from our church at camp and all the carnival stuff, we were down about 100 people. Still had a great service. Thursday night before taking all the boys to camp on Friday, we were eating supper and when I finished I just sat and looked around. I looked into the faces of 21 smiling, happy, full people. Each story flashed before my face. It hit me as always what an honor it is to be doing what I do. I also realized that each one of them was here because they had no family to call their own. What a joy to be a dad, a mentor, a friend and a teacher. It is never easy but always worth it.

Some of you know that I am a big Western Frontier lover. I love to read about a good gun battle between Smoke Jensen and Harry the outlaw. Reading about Matt Bodine and Sam, two wolves fighting their way to Whiskey Flats, wow, how thrilling. One common phrase I read is "we ride for the brand" As some of you know, the brand was the ranch they worked for, with each ranch having their own brand. One thing that was first and foremost was, you supported, protected and even died for others who rode for the same brand.

I got to thinking today, how much do you and I value the "brand" we ride for? That brand permanently in the hands of Jesus. That is our brand and anyone who is a born again Christian, rides for that brand. Never do the ranch hands talk bad or attack anyone who rides for their brand. Can the same be said abot you and I? Do we support, protect and even die for if need be our fellow ranch hands, believers of Christ? Too often we spend so much time fighting with those in our brand, the mangy bushwhackers led by the evil one picks us off one by one. The old ranch hands had to always be on the lookout for the bad guys. The bad guys wanted to steal, burn and destroy! Guess what, the poachers, rustlers and outlaws who work for black jack satan want to do the same. I challenge you tonight, as I challenge myself, RIDE FOR THE BRAND, RIDE HARD, AND PROTECT THOSE WHO RIDE WITH YOU. The boss who owns our ranch, and the cattle on a thousand hills is riding with us, with a big shotgun, and lots of ammo. Just my thoughts. tominhaiti

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

Happy Fat Tuesday, early

2009-02-18T16:33:00.002-06:00

Jesus in Haiti Ministries

Hi from Haiti, Wednesday afternoon Midmonth, midweek, midday Report:

BREAK TIME: The past month and a half has been very, very busy. Just this morning two wonderful women left us after spending a week with us. They have helped changed Haiti and we are thankful for this. Thank you Rhonda and Amber! May God bless South Dakota!

CARNEY TIME: During this time of the year, the Caribbean Countries, South America and such all celebrate Carnival which starts this Friday and ends on Tuesday, or Mardi Gras. (Fat Tuesday) Carnival in these areas is very satanic, evil, sexual and dangerous. It is during this time that churches hold camps for the teens so 10 of my boys will be going to camp during this period. They are very excited about this and so am I, I get a little break. I plan to stay home, plan, rest and enjoy a little break while the country goes crazy.

FAMILY: Besides the boys going to camp, a couple other are going to visit family so when all is said and done, it will be me, Claudy, Shadrach, Tito, Ricardo and the two little ones. Speaking of Jony and Peterson, I took them back to the orphanage for their 2nd visit. Being someone who loves to study human nature, this was very interesting to watch. As soon as we were in, they were mobbed by the other children. Jony was enjoying the stardom but Peterson fought to keep up with me, not letting go of his death grip on my pants. Then when he realized I was standing still for a moment, I saw him work his way through the crowd over to Jony, grab him by the neck of the shirt and drag him to me, and made him hold onto my pants. They seemed to be fine though and were happy all the way home. The older boys really enjoyed our two visitors, spending every night making Christian CD's from the ladies' computers.

MINISTRY: Everything is great at all points of light. We do have some exciting news concerning the New Roads garbage dump. While visiting the very poor village of Mejay where many of the folks from the dump live, God spoke to me very clearly. He said we should spend more time where these folks live, rather than where they work. I listen when God talks. We already have a staff ready to go, have a building to rent and are going to "set up shop". The first thing that will start this month will be a Leadership/Bible study from the men from the dump, who live there. We are so excited and I will have a complete breakdown of this on our website along with pictures in a few days. Pray for this exciting new challenge.

HEALTH: The other night I was talking to our visitors and all of a sudden I blanked out. Could not remember what we were talking about. I felt really strange. I went and laid down and it seemed I had completely forgotten some things. My first thought was a stroke. I seemed to be fine by morning but the girls did take my blood pressure. My blood pressure was 200 over 90, okay, kidding it was like 123 over 69 which I guess is okay. My crack medical staff via email is monitoring my situation and we are praying that everything was okay. I would get an x-ray done of my head but I am afraid they would find NOTHING.

CLOSING: Again I say thank you so much for making it possible for me to be here. As hard as this is sometimes, there is no where else in the world I would rather be than right here. This is my home, this is where my family lives, these are the people I have been called to. I miss my Osbeck family so much, I miss you, my friends but this is where I am supposed to be. I don't think a day goes by when I don't think of the hundreds of you working in the office, the outdoors, the classroom, the home who sit down and write that check, to make this ministry possible, to make it possible for me and this staff to represent Jesus in Haiti, thank you so much. My prayer as always is that God blesses you 1000 times more than what you do for these folks in Haiti. Happy Carnival, God bless you all! tominhaiti

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

Survey Results

2009-02-16T16:31:00.002-06:00

Jesus in Haiti Ministries

Hi, I want to thank the many of you who responded to my survey/test. This was the biggest response I ever received from an email. I was blessed, encouraged, humored but most of all, realized what a great team we have. Most of you knew so much about what we do, thank you for your interest and the prayers that go with it.

Only one person came close to getting them all correct. What is ironic is this man was here last week and I heard him say over a dozen times "I'm just a dumb farmer from Minnesota". Well that dumb farmer got all the questions right, except he missed the movie one. Steve said his favorite movie was Gladiator but he was wrong. It was the Goodbye girl, Nice try Steve, even the bonus one you got correct.

Here are the correct answers, were applicable:
1) At what age did you receive Christ as your personal Savior? I WAS 7 BY THE WAY
2) About how many people read this email I send to you? I DIDN'T PHRASE THIS ONE CORRECTLY, I WANTED TO KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU SHARE MY EMAILS WITH
3) What country does Haiti share this island with? SURPRISINGLY, I HAD ANSWERS LIKE MEXICO, CUBA AND PUERTO RICO. THE ANSWER IS THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. My favorite was: Rhode Island
4) How many people reside at my home? Another surprisingly wrong amount of answers. The correct answer is 22. 17 boys, me, momy tia, my two staff and mommy tia's caregiver. My favorite answer was: "who knows, it changes daily"
5) Before I came to Haiti, where did I work? Inner City Director of Prime Time, at Fort Wayne Youth For Christ. Favorite answers were: Burger King and, did you really work?
6) Have you ever been on a missions trip, if so where? Interesting, thank you
7) What is the name of our church here in Haiti? Most new this was VICTORY BIBLE CHURCH, ONE HONYOCK FROM FORT WAYNE THOUGHT IT WAS THE JESUS IN HAITI CHURCH
8) What is your favorite book of the Bible? VERY INTERESTING ANSWERS, THANK YOU, MINE IS GENESIS
9) What Bible Character do you most live your life like?ONE SUPERSPIRITUAL PERSON SAID CHRIST, THE REST GAVE GOOD ANSWERS WHICH BLESSED AND ENCOURAGED ME, MY FAVORITE ANSWER WAS:" THEY ARE NOT CHARACTERS, A CHARACTER IS A FICTIONAL PERSON IN A STORY". Then I remembered my dad used to call bad people "characters" so I will change my wording on this one.
10) What is the official language of Haiti? Most new that it was French, but everyone speaks Creole
11) What is your favorite Bible verse? LOVED THE VERSES, HAD TO SCRAMBLE TO LOOK SOME UP, YOU SHOWED ME YOUR SOUL ON THIS ONE.
12) What year did I move to Haiti? 1998, LEAST FAVORITE ANSWER, "WHO CARES?"
13) Who is more likely to miss Heaven, an attorney or a Baptist? (trick question) OKAY, I LOVE TO TEASE MY BAPTIST FRIENDS. I AM CONVINCED THAT AT LEAST 20% OF THEM WILL GO TO HEAVEN AND I APOLOGIZE FOR LUMPING YOU WITH ATTORNEYS.
14) What ocean surrounds Haiti?A CONTROVERSIAL QUESTION, MOST OF YOU SAID ATLANTIC, I SAY CARIBBEAN, YOU SAY IT IS NOT AN OCEAN, I SAY IT IS, THE DEBATE WILL RAGE ON.
15) What country did Haiti win it's independence from? MOST GOT THIS CORRECT, IT WAS FRANCE, NOT SPAIN OR SOUTH DAKOTA.
16) How many points of light do we have, can you name them? MANY OF YOU NAMED THEM ALL, THIS BLESSED ME EXCEPT THE ABOVE MENTIONED HONYOCK WHO SAID "FLASHLIGHT, LANTERN, LIGHTBULB, SUN AND MOON"
17) What is our pastor's name? VERY WELL, MOST ALL GOT PASTOR JACKIE (DELICE) BUT A FEW SAID JONY, HE GOT A KICK OUT OF THIS.
18) Where do I say God has more money then we will ever need? AGAIN, YOU PAY ATTENTION WELL, YOU HAVE HEARD ME SAY THERE IS MORE MONEY IN THE CUSHIONS OF GODS COUCH THAN WE WILL EVER NEED. Favorite answer "you ask for money in all your emails".
19) Are you a worldly person who dabbles in the spiritual, or a spiritual person who dabbles in the worldly?MOST OF YOU SAW THIS WAS A MULTIPLE CHOICE AND MADE A CHOICE. OF COURSE THE MORE SPIRITUAL ONES SAID "NEITHER" OR SOMETHING TO THE AFFECT. SOME WERE OFFENDED THAT I MIGHT SUGGEST THEY DABBLE IN THE WORLDLY. WELL GUESS WHAT, WE ALL HAVE SINNED AND STILL DO FROM TIME TO TIME, THIS IS DABBLING, FOR THE RECORD.
20) What is your favorite movie of all time? (spiritual answer not required) I WAS VERY INTERESTED TO KNOW YOUR MOVIE FAVE'S. For me, no movie has touched me like "the Passion of the Christ". To watch Jesus suffer so graphically, that was moving and a sight I never could pull from reading the Bible. "Air Force One" with Harrison Ford and "Jaws" are my two favorites other movies.

21) Bonus question, 25 points: What is the name of the man who was president for 20 years, then went to the Dominican Republic and became their president for 20+ years? No this was not a trick question, Steve did get it correct, Jean Pierre Boyer was the president of both countries in the early 1900, over 20 years in Haiti and then the Dominican. Again, thanks so much, this was fun and helped me see a window into your life. I might even do it again, with your permission.

Have a great week, tominhaiti

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

Survey/Test

2009-02-13T06:51:00.000-06:00

Jesus in Haiti Ministries

Here is a survey/test, please take the time to answer.
1) At what age did you receive Christ as your personal Savior?
2) About how many people read this email I send to you?
3) What country does Haiti share this island with? (no cheating)
4) How many people reside at my home?
5) Before I came to Haiti, where did I work?
6) Have you ever been on a missions trip, if so where?
7) What is the name of our church here in Haiti?
8) What is your favorite book of the Bible?
9) What Bible Character do you most live your life like?
10) What is the official language of Haiti?
11) What is your favorite Bible verse?
12) What year did I move to Haiti?
13) Who is more likely to miss Heaven, an attorney or a Baptist? (trick question)
14) What ocean surrounds Haiti?
15) What country did Haiti win it's independence from?
16) How many points of light do we have, can you name them?
17) What is our pastor's name?
18) Where do I say God has more money then we will ever need?
19) Are you a worldly person who dabbles in the spiritual, or a spiritual person who dabbles in the worldly?
20) What is your favorite movie of all time? (spiritual answer not required)
21) Bonus question, 25 points: What is the name of the man who was president of Haiti for 20 years, then went to the Dominican Republic and became their president for 20+ years?
thanks for taking the time to do this, I will enjoy each response, and if you get all 20 right, you get a NON expense trip to my island. Have a great, God filled weekend, I will, tominhaiti

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

Some observations, on Jony and Peter

2009-02-12T06:50:00.000-06:00

Jesus in Haiti Ministries

Many of you will be interested in my observations of my two new little boys, Isreal Jony and Peterson.

FIRST DAY: Got ahold of food and water and did not let go. Jony carried a bag of bread around and even took it to bed. 2nd day he didn't do this. Water was important as they both carried water bottles around for about 4 days, they don't do that anymore, they know the dispenser always has water.

SLEEPING: They each have a mattress on the floor next to my bed. During the night, they both squirm off onto the tile floor. I put them back, they end up on the tile floor again. I know this is how they slept so this is what they are comfortable with. Should I care that they do this? Any tips on changing this?

SHARING: Simply amazing how they look after each other. Especially the older one Peter, who is 4, he always make sure Jony is okay and shares everything. I tested Peter tonight. I was cutting bread for supper and had a very small, soft piece. I broke it in half, I ate half and gave just a little piece to him. Sure enough, he went over to Jony and put half in Jony's mouth.

ENGLISH: Already they know what I say, or maybe it's the tone. When I say something, they do it, although I say much of it in English. When I brought home 5 year old Shadrach, 10 years ago, it took him 3 months to become fluent in English.

MEALTIME: This is not just mealtime, it is a celebration of life for these two little guys, an event. If I let them they will take 2 hours to eat. They sit and eat and break their bread and go as slow as they can. They talk the whole time and really enjoy this time.

PUNISHMENT: They are very sensitive to getting punished. A little slap on the behind and they act like they were getting killed. My rule is, they can cry if they have a reason, if not, no crying. I am gradually getting that across.

PLAYGROUND: When I take them outside our yard, the world is their playground. Their eyes are as big as golf balls and they take everything in. Just a walk to the park to watch soccer rocks their world.

TELEVISION: They have no need or interest in tv, much more fun to play or crawl on poppy. I hope to keep it that way.

BONES: They like every Haitian child that comes from an orphanage eats not only the chicken off the bone, they eat the whole bone.

STEPS: They just love our big steps. I worry a little about Jony going up and down but he is really good. These boys probably have never seen steps so just love to play on them all day long.

CHURCH: During our entire 3 hour service, they sit, they listen, they sing, they clap but they pay perfect attention.

SANDALS: Their sandals are very important to them. They either wear them or carry them.

There you have it, just some observations from 15 days of having these two little ones. tom

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

My Medical Condition, Large Growths

2009-02-10T23:40:00.000-06:00

Jesus in Haiti Ministries

Hi from Haiti, Tuesday afternoon, I think

I have been so busy, if this isn't Tuesday, forgive me. Let me share what has been going on in the past couple weeks for me:
GOPHER AND SUNSHINE STATE:
We had 20 dear Christian people from Minnesota and Florida spend that past 8 days with us. What a great 8 days it was. These folks blended together so well and did the following:
Tested and made reading glasses for 20 people
Medical team saw over 200 children
350 Salvation bracelets placed on the arms of children and teens
A 14 x 15 depot built on our church propertyMinistering to our church in song
Cleaned and organized an orphanage
Cleaned and organized my kitchens (wow it looks nice)
Passed out clothes to our school children
Were JESUS in all 5 points of light, plus some
I don't know when I have enjoyed a week more. Thank you folks for coming, and for leaving a big part of your heart here and changing all our lives, forever.

ACCIDENTLY: Amazingly, this group saw 5 road accidents while here. We saw a man get hit by a truck, a truck upside down in the ditch, a head on collision with one car blazing on fire, and two trucks hitting each other. The most bizarre incident was what happened Saturday. We were following a white pickup truck. All of a sudden a school bus came from a side street and cut the truck off, and even bumped him just a little. Then at the next stop, the pickup bumped the back of the bus, on purpose. The bus driver got out walked back, (cursing to make a Baptist blush at the pickup driver and then with his hand, smashed his headlight. As the bus driver was going back to his truck, the pickup backed up, floored it and as he drove around the bus, he smashed into the front of the bus, ripping off the headlight, the panel, everything. The pickup sped off, winning this confrontation. I can't call this an accident, everything that happened was on purpose.

WEBSITE: Pictures of my little Jony and Peterson are on our website at jesusinhaiti.org along with pictures from our January missions team that visited and other good stuff. Please check it out.

ELECTIONS: Elections in Haiti are February 19th, for a dozen or so senate seats that are open. These can be volatile and dangerous so pray things go smooth for Haiti.

NEW CHURCH BUILDING: I know most of you are perplexed on what is taking so long, as am I. It took 2 years to get the property, then a year ago we started phase one, and now it is taking forever to begin the actual church. We have the money to start, the contractor ready to go but are waiting on some legal papers from our Haitian attorney before we can proceed. I believe in my heart 100% that THIS month, we will be starting the construction of the physical building of VICTORY BIBLE CHURCH!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM, AND STEVEN: 83 years ago today, my mom was born. The first 73 of those years were celebrated here on earth, the last 10 in Glory, with the man she loved, my dad, and the one who died for her, her Heavenly Father. Happy Birthday Mom, you are not forgotten, not for one day. I love you so much and can't wait to celebrate your birthday with you again someday, in Heaven. Keep a light on will ya?

MEDICAL GROWTHS: The past two weeks I have had an amazing medical condition. Everytime I sit on the couch, or lie in my bed, these two large growths appear either on my legs or on my stomach. They are there the whole time, moving and giggling and having fun, Jony and Peter I am talking about.

They are always within about 4 feet of me no matter what I do. What a joy to be able to care for these boys, love them and be Jesus to them. I love all my boys dearly and would die for them all but these two little ones have captured my heart in a special way. They are so sweet, so accepting of everything, lookout for each other and are loving life. Thanks to all of you for allowing me to do this.

FINANCES FOR 2009: With all the "stuff" going on economically in the USA, I still received my $9,200 for my monthly budget. This happened because hundreds of you sacrificially gave to this ministry, so we can continue to be Jesus in Haiti to hundreds of people. Words can't thank you for your support. Thank you for understanding Kingdom work and for your willingness to make this ministry happen.In conclusion: Some exciting days lie ahead for our ministry, and our church. 2009 will be our biggest and best year ever, for making disciples and sharing the Gospel, here in Haiti. Please never forget that although I could not do this ministry without you, this is still my mission field, not yours. Yours is where you live, where you work, shop and play. Never forget that many of the people you interact with everyday are just as lost as the ones you care so much for here in Haiti. I represent Jesus in Haiti, you represent Jesus where you live. YOU ARE REPRESENTING THE KING, DO IT WELL AND WITH INTEGRITY WILL YA?

Take care, tominhaiti

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:

Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

I May Have Made A Mistake Today

2009-01-30T19:50:00.000-06:00

Jesus in Haiti Ministries

January 30th, 2009

Hi,

Today at 10am we bought our new 2009 Kia truck. What a blessing this will be for our ministry and family. I was then home previewing a movie on the Old Testament with pastor Jackie for church tomorrow, before heading out.

This is where my mistake might have happened. I had told the director of the orphanage that I would stop by today to let her know how the boys are doing. As I packed Peterson and Jony into the truck, Peterson got this long face. It was the same face I brought him home with, one void of hope. Then Jony began to scream. Altimae was holding him in the back seat. He cried and cried. Then he was passed to Roger in the front seat and he kept screaming. Finally I said to hand him to me. As soon as I took him, he stopped crying and put his head on my shoulder.

I drove this way down our back road but when we got to the main road, I passed him to Roger and he was okay. Once we got to the Good Samaritan Orphanage, a look of horror was on both the boys faces. We walked inside and all the kids came running to me and the boys. Peterson clung to Altimae's pants. Jony allowed the girls to pick him up. I looked over at Peterson at one point and the tears were just flowing down his cheek. I quickly picked him up and told him again that he was going home with me. He shook his head yes and clung to my neck.

We left a few minutes later and it took until we got home and they began playing before the smiles came back. I should have expected this reaction but didn't. I won't let them visit again until they ask.

Thanks to so many of you who emailed a response to these boys being with me. I still lay in bed at night and watch them sleep, so thrilled that I can give them a home. I have no clue what the future is for these boys, don't know what next month brings but I know what today brings, love, security and happiness for two boys who have never really known these things. Jony, aka Mr. Personality refused to call me poppy, instead calling me Blanc (white). Everytime I would say "what's my name?" he would say blanc, knowing that is not what to call me. Tonight we grilled hotdogs and it was time to eat. I asked Ricardo what my name was, he said "Poppy", I gave him a hotdog. I asked Peterson what my name was, he said "Poppy", he got a hotdog. I asked Jony what was my name, he smiled, looked at Ricardo, looked at Peterson, and finally said "Poppy". And he hasn't stopped saying it since.

I will have my webmaster get some pictures out this weekend of these two precious guys. What is so neat is to see the entire family come to their aid. Ricardo plays with them, Steven carries Jony, the older ones feed them, however, I get diaper duty.

So we push on, being Jesus to those around us, do the same will ya?

tominhaiti

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814

John and Peter are in the house: A must read

2009-01-29T22:25:00.000-06:00

Jesus in Haiti Ministries

January 29th, 2009

Dear friends,

I wrote "must read" because I know many of you only read some of my emails and I think you will be blessed by this one.

Two weeks ago I was at the Good Samaritan orphanage. This is the Haitian run orphanage that we support with food, medicine and finances. While there I picked a little boy named Peterson up. I can't explain the feeling I had picking him up but I knew this, God was giving him to me. I have had this experience with several of the boys, so I knew what it was.

Sadly, I didn't bring that boy home. I had every reason in the world to not bring a little 4 year old home with me. I convinced myself it was undoable.

This past Monday I was at the orphanage when a little 2 year old came up and tugged on my pants. I picked this little boy up and, again, God said, this is your son. This time, I did not fight it. I stood there with tears coming down my face. I knew what I had to do. I shared this with the director, Madam Lucien and she was so happy. I then asked if he had any siblings. She said "just one, let me go get him". As she walked towards the other 100 children, I spotted Peterson. I knew in my heart which child she was going to, and she did. She picked Peterson up and brought him to me, the boy who I didn't take 2 weeks ago.

The tears really began to flow as I held 50 pounds of two human lives. You sure can't blame God on being uncreative. I walked out with those two little boys, 2 year old Jony Isreal and 4 year old Peterson, not having a clue what I was getting myself into. My comment on the way home to those in the truck with me was "no one said you had to be smart to be a missionary".

We got home and you should have seen the 16 boys currently here, and mommy Tia. They flocked to these little ones. A few hours later it was time for bed. I put a mattress on the floor in my room and put them to bed. For the next 10 hours Peterson had diarrhea and Jony whimpered. I was wiping Peterson every 30 minutes, and holding Jony. He insisted on sleeping in my bed. Then he had to be ON my chest. As soon as I put him on my chest, he went right to sleep. I finally slipped him off and fell asleep. About 5 minutes later Jony rolled off the bed, onto pillows I had stacked but it scared him so bad he cried for 30 minutes.

The whole night I got just that 5 minutes sleep. Tuesday was a great day with the little guys. Tuesday night I laid them on the mattress on the floor, turned the fan on, covered them with a sheet and they were already sleeping. They did not move for 10 hours. The same last night. To think that at age 52, God has given me a 2 and 4 year old blows my mind. I will be like 100 when they graduate. During that first night, as I sat waiting for Peterson to do his duty, I began to thank God. I thanked God for choosing me, for this very special assignment.

We have it split up with my house staff, Roger, Altimae, Stephanie and Mommy Tia where we will all share the responsibilities. My shift every day is 7pm to 7am. (I get the easy one)

So along with Shadrach, Haslom, Sonal, Maxim, Roger, Altimae, Deckenson, Clasimay, Tito, Claudy, Matthew, Dearson, Sonson, Mommy tia, Stephanie, Keyley (Stephanie's 3 year old) Manel, Steven, Jay, and Ricardo, we now add Peterson and Jony Isreal.

I first thank God for allowing me to do this, then I thank you for making it possible. To have the God given ability to give life to these two little guys is overwhelming. Thank you to my board for allowing me the freedom to follow the call of God, concerning these precious children.

So much else going on, I pick up our new truck, a 2009 Kia tomorrow morning at 10:00, we are showing a Christian movie after church Saturday, we have 20+ visitors from Minnesota/Florida coming Monday, the actual foundation of the church will be starting within the week, and so much more.

My health has been great, the boys are all happy, healthy and being discipled. May God bless all of you who make this ministry happen on a daily basis. Pray for these two new little ones.

tominhaiti

Thank you for your support

Tom Osbeck
Executive Director
Jesus in Haiti Ministries

For Contributions:
Jesus in Haiti Ministries, Inc. Suite 155 10214 Chestnut Plaza Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46814