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| ...Suffer the little children to come unto me,... Mark 10:14 |
| Dear Supporters of Pass Me Not Ministries, "THE IMMEDIATE AND THE LONG HAUL" Since the tragic earthquake on Jan. 12th of this year, God has shown us so much, not just about people in general, but about the people He has called us to, the Haitian people. If I were to send a photo of a group of Haitian people, that is exactly what you would see, (a group of people). But, that is never what God sees. He sees individual people. I want to try to paint a picture for you in your mind. Then after you picture this crowd of people, try really hard to see them as God sees them, as individual people. Each one with a different face, each one with a different hurt and heartache, and each one praying for someone to help them. When the Haitian relief money started coming in, there were immediate needs such as food, clothes, shoes, and medical attention. And with your help, we were able to meet those needs for many of the Haitian people as over 30 tons of food was bought and distributed, medicine and medical supplies, wheel chairs, crutches, and canes were passed out, and many were taken to various hospitals and clinics and treated. Thousands of dollars of clothes and shoes were bought for both adults and children and passed out. Truck loads of supplies such as tents and tarps, pots and utensils, plates, glasses, silverware, personal hygiene items, towels and sheets were purchased and passed out. These people knew that you who sacrificially gave, felt their pain and their needs and were so appreciative of everything that they received. Now, we are no longer looking at the immediate needs. We are looking at the long haul. The people who were sent here to the Dom. Rep. by Haiti to be treated in the various hospitals and clinics, were immediately sent back to Haiti when they were well enough. But almost all of them went back only to live in tent cities. Living with only a sheet separating them from their neighbors. No bathroom or shower facilities. Raw sewage running in the streets. We are now in our rainy season and many of their tents have been washed away by the heavy rains. Women can not sleep at night because a sheet wall is literally no security and men are taking advantage of the situation and there are rapes every night throughout the tent cities. Do you have the picture in your mind right now? Are you seeing crowds of people living in these tent cities? God sees individual faces of individual people crying out to Him for help. There are various organizations right now in Haiti and they are now talking about starting to build homes for some of them. How long will this take? Only God knows. But many of them are tired of only hearing the talk and seeing nothing and have gotten papers to cross the border and have come back to the Dominican Republic side of the island to start over fresh and anew. We have already helped so many of them to find a place to live and to reestablish here. So many have already visited the church and been saved and baptized and have joined the church and are not only experiencing the love of Christians like you who have sacrificially given to help them, but are also experiencing the love of God, who they now realize died to give them real life, and they know Him personally. And I am happy to report to you that, because of this tragedy and through this ministry, there have been another 77 people accept Christ. Although so much has already been done, there are still people flooding to the Dominican from Haiti each and every day. When they end up here in the region of Barahona, people tell them that they know of only one missionary family in this area working with the Haitian people and that is us. They have come here with hope and expectation in their hearts that someone, somehow, will try to make a difference in their lives. Their first and foremost need is Christ in their life, and that is our main goal and objective. But their needs do not stop there. Please continue to pray that God would, through His people, continue to help meet the needs of these people. We personally want to thank everyone who has been a part in changing the lives of those we have had the privilege to help. Please keep praying as your prayers are one of their greatest hope. Because they know that if you are praying for them, you will not forget them. Nothing is even mentioned on the news anymore about this tragedy and it is as though these people have been forgotten for the most part. But God has not forgot about them and neither have we. I also want to thank those of you who send what you can faithfully each month to help with the Christian schools, widows and widowers. These needs have also been met because of your sacrifices. Please continue to pray that more would get involved as their are 3 more widows who are in desperate need of help and I would like to add them to those who we are already helping. We have also been approached with starting another Christian school if God would provide. Please pray for these needs. God bless you all greatly for your sacrificial love and compassion for these people. Your Servants For Souls, Bro. Bob Mary Johnston |