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Persecution of Christians is becoming so commonplace that we now hear about it everyday in the news.  I no longer have to visit the sites of organizations who assist the persecuted; I simply read the news.  The latest story, from Pakistan involves a young mother.  Read the story at http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/18/pakistan.blasphemy/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn.

Now Muslims want special protection from the UN against persecution.  Hmmm, aren’t they the ones doing the persecuting?  Check out Christian Freedom International and sign their petition to stop this law from being enacted.  Your Christian brother’s and sister’s very lives are on the line.

Talk to your children about persecution and what Christians around the world suffer for Christ.  Pray together as a family for the specific Christian(s) being persecuted.  Remember them as if in prison with them Hebrews 13:3.

So many people have asked me to explain what is going on in Haiti.  The hurricane?  What about the tent cities?  What are they going to do about the cholera?  How do you even begin to explain how terribly difficult these situations are to the Haitian people.  I have started to cringe when I hear about how resilient the Haitian people are.  People say this as though the Haitian people are somehow gifted with torment and they are out there saying, “Bring it on.”

The Haitian people are resilient by a force of hand.  They are as resilient as the N Korean people who are put in death camps at the hands of their government.  They are as resilient as the millions of others who suffer poverty, government tyranny, and natural disasters.  They all suffer and yet each morning wake up and have to do it all again.

For many in Haiti they cling to the hope that is in Christ.  I am always amazed at how they worship and praise God though everything around them is bleak.  Even with hurricane Tomas I read a news article of a Haitian gentleman who was sitting along the road with his Bible awaiting it’s arrival.  Resilient isn’t maybe the word I would use for the Haitian people.  I think of words like courageous, faithful, persevering, and maybe these have given them resilience.

Several weeks ago we were able to get Obenson’s family into an apartment of sorts.  We mentioned the owner of the land he was on has evicted everyone.  Please read the following news story as it answers so many questions about the hurricane, Cholera, and the tent cities, so you can see for yourself the terrible situation that Haitian’s now find themselves in.  Please talk to your family about it over the dinner table and pray as a family for the families in Haiti.  Feel their burden as we are instructed to do in the Bible, as if it were us who were suffering.

Here is the news article.

Homebound Missions has been privileged to sponsor our first official missionaries to Oaxaca [wah-HAH-kah], Mexico.  Our missionary team consists of Ana (12), Emmalee (12), and Rebecca (14) Devries.  These three sisters are on a mission to work at an orphanage to minister to the children by giving hands on care as well as providing much needed supplies for the children’s comfort.

They will be moving to Oaxaca, Mexico in January along with their mom Wendy, Dad Bruce, and brother Daniel.  Bruce is a pilot for MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship).  Formerly they served in Venezuela.

To get them started on their mission, Homebound Missions has given them their first supply of frocks.  After they have had a chance to evaluate the need they will inform us of other items they could use and we will begin sourcing them.  Tyler is also creating a blog for the girls so they can document the work they are doing and share some of the day to day stuff with the rest of us.  We will highlight their blog as soon as they get it going.

We wish the girls great success as they work for the children in Oaxaca, Mexico.

To learn more about The Bruce Devries Family check out their March Newsletter, The DeVries Flyer.

http://livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/

Scroll down to Clinging.

If you haven’t checked out the Livesay’s Blog you have missed out on something really special.  Today, Tara posted about safety and she put up a video.  Watch the video as it is quite enlightening.

Add the Livesay’s blog to your toolbar or favorites so you can check on it often.  Tyler and I read it every day.  It’s definitely worth the effort.

I apologize for not blogging sooner, though it has been on my mind every day.  I returned home from Haiti with a few things needing to be done;  first to finish restoring the bassinet, then my daughter’s baby shower, and my son’s birthday, but what really held me back most was extreme exhaustion.  I am starting to feel much better today and have even been out walking this morning.

Our trip to Haiti was just fabulous.  Heartline Ministries provided our accommodations and our meals and we could not have been served better had we stayed at a five star hotel.  I will write more about that separately, so as to let anyone interested in knowing more about the guesthouse.  The guesthouse was so awesome that we referred to it as home the entire time we were in Haiti.  It just felt like home.

We were able to meet with most of our families and will share about each one of them.  We also had the opportunity to take some of our families to the beach, which was lots of fun.  Magnalie got to visit with her family, and my sister Debbie was really touched by the entire experience.  She is already talking about going back.

The Haitian people really have a hard life, a visit quickly brings to the forefront how blessed we are.  Our families are well, but their lives are very difficult and they persevere.  I will try to give you a glimpse into their lives and maybe together we can help to make their lives just a bit easier.  Please continue to pray for them.  I hope through the blog you will get to know them more personally as I do, and that you will love them as a neighbor, sister or brother.

Kathy, her sister Debbie and Magnalie are in Haiti for one week. They look happy at 3:00 in the morning.

Welcome to the all new and improved Homebound Missions Blog.  This new blog will serve as a tool for keeping you informed of all that is happening at Homebound Missions.   Some of the things we will be covering:

• Our Families
• Organizations we Source
• Day to Day
• How you can Help
• Family Resources
• Kangas Family
• Contests

We will keep it interesting and mix it up a little with guest bloggers, contests, Haiti trip details, and more.  We also encourage you to comment and share your ideas.  You may be surprised to see what your donations, time and effort allows HM’s to accomplish.  In essence, you are Homebound Missions and in reality this is the work you have walked along side us to accomplish, so Thank you and enjoy!