If there was ever a place in Haiti that needs help, it’s Gonaives.

Far from the city life of Port-au-Prince and the beauty of Haiti’s tropical

Emory Wilson truly has a heart for serving God’s children in Gonaives.

mountain ranges lays a barren desert on the northwestern coast. The landscape looks like the moon: white, empty, flat, and dusty. The city of Gonaives, which is home to about 200,000 people, blisters under the hot sun, and many of its people suffer from hunger, malnutrition, poverty, joblessness, and homelessness.

It’s here that Emory Wilson, one of Cross International’s mission partners, says God wants him to be.

“I’ve been dependent upon God to show me the way,” Emory says. “He’s been my strength and compelled me to go where I didn’t want to go.”

Emory began coming to Haiti in 2004 on outreach trips, and he moved to Gonaives for good in March 2008. Cross first began working with Emory in 2008, when Gonaives suffered horrible flooding. Today he’s building a new school in one of Gonaives’ worst slums, Jubilee, with help from Cross. Several classrooms are expected to open this fall in time for school.

To begin with, the Jubilee School will have preschool, kindergarten, and a

Several classrooms of the Jubilee School are scheduled to open this fall for students (photo taken July 2010).

class for “late bloomers,” or older children who need to start at the kindergarten level because they’ve never had the opportunity to attend school before. Emory plans to add more grades when the school is completely done.

With education, the children of Jubilee will have a chance at making better lives for themselves than the dirt-poor existence of their parents. The things they’ll learn at the Jubilee School—reading, writing, math, Bible lessons—will be tools they can use to get jobs as adults. These children are faced with some of the toughest economic conditions in Haiti, and thanks to Emory’s work, they’ll have what they need for a brighter future.

Emory says the school has been a community effort as much as anything.

“I liken this work to that of Nehemiah—when he went to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, each family built their part of it. When families come and see the work we do, I see what spot they can build along the wall…people are finding things and places they can do and are doing it.”

Click here to read about how you can help Cross International support education in Haiti. You CAN make a difference just like Emory!

Grace Ministries Mission evangelical church has a new leader with a big heart, and big plans, for the poor.

Bishop Stanley Simunyola praying over a poor Zambian family in their home.

Recently, Cross staff met up with Bishop Stanley Simunyola in Lusaka, Zambia, where he told us about the roots of his passion: a Christian teacher from his childhood. As a boy growing up in poverty, Stanley was on the verge of dropping out of school because his parents could not afford the fees and supplies. But his teacher believed in him enough to intervene and pay for his education.

As a result of that act of kindness, Stanley finished school, went to college, became and ordained minister, and earned a masters degree in pastoral studies from an American university. Now he is reaching out to a new generation of children in Zambia to give them the same opportunities.

“When I see street kids, I see potential pastors. I see potential doctors, lawyers,” he says. “I know that what is being done into the lives of those children is not in vain.”

Bishop Stanley’s ministry seeks out children who have lost one or both parents and provides food, school expenses, and Christ-centered counseling. Rather than create an atmosphere of dependency and entitlement, the program is helping the poor to see what they can accomplish through their own diligence and hard work, encouraged by the prayers, love, and support of the local Christian community. For instance, a widow whose four children are being put through school by Grace Ministries was inspired to begin volunteering at her church, and now she provides home-based care to other needy families in her village.

“They don’t want to just be recipients,” Bishop Stanley says. “They want to also pass on help to other people.”

Click here to learn about how Cross International is supporting this powerful ministry.

This weekend, many Americans will express thanks for their freedom as they celebrate Independence Day. The idea of freedom means different things to different people: freedom from want, freedom from oppression, freedom to succeed, freedom to say and do as we please.

Blessings Before

As Christians, we understand freedom in a very exciting way. Ephesians 3:12 says, “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” That means God allows us to come to him directly through prayer—we are free to talk to him, share our lives with him, and worship him with not fear, but joy.

Sadly, many people in our world aren’t free in this sense. About 78 million people don’t have access to the Bible in their native language, and about 1.2 billion people have never heard the gospel. What are we as Christians to do about this? Can we do anything at all?

Here’s a story that can help us take heart: In Malawi, Africa, thousands of children have become orphans in the wake of the AIDS epidemic. Annie Chikhwaza, who runs Kondanani Orphanage there with support from Cross International, discovered a pair of 17-month-old twins in “tragic” condition.

Seeing Blessings recover under Annie’s care is proof that Christians can make a difference in lives around the world.

Little Blessings weighed about 8.5 pounds and his twin, Hasting, weighed about 15 pounds. Blessings had large, open wounds on his body and both children looked like skeletons. Neither had hair on their heads nor could sit and stand.

Annie says that in just two weeks, the twins have gained weight and their skin has changed color from pale and gray to chocolate brown. Their hair is growing and it is black instead of orange, a tell-tale sign of malnutrition. Blessings’ wounds are nearly closed up, and Annie says she’s certain they will both make a full recovery.

God calls us to use our freedom to give in his name, to offer of ourselves when no one else will. Thanks to gifts from caring American Christians, children like Blessings and Hasting experience God’s love through us. Galatians 5:13 says, “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” God calls us to use our freedom for good, for serving each other in his name. He reminds us that we can’t understand freedom only in the sense of what we aren’t forced to do; he asks us to think of freedom in terms of what we are at liberty to do for others.

Click here to read about how you can serve others in God’s name through programs supported by Cross International.

This past Sunday, many of us took time to honor that special someone who taught us how to ride our first bicycle, change our first tire, catch our first baseball, and get through life without calling a plumber or asking for directions. Father’s Day was celebrated in 52 countries around the world, from Cuba to Greece to Afghanistan.

Arms of Love provides safe shelter for orphans and vulnerable children in Nicaragua.

The Bible has some important things to say about the value of godly fathers. “A righteous man who walks in his integrity – How blessed are his sons after him.” (Prov. 20:7) Even the Trinity itself is described in terms of a Father-Son relationship.

Sadly, many children have never known a father’s love. Some are orphans, others abandoned, others imprisoned in a home life wrecked by drug and alcohol abuse. The absence of a father figure helps to perpetuate the cycle of poverty in countries where even healthy, intact families struggle to get by. That includes Nicaragua, where Cross International is working with a local Christian ministry called Arms of Love to provide shelter for children who have been permanently separated from their parents due to death, abandonment, or abuse.

Nine-year-old Luisa came to Arms of Love after government authorities found her alone on a street selling candies. Both her parents were alcoholics and her uncle had been molesting her. Arms of Love took Luisa in, provided food, shelter, and health care, and raised her in a safe, nurturing environment with opportunities to make new friends, receive counseling, and get a quality Christian education. Now she knows she has a Father in heaven who is always watching over her and will never abandon her. Because of Arms of Love, Luisa is able to say, “Finally, I have a family.”

Click here to learn more about the great work that Arms of Love is doing for fatherless and vulnerable children in Nicaragua.

Ask a boy who his hero is, and chances are good he’ll name an athlete, rock star, actor, or even a comic book character. But 10-year-old Joshua, who lives at the Cross-sponsored Kondanani Village in Malawi, is no ordinary boy. His hero is a charismatic Zambian preacher he watches on TV, and he’s already started to emulate him.

Joshua, 10, weighed only 2 lbs. when he came to Kondanani as an infant.

When Joshua first came to Kondanani as an orphaned infant, he weighed only two pounds. Today he is a healthy, outspoken boy who loves telling other children about Jesus and inviting them to receive him into their heart. Once a week, he also helps out with evangelistic outreaches in the local village, where they do drama presentations, music, teaching, and prayer.

Joshua’s zeal for ministry shows. He took the initiative, without any suggestion from the adults, to organize a group of friends to sing worship songs. Despite their young age, the boys are as polished as a church choir. They sing loud and joyfully, with perfectly coordinated dance moves and harmonies.

Without hesitation, Joshua will tell you what he wants to be when he grows up: a preacher! He is just one example of the many lives saved and nurtured at Kondanani, a Christian orphanage where children are rescued out of squalor, rehabilitated from malnutrition, given a quality education unlike anything else in the country, and best of all touched with the love of Christ.

Click here to learn how you can be a blessing to Joshua and all the other precious children at Kondanani.

Below is a beautiful story from one of our ministry partners in Guyana, Ruimveldt Children’s Home & Care Center (RCHCC). We support this Christian ministry monthly so it can continue to provide care to 16 AIDS orphans.

Some of the orphans at Ruimveldt Children’s Home & Care Center (RCHCC)

Micah never speaks about his mother. But at night he has fitful dreams, awaking drenched in sweat and screaming out for her.

Before Micah was brought to RCHCC, he wandered the streets, unattended for days on end. Though he was appeared to be only about 4 years old, his face was sunken and his eyes hard — the marks usually carried by a weathered adult. His body also wore signs of malnourishment. His front teeth were completely black and his small belly was distended due to severe malnutrition.

“We knew very little about him and still have not found his parents,” said Angie Hemric, a volunteer who cares for Micah at the Children’s Home. “He has never shared any memories of them with us.” It is entirely possible that his parents are dead, victims of one of Guyana’s top killer: AIDS.

At first Micah was wary of the help he received at RCHCC. “He was very independent for such a young child,” Angie said. “Every time the gate opened we had to watch that his little body did not slide through it and run off.”

Soon, however, Micah began to let his guard down as he received loving care from the staff at the orphanage. He had never known such selfless kindness. Because Micah was HIV positive no one would help him, and he went without the treatments that would have helped him grow and thrive. During his first weeks at the orphanage, he could hardly eat and his speech was very underdeveloped for someone his age. “Much of the time he was unsettled,” Angie recalled. “He would scream out in the middle of the night and have terrible dreams.”

Micah recently celebrated a second birthday with RCHCC. Though he is still small for a 6-year-old, he has made much progress. His smile is now electric and his body strong, Angie said. “He loves to be held close and read to. He can write his name, color in the lines, count, and say his ABCs.”

The biggest evidence of Micah’s transformation from sick and abandoned AIDS victim to loved and nurtured child of God comes at night. He no longer wakes screaming from fitful nightmares.

Click here to learn more about the life-changing work of RCHCC.

In Haiti, one thing has always been certain. Through all the poverty, tragedy, and violence that has plagued the small Caribbean nation, Haitians have always celebrated Carnival.

Many churches were destroyed in the earthquake. But Haitian’s faith in God remains strong.

But not this year.

The lively annual festivities, which would have begun Sunday and ended today, have been set aside, so the Haitian people can observe three days of mourning and fasting. Haitian musicians cancelled their Carnival performances and instead are raising money for earthquake relief.

It’s amazing how God can use the worst of tragedies to remind us that he is in control. We are confronted with our own helplessness, with our absolute dependence in God’s mercy and compassion. Shortly after the earthquake struck, our own staff reported seeing groups of people openly praying and worshiping God amid the ruins of Port-au-Prince. Though the church buildings were destroyed, the faith of the people remained intact.

As Cross International begins to look forward to Haiti’s long-term recovery, we consider our spiritual focus an integral, rather than peripheral, part of our mission to the poor. The people of Haiti need hope, and our mission partners are there to lead them to the only hope that lasts. Whether we are feeding orphans at the School of the Good Sower, caring for the handicapped at World Harvest Children’s Home, or helping “restavek” children get some time away from the rigors of virtual slavery, we always make sure that the gospel is preached, because that is what changes lives. A meal will sustain a child for a day, and the sturdiest rebuilt house will eventually weather away, but the free gift of salvation in Christ Jesus is what sustains us forever.

This week, Cross staff met with Haitian mission partner Gladys Mecklembourg, who runs the Togetherness in Christ orphanage, to learn how her ministry is coping with the earthquake crisis. Cross supplies the orphanage with weekly deliveries of rice, beans, oil, and other food, and has provided addition funds to help Gladys meet emergency needs.

Togetherness in Christ orphanage is providing space for earthquake victims to stay while receiving post-operative care.

By God’s grace, all the children and staff at the orphanage were unharmed. But Gladys says the kids are afraid to sleep at night because of the aftershocks, and they are worried about relatives they haven’t heard from since the quake. The children will need a lot of counseling to recover emotionally from what has happened.

Gladys told us that four nurses are currently staying at the orphanage to provide post-operative care for medical patients who are being brought in from an overcrowded hospital. Gladys has an on-site clinic, and she has turned the boys’ dormitory into a temporary hospital where amputees and other wounded and ill patients can recover in safety and comfort. The boys have been relocated to other facilities on the 93-acre property. Gladys said there is also possibility of setting up a tent camp on the grounds for the many refugees who have no place to go.

Despite the challenges facing Haiti and our Cross mission partners in the aftermath of the quake, Gladys expressed a positive vision for the future, applying the words of Isaiah 61:3.

“We trust in our heavenly father to raise up a new Haiti, to bestow on us a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. We will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the lord for the displaying of his splendor. This is the word the Lord had given us at Togetherness for Christ, and we believe in this, and we know there will be a change in Haiti. Not only in the structure, but in the heart – the heart of the people…. There is solidarity among us.”

For the latest news on how we are supporting our Cross mission partners in Haiti, visit www.crossinternational.org/relief

Cross Projects Officer Mike Henry helped to hand out emergency aid in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Jacquet.

On Saturday, Cross International took part in another emergency aid distribution. The event was held at a church in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Jacquet. Much of the city remains in ruins since the Jan. 12 earthquake, and those who have not fled to outlying areas are still in need of food and shelter.

The distribution at Bethlehem Church was coordinated by our Cross mission
partner World Concern, to whom we sent an emergency airlift of food, water, sheets, and blankets. During the distribution, Cross and World Concern handed out half of the Cross-sponsored food supply of nutrient-rich meal packets, as well as rice, beans, and tarps, to desperately needy local families who have lost everything: their homes, possessions, livelihoods, and even loved ones.

Today, Cross is on the ground in Haiti working with our partner Arc en Ciel to distribute food to earthquake refugees at internally-displaced persons (IDP) camps. There is so much work still to be done in Haiti, even if the crisis is no longer on the front-page news, and Cross is keeping boots on the ground to help ensure that no needy person is left behind. Click Here to learn how you can support our Cross International disaster relief effort.

The following excerpt recently came to us from our ministry partner, Annie Chikhwaza, founder of Kondanani—a wonderful orphanage in Malawi, one of the world’s poorest countries:

The wonderful environment orphaned children experience at Kondonani stands in stark contrast to the poverty and hunger that surrounds them.

Our children have no idea what “being needy” means, they went into the village and asked the teacher if the mud hut the people live in was a toilet.

We are now giving our children veggies to give to the children in the village to try and give them an understanding that there are children who do not have enough food; they get only one meal a day and do not have enough clothes to wear, so we have to help them.

They always ask us why the village children have holes in their clothes. What is so amazing is that should our children have stayed in the village they would be in the same situation or be dead because of malnutrition.

Thanks to you, our sponsors, our children’s needs are met.

To learn more about Kondanani, click here.