Cross International has some great news to report from the field. Last year, we worked with one of our mission partners, Mission Evangelique Baptiste Du Su D’Haiti (MEBSH) to support 29 schools for restavek children in Haiti. Restaveks, or children working as indentured servants for their host family, are routinely denied the opportunity to attend school. These specialized schools teach them how to read, write, and do arithmetic, skills they would likely never learn otherwise.

Restavek students like this receive the education they need at MEBSH schools throughout Haiti.

And starting this fall, Cross will fund 10 additional MEBSH restavek schools! That means we’ll reach even more than the 864 restavek children we currently support through the classes and feeding programs we fund at each school.

Why is going to school so important for restaveks? Because they are Haiti’s ignored children, a segment of the population no one wants to talk about. More than 300,000 children, most of them girls, are restaveks (from the French rester avec which means “stay with”). Their parents, too poor to feed their children, send them to live with families in better economic situations with the hope that their children will have a better life and an education. But that’s rarely the case.

Restaveks are usually forced to work hard, and they are sometimes physically and sexually abused. And their host families often deny them the opportunity to attend school. Without an education, these children are doomed to be poor like their parents because they won’t have the skills to get jobs as adults. Even worse, these children grow up thinking they aren’t worthy of an education like the other children they see going to and from school every day.

That’s why it’s critical that restaveks get an education: to keep them out of poverty and to teach them that they are just as capable, smart, and worthy of an education as other children. MEBSH and Cross are working together through these grassroots-level schools to help restavek children value themselves and get an education. It’s just one way we can spread the Gospel message of Jesus in Matthew 18:5, when he spoke of humble children: “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

Click here to read about the restavek schools and feeding programs Cross supports in Haiti. Help us welcome the children in the name of Jesus!

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!

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.

First the good news: ten African countries are only half as poor as they were two decades ago.

Young children in sub-Saharan Africa face an uphill battle for survival against poverty, hunger, and infectious diseases.

Now the bad news: child mortality rates have actually gone up, rather than down, in six sub-Saharan nations. Sub-Saharan Africa holds the unfortunate distinction of being the only region in the world that has seen an increase in the mortality rate of children under age 5. That’s according to the U.N. Millennium Development Goals Report Card released on Tuesday.

What makes this report particularly relevant to us at Cross International is that most of our work in Africa is in the sub-Saharan region. One of the six countries listed in the child-mortality report is Zambia, where Cross is providing food and education for impoverished children, home-based care for the chronically ill, and safe, accessible water for remote villages.

Waterborne illnesses and other infectious diseases are leading causes of child deaths in Zambia, while HIV remains a major threat, directly and indirectly, to the health of children. In many cases, lives can be saved by simple improvements in home sanitation and by educating HIV-infected mothers to bottle-feed their infants. Good nutrition and alternative water sources also play a big role, and children must be kept in school because they are the producers of tomorrow’s wealth, which will in turn provide the food, medical care, and healthier way of life that Zambia needs. Cross is promoting all these developments through partnerships with local Christian ministries that understand Zambia’s struggles and know how to make a difference, one family at a time, one village at a time.

This week, Cross was visited by the resource manager of a Christian orphanage we have been working with to provide earthquake relief and recovery in Haiti. Nathalie Amyotte shared a personal story that painted a vivid picture of Haitian poverty and the life-saving work of the orphanage.

Jamesley (center) and two of his brothers getting a physical at a Cross-supported orphanage.

One night, as Nathalie was getting something to eat, she saw children on the street begging for food. They were calling to her by name – “Madame Nathalie! Madame Nathalie!” – because she often helped the children in town. But this time, something was different.

“There was one child who was apart from them and he wasn’t begging and he wasn’t asking for anything,” Nathalie said. The boy was holding a plate of old chicken bones, and she realized he had collected them because he had nothing else to eat. Suddenly, another child bumped into the plate and knocked it over, scattering the bones across the ground. The boy raised his voice and cried as if grief-stricken.

“His cry will stay with me my whole life. It haunts me. Because his little chicken bones had been thrown to the ground and that is the only meal he was going to have that day,” Nathalie said. “I went to see him because I heard this cry. He was trying to wipe the dirt off his little chicken bones. And I said, ‘No, no – let’s go eat.’”

After feeding the boy, whose name was Jamesley, Nathalie visited his home. She learned that his mother was pregnant with her eighth child and about to get kicked out of her home. That very day, the orphanage gave the family money for food, paid for a year’s rent so they wouldn’t get kicked out, and agreed to take in Jamesley and one of his brothers. Now the boys are going to school and eating three meals a day.

The immediacy of the response is typical of this southern Haitian orphanage that has done so much to help the needy in the aftermath of the January earthquake, whether by taking in new children, sending food to displaced families, or even working with a local hospital. We are proud to support this great ministry as it spreads Christ’s love to the poorest of the poor!

It was obvious to Charity’s parents that something was wrong. All babies cry, but not like this. Charity was crying all the time and seemed to be in severe pain, so they took her to the doctor. The diagnosis turned out to be a common one among poor Zambian families: tuberculosis, often the first warning sign of an HIV infection.

Charity, 2, suffers from tuberculosis.

Charity’s father also has tuberculosis and has tested positive for HIV. He is a bricklayer, but lacks formal employment and is unable to earn a steady income. The local health clinic has provided free medications, but without the proper nutrition, the drugs are ineffective. The family of six relies on a diet almost exclusively of mealie meal – a starch-heavy African food – and sometimes only has enough to eat once a day.

Charity’s siblings are surviving on one meal a day.

The good news is that Charity and her family no longer have to struggle alone, thanks to a local group of Christians who provide home-based care for the chronically ill. Volunteers travel from house to house, giving food to the sick, praying with them, building relationships, and sharing the gospel, while helping the families overcome the sense of shame imposed on them by their society.

Cross has partnered with the home-based care program so that chronically ill children like Charity can receive the care and support they need. With your help, we can alleviate their suffering and empower them to live their lives to the fullest.

Sixteen-year-old Christopher’s village doesn’t just border the city dump – it has become an extension of it.

Cross International is providing an education for Christopher, 16, so he can work his way out of poverty.

While many poor Zambian families grow small gardens in their yards, Christopher’s neighbors fill theirs with garbage, which they dig through for expired food and recyclable goods. The smell attracts flies that seem to be better-fed than the children playing barefoot amid the filth, their tattered clothes caked with dirt. Instead of getting an education, they stay home and help their parents scavenge through the trash, because at school they will be hungry, but there’s food to find at the dump site. This is the only life they know, and the only life they even know to hope for.

The same used to be true for Christopher, whose widowed, unemployed mother has no money to pay for school fees for him or his three siblings. But with help from a local Christian ministry supported by Cross International, Christopher is setting a higher standard for the children in his village by going to school, studying hard, and dreaming big. He is now in 7th grade, his best subjects are math and science, and he says that when he graduates, he wants to become a judge! Two of Christopher’s siblings are also now in school, and the hope is that their example will motivate the neighbors to begin to break the cycle of poverty.

In addition to school fees, the sponsored children receive health care, monthly food rations, and home visits from the ministry. This holistic approach addresses the many aspects of poverty: physical, economic, psychological, and also spiritual. Click here to learn more about this life-changing project that is bringing Christ’s love to the poorest of the poor.

Anyone watching the stock market in the past few days knows what a volatile place the financial world is these days. The same is true in politics and world events. In less than a year, a crisis in Turkey has sent shock waves through the entire European Union, and analysts expect a bigger “storm” to come.

Because we are designed by God (unlike the fallible things we create), our closeness to God offers us a unique opportunity to find shelter in this broken world

It is pretty clear that humanity’s faith in financial, political, and international leaders is being challenged — and rightly so. Frankly, these people, nations, and practices have always been fallible because they have been human at their core.  They are as susceptible to the influences of sin as we are ourselves.

In the midst of this turmoil, a friend of mine has just announced a miraculous event — the birth of his daughter.  He shared his joy with me, and sent along pictures of the beautiful girl he and his wife named “Maia.”  He pointed out that the name, unbeknownst to him when it was chosen, means “close to God” in Hebrew.

Considering the condition of the world, I smiled at the irony of that.  Given how traumatic, dangerous, and unpredictable the world is these days, this newborn child reminds us that we should all remain very “close to God.” Because we are designed by God (unlike the fallible things we create), our closeness to God offers us a unique opportunity to find shelter in this broken world and to be enveloped in his perfection, purpose, and peace.

As a Christian charity, we believe it is important to carry this belief into the mission field too.  We approach the poor with the knowledge that they can find refuge from their plight by drawing closer to God. We share this important truth with them, and we work with local churches and pastors to play a role in that ministry too.

This world will never be perfect while sinful humans taint its economy, politics and culture, but we can thank God that all is not lost as long as our Lord stands ready to empower and guide us. That is as true for baby Maia as it is for you, me, and those we minister to overseas. As our Lord expressed it in Matthew 7:24:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

May we all remember this powerful promise as the man-made storms rage overhead!

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.