On the trip from Florida to Port-au-Prince, we began to meet some Haitians. Both Linda and Shaun sat  next to Haitians who each shared their own unique perspectives on Haiti and the problems and opportunities here.

We arrived at the PAP airport and found that the whole place was much less busy than it was last year… a huge blessing. Immigration and customs was quick and we also found our driver, Leonard quickly as well.

From the airport, Leonard took us on a short drive to Walls Guest house where we got settled into our rooms. Then it was dinner time – 5pm at Walls. Right after dinner, Pastor Thomas Bernard come to visit us. We spent over an hour talking with Pastor Bernard, getting to know one another. We talked about family, ministry, and life in Haiti and the US. Linda and Pastor Bernard were switching between English, French and Spanish as they spoke to one another.

One exciting thing about staying at a guest house is the fellow travelers you meet. Some are missionaries, others are aid workers, and others are tourists. We met a missionary/aid worker from Canada during dinner who share his perspective on the work in Haiti and how to truly help here.

After dinner we met together and opened up the Bible. We were in Isaiah 49:1-6…one of my personal favorite mission passages. In it, God reminds us that we are his instruments, like polished arrows meant for a purpose that God has determined. At the beginning of a trip like this, we need to remember that we are because God has a purpose for us being here. When He chooses to pull us from the quiver and use us, we will see that purpose. And God will be glorified.

We concluded the evening in prayer and worship.

Tomorrow we worship with the believers at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. We are eager to share in the blessings of worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ as God pours out His Word on us.

Thank you for your continued prayers!

On Saturday, 7 missionaries from Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and Christian School will travel to Haiti! The goal of our trip is to meet with the leaders and members of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and School and to explore opportunities for church to church and school to school partnership. 

I suppose, for many people, the idea of going on an international mission trip is strange. Why go to a place like Haiti? Why go on a mission trip at all. The answer, of course, lies in the Scripture. The book of Acts reminds us that we are called to be witnesses to Jesus, both in our own neighborhoods and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8). The call to mission is God's call. It is the call to make known the name and the love of Jesus in all the world. It is the call to proclaim sins forgiven and to extend the promise of everlasting life. It is the call to bring help and hope to the world.

And this call to mission is essential to the identity of the church. God's people are gathered around His grace and mercy and are called to be lights, shining in the darkness. (John 1:1-5, Matthew 5:13-16). And so, you, Prince of Peace, have sent us to go and make known the name and the love of Jesus in Haiti. We go on your behalf and we go to meet with our partners in Haiti. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Haiti (ELCH) is in full altar-pulpit fellowship with our own church body, the LCMS (Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod). Our hope is to encourage and uplift the Christians there in their continuing efforts to expand God's kingdom in Haiti.

We ask for your prayers and encourage you to download and print out our prayer guide, here: HAITI 2012 PRAYER GUIDE

Please check back here each day from May 26-June 2, 2012 for updates on our trip. Or subscribe to have email updates sent to your inbox each day: SUBSCRIBE

I arrived in Lima on January 31st, it was a blessing, I flew stand by and I was able to get on every flight to get from Dallas to Lima. I spent 3 days in Lima and spent some quality time with a family that I’ve come to know and Prince of Peace has known for many years. The Ausejo family, specifically Cesar, he has been a translator and administrator for mission trips dating back to 2004. I honestly just spent quality time with the people I’ve gotten to know in this country throughout the years and indulged in nice things prior to traveling to the jungle. I went to Starbucks, went to a spa, and ate lunch and dinner with Amber Davies, which was a blessing. Looking back on youth group days at Prince of Peace to the present, missionaries in Peru, and just tried to enjoy the blessings of an international city.

February 4th I arrived in Iquitos, Peru the largest city in the world that is not accessible by road. I was met by the joy of being in a place that God has placed a burden on my heart for, that and a torrential down pour and a lost bag… The work of preparing for the Discipleship Training School that I’m helping lead, along with the children’s ministry I help out with started the day I arrived. For the past month and a half I have been working vigorously on preparation of the school, a Survival Camp I put together three hours deep in the Amazon Jungle, and helping with the street kids’ ministry.

I have been under attack physically since arriving. I first got a stomach bug that lasted 8 days, and on Feb. 23rd I got Dengue Fever. It was the sickest I have ever been in my entire life. I was put in the hospital for 3 days and 2 nights, had a fever as high as around 103, had a headache for 6 days, was dizzy for 5, stomach issues for 4, and every single muscle in my body hurt. BUT, the normal symptoms are that you are bed ridden for a couple of weeks, I was bed ridden for roughly 5 days!!! I believe that all of your prayers worked, and praise God!!! Even the rash that lasts went away way sooner than usual.

One of my responsibilities for the school was to plan and run a Survival Camp in the Amazon Jungle. It was a lot of work before hand, a lot of detail oriented work that the Lord definitely helped me grow in! This past Wednesday morning I headed out three hours into the jungle in a little canoe called a peque-peque to start the prep work of the camp. With the help of some awesome people from the River Ministry here, we were able to build obstacle courses and cut wood for the student’s houses they were going to construct. So the students along with the other staff arrived on Thursday afternoon, the students filed off the boat and we gave them these items – pots, pans, matches, cooking oil, rice, pasta, onion, bread, bananas, a machete, hammer, shovel, nails, bunch of wood, mosquito nets, and a tarp. We took them to their area of land that we prepared for them, told them to build a house that you need to sleep in for two nights, cook lunch, and prepare separate bathrooms; you won’t know when we call you for further instructions! From there we had the students do 23 different obstacle course games, and games that cause the students to collaborate and think. It was rough, it was long, hot, and humid, we got eaten alive by mosquitos and other bugs, it was incredibly muddy, but I know from the bottom of my heart, the work God did in each of the students and staffs hearts was absolutely beautiful and deep.

My prayer requests are for physical health, and more importantly spiritual health. For the Holy Spirit to be guiding all of us on staff for the DTS, for the Holy Spirit to guide the directors and helpers for the street kids’ ministry I’m helping with. And ultimately for all the students in the school, that Godwould just meet them where they are at and that He would bless them in every way He see fit. For everyone I come in contact with, that God will make divine appointments and that lives would be saved. Thank you so much and God bless you all.

Much Love,

George Palmer

During this season of Thankful Hearts, we just wanted to share our heart with you and our sincere appreciation for all you have done to help us in our home mission field at Mission Glen Eagles. We are so very blessed to join in partnership with you to help us reach the harvest of the lost.

In the nearly three years that we have served at this community, we have seen lives changed, families strengthened and people come to know the GRACE in salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ. These blessings have been through the openness of you precious saints as they share with the community around them.

Your donations of furniture, clothes, toys, groceries, school supplies, holiday meals and more have certainly assisted many families with physical needs. However, your willingness to invest in the VBS, resident events, Tree of Hope, Bible donations and Bible studies have had such a spiritual impact on the residents here.

We have seen such a desire for the work of the Lord. People need the Lord and they don’t even realize what is missing in their lives. It is our call and prayer that they can see Jesus in all that we do and say. I know they can truly see God’s hand in the endeavors of your congregation.

With the uncertain economic times, loss of jobs, broken homes and empty lives it is such a blessing to be able to share Christ’s love and hope in a desperate world the way God’s word instructs us to. It has not been an easy road here. We, as home missionaries, have also experienced trials and needs as we continue to serve. We continue to claim Isaiah 61:1-3 as our ministry verse:

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, 
   because the LORD has anointed me 
   to proclaim good news to the poor. 
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, 
   to proclaim freedom for the captives 
   and release from darkness for the prisoners, 
 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor 
   and the day of vengeance of our God, 
to comfort all who mourn, 
  and provide for those who grieve in Zion— 
to bestow on them a crown of beauty 
   instead of ashes, 
the oil of joy 
   instead of mourning, 
and a garment of praise 
   instead of a spirit of despair. 
They will be called oaks of righteousness, 
   a planting of the LORD 
   for the display of his splendor.

Thank you so very much Prince of Peace for loving us and loving the community that God has planted us in. Please continue to pray for us, your home missionaries, as the Lord continues to “grow us” where he has planted us during this season of our lives.

To God be the glory for all the things HE has done!

Serving Him with YOU,

Keith and Lora Lee McMillan
Mission Glen Eagles
Your Home Missionaries