Our Mission Is Possible

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	September 2008 Haiti and the Dominican Republic are in the news again. Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna have pummeled the island with punishing amounts of wind and rain, with tropical storms Ike and Josephine not far behind. Today (Sept 3), I spoke with Mission Possible's Haiti Spiritual Director, Pastor Herve Pierre, and he reports much devastation. Here is one example: Pastor Herve had called one of his friends, a pastor, and found out the friend has been flooded out of his home. He and his wife and children have been sitting on top of their roof for two days, in the wind and rain, with no food or shelter. There are no boats or helicopters for rescue. Apparently the only link they have is their cellphone which is miraculously still working. God only knows how many homes have been destroyed, how many gardens ruined, and how many lives lost. Mission Possible is in the process of putting together a relief effort. Pastor Herve wants the Mission Possible churches to be able to help the community members who are most affected. To contribute online, click on the Online Donations button on the homepage. Please continue to pray for our friends, staff, teachers, and students in Haiti. Kurt Bishop, President ____________________________________________________________________________ August 2008 Time is running out. Like the sands of an hourglass, time is marching steadily forward. In Haiti and the Dominican Republic, time can run out before anyone expects. We regularly receive reports of our students who are killed after being run over by cars, after a wall of their house falls on them, after they get sick, or for other circumstances that would be extremely rare in North America. One of our Kindergarten students went missing after traveling a long distance on his own. The little boy’s body was found fifteen days later, with a broken head, after he had wandered into a river. Time ended too fast for that boy. Jesus is coming back. Will it be soon, or 100 years from now? We don’t know for sure, but we know our time to minister on this earth grows shorter every hour. We need to plan as if we’ll continue working for another 100 years, but with an urgency as if our time will run out tomorrow. Students need educated, children need fed, and leaders need trained. People need to learn about Jesus; they need a Savior that brings hope. Thank you for partnering with us to meet these needs before time runs out. Yours and His, Kurt Bishop, President ____________________________________________________________________________ July 2008 We are pleased to introduce Yvrose Gena Gedon who has recently been hired as the school nurse for Mission Possible’s six schools in Haiti. As a qualified nurse, she is treating problems the students commonly suffer from, including malnutrition, various skin diseases, and injuries. She also administers de-worming parasite medicine to all the students. In this picture she is standing beside one of the medicine cabinets each school has received. We are currently raising funds for her salary and to equip her with sufficient medicines and supplies. Our main focus is on the education and training of future leaders. The health of the students is an important component of that, and your contributions help make it all possible. Thank you for the sacrifice you make to give to this ministry. Yours and His, Kurt Bishop President ____________________________________________________________________________ June 2008 You may have seen the recent news reports about the food riots in Haiti. Many Haitian towns have experienced social unrest as people protest the rising costs of food. Roadblocks were erected, tires burned, the Presidential palace was stormed, many were injured and killed, businesses shut down, the national schools were closed, and tap-taps (public taxi transportation) didn’t run. Thankfully there is no harm to report about our schools, students, or staff. In recent months food prices have risen 25-50%. The reasons are many. The Haitian government has restricted importation of chickens and eggs. More global corn is being diverted to ethanol instead of food. The Indians and Chinese are getting a taste for beef which turns crop land into cattle graze. Major rice producing countries are prohibiting exports of rice so they can feed their own citizens. The fuel to transport food costs more. Added together, these factors have resulted in a worldwide shortage of food, and the end of this shortage is not apparent. We truly live in a global economy. Mission Possible currently has food for the schools and we are able to order more as needed. Of course, we are paying the higher rates just like everyone else. Please pray with us that as time goes on we will receive the needed contributions and continue to be able to purchase food for the students who are the most at-risk. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --Food Crisis Update-- People have been asking how the food crisis is affecting Mission Possible. Prices for the school lunches for the students continue to rise. While these increases have been a big inconvenience to us in North America, they hit the average Haitian and Dominican family much harder because the majority of their income goes for daily food. This makes our school feeding program even more critical. Although future costs are impossible to know in these unpredictable times, we are expecting (and planning for) a $60,000 increase next year in our cost of feeding approximately 2,400 students each school day. Thanks to God, and the generous gifts of many of our supporters, we have raised over $51,000 towards this so far. Be assured we are committed to continue feeding these children. Appeals are being made to supporters, foundations, churches, and Vacation Bible Schools, and God’s people are responding to this critical need.