World
Missionary Press, Inc.
2010 March - Vision Letter
WHEN A POWERFUL EARTHQUAKE hit densely-populated
Port-au-Prince on January 12, markets, houses, hotels, hospitals, schools, the
presidential palace collapsed. Without warning, death struck an estimated
200,000 men, women, and children and left nearly 2 million homeless.
Liz Seese, of A Voice in the
Wilderness, a Georgia-based ministry to Haiti which uses thousands of WMP
Scripture booklets, reported, "After numerous attempts, I reached my
administrative assistant. He was alive and unhurt. However, two of Pastor
Jerome's boys are dead, and two of my boys whom I had grown attached to are
dead.
"Good Shepherd Church and the
compound we built are gone. Thousands of dead bodies lie in city streets. The
devastation is beyond anything anyone can imagine. My heart is crushed."
Later Liz reported, "The only
peace I have is that over the years we have provided a Christian education for
all the children (300 plus) whom we feed each day. If they died, they died with
Jesus in their hearts. If they lived, they live with Jesus in their hearts.
Thanks to World Missionary Press, thousands of Haitians know the Lord and
have gospel booklets to carry with them. For many, this is the only Word
they own and is their most precious item." (Her website is www.sharingjesus.org)
Yvan Pierre of International Christian
Development Mission (ICDM) wrote, "I believe this catastrophic event can
be a turning point and an opportunity to rebuild the nation, both materially and
spiritually."
Into the stream of relief workers and
goods arriving in Haiti came response from World Missionary Press. WMP is
providing Kreyol and French Scripture booklets, Bible study booklets, salvation
coloring books, and New Testaments for free distribution on the streets there,
both to Christians who have lost their Bibles and everything else 
and
to non-Christians who are even more desperate now than they were before the
earthquake.
As many Haitians who have lost
everything are given the printed Word of God in their own language, God's Spirit
will have opportunity to touch hurting hearts and draw them into the
comfort of His love and the hope of His salvation.
Duane Zook of Global Aid Network
said, "In the midst of the tragedy, many are talking about God. Some are
driven toward God because they are looking for hope."
Ron Sparks of Baptist Haiti Mission
reported, "The people don’t see any help coming in from voodoo. They do
see help coming in from Christian organizations and caring people around the
world."
God's
Preparation Ahead of the Tragedy
THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, which shares the island
with Haiti, has opened its doors to refugees from Haiti. God's Word is already
there. Juan Bautista Sanchez, WMP's national coordinator for Dominican
Republic, had surprisingly begun to request Kreyol Scripture booklets in
addition to the Spanish he normally uses. A supply of Kreyol New Testaments
with Psalms as well as thousands of Kreyol Scripture booklets had
already reached him. Now that Haitians are streaming across the border, Juan and
his eager team of workers can share God's Word with them in their own language.
Juan is planning an emergency
operation at four border towns where Haitians are entering the country. The
goal: to place a Kreyol Scripture booklet in the hands of every Haitian
as they receive food. Juan is requesting an
additional 200 10-pound boxes of Kreyol booklets.
Thony Paul, WMP's national
coordinator in Cap Haitien, had requested and received 80 boxes of Kreyol and
French New Testaments and 640 boxes of Kreyol and French Scripture booklets this
past summer. With his son Ebed, Thony is engaging in relief efforts through his Mission
Evangelique du Nord d'Haiti (MENH) and will make good use of literature in
hand in conjunction with their relief efforts.
WMP's coordinator in the Port-au-Prince area, Gladys Mecklembourg, also has a supply of French and Kreyol Scripture booklets available to help give hope to those in despair.
WMP's
Immediate Response
WMP is networking with numerous individuals
and organizations. Through a container initiated by a church in Ossian, Indiana,
a shipment of 2,000 Kreyol New Testaments with Psalms and relief supplies
is on its way to Camp Elim near Port-au-Prince. (The Camp survived the
widespread destruction.) This church also requested 25 boxes of Kreyol
booklets as well as 2,500 Kreyol New Testaments from our next printing.
From boxes of Kreyol and French
Scripture booklets available in inventory, World Missionary Press sent an
immediate one-pallet shipment (240 10-pound boxes) to Gary Phillips at Hope
and Encouragement for Humanity (HEH). A number of boxes from WMP is
accompanying his first container carrying 42,000 pounds of bagged corn, beans,
and bleach. Gary will divide this first pallet of booklets among the next four
containers he sends. (See his website at www.h-e-h.org)
Gary is sending containers to Mission
of Hope Haiti, an established ministry reported on by NBC. (Please go to WMP's
website
We are using the balance of the Kreyol
and some of the French in inventory to respond to requests we are receiving from
individuals and groups planning missions of mercy, such as Wesley Smith of
Full Life Crusade, who will be leading teams to Haiti in months to come.
As I was writing this, a pastor from
New Hampshire called to request "as much gospel literature" as we
could provide, for a container of food, clothing, and construction materials
scheduled to leave in three weeks.
Brittan E. from Branson, Missouri,
emailed: "I am a Christian ministry graduate student. I spent my past
summer in
Haiti using your booklets to talk with people about the gospel. I saw their
faces light up and hope wash over their faces as they received their
"ti Bib po oui" [little Bible for you]. I am returning to Haiti
shortly due to the recent tragedy. I would love the honor of taking more
of your publications with me to distribute.
Andy D. emailed from New Jersey,
"Our church is taking a team of 40 people to Haiti March 13-19 to
help distribute supplies. Do you have Kreyol [Scripture booklets] that you could
donate?" Our response, praise God, was "YES!"
Emergency
Printings for Haiti
THE AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY (ABS) has in the
past granted us permission to use the Kreyol translation of the Bible. We
scheduled an initial "immediate" printing based on permission already
in hand to print 513,800 Scripture booklets (The Way to God, Help From Above,
and Satan versus CHRIST) as well as 425,000 copies of A Bible
Study on Matthew.
We are now approaching the Haitian
Bible Society to grant permission to print an additional three million Kreyol
Scriptures in various titles as well as 75,000 Kreyol New Testaments and Psalms
for this emergency.
Please pray for strength and
direction as well as financial enablement to print and send this
hope-bearing literature on its way. You can help provide for this emergency
printing for Haiti. We are able to produce and ship 25 booklets for every
dollar donated. (This includes costs of overhead.) Our Kreyol New Testaments
with Psalms and a Bible Study Supplement have a sturdy vinyl cover and cost
about $1.44 each to produce.
May we respond to Haiti's great physical and
spiritual needs in ways that truly count for the long-term.
Your friend in Christ,
Jay
E. Benson
President
P.S. Your generous investment in God's Word for
Haiti at this time will have eternal impact. You will provide
long-term hope by providing people with comfort of soul and assurance of
eternal life as they put their trust in Him. You can provide 20 Kreyol New
Testaments and Psalms for a donation of $28.80 or 75 New Testaments for $108.
$100 can provide 48-page Kreyol Scripture booklets for 2,500 people.
See response form enclosed or go to www.wmpress.org/donateonline.shtml
to help on-line.
HAITI
UPDATE
Calls continue to come in from teams going to Haiti, requesting literature in
Kreyol and French. Some have told us that they cannot find Kreyol Scripture
materials anywhere else.
Thony Paul, WMP's coordinator in North Haiti, is involved in trucking food,
medicines, and clothing to Port-au-Prince and bringing people back to the north.
See http://ew-interknit.org/content/help+Haiti
for updates on his blog. He says, "The greatest need they have
now is the thirst of the word of the Lord. You remember the price our Lord paid
for our salvation. We ask all our brothers and sisters to pay the same price to
put a New Testament in the hand of a Haitian."
Urgent
prayer request:
The American Bible Society can no longer grant permission to use Kreyol
Scriptures. PRAY that our request to the Haitian Bible Society for copyright
agreements will find favor and be expedited in spite of the chaotic conditions.
Praise God that Magda Victor, Executive Director, is safe and their facilities
were spared in the earthquake. Their former building was leveled.
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