From Missions Team Director, Shannon Sawatsky:We are here! The whole team is here and things are getting rolling. Today we had the opportunity to bless a Christian school in the area with tons of yard work, repairs, and general clean up. Then this evening we hit the neighbourhoods to begin the survey process.The weather has been fabulous and we have groups from California, South Carolina, Iowa, Ohio, us, and Surrey. It’s been great seeing people we haven’t seen in a while and meeting people that have had connections with Grace for many years. I actually met someone from South Carolina that knew my old pastor from Maine! Go figure!Tomorrow we have more training, surveying and helping at the Salvation Army. You can keep track of us on this web site www.canadianadventure.org.Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. I’ll keep you posted.Shannon
Current facts and statistics: Some power, communication, and water systems are still down, but open lines remain unreliable. According to the Haitian Prime Minister, 100,000 casualties of the earthquake are expected. The Haitian President is projecting a more conservative number of 30,000 to 50,000. Three million people have been left homeless. Eighty percent of structures have collapsed. As of 7 a.m. Friday, the Port-au-Prince airport is fully operational. The ports remain closed due to collapsed cranes and debris. Armed looters are scavenging the city.
Thanks to some diligent work from Marcos Casadei, we have a new tool online for promoting and communicating items going on at the Grace Centre. This will also serve as a portal for groups outside our church community who are looking for space to rent or a place to hold other community service activities: check out www.grace-centre.ca
I saw this video today and thought it was awesome! It’s a story of a woman who was being robbed and as she prayed for the would-be assailant, the whole situation changed. Check it out >> CLICK HERE
I recently began reading this new book (A Million Miles…) by one of my favorite authors, Donald Miller. It is another “memoir” or look into his life, primarily stemming from the experience of making one of his former memoirs (Blue Like Jazz) into a film.
Here’s how Miller starts the book:
IF YOU WATCHED a movie about a guy who wanted a Volvo and worked for years to get it, you wouldn’t cry at the end when he drove off the lot, testing the windshield wipers. You wouldn’t tell your friends you saw a beautiful movie or go home and put a record on to think about the story you’d seen. The truth is, you wouldn’t remember that movie a week later, except you’d feel robbed and wanted your money back. Nobody cries at the end of a movie about a guy who wants a Volvo.
But we spend years actually living those stories, and expect our lives to feel meaningful. Truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won’t make a story meaningful, it won’t make a life meaningful either. Here’s what I mean by that:
