Perkins Update

Some of the details are falling into place.

We’re excited to share about this with you! We also want to share an update about our timeline for this summer.

We wanted to try something a little different this time. We hope you enjoy the video!

We’re excited about this new goal and we’re excited to see who the Lord will bring to our team over these next few months.

Prayer Needs

Chikungunya: Have you heard about this yet? This mosquito-borne virus has been spreading rapidly in Haiti over the past couple of weeks. Several of our friends have been infected. Would you pray for the spread of this disease to be slowed and for the quick recovery of those infected? You can learn more about its activity in Haiti here.

Tragic Loss for Quisqueya Chapel: You may have heard about this as the story was picked up by the national news in the US is weekend. This past week a missionary in Haiti named George Knoop who was serving as an elder at the Chapel was killed. George was a sweet man and I enjoyed getting to meet him a few times. He answered the Lord’s calling on his life to serve in Haiti after the earthquake – when he was already in his 70’s. Please pray for the Chapel and for George’s sisters as they grieve his loss.

New Support Goal: Thank you for faithfully praying for our support raising process. Would you pray for our goal of reaching 75% of our support by September 15th? Would you pray specifically for him to bring nine new people to join our team this next month?

“I am not sure what the Lord is doing in my heart, but it is life changing.”

This is an excerpt from my journal in college. I wrote it during my first year at Columbia International University (CIU) right after one of the first chapel services of the semester. The speaker was Dr. George Murray, the president of the school and he had just preached a message called “The Lordship of Jesus Christ and the Great Commission” taken from the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20.

We didn’t know how missions minded CIU was before we arrived. Once we found out, I remember telling God that I would love to support missionaries and do the short-term thing, but I was NOT interested in moving overseas to serve full time.

But Dr. Murray’s message that day impacted me in a new way. I knew if I believed Jesus was who he said he was (I do) then I had to at least be open to going.

Something began to change in my heart.

At the end of Dr. Murray’s message he handed out a response card that said: “Anything, anytime, anywhere.” At the bottom, there was a spot to sign your name. I signed it. Luke did too.

Something in me knew it would be Haiti – and that if it was, something in me knew it would be great.

Fast forward 12 years…

This past month Dr. Murray came to speak at our church here in Dallas. I hadn’t seen him for 7 years and it was great to see him again. Guess what message he preached? Yup – that same Great Commission message!

How ironic that as he was preaching that message and handing out those same response cards, Luke and I were standing at our booth just a few feet away representing our ministry and raising support to go!

God had definitely changed my heart and I am so glad He did!  I cannot wait to see what He has in store for us.

Busy March

We’ve had a very busy month this past month speaking in front of groups large and small about our ministry. We’re thankful for opportunities we’ve had to share both here in Texas and in New Hampshire and we’re excited about the opportunities we have coming up. We appreciate your prayers as we continue to seek opportunities to share.

We’re also thankful for the individuals who have joined our support team this past month! We’re happy to report that we are now at 25% of our support budget.

If you would like to join our team, you can find more information here: perkinsinhaiti.com/give.

If you’d like to keep tabs on our progress, keep checking the thermometer on the sidebar of the site.

Luke in South Carolina

This weekend, I (Luke) will be in Atlanta and Columbia for some DTS recruiting events. If you’re around, I would love to see you and grab coffee, dinner or even just a quick hug! Just reply to this email and let me know.

I’ll be in Atlanta this morning and then I head up to Columbia this afternoon where I’ll be until Tuesday morning.

Prayer Requests

Sharing

We have some great opportunities to share coming up this month. Would you pray that we will be able to present our mission clearly? Also, would you continue to pray for opportunities for us to connect with others who might be interested in learning more about our ministry?

Pregnancy

We’re thankful Becca’s pregnancy continues to go well. Would you continue to pray for her and the baby as she moves further into the third trimester? This is the fun part where tiredness and swelling are constant companions! J

Falonie

Last month we shared about Falonie’s store. We’re so excited to see how well her business has done! Would you pray for her over the next few weeks as she relocates the store to a more optimal location?

Is there something we can be praying about for you? Please let us know in the comments.

I almost choked up when we walked inside. It had been 19 months since I had seen Falonie’s store and when I walked in I couldn’t believe what I saw.

If you don’t remember her story, let me bring you up to speed.

Falonie is a mom who lives in Port-au-Prince, and raises her kids by herself. Before the earthquake, she had a small store she ran as a way to support her family.

Earthquake

When the earthquake hit, in less than a minute she lost everything. Her home and her store both lay in ruins and she had no idea what she would do.

So, like a million other Haitians, she grabbed some sticks and a tarp and made a tent. She lived in that tent with her kids, sleeping on a dirt floor, for over two years.

Two Years Later

When we found out about her story, we knew we had to do something. Thanks to the generosity of Grace Bible Church and Iglesia Bíblica Cristo Viene here in Dallas and Danville Baptist Church in New Hampshire, we were able to.

In July of 2012 we brought a small team from Dallas and NH to Haiti. While working with her, we helped her get set up in a new house and helped her design and set up a new store.

The goal was to set her up for a year, allowing her enough time to make the store profitable so she could continue on her own.

Today

A couple weeks ago, while Paul and I were in Haiti, we visited her store to see how she was doing.

I was blown away. Not only has she made it profitable, but she has grown her business by probably 50%. Now, she is able to feed her kids, send them to school and even get them medical care – without any outside help.

A Platform

Not only that, but you know what she named the store? “Jezi Gran” which means “Jesus is great”. Her goal is not only to make an income, but to use that business as a witness for Christ in her neighborhood.

As Paul, Maxime, Falonie and I held hands and sung “How Great Thou Art” in the store a couple weeks ago, it was hard to choke back the tears. Everything the earthquake took from her, the Lord gave her back (using you to do it) and with it he gave her a platform from which she can tell others about him.

Thank you!

Trip Recap

Paul and I had a great trip this past month! Rather than going into detail here, we’ve posted a short recap (complete with videos and pictures) on the site. You can find it here: perkinsinhaiti.com/trip-recap

Support Update

Thank you for your prayers for us as we continue raising support. Last month we were at 9% and now we’re at 15%. Double digits, baby! For those of you who have begun to support us this month, thank you so much!

If you’re considering joining our support team you can learn more about our goals here:perkinsinhaiti.com/give

Prayer Needs

We have a busy month ahead. As support raising picks up, would you pray with us about a few important things?

Speaking Opportunities: For the next three Sundays, we’ll be speaking about Haiti and missions. Would you pray for these opportunities to go well? Would you also pray for more opportunities for us to share our ministry this spring?

Busy Schedule: We have a lot going on these days! With the demands of support raising, Luke’s job, kids and pregnancy – things can get a little crazy. It’s a good crazy, but it’s crazy just the same. Would you pray specifically for balance for us as we juggle a lot of important responsibilities?

Missions Conference: We’re excited tp be participating in the Missions Conference at Grace Bible Church next week. Would you pray for this conference that it would be a sucess for the church and that Lord would give us good opportunities to share our minstry there?

Our House was filled with the squeals of two little girls who were happy to see their grandparents this weekend.

My parents flew in from NH on Thursday to celebrate Lydia’s first birthday and they’ll be with us until Tuesday morning. My brother Ian also surprised us by coming to town! Grace has been busy reading stories to them and showing Bampie her ballerina moves. We’re having so much fun!

As we move into December, we wanted to take a minute to update you on some important things that have just happened as we continue on this journey to Haiti.

Cleared to the Next Stage

After completing stage one of our PDP’s we have now been cleared to officially begin building a team of financial partners. This team will make it possible for us to be on the field. We’re excited to be moving to this stage of the process.

If we didn’t feel that God had so clearly called us to serve in Haiti, this would feel daunting. But, we are confident that He is leading us in this direction and we are excited to see how He will pull this together!

If you think God may be leading you to join us as a financial partner, we would love to talk to you about that. Just reply to this email so we can connect with you and talk with you about the support goals we have set with Crossworld.

Or, if you’re ready to go – you can click here and learn how to give to support our ministry: perkinsinhaiti.com/give.

New Prayer Cards, New Website

Did you see that web address? We’re excited to be launching a website that will help keep you connected with us as we prepare to go and then as we serve in Haiti.

Keep an eye on the site for updates in between these monthly emails. You can access it here: www.PerkinsInHaiti.com

We’ve also just received a shipment of our first prayer cards!

We want to send one to you along with our Christmas card this year. Would you help us by checking to make sure we have the most accurate address for you? You can do that by clicking here: update contact info

Timeline Update

We now have a portion of our timeline in place as we move closer to transitioning to the field.

Over the next few months, we’ll be working hard to build our team of financial partners. Our goal is to have 75% of our monthly support budget and 50% of our outgoing budget raised by August. Once we get to that stage, we hope to begin our transition out of Dallas so we can return to New England for a few months while we raise the remaining needed support. Then – Haiti!

So, we need your help. Will you pray with us that God will provide the funds we need to meet these goals?

Would you commit to pray once a week specifically for this?

Other Prayer Points for this Month:

Pastor Serleus Simon
We learned this past week that one of the key leaders in the Haitian church, the President of UEBH, was killed. By all accounts, he was a great man who was full of integrity and had served as a great leader for that group of 250 churches. Would you pray for the family of Pastor Simon and for his co-workers as they grieve this loss?

Support Raising Process
We’ll now be looking for places to speak and people to talk with about our ministry. Would you pray that God would provide the right connections for us? If you know of a church or individual that might be interested in having us speak, let us know.

Visit to NH
In a few weeks, we’ll be heading to NH for about a week for Christmas. Time with family is increasingly valuable to us as we prepare to leave the country. Would you pray that we would have good, quality time with family while we’re home?

Merry Christmas!

Luke, Becca, Grace and Lydia

P.S. Don’t forget to update your address so we can get a prayer card to you in the mail: update contact info

“We have about 30 orphans on a roof of a small house. They have been there three days already”.

These words sank deep into my heart as I read them. We were in Haiti for the summer and I (Becca) was preparing my summer lessons in preparation to work with Sherrie at her school. She emailed me to tell me that the next week will be a little different than we discussed.

There had been a lot of rain and a small village in the country had flooded. No one could get in, and few were able to get out. Thankfully the children got off the roof and safely made it to Sherrie’s house.

When they came, they were out of sorts. I didn’t speak the language, and they didn’t know English. I wasn’t sure how to help them. I wanted to be able to speak their language, scoop them up and keep all of them safe forever. I wanted to fix it all.

But I couldn’t.

So after a quick prayer I gathered the other kiddos in my class (they spoke English and Creole) together with the orphans and we just sat in the classroom reading books, talking, and learning about each other.

One of the orphans kept looking in my direction, then turned to one of my students, talked for a minute, and smiled at me. I asked what they were talking about. “He said he is happy and thankful to you for helping him”.

This poor boy has had his world turned upside down, and he was thankful that I gathered everyone together to basically just hang out?

I learned a huge lesson that day. While my “wants” for them were huge, what they needed in that moment was someone to just be with them. God knew and even though I didn’t feel equipped for what I wanted, it turned out I was perfectly equipped for what He wanted.

How exciting to think that serving God doesn’t depend on our skills, but on our ability to follow and listen!

Meeting with President Wawa

Last week the brand new President of STEP, Wadestrant (Wawa) Jean-Baptiste was in Dallas and we were able to meet and talk about where the seminary is now and what some of his plans are for the future.
I asked him what his biggest needs were now and without hesitation, he looked at me and said “Everything.”

Teachers, Facilities, Funds – you name it, they need it.

We’re excited to get down there and get started! But – there is much to do first. We have funds to raise, language skills to develop, etc, etc.

Here’s how you can pray this month as we continue to prepare

Support Development Team: Lord willing, we’ll soon begin gathering a team of people who will provide the funds needed to make this all happen. Would you pray even now, that the Lord would begin pulling that team of people together?

Travel: Thanks for your prayers for us while I (Luke) spent a good chunk of the past couple months traveling for work. As fun as the travel I get to do for DTS is, I’m glad to be home for a bit. Would you thank God with us for successful trips and for the strength He gave Becca to keep things running while I was away?

Reading: This month for our PDP’s we’re reading Dangerous Calling by Paul Tripp and Toxic Charity by Robert Lupton. Would you pray that we’d be open to what we need to learn from these books?

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!

Luke, Becca, Grace and Lydia

You ever have one of those moments when you know you married way out of your league? I had one just last week.

I was standing in front of the stage at Grace Bible Church in Dallas. In front of me was my wife who was speaking to a group of kindergarten through 6^th graders at Grace Academy of Dallas. She was talking about Romans 10:14 and what it means to be a missionary.

We were invited to be the chapel speakers that week and we were sharing about our plans for ministry in Haiti. The plan was that she would start us off, talking about the passage and I would finish with some information about Haiti and our ministry.

As I stood behind her, I watched the faces of the kindergartners in the front row. Their eyes were locked on her. I looked over to the 6^th graders in the back – theirs were too.

The panic started to set in when I realized I had to follow this girl!

As I watched her knock it out of the park, I realized again how cool it is that I get to be on a team with someone as talented as her. Capturing the attention of 200 kids is not my specialty, but for my wife – it’s a piece of cake.

When Becca and I think about the task that lies ahead of us: fundraising, language learning, transitioning, and the work of the ministry itself, we know there is no way we will be successful without the support of a strong team of people who are in this with us.

To that end – for every time you pause in the midst of your day and pray for us, we thank you!

Prayer Requests

Continued Travel:
I’m writing this in the Chicago airport, on my way back to Dallas after a week of recruiting here for DTS. Week after next, I’ll head to California and the week after that I’ll be in Washington, DC.  Continue to pray for us and especially for Becca as she carries the load at home alone while I’m away.

Continued Progress on our PDP’s:
This month will involve some more reading as well as meetings with mentors and coaches. Continue to pray for us that the Lord will use this PDP process to prepare us well for what lies ahead.

Small Group:
One of the cool things we get to do here in Dallas is help lead a small group at our church. We’ve been doing this for a couple of years now and we love this group of people so much. As we jump back into our Fall schedule of regular meetings, pray that we’ll have the wisdom we need to lead this group well.

As always, we love praying for you as well! If anything comes up – please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Excited to be in this with you,

Luke (for Becca, Grace and Lydia)