Gearing up for Haiti….
We can hardly believe the last days of July are quickly approaching! Each day we seem to cross one thing off our list while adding yet another. We are overwhelmed yet overwhelmingly excited by all that awaits us. We moved out of our house and our friends moved in on July 3rd. We have been staying with Elisabeth’s sister Erin and brother in law Jesse for the past few weeks. We cannot thank God enough for them and this sweet time out in the country.
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One last walk
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Saying goodbye to our little nieces and sister Eleisha who just moved to TN was hard. Sisters and cousins hugged each other goodbye outside the Chick-fil-A shedding tears as we realized that the girls and our boys will be another year older and that baby Talia might not remember us the next time we see them. We set off from there on Wed. July 20th on a long drive to Taylorville, IL for our last visit with the other side of the family. Eric’s dad has been suffering from cancer these past several months and we are so thankful to have this time with him. We are sad to think that it could be another year before we see them again too. We had hoped that they would be able to visit us in Haiti, but due to treatment schedules and upcoming surgeries this seems unlikely. Please keep our parents Terry and Mona Ream in your prayers as they go through this difficult time. This too makes it harder to leave. Plans for Haiti are coming together as we try our best to configure new information and changes to plans. In the midst of moving, packing, still working full time, finally finishing our 2010 taxes, saying goodbyes and traveling out of state we have been working toward finalizing our paper work with RCE-International to help raise our support for Haiti. RCE (Resourcing Christian Education) International is a unique, service oriented mission organization that serves international Christian schools and Christian education ministries in their mission of providing exceptional educational opportunities with a Biblical foundation and Christian worldview to reach students for Christ.
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As we partner with and assist educational institutions that range from traditional primary and secondary education schools to Christian colleges, seminaries and adult education centers, our goal is to serve them and their staff so that they can excel in the ministries to which God has called them!
All donations made to us through RCE are tax deductible.
Please visit the side bar to the right of this blog for more information on how to make a donation.
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Would you prayerfully consider being a part of our support team? We need support in the following ways. Our biggest need is prayer. We would love for you to be a part of the best support you could give us by partnering with us in prayer. We are also in need of support through one time, and monthly donations to meet our needs in Haiti.
Please pray with us for the following urgent and ongoing needs…
Financial support to be able to purchase airfare tickets for Haiti $3,500
Financial support to ship housing necessities, purchase items in Haiti, and/or friends traveling to Haiti that can help meet this need by taking items for us
Financial support for our daily living expenses and ministry $2,000/month
Eric’s preparation to teach and equip students and pastors in Haiti
Protection over our adoptive girls in Haiti and our adoption process/progress
Protection over our boys through all these transitions
Relationships and opportunities to share Christ
Learning language (Creole and French)
Cultural adaptation
Eric’s upcoming trip to Turkey
Turkey…
There is a reason we titled this blog “Ream Team International”, and that is because we know that while God is opening doors in Haiti, He is opening doors in other parts of the world as well. We want to be ready for every opportunity that presents itself to “go into all the world”! One of the greatest advantages in partnering with Quisqueya Christian School is the time that will be available in the summer months to take these opportunites! We did not think that this would happen this summer, but God had other plans! We thought that we would be in Haiti by August 8th preparing for school to start on August 16th, but now Eric will take a little detour to Turkey August 10th-Sept 2nd and we will head to Haiti as soon as he gets back to Texas. We are so thankful for those at Quisqueya that are also excited about this opportunity and have been so gracious in accomodating us with this extra time.
From Eric…This will be my 2nd trip to Turkey. In 2009 I had the phenomenal opportunity to be a part of a team for this project. I was asked to return to the team even before we knew that we would be moving to Haiti, but we did not think that I would be available to go. God has now provided all the necessary means for me to be able to go and how can we resist?!!! I am not at liberty to give much information at this time concerning the details of what we will be doing in Turkey, but Lord willing we will be able to share in the near future. I was able to build relationships with several Turkish and Kurdish men that were a part of the team two years ago, and I am eager for the opportunity to build upon these relationships. There are four men in particular that I have had the opportunity to share the gospel with and I am extremely thankful for social media that has allowed us to stay in touch these last two years. We are all excited about our reunion this summer. Please pray for safety for our team (Elisabeth’s father and brother will be with me on this trip as well), success for our team, open doors and ongoing discussions with my Turkish and Kurdish friends. Please also keep Elisabeth and our boys in your prayers as we will be apart for three weeks and she will have to finish packing for Haiti while our communication will be very minimal if even possible during this time. We will need to leave for Haiti and hit the ground running within days of my return from Turkey. We will return from IL on Friday July 29th, pack up my office on July 30th, spend our last Sunday at our home church on July 31st, and then we have a week to do way too many things before the Ream Team goes international! We are praying our support for Haiti will miraculously come in during the month of August, and we believe that this is one more reason that God granted us this extra time with the opportunity in Turkey as well. Pray for renewed strength and that we will continue to trust in the promise that “…my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phillippians 4:19). To God be the glory!