Posts

Posted on

Around the world in 30 days … from TX to Turkey to TX to Haiti! Gearing up for the wild ride and what we need to get there!

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. 
One last walk
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. 
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.
 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!

Posted on

Keepin’ Up with the Joneses

Old House

New House

Old Yard

New Yard

Haitian Upgrade

Thank you Meadth family for the pics of the whole house! Not too scary huh? There’s a reason I didn’t post pics of the inside. Except for the potty. Thought you should know that we shall be spoiled by indoor plumbing. Let’s just say my brain is in decorator heaven. I am determined that this will be home sweet home! This is Elisabeth talking…in case you were thinking Eric and the boys care about curtains. That is…if we can find a way to get our stuff to Haiti. We thought we would be able to send a bunch of stuff with our friend traveling to FL last week that was shipping a load to her school in Haiti. I spent two days space bagging and packing all we would be able to fit on top of the mini van. Then tragedy struck (tragic to decor land anyways). The company our friend rented the van from didn’t have one available with a top rack (for us to secure our top carrier with all our stuff in it). Boo. Hoo. From that moment on I have noticed every mini van on the road. I notice very few that do not have racks on the top. Gotta. Get. Past. This. Soooo…what to do now? We have no idea. Pa gen anyen. Thats “nada” in Creole. We have no time left to drive our stuff to FL ourselves so that it can be shipped to Haiti. This is the only way we know to get it there. Unless a few friends want to tag along on the plane? If you are someone traveling to Haiti in the near future, would you consider taking some stuff for us? Any ideas welcome!

Posted on

The Support Letter

“And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
 Mark 16:15


Fifteen years ago God used a statistic that moved me to begin thinking globally…and physically moved me around the globe. It stated that in America we have 98% of full time trained youth workers…but only 2% of the world’s youth. This statistic has continued to play over and over in my mind and has been one of the single most personally motivating things God has used to get me where I am today.

I was encouraged (perhaps by some of you reading this) to follow God’s leading back in 1997 to go to Fiji and teach in a Bible College with many nations represented. It was there that the Lord grew my love for His world, and my desire to adequately handle His Word of truth. God used my time in Fiji to direct me to graduate school at Dallas Theological Seminary where I became better equipped to study God’s Word, live it, and to teach it. 

God has used many relationships made around the world to strengthen our passion of making Christ known among the nations. We believe God has been preparing me for many years to come alongside pastors who have had no access to formal training as we seek to “make disciples” together for His glory.

Today God has moved, not only my heart, but the hearts of my family as well. We are all ready to join Him in what He is doing and what He will accomplish in and through us as we seek to serve Him in Haiti.

We believe God is going to continue to transform the nation of Haiti and we are excited to be a part of His sovereign plan. The Ream family will be moving to Haiti in late July or very early August.  I will be teaching at Quisqueya Christian School located in the capital city of Port au Prince. The vision and mission of the school is “to prepare and equip students with the necessary academic and spiritual training that prepares them to impact their world for the glory of God”.
The student body is 85% Haitian.  Many of the political, and commercial leaders of Haiti send their students to this school (not necessarily because it is Christian, but for the excellent academic standing and because classes are taught in English).  I will be teaching Bible and church history and have the privilege of joining in the mission that began at Quisqueya 37 years ago. As the Lord grants opportunities to influence the future leaders of Haiti with the knowledge and wisdom found in His Word, we pray that they will rise up boldly declaring the gospel and passionately pursue the call to “defend the cause of the poor and oppressed” in Haiti. 

In addition to teaching Haiti’s future leaders, I will also have the privilege of influencing today’s leaders.  I will be working with native pastors and will be a part of training and equipping pastors for ministry. 

We are excited about the opportunities that God has brought to us.  We are looking forward to joining Him in Haiti…but we cannot do it without you!  Will you partner with us in prayer and support? We need people to be praying with us and for us.  We need people to give financially to help us go. We need people to come and serve in Haiti.  We need you to pray and ask God how He would like for you to be involved. We are trusting that He already has partners in ministry ready and waiting because He always provides for what He calls us to do. 

Until the whole world hears,
Eric Ream

*If you would like more informaiton about our journey to Haiti, go to the page links at the top of this blog (under the big pic). We have included more specific details there.