Please read this letter from Vineyard USA…with prayer prompts for Afghanistan and Haiti…as well as insights in how the Vineyard at large is working in those areas. -Kevin

8/20/21

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

I pray this email finds you well. If you are like me, you have been troubled by the tragedies unfolding in Afghanistan and Haiti. The cry of my heart has been to call out for Jesus to have mercy on the people in these countries.

Sometimes I believe that we underestimate the effectiveness of our prayers. We forget or do not take seriously what Paul wrote to the Corinthians concerning his difficulties. 
 

2 Corinthians 1:8-11: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.” 

Our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan and Haiti feel that great pressure. Many are concerned about their lives and their ability to endure. They are relying on God as their only hope. But Paul makes an interesting assertion. He told the Corinthians that they helped him by their prayers.  

Join with me in crying out to God for our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan and Haiti.

• Ask God to reveal the fellowship with Him that is experienced in suffering.  
  Philippians 3:10 

• Ask God to give them the words to speak when they are confronted about their faith. Luke 12:11-12 
• Ask God to provide financially, spiritually, and in every other way for our brothers and sisters. Philippians 4:19 
• Ask God to show our brothers and sisters how they are to respond in their difficulties. Acts 4:23-31 
   
• Ask God to show us what we are to do to help them.  

Concerning Haiti 

Acts 8:1-15 
We are so grateful for the partnership that we have with Convoy of Hope. They are able to quickly respond to natural disasters because of their infrastructure.  

Our Vineyard representative with Convoy of Hope, Brian McClees shared with us: 

• There are already 3 million Meals in Haiti and distribution has begun 
• They also already have 2 containers of tarps in the queue, which will provide shelter for 2000 families 
• There have 2,500 lanterns in the queue and an additional 4 million meals expected to be added to the queue  
• They have established a shipping lane that avoids Port Au Prince and already established “In Country” transportation lanes that avoid gang activity 
• They had 5 programs centers near the epicenter.  They still don’t know how bad they were affected, but structures are likely un-usable in the near future 
• Local Convoy of Hope team members are leading the response 

If you want to help in right away, go to https://convoyofhope.org 

If you would like to know how your church can partner with Convoy, email Bryan McLees, our Vineyard Network Leader at [email protected]. 

A note from our Vineyard Churches in Haiti: 

“Our leaders and churches in Haiti are mobilizing to serve their communities as so many are. Right now, the focus is on getting tarps, food, and water. Leaders in the southern district where the epicenter of earthquake took place are working to assess the need and determine our short term and long-term response. It has been significant that many of our partners and churches are in rural areas as it allows our reach alongside our partners at Convoy to extend into often forgotten areas. The work has begun and is continuing. These churches and leaders continue to persevere as this tragedy comes after back-to-back tragedies. We lift them up and are pushing toward hope.” 

If you desire is to help the men and women who work directly with Vineyard you can contact Jeremy Pleasant ([email protected]), who leads the VUSA Mission Partnership in Haiti. 

Concerning Afghanistan 

We must be very careful with what we say because we could put people’s lives at risk and therefore we are not saying much at this time. If you want to help the men and women who work directly with Vineyard, you can contact [name removed for safety-ask Kevin if interested] and he can give you additional information. 

May God give us the wisdom to know how to join Him as He is at work in these difficult times. 

Bubba Justice
Elgie “Bubba” Justice Jr. CPA (Inactive)
Missions Coordinator and National Coordinator
Vineyard USA