Welcome to the Christmas season! Here at Agape and in our home, the calandar is filling up quickly with fun holiday festivities and fun as well as a very busy season at work. A very large increase in cargo occurs every year at Christmas as the missionaries are trying to get their gifts delivered on time. Aircraft maintenance issues are slowing the process down a bit but we are praying to have everything fixed soon and back in the air.
This month in Haiti, the cholera outbreak struck with vengeance. What began with just a few cases here and there is now an epidemic. Over the past month, our missionaries reported going from seeing just a few patients with cholera to hundreds of patients in their clinics and schools. The number of affected is rising and the ability to control the disease is limited. Over the border in the Dominican Republic cases are popping up as well.
Here at Agape, we are doing our best to help load up the missionaries with supplies to help treat those affected and support their efforts to save lives. When we received the first call for help, the Agape staff jumped into action to gather all the supplies requested. Lance and the Agape staff gathered up 40 cases of IVs of ringers lactate to send on the next day’s flight. It was not easy to work our way through the medical channels to obtain the supplies but God made a way and the supplies were in the hangar by evening of that day.
Our efforts to help are not stopping there. After spending time researching a more affordable way to send IV’s, Lance found from several experts that we could make ORS (oral rehydration solution) kits to send over for much less money but with equal effectiveness to the IVs. The IVs weigh quite a bit and are cumbersome to send via plane, where as the ORS are packed in Ziploc snack size bags and are sent in cases of 100. Each ORS is added to safe water and replicates the ringers lactate IV. Our first batch of 1000 ORS were made last week and the plans to make more this week are in the works. The missionaries are very excited for this help and are requesting more ORS than we have available. We will continue to make and send the ORS as long as there is a request from the missionaries.
We are committed to helping the missionaries and the people of Haiti and DR through this crisis. We hope you will continue to pray for the people of Haiti and the DR, as well as pray for the missionaries. Fear and unrest is breaking out as fast at the cholera. We pray that God will use the missionaries we serve to bring the love of Christ and the peace that comes from Him alone to these fearful and hurting people. Please pray for an end of this outbreak and breakthroughs for Christ through the storm. Also pray for wisdom for us to know the best ways to help.
Here are our praises and prayer requests for the month...
*Praise the Father for a wonderful trip to Missouri and Iowa last month. We had a very refreshing time of fellowship with the Parkview church missions conference and Altar of Praise church. It was also a huge blessing to spend time with Grampa Dale. This time was exactly what we needed.
*Praise God for wonderful friends who hosted us at their homes during our trip. It was an incredible blessing to have a place to call “home” while we were on the road. Thank you, God, for the Drums, Espys and Damewoods.
*Praise the Lord for the availability of the supplies needed in Haiti for the cholera outbreak. Only through His provision were the supplies found and delivered in one day. Also praise Him for all the guidance of how to develop a better way to produce the necessary materials.
*Praise the Lord for the healing for Katelyn. She is doing remarkably well. She and her family will be returning to Haiti in December.
*Please pray Agape’s staff as the busy season of Christmas is here. We have a huge increase in cargo and demands. Pray for focus and strength to complete what God is calling us to do.
*Please pray the people of Haiti and Dominican Republic. Cholera is causing fear and unrest in several areas. Please pray that God will provide peace and healing to the people of these nations.
*Please pray for Agape’s search for a new Executive Director. We need guidance to find the person God has ordained for the position and not settle for anything but God’s divinely appointed person.
Thank you for lifting our prayers to the Most High. We hope you all have a great Christmas and enjoy celebrating the birth of the Mighty King.
Living victoriously in Christ,
The Anderson ministry team
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