A Look Back at 2010

This year has been a year full of excitement and challenges for the Nelson family. One of the many highlights of 2010 was Heather graduating from Azusa Pacific University with her Master’s in Marriage Family Therapy. She worked hard for 2 ½ years and completed over 150 hours of therapy with a variety of different clients. She will eventually work toward getting her 3,000 hours required to become a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. For now she is just enjoying spending time and home and working on being a mommy (more on that below).

Evan has been very busy this year including a relief trip to Haiti in March, enjoying a babymoon  (one last vacation without kids) to Vegas with Heather in May, and putting on a Halloween outreach event for over 5,000 kids and families in October. He is enjoying his job of working with over 600 first through sixth graders every weekend with a team of amazing people. He’s excited to see where God leads in 2011.

Perhaps the biggest gift of 2010 came on October 15^th with the birth of our first baby, Jeremiah Scott Nelson. Our little 7 lb 13 oz buddle of joy has been the biggest blessing and is continually making us smile every day. He has grown over three inches and three pounds and has begun to smile and develop his own personality. We are so thankful God has entrusted us with this little boy and pray we will be great parents for him.

We are so excited to see what God has planned for 2011 as we continue to follow His path for our lives. We are thankful for friends and family who have loved and supported us through 2010, especially during the adjustment of our first baby. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Evan, Heather, and Jeremiah

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an informal (and belated) birth announcement

Jeremiah 1:5 reads, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

Evan and Heather are pround to announce the newest addition to the Nelson (and therfore Lubatti, Gifford, and Bates) clan:

Jeremiah Scott Nelson

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Born on October 15, 2010 at 1:58am. He weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces and was 19 inches long.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, " 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

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Just One Piece

It has been two months since my trip to Haiti.
As I continue to process what I experienced, it is hard to not feel some sense of hopelessness. A New York Times article from today said a common phrase among Haitians is "Aba Preval" (Down with Preval). Rene Preval is the president of Haiti. The Haitians, according to the NYT article, feel that the government is not doing enough, not acting quickly enough to help the people who are in desperate need. Millions of aid dollars were pledged and donated, but to the Haitians on the street and living in tents, little evidence backs those numbers.

Yet, with all the desperation and hopelessness, there is some hope. Many pieces to the complex puzzle of recovery and rebuilding of the nation of Haiti are nowhere to be found. But one piece, just one piece, is already in place.

Our Haiti Recovery Team trip in March helped to strengthen relationships and in-country contacts for future teams that go from Calvary Community Church. Our team also helped to establish a medical clinic in Lamoth. We passed out food and invested in next-generation leaders. There is a lot to do, but our piece to the puzzle is in place. The next team that goes will connect their piece, and the team after that...

Here is a video of what our team took part in:

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Ten Things... borrowed

Perry Noble is the senior pastor of NewSpring Church in South Carolina. The following is a post from his blog (you can find his blog at www.perrynoble.com). It's a great reminder of what we, as Christians, are called to do and be.

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Ten Things Jesus Did Not Say!

Jesus made it pretty clear in John 13:34-35 as to how the world would know we are His disciples…notice He did NOT say, “They will know you are my disciples…

#1 – By the way you forward really stupid, ridiculous emails to one another…and if you refuse to forward them to everyone you have in your contact list then you don’t love me.

#2 – By the way you yell at people who don’t know me for living as if they don’t know me.

#3 – By your T-shirts and bumper stickers!

#4 – By the music you listen to!

#5 – By the political party you support.

#6 – By the denomination you belong to.

#7 – By the way you protest.

#8 – By the products and companies you boycott.

#9 – By the way you look down on those whom you perceive aren’t as good as you.

#10 – By the way you take from one another!

Nope…John 13:34-35 is clear, Jesus didn’t mix His Words…we are called to live this out.

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slideshow and post-trip thoughts

I have been back in the US for a few days now and am still adjusting to the climate/time difference, as well as being back at work. Those are physical adjustments.

The emotional adjustments seem more difficult. Part of me is still in Haiti. God gave me a love and passion for the Haitians far greater than I could have imagined. I have two main thoughts now:

1. There is so much work that needs to be done, so many people to feed and house, so much rubble to clear, so many questions and problems... I am, in a word, overwhelmed.

2. How and when can I get back to Haiti.

That's where I am at in the post-trip process.

If you're interested in seeing a slideshow of what we we saw and did, here it is:

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Leo Gane

Leo Gane (pronounced lay-o gone) was practically just that. It was nearest to the epicenter and was completely devistated. We met with a group of 26 pastors and almost all of their churches were completely flattened. One pastor talked about losing his son in the quake. Another told of a young girl in his church who lost her leg. And another... And another... The stories in Leo Gane were tragic and sad and vert personal.

Yet, in spite of all that, these pastors had hope. Hope in Christ. Hope in their church. And hope for the future of Haiti.

After meeting with them, I too have that hope! (see Isaiah 40:30-31 to read more about this hope)

Evan
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Stories from Lamoth

We spent the last two days in the mountain village of Lamoth. Here are a few stories:

A group of us prayed (in Creole and English) for a little girl who had some sort of neurological disorder. The mom was touched and we all felt God moving in that moment.

A kid, maybe 16, told me that his house burned down in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. He and his family lost everything. He wanted to know if I had any clothes that I could leave with him for his family. His name is Smith ("Smeeth"). Don't worry, he will get some clothes... But his family have a long way to go!

We worked with a team of Haitians to provide food, medical and other supplies. One guy that I connected with was a 32 year old translator named Raymond. He has such a heart for the Haitian people. He's helping us, Julio, as well as an orphanage, plus an organization based in Texas. (He spoke Creole, French, English, and Spanish).

I handed out stickers and candy and frisbees to kids. I don't speak much Creole, but we had a blast! I smiled and laughed with those kids while their parents waited or food.

I got to drive one truck back down the mountain to our base camp. It was all bumpy, dirty, crowded, up-and-downhill ride ever! The guy that was my co-pilot didn't speak English, so that made it a little tougher.

At the end of our time in Lamoth, we had a combined Haitian/American team meeting. One of the Haitian guys thanke us for coming, serving and loving the Haitian people. He concluded by thanking us and saying, "we have nothing to give you except love."

In two short days we gave food to over 600 people and gave medical treatment to 300 more. God is moving and using us here mightily. Pray for Our last three days in country as we continue to do His work. And pray for Haiti as there is so much left to do here!

Love you all! Working for the immediate and eternal in Haiti,

Evan
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In Country!

We are finally in Haiti!

Our experience has already been incredible!

Flying over the island and on our approach, we could see collapsed buildings and tent cities. We landed in Port-Au-Prince right in between two military transport planes. The devastation was apparent. The main airport building was still intact, but unsafe. We deboarded put plane and took a shuttle down the Tarmac to a former warehouse that was converted to an immigration, baggage check, and customs center. It was organized chaos in there.

Going through customs was a little bit of a snag, but we got almost everything through. After that, we had to leave the airport to load all our stuff into vehicles. There were hundreds of people just outside the airport gates. Pastor Julio and some of his friend met us there to help. In the midst of military, police, aid workers, and Haitians, we were able to load all our stuff into a flatbed delivery truck. The rest of our team piled in a couple vehicles and got driving. I sat in the bed of a pickup for the fifteen minute drive from the airport to pastor Julio's house. (Did I mention that it is HOT and HUMID here? 'Cause it is!)

While driving through the city and suburbs, we saw tent communities, U.N. compounds, and lots of severely damaged and/or completely leveled. The news doesn't do it justice.

Once we got to the house (gated compound actually), we unloaded all our stuff, got a tour, and hydrated! Then we got to work: we set up our tents and sorted through massive amounts of medical supplies and hand out stuff (bibles, coloring books, school supplies, blankets, toiletries, candy, toys and more).

Okay... Enough about the tasks for a minute. I'd like to tell you about the Haitian people. I can't really put it into words, but I'll try. They're amazing. Some people just seem broken and beaten, but the majority of the people seem... Joyful! They are helpful and friendly. I've only been able to spend a few moments with Haitians, but I can't wait to get out tomorrow morning and be with them again!

How about our team? Our medical team is Kathy(mom to me), Janie and Maryann. They have been tirelessly sorting medical supplies and discussing what the clinic(s) will look like. Chandra, our logistics leader, is on top of everything! The rest of our team (Vicki, Butch, Billy, Sean, Stuart, Neil, Lance, Steve, Dan, Rob, myself) have been doing manual labor most of the day. As a team we work hard and work well together. We have fun an laugh and joke and kid each other. We're all excited about what God is doing through our team.

It's now 7:15 pm (should be 8:15, but they don't do daylight savings time) and we're hanging out and talking. Our trip leaders (Chandra, Steve, Dan, and Julio) are making and confirming plans for the week.

That's it for now. Too many thoughts going through this head. Thanks for praying and supporting me and this team. I love you guys!

Making an immediate and eternal impact on the people of Haiti!

Evan
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Boarding for Haiti

9:11 AM local time (6:11 PDT)... Getting ready to board the plane. We've been up for a long time already. We've checked our supplies (31 fifty-pound boxes) and we're carrying on personal stuff. We already have 250 tents and more supplies in country ahead of us. Pray for our safety and sanity as we try and get all of our stuff from the airport to our site.

Our team is great and the trip has gone really well so far. I'll try and get an update out tomorrow sometime. Love you all and thanks for praying as we go to Haiti! 

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Haiti - Leaving Tomorrow!

My team leaves for Haiti tomorrow morning. While we're gone pray that God would use us and that we would be effective in changing the lives of the Haitians we will come into contact with! Also, pray for our safety and health.

While on my trip, I'm going to try and update my blog two or three times. You can read it at twoapugrads.blogspot.com or nelsons.posterous.com

There will also be links posted on facebook and Twitter.

Thanks for the prayers and support!

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Haiti Relief- It's all about the People

When we think of Haiti, out thoughts go to the death, injury, homeless, hungry; in short, to the suffering and physical issues brought about by their calamity. As we prepare to send a mission team there this week, it is important that we spend time praying and thinking about the “human” objectives of the mission – the spiritual, emotional, psychological healing that needs to take place in Haiti.

Pastor Kirk DeWitt sent a note the other day to remind us of the importance of working with the people of Haiti.  In the note, he forwarded a commentary apparently by someone in Haiti. While I don’t know the author of the commentary, I’m going to quote from it:

Jesus didn't just come to earth and dump a bunch of stuff on us.
He spent time among us.  Every day.
He took on our lives in every way.
He taught us.
He showed us life.

Our first Haiti Relief mission was packed with people involvement – from Jolie Pfahler saving the life of a little boy because she cared enough to check on him, to David de Vos praying with an old man alone in a hospital who later died, perhaps with a degree of comfort because David took the time to care.  There are many such stories from our first Haiti Relief mission.  As our team performed their tasks – all with a physical focus – they also found time to help the people in more important ways.

When he returned from Haiti, Ian Armstrong commented about the US military presence in Haiti.  They went in to restore order and maintain safety.  They did that, but as Dr. Armstrong said, they did it with a smile and a helping hand.

Quoting again from the commentary that Pastor Kirk forwarded:

I don't see much CONTACT being made with the actual Haitian people.

Work is getting done, rubble is being cleared.
But why are not more people joining in with the actual Haitian people?
Taking on their lives.  Spending time at their homes.
We can give them a bunch of "stuff".....but really, does that help in the long run??

All the aid that is coming in to Haiti is amazing.  It really is.
But it can't stop there.

The author did not see our first mission team; he could not have.  He probably won’t see our next mission team either, but that doesn’t matter.  What is important is that all of us – those on the ground in Haiti and here at home – not lose sight of the people, because in end, as the author points out, that is what it is all about.

Pray for our team that leaves this week; pray for them in the physical tasks they will undertake; and pray for them that when they engage with the people, they help the needs that go beyond the physical.

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Leaving in 8 Days

In eight short days, our team of 14 will be flying out of LAX and heading to the suburbs of Port au Prince, Haiti. While we're there, I'm not sure how much internet access we'll have, but I will try and post at least one or two updates on this blog.

In the meantime, I am still trying to raise financial support. There are two ways you can support me:

1) donate money directly to our trip 

2) buy raffle tickets ($20 each). We're raffling off a $1,500 vacation package good to any of the over 5,800 RCI resorts worldwide of your choosing!

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Haiti

As you know, on January 12th, the small island nation of Haiti became the focus of world attention when it was rocked by a deadly 7.0 earthquake. Since then, our hearts have been broken as we see the pain, suffering and death taking place. As of February 12th, an estimated three million people were affected by the quake; the Haitian Government reports that between 217,000 and 230,000 people had been identified as dead, an estimated 300,000 injured, and an estimated 1,000,000 homeless. The death toll is expected to rise. They also estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged.

I am joining a team of 14 people who will be traveling to Haiti from March 20th to March 27th to help the people of this nation, which is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. This team is part of strategic partnership between the church I grew up at, Calvary Community Church, and two other organizations, Christian Associates International and Hope Outreach International, to try to help improve the lives of the Haitian people, working in partnership with the Haitian people and their local churches. Calvary already had one medical team go down in January and do amazing things!

Our March team will be personally delivering and distributing thousands of pounds of food, hundreds of tents and other shelter items, as well as providing medical treatment and psychological and spiritual support to the Haitian people. We will also be working on the planning and building of a water reservoir project which will deliver clean water to a community of 15,000 people who are walking over a mile to get dirty water from a ravine. We will also be working to further develop a long-term strategy for our ongoing involvement in Haiti as rebuilding and restoration occur in the coming months and years.

We need your help to bring together the resources needed to effectively provide relief to the Haitian people involved in this tragedy. Here are some ways where we need your help:

PRAYERS AND THOUGHTS: We ask that you hold our team in your thoughts and prayers while we are on the ground. We also ask that you continue to hold the Haitian people and all of the people involved in relief efforts for the Haitian people in your thoughts and prayers, for all to find strength in this time of tremendous need.

FUNDING TO COVER THE TRIP COSTS FOR THE TEAM: The estimated total cost for the transportation and other trip costs for the team is about $1,500 per person, for a total of $21,000. All of the team members are donating our time and given talents to make this trip a reality. We are paying as much as we can out of our own pockets. However, we are not able to cover the total cost of the trip for the whole team without outside support.

We realize that these are tough times for everyone, and appreciate whatever support you can give us, whether financial or otherwise. Many contributions of smaller amounts can ultimately provide the needed resources. Checks can be made payable to "Calvary Community Church." PLEASE BE SURE to notate "Account 720-Team 2" on the memo line for donations to the Team's trip costs or notate "Account 720-Tents" on the memo line for tents and relief supplies, so that your donation is properly credited. Please do not put my name on the check, or the IRS will get cranky with all of us! You can mail a check to me directly at 16530 Manchester Street, Victorville, CA 92394, or mail it to Calvary Community Church at 5495 Via Rocas, Westlake Village, CA 91362. If you prefer to use a credit card, you can call Calvary at 818-991-8040 and ask for Kathy Sanchez.

Thanks for considering this opportunity to make a difference for the people of Haiti!

AMPED

Starting in June of 2009, our Children's Ministry team decided to do quarterly events to encourage our church families to invite their oikos to church. Oikos - greek for household (for more info click here)

On January 30-31, 2010, we held our first AMPED weekend of the year. The theme was Winter Olympics. We brought in 10 tons of snow and had each grade compete for the gold medal. Here's the video from our "Opening Ceremonies," as well as some highlights.



The event was fun. The snow was cool. Our volunteers were great. But the best part about the weekend was the God moved and our families responded to the challenge of bringing their oikos to church. We saw our numbers go from 650 on a normal weekend to 977 kids in elementary alone! We also saw 146 kids who had never been to our church before! Not only that, but our adult attendance numbers were noticeably up as well.

If you helped make AMPED happen this weekend, THANK YOU! God so badly wants to reach our oikos and our HDC families are getting it. They are changing their worlds for Christ!

Thanks to the HDC custodians, maintenance workers and facilities crew for allowing us to destroy some grass, clog vacuums, and create a mess of fake snow. Thanks to our families for responding to the challenge of inviting oikos families to church. Thanks to all our volunteers who spent time with kids this weekend, cheered for them and encouraged them in their olympic feats. Thanks to our coordinating team. Without you, we would not have been able to do this. Thanks to Debbie and Kati for running games and services, for directing volunteers, and for making sure everything went smoothly. Thanks to Todd and Jeff who not only provided oversight and vision for the event, but also got their hands dirty (literally) and did whatever needed to be done. Thanks to Sara for organizing and planning, and then adapting and changing those plans and ideas.

I love serving with all of you and look forward to our next AMPED weekend! If you are wondering, the next AMPED weekend is May 22nd and 23rd... mark your calendars now!