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••  •  • ••  • •  • •  •••      October, 2017      ••  • ••  • •  ▪▪  •••  •  •  

And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.  Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.  And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.  
Mark 10:13-16


<<Salutation>>

            We are now back in warm and sunny Haiti.  As we hear and see pictures of the first snow back in northwest Iowa, it seems so foreign to us with our current weather.  Part of us wishes we could enjoy the changes of the season…Enjoy its beauty!

A Look into our Lives

          Our Growing Family

          We had a special time back home with special life events that are now part of our new chapter in life.  Aside from church visits and family get-togethers, we had two very special celebrations. The first, of course, happened back in September with the arrival of a new grandson.  In October we added a new daughter to our family by marriage, welcome Mandie!  Jonathan and Mandie’s wedding almost went without any unique memorable experiences until Zachery broke his right ankle at the bachelor party the night before the wedding…don’t ask!

          Fortunately, Zachery could delay surgery, get a medical release from the ER orthopedic doctor in Lansing’s Sparrow Hospital, and use crutches to “stand” in Jonathan and Mandie’s wedding, as he was a best man in the wedding party.  Three days after the wedding, Zachery had surgery in Iowa, and is well on his way to a complete recovery.  Keep Zachery, Olivia, and family in your prayers as they deal with this challenging set of circumstances.

 



           Update on Hurricane Matthew Recovery:

            We have recently passed the one year anniversary of Hurricane Matthew.  A Cat 4 hurricane that passed right through western Haiti, and left a wake of destruction in its path. Of course that’s old news considering all the hurricane activity in the last three months in the U.S. People who have never experienced such a catastrophe really have a hard time understanding the scope of destruction, and level of difficulty there is to recovery.  We have watched with a greater understanding of why Puerto Rico is struggling and how there seems to be a lot of criticism for the length of time it takes to restore power, distribute food, and restore a sense of normalcy to life on the Caribbean island. 

            In Haiti, we are witnessing road blocks and demonstrations, by the general public, because many are still without electricity.  Imagine, a full year!  Of course, we are talking about a poverty-stricken country, but recovery takes time, especially on an island!  

            Well, what are some of the things we see that show a sense of recovery and promise.  The people are so resilient.  They have emerged with a greater resolve and purpose.  While many continue to rebuild their homes, and repair their roofs, they have returned to life as usual. The Haitian people are so good about adjusting to their changing circumstances and functioning in a survival mode.  Agriculturally, there is huge and exciting improvement.  The trees are starting to bear fruit once again.  Last week we witnessed bread fruit getting picked for the first time from trees that had been topped by the winds of the hurricane.  Plantain and bananas are now back into full production and yielding fruit.  Those who live a sustenance lifestyle are beginning to breathe a sigh of relief as sustenance is finally in full swing. That, of course, doesn’t mean that life will be a bed of roses but certainly an improvement from the challenges over the past year.

               One of the things Laborers With Christ is doing is reaching out more and more to our own community.  This year, with help from Haitian friends, we are implementing a scholarship program for needy families to help keep their children in school.  Right in our own “back yard” we have a very high level of need.  As part of the sponsorship, we have a couple of willing teachers, one who has been very helpful in distributing food locally, come on Saturday mornings and all the kids are required to come to our compound and have a children’s Bible study.  This past Saturday we had a group of 30 kids in our front yard.  This is something they enjoy doing, and we see it as a good way to share about Jesus Christ.


           New Faces in Haiti:

 Earlier this year, some of you are aware of the addition of new missionaries that have joined us in the work in Haiti.  Between both of our coming and goings we have not been able to spend all that much time together.  Chris and Michelle and their two boys, Elias and Gabriel, first arrived in July, then left and returned due to a wedding, and then we left in August. 

            Their partnership has been a blessing as Catherine has been teaching Monday night bibles studies for the girls since January, 2014.  We have gone home and returned through the years with no problems to come back to that reserved spot.  We knew going home this last time would be a longer extension of time, so we arranged for the Rasmussen's to fill that spot, because the daily time slots for activities keep filling in. 

            We are so thankful to the Rasmussen's who are so willing to help out where they can, as well as adjusting into their own ministry.  It has been a joy to have extra hands in-country, and we look forward to serving together for the people of Haiti.

Nudging's

 

          Child-like Faith

            Jesus tells us in the gospel of Mark, “…whoever will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child, he will in no way enter into it."” The Gospel of Luke almost echo’s this verbatim.  

            So, what does that mean?  Are we supposed to grumble, cry, complain, and throw temper tantrums when we don’t get what we want from God when we ask for it?  If we look around, it sure would seem that way sometimes.  However, obviously it’s pertaining to our disposition to have a simple faith trusting God to be who He says He is, and accepting Him on those terms.  Man has a knack for complicating things, we are almost gifted, in a bad sense, with the ability to take something that is simple, and misconstrue it, and make things more complicated.  The Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary says this in reference to the passage, “…receive the Kingdom of God like a little child…”, “that is, receive the
benefits of it with humility and thankfulness, not pretending to merit them as the Pharisee did, but gladly owning himself indebted to free grace for them, as the publican did; unless a man be brought to this self-denying frame he shall in no wise enter into that kingdom. They must receive the kingdom of God as children, receive their estates by descent and inheritance, not by purchase, and call it their Father's gift.”  

             So, it really comes down to recognizing the amazing things God in Jesus did on our behalf and simply yielding and trusting in Him.  A visual example can be taken from when Les plays with the grand-kids.  They love to stand on stairs or a piece of furniture and jump into his arms.  It’s fun to watch their simple trust.  They aren’t thinking what happens if grandpa won’t catch me?  They aren’t thinking about the distance they can fall.  They don’t have a clue about gravity, or an understanding how it works.  They just know that if they jump, grandpa will catch them.  That’s how it should be with Jesus Christ.  For unbelievers, you can’t be too bad or have too much sin.  You are not capable of digging a spiritual deficit that can’t be filled in by the grace and mercy of God. You may have heard of this famous quote:  “There is no pit so deep, that God's love is not deeper still.” ― Corrie ten Boom. Jesus died for all of that…just trust him…jump.  For believers, don’t lose sight of Jesus in the circumstances or “giants” that begin to complicate the gift you have received in Christ and the love He has for us.  Don’t let your knowledge of the problems and facts and details diminish the fact that we serve a miraculous God.  Don’t get caught up in the trap of thinking you have to be good enough, or do enough stuff to be worthy.  Quit complicating things!!  Just simply trust, and jump.    

One Starfish at a time

 

           Angelita:

            Angelita is one of four widows currently living at the James 1:27 Center.  There is a lot about her that is a mystery.  We know very little about her background, she is up there in years, but just how old is another mystery.  Some of the widows here have no clue what their ages are; birth certificates were very rare for the poorer general population years back, and the idea of even celebrating a birthday is strange to them when life is so difficult. Many times, they associate their birth with the current president of the time they were born. 

            Angelita is in her late 80’s or early 90’s.  She still walks to the well and uses her gallon jug to collect drinking water.  She has her own flower and vegetable garden and prefers to prepare her own food, although meals are prepared for her. Her hearing and eyesight are not so good, but she comes to church every Sunday. We noticed once as she entered church that she was using a Hanes men’s underwear, complete with picture, plastic bag as a purse.  Her life is very simple, and she lives with very little.  While we were home, we had a few purses given to us for Haiti, and Angelita came to mind.  The picture shows her with her new purse.  We hope she knows how special she is to us and that many people around her love her dearly.

Nutritional Nuggets ~ Natures Pharmacy

                ABC's of Vitamins and minerals

 
 

TOP 10 Diseases Part 1 of 10:  Heart Matters. 633,842

TOP 10 Diseases Part 2 of 10: Cancer Wars. 595,930

TOP 10 Diseases Part 3 of 10: You Take My Breath Away 155,041



 

          "Accidents Happen"

 
Unintentional Accidents - by their very natures, accidents are unintentional, but there are many ways to reduce the risk of accidental death and injury.  Motor Vehicle Crashes are on the rise due to opioids (pain killer addiction as well as a couple of other predictable and preventable causes.
 
OCTOBER 26, 2017, Trump declared opioid crisis a public health emergency.

A Big Pharma billionaire was arrested and charged with conspiracy and bribery of doctors.

We only have one life to live.  Your best life can be now.  Here's how:  find recipes and ingredients analyzed for nutrient quality - all specific to help relieve you of pain.

                                                             

                                                 Find relief that is right for you the natural way. 


Please click here to read more about the steps that you can do to begin your best life now on Catherine’s Genesis Health blog.  



Catherine’s Genesis Health blog:
         

              This is a growing EPIDEMIC!

                         


     Please comment if the information is helpful, inspirational,
or if you have tried 
any of the recipes and which ones you liked.




    Revisit past Nutrition Nuggets about Natures Pharmacy regarding the benefits of individual fruits and vegetables.  If you are interested in learning more about improving your health, please visit and follow Genesis Health today.

 

“Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.” Hippocrates
Promoting a lifestyle of preventative care!
 
WELLNESS PRINCIPAL:  Health comes from within.  You cannot buy it in a bottle.

          Please visit Catherine’s Pinterest boards by clicking this link:  Catherine's Place.   There, you will find a variety of healthy sources, natural solutions, recipes, God's Creation, and SO MUCH MORE.  Grab yourself a healthy snackmake yourself comfortable, and take time to browse the wealth of information and be not only inspired but uplifted.

Prayer & Praise 

 

Praise the Lord for safe travel back to Haiti!

Please pray the widows and Babies at the James 1:27 Center.
Praise the Lord for a fun time of wedding celebration in Michigan with Jonathan and Mandie.
Please pray for the neighborhood outreach program as we reach out to the children in our local area.
Please pray for our heath, safety, and protection as we serve.
Praise the Lord for faithful friends who are willing to pray for us!
Please pray for the country of Haiti, and its on-going recovery from the hurricanes.
Please pray for a quick recovery for Zachery's foot.


Thanks for your wonderful support in so many ways!.

 Trusting and jumping,

Les & Catherine

   Ministry (U.S.)                               Les & Catherine DeRoos

                                          Laborers With Christ                                      c/o Agape Flights CAY 26466
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Laborers With Christ On-Line Donations

 

     Just click on this link: Love gift to Laborers With Christ You can also visit us at laborerswithchrist.org and go to our Financial Support page. Thank you so much for your willingness to partner with us in ministry.

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