Staying Here for the Long Haul

Hey all,
We have some pretty interesting news. It seems as though we will be ingrained in the community of Pahokee for the long term. While the homeless are prevalent in almost all Florida cities, the poverty is stunning here (in the 'Glades), and as I just learned in the Glades Area ministerial meeting this morning, there is a prediction of an influx of about 40,000 Haitian immigrants to the area, which will only add to the already huge unemployment numbers. The harvest is upon us, and we are in need of your support more than ever. We already have a mission team ready to deploy here to help repair roofs (damaged from the last hurricane). However, there is no money here to finance it. Even some of the local churches need help from outside sources just to survive and minister effectively. I met with the directer of New Hope Ministries just moments ago, and he said a lot of the churches come to him for aid in their outreach ministries. Four Disciples Mission is developing ideas to help the community, and has already made itself available to any organization as volunteers. I will be organizing a meal for the community to reach out to show the love of Christ, and make ourselves known. We have met with pastors, the current mayor, and even had the opportunity to meet the mayor's opponent (there is an election in March). It's been a week of trying to get through the doors of every church possible, convincing them to hear my vision of all the churches in this area (now up to 25 in Pahokee alone) reaching out daily and consistently to help revive the community, and hopefully have an impact on the souls of the people as we serve. We believe that God has put us here for long-term ministry. So Carol and I have decided to purchase a home here. We are blessed to be able to use the money from the sale of our townhouse in New Jersey, and with some outside financial help we will purchase the house outright. This will help us to be able to live here and at the same time concentrate on our ministry. We knew if we put ourselves at the feet of our Lord that He would guide us to where He can best use us and we are confident that it is here in the Pahokee area.
I know this is coming as a surprise for some of you, but if there is one thing we've learning over the last year on the road, it's that our plan is rarely God's plan! Our plan was to probably move to a third world country. God's plan was to move us to a place in America that is just as poor and hurting. We are doing in the Pahokee area exactly the same thing we had planned to do in Central America - become a part of the community and do whatever possible to show the love of Christ to a poor and hurting part of the world. As usual, we ask for your prayers for our family as we enter this newest chapter of our life together.

Peace through Grace,
Doug & Family