Jason Laird (in the video) is so right. Amplified 2010 is going to be amazing. Christine Caine, Matthew Barnett, and Press Play – in the same place! If you’re a student in the Baton Rouge area or if you can get to the Baton Rouge area next week, you need to be in on this.

Here’s where to register or get more info:
epic.healingplacechurch.org

WANT SOME? ha ha ha.

“A man wants to be called out.” I remember hearing these words as Coach Bill McCartney said them to me 10 years ago talking about ministering to men. They are are words I will never forget. I truly believe men who are seeking to be authentic, adventurous, aspiring, and accountable do want to be challenged and called out to be what God made them to be! The devil will control a man who hides or cowers himself into isolation when challenged or confronted. So, men, in 2010 decide to hear, accept, and step into being “called out.” Be all God designed you to be and begin to truly make great the “others” in your life. He is calling you out, my fellow man, and so am I.

I want to invite you to meet me Tuesday night at the Highland Campus of Healing Place Church at 7:00 p.m. It’s going to be a night for men only, with (of course) food, a ton of great connections with other called-out men, and I’ll be speaking a challenge as well.

Say “Yes” to the call-out!

Thanks for being a part of bringing hope to Haiti.

But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.

-Psalm 39:7

I’m standing in Port-au-Prince, Haiti as I write this – watching people’s faces. It really seems like there is a depletion of hope here. My prayer is for hope to be restored to these people.

And really, no matter what your situation is, that’s my prayer for you. Hold on to hope like crazy. Every day, something or someone is going to try to rip it away from you, and what you’re left with is empty living, hollow, shallow and a very bleak outlook.

I think that’s why the Bible tells us 54 times to put our hope in God, in His Word, in His grace. I want to encourage you today to immerse yourself in hope and stay in that place where everything you see you see through the eyes of hope.

My heart breaks for these precious people in Port-au-Prince; tragedy on top of extreme poverty. And what I’m sensing that could be the greatest devastation of all is the loss of hope. Please continue to pray for Haiti. And make sure you’re soaking yourself in hope in the Lord. Only His hope can carry you through.

• Setting up a community water filter where 20,000 displaced people are currently living.
• 10 tons of staple food, such as rice and beans, have been purchased for orphanages.
• Six cargo flights have gone into Haiti with the following supplies:
- 842 rolls of plastic
- 2,200 solar flashlights
- 9,900 blankets
- 2,880 hygiene kits
- 12 community water filters
- 13 pallets of medical supplies
- 113,520 water purification packets

You may not be able to physically go to Haiti, but you have been able to be a part of this and so much more by partnering with great ministries like Samaritans Purse, Joyce Meyer Ministries and Love a Child.

After an intense week in Haiti, Mike Haman made it home late last night, but Johnny Green (@johnnygreen) and Adam Braud (@mastinero) are just arriving in the Dominican Republic to meet up with the rest of the team on the ground. Be sure to follow Dr. Craig Greene and the medical team on Twitter at @thegreeneteam, to receive the very latest updates and needs.

Let’s continue to pray that the people of Haiti would get the help they need as quickly as possible and that the love of Jesus be displayed through it all!

If you are in the Baton Rouge area, it’s not too late to drop off Haiti relief medical supplies! Get the full list of supplies at healingplacechurch.org/haiti. This is a picture of the semi-truck trailer that has been parked at the front of HPC property since Thursday. This truck will be filled with medical supplies that people have graciously donated to be sent to the hurting people of Haiti. We are partnering with an incredible ministry, Love a Child, to get the supplies into Haiti and to put them to immediate use.

We also received word today that our very own HPC pastor, Mike Haman, has made it into Port-au-Prince, Haiti! After a few days of being grounded in Miami and finally getting into Haiti through the Dominican Republic, he and Charles Young brought 40 gallons of fresh water and diesel fuel to an orphanage that desperately needed it today. Mike will be in Port-au-Prince assessing the needs and finding out how me can be most effective as a church.

Don’t forget, tomorrow night at 7:00pm CST, we will be having a global prayer meeting for Haiti. We would love for you to join in at any Healing Place Campus or online as so many incredible churches from here in Baton Rouge and around the world join together for a focused time of prayer.

Check back for more updates, because the work has just begun and we are in this for the long term!

Be sure to join us this Monday at 7:00pm at HPC’s Highland Campus and streaming online, for a special time of prayer for Haiti. Hundreds of churches from all over the globe will be participating as we join with Awakening to pray for the hurting people and relief workers in Haiti. Help us spread the word! It is going to be a powerful time that you and your family will not want to miss!

Here’s what we’d like to invite you to do with us:

1. Join Churches Across the World on Monday Night in Prayer For Haiti – Together with Pastor Stovall Weems and Awakening we are making a call for churches everywhere to pray this Monday night for Haiti. We encourage you to invite your church to pray. Open the doors of your church and ask your people to come and pray specifically for Haiti.

At Healing Place Church this Monday, January 18 at 7:00 p.m. CST, we’ll host an evening of special prayer for Haiti at our Highland Campus in Baton Rouge, LA. We’ll also stream this event live online here. We encourage you to help spread the word and join in from wherever you are.

If you’re on twitter, please use the hashtag #pray4Haiti to help spread the word.

2. Engage the Immediate Needs by Giving – There are two main ways you can give to help the relief effort in Haiti.

Give financially.
You can give online at http://healingplacechurch.org/haiti or by giving directly to our partners, Samaritan’s Purse and Joyce Meyer Ministries.

Give relief supplies.
If you’re in the Baton Rouge area, you can bring relief supplies (listed below) to:

Healing Place Church Highland Campus
19202 Highland Road in Baton Rouge.
Items will be collected now through Monday, January 18
6:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.

For those outside the Baton Rouge area, you can send mail your donated items to:

Love A Child
Attn: Mike Essman- Haiti Earthquake Medical Donation
9304 Camden Field Parkway
Riverview, FL 33578-0520

We are blessed to have tremendous relationships with ministries that have a long history on the ground in Haiti as well as a wealth of experience in large-scale crisis response. It is through these partnerships that we are able to engage the need in Haiti. Serving together with these ministries in our own experiences of natural disasters and tragedies, we have learned to value their integrity and wisdom very much in these situations. That gives us great confidence that you can trust that what you give will be stewarded well to help the people of Haiti.

3. Prepare for Future Recovery and Rebuilding – These problems Haiti is facing will not go away in just a couple weeks, so we are committed to serving Haiti long-term. We are already beginning to adjust our missions plans for 2010; working in plans to send teams to Haiti to help with the recovery effort. The immediate emergency situation in Haiti doesn’t present an opportunity for us to put teams on the ground to serve. But in 60-90 days, there will be tremendous opportunity for teams to serve in Haiti. Please begin praying, and if you feel it is something God wants you to do, begin preparing to serve on a missions team in Haiti sometime in the next few months. Here’s a look at some of projects we intend to send teams for:

Construction and clean-up
Children’s ministry
Pastoral counseling
Medical care
Cooking and feeding

We have some great relationships with people who have friends and connections on the ground in Haiti. We will be connecting with them in planning our missions trips. Pastors, we want to encourage you to do the same as you plan your own missions trips in these coming months. For example, we’ll be connecting with Celebrate Jesus Haiti – a group that cares for 600-1,000 orphans each day. This ministry is led by the mother of our friend Bill Scheer, pastor of Guts Church in Tulsa, OK.

It is moments like these that the body of Christ must work together to engage the need. What better way to communicate the love of our Savior than to respond with hope when people are hurting? And together, we can make a huge difference in this tragic situation.

Thank you for caring, and for putting that care into action. If you would like further information, please feel free to email Mike Haman or call 225-753-2273.

LIST OF ITEMS NEEDED

IMPORTANT: If you’re sending large quantities of supplies, they need to be palletized and shrink-wrapped for shipping, with an inventory of items included. Personal donations of smaller quantities can be dropped off in person or mailed directly to Love A Child.

Medications:
(These items can be purchased over the counter at any local drug store)
Aspirin
Tylenol
Motrin
Children’s and adult multi-vitamin
Benadryl
Neosporin or triple antibiotic
Oral re-hydration salts
Cough medications

Medical Supplies:
(These items can be purchased over the counter at any local drug store)
Ace bandages
Alcohol pads
Band-aids
Betadine wipes and sticks
Drapes
Gauzes – any size
Gloves – all sizes, sterile/non-sterile
Gowns –surgical and patient (head and shoe covers, goggles, masks)
Pediatric supplies
Tape – all types
Thermometers

Other:
(These items can be purchased through a doctor or physicians’ office)
Zantac
Hypertension medications
Blood pressure medications
Blades – sterile only
Needles – butterfly, angio catheter
Compression stockings
Dressings – sterile and un-sterile (Coban, Tegaderm, Steri-Strip, Surgilast)
IV supplies – tubing in sterile packages only
Scalpels
Sponges – surgical only (includes X-ray detectable)
Surgical towels – cloth/paper
Sutures
Syringes
Tongue depressors

Love A Child
Attn: Mike Essman- Haiti Earthquake Medical Donation
9304 Camden Field Parkway