Hey friends!

So much has happened this week during "staff training" and I only wish I could share it all with you! 

We have 26 crazy for God staff members age 19-45 living together here in a house called Bel Vil.  We live in a nice area of Port-Au-Prince and are learning so much about Haitians!

Sean, our school leader arrived Saturday evening and on Sunday all the staff broke into groups and went out into different parts of Port-Au-Prince in search of "hope." Our assignment was to ask locals what the physical and spiritual needs are in Haiti (using the Creole we are trying to learn). Also to observe the hope that can be seen if you look for it. I will link those testimonies of hope here soon!

Monday and Tues we spent working hard in training and getting the school ready! We have one building here with 5 rooms (2 smaller rooms in a side building) that all 60-70 people will be living in together when the students arrive! It is going to be crazy with roughly 15-20 people per room - but it's also going to be amazing! Wednesday the Lord really led and all morning we spent in His thick presence as we worshiped the Father, anointed the four corners of the property. Sean anointed each of us and we him, praying for a heavier anointing of the spiritual gifts. This team is so gifted and incredible, each one of us is very special and different - yet I can't imagine a better team! Yesterday and today we went through more training, working on preparations, and are really focusing on praying for the students by name. For those of you headed here soon - we are SO EXCITED to spend the next 5 months with you! 

On Sunday we will again break into groups, having received the word in Matthew (10:6-15) where Jesus send out the disciples telling them to, "go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold nor silver nor copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics nor sandals nor a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town." 

We felt the Lord lead us to going on a "faith journey"to the corners of the nation. Many groups will not be taking anything but water and sunscreen with them, forfeiting our "safety comfort" of money, contacts, food, and the promise of a bed to sleep on.  It sounds crazy but we are so confident that it is what the Lord wishes us to do - it is seen as a complete joy as our faith and belief in His provision is expanded in our hearts. 

The way all of us are growing and uniting so quickly astounds me and I am so thrilled that each one of these amazing Godly men and women are here at this time! This summer is truly going to be an incredible, life changing, challenging, glory filled season as we lead 50 students through DTS in Haiti! 

Prayer Requests:

• The spirit of miscommunication is extremely strong here - often times on of us will be speaking to another and they will hear something completely different than what we said. It's so bizar, and we are not standing for that spirit to have any hold on this base. 
• Faith Journey weekend! Please pray for our protection, that our words and actions mirror those of Christ, and that our faith and belief grows faster than a bean stalk!
• Health! Some sickness has popped up here and there as bodies adjust to Haiti.
• WATER~ In the earthquake last year, our house's water well was destroyed. We are having to pay a ton of money for a truck to fill our cistern twice a week and have been making rain catchers. It's do-able right now, but we only have about 25/70 people living in the house right now. Please pray for favor with contractors, and that the well can be fixed!!! 

Thank you!!

Love Always

Haiti!

Hello all!
I have now been in Haiti for 2 amazing days! The culture here is very different and the spiritual atmosphere definitely heavier, but there is such a spirit of joy and confidence in what the Lord is about to do here. Tomorrow our school leader, Sean Murphy, will be joining us tomorrow - and we are all looking forward to seeing him!


The last couple days have been spent settling into our house called Bellvil where there are 23 staff living together.  After spending just the last day or so with the staff here we are all so excited to spend the next few months ministering together.  As we go through the next 2 weeks of staff training I expect that it will be full of incredible testimonies, laughter, amazing worship and lots of prayer.


Electricity is not constant in the city and the internet cannot handle video streaming or photo uplaods very well so those may be limited during my stay here. I hope to be able to paint the best pictures I can for you all through words - bear with me on this ;)

Love Always

9 DAYS until HAITI!

I'm Headed to HAITI!

In just a few days (May 17th 2011), I am flying to Port-Au-Prince, Haiti to join Youth with a Mission (YWAM) as staff for the first Discipleship Training School in the capitol city! This DTS in Port au Prince aims to address issues of poverty and injustice in a nation and a world gone very wrong. Believing that God has called me to those with both physical and spiritual need after disasters, I know that while it may not be easy, it is exactly where I need to be. 


Last year a disastrous earthquake shook the nation, bringing Haiti to the top of the news internationally as this third-world country fell into even deeper pits of poverty, chaos, and corruption. The quake was centered in the governmental area of the capitol which resulted in the deaths of many of the leaders in the country. Our DTS will focus largely on raising up Haiti’s next generation of leaders with strong character and a passion for a biblical world view, as Haiti positions herself to be a huge blessing to the world! 


The school will encourage and equip young adults to be voice for the voiceless: loving the orphaned, praying for the sick, and bringing practical solutions to people’s daily physical needs. I am so excited that God has called me to Haiti at this time and am thrilled to watch and be apart of the great change that is coming to this beautifully broken nation!

Follow the link to watch the Port-Au-Prince, Haiti On-Location DTS 2011 Promo Video!

There are a few ways that you can be apart of this journey too!!!

I need a total of $5000, which will include all living/flight/insurance expenses for the 6-7 months I've committed, by June! Already I have raised about $1000 and earned several hundred while working at home the last 2 months, but there is still a large need for support.  With a non-refundable ticket in hand, I am confidently going to Port-Au-Prince, knowing that the rest of the funding will come in!  Please pray about how much you should give to help me stay to Haiti!

Ways to Give:

Click on the "Donate" button to the right to give through PayPal

OR

If you would like your donation to be Tax-Deductable

Checks can be made out to "YWAM HAITI" and sent to

 YWAM Haiti 

P.O Box 236 

Akron, PA, 17501, USA 

If you chose to send a check, It is IMPORTANT that that you add a separate note, indicating that it goes specifically to "Marisa Watson - Port Au Prince Haiti DTS -Staff Support"! THANK YOU!!! :)

Also, I send out a monthly newsletter, briefly describing how things are going and maybe giving a testimony/story from my experiences in Haiti! Anyone is welcomed to subscribe and you can quickly do that by filling out the "join my mailing list" form on the right, or by emailing your name and e-mail to lovealways.marisa@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

Thank you for partnering with me as I "go and make disciples of nations"... of Haiti! I am so honored and humbled that God would use me as a vessel of His love and look forward to updating you soon!

The capitol building remains in the same state as it has for over a year ago when the earthquake struck.

Love Always