Kate DeTellis (11), Nathan DeTellis (19) and their grandmother (Nonna) enjoyed quality time serving at the volunteer center for the Shoebox Drive in Orlando.

I witnessed a great, life-changing love with the Christmas Shoebox Drive. Having just returned from Haiti, my time at the shoebox center was all the more meaningful. I would meet people coming to drop off their boxes, and was amazed by the generosity and love poured out to children whom most donors may never know.

People brought boxes for unsponsored children by the hundreds. On the cover of the box was written Attention: Unsponsored Child. Inside the boxes I would find little notes of prayers and blessings from children and adults. They expressed hope and love that would stretch from one heart to another. For certain, our children will be blessed as the shoeboxes touch the lives of those living in extreme poverty.

The arrival of the shoeboxes in Haiti came the very week of Christmas.

Each gift when given to a child gives us the opportunity to tell the child about the love of Jesus. It encourages them in their faith and walk with God, and also invites them to accept Jesus into their lives. The Christmas Shoebox Drive is about extending the great gift of the love of Jesus to a child. May the joy of blessing these children touch your heart. Thank you
for creating loving smiles on the faces of these precious children.

~Jeanne DeTellis O’Connor

From sunglasses to extra school supplies, the surprises inside each shoebox are a blessing to an entire family.

When the children of New Missions come to the school office and receive the shoebox sent by their sponsor, it’s a day they will never forget.

The joy of the Lord is the strength that pierces the darkness in Haiti, and water baptism is the defining line of proclamation that you will no longer practice Voodoo.

Pastor Jean Rigal Alcidas from our Lassale church came up to me and shared some shocking news. People from his village were telling him they are still a Voodoo village and that the church will stop growing. Seldom do our churches have direct opposition from those practicing Voodoo. Pastor Jean Rigal was hosting evangelism meetings deeper within the village, and the voice of the opposition was rising.

I remember the very beginnings of our Lassale church. I was a missionary kid and would travel to this village and host outdoor church services. We used music as a

Welcome to Lassale, Haiti. This rural farming and fishing community is a mission field still in need of the Gospel—like all of the villages across the Leogane Plain where we serve.

means of attracting villagers, and then they could hear the Gospel message. Pastor Jean Rigal remembers these days as well. He was a child at the time and soon accepted Jesus as his personal Savior at our Lassale church, where he now serves as their pastor and school director.

No matter the threat or discouraging words, Pastor Jean Rigal still preaches the Good News that only God can bring hope for Haiti. The “never give up” attitude of Pastor Jean Rigal is reflected in our other pastors, too. Recently, nine people were baptized from Lassale, and Pastor Jean Rigal told me that we need to fervently and continually ask people to follow Jesus. Only Bon-Dieu (God) will help them.

Pastor Jean Rigal Alcidas from our Lassale church serves strong and will not give up on spreading the Good News of Jesus to his village.

A pastor is one who diligently cares for and serves his congregation. He also cannot be affected or influenced by naysayers, but must hold true to what God’s Word says. Jesus is the only way. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

~Tim DeTellis

Life in the village of Lassale is primitive and remote. A dirt road is the only access to this village, and the well drilled in 1986 is the only safe drinking water.

When a child enters church at New Missions, they learn about the real hope that changes lives.

New school buildings become a symbol of progress and stability for communities and families.

We don’t need one more building for the sake of having just another building. But, we do need it for the sake of a soul. Since our first week in Haiti, we have been in construction. Today, we continue to build buildings because of the ministry
of hope that happens.

I remember standing at our first construction site back in 1983. It was a u-shaped building that was going to be home to all our operations. We outgrew that building within one year.

The mind of a child born into poverty discovers their fears are replaced with the power of “I am someone in Christ.”

Our 2012 construction list includes the following:

• Clinic of Hope in the mountains
• Chapel facility at our High School campus
• Food warehouse at our Bord-Mer campus
• Church at both our Ti-Boukan and Concrab locations
• Trade School buildings

Recently, we have sourced more construction materials in Haiti, and continue to ship in specialty items such as metal reinforcement mesh and roofing caps.

What will we learn at school today? We’ll learn from the Bible and subjects such as math, language, literature, history, geography and vocabulary.

We did not start a mission to build buildings, and yet we are building year-round. This is exciting because it employs hundreds of Haitians, and continues to provide stability within the villages. In a country stricken by poverty, the lives impacted by the Gospel are changed forever. It’s truly transformational what God is doing. We are thankful to see the hope in God that changes lives.

~Tim DeTellis

The children of New Missions are welcomed to a new life of hope, growth, and joy in knowing Jesus.

Easter Bibles

Bless the children of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Help purchase Easter Bibles for our students. Visit www.EasterBibles.com.

Super Hero Sunday

Host a table at your church for Super Hero Sunday on April 29, 2012. For more details, email
john@newmissions.org or visit advocate.newmissions.org

I felt sorry for him and I shouted out, “Jesus help him… it’s freezing outside!” And God shouted back at me, “You help him!” My heart was struck with conviction. So I turned my car around and I drove into the parking lot and pulled up to the bank entrance. When I looked toward the bank doors, there he was—lying on the concrete sidewalk in his sleeping bag with the sleeping bag zipped all the way shut, leaving just enough room for him to breathe. I shouted out, “Get up! Wake up! I have something for you.” I held out a $20 bill and for the first time I saw this person. He was just a little old man. I gave him the $20 bill and I said, “God bless you and Jesus loves you.” I left quickly so he could run back and climb into his sleeping bag. I never told my wife or anybody about my little beggar at the bank.

But every night when I would do my grocery shopping I would drive through the bank parking lot on my way home and give him a $20 bill. My wife is a good bookkeeper and she handles all of our finances. But, she never noticed all those $20 bills going to Jerry on the way home from the grocery store. This went on for months and Jerry and I started spending more time talking. Jerry told me he was a Christian and told me a little about his life.

That spring I helped Jerry fly back to his home town of Memphis. The first Wednesday in May Jerry and I both left town on the same day. He flew home to Memphis and I left town for a speaking engagement in Massachusetts. Whenever I do my grocery shopping, I always look over at the Bank of America building to see if anyone is sleeping in front of the doors.

We all want to change the world. We may not have the influence to write the laws of our country, but we can have a profound effect in our sphere of influence. We can be the good neighbor; we can be the eyes that are watching. Each of us has a sphere of influence—the ability to radically affect the people we come in contact with every day. Who is your
neighbor? Who is your problem to solve?

~George DeTellis, Jr.

You may write to George at george@newmissions.org

In Luke 16:19 Jesus tells the story of a beggar named Lazarus who lived at the gate of a rich man. The story ends in  tragedy for the rich man because he neglected the opportunity to help the poor. The selfish man is the shrinking man; his world grows smaller until he is all alone. The giving man is the living man; his world grows larger and everything multiplies.

George DeTellis, Jr.

P.S. Jesus did not change any laws of government; He changed the laws of the universe!