Seminary Visits

Word & Deed's Rick Postma had the privilege of speaking at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary (PRTS) in Grand Rapids and at Mid-America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana recently on the topic "A Biblical View of Poverty". Pictures are shown below as well as recommendations from Dr. Jerry Bilkes of PRTS and from Dr. Nelson Kloosterman of Mid-America. Rick hopes to take the presentation to additional seminaries, colleges and, in modified form, high schools.

Below Rick is addressing the faculty and students at Mid-America.

Rick in conversation with Dr. Nelson Kloosterman.

Below is Puritan Theological Reformed Seminary in Grand Rapids (unfortunately no pictures were taken during the presentation).

'Rick Postma's "A Biblical View of Poverty" is an extraordinary, mind-bending, and heart-stirring presentation on the church's calling with respect to global poverty. Thoroughly biblical, and unabashedly confessional, this compelling, one of a kind lecture emerges from years of thoughtful study as well as wide-ranging, hands-on experience. Hamstrung by the cacophony of approaches and cynicism of many, the church needs the panorama of biblical truth to see things holistically, not just for those in the two-thirds world but also for ourselves - and this Rick postma does grippingly in 90 minutes. For church leaders, seminary students, and ordinary Christians seeking a biblical view of poverty and the calling of mercy, I know nothing quite like it.'
Dr. Jerry Bilkes,
Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology
Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

'Audiences of various ages and interests will find Rick Postma's introduction to Word and Deed Ministries to be instructive and motivational. Churches and schools will be introduced to a clearly biblical and Reformed understanding--and practice--of poverty relief. It begins with asking the right questions, and then searching for the right answers with those receiving such relief, in order to place Christian benevolence in service to human growth rather than further dependence. Warmly recommended!'

Nelson D. Kloosterman

Professor of Ethics and New Testament Studies, Mid-America Reformed Seminary

Executive Director

Worldview Resources International

John Calvin Christian School

The John Calvin Christian School in Barranquilla, Colombia building project recently completed phase 1 and will begin phase 2 soon. We thank the Lord for the progress being made in this project.

For pictures, project description and how you can help, please click here.

Haiti - Update 4

As time goes on, the response to the disaster in Haiti does not get any easier. Even watching the news you will quickly get the sense that the rescue phase is coming to an end and the next phase of relief is becoming the focus. During this second phase of the relief effort, some of the issues that figure prominently are:

1. Security – is it safe to begin distribution of goods
2. Capacity – determine what can be done, by whom, in what locations and develop a broad plan
3. Logistics – where can necessities be obtained and how will they get to the areas needed
4. Communications – develop communication with other aid agencies to ensure that duplication of services does not occur, that all affected areas are reached, and that supply chains can be maintained.

Other factors to be considered include relocations, rebuilding, restructuring, longer-term clean up, and reassessment of all available resources. After several months, longer term activities can be planned and carried out.

Given the recent announcement from Haiti that 400,000 people will be relocated outside the city of Port au Prince, there are a number of considerations that the people in the field will need to make about services, location, and beneficiaries. Uncertainty pervades every aspect of the planning process at this point.

All of our potential partners are requesting patience especially when considering longer term relief and rebuilding as they continue to struggle with the disaster. Many employees have been affected with personal family losses as well as the destruction of their personal possessions. These partners have assured us they will keep us informed as to how we can best be of assistance to them both as immediate supply lines are secured and for longer term relief.

Bernie Pennings continues to serve on a joint disaster relief committee with Coram Deo International Aid (CDIA) which is attempting some small scale relief efforts focusing on families of children in the school and the immediate school community. We are continuing our discussions with several other potential partners to determine the best way to cooperate to ensure that the needs of the people in Haiti are addressed and that resources are used wisely. Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti, the personnel on the ground charged with the responsibility of assessing and identifying needs, and with all those involved in the rescue, recovery, and rebuilding of that country.

Haiti - Update 3

Word & Deed is working with several organizations to plan and bring relief to the needy there. The organizations include Word and Deed Holland (Woord en Daad) who have a great deal of infrastructure in Haiti as well as Coram Deo International AID (CDIA). Gridlock in Port-au-Prince (both airport and harbor) has made this a much slower process than most other disaster recoveries. Meanwhile pray for a blessing on the relief efforts, for those who are mourning loved ones, for the recovery of the injured and for the safety of all concerned. Pray as well that this very terrible catastrophe may mark the new birth of many precious souls, including rescuers, and along with it, the hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ - the Lamb of God.

Word & Deed Project Direct Bernie Pennings is involved in daily conference calls to plan relief efforts with our partners. Bernie has been involved in disaster relief planning and projects for over twelve years.

Meanwhile, several schools have had fundraisers and numerous churches are having collections for recovery efforts. Thank you.

We were sad to note another earthquake in Haiti recently. The post below this one describes what happens to people after an earthquake, a fairly significant follow-on earthquake in addition to deaths and injuries only multiplies the fear and confusion and makes the rescue effort all the more difficult. Pray for them.

Haiti Earthquake

Page down for more entries.

Canadian members of the Coram Deo International Aid team, with the exception of Randy Lodder who stayed behind to help, have been evacuated from Haiti and arrived in Montreal early this morning. John Kottelenberg, one of the directors who was in Haiti when the earthquake struck, was interviewed on CBC this morning. We thank the Lord that they are home.

Haiti in turmoil: Countries like the US and Canada along with the UN are struggling to bring initial aid into Haiti. The airport is limited in size, lacking proper equipment to unload airplanes (it took 6 hours to unload just one yesterday) and is having control tower issues. Thousands of bodies have been buried, but thousands remain and the risk of disease, killing far more, is very real.

Word & Deed is in contact with our partner organizations and engaging in conference calls on how to proceed. Any proposals will be carefully reviewed albeit with the need for speed kept in mind. Donations should be designated as "Haiti Earthquake Disaster Relief". Checks should be written to "Word & Deed". For our office mailing addresses, please click on "Contact Us" at the upper right.

Funds donated in response to disasters are large. People are motivated to give generously. Too often, the funds are not used at all or end up in the wrong hands. We are committed to avoiding this as our response to the Tsunami (villages rebuilt in cooperation with Word & Deed Holland), Hurricane Stan(food and medicines distributed, homes rebuilt, water systems fixed), Hurricane Felix (food distributed, wells cleansed, homes rebuilt) all indicate. The gridlock in Haiti means that for now we wait.

Word & Deed's position on the donation matching program of the Canadian Government:
While we are looking into getting matching funds, we believe the possibility of getting them, given our mission and mandate together with program requirements, is quite low.


What happens when a disaster strikes?

• Searching: people, understandably, frantically look for their loved ones. Are they safe? Are they injured?
• Fear: powerful after shocks, unstable buildings, result in people sleeping in the streets. People feel shock, trauma and many are in mourning.
  
• Urgent Physical needs: the need for safe water (water purification tablets for example) and food quickly becomes a major concern if not alleviated. As the days pass, panic sets in.
• Serious Injuries: With an estimated 50,000 dead, the number of injured must be several times that number. Reports indicate that hospitals have collapsed. People are being treated in the streets if and when doctors and medicines can be found.
  
• Disease: Diseases quickly break out due to the unburied bodies. Sometime more die due to disease than due to the original disaster itself.
  
• Lawlessness: Local police and soldiers may have been killed or injured themselves. They too are struggling to find and help family members. The result is that looting and other forms of lawlessness rises very quickly
• Gridlock: The airport at Port-au-Prince is practically incapacitated. The control tower isn't functioning properly. Even when the planes get on the ground it is taking a long time to get them unloaded. Then there is the "last mile" challenge. How to get the aid to the final destination with broken infrastructure. Then there is the handout itself with frantic people trying to get relief for themselves and their families. Thousands are trying to get out.
  
• Anger: Why isn't anyone helping us? Aid convoys start being attacked. This is already beginning to happen. Aid distributors are being urged to make sure they have security with them.

The 3 phases of Aid (from the Chalmers Center - abridged)

Relief: Providing emergency aid that is immediate and temporary. Relief is appropriate when the recipients are incapable of helping themselves.

Rehabilitation: Restoring people and communities to their pre-crisis conditions. Rehabilitation is appropriate when people can participate in their own recovery from a crisis.

Development: Development is appropriate when people are able to participate in improving their lives beyond their long-standing levels of poverty.

Massive Earthquake strikes Haiti

At approximately 4:45 pm Tuesday, January 12, an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 struck the Port-au-Prince area. Numerous buildings are down including homes, at least one hospital and schools.

Multiple after-shocks have been experienced and continue to pose a major risk. Many are reported dead and many more wounded.

Word & Deed expects to support disaster relief project(s) in Haiti very soon. Donations should be designated as "Haiti Earthquake Disaster Relief". Checks should be written to "Word & Deed". For our office mailing addresses, please click on "Contact Us" at the upper right. A Canadian government matching funds offer is being investigated - a major concern is with respect to "strings attached".

Pictures taken from web ...




Looting has already started and lawlessness is feared.

Please pray for the people of Haiti.

We are in communication with Woord en Daad (The Netherlands) concerning relief plans via two of their partners: AMG Haiti and Parole et Action.

We will also be considering relief needs from Coram Deo International (CDIA). CDIA is an organization we have been in discussions with recently and has suffered the complete collapse of its school building near Port-au-Prince. Thankfully, we are informed that staff, students and 2 visiting board delegates from Canada are safe. **Update ** We are now informed that one teacher is dead and others are missing. Please pray for the families involved.

Once the immediate relief needs - rescue, medical aid and basic life necessities - are identified among our potential partners, we will take decisive action with longer term relief efforts being looked at and evaluated after the basic rescue is completed.

Pictures and interview with Jason Krul of the Heritage Reformed Churches, who lives with his wife in Haiti and works for Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). Click here. (Once there, page down. When finished, click on back arrow to return here).

Emails from Randy and Karen Lodder (CDIA) .....

Wednesday morning (January 13):

Good Morning

Feel free to pass this along...

We are still ok. We slept the night in the driveway with some of our Haitian workers, Kim, John and Jim and our neighbours. We were sleeping inside but the tremors were to strong still and so we evacuated the house and slept on the driveway. We probably got about 2 hours of sleep or so. And now we are trying to figure out an action plan. , What to do, how can we help, how do we be safe? Food? Water? it's devastating, full buildings collapsed to nothing, so many lives lost... we cannot begin to comprehend...we still haven't heard from some people....

please keep praying... we'll stay in touch as we can.

Love,

Randy, Karen & Maia Joy <><

Tuesday Evening (January 12):
"Good Evening All,

We just wanted to let you all know that, by the grace of God, our lives have been spared. An earthquake hit Haiti just before 5 this evening. Randy, Maia and I were at the school along with our two visitors, John Kottelenberg and Jim Kamstra, as well as a bunch of our secondary students and the school collapsed right before our eyes. It was the scariest moment of our lives. As far as we know no one is trapped in the school. Kim is safe as well.

There is much devastation here and many unknowns, please keep praying for Haiti and her people."

Partnering with Word & Deed (Part 1)

By Rick Postma

You will likely not be surprised to learn that funding applications come to Word & Deed on a regular basis. Requests originate all over the world and come from churches or organizations that have either found us on the internet or have heard of us by word-of-mouth. Sadly, we have no choice but to turn down the vast majority of these applications due to limited resources of finances and time. In order for a request to be approved, it needs to be investigated. When it involves a new partner, a trip to the country in question is usually required. Furthermore, our commitment to existing partners and projects, as well as the realistic constraints of our support base limit how much we can do. The purpose of this two-part article is to answer a number of questions typical of prospective partners and supporters. Given space constraints, the answers are brief – each one could serve as the basis of an article on its own.

Is Word & Deed simply a funding organization?
To see Word & Deed as a funding pipeline, able to be turned on and off at will, is a very common misconception. In the first place, charity tax law (especially strong in Canada) requires active oversight of any projects funded by donors who receive a donation receipt. This translates into regular written and financial reports as well as regular visits to review the project in the field. New partners are often required to provide quarterly reports, while established partners provide semi-annual reports. Countries are usually visited once per year and sometimes twice yearly depending on the needs. Regular communication via email and voice over Skype (internet) also takes place. In addition, goals are set for each project on a yearly basis and written up in a project agreement which is signed both by Word & Deed and the developing world partner in question. Finally, reports are required indicating how well each goal is being achieved through the year. Word & Deed Board requirements as well as lessons learned in the “school of hard knocks” over the last 15 years also mean that Word & Deed is by no means a passive partner in any project.

Word & Deed emphasizes Partner Development. What does this mean?
Word & Deed places a great deal of emphasis on partner development. As much as possible, projects are to be run by local Christians rather than people from the Western World. Where “Western” people are involved, their mandate is to work themselves out of a job. There are countless “white elephant” projects in the developing world which were built by a group of people who came in for 5 or 10 years, put together a project and then left, having failed to include the local people. Not having a sense of ownership, the locals allowed the project to fall apart. Word & Deed projects sometimes take a little longer, but they are driven by indigenous Christians who know the needs of their community, speak the language, and understand the culture. If our goal is to move the people of the developing world to self-sufficiency, then our methodology had better reflect that. This means that we are very careful about sending work teams to the developing world. The first question we need to answer is what is in the best interest of the people there? In most cases the answer is that they do the work even if it takes a little longer.

How does the application process work?
Partner and project applications which come from missions in our supporting community or from Reformed or Presbyterian churches in the developing world are given a close look. Various questions need to be considered: Does the partner agree with our mission and mandate? Is the teaching of God’s Word a central part of the project? Is the Church present either in the form of a Mission of one of our supporting churches, or in the form of a locally instituted church? (Word & Deed does not function as the Church.) Are we in a position to make regular trips to the country in question, and does the size of the project(s) warrant trips there? Do commitments to other partners and available funding allow us to take on the project in question at this time? By funding this partner/project, have we kept to our guideline of no more than 30% of overall funds going to any one country? If these and more questions are answered affirmatively based on an initial assessment, then the prospective applicant is asked to do the following:

1) Fill out a partnership application form
This application ensures that our mission and mandates are in agreement. Word & Deed also requires that a partner board be set up with an executive and that all finances are handled using at least two signatures. The partnership application is reviewed by the Word & Deed Projects Sub-Committee. If approved, the partner is then asked to submit a project proposal. (No funds are forthcoming until a project proposal is completed and approved.)

2) Fill out a project application

a. First a brief two-page project proposal
Some of the questions addressed in this brief proposal include: What is the problem being addressed by the project? How many people will be impacted? How is the Word foundational to the project? What is the estimated cost? Have other solutions been considered?
Word & Deed staff reviews the brief overview to see if it meets our guidelines and has a good chance of being approved. If so, the partner is asked to make a detailed project proposal.

b. Detailed Project Proposal
Questions answered in summary form in the brief project proposal need to be answered in more depth in the detailed project proposal. Additional questions also need to be addressed whether in written form or in discussions: Is the project sustainable? Is there an exit strategy? How is the project avoiding dependency?

Part 2 of this article will appear in the spring issue and will deal with government funding as well as a number of additional items that prospective partners should keep in mind when applying to Word & Deed.

Word & Deed Emphasizes:

Gospel Focus

Targeting Self-sufficiency (teach them to fish)

Run by local Christians

Serving God

Bridging Communities

Renewing Lives

Rick Postma is the Director of Public Relations for Word & Deed Ministries.