Conduit Mission/ Place of Hope
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Jeremy Hezlep takes a tour with Mike Coupe at Place of Hope in Columbia, TN.
Pastor Pierrot- Pastor To The Hopeless
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I met Pastor Pierrot and his family in a tent city in Jacmel Haiti in April. It was a divine appointment. He lost his home in the quake as well as the building where his church was located. He now preaches in a red cross tent in the middle of the tent city. He is a pastor to the hopeless.
This picture was taken on July 26, 2010 after he received the money that will put his kids back in school. (they’ve been out since the quake) We’re continuing to pray about what it is that God wants us to do for this precious man and his family. Thanks to my man Gaby Gilles in Haiti for delivering this gift of our fellowship from Conduit Church to Pastor Pierrot.
If you’d like to help us getting Pastor Pierrot and other families out of these tents and back into homes, please go to www.conduitmission.org and donate there.
Building Homes In Haiti
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These kids are 4 of 6 kids who are all living in a tent in Jacmel Haiti with their mom and dad. You can see their "home in the background. It's a one room tent that is constructed on a hill side in Jacmel Haiti They first lost their home in a hurricane a couple years ago. Unbelievably, they lost their home again in the quake in January. 6 months later they are still living in a tent on a hill side in Jacmel Haiti. They are grateful for the tents, but a tent was a temporary solution. The rainy season has caused them so many challenges and they are living from day to day trusting God. There are others as well. There are a few families that are part of the church at Restoration Ministries in Jacmel, Haiti that we would like to help. We can't build everyone a home, but we can build some. It seems so overwhelming that we don't know where to start, so we don't start at all. That has to be different. We'll start with two families. We can build homes for $5,000 a piece. We have the work force donated to us from a ministry called Forward Edge. They are continuing to send down teams week after week to work in Jacmel Haiti. They will over see the construction. We just need to buy the supplies. Would you prayerfully consider helping us do this? You can hit the donate now button on the side of the page. Put "haiti house" in the notes section. Thank you in advance for your help. Posted by admin | Filed under Uncategorized Conduit efforts to assist those affected by the floods in Nashville continue. This is footage from the home of a widow whose home was devastated in the floods. Two months ago her home was stripped to just studs. This week we’re putting the finishing touches which will allow her to move back in the next couple days. Posted by admin | Filed under Uncategorized Check out what is happening with Conduit Mission through our Ministry Partners David Whetstone and Mentor Leaders. This is footage from June 2010 in Togo Africa. Posted by admin | Filed under Uncategorized Jesus said to pray for laborers to come into the harvest. It never occurred to me that the word “laborer” could have been literal and not just metaphorical. This week Conduit Church, joined by our friends at Journey Church and then some just good old fashioned friends like Lori Lenz, Anita Crawford and Corey Basil have worked side by side, actually doing physical labor for our friends in Nashville. Will Rogers said “there is no such thing as a stranger, only a friend that you haven’t met yet.” This week that has turned out to be true a hundred times over. We’re rolling up our sleeves, working beside complete strangers who turn out to be our friends. There’ve been a couple times I worked for a few hours before saying “you know I know we’ve been working here but what is your name?” Today we got to work at John M.’s home in River Trace Condominiums. Even though we worked there today, it wasn’t the first time we had been there. His neighbors from across the drive had told us to that John and his wife would desperately need help but that they would probably not accept it. They were correct. John had turned us away on Tuesday and on Wednesday. He wasn’t rude, he was just overwhelmed. He and his wife were having an incredible time dealing with it. And their method of dealing was to not deal. But God had a plan for them. Yesterday we wandered back into the area we had worked in the previous days. We didn’t mean to go there, but due to circumstances (READ, Holy Spirit) we ended back in this section of River Trace. This wasn’t even a remotely planned stop. What we didn’t know was at that exact moment of our arrival; a conversation was taking place. Lolly whom we had worked with pretty extensively was talking to John M. across the driveway from her. He had finally admitted he was going to need help. He truly had no friends, no family and no one to help him begin this process. His home had been entirely submerged on the first floor and 3 days of putting it off had resulted in it being a muddy, smelly, disgusting mess. He asked Lolly how on earth it was that she had found all this help for her home. She said that she didn’t, that they had found her. She told him they were God’s angels. At the very moment she was having this conversation, Sarah and Jay were rounding the corner. She said “There, John, that’s them! that’s the angels! They’re here to help you too!” We weren’t even remotely staffed for the work that was ahead, but we got a good start on it, and left a note that we would return today and finish the job. John M is a broken man. His wife is so distraught that she can’t even come to the home. It’s just too much. An entire life of memories, collections, photos, furniture, are all gone. Ruined from the mud. Today John said “you know, it just occurred to me I’ve gotta find a place to live!” They have no flood insurance and he said “I’ve been married for a very long time, and now it’s just like when we first got married. We’ve got nothing but each other” He insisted on giving us what is a priceless hand crafted Italian Christmas themed statuettes that we can display in our church. After quite a bit of discussion we finally agreed to accept his gift. He called us angels too. I told him that we’re not angels as much as we’re just the Body of Christ. When my head gets an idea, my body implements that idea. So if Jesus idea is to serve John M, then the body, us, are the implementers of that idea. I told him that Jesus idea was to let John M know that He and his wife are not forgotten. That Jesus has him on His mind. And we were the implementers of those thoughts. He cried. But this time, it didn’t look like the tears of sorrow I had seen through out the day. This time they were tears of hope. We’re going to continue on the ideas that Jesus has tomorrow. We’ll be heading back to Bellevue and serving the River Trace Community. If you can join us I hope you will. We’ll meet at 10am at the back parking lot of the Factory. If you haven’t had a chance to serve yet, why don’t you make tomorrow that day. If you’ve got no skills, I assure you they are not needed. The images on the news can’t possibly capture the devastation. And my simple minded words can not possibly capture the fulfillment that happens when you serve the Lord in this way. You have to experience it for yourself. And for those who can’t come and want to donate, we have a link set up at www.conduitmission.org 100% of the moneys donated to Nashville Flood Relief will go there. Posted by admin | Filed under Uncategorized If you’re checking here, you’re probably one of the minority of Americans who know just what is going on in Nashville, TN. Pardon my frustration with the media, but there is a story to be told here, and I’m thankful for those of you who are stopping by to hear some of that. I’m reticent to put names here because I do not have permission, nor do I want to invade their privacy. These aren’t statistics. They are people. They are our brothers and sisters. They’re humans. They’re God’s children. Day 3 found us working in River Trace Condominiums again. This is a predominantly elderly community that was rocked very hard. There have been a few deaths reported from this particular community. On Tuesday morning, an 85 year old woman was rescued from her bed, where she had been since Sunday waiting for help to arrive. Today we went back and visited one of the first people we encountered. She is a widow. She’s not elderly like many of the residents, but she has a story. Her husband died 2 months ago. To add insult to injury, her house had burned down in Christmas. Yes just this last Christmas. So she lost her home to fire in December, and lost her husband to cancer in March. She moved back into her home last week. It was completely remodeled from the fire damage, and this was a brand new start for her and her two children. Imagine her horror when 2 days later her home was completely taken over by the worst flood in Tennessee history. I’m not sure that my writing skills could ever properly articulate the magnitude of her situation. She lamented “If only I had waited a couple more days to move in, I would at least still have my furniture”. When I left today, there is no question that she feels surrounded, and feels out gunned and under the pile. But at the same time, she has watched “angels” (her words not mine) surround her and help her through this process. And while the rest of her life sunk to the bottom of this gigantic flood, her hope is rising to the top. Hope truly does float. Thank you to everyone who has contributed financially as well as through their physical efforts. We are tired, but pressing forward. If you can help us, we’ll be meeting at the Factory again tomorrow morning. IMPORTANT- we’re meeting at the back of the Factory under the covered parking. If you can help financially, you can click on the link for flood donations. We are going to use these funds to help folks like our new widow friend to rebuild their lives on washing machine and couch at a time. Sincerely, Posted by admin | Filed under Uncategorized It’s pretty crazy what technology can do. Here is the Google Earth mapping of the work we’re doing in Jacmel, Haiti. If you’ve been on trips with us, some of this is familiar. If you haven’t, it’s still cool. It’s right here in Jacmel, Haiti that Conduit Church is heavily invested feeding hundreds of children, providing education, clothing, and all with our partnership with a local church called Restoration Ministries and a pastor named Gerald Lafleur. Posted by admin | Filed under Uncategorized Posted by admin | Filed under Uncategorized Donor nations from the United Nations recently pledged $5.3 Billion Dollars to aid Haiti in the rebuilding of their nation. This number does not include the Billions already given. It also does not include the $3 Billion that was donated by the US alone up until the day before the quake. If you’ve been to Haiti before the quake, you perhaps would ask the questions I would ask. For instance, where on earth did $3B dollars go? Certainly not on the road system or infrastructure. In a nation that reports somewhere around ¾ unemployment it’s not in creating jobs. There aren’t enough toilets to have flushed it down. What on earth went wrong? Paul warned Timothy that the love of money is the root of evil. When Jesus said a man can’t serve two masters, He didn’t say that you can’t serve God and Satan. Instead he set up the juxtaposition between God and mammon or money. When God refers to the subject of money, it’s not so much that it’s a sin, rather it’s that it’s very dangerous. Maybe it should come as no surprise that us throwing this thing that God warns us to be careful about has caused more problems than solutions. Hang with me here. Jesus did say to give to the poor. In fact the Bible talks about it over and over again. Hundreds of times God asks us to serve the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized the orphan, the widow. Often times when it records this, it says to do so through our giving. In Matthew 19, Jesus told the rich man to sell all he had and give it to the poor. So how do we reconcile the problem with our rich nation giving to this poor nation with seemingly no tangible benefit. Perhaps giving to serve the poor isn’t so much about solving the problems of the poor as it is solving the problems of the rich. You see, the rich man walked away that day down trodden. Jesus went right to the heart of the problem. This guy loved his money. And when you love money, the best way to break that love affair is to divorce it. Give it away. It wasn’t the poor people that lost out on that day, it was the rich young ruler. When done through the governments of the nations it always seems to create more problems than it solves. You don’t’ have to be a rocket scientist to know how well that works in any nation. This is the reason that when Jesus returns, it’s recorded that the government will be upon His shoulders. We’ve tried this over and over again and every form of government known to man turns up corrupt, greedy, and fallen. As I read the scriptures though, I don’t see once where God requires or asks the government to do this. Over and over again, He does however ask His people to actively participate in serving the poor. Whether it was Israel in the Old Testament or the Church in the New Testament, God was very interested in His people being kind and generous with those in need. It’s an act of worship. It’s an act of Love to the Father, as well as to those in need. It’s an act of Faith that says I’m going to trust that as I let go of this, that God has got my back. That the promise He gave David about the righteous not begging for bread is a promise I can count on. It’s me saying, “God, I trust you.” I can’t think of a more pure act of faith. That said, giving away money without love is such an empty act. Paul said in 1 Cor 13, that if I give all my money away to the poor and don’t have love, then I have gained nothing. I think Haiti is a prime example of this in action. Nations have poured billions of dollars into this nation. Not as an act of love as much as it was an act of duty; of “doing the right thing”. I’m obviously not suggesting that we stop in our giving as the Body of Christ to this nation or any other nation for that matter. What I’m saying is that as we’re doing this, we must do it as an act of Love. It’s an act of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s not just the gospel being presented; it’s the gospel being lived out. When we attach ourselves to the vine. When the fruit of the Spirit, when the water of the Spirit, when the Spirit Himself flows through us, one of the things it will clean out is our love of money, and washes it downstream to those in need. More than just money it brings restoration, refreshment, and salvation to all those that encounter Him. This all flows from us that believe. It’s the rivers of living water that Jesus promised would flow from within us. If you’ve been to a place like Africa or Haiti, you’ll see some of the happiest people on the planet. With their basic needs such as food and clothing being provided, the very needs Jesus promised would be provided in Matthew 6, these are some of the most joyful people on the planet. If you’ve ever experienced a worship service in a developing nation, you know what I’m talking about. Money didn’t solve their problems, Jesus solved their problem singularly. All those other issues are cursory to the main issue. They were separated from God, and now they’re not. Of course they’re full of joy! In Acts 1, we see the floodgates of the Spirit opened. Jesus promised that He would not leave them or us alone as orphans. He said He would send another comforter, a counselor, a teacher. He was sending the Holy Spirit. This was the Spirit He talked about in John 7 when He said rivers of living water would flow from within us. The God of more than enough providing the Spirit for us, and making us Conduit of His Spirit to the world. What is our responsibility as the church? What does it look like practically speaking when the church responds to a crisis like the earthquake in Haiti? That’s part of what I’m going to talk about on Sunday. I hope you can join us. Conduit Church starts at 1030am. We meet at Independence High School in Thompson’s Station, TN. For directions you can go to www.conduitchurch.com Blessings, Darren Tyler PS- Please continue to pray for our mission agents in Haiti. Audrey Pate and Michelle Anderson arrived there last night. Ben Holeton is 3 weeks in on his 3 month service. Caleb Thomas continues to be there on the ground. Also Pray for Pastor Lafleur who is running point on the overall mission. He has a lot on his shoulders. Pray for wisdom for him to know what he can delegate, for rest, for refreshment. 
Conduit Mission Flood Relief Efforts
Update From Togo Africa
Flood Relief Efforts Day 4- Jesus Has A Good Idea
So tomorrow, 10am at the back parking lot of the Factory and we’ll leave from there.Flood Relief Efforts Day 3- Hope Floats
Darren Tyler
Pastor, Conduit Church AMAZING- check out the google earth views of Jacmel, Haiti
View Restore Haiti’s Jacmel Map in a larger mapUpdate From Haiti- 4/18/2010
Conduit Blog- April 9, 2010- Money Isn’t The Answer
