December 21, 2012
Hi Everyone!
And you thought you were never going to hear from me again :)! I am so, so sorry that my blogging stopped for awhile. I’m back with “Typepad” for now, until we can change over to our new website at aslanyouth.org. My apologies to you all.
I’m writing to you from Haiti, where the problems are worse than ever. For a short while after the devastating earthquake of 2010, there was an outpouring of love and concern throughout the world for Haiti and the Haitian people. Barely three years later, however, the daily grind of poverty still prevails. Once again, the world has passed Haiti by and left it in the death-filled dust. As I have traveled the streets of Ouanaminthe, Cap-Haitien and Port-au-Prince over the past 2 weeks, I see the same sadness and emptiness in the eyes of almost everyone. Sometimes it is hidden behind a smile; but it is still there emanating from the core of each being I pas on the streets. In the midst of seeming hopelessness, however, there is always the HOPE that only God can bring – and the PROMISE of true life in Him.
As I share with you through this blog, I hope your hearts will be warmed again for this Forgotten Land and these Forgotten People. Many of you have been here to Haiti with Aslan and know our many friends here. Some of you will remember Cela, a 13-year-old boy who has suffered much. This Christmas he is in a small hospital in Cap-Haitien where I had the privilege of praying with him yesterday as he lay in his bed. The day before, he had several quarts of fluid removed from his 
stomach. You can see from these pictures how bloated his stomach still is! His diagnosis has ranged from Cela having a serious heart problem to tuburculosis. He looks more like a 7-year-old than a teenager.
As Joseph and I returned to Ouanaminthe on a tap-tap, I was stuck by the fact that many children in America will, in four days, awaken to a beautiful tree surrounded by mounds of new toys. In addition to receiving whatever the latest “game craze” is, some of them will open up iPads, iPods, iPhones and other things they don’t really need. Then in a few months the same kids will be clamboring for the newer version when the media tells them the next latet thing is oh so necessary for them to have. I will never forget hearing a group of teens from a local college prep school discuss how some of their classmates had gotten their wish for Christmas from their parents – BMWs and other expensive new cars. One was “lucky” enough to get a brand new $50,000 Corvette at the tender age of 17. Little Cela’s only Christmas present will be the IV in his arm and another needle in his stomach to drain more fluid.
Cela’s father was prepared to let his little boy die. “We can’t afford the medications and hospital,” he 
said. “We have to let him die and care for our other children.” But Cela’s mother refused to give up hope. She begged Joseph to ask us to help, and of course that’s exactly what we’re doing. With the help of our wonderful friends from Step of Faith Ministries, we are helping and will continue to help this little boy. Please pray for Cela and for Aslan’s new hospital/clinic that we almost have released from customs. What wonderful news it is that we are finally so close! After 10 days of nonstop trips to Cap-Haitien and then to Port-au-Prince, we have finally reached an understanding with Haitian Customs. The units should be given to us within a week for almost no cost (according to the latest we’ve heard). However, we owe a great deal of money to the company that has stored the 3 containers for over a year and a half. Please pray with us that this company will have mercy on the people of Haiti and our ministry by greatly reducing or even eliminating the storage charges!
Dear friends, please remember Aslan this Christmas. Please remember Cela and the more than 400 children in our programs in Haiti and in the U.S. And never forget all the hundreds fathers and mothers (like Cela’s) who we are reaching as well. Aslan has so many needs; but with God, all things are possible.
Christmas blessings to you all!
Craig
P.S. Below is Cela back in 2010 with Carol, one of our wonderful nurses who came down with us after the quake. Our goal is to have one medical team per month coming to our new hospital/clinic, as soon as we get in on it’s foundation.
