Coram Deo International Aid (CDIA)

and

Word & Deed Ministries

announce their intent to Merge 

At the initiative of Coram Deo International Aid (CDIA) and with thanksgiving to the Lord, the respective boards of CDIA and Word & Deed Ministries announce our intent to merge subject to approval by the CDIA membership. Given the similarity of our mission and mandate, the overlap of our respective supporters, the need of CDIA for administrative services given her growth over the past few years and the 16 years of experience Word & Deed has to date, the intent to merge is believed to reflect both practical wisdom and an encouraging degree of unity among our supporting churches and denominations as we together, in a diaconal capacity, strive to extend the Kingdom of God in the developing world

Our intent to merge has resulted from several meetings between ad-hoc committees representing each board over the past year and the hope is that final approval for the merger will be given by each board and their respective memberships by the end of 2010 with CDIA fully merged into Word & Deed Ministries by the end of 2011. CDIA would cease to exist as a separate charity and continue on as the Adoration Project Team overseeing Adoration Christian Centre in Haiti as part of Word & Deed Ministries. Adoration Christian Centre, will continue to be managed by our field workers, Randy & Karen Lodder and Kim Gringhuis.

Both boards wish to emphasize that the merger will not reduce the involvement of current CDIA volunteers and supporters. Both organizations have developed a culture of enthusiastic involvement and support and the success of the merger depends on this continuing under the indispensable blessing of the Lord. May we together be instruments in His hands to the salvation of sinners and the strengthening of His church both in Haiti and in the many other countries Word & Deed has the privilege of working.

Inquires can be directed to CDIA at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Word & Deed at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Summer is going to be here very soon. For us here in Canada that means schools will soon be out and our children will have a few months off. In Haiti, things will be different this year. Due to the interruption of school caused by the earthquake on January 12, the government has ruled that all schools will run through the summer until the end of August. This will allow schools, at least those which are open, to finish the curriculum for this current year the best they can. Unfortunately, schools in Haiti are not allowed to be inside due to concern for building structure safety. Therefore, all classes are held outside under tents, tarps or shade trees. One can understand that the quality of education is a real concern.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI

With praise and thanksgiving to God, CDIA announces the re-opening of ADORATION CHRISTIAN SCHOOL, which took place this past Monday, May 31st. The report from the field:

CDIA thanks all who contributed to our rebuilding effort in any way and would especially like to thank Word and Deed and CRWRF for their support of our post-earthquake work.

Please continue to remember the Adoration Christian Centre in your prayers.

Please see Randy & Karen's and Kim's personal blogs for a lot of pictures and details about the reconstruction of the temporary property.

Randy and Karen Lodder:www.randyandkarenlodder.blogspot.com

Kim Gringhuis: www.kiminhaiti.blogspot.com

Response and Recovery from a major disaster such as the Earthquake in Haiti can be divided into three phases: Phase 1 - Emergency Disaster Response (2 weeks to 2 months) Phase 2- Interim Disaster Relief (1 to 3 months) and Phase 3 - Restoration and Rebuilding (6 months to 1or2 years).

As relief efforts are nearing the end of the second phase, Adoration Christian Centre and CDIA would like to acknowledge contributions from two partnering organizations. CDIA thanks both CRWRF (www.crwrf.ca) and Word and Deed (www.wordanddeed.org) for their assistance and financial support in Phase 1 and 2 respectively. CDIA would also like to acknowledge the contribution of Word and Deed’s Executive Director, Bernie Pennings, for his expertise and his participation on the CDIA Disaster Relief Action Committee which was struck to make day to day decisions supporting the Adoration Team director, Randy Lodder, in Haiti.

Phase I – Emergency Disaster Response
CRWRF Contribution - $25,000

• Establish an emergency response base
• Provide medical assistance
• Initiate a community water purification project
• Provide food and shelter to families of staff and school children
• Duration: 6 weeks, Jan 12 to Feb

Phase II – Disaster Relief
Word and Deed Contribution - $50,000

Project 1: Food Distribution ($50,000 project)

• Provide a food package to 250 families for 10 weeks (an estimated 2,000 people).
• Each package contains: beans, rice, corn meal, spaghetti noodles, sardines, maggi
• Beneficiaries: Families in the Cabaret area including members of the local PCA church and the local refugee camp.
• Duration: 10 weeks, March - May

Project 2: Temporary Adoration Christian Centre Location ($50,000 project)

The multi-purpose facility will provide: School program, medical care, food distribution, water treatment, residence for staff (security)

Includes: 31x50 coverall tent with foundation and floor, cistern, toilets, tables and benches, kitchen, secure depot for storing food (as well as supplies and tools), generator, propane tanks