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Haiti mission trip prospectus

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I have put together the following information to answer some of the questions folks have had about my upcoming extended mission trip to Haiti. Thank you for your prayers for me and my family during this time. If you’d like to donate to support the ministry of Supply and Multiply, you can do so by clicking this link. If you’d like to contribute to the costs of my six-month mission trip, just follow the same link and designate “Spears” on the memo line of your check or in the PayPal comments line. All donations and contributions are tax deductible. Thanks … Continue reading Haiti mission trip prospectus

Devotionals, Haiti, Newspaper work3 Comments

Letting go

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    I’ve heard it said that we can never receive the full blessings that God has for us until we’re willing to let go of the lesser things we tend to hold so fast. The past month, since my announcement that I am leaving the newspaper business, has been a long lesson in letting go. Letting go of control. Letting go of position. Letting go of pride. At times, it has felt as if God was prying my fingers loose from these things, and I haven’t always handled the changes as well as I would have liked. Pride is … Continue reading Letting go

Newspaper workLeave a comment

Love one another

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  Originally published in the August 15, 2017, edition of the Suffolk News-Herald How can we possibly be in the place where our nation finds itself right now? How can a man have become so depraved as to have plowed his car into a crowd of protesters in Charlottesville, killing one and injuring at least 19 others? How can our screens be filled with torch-lit faces twisted with rage and hatred? How can this be Virginia in 2017? How can the symbols of 20th-century evil incarnate have been adopted by Americans who descend from the Greatest Generation, those grandfathers and … Continue reading Love one another

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Suffolk loses a legend: Andy Damiani dies at 95

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    Originally appeared in the Aug. 6, 2017 edition of the Suffolk News-Herald By R.E. Spears III Editor Suffolk lost a legend, a cheerleader and a beloved storyteller on Saturday, as former Mayor Andy Damiani died at Sentara Obici Hospital. Damiani’s nephew, Jimmy Daman, confirmed Saturday evening that his uncle had succumbed after having been taken to the hospital with a medical problem. “Andy was 95 years old,” Daman said. “His health was deteriorating, and we were fortunate to get Andy to Obici Hospital. He passed fairly quickly. I was there with him the whole time, and he did … Continue reading Suffolk loses a legend: Andy Damiani dies at 95

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‘She’s in good hands’

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  Two years ago today, I wondered whether my wife would survive a massive gallbladder attack on an isolated island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. God has blessed me with two more years with this wonderful woman, and I gave her an extra-long hug this evening as I tried not to break down in tears at how overwhelming the simple memory is to this day. I wrote the following column a week or so after the medical crisis that resulted in her first helicopter ride and my own recognition of the fleeting nature of our lives. The folks … Continue reading ‘She’s in good hands’

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Golden deliciousness

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  Originally published July 13, 2017 in the Suffolk News-Herald In our continuing quest to make sure our readers have the most important information for their day-to-day lives, we at the Suffolk News-Herald feel we cannot let the opportunity pass to let you know that today marks a significant celebration of one of the linchpins of modern civilization. Today is National French Fry Day. All day long. That’s right, folks. Some enterprising person (probably a potato grower or a fast-food chain social networking manager) has finally recognized the important role that the lowly french fry has played in uniting people … Continue reading Golden deliciousness

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A man I will never forget

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  Originally published July 2, 2017 in the Suffolk News-Herald Thirty-one years ago, a scared, dumb kid barely out of college sat in an office in Franklin for his first job interview ever. He had no education and no experience pertinent to the job he sought, but his parents had made it clear he needed to find work — and soon. As it would turn out, this would be one of the shortest job interviews I would ever be a part of — on either side of the desk. I would eventually come to see the humor Hanes Byerly could … Continue reading A man I will never forget

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Guerby’s story

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  By R.E. Spears III At 2 p.m. on a hot spring day — in Haiti, all the days are hot, but the approach of summer adds a whole new level of intensity, like wrapping up in a wool blanket by a campfire at noon in Nevada — most folks in Montrouis are looking for shade, content to let the next couple of hours pass with as little physical activity as possible. For 30-year-old Guerby, though, there will be no shade. On this small, hand-built green-and-yellow rowboat, he sits exposed to the full force of the sun, floating quietly in … Continue reading Guerby’s story

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May 2017 Haiti Visit

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  In May 2017, my friend Bob Mayo and I traveled with 9-year-old Ephram Surber, our translator and “team leader,” to Montrouis, Haiti, to work with and document some of the work of Supply and Multiply, a ministry in that town for which I serve on the board of directors. By the grace of God, Supply and Multiply, in partnership with One Heart, 2 Homes, built and operates one home for the elderly in Montrouis and is in the process of completing a second one. We are also blessed to be able to provide a boat for a local fisherman, one … Continue reading May 2017 Haiti Visit

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Preserving love (even when we’re little snots)

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  Jonah, the negative example of how our relationship with God should work Our story so far: Called to go to Nineveh, one of Israel’s great enemies, and warn them of God’s coming wrath Ran away and took a boat headed for Tarshish, in Spain, the farthest point west that known to Israel Great storm Sailors pray to their gods, and Jonah slept The captain calls Jonah to the prayer meeting, but there’s no evidence he prays Jonah says they should throw him overboard, because he is the reason God has brought this storm The sailors do so only after … Continue reading Preserving love (even when we’re little snots)