Haiti Day 3 & 4

Sorry for not writing last night, but we had no WiFi all night for the first time on the trip. Not too bad for a lower than third world country.

We were disappointed the past couple of days that our construction has been cut short due to rain. Both days when we went to lunch it started to absolutely pour. Yesterday we had left our videographer at the sight ti get some shots during lunch and he was drenched. Luckily a local family took him in and kept him a little dry. They'll still get the house done, but maybe not before we leave, which would be a little disappointing.

We continue to meet amazing people. The kids are so sweet and happy with getting any little trinket we have. They also absolutely love getting their picture taken, and then seeing them. We think it's because they don't really have any other way to see themselves, but it's really sweet.

Yesterday we spent our free time around Pastor Jean Alix's house playing catch. The down time was nice, but we would have loved to have been working with Haitians instead. Today we went over to one of Jean Alix's churches and met many of his people. We had alot of fun playing basketball and soccer with them, and just spending time talking and getting to know them. Many of them had biblical questions, an we were able to answer most of them and establish longer term connections to try to continue answering them.

The food is still amazing. Last night was turkey, and pasta, and veggies. Delicious! Not sure what we are having tonight yet, but it is smelling great.

Tomorrow is a completely different day. We will be meeting with one of our other Patoral partners' Gaetan at his orphanage and school. We will then be going to the Petionville tent city, or JP 1, which is one of the tent cities here. Pastor St. Cyr (pronounced sincere) will be leading us through it and taking us to a school located in the tent city. we have heard this will be the most spiritually difficult and emotionally draining day. Please pray that God will provide us strength and clarity of the path we should be on. Pray that the Holy Spirit moves ahead of us tonight to work on the hearts of the local people and us.

Thanks for the continued prayer and support!

Haiti Day 2 Recap

Day two has been amazing. The Haitian people have revealed themselves to be a kind, loving, proud people. Everyone we have come into contact with have been amazing. We worked on a house most of the day. We got the roof on, and carried many, many buckets of sand/concrete mix down a difficult path. The pictures will not do it justice. The house is for Chavanes and his wife Vergela and their kids. They are incredibly hard working people who are helping considerably on the building of the house, while also doing their other chores. It was an honor to be with them and meet them We had lunch at the Baptist mission. It's not what it would seem like though. They have a whole restaurant and shop. The food has been amazing! Most of us agree we don't eat this well at home. This morning was fruit, bacon, eggs, and more. Dinner was a traditional Haitian meal: chicken, rice and beans, fried plantains, and more.

Tomorrow holds more buckets of sand and plastering of walls. We are excited about having more Haitian workers on site with us. Part of the funds raised for this trip is paying these workers salaries, which makes it even better.

God clearly has a plan for this place. It is evident that the Holy Spirit has moved in these people, some who dont even know it yet. I am thankful that he has now brought us in on this plan, and I am excited to see where it leads. Pray that God gives us a clear path that will bring Him much glory, and that we would have the courage to answer the call and follow it.

The team is in great spirits. We are from several different churches and backgrounds, and most of us have never met, but we are blessed by the amazing relationships and sense of family we already have

Your prayers are being felt, and are appreciated more than you know.

Haiti Day 2 morning

Up early for day 2. Several of us are just sitting around enjoying the Haitian coffee and spending some time in the word. It is very nice here. We are up in the mountains so the temperature isnt quite as hot, but I'm expecting it to get up there today. Showers are quick and icy, but a nice way to start the day. Pastor Jean Alix Paul and his wife Mylene are our hosts. They have two young kids named Mocklee (son) and Laurie (daughter). They are very wonderful hosts, and amazingly giving Christ loving people.

Today we are working on a new house that we helped finance. With all of the flooding last week, we aren't quite sure where we will be at. One of the things I love most about the trip is that we are not here taking Haitian jobs, but actually paying salaries for workers and then assisting them.

Thank you for all of the continued prayers. God is already working in our hearts through the native Haitians love for Him and love of each other. It is amazing how they go out of their way for the least of these. Pray that today we can help the Haitian leaders show this to other Haitians and not get in the way too much!

Haiti day 1

We are at the house. It was a fun trip up in the buses. No lanes, people just kinda drive where they want, but we had a great driver named Gary who got us here safe. Just had dinner, really good local food cooked by the pastor's wife. Tomorrow is a day of construction, so prayers for safety are greatly appreciated. Thanks for the prayers, we'll try to keep you updated.

Faith With a Thorn in Your Side...

We live in a world where the norm is to be selfish. It is sad, but true. Everyone feels like everything should go their way in every situation. I often have my ear caught when I hear people say "I deserve this", or "You are an amazing person, you should get this." It really does sound like a reasonable enough thing. We work hard, we do what we are supposed to, and therefore we deserve to have good things happen to us. The only problem with that is, as Matt Chandler would say, is the Bible.
The only thing that God promises us is that if we have faith in Him, and believe that he is the one true God, that he will give us eternal salvation. He does not promise us wealth, or health, or an easy life in return for our obedience, yet many wish it were that way. Jesus was the Son of God, He who knew no sin, yet he suffered horribly on the cross. Are we more deserving of an easy life than him? And before you say that since Jesus is God, it was all part of the plan, so is anything that happens to us. In Psalms 139:1-6, it is made clear that God has "searched out my path", so he not only knows, but has decided what will happen to me. Even Paul, a great disciple of Christ, faced many trials even in light of his amazing faith in the Lord. Paul was stoned (Acts 14:19-20) and put in prison (Acts 16:16-24).
So why do we face trials. In James 1:2-4, we are actually told to "count it all joy" when we face trials, because the "testing of your faith produces steadfastness." In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Paul has a thorn in his side that was sent from Satan in order to harass him. Paul pleads with Jesus three times to take it out, but Jesus tells Paul that His "grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness", and Paul responds by BOASTING of his weakness, so that "the power of Christ may rest on" him. He goes on to say, "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
So why do I bring this up? Because this is not how most of us react in these situations. When everything is going great, we love to tell everyone about the wonderful things that God has done for us. But when things go badly, there is less joy in it. We do not fall to our knees thanking God every time we or someone we love gets sick, or hurt, or dies. In fact, many of us do the opposite. Yet we are called to continue to praise God through it all, so that believers and non believers alike would see the amazing power of faith, and the ability of God to do anything.
I was thinking about this after I heard our lead pastor, Matt Chandler, express in front of the entire congregation how "grateful" he was "that God found that he was worthy enough" to handle a BRAIN TUMOR. (video) This was not some simple statement that he knows God can heal from a man who has nothing to lose. He is young, married, three kids, a Godly ministry, in short, he is a man who could lose what most of us would consider everything. Yet for Matt, he knows that all of that is nothing compared to God and eternal life with Him.
As scary as it all is, Matt still has this unshakeable faith. He is not asking why God is making him suffer, and he is not asking God to remove the thorn. He is boasting in his weakness. He is not boasting about this to receive glory as the "hypocrites" in Matthew 6. Jesus says to "beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from" God, because they have already received it. He is using this opportunity to further push attention away from himself, and onto God.
So I ask this, pray for Matt. Pray for his family. Pray that he continues to have unshakeable faith in God, and continues to have the strength to praise him, even in this time of darkness. Pray that the power of Christ will continue to lay on him. And pray that God will continue to use this, not to glorify Matt, because that would be missing the point. All of this, including the amazing strength that Matt is showing, is only because of the power of Christ. So pray that this situation continues to bring glory to God, and brings us all closer to the day where we can have faith, even with a thorn in our side.
A Link to Matt's Message to the Church this morning...