friends and flights

Our good friend from college (and our wedding) is flying in to Columbus today for the weekend. We are so excited that she is coming! After having been away from Columbus for the past 5 years (and Matt, never having lived here) we have found it lonely at times, and are grateful for a chance to spend time with Maria!

On another note, we received word from the small airline that provides flights from Florida to the part of Haiti where we will be, and they cannot fly us there on August 14th, as expected. Our dates to fly are now narrowed down to August 9th or August 21st. We will let you know when we do. Either way, it is exciting to have dates lining up!

perhaps the only...

...positive (ish) story on Haiti in the news today. Interim President Rene Preval is trying to bring change to the mess of corruption in Haiti. "18 May - President Rene Preval declared a "war without end" against corruption Friday, calling crooked state officials traitors who rob the deeply impoverished nation of vital investment and jobs. "The fight for equality requires the government to have money without having to ask for it. For the government to have money, people have to stop stealing from the state," Preval said during a Haitian Flag Day speech on the lawns of the National Palace. Laying out a major initiative of his year-old government, Preval vowed to root out corrupt police, customs agents, judges and legislators, whom he accused of enriching themselves at the expense of the aid-dependent Caribbean nation, which is struggling to return to stability following a crippling 2004 revolt. "This war without end against corruption will be long and hard, but we will win because it's a fight for life," Preval said during the address attended by diplomats from Haiti's biggest donor-nations, including the United States, Canada and France.

Preval also warned local companies not to smuggle in contraband and evade taxes, which he said discouraged legitimate businesses from investing in the country. "Everyone involved in corruption is a traitor in the fight for equality," he said. "If there's corruption, there will be no investment. Without investment, there will be no jobs." (AP)

it's the weekened!

We are glad to have Stacey's dad back from a buisiness trip, sister Lisa home for 2 more weeks before leaving for Namibia, and Lisa's college room-mate on her way for a visit. We have two weeks until we move temporarily to Indiana for our month of cross-cultural training. Our June newsletter is in the mail!

our victory.

"Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword? ..But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35.

This we know.

We are just now receiving more details about the horrific deaths of three Bible translators in Turkey, a country where people go on vacation! I realize that as "a Christian" or as "a missionary", I find myself thinking at times that I am making some ultimate sacrifice, by giving my life to Him, to His call. But the reality is that Christianity is taking us to a country where no missionary has every received as much as a papercut for being a Christian. We are giving our lives to His service in Haiti, but have been called to a land where we will not most likely not be called to give UP our lives! I forget to be so thankful for religious freedom here, for the religious freedom we face in Haiti. And I forget to be so thankful for so many who have fought for this, who have died for this, who are dying for this still. We are so humbled...

"Please pray for the Church in Turkey. “Don’t pray against persecution, pray for perseverence,” urges Pastor Fikret Bocek of Turkey.

"The Church is better having lost our brothers; the fruit in our lives, the renewed faith, the burning desire to spread the gospel to quench more darkness in Malatya …all these are not to be regretted. Pray that we stand strong against external opposition and especially pray that we stand strong against internal struggles with sin, our true debilitating weakness.

"This we know. Christ Jesus was there when our brothers were giving their lives for Him."

For the full article, jot us an email.

wow of a city

We are back safely from Chicago, celebrating Lisa's 21st birthday! Friday night we were able to see "The Color Purple" on Broadway, which was magnificent and powerful. It is truly the "windy city", but we were blessed with balmy weather on Saturday, our day outside, visiting Navy Pier, the Magnificent Mile, and "The Bean" (pictured). We spent today's 48 degree weather in the museum, exploring an exhibit on modern day Africa, which was really interesting and interactive. Most of all, we had a weekend that was peaceful and full of much laughter. We are so grateful to have a family of friends!

happy 21st Lisa!

Today is Stacey's sisters birthday! She just got into Columbus, OH last night, and will be with us for the next 3 weeks before she spends her summer in Namibia, Africa.
Matt is also just back to Columbus from being with his family for a week...We are all glad to be back together and are looking forward to celebrating Lisa's birthday, and our last mini-vacation as a family before we leave for Haiti, this weeked in Chicago!

because of our history

This weekend was a blessing for us both: Matt in DE with his family for Mother's Day and Stacey at Asbury College in KY for graduation. We are blessed to have been raised in God-loving homes, and blessed to have had the opportunity to be a part of a Christian college, resulting in Christian friendships. Even without these things, we are blessed to have a history of faith behind us...Esther offering up her life to spare a nation of believers, Paul imprisoned countless times and eventually killed for his endurance in preaching the Word, Daniel choosing pursuit of the Lord despite threats of certain death. We have such a history of faith, such a history of Christ-followers...how could we not pursue His call on our lives? We are blessed to have so many of you in our lineage of believers!

Happy Mother's Day

to all of the women who have meant so much to who we are today and who we will be...We are convinced that we will never be too old for the wisdom, prayers, guidance and assistance coming from these moms and aunts and grandmas and friends!

enjoy...

Matt and I went on a date today to Old Man's Cave, a gorgeous park for hiking near us...first date in a while! It is good to take the time to remember why we are so blessed that the Lord brought our paths together! Matt is heading to Delaware to be with his mom for Mother's Day, and I am heading to Asbury College to see some dear friends graduate. Enjoy the warming weather and the loves in your lives!

New Creation...Old Creator

How can one describe Haiti? Some of the most common words are desperate, chaotic, corrupt, sad, lost, dangerous, crooked and poor. From time to time you’ll hear people (usually those who have been to Haiti) call it beautiful, captivating, passionate, devoted, and so forth. Haiti is certainly all of these things, however, usually the list of negative attributes becomes overwhelming. So overwhelming, in fact, that it is easy to label Haiti has “hopeless.”
What then do we do with a place like Haiti? How do we deal with a situation that seems to be spiraling out of control on such a large scale? It’s difficult enough when a marriage, or a household becomes chaotic or desperate… so what about an entire country in dire straits? As humans we feel overwhelmed with the desire to help change the situation so what do we do? We listen. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and void and there was darkness over the deep, with a divine wind sweeping over the waters…” (Genesis 1:1-2 NJB).

There exists no voice of hope more refreshing than that of Genesis 1-2. In the beginning, thousands of years ago, God took chaos, formlessness, darkness…and turned it not just into earth, but heaven as well. Right this very morning, afternoon and evening, God, in Haiti, is putting to use these same ingredients to recreate a country and a people that will resemble Him. The creation account is not about dating the earth, it’s not about science, or creationism, it’s not even about the creation. It is about the CREATOR. God, through the creation account whispers in our worrisome, anxious hearts, “I am in control”. Even in Haiti and places like it. In all humility I feel privileged that He has called Stacey and I to be a part of recreating Haiti.

Do you know what my favorite part about all of this is? He does the same thing in the personal and individual lives of those who believe and trust in Him. He’s doing it in me and a lot of people around us. He takes the corrupt, crooked, chaotic, self-centeredness and recreates it into something beautiful: His own image, which is what it was intended to be.

Hopelessness doesn’t exist in the lexicon of the Creator.
--Matt

to be His very own!

"You see, God's grace has been revealed to save the whole human race; it has taught us that we should give up everything contrary to true religion and all our worldly passions;

we must be self-restrained and live upright and religious lives in this present world, waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Christ Jesus.

He offered himself for us in order to ransom us from all our faults and to purify a people to be his very own and eager to do good." Titus 2:11-14

Our continued prayers, lifted alongside the urgent prayers of children such as these, for His glory in our lives, His teaching, His direction and all thankfulness for His great gift given to save the whole human race!

have you looked at our support percentage?

We are getting SO close to being fully funded...only 8-10 more monthly supporters could finish our support raising! It is hard for us to believe that this long road of support raising is almost finished, but our open suitcases downstairs remind us that it's true! We are starting to collect what we'll need in Haiti, all the while trying to take as little (and as light) as possible.

getting ready...

We've been home from Canada over a week now, and it's amazing how quickly things move forward. We have been officially approved to purchase our plane tickets for Haiti, which means we have to start packing now so we can schedule our flight based on the weight of our luggage. This is such an exciting step, but also a sureal realization that we're moving soon, starting ministry in Haiti soon, turning life upside-down soon. We're working for Stacey's dad a few days a week, getting ready for training in June, and enjoying time with with family and friends. Pray with us for continued peace, wisdom, discernment, organanization and guidance as we prepare, and for the completion of our funding!

"You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of...All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." 2 Tim. 3