"thank you"

Today was one of the best Sundays we have had since moving to Haiti last August. The very end of July, two very humble, passionate and very called men asked us to come to their church this Sunday and asked Matt to preach. Rosnal and Rodrige (the man we spoke about this summer in many churches) have a church out in the country that is not only one of the few churches we've been to that is clearly growing, but also a church that is dynamic, very genuinely worshipful, and located in a remote and unchurched area. Church this morning was packed with men and women alike...women on one side, all heads covered, and men on the other with children in the front.



Due to the fuel shortage, Matt and I haven't gone further than our feet can carry us for almost 3 weeks now, and so we saved up our gas to pile into another missionary's truck with Amy and a seminary student this morning. The mud road was in AWFUL condition, but we arrived safely and on time. For over an hour we were able to participate in passionate Haitian worship. It was wonderful to be with Rodrigue and Rosnal again, men who graduated from Matt's fourth year class in May. We were warmly welcomed as "a brother who loves Jesus and the Bible and a sister whose heart is to serve every Haitian," words we desperately want to live up to.

When it was time for corporate prayer, the church lifted us up specifically, praying for the baby, for our ministry, for our encouragement, for our families, and for a personal vehicle so that we can take God's word "everywhere in Haiti, not just here" (something we NEVER told them we have been funding and praying for).



It came to Matt's time to preach, and we were both very moved by how the Holy Spirit "took over" for him and really used Matt to speak a clear, dynamic, powerful and timely message. I've never seen Matt so removed from himself and so transparently speaking what Jesus was putting on his heart...He spoke from Isaiah 6 about a time in Israel's history that was incredibly bleak, and about how THAT was when Jesus showed up, not in this instance with comfort, with healing, or with instruction, but with POWER. He shared stories throughout the Bible that we see this same thing, and shared about how Isaiah's life had to change because of it, and spoke of exactly HOW God's power changed Isaiah.

It was such a timely and practical message, not just obviously for all of the beautiful men and women around me, but for US.

WE have seen God's power in our lives...have SEEN his robe overflow the temple, have felt His purifying coals on our lips, in our lives...HOW has that changed us?

We had a very discouraging day this past week...the kind that envelopes you in questions of why we are here, what we are doing here...what God has for His dear children in Haiti. A group of people had come to us with a long list of requests...asking for many many things, none of which we have ever felt called to give. If we were in Haiti, it was implied, and not doing these things, not providing these things, our work was indeed in vain.

How discouraging, to believe with your whole hearts that what is needed here is that which CANNOT be taken away, that which is LASTING, that which is placing roots in the NEXT kingdom, and to be working with every ounce of our hearts and minds and finances and sweat to give just that... only to be told that what was needed instead were things God never asked us (personally) to give, things that are much more temporal.

We've felt so saddened since then, until this morning. This is why. Whenever the service was finally over, we all deserted the suffocating church building to get outside, and we were each swarmed with men and women, thanking us for coming, offering and asking for prayer, thanking Matt for his message.

In the corner of the yard was a very very old and obviously very poor man. He was tall and emaciated, with a worn but clean straw cowboy hat on top of his curly white hair. He was perched a top a rickety old bicycle, preparing to make the long journey home, but instead sat and waited. When the crowd died down, he approached me, not with downcast eyes but with clear wrinkled eyes brimming with tears and overflowing with joy. He wrapped my hand in both of his long leathery palms, grinned a "Jesus" grin and said, quite simply and empathetically, "THANK YOU."

"Thank you," he said again, "Thank you for sharing God's Word with me. THANK YOU." With another firm clasp and huge smile, he rolled slowly down the road.



The look in his eyes was a look that could have accompanied a "thank you" for a million dollar bill, the sincerity in his voice the sincerity that could have expressed the extreme value of a new vehicle, a new house, free medical care, or saving the life of a loved one.

But we had given him none of these things...not even one cent, not a grain of rice, not a promise for aid or shelter or help. We had given him no glory, no power, no reward. All we gave him was the ONE thing we have felt called to give, give, give...God's Word...and it was ENOUGH! We gave him Jesus as best as we could, and this old man...he KNEW the value. We gave him the one priceless thing, the one thing that no government, no hurricane, no sickness, no man could take away...and he KNEW it was PRECIOUS.

He reminded us that it is precious.

We may not be here to do everything everyone wants us to. We may not be called, or even able, to give everything that everyone wants or thinks is important. But God has spoken clearly to us of what is valuable...spoken clearly to us of HOW and WHAT He wants us to pour ourselves into here in Haiti, and used the "least of these", a poor old man, to remind us that we are here to be FAITHFUL to the LORD, and no one else.



The Lord met us through that old man today. Our prayer for you and ourselves alike this Sunday: that we would only be discouraged when we fail the Lord...that we would only be heartbroken whenever we do not do what God has called us to do...that we would RUN to fulfill every call He has on our lives...that we would NOT be distracted from serving the Lord by man or Satan or even a good thing...that our hearts would be set unwaveringly on His face.

We are so desperate to serve Him SO WELL. THANK You for being Jesus to us so that we can be Jesus in this land where SO MANY don't know Him.

He is, and always will be, the one thing that Haiti NEEDS...the one thing that I need.