a people for His own possession...Praise God!

What a very full and beautiful day! Tonight, as Lily and I danced happily by the pool, cool breezes sweeping over the city and through our hair, listening to a Caribbean band, I had what Oprah would call an "Aha! Moment"...one of those times when all the chaos and tidbits and directions of the day come together in a moment of peace, and I could feel the Lord's strong hand on us, weaving it all together.

It has been a positively CHARGED return to Haiti, packed full with trips, dishes, visits, cleaning, correspondence, meetings, dinners, laundry, laughter, diapers, friends and transitions. Our "creatively" wired little home has resulted in more inverter issues (to be solved tomorrow with the help of a handy friend, Lord willing), leaving us powerless from 9 pm until 6 am, and recently, quite often in between, too. The first night or two of mosquitos, loud noises and extreme heat (previously blocked out by the fan) were ok. But by this morning, following night 9, I was GROUCHY. Exhausted, sore, irritated, bug-bitten and grouchy.

"I can do all this with sleep!" I wailed to Matt at 5:30 am, already pouring sweat. "But I CANNOT keep it up on 2-3 hours of sleep a night!"

My terrible attitude needed more than a vent-session and a strong cup of coffee. I NEEDED time with the Lord, and I knew it! (Praise the LORD for these times of desperation that remind us of how reliant we are upon Him!)

So, Matt and the team headed down the road for a final morning of construction, and with Lily plopped on a blanket outside surrounded by ducks, measuring cups and Cheerios, I hid my Bible from her grasping hands in my lap and hunkered down for some good time with Him.

Out loud, I read Titus over and over again, letting His words to me pour over my grouchy, tired, hot soul and sooth my heart, transform my mood, renew my spirit.

I read of His promises, and of His hope. I read of holding fast, of being above reproach, of being hospitable and loving what is good, of NOT being self-willed. I read of the young women's charge to love their husbands and their children, to be pure and wise and kind, and about being a bondslave to others, "adorning the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect."

I let His word correct my heart, and then read of His grace, "instructing us to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope of Jesus, who gave Himself to 1) redeem us from our lawless deeds, and 2) to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds."

After a beautifully corrective morning with the Lord, the team returned and we headed out to do evangelism together with several Haitian brothers in an area 20 minutes (walking) from here. And as always, when I didn't know what to say, He told me, and when I didn't know where to go, He met me. Praying as we walked, I traced the words of Titus with my mind, anxious to live worthy of His calling.

What a joy it was to be smack in the middle of life, surrounded by friends of two countries, two languages, two cultures, telling people that they are 'for HIS own possession', praying with people about His 'salvation to all men', sharing the 'blessed hope.'

Then tonight, as a beautiful and sacrificial treat, the team took Matt, Lily and I, along with our sisters who had cooked for them all week, out to a hotel in town for dinner. We sat and talked and laughed and ate fried fish and rice as the sun set and cool darkness spread over Cap-Haitien. Then four men began to play and sing, guitar, drums, maracas, and I swear I could feel His grace for tiny, self-centered, grouchy me.

What a beautiful thing it is to be a person for His own possession. How sweet is His correction, how sweet His Word and how sweet is His gracious love. How sweet to have it, to share it, and to enjoy it.

Whatever circumstance, whatever mood, whatever predicament, whatever emotion, whatever stage you may be in...Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior be with you...

Yesterday we had a phenomenal day at church and with the team. We headed to Pastor Paul's church, where Pastor Luke was preaching (both graduates from Emmaus Biblical Seminary and fellow teachers and friends.) The worship was wonderful, and it was great to share our first Sunday back in-country with friends we worshiped with in Delaware just a month ago at Cornerstone Church.

Then Luke preached an awesome, Biblically based and challenging sermon, not about all of the things God has done for us, others, or that we want Him to do, but about what WE are ready to do for Him, taken from Psalms 116 and the life of David. It was just a powerfully delivered, powerfully based on Scripture, and powerfully close to home.

We then spent the afternoon at the pool, trying to cool down and relax after a busy week! The team has been working like crazy on the new seminary compound, and we all enjoyed the afternoon (though no one as much as Lily! We're already forgetting what being "cold" feels like!)

Welcome, Cornerstone!

After the airline they had tickets with "disappeared" (went under), it took this team almost 12 hours to get here from Florida. Five bags are still missing, and it is HOT (really, really hot).

And yet, the joy of the Lord is clearly their strength, because this awesome group from Cornerstone Church in Bear, DE has been amazing! Yesterday, they painted and painted the new seminary like crazy, getting a remarkable amount done. Today, despite horror stories of the steep hike, burning sun and hounding vendors, they are off to the Citadel for another adventure!

And in between, they are laughing, positive, and just plain an encouragement and joy to be around! Thank you, Cornerstone, for sending your friends and family to bless us, and many many others, this week! Don, from Sharptown Church in New Jersey, also returned to the field Thursday, staying through the end of August to try to complete the seminary construction. We are SO glad to have him back!

It is just plain good to be home! Even with the heat, Matt, Lily and I are as happy as can be to be here, and we're having such a good time catching up with friends and getting back to work. As blessed as we were by our many speaking opportunities this summer, it is great to be back to doing what He has made us to do!

Nothing in this World

***If your children read our blog, this may be a life experience you want them to miss. Please read in advance***

Yesterday was the second time I have seen a dead person. Not an “open casket” dead person, but a killed person. Years ago, whenever I was 18 and working in Port-au-Prince, I was in the back of a truck with a team, pointing out the sights downtown, when a man asked me, “What is that guy doing?”

I followed his point, and instantly responded, “That man is dead.”

Later, I was shocked by how quick and certain I was to respond. And yet the moment I saw the middle-aged man, wearing black, lying in the middle of the market with an obvious void of people around him, I knew he was dead. He looked entirely different than sleeping. He looked void, entirely empty…dead.

A 2x4 lay next to him, and thousands of people thronged past him, barely glancing at the reminder of the “law.” He had stolen. He had paid. Now, he was displaying for others the price of theft.

Yesterday was a very long day of travel. We drove to the airport at 8:30 am, waited for a plane part, flew to the Bahamas for fuel (get off, security, wait, board), flew to the Dominican Republic for mail drop-off (get off, walk through the entire airport, go through customs, leave the airport, re-enter the airport, go through security, stamp passports, wait, board) finally arriving in Cap-Haitien at 5:00 (4:00 Haiti time). We were hungry and exhausted, but happy to be home, and happy to see that our ride had somehow followed all our detours and shown up!

Lily was fantastic, all our stuff arrived in one piece, the customs lady was too enamored with Lily to dig through our bags, and a deep breath of damp hot air and the happy sound of Haitian Creole filled our hearts with a great sense of hope. A new year, new opportunities for ministry, old friends…we were home!

But we hadn’t been on the road home for 5 minutes before we came to a huge gathering of people, so thick we could barely pass through the road. Inching our way along, Sam and Matt wondered aloud at the crowd, hoping that perhaps there was a soccer match on a gas station TV or an overturned wheel-barrow of Cokes or T-shirts.

However, we quickly realized something far more grave was happening, as literally hundreds of people pressed around two trucks, craning and shouting and pushing to see something on the road. A UN tank had already arrived, and three or four soldiers, fully armed, were trying to get the crowd to press back. We continued to push forward, unsure of what else to do and not wanting to stop in the midst of such a large and tense crowd.

One young soldier, dressed in light blue, a helmet and clutching a gun, passed by my window. For a brief moment our eyes met. He couldn’t have been more than 18 or 19 years old, and all I saw in his dark eyes was fear.

Holding Lily’s sleeping, sweaty head to keep it from dropping over, I looked past the young soldier, only to see an image I’ll never forget.

A motorcycle lay on the ground, crammed between the two trucks, and hung over the body of the twisted bike were two bright white and blue tennis shoes, perfectly laced, perfectly bleached, toes pointed perfectly up, legs held perfectly angled.

Again, I immediately knew he was dead. I quickly looked away, not wanting to see any more, but knowing from the heaviness and, I don’t know how to explain it, void-ness of his legs and feet that he was dead.

A moment later we were through and zipping down the road.

We were all quiet. “That’s the first time I’ve seen someone killed,” Sam said. “I thought it would hit me harder.”

I knew exactly what he meant.

Questions, then a flash of horror, then flying past vendors and a kid selling gum, two women laughing fondly at a bare-butt child, wondering what in the world I was going to fix Matt and Lily for supper and wishing I had some Advil and hoping Tennis Shoes was a Christian and knowing from statistics that he probably wasn’t.

And maybe we don’t normally see such things. But wherever we live, such things are happening, and suddenly I heard quite clearly in my mind, “Welcome Home.”

Not with a cynical tone, but with one of urgency. If home is where the heart is, and we are after His heart, then our home is where His heart is for us. And that, unmistakably, is here. And the urgent need for Christ? What an urgent reminder.

We reunited with dear friends today, four, in particular, who are IT… The men and women God is clearly using to build His kingdom here in Haiti…the ones we are pouring, pouring into…the ones we see living, breathing, preaching, sharing, serving, joyfully suffering the Godly life.

And as we kissed and hugged and held hands and shared stories and Lily and laughter, Matt and I felt simultaneously and overwhelmingly that there is Nothing in this World but Knowing Him.

We have to make Him known.

We have to make Him known.

Whew! Goin' Home...

We are now in Florida, with Haiti ahead of us for tomorrow and Sabetha, Kansas behind us from yesterday. We had a WONDERFUL time in Sabetha...Matt got to fly with Martin in his plane and play 9 holes of golf with Martin, Tim and Brian. I ate at LEAST 1/2 gallon of Charlie's ice cream, and we were blessed by some downtime at their house while they're out of state. We met a wonderful team of people that are coming to Haiti for a week in August, and many other friends that we have been anxious to meet. Thank you SO much Northridge Church for all of your prayers and support, encouragement and family-ship!

We also had a bit of time with Sam's family-pictured (one of the missionaries that we serve with in Haiti) and with the Mishlers.

Ah, it was just an awesome trip, and a great end to this time in the States.

Lily, new tooth and all, has been SUCH a trouper through flights, hotels, rental cars, long trips and an ever-changing schedule.

We continue to be asked, "Are you ready [to go back]?" and to be honest, we have no idea. Sitting here alone in Florida, we are missing our family and feeling a bit depressed about how long it will be before we see them again, and are remembering full well the most difficult part of this adventurous calling: missing family and friends, not just for us, but now for Lily as well.

We're also trying to decide if our "last meal" will be pizza or Indian, a very important decision because we won't have that luxury of deciding what we "feel like" eating for quite some time :)

At the same time, we miss home, and are very anxious to be back about our "Father's business" there and back to some normalcy....our scheduled devotional times each morning, cooking in our kitchen, being back in our bed, being out of suitcases, giving Lily back a bedtime and a bedroom, our "couple hour" each evening...

More than that, we are missing our family and friends in Haiti, too, and are so excited about being back with them tomorrow and catching up on their lives and on what God's been doing there the past 7 weeks.

Most: We want to be where He wants us. And every time we come out of Haiti, we are so anxious to enjoy family and food and freeways again that we don't think twice. But after we've been gone for a while, our hearts begin to long for what He has made us to do: for now, live as redeemed people in the widely unredeemed place of Haiti.

We LOVE it, love the work, love the people, love the challenges and the growth that they bring, and love the opportunity to DO just what He's asking us to...no more and no less.

And so? YES. We're ready. Thank you for joining us for another year of pouring ourselves out to reconcile God's people to Himself!

prayers and packing

Today is Matt's last day in Delaware and our last day in Ohio...we leave tomorrow morning for Kansas. However, we just found out that PopPop has cancer again, and so we want to ask your prayers for him as well as for our last 24 hours of packing and preparing. Matt flies to Ohio tonight and then we're out in the morning for our first trip to Kansas! Lily's final doctor's appointment is today...just busy busy!

music, family and New Bedford

This weekend we worshipped and shared with our New Bedford, PA family! Pastor Doug and Kim welcomed us so warmly, and everyone joined us afterwards for a wonderful luncheon.
Lori has been our dear friend now for three years, always emailing, praying for us, and sending us necessities (and extras!), housing us and just plain loving on us and Lily. We're not sure why the Lord has given her such a special heart for us, but we praise Him for it!
Debi shared the special music, Grandma June, Shelly and Patty spoiled Lily, and we were blessed to share with this congregation what God is doing in Haiti, through them and so many others...

Lisa got me a wonderful gift: two tickets to Mama Mia on Broadway! On Saturday afternoon she and I went, and had such a blast. It was a wonderful show, and better yet was having the rare opportunity to do something so fun and special with my sister!
For our last dinner all together with my family, we went to our very favorite restaurant, The Japanese Steakhouse. We thought Lil might be frightened by the chopping, fire and cooking happening on the table, but she loved it!

On Friday, we spent the day at the fair with Aunt Patty...Lily LOVED the animals and slept the entire trip home.
One of Lily's very favorite new things to do is play piano...she does NOT want your help, and she does NOT want to stop. Ever.

traveling and the realities of time!

It just keeps tickin'! We spent this past week shopping for the next year in Haiti, packing, at the dentist, cleaning out my dad's house of furniture and things from our apartment before we moved to Haiti, and then all day yesterday with my Aunt Patty in Pittsburgh. We also got to do some of the fun things we've been wanting to do since coming Stateside...Matt and my dad are out now playing, Lisa and I went to the movies, and we've had lots of Dairy Queen this week!

This evening we head for New Bedford, PA to spend some precious time with good friends there and to speak at New Bedford Presbyterian Church Sunday morning, a group of believers that have been surrounding us for three years now!

Lily has broken her first tooth and yet continues to be a joy...Yesterday at the fair with Aunt Patty she got some good time with horses, dogs, sheep, ducks, goats...and was loving it!

Unbelievable that we are returning to Haiti in just a little over one week now! We always hit a bit of panic at this point that our time with family and friends and is rapidly running out...Praising the Lord that "He who calls you is Faithful."

mississippi

We got back last night at midnight from a whirlwind weekend in Jackson, Mississippi! I left Lily for the first time ever at home with Grandpa and Aunt Lisa and we flew down to Jackson for a HOT (over 100 degrees!) and busy weekend of speaking at Wesley Chapel and spending time with friends.

It was a joy to finally meet some of the places and people that have grown dear to Matt's heart as he's studied at Wesley Biblical Seminary and to deepen the relationship between us and Emmaus Biblical Seminary in Haiti with Jackson and Wesley Biblical Seminary!

This week we have driver's licenses to renew, more dentist appointments, a day in Pittsburgh, PA, furniture and appliances from our old apartment to finish going through, and a final precious few days with my sister! We return to Haiti 2 weeks from today...

a beautiful week off

We have safely returned from Utah, where a friend let us borrow his house for the week. We were mostly all sick, mostly the whole time...but, we still had a great time together and had lots of good time to relax and rest. Park City was just gorgeous, both in town and in the mountains, and we're so thankful we were able to go!

Saturday morning we head for Mississippi to speak at Wesley Chapel!