matt, church, and what more I could be doing with the language everyone wants!

Matt is coming home tomorrow (hopefully!) and we are VERY ready to have him back! What a wonderful reminder his absence has been of what an attentive, caring, God-fearing, sacrificial, helpful and loving father and husband and best friend Lily and I have in Matt! Despite all of the ways we have seen and felt the Lord working in our hearts during this time apart, we will be quite thankful to be seeking the Lord together TOGETHER. He had a wonderful residency in Jackson, had this past weekend with his family in Philly (finally got to meet that sweet baby nephew of ours!), spends some time tonight and tomorrow in Florida with Sam and Cammie (before they head for Kansas) and then flies back in tomorrow afternoon!

Meanwhile, Lily and I have had a full weekend. I taught my final Saturday English class, and man, the Lord is putting a spark in my heart regarding ESL (English as a Second Language) as and Evangelical tool. I just don't know HOW else I could build relationships with 50 men and women, largely non-Christian, who are out in Haiti, and tell them about Christ EVERY week. I mean, on Saturdays we have UN translators, airline employees, nurses, nuns, doctors, students, business owners, administrators and government employees COME from all over to sit for almost THREE hours (every Saturday for 9 months) and to listen to, absorb, write down, and SHARE every word we say.

After working with my group of 50 just 2 Saturdays, I could feel the change in their attitudes as they began to get to know me and let me know them some, too. The coldness that I felt the first week was entirely absent yesterday. What an AWESOME ministry opportunity, not just to reach these 50, but to then have these 50 reach circles of Haitians (and UN...Brazilians, Chileans) throughout the North that I would NEVER have a chance to talk to!

It was awesome, and I need to keep thinking about how I might be able to use the language I was born into as an awesome evangelical tool. I would also want to change the Christian curriculum we currently use at the Seminary to make it Evangelical in nature. I am confident that if we were able to develop EVERY grammar/vocabulary/speech lesson into a evangelical format, we would still have the same huge numbers of non-Christians coming for class...there are just not many native English speakers here to learn from! Hmmm...lots to think and pray about! Share your ideas/thoughts/experiences...

Today Kate, Lily and I went to Paul's church in town. He and the other two men Matt went to Jackson with returned to Haiti yesterday, so it was wonderful to hear a bit about his experiences today and to hear a "I've been studying the Bible 10 hours a day for 2 weeks!" fired up sermon. Paul is a godly and unique man, and his family is just as much of an encouragement to us as he is.

Ah, the harvest here is SO ripe and the work is SO sweet. Many days, like Saturday, with 50 faces listening in anticipation as I talked about what it means to "glorify God in all that we do", I have to stop in my tracks and praise the Lord for using ME, when I have nothing of value to offer outside of Him, when He doesn't need me in the least, to make Him known here in Haiti, here in the world!

I sought the Lord,

and He answered me,

and delivered me from all my fears.

They looked to Him and were RADIANT,

and their faces will never be ashamed.

This poor man cried,

and the Lord heard him

and saved him out of all his troubles.

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,

and rescues them.

O, Taste and see that the Lord is good!

How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

Psalm 34