death of a laptop...birth of our Everything

My poor computer has bit the dust...It began dying on Monday and by Wednesday took its last breath. Its last hours were so fleeting that I wasn’t even able to back everything up, and desperately tried to save all recent changes to zip drives. Hopefully, not too much was lost.

I am admittedly terrible on computers. Photos are my problem, and with tens of thousands of them tucked away with tons of Lily and Seminary videos, Power Point presentations, brochures, documents, logos, music, and episodes of The Office...yeah, they generally can only keep up with my multi-tasking-on-steroids ways for 2-3 years before quitting on me.

Thankfully, my father is coming in on Sunday, and will be able to carry one in with him...saving in trying to ship (and pay for shipping and customs) a laptop to Haiti. Until then, I’m blogging from Matt’s very theological, media and art-free computer...no photos for a while.

Thursday Matt and John headed to Limonad because Matt had been invited to be the guest speaker at a conference on discipleship. They had just an AWESOME day, and were blessed to be a part of a conference involving 75 young people, mostly men, ages 18-30. This is an age-group often missing from church-life and often involved in nothing and all the problems that come from doing “nothing”.

He was able to work alongside of some really godly Haitian leadership, as well, and able to see some truly indigenous ministry happening and see God doing some new things with His people here. The audience was engaged and enthusiastic, and it was really encouraging for Matt to be able to be a part of Holy Spirit-inspired ministry efforts and not be at the core of it himself.

Based on Jesus’ model, he was able to teach on love and faithfulness being at the heart of Christian discipleship, and this approached sparked some great discussion and growth.

The longer we are here (not just in Haiti, but on Earth) the more we realize that this is ALL about relationships...This is an extra difficult concept for me, who gets much joy, order and stability from task accomplishment and efficiency and for Matt, who is energized by solitude and uninterrupted focus.

It is our relationship with Christ that enables us to be agents of joy and healing and healthiness in our relationships with people. It is our relationship with Him that enables us to get OUT of our own way and be in humble, sacrificial, honest and loving relationships with others...

It is because of Him that we can be turned OUTWARD, and build the relationships that make TRUE differences...transformations that no amount of task-accomplishments can create. It is HE that transforms, first us, and then our approach to others.

I get overwhelmed by praise for HIM. Praise the Lord for the Lord! Praise Him for this miracle of relationship, that turns the human heart away from itself and onto Him, and therefore pours Him out, The One Thing That Is Needed, on Haiti...on the World.

All in the form of a wrinkled baby, a skin-kneed child, a rough-palmed carpenter, a plain-faced teacher, a hush-hush healer, a painfully-honest preacher, a spit-covered King. OUR King. Forever Emmanuel.

Praise the Lord.