no hope under heaven but...

We feel like excited college students getting ready to go home for the weekend!

Tomorrow at 3:00 we leave for Port-au-Prince to spend a much-awaited weekend there with our good friends, Greg and Cathie. They are like parents to us both, and have been waiting a long time to meet their newest grandbaby! (They were in Columbus, Ohio the week Lily was DUE to be born, but had returned to Haiti by the time Lily actually greeted us!)

One of the ministries they are involved in is running a guest house in Port to facilitate mission trips for teams from the US. But this weekend, they closed up the house and cancelled all visitors so that we could all have a good weekend of rest, friendship, encouragement, and Settlers (for those of you who don’t know the game, it’s addicting!)

Our good friend Teresa, and her new husband, will be joining us, too, and we are really looking forward to some good time “away from life” to catch our breaths and remember that life is bigger than our little corner of the island!

The last few days, as my friend Elisa puts it, have been “busybusy”, but here’s the highlights!

Wednesday evening one of our fellow staff members and his family came over for supper. I’ve written much about Paul, his heart and his church before, but we’ve never gotten to spend a lot of time with his family! His eight, six and two year old accompanied he and his wife, and they were absolutely delightful kids. Lunch is the “big meal” in Haitian culture, and supper is usually more of a snack. Just in case, however, I prepared a lot of food. Well, I have NEVER seen an 8 year-old boy devour so much! We kept teasing him, and finally his mom whispered to me over dessert “He wouldn’t eat all day. He skipped lunch, saying that he wanted to save up for ‘special food at Matt’s house’ tonight!”

The conversation was encouraging, inspiring and just plain godly with Paul and his wife. Their lives, their witness, their church, their ministry, their attitudes and their family just radiate healthiness, humility, passion and godliness. After dinner the kids and I read through Lily’s children’s Bible, and I was amazed at their Bible knowledge…not just the stories, but why they happened the way they did, and what God was trying to teach or show mankind by each story! What an awesome night!

Thursday’s always begin with a special time of prayer with the Seminary staff, and then we taught. Matt finished his session on Psalms on Tuesday, and will finish this semester of his Master’s degree tomorrow, Lord willing!

The “Evangelism Project” of Easter break continues, and it’s been such a joy to have students, like today, still coming by the house for a Bible or two and to share continuing testimonies of the sharing of their faith.

What also began with fourth year’s dreaming has become a school-wide activity on Wednesday and Thursdays. Both these days, groups of students voluntarily trek about two miles to an area without a church and largely unreached. Today, Matt, Lily and I joined them, the students joking all the way of our “littlest Evangelist” and how many babies she hoped to convert as that she was the only one who spoke baby 

As we approached the village, the students all broke off in groups of two, heading to every house and every person they saw, hands outstretched and quick to share the gospel. Meanwhile, the student heading up the discipleship portion headed to a house a Christian woman previously volunteered, collecting new believers as he went. At 2:00, he began a “Bible study” there in a tiny dirt courtyard crowded with new believers, interested passerby’s and hordes of children.


Clusters of people gathered around each Bible, all following along while a chapter in Psalms was shared.

I loved talking to the people we passed, the children who reached out to Lily, to the people living nearby and to the people in the service. But without a doubt, the Lord has placed my ministry heart on the students. I LOVED joining them, praying with them, helping them and just watching them DO His work. There were some very godly students out there today working hard to die to themselves and to bring Him glory. I know I’ve said this before, but working alongside the staff and students at EBS continues to be one of the great joys of my life.

Ah, this has gotten long again. God is visibly doing so much right now that it's hard to "keep it short!"

Can I share just one more thing that moved my heart today?

While preparing to "go out and tell the world" today, I ran through the Bible, refreshing myself on the verses that have been foundational in my salvation and faith. I was awed all over again by WHAT CHRIST DID for me, by the precious reconciliation to God His death on the cross has given me. Before I closed this time with the Lord, I cracked open today's devotion in Oswald Chambers "Devotions for a Deeper Life."

Your disposition of 'my right to myself' MUST go. Do not think your salvation consists of YOUR morality, YOUR holiness, YOUR experiences, or anything else based on this disposition of self-rule.

GOD GRANT that you may be cruicfied with Christ. There is NO HOPE anywhere under heaven but in the Cross of Jesus. God made Him to carry sin for your sake, because SIN is your usual disposition. It must be removed here and now...

THERE IS NO HOPE ANYWHERE UNDER HEAVEN BUT IN THE CROSS OF JESUS. "God grant that you might be crucified with Christ," he said, and "Oh, LORD! May it be so!" cried out the depths of my soul. Pray for us, We pray for you...as we seek to let go of our right to ourselves.

service...

Sunday, April 26th, 2009

I’m just going to continue writing our blog entries every other day in Word, and then copy them into Blogger on the rare occasion that it is working!

Today was quite an interesting day! This morning at 8:30 Matt, Mary Lou, Don, Lily and I loaded up the truck and headed for Pastor/Police Officer Jude’s ordination. He is the pastor of a church in town, and the president of his church is one of my first year students at the Seminary.

First, we passed a ginormous penguin, like a huge fiberglass penguin, on wheels, wearing a sombrero, that you would see maybe at an amusement park, just standing by himself on the side of the road. WHO in the world saw that thing, and thought, “Hmmm. I should send that to HAITI!” Totally hilarious. Wish I could have gotten a picture…it was great. I’d like to steal it, paint “Welcome” on its belly, and put it at the entrance of our compound.

Then, we arrived to the area where the church was, looking for our friend who promised to be standing on the road to find us and lead us to the church. However, he did not show up, so we just parked in the general area, and started walking towards the loudest hymns being sung: found it! Weaving past dozens of people in a busy part of town, we climbed narrow stairs and entered the VERY adorned second story sanctuary only to see that several hundred people were already PACKED into a room smaller than home. Which is NOT big. (I tried hard not to think about the school in Port-au-Prince that collapsed when hundreds of people were on the second floor!)

Everyone was VERY excited about Jude’s ordination, and everywhere there were flowers, singing groups, choirs, kids and special guests. The service started right at 9 with almost 15 minutes of Bible recitation…being done by the entire congregation.

“Psalm 27!” The leader would shout, and immediately the whole congregation would spout off the chapter without cracking a Bible or hesitating. “Psalm 113! Romans 8! John 1!” Without missing a beat the whole group recited each chapter.

I sincerely hope that there was also training and understanding behind each memorized chapter, but regardless, I was humbled by how much Scripture was known so well, especially thinking back on my past two weeks of struggling to begin memorizing 2 Corinthians 5 & 6.

Because we were placed smack in front of the speakers, I quickly moved with the baby and my folding chair back several rows. Wedged between two people, and crammed into the row in front, I had Lily balanced carefully and my legs twisted through the chair legs in front of me. Suddenly, a very large woman started pushing through our “aisle.”

Stopping between me and the woman right next to me, she sat down. ON us. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” I began ranting in my mind. Having no choice but to scoot over, suddenly there were 3 of us (4, counting Lily!) sitting on 2 folding chairs. As I perched precariously on the very corner edge of “our” chair, a bar jamming into my ribs, legs still twisted, Lily began to fuss.

I’ve never prayed “without ceasing” quite so much for an hour. “Lord, help my legs to fall asleep, Lord, help me endure, Lord, please help Lily sleep, Lord, work on my attitude! Give me a joyful heart!”

Having just finished re-reading “The Heavenly Man” about the very-persecuted church in China, I thought about my many brothers and sisters who have truly suffered for the cause of Christ with happy hearts. My heat/seating situation did not compare. My attitude shifted: I was blessed to be freely in church, worshiping the One True God with my family in Christ.

The moment I became truly joyful and thankful in my heart, an angel freed me from the situation. “Wouldn’t you rather sit outside?” a pure eyed older woman whispered in my ear, and quickly I climbed out of my row and followed her. I grabbed her hand, “THANK YOU” I said from the depths of my heart.

“Service” she said, smiling warmly.

“Huh,” I thought of her unusual response, “she must not have heard me correctly.”

She led me to an area below the church, kind of in the road, pungent with the smell of urine and garbage and swarmed with flies. Compared to my previous situation, all I smelled was sweet relief! She cleared a seat for me among many who had gathered there to hear the service, and began to walk away.

“THANK YOU” I said again, so touched by her thoughtfulness.

“Service” she said again sweetly.

After another hour, Lily began to fuss, anxious to be fed. Surrounded by men, teens and children during a church service, this was no place or time to feed a baby. Unsure of what to do,I looked around anxiously for my “angel.”

“Can I help?” she asked, hurrying to my chair.

“Is there somewhere I can feed the baby?” I asked her apologetically.

“Oh, yes! Come!”

She led me down the road and up some gigantic steep stairs, up, up, up until we reached a dark third story room the size of a small bathroom. She disappeared, returned with a rickety plastic chair, and ushered me into it. I expected her to leave, but instead she grabbed an old broken bucket, flipped it upsidedown, sat upon it, and pulling an tattered notebook from a shelf, began fanning me with it.

I was humbled to the point of tears. “Thank you,” I said, so grateful and astounded at her great and humble services. As a foreigner, we are constantly asked to “give me ______”, and “What are you going to give me?” And yet here was a woman who obviously had nothing and who went out of her way to serve me.

“THANK YOU.”

“Service” she said again sweetly.

We chatted for 20 minutes about her children, about her conversion, about her love for the Lord and about her non-Christian husband and the struggles that has brought in her life. We talked about church and about her great desire to bring her husband to the Lord, exchanging prayer requests and praises.

“You have the gift that God gives of service!” I told her. “I am so blessed by it, and I know He is, too.”

“Nothing brings me more joy than to give my sweet Lord service” she told me, brimming with gladness.

After four hours, church was finally over for the day, and we squeezed each other’s hands as I rejoined Matt and headed for the car.

My newly discovered sister never acknowledged that she had done anything with a “you are welcome.” All that she did selflessly hadn’t been done unto me, but unto the Lord, as sweet service to Him.

I am so humbled, as I think to the dozens of times just this past week that I begrudgingly served in limited ways, or that I did the bare-minimum for someone, or when I wasn’t on the look-out for ways I could serve the Lord in different situations!

The heat, crowds, and Lily kept me from following much of the sermon this morning. But this woman gave me the message.

“Oh, wretched man that I am!
Who will set me free from the body of death?
THANKS BE TO GOD through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 7:24

“Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves,
Men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 9:12

"What are you giving away?"

They didn't even have to go and find her. Instead, she called down at them from the second story window of the largest Haitian home Matt had ever seen, then again "What are you giving away? Do you have books?"

Matt, Cammie, and four of our students were out for the first "Evangelization" Day. After months of planning, many different meetings and a lot of prayer, a vision that began with Matt's fourth year class was finally realized on Wednesday. Every Wednesday and Thursday, groups of students, led by students, are going out to a specific near-by and unchurched neighborhood. Half work on evangelism. Half work on discipleship.

Matt returned from their first outing ON FIRE. It was a joy for him to walk house to house, planting Jesus in peoples lives. But it was an even greater joy for him to look around and watch students doing the same thing, animatedly telling people about their Jesus.

Many wanted Jesus. More wanted MORE of Him. The whole walk home, the students chattered excitedly about how to disciple...who should lead Bible studies, what they should study, how they should share, and where. But even their walk home was scattered with salvations.

Without missing a beat, one of the students leading the group called back up to the young woman, "No books! Just Jesus! We're giving away Jesus!"

"I'LL TAKE HIM!" she shouted, disappearing from the window as she ran down stairs to let them in the gate. As they entered, Matt realized that she was clearly one of the daughters of this very wealthy family. They sat on the porch, and two other young women joined her. The students talked to them about the Lord and about what it meant to become a Christian. And she DID take Him. She and the others with her.
Another man, just moments later on the walk home, said the same thing: "What will you give me?"

"We'll give you Jesus!"

"I WANT THAT." And right there, another conversation, another conversion.

If you don't have goosebumps it's because I'm insufficient to tell such a story! Just on the way HOME from evangelizing a community students led four people to Christ.

And yesterday, a new group of students, made up mostly of those in the first year, went out again, to the same community, going to more homes, setting up Bible studies, praying with people.

Though this community is very close to campus, they were all greatly burdened for those they walked past in order to get there. "We must tell EVERYONE!" one exclaimed, all agreeing.


This is BIG stuff! It's huge because what I'm telling you about is something only GOD can do!

It's huge because what I'm telling you about is student dreamed, student led, student carried out! Matt and Cammie were just along for the ride!

This is huge because this cost NO money! The Lord used them to convert the very poor, and to convert the very rich!

It's huge because this week, in a very practical and simple way, we saw the students of Emmaus Seminary DO what they've been learning about, some for four years, and we saw them LOVE it, and we saw the Lord bless their efforts, and saw the Lord burn in their hearts!

It's huge because they have learned at EBS the importance of discipleship, something that is greatly lacking here, and are passionate about doing it and doing it well.

What they are doing, bringing people to Christ, discipling them, teaching them, praying together, singing together, serving the Lord...we call that CHURCH! And without a building, without a sound system, without nice clothes, without money, they are church planting!

This was week one! We're trusting the Lord for many great stories to come! Please be praising the Lord with us for those coming to Him, and praying for these new converts, some of whom are now joining the students in going door to door. Please be praying for the students as they seek to follow the Lord's leading, and for Matt and Cammie as they join them! Pray that none of them would become discouraged for any reason, but that they would be willing to "go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach, ....with lips that give thanks to His name!" Hebrews 13:13

It has been an insane week of meetings, projects and teaching, but Matt's class on Psalms has been amazing and a godly confirmation for him, and the Lord continues to work on our stubborn hearts! Don has joined our field, a friend from Sharptown UMC, to work full-time on completing the new seminary campus, an encouragement to many. Hopefully blogger is fixed now (again!) and we can all catch up!


And there is salvation in no one else;
for there is NO other name under heaven
that has been given among men
by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12

YAY! for the first time in over a week, Blogger is finally working! Thank you for your patience...I don't know what is going on, but none of us on the field have been able to access our blogs, our google email accounts, etc! I have so much to tell you!

Bibles, Burdens and the Cross

"My word, which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me without accomplishing what I desire,
and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."

I put this verse from Isaiah 55 in front of us a few weeks ago as my English students left for Easter break, loaded down with Bibles.

Reuniting with them for class yesterday and hearing their testimonies of this "evangelism project" was such a joy and a challenge that I wish you could have been there.

Totaling their reports, 193 people came to know Christ for the first time these past two weeks. Hundreds of "new Christians" were spoken to, and 120 Bibles went out during this two week period. As was mentioned a dozen times in class, "Praise the Lord, because it was for His glory". I don't even know what to say about this, but PRAISE the LORD!

They were also met with much opposition. Several people actually ran them out of their homes, saying that until their bellies and pockets were full, they want to hear nothing of this Jesus. Some students need even more Bibles for certain areas that are converting and desperate for discipleship. Other students, who worked for days in areas that are very hardened to the Gospel, actually returned some of their Bibles.

What a great reminder that we've GOT to keep praying for Haiti! I am convinced that ALL of Haiti and ALL of the world is in desperate need of the One True Living God, but there are many who are still unaware or resistant to the fact that HE is the answer for that need.

One student brought his sister to the Lord. "I have talked to her a dozen times about Christ, and she was never interested. This time, I began to speak about Him, and she was SO ready!"

Another bravely spoke to her hardened and hateful brother. "I have prayed for him for song long, and when I have tried to tell him about Jesus, he would make life difficult for me. I spoke to him on April 11th, and on April 12th, he went to church with me. He asked me after church for a Bible, and I know he is not a Christian yet, but God is at work! Please pray!"

One of my students who clearly has an evangelical heart visited a family whose daughter had just died. He said he arrived to their little house only to find the mother, father, and four siblings desperately ill and in bed, unable to stand. The youngest child was the only one NOT sick, but she was starving, having been unable to find food for herself and unable to help her family. Ben spent a long time with the family, trying to help them and praying for them. "I knew they were in a very bad way," he told us, "but I felt let to tell them about Jesus." He spoke to all of them about the Lord, and brought the mother to Christ. Miraculously, she got up, having been unable to do so before, and started tending to her husband and children, admonishing them to repent of their sins and come to Christ as well! Ben left her with a Bible and some money and a promise to return.

Finally, Wilfrid, the class evangelist, shared. "Praise the Lord," he said in broken English, "I saw 4 people come to Christ!"

"Praise the Lord!" we all said. "Four people!" I said, holding up four fingers.

"OH" he said, shaking his head. "No, No! FourTEEN!"

Realizing at this point that we need to work on English numbers again, we all laughed, and said, "Yay! Fourteen!"

Just to check, I said "fourteen" in Creole.

"No, no!!" Wilfrid said again, getting frustrated with his English. "I'm going to speak Creole!"

ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY. (yeah, we really need to work on English numbers again!)

"I worked every day, and I worked every night. Some nights I did not sleep, and no days did I rest. For fourteen days I did nothing but preach, teach, and talk to people about Jesus. I talked to hundreds of people about Jesus, and 140 came to know Jesus. On April 11th, I arranged it in my church for more people to go out like I had been, and tell people about what Jesus had done for them, and on that day, these 12 people brought 50 people to the Lord, too!"

Needless to say, he is one of the students that needs more Bibles! He is also the pastor of a church, and not only brought all of these people to Christ, but brought many of them into the church as well. This will ensure future discipleship and the opportunity for him to teach and work with them.

I'm blessed. I didn't have this idea. I prayed for what God had in store for Easter break. I felt like He told me to get Bibles. My class told me of the unsaved people they had burdens for. We matched Bibles with their burdens and prayed together and went!

And two weeks later, we have 193 more sisters and brothers in Christ, all because of His voice, His provision, His grace and His Son!

Praise the Lord!

OH MY!

Charlie flew into Haiti today and brought me THE BEST GIFT! He emailed a few weeks ago, and said, "What do you want?"

I emailed back a sarcastic, "You mean, besides ice cream cake?" and asked for olive oil. So he lands today and brings me olive oil AND AN ICE CREAM CAKE!

They left Florida at 6 am this morning and got in at 2:30, so yeah, they had a cooler, dry ice, the works, and it is still perfectly frozen! Man alive, what an awesome gift...I am SO excited about it, and intend on making it last a few years :)


Seems like blogger is up and working again as normal, so we'll be back in touch! School starts back up again tomorrow, and we cannot wait to hear about our students Easter breaks!!!

pictures from retreat, and our whole OMS Haiti family!

I think Blogger may be fixed! Here's some photos from retreat in the DR and precious time with my sister!

Tom, Julie and Doug Smith from Sharptown UMC, New Jersey!

Lily's first time swimming!

It seems that I can publish very short, photo-less posts. Anything longer than a few short paragraphs, or with a photo, still will NOT publish. We're working on the problem! Hang with us, and I will just post short, photo-less posts!

Matt preached at a mountain church yesterday and we had a wonderful Easter with Lisa and her boyfriend Adam. They left today, and school starts back up Wednesday. I have some amazing photos to show you and some great stories from the past 2 weeks! Ahh, this is getting frustrating!

We are back safely from retreat...a whirlwind 4 days, two of which were entirely traveling days. It was a LITTLE far for only 2 days, but very beautiful, relaxing and uplifting nonetheless. The sessions were wonderfully insightful, challenging and transparent, helping us re-focus, not just on what we DO here FOR Him, but who we ARE IN Him. Our pastor from New Jersey, Doug Smith, was the speaker, and was joined by his wife, son, and two friends who came to watch the kids during sessions.

problems with updating blog continue!

What an amazing day!

"When our Lord rose from the dead, He rose to an absolutely new life--a life He had never lived before He was God Incarnate. He rose to a life that had never been before.

And what His resurrection means for us is that we are raised to HIS risen life, not to our old life.

One day we will have a body like His glorious body, but we can know here and now the power and effectiveness of His resurrection and can "walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4).

internet issues

we're having some major issues and have been unable to update at all the past 5 days...I'm sorry!

we're home safely and will hopefully have an update soon!!!

retreat!

We are on retreat for the next few days with no internet or phone! We'll be in the Dominican, spending some time refocusing on WHO WE ARE in CHRIST instead of WHAT WE DO for Him...

Thank you for your prayers for us, speaker Doug Smith and his wife and son, and Patty and John, who are meeting us there to help with the kids!

We'll be home Tuesday, Lord willing.