back at it...together

We forgot to send our camera with Matt, so we have NO pictures of his trip to Waco! However, it's been so good to hear about many of you, about his experiences there, about the joy of sharing with family about what we see God doing here in Haiti! Thank you again, First UMC of Waco, for loving on Matt and for your participation in the building of His kingdom.

Here's a few pictures from the last days. Paul and Kathleen Owens have joined the EBS team for two weeks and are teaching discipleship and English 2 and 3 as we wait for our new ESL teacher to begin in May. We have been so blessed thus far by their friendship and desire for the Lord. Today, on our way to a church in town, another church about an hour away called to ask where Matt was....he was supposed to be preaching! An engagement he had confirmed three months ago, Matt had entirely forgotten, and it was too late to get there in time.

Matt felt TERRIBLE, and no amount of pats on the shoulder or encouragement made him feel any better. Out of nowhere, Paul just started praying for Matt out loud as we continued on our drive, and speaking to the LORD about the predicament was EXACTLY what we all needed (duh....why do we always forget to do this?) We were so thankful for this brother and mentor and for his in-tune-ness with the Spirit and boldness to share Him with us.

We are also enjoying our "last days" with the Hubele Family, at least for a while. Saturday, Matt, John, Rachelle and Paul took the motorcycles to the ocean. Lily is absolutely confident that "Z0-zo-phine" and Jacob are her brother and sister, and is frequently irritated that she cannot live with them. She refuses to be babied when they are around, but insists on being treated like one of the big kids. We will miss them greatly, and are not looking forward to being the only missionaries in Sakanville again...having their help, and having a few neighbors of our home culture and tongue, has been such a blessing!

Evangelism through EBS in Sakanville continues to grow...What used to take place every Tuesday and Thursday is now happening every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 1-3. The guys, studying God's Word four hours a day in the classroom and a few hours a day outside of the classroom, feel the urgency for their lost brothers and sisters. Monday is a Bible study of John, verse by verse, with lots of questions and interaction, at the far east end of Sakanville, and Wednesday is a Bible study at the far west. Tuesday and Thursday is sharing the gospel with every man, woman, child, and witchdoctor in between these two sites.

The more often Matt and I go with them, the more often we want to, and this past week, without Matt here to watch Lil, she joined the guys and I, attracting larger (but more distracted :) crowds to hear the gospel. PLEASE keep praying for Belony as he heads up this materialization of the Great Commission...he is absolutely the man God is using to bring change to Sakanville, and we are doing all that we can to support him. As the work gets harder and more persecuted, he seems to be growing in wisdom and passion and urgency and love...what a joy to be a part of!

Also, dear Janiel (known to some as Charlot) lost his father last night, pretty unexpectedly. Please be praying for him, the pastor of the Sakanville church and a graduate from EBS in 2008, during this hard hard time.

It is so very good to have Matt home, and tomorrow we dive back in for another week, Lord willing, blessed to be His and to be entrusted to carry His light to such a dark world!