BARON: inspire.

There are two things from Sunday that just keep rolling over and over in my mind.

Just like last year, I am renewed in my AWE of Ezechiel's determination, dedication and perseverance to BE FAITHFUL in Baron.

 Don't get me wrong, he confesses to asking God many times to let this cup pass from him.  But each time the Lord has asked him to take up His cross, he has...though with less support (let's try "negative support") on the home front, many hurdles to overcome, incredibly limited funds (like, whatever Matt and I can scrape and the gifts a few of you blessed family have sent), millions of needs presenting themselves, exhausting working conditions, etc., to name a few.

I don't use this word frequently, but his downright refusal to fear, to abandon, to give half-hearted, and to complain is nothing short of inspiring.  When we picked him up near his house at 5 am in Cap-Haitian, identifying him only by his grin, and he had breakfast for us all, it was inspiring.  As we all chat about everything under the sun, and his stands even in conversations from marriage to funny stories to ministry heartbreaks are righteous, his motives holy, even his jokes, pure...I am inspired.   

 But more than anything, yesterday, it was his life as a missionary that was inspiring to this missionary.

When I pray for Ezechiel, I think of him ministering to that flock of 100 in that slap-board church under the blazing sun on top of the mountain.  But yesterday was a testimony to his primary ministry actually being to BE the Living Gospel to Every Man.  

 There is an entire WORLD that lives on that mountain, friends.  A whole WORLD of people, living and working and breathing and dying, passing every moment of their existence close to the sun and to nothing else.  We passed a hundred old women, a thousand bare-butt babies, dozens of saggy jeaned thugs, a hundred sweating farmers, dark as the night sky, too many giggling teenage girls to count.

 Copper braids and mohawks, homemade dresses and daisy dukes, toothless grins and roly-poly babies, hundreds of people heading for mass or church or temple or town and back again, miles of peanuts and shoots of corn, hundreds of goats and dozens of pigs, hundreds of homes, all packed with mud.

All of life, I tell you.

 And I hiked right through all of it and observed, first hand, that there is no INCH not for Christ in Ezechiel.

I'm telling you the truth: there was NOT ONE PERSON who did not break into a wide grin and greet Ezechiel by name upon seeing him.  There was not one person he didn't seem to know.  He asked about every husband, every mother, every child.  Knew who was sick and who was in pain, knew where everyone was coming and going.  Knew their names.

 There is no person on that mountain who is unsure of Who Ezechiel lives and breathes for, and not a person who was scorned, overlooked, or half-heartedly greeted.  Every man, woman and child is his missionfield, and he is the blessed feet that bring Good News...Living Water.

At one point on our decent, a very loud, large and intimidating group of young men were approaching us.  Everything from their dress to their speech to their body language was vulgar, and seeing a female foreigner didn't bring out anything better.  When the leader of the group started to get loud and sexually suggestive, I stiffened a bit...Junior fell back to my side...but Ezechiel?

 He approached them like Jesus died on their behalf, grabbed their hands like they were great childhood friends, greeted and asked about them each like he terribly cared.

And he did.  And as soon as they saw him, their entire countenance softened, each of them calling out, "Hey, Pas!  What's going on?!" and grinning like friends.

As we moved on a few moments later, he dropped back to me an inspiring phrase...that man, the leader? that is the magistrat's son.

The man who burned down part of Ezechiel's school...and has threatened to kill him, and has terrified his family.  Ruined the road building project.  Caused the entire church to have to move.  Has Ezechiel sleeping on the rocky ground in a TENT 4 nights a week so as not to jeopardize the safety of anyone else.

There should have been coldness.  There should have been hesitation.  There should have been bristling.  There should have been something of this world, if EVER there should be.

But there Ezechiel was, treating the man like he was his brother.  Like he loved his enemy.

He treated them EXACTLY like he always treats me.

Climbing with Ezechiel yesterday was like walking through Matthew.

Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul...Aren't two sparrows sold for a cent?  And yet not one of them will fall apart from your Father...Everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father...He who loves His father and mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.  He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for my sake will find it.

Do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or drink nor for your body...But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father...He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, causes rain on the righteous on the unrighteous.  But if you love those who love you, what reward to you have?  If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?