With all of the internet and power issues we've been having, Emily's just now getting part two of the story together from Junior and our students trip to Baron this summer! LOVE IT!
I have a bunch of really powerful videos to share with you from that time, as well, but...needless to say, it would be more likely that you would come and SEE Baron before a video would actually upload right now...even many of these pictures, just carried over from Emily's blog, won't finish loading...I'm sorry!
NONETHELESS...
Read on...and enjoy!
The team of 9 left for Baron in a tap tap- singing, talking, joking, laughing...
When they arrived at the point where they couldn’t go any further in a vehicle, they unloaded and reloaded the supplies on horses to be taken up to Baron.
The Road to Baron...
Junior pointed out the mountain they would climb and they could hardly believe it! Throughout the difficult hike, he continued to remind them about Luke 9:23 and denying themselves! They almost lost belongings along the way, everyone was hot and tired and overwhelmed, but they continued on together... all the water they brought with them was gone when they arrived... they were spent!
As they came into Baron, they realized that the people were preparing a meal for them- which was such a huge blessing after a LONG hike! They spent time putting up the tents and getting settled in, but they were all very thirsty. Praise God that Junior came with the portable water systems so that they could drink the water once they retrieved it.
They then walked to get the water from a very small spring that is 20-30 minutes away from the village (the only “drinking” water for the entire village at that time).
He also showed them the area where they would hike to bathe and wash clothes- a ravine where everyone in the village goes and where the animals drink. It was NOT a good place… and another LONG hike!
The Water Project Begins...
After that Junior said it was time to go and visit the place where God told him to put the hand pump. They walked over to an area of grass where Junior said God told him to dig. Everyone told him that there wasn’t water there... but they jumped right in and began to dig anyway.
As they dug deeper and deeper they found mud...
and then deeper and deeper they found water! There was so much more work to be done in the coming days... but knowing that God had led them to THIS spot and provided water to a community SO in need was awesome... God is faithful!!!
Food in Baron...
When they got back from digging the hole, they found that they had killed a hog for them for dinner (NOT a common meal for any of the students!) They ate the meal of pork and rice and continued to eat that meat the next few days. For breakfast they had coffee and cassava (a flat bread that is made out of manyok- a root that grows here in Haiti) and for lunch they had pork and rice. In Luke 10 Jesus told His disciples to eat what was offered to them... and they were doing the same thing. [In fact, after a week of eating the same pork (in a place without refrigeration), they questioned whether or not it was safe... but they continued to eat and be thankful... and God took care of them. No one got sick- praise the Lord! After a while they killed a goat and they went through the same process as with the pig... and yet God continued to keep them well and healthy!] They also ate LOTS of pineapple and grilled corn (both were plentiful at that time- and really good!)
Sleeping in Baron...
Sleeping was another “interesting” and challenging part of the trip. The first night the guys slept in the big tent set up inside of a school building and the girls slept in the tent outside.
On the second night there was a group of people called “Gapot”- voodoo people who were trying to harm them. During the night, several of them came by the girls tent and began making loud noises and hovering outside. The girls prayed and called out to the guys for help... and they disappeared. The guys knew that they needed to forget about the big tent and set up the other small tent outside next to the girls tent.
The next night another person came by and tried to harm them too... but God protected them. Not only was the spiritual warfare difficult but the ground was so hard that it was very uncomfortable to sleep. But they continued to remind themselves of their purpose. It was ALL worth it!
Just BEING in Baron...
As soon as they arrived, everyone on the team wanted to know what the plan was for each day and they kept asking Junior. But he wanted to leave the agenda planning to God. He knew that this trip was not about DOING for God but about BEING with God. He told them that they were to ask God each day what HE wanted them to do. They started each morning at 6am with group devotions and prayer time.
They began with a discussion of who has the highest priority in their lives- and these verses were the main focus of their trip to Bahon- Luke 9:23 (deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Christ) and Mark 3:14 (Jesus appointed 12 disciples to be WITH Him so that He might SEND them out to preach). They left the plan to Jesus- through being with Him they would know what He wanted them to do!
Like Paul said in 1 Timothy about being vessels that are clean and ready to be used whenever God wants to use you. Each day Junior went over what it means to be a Christian (Galatians 2:20- it is not us that lives but Christ who lives in us!) and that we can do NOTHING apart from Christ. He encouraged them to go spend time with God alone each day- a rendezvous with God- to hear from Him and to know what He wants them to do. This made a HUGE impact on the lives of those who went on the trip. He asked them what the cross meant for them... they all shared things like- the symbol of salvation, the suffering of Christ, the symbol of trials and persecution- but Junior reminded them that the cross has five parts: (and he wanted to be sure that I shared this with YOU too!)
*the foot of the cross- at the bottom of the vertical post- is the WORD- God came down to man and gave them His Word and we are to be rooted in it.
*the center of the cross- which is CHRIST. Through Him we have reconciliation with God and free access to Him
*the top of the vertical post of the cross- is PRAYER. Our relationship with Christ provides us the opportunity to have a direct line to God through prayer. Prayer is SO very important.
*the right side of the horizontal post-is FELLOWSHIP with believers and showing love to others is a necessary part of our walk with the Lord.
*the left side is WITNESSING to others about Christ through our words and our actions.
If we have a relationship with Christ- through prayer and the Word (the vertical) it will be lived out in our actions- through witnessing and fellowship (the horizontal).
(These ideas are taken from the book Master Life).
The beauty of this trip was that this team of students, alongside of Junior and Ezekiel, were able to live out all of these aspects of the Cross. They were in the Word, spending an extended amount of time in prayer and fellowship, seeking people to witness to and share Christ's love with... what an amazing opportunity.
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