overload

It was an overload weekend so here's an overload post, in no particular order :)

Church Sunday morning was GREAT.  And I wasn't so sure it was going to be.

We had 20 people total to take to church and.  well.  I HATE taking 20 people to church.  There's never room for 20 people to sit.  It's hard to transport 20 people.  It's hard to translate for 20 people.  You never know what to expect from the service for the 20 people.

At team meeting last Monday night we debated and debated where go this Sunday and finally choose Claudin's.  When he was a student at Emmaus, he and a group of students spent a ton of time evangelizing this area, and after he graduated, he planted the first and only church in the neighborhood and moved in next door.  He's now our Dean of Student Life, and you'll remember he and his wife now have a miracle baby after a very heartbreaking tragedy.

Was your church decorated with toilet paper this morning?  

How many people would still GO to your church if this was the seating?

So anyway.  We took our 20 there, visiting professors, brothers from Port-au-Prince, Heckmans and the videographer.  And hoped for the best.

And Christ through Claudin?

It WAS the best.  He is such a humble and soft-spoken man, but hearing him preach a clear, powerful, concise Gospel message today about what our lives must look like for a Holy God to indwell, Claudin was anything but soft-spoken, though every bit as humble and sincere as always.

  Halfway through the sermon, as he was talking about OT priests and the standard God had for them and then comparing it to today and to us...a Holy priesthood...one of the six pastors from Port-au-Prince behind me said to the others, "THIS is a preacher.  This is how you preach the Word" and I thought amen!  

I was so beamingly proud of him, in his crazy hot block church with toilet paper, and proud of him because the men and women around us?  He brought to the Lord.  And what he preaches each Sunday, AND how he lives amongst them, CONTINUES to.  

And remember miracle-girl Christie?

Yeah, she is almost 6 months old, and HUGE!!!!  She was the happiest little thing I've ever held, just gurgling and grinning at everyone...so wonderful to hold His gifts in our hands.

Six months!  I really do think she weighed more than Sofie :)  Claudin's wife is such a hard-working Godly woman, as well.  It was just a gift to worship with them.

Nora has grown quite in love with Tia Rosa and continues to grin and calm for her more often than all the rest of us :)  Nora girl is now 6 weeks old, which is just crazy.  

We then took our 20 to lunch and to swim, which was so nice.  The heat...it is so intense.  The pool was the best sabbath after our church sabbath we could have had!

This is not a great picture, but I was trying to show how WELL we are already using the new 15 passenger van...today it was transporting 17.  SO.  Thankful.

Saturday morning, Matt, Lily and Jodenel took Charles, David and our six friends from Port on their first adventure to the Citadel.  Lily LOVES going to the Citadel, largely because it's an opportunity to ride a horse and a chance to play with cannonballs.

So thankful for them both, and for these fun MK adventures!

Meanwhile, Sofie, Nor and I stayed home and made dinner and ice cream!

Sofie is excellent at waking Nora up, scaring all of us by trying to carry Nora everywhere, and singing her wonderful original songs.

Nora always looks a little worried with Sodie :)

She is triumphantly celebrating 6 weeks :)

Love those little ears

little feet

little rolls.  Such a gift Nora Joy is.

When the guys finally all got back, they had a quick lunch and then WASHED all of the vehicles.  Like, by hand.  After hiking to the citadel in the blazing sun. 

I was incredibly touched by this.  They all have their doctorates.  They're all in their 70's.  They're all paying to be here and teaching for FREE.  They're all here in the hottest month of the entire year, they have worked hard ALL week and then they were scrubbing muddy tires.  

All I could think of was Jesus with the towel around His waist washing feet, and I feel so blessed to have for our pastors, students and our children, such examples of men of the faith who are not only going, not only giving, not only preaching, not only working, but also serving so humbly and willingly.  

Nora, also known as No-No, Nor-Nor, Norwal, Nordie-Dordie, Nor and Gertie, was bored by all of this. 

As we head into a new week, it begins inspired by sweat, by service, by humility, by sacrifice and by the great love of our Father.