the ayars affairs: more of the same

Our good friends in Ohio wrote a few days ago and said, "Look, we are praying, we are following, we wrote and sent letters, we are supporting, we are loving you and Haiti, what more can we do?? Is there something else we can do? More of the same?"

Can I be transparent?

This has been an incredibly challenging time.

You already knew that. I know. There is a lot of hard and broken we are not saying, and you know.

But every victory, every step, every shimmer...it is fought for.

Every encouragement in this season seems to come with 10 discouragements, and we are far more surviving this season than thriving. All of us.

There are seasons in the trenches that are just like that, and we have no choice but to battle on under His wings.

He reminds me again and again that these problems are HIS. That these people--from the little versions wiping their boogies on my skirt to the witchdoctor versions, pounding their drums--they are ALL HIS. These are HIS people. He's gonna have to do something with them each, because WE ARE IMPOSSIBLE, us people.

Do I trust Him with Matt? Do I trust Him with Lily? Do I trust Him with Noah? Do I trust Him with our students? Do I trust Him with the Haitian people? Do I trust Him with the Americans?

I've never been in such a long and intense season of throwing up my hands in mixed exasperation and hallelujah. Never been in such an hour of trust.

We are giving, we are teaching, we are praying, we are fighting, we are clinging. And what now?

More of the same. More of the same.

The same darkness eating at the world, the same darkness eating at Haiti, no one should be surprised that it eats at all of us, too.

It eat at our friends and their marriage in tatters, they go. It eats at our friends...unprecedented illness, sickness, infection, they go, how many have gone. It eats at our courage. At our children. At our schools. At our ministries. At our churches. At our communities. Everywhere you look are blaring signs of broken, broken, broken...the devil out to kill and destroy.

He is killing and destroying, sometimes our lives, sometimes our families, sometimes our churches, sometimes our hope.

The enemy is fighting, too, fighting for each and every.

Fight for us, keep fighting for us, keep fighting with us. As you pray, as you encourage, as you give, as you send, as you love us all, please.

More of the same.

I'm going to renew the fight with gratitude.

-->God knew we needed exactly Aunt Sharon exactly right now. Praise the LORD for all of the listening, guiding, loving, reading, sharing, sewing, cleaning, grandmothering and friending she is doing right now.

-->As we continue to pray for Jodenel and Esther, Walnique and Rose, Leme and Guesica in their pregnancies, Belo and Angeline were blessed six weeks ago with this precious little man, and what a gift to hold him on Sunday, and to worship with our Flavil family.

-->Overcoming many challenges, the girls' school continues to fight for three hours of class a day, no backpacks, no uniforms, under the radar. The girls are loving loving being back with their teachers and friends, and I am thankful. Pray on for the 80%/90%? of kids in Haiti waiting on their schools to be able to open.

-->It is with grateful hearts that we remember and celebrate the life of the Emmaus President who reached out to us and brought us to Emmaus as teachers...

It is with both joy and sadness that we remember and celebrate the life of Emmaus President Emeritus Dr. O. William Cooper, passing into God's presence on November 11th.

President from 2001-2010, we will always remember Dr. Bill's heart, passion and investment in young Haitian men and women, and his unwavering devotion to the quality teaching of God's Word.

"Good enough" was not in Dr. Bill's vocabulary. He never believed that a decent Bible school was good enough for Haiti or anywhere else. He never believed that mediocre teaching or half-hearted study of God's Word was good enough. He never thought un-accredited, or un-registered, or un-qualified or un-prepared was good enough, and Dr. Bill worked and pushed and encouraged and insisted on the utmost for our Lord, and for His people.

Join us in praying for the Cooper family as we praise the Lord for the life, work, and legacy that transformed Emmaus and the lives of many men and women around the world today.