He gave us His Word

Today is the last day of the semester.

Every year, that means that at 5 am, we are awoken by the somehow-vibrant choruses of hymns of praise.

We wisely nixed the sound system for any pre-7 am events several years back, but there is nothing more beautiful than a cappella four-part harmonies of praise resounding from the center of campus.

Even at 5 o'clock in the morning.

I love how our Haiti family desires to begin, and end, with praise.

As they sang this morning, I was reading through Nehemiah, Job and Revelation, my last three books of 2019 on my reading plan, and Nehemiah perfectly described for me the semester.

Because of the threats of the enemy, the laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon. All the builders had a sword belted to their sides.

They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work.  So, we continued the work with an even greater determination.

When our enemies heard about the wall being done, it frightened and humiliated them. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God. 

There is a REASON we are all so tired.

Like, I can feel the puffiness in my eyes and the effort in my step, and I can see it in the face of everyone around me.

It's because every day, every trip, every class, every service, every chapel, every meal, every conference, every training, every equipping, it has been done with one hand supporting our load and one hand holding a weapon this year.

What a spiritual and sometimes physical battle it has been to just DO what we always do...to just be faithful!  There has been so much intimidation this year, so many barricades, spiritual and physical, and even our enemies can clearly see that finishing a full semester today has been done with the mighty help of our God.

"By God's grace, and the determination and courage of the administration, you are completing a full semester, something almost no one else in all of Haiti has been able to do," adjunct professor Josue Jaques said Wednesday in chapel, and helped me nail down the fatigue again.

Our co-workers and the Ayars have never lived in such a season of continued determination and courage, one hand fighting spiritual wars while the other fights forward physically.

Yet even our fatigue as we FINISH today is met by His grace. While much determination and courage has been needed, nothing has been accomplished outside of His mighty help and grace. Lord of Heaven's Armies.

As we REJOICED yesterday to hand each student two Bibles, their Christmas gift from many of you through Emmaus, I rejoiced that His transforming Word goes out.  (If you were able to give to the purchasing of these Bibles, thank you SO much...)

And I rejoice, because while Christmas "break" technically begins tomorrow, this season is overflowing with ministry our students and staff and family are heading into...and the tools and weapons needed, I have held and handed out and rest my hand on, even today.

The day may have started with praise, and it will finish with it, too...a special service of thanksgiving scheduled this afternoon to celebrate the miracles He has been and done this semester, even as instability and intimidation persevere.

With gratitude we will wearily wave our tools...our weapons. By His grace, He has been what He has promised, because He gave us His Word.