let the grateful heart

Does having a lot to be grateful for make me a grateful person?  

Nope.   

He gives me the choice--but has asked me to be--a grateful person.  

The Haitian follow-up to almost any comment on well-being is "Gras a Dieu" or..."By the Grace of God."  Learning this, and using it commonly, has adjusted my perspective.  

How are you today?  Oh, I am good, by the Grace of God.

It IS by the grace of God.  And so I am grateful.

My husband and I had the chance to teach today, to work today, to meet with students today.  It is by the grace of God.  I'm grateful.  

We also had the chance to celebrate today, to be with friends, to talk to family, to mar the lines of which is which.  It's by His grace.  I'm grateful.

We have sweet and sassy munchkins and raising them up in the way they should go is SO hard, SO exhausting, SO good and SO precious.  It's by His grace, and I'm grateful.

And life in Haiti...it's not too glam.  Not always exciting.  Awfully heartbreaking (Ti-Boss passed away yesterday.  Cadet came again for money today.  She notes she is "following him" and afraid).  

The realities of brazen brokenness here have aged me, I know.  

And He has given me joy, in the midst. 

It's (all) by His grace.   

And I'm grateful.

let the grateful heart

sweep through the day

that it might recognize in every hour

some sweet blessing

a Great Thanksgiving

crafted...

baked...

smelled...

sweated...

waited...

 yielded...

ATE...

talked and laughed, remembered and laughed.

grateful.

for friends, family, food, freedom...yes.  But, most, for the things no one can take away...

He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world

He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus to Himself

He freely bestowed His grace on us

in Him we have redemption through His blood

in Him we have forgiveness of our trespasses

He made known to us the mystery of His will

We have obtained an inheritance

We are sealed in Him with the Spirit as a promise

Eph. 1

Happy Thanksgiving!

Matt did what he was supposed to do...

Lily did what she was supposed to do...

Ti-Louie did what he was supposed to do...

And Mom did what she was supposed to do....

Then we were off, with a "Bon Thanksgiving!" from Abel, all packed in the truck with mashed potatoes, rolls and cranberry precariously balanced for the treck to Vaudreil, which is, as one visitor said, is "like driving on the moon for 30 minutes."

"The Hen House" hosted, (Kate, Julie and Hannah's) and everything was just beautiful and homey and we felt truly blessed to have a family to celebrate with.  Lily was happy just to be with the Bundy kids, and the food this year was better than it's ever been (in our opinion :).  Every bit as good as a Thanksgiving in the States, with lots of people ordering in special foods that we can't get normally.  I ate more than I have eaten since week 4 of pregnancy, and will probably pay for it...It was worth it!

Matt and Dodo tag-teaming Kate's turkeys.

The only downside to the whole afternoon was that Julie and Hannah, and the other members of Bethesda Clinic, are going full-throttle trying to take care of an overwhelm of cholera patients, all in need of 24/7 care, and many of them small children.  They had been going all day, missed most of the celebration, and have a very long night ahead of them changing IV bags and caring for the patients as that Bethesda Clinic has no medical staff working evenings or nights.

The "cholera house" is already full, and Dr. Rodney is working to find more space for patients.  Please be praying for Julie, Hannah, Rodney, other nurses working, for those with cholera, that the Lord would encourage each of their hearts, give them good strength and energy and would keep everyone safe and improving in health.  Unfortunately, this is most likely not something that is going to "go away" soon, and it really is changing the face of Haiti, the clinic, AND therefore of what OMS is doing in northern Haiti for the time being.  Please pray for lots of wisdom, compassion, knowledge and resources.

After hanging out for a while, Matt joyfully declared that we can now say "Merry Christmas", and we started home singing  "A Partridge in a Pear Tree", which John thankfully knows all 12 verses to :), feeling incredibly thankful to have an OMS family, to have a Saccanville family, to have an EBS family, to have YOU as our family, and to have our 'original' families in Somerset and Middletown Praising the Lord for His goodness, faithfulness, and lovingkindness with us tonight.

Lily and "Jul-wee", feeding her her all time favorite and ever-so-rare, Cool Whip

a bit more peace

I have yet to find a person that knows quite WHY, but things continue to be much calmer this week than last week.  All of our staff and students are making it in, and though most schools continue to be closed into next week "for the elections", we've had no problems at all staying open.  Thankful that the Lord is providing this time of very unexpected, unexplained peace, and that it will continue!

Also received good word this morning that the Bethesda Clinic (OMS affiliated and the closest medical center to us), after struggling to find funding and supplies to deal with cholera (looked in the DR, looked into Florida), found all that they needed and more IN TOWN yesterday :)  An old missionary home has been set up as a "cholera camp" and they are ready and equipped to treat the increased number of patients that are coming their way.

I have to tell you what a personal answer to prayer this is, knowing that if any of our staff, students, friends or family here contract cholera, there is HELP just 30 minutes away.  Until today, our plan has been: "Don't Dare Get Cholera."  The Lord has been caring well for us, as always, but I'm thrilled to have a backup plan :)

Dr. Bill Cooper and Ruth Cooper are finishing up their courses this week, adding on extra hours each day to make up for two days off last week.  They leave (Lord willing) Saturday, the McCluskey's head back to Canada next week, the Hubele's head in next week.  December 19th (my baby sister's wedding) is quickly approaching.

We have class tomorrow, as that Thanksgiving obviously isn't a Haitian holiday and we are a Haitian seminary, but, at 3, Lord willing, we'll be heading down to Vaudreil and celebrate with the other American (and three Canadian, and one northern Irish) missionaries.

So much to be so thankful for! Photos tomorrow

harvest on the hard road

I felt the same way at least four or five times a day. Mona needed help. No question. She was desperate, tears in her puffy eyes, her head wearily resting in well-worn hands.

This time, it wasn’t money or food that was needed. In fact, this time it wasn’t even anything that I could give. Her mother is dying, wasting away before her eyes, not eating, not speaking, silently dying day by day, the end obviously near.

“I don’t know how to understand it,” Mona told me with a sigh. “The woman who raised me, by herself…the woman who never slept, who cooked and worked and cleaned and cared, first for me and my brothers and sisters, and then for my children while I worked…she is shriveled and immobile and…Finished. She has quit fighting, she is done. How can I live with this? I cannot stop crying. I cannot imagine life without my mother.”

My heart broke for her yesterday morning, and a bit frustrated at my inability to help, I left for class after holding her hand for a moment and giving her my heartfelt prayers.

(pictured: a few of the women from our Tuesday morning Bible study)

A few hours later, she and 7 other women and I sat around sticky topped picnic table in the seminary cafeteria, singing our weekly opening song-prayer:

“My Father, this morning I sit before you

With my Bible open before me

And I ask you to please open my spirit

So that I can understand what is in Your Word

So that I can remember that you are my Father

So that I can always do what you tell me

I need your Spirit so much

So that I can always stay in Your Way.

Wash me with living water

Tie me to the living Word

So that I can serve a living God

For you, I want to be living for You.”

Then together we nine studied His Word, the Psalms of Ascent, dwelling this week on Psalm 126. We talked about all the beautiful things God has done in our lives in the past with verse 1-3. We talked about the hopes that we have for seeing His hand work in the future with verse 4-6.

We talked about the times we have laughed because of His great love, laughed in light of His great miracles. “Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful shouting…the Lord has done great things for us! (vs 2).

We wrote down our many hopes and our prayers, writing in confidence that He who carries us will bring these things to completion in His perfect time and way. Those of us that didn't know how to write just lifted our hands and muttered our dreams.

And then we talked about the road where we are TODAY. The part in the middle. We remember all that He has done. We hope for all that we will do. But today, we were all just struggling with the long hard stretch of road in the middle. The “sowing in tears” part. The “weeping, carrying his bag of seed” part.

With joy, God helped me take vs. 4,5,6 a step further. “Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting,” gives the condition, gives the promise. “He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him,” another condition, another promise.

The joyful shouting comes from the sowing! The bountiful harvest and shouts of joy come with the planting in tears! When we are struggling, when we are hurting, it is easy to just cling to each promise the Lord has given us…easy to hold fast to our Light, desperately hording His Spirit to help us make it through each day.

But we can’t! The joyful harvest doesn’t come from our endurance as we cling to The Hope…it comes from our SHARING our light, even in the weeping moments. It comes from planting His hope, giving His love, in the midst of our hard-road times.

While we talked, studied and prayed, I felt my own spirit lift, and with joy I watched Mona’s face transform. Completely. I promise you, I could SEE the Lord take her burden from her. I saw her shoulders lift and her eyes widen as she saw something in His Word that she had never seen before.

I could see her overflow with love for her Lord, the kind of love she couldn’t contain, but MUST share with those living around her in darkness, despite the dark time in her life.

A few minutes later we finished in prayer, and eyes brimming in joyful, free tears, Mona gave me a huge kiss, and I laughed out loud at her newfound joy.

He is more than enough, and all the Help, the perfect Help, that we need.

“The Lord has done great things for us; We are Glad.” (vs 3).

I know this is already a long blog, but due to the fact that we won't have internet again until Monday, here's a few pictures from a beautiful Thanksgiving Day yesterday, full of good food (thanks to many of you!), family in Christ, and MUCH to be Thankful for! (Thank you, Brenda and Sue, for persevering without your husbands yesterday!) Lily had a fever and slept most of the afternoon, but woke up JUST in time for her first Thanksgiving food.

friends, food, more of Him!

This is proving to be a very busy season for us! Wednesday was OMS's Thanksgiving Day, and we enjoyed a turkey flown in from Florida and all the trimmings, Haitian and American together with the other OMS missionaries and visitors.

Jack, Abel, Maxi, Don and Magua have been working like crazy on the seminary, pouring sidewalks, finishing rooms and buildings, working on plumbing and doors, etc.

What a gift it has been already to have these guys working with us in our new town, filling our mornings and evenings with talk of friends and family, burdens, blessings, missiology, football, good food, the beauty we all see here, children, marriage, you name it! Jack's bag also has yet to arrive (though he landed on Monday), but he's been SO chill about it, donning some of Matt's clothes and without complaint!

They also helped Matt out with some grocery shopping. If you thought getting your husband to take your shopping list to Wal-Mart for you (and actually come home with exactly what you wanted :) was a challenge...Whew, try sending them here! "That wasn't even so bad!" Matt said later, dirty, sweaty and toting a few bags of carrots, mangoes and pasta.

Today, we will be joined by two more friends who will be here until Tuesday. Craig and Debbie are the parents of two good friends of ours who were here in May, James and Elisa (pictured).

They are coming to spend a few days with us checking out Haiti and the Seminary, and are looking for ways that their colleagues, passions, education and experiences in Christian Phycology could bless and serve the Haitian church/Haitian Christians. We are really excited about their visit and are planning some "action-packed" days throughout Northern Haiti. We always have great conversations with Craig and Debbie, and are really looking forward to sharing this part of our lives with them!

(Matt and Lily on their morning walk with Shay)

Please pray for us while we continue to seek ways to build transforming relationships with the people of Saccanville, for a weekend full of travel, ministry and friends, and that we might ever be deliberating laying ourselves down that we might take up more of Him!