home again

This is another one of my new favorite pictures of shoes as of late...

Maxi and Kerline came home from the hospital today,

and this is their front door step (with a Lily foot in there, too boot!)

So fun for Matt and Lily to bring these good friends and their new baby home!  The community has been so excited, and most of their family met Christie for the first time today.  Everyone is doing well, so happy to be home, and Kerline is on the up and up.

I wasn't able to go because this dear couple, and their boys, were coming for lunch!   My post visiting-professor cooking strike ended, and we enjoyed catching up with Janiel and Peninah, and learning that she is expecting!

After lunch, they asked to go meet Christie, so I led the way and quickly felt like I was with celebrities.

Janiel was the pastor of the Saccnaville church for several years, and though he hasn't been for at least 2 years, they both have such a good reputation in the community and are so beloved, I thought we were never going to get to Maxi's!  Janiel is known as a man of prayer with the gift of encouragement, and I can't tell you how many people stopped him and asked for prayer today, almost all people not in the church.  Christ radiates beautiful in Janiel, and Peninah, too.

When we did finally arrive, we found Christie looking cuter and happier than ever, and her parents both finally sinking into the new reality:  they are parents!

As we all visited and stared down at Christie, 

Maxi and Kerline were particularly chatty, and I heard all kinds of stories I've never heard them share.

The most heartbreaking ones were of the many persecutions they have received over the years for not having children...people refusing to pay back debts owed them because "you don't need the money, you don't have children," slights for years about not being a true family, criticisms for both of them about what sins they've committed that them to not have children for 10 years.  

As Maxi shared some of his many prayers from over the years, his high and low points, and even a nightmare he had a few nights ago about Christie actually dying, and her healthy birth just being a dream, I was touched by his simple faith and the power of prayer.

We often think He's not answering...and sometimes I wonder if we quit believing and praying far too soon.  

Add in an afternoon with the Charlot boys (and a movie :), and dinner with Maxi and Noel...it was a busy social day full of friends we are incredibly blessed to have.

this one, we're not sure how blessed we are yet.

tomorrow, this guy turns 30...

and is off to preach at Granny Giselaine's church!

happy day.

When we walked in that room, and Kerline and Christie (spelling change :) were laying on the bed together, I lost my breath.  Even with all my hope and optimism and prayers, I realized I myself had never believed I would see the day.  Beautiful.  Unbelievable.  She. Is. PERFECT.

There have been so many times I have prayed for this couple...unable to do ANYTHING about their situation but befriend it, speak Christ into it and love them.  I've cried out so many times on their behalf, as they have loved and rejoiced over my little ones, uttering wordless prayers so many times and offering up my hands.  

And the reality is, there is very LITTLE I am able to actually DO about the pain in Haiti...in the world.  I am no healer, no child giver.  Money helps, sometimes, but it rarely transforms situations.  I can't even make anybody take the Jesus who CAN transform.  We can help some, but not all, and the some we can help usually have the same problem next year...next month...next day

Holding this happy little miracle, He reminded me that it's true.  I CAN'T do anything much about the pain in this world.  About the loss.  About the hunger.  About the injustices.  Only He.  And He is.  And He will.

But I can do something.

and sometimes that something is just to give all I've got

To sweat with the sweating, hurt with the hurting, cry with the crying, laugh with the laughing, love with the loving AND the hating, show and give and speak Christ with the each-and-every...and today, praise the Lord, today...

 to rejoice with the rejoicing.

To love as if my own children were hungry.  As if my own parent/friend/cousin/sister were dying.  As if my own heart was hurting.  As if my own husband was leaving.  As if my own world was crashing.

And as if my own daughter was finally in my arms.

How deep, how wide, how far the love the Father has bestowed upon us.  How sweet His voice, how faithful His hand, how Mighty to Save, and how near.  

Today could have been a very different day.  I know.  And how near He would have been all the same.  How loving.  How strong.  How sweet.  I'm just so thankful He miraculously intervened, and I truly believe He answers prayer.  I met her.

Beat that right there.  Oh my goodness.

When we got home, there was a big cluster of friends from EBS and Saccanville at the gate, and when I showed them this picture of Maxi with his daughter, every single weathered and weary hand shot up in silent praise, waving in the darkness like palms.

God is GOOD, Bondye Bonne, God is Good.  Only God.  Praise the Lord.  Surely He IS God.  

What a gift.

father

What a day.  We are so tired.  After not sleeping much last night, and then a full day of hospital for Matt and ups and downs...

I just can't stop glowing His praises.  I'm not totally sure how to organize all the information of the day, but there were some patches where hope look extinguished.

Things don't work the same here as what you might be used to.  When they arrived at the hospital, after she'd been in labor for 24 hours, and paid a doctor to look at Kerline, and the doctor agreed she needed a C-section, he wrote her out a list of everything she needed and turned them out to the waiting room.  If she wanted anesthesia, they had to go and find it and buy it.  If she wanted meds, stitches, needles, tools, cleaners, all of it...they had to go buy it.  If she wanted a life-saving C-section, she would have to go buy it.

I cringe to realize that if she HADn't been able to buy those things, she could have died in that waiting room.  That people who need help and are dying...DIE.  In waiting rooms of hospitals for lack of money.

Then they kept putting it off and off and off...lunch break, waiting for a doctor to come in, etc.  They finally took her in for surgery, Matt and Maxi waiting anxiously in the maternity ward (surrounded by--when described by Matt--a very dramatic, large, completely naked and in pain group of very hot and very pregnant women...oh, the stories), thinking she is in surgery, only to have a nurse emerge almost an hour later, saying that they needed sanitized water and a sanitized container for it to continue.

When Matt called me, LITERALLY walking around down-town Cap-Haitien in the blazing sun, trying to find and buy CLEAN WATER for Kerline who may have actually been IN THE MIDDLE of surgery...I mean.  It seemed that surely all was lost.

And then there she is.

It seems weird that tonight, Maxi's still having a hard time getting his head around being a DADDY.  But after all he went through today?  And all he has gone through for all of these years?  And all of the times he convinced himself joy in spite of the fact that he would NEVER be a dad?

maxi's first look at his baby girl

Yeah, it's going to take awhile.

They got precious ti-Kristie out right away, and she is doing GREAT.  But when they got into Kerline, they said they were shocked by the huge amounts of scar tissue and irregular scarring she has.  The "massacre", as the doctors described it, from three years ago has her internally so damaged that they were stunned at how this pregnancy ended with a healthy baby girl.  She remained in surgery long after the baby came, the doctor saying that stitching her up was incredibly difficult due to all the scarring.

Needless to say, she is in a LOT of pain tonight, and I'm asking for your continued prayers for NO infection and for healing.  When we spoke to Maxi tonight, he said he had just been to buy more pain medication for her, and she was finally sleeping.

On this side of the day, I'm in awe of a what a miracle took place.  Becoming pregnant against so many odds, a growing baby for 40 weeks despite all her scarring, and a healthy delivery today despite so many hardships?

I know every baby is a miracle.

But Kristi?  She. Is.

To top it all off, I was really blessed tonight when our fellow missionary body, excited to no end at beautiful Kristi, left prayer meeting.  Despite the dozens of requests for help I know they are ALL getting right now, several generously tucked bills in my hand as they left to help Maxi pay for the hospital bill and surgery, and I was so touched by that.

Thank you again for all of your prayers and emails and encouragements.

Praise the Lord, God of the Universe, Maker of Heaven and Earth.  Knitter.  Creator.

And Father.

Just like Maxi.

that there, family, is an 

angry little 

miracle.

praise the LORD for baby Kristi!

Kerline is still in post-op.  Baby is good.  

I know every baby is a miracle.  But trust me...if you knew every detail of the day...  She is a miracle.  It is a miracle.  They'll be in the hospital for 4-5 days.

Praise Him!

the center of it all

For any poor readers just stumbling across the blog and have no idea what we're talking about, we're talking about this.  I promise to talk about something else soon.

Update: when Matt, Kerline and Maxi arrived at the hospital at 8 am, the doctors wanted to wait and see if Kerline could have a natural birth.  Get in line.

After several hours, they have agreed that if that was possible, things would be looking a lot different.  And Kerline is wiped.

So, the doctor said they do need to do a C-section, and sent Maxi to the pharmacy with a huge list of meds and instruments needed to do the procedure.  He and Matt went to the pharmacy, bought all the stuff needed, rushed back to the hospital, and they are all now waiting for the C-section to happen.

Their appointment for said C-section, after 24 hours now of contractions, is "when it is time."

I'm trying so hard to remain in a state of prayer and trust, striving after being "wonderfully poised even in the center of it all" as Chambers describes below.  What better time to see God's life expressed through mine than in life-moments such as these of concern, mis-trust, uncertainty and fear.

Grateful for your prayers.

The true expression of Christian character is not in good-doing, but in God-likeness. If the Spirit of God has transformed you within, you will exhibit divine characteristics in your life, not just good human characteristics. God’s life in us expresses itself as God’s life, not as human life trying to be godly. 

The secret of a Christian’s life is that the supernatural becomes natural in him as a result of the grace of God, and the experience of this becomes evident in the practical, everyday details of life, not in times of intimate fellowship with God. And when we come in contact with things that create confusion and a flurry of activity, we find to our own amazement that we have the power to stay wonderfully poised even in the center of it all.

5 good things and a prayer!

1)  Today is Pop-Pop's Birthday!  We love you, Pops...wish you were here!

2)  Our Bible study last night was GOOD.  Matt shared a bit from My Utmost  and his own personal reflections about the goal of the missionary.  We spoke about obedience, and about the Lord Himself being our goal, not an achievement, not a certain work or discipline, not a certain accomplishment.  "We start with Christ and we end with Him", O. Chambers shared, and as always, I found the reminder terribly freeing.  I'm not here, you're not there, to accomplish AB and C, to do what so-and-so is doing, or to be blessed nor persecuted.  We're just here to BE His, and to DO His will.  

3)  My keys, to the Seminary safe and bookstore, were very lost yesterday morning (talk about a great start to the new week!)  Junior went searching with me for them, and when they were still missing, prayed with me and told me to let it go.  And I did, and of course, there they were.  

4)  Yesterday was Matt's first day of teaching and today was mine, and both of us had GREAT hours in the classroom.  We're always reminded when we get back in there that teaching and learning is something we both love to do.  The capacity for relationship growing as we all study and learn together is great...and we're both excited since about this year's first year class.  A good 13, with a lot of gifts and talents, but more, with a lot of heart for Haiti and for Him.

5)  My dad bought tickets yesterday to join us for a week in October.  Can't wait!!!

I'm just back from Kerline's house and she is in labor...doing good...only 2 cm...nurse is there.  Tonight is the night.  They have been here before.  Praying for a new day.  Thank you for all your prayers, please continue, and I'll keep you posted.

pray trust.

I want to interrupt our normal blogging for a moment to ask you to be praying for a special family here.

Many of you have known--at least through us--Maxi for a long time.  His wife Kerline, especially, is a dear friend of mine...a special woman who has allowed me the privilege of not being a foreigner, but a friend, and has been a true friend to me.

Long story short, after over 10 years of marriage, their hearts desire to have children has been met by heartbreak after heartbreak...countless miscarriages, years of trying without a single pregnancy, and in 2009 (right before we moved to Saccanville) a full 40 weeks of pregnancy, only to barely live through a nightmare C-section that endured for hours and resulted in a dead baby girl...who had been alive when the surgery started...and a mountain of debt.

After years again of being unable to get pregnant, 40 weeks ago God gifted them again with a pregnancy that few have allowed themselves to get excited about.  As I've watched Kerline's belly grow, I have seen her and Maxi tread cautiously, trying not to fully invest their hearts in what seems like another great potential for heartbreak.  

But she's 40 weeks.  And it's time.  When Matt got home from work last night, I slipped out to visit with and pray with Kerline for a bit.  She is huge, she is healthy, baby is kicking...there are a dozen reasons to hope and rejoice...and a hundred more to fear and worry.

As we talked and laughed and teared up, I reminded Kerline that the baby she is afraid to even name is intimately known and loved by our Father.  She knows.  

And whatever is ahead in these next few days, He knows and cares and is present.  She knows that too.

  And even though trusting God doesn't mean that things will go the way we all hope, He is still to be trusted.  

She knows.  And she trusts.  

It was growing dark and about to rain, and as I prayed for her belly and heart and daughter and headed home, she walked me (waddled me) part of the way.  

"Will I see you again soon?" she asked, choking up and catching me off guard...she is not the kind of woman who easily shows her feelings or who tells you that she cares for you.

"Yeah, yeah," I laugh assuredly, holding her hand.  "I'll be back in a day or two to see my new niece!"

I realized as I rounded the corner that she is afraid she may not make it.  

and that I am afraid she may not make it, too.  

--Can I ask you to be praying?--  

To be praying for Maxi and Kerline, for the many unknowns of the next days in a country where there are a lot of unknowns already...for their little girl...for their hearts, and for our walks with Him, for their family.

As the man in Mark 9 proclaimed passionately in the same breath, "I DO believe!  Help my unbelief!", pray with me for Kerline and Maxi as they trust and face fear all at the same time.

one of the crazies

WHEW.  What. A. Day.

At any given moment today, there was one screaming-bloody-murder or teary-whiny-fussy infant or toddler, someone at the door, a ringing phone, bread or a pot pie or a roast in the oven, a student that needed help...man...it was just a crazy, GO GO GO relentless day.  I am SO thankful Dad is here, or you would have found me in a corner crying by noon!  My brain was so numb just from working in two languages literally every moment today that I found myself talking to dad in Creole this evening and confused about why he was just staring at me.

However, now that it is over and I'm literally falling asleep at my desk, there were a LOT of GREAT things today...

Maxi, Dad and Abel, a dear relationship that has formed over the years.  Very thankful for these men, for the unity they have in Christ, and for an unexpected and powerful "break-through" conversation I was able to have with Abel this evening.

 Friends.  Shayla, Kerline and Max are three of my best friends, not "in Haiti," but in life right now.  I'm so thankful for these three, and this afternoon was particularly blessed by the way a very fussy, tired, dad-sick, stuffy Lily transformed into her joyful, gleeful self just a few minutes after their arrival.  I can be myself with these friends, they are real with me, they love our girls, and having them in our lives greatly improves our lives.

 Baby Gertha.  While she still hasn't been given a name, 'Baby Gertha' is just beautiful and wonderfully healthy and such a joy.  Gertha was just beaming that first-time-new-mom smile this morning, and I am so grateful to see this little miracle unfold.

 Lily had a blast with baby Gertha, too, though she was very discouraged that Sofia and baby Gertha didn't hit it off better, because apparently they are "suppose to be friends!"

 More friends.  Noel and Micheline went with us this morning to visit Gertha (and insisted that fussy Sofie was fussy Sofie because she was too hot, and therefore took off her clothes, all the while bundling Baby Gertha.)  These three women are a great joy and encouragement to me, and time with them is good time.  So grateful for these true and transparent relationships.  Plus, we could not have made the steep hike to Gertha's house with Lily, Sofie, and three boxes of baby clothes and diapers without their help :)

Also, praise the Lord, Dodo and Bubba (Dorothy and John McC.) arrived safely today and are sound asleep next door...YAY for friends next door!

End of the day...Matt is doing well in Jackson, we've had sweet time with dad/grandpa, we have help, I've been especially touched by the transforming power relationship has in our lives, and I am richly blessed this evening to realize that in the midst of a million tasks and people today, a handful of His children that I came to minister to minister instead to me...on the good days and on the crazies!

friends!

What a great weekend with lots of good memories!

Yesterday, Abel turned 50 and Kerline (Maxi's wife) turned 34, so we had a great afternoon visiting and celebrating these two friendships.  Birthday's are just not that big of a deal in Haiti.  In fact, when we entered Kerline's singing "Happy Birthday", half her family said, "Today is your birthday?"  Nonetheless, we took them both cupcakes and sang for them and talked about some our favorite things about them both, which prompted their families to do the same thing and we ended up having a really special time at both houses.

 Myolene and Abel...looking good at 50!

 Maxi and Kerline...Maxi told us Kerline's birthday gift this year was a kiss...and I'm PRETTY sure that's what he gave her LAST year :)

Then today, we went with Dodo and Bubba to Paul's church...hadn't been there for a while and I STILL hadn't met Envangela.  It was great to meet the baby, who we thought looks JUST like Paul, and to catch up with the whole family.  Most, it was just great to be in church, a church that is consistently alive, healthy, and excited to be together and in His presence.  Being there is always our joy, and today was no exception.

This morning Lily even decided to leave Mom and Dad and join the kid section (even though the kid-oversee-er chick was SERIOUS about the kids staying in their chairs and being quiet :)  Lily LOVED being one of the kids and having a baby to stare at.  

 One of our second year student, Mogene, works in this church as well.

 Lily thought she fit in as one of the kids, but most of them never stopped staring at her the whole service.

 Dodo and Bubba had quite the following as well.

 Evangela was precious and content...and not even two months yet!

DoDo and Bubba joined us for lunch, and now everyone that's not old or pregnant is playing soccer, soaking in another beautiful day.  In a bit we are heading down the road to see off our dear friend Hannah, whose one year term is up and she heads back to Oregon tomorrow.  Another sad good-bye!  We've lost Julie, Hannah and Erica in the last month, and Matt, Lily and are feeling the loss of these three joyful, positive, encouraging and hilarious friends.

This week ahead is a BIG week with lots of meetings, students moving back in, financial registration, a slew of marketing projects, several new students for orientation, and new classes to prepare for.

Maxi's miracle

In the midst of a lot of difficult realities, there truly always seem to be some beautiful things happening in Haiti as well...one of which we were able to experience this week.  Right over the wall from EBS's generator house is the site of a new home that Maxi has been working on for almost 10 years.

For the last ten years, Maxi and Kerline have been living in this house with Kerline's sister, her husband, John-Sius, their two daughters, Naomi and Shayla, their orphaned cousin Venel, and recently also with another of Kerline's sisters, her husband, and their three little boys.  Yes.  That equals 12 people in this house, with only three of them being children.

This has been from the start one of our favorite families.  Maxi has the definite gift of service, and it is always his joy to help us in any way with SUCH a happy heart.  You might remember that Kerline  lost her little girl in the 8th month of pregnancy to poor medical care over a year ago.  We had just moved to Sakenville, and since that loss I have come to truly cherish a truly transparent, real and rare relationship with this unique and beautiful woman.

Anyway, anyway...they have been working on their house for 10 years, and we've (and some of you!) been trying to help them get it done because everyone is very uncomfortable in their current house and because, well, we love them...So it advanced quite a bit over Christmas vacation and when we went to see it's progress on Tuesday, we couldn't believe it!

They are praying to be in before too long now, and that the Lord might give them  ti-mouns (children) to bless it with!

day-to-day and a still present past

This has been such a busy week with virtually 1% internet success...getting just a LITTLE bit frustrating, and our list of "to do online" is growing more urgent by the day! Lily has also had a cold, but was finally feeling well enough today to go meet some new neighbors who have three little girls. It is insanely hot right now, but Don, Maxi and Abel are working away, adding sweat to cement!

Matt's 1st Samuel class has been fantastic so far, with lots of afternoon student visits, asking for prayer and guidance regarding issues in church and in ministry that 1st Samuel has been speaking to. It is SO fun for Matt to teach 1) God's Word, 2) to an interested audience, 3) and then work on application in the afternoons!

I was cleaning off my desktop yesterday, and quite erroneously today I stumbled across a blog entry I wrote in August of 2008. The memories of the morning hit me so fresh that that Sunday might as well have been last Sunday… What a beautiful reminder for me this morning about what the face of Jesus looks like, that I might not pass ONE Jesus-chance over. The prayer I asked for then is the same I ask for today! Thank you for traveling the small and bumpy path with us…

It was the little girl who stuck out to me first, almost immediately after we had wedged our way onto a backwards school bench in the back of Paul Vilmer's church, once again, packed out. Her crazily braided hair was tinged with flaming red and her small skeleton held itself upon her mother's bony lap in such a weary way. Red hair means major dietary deficiency, though it was already obvious from the twigs in her neck and her tiny yellow dress hanging off her body that she was starving.

I tuned into the service for the first hour, glancing at this small bird child from time to time. Matt pointed to the two little boys in front of him during the singing, and it quickly became apparent that these were her brothers. They sat behind their mom and sister, both in holed t-shirts (you never see this in church) and propped up against each other. The oldest boy must have been 7 or 8, and the middle son, 5, but both were very underdeveloped and attracted swarms of flies. Both of their heads seemed uncommonly large perched on top of their sunken necks, and they seemed to hold each other up. It wasn't the insects crawling over the sores on their scalps or their malnourished states that had gotten Matt's attention, but instead their unblinking and unwavering focus on the pastor, eating up every word he said, for literally hours on end.

I watched this small family throughout the long service, feeling broken for them and unsure about what to do. After two hours, the sermon finally began, and just a few moments later the middle boy began to shake. We thought he was falling asleep, but soon realized that he was silently sobbing, gigantic tears streaming down his pulled face. He looked back at me, and his eyes...his eyes were just HUGE and the skin on his cheeks was almost wrinkled it was pulled so tightly across his sharp cheekbones. An older woman beside him quickly asked him what was wrong, and almost wordlessly, he muttered "I'm so hungry."

I thought my heart was going to explode right then. I was numb. How is it that I am still shocked at such things? I speak of Haiti as being a hungry place, speak of the current food crisis and the "face of hunger" that Haiti and it's children are currently experiencing. Yet it is one thing to know it and to talk about it, and another thing to SIT behind it and WATCH it...see it's TEARS.


The woman quickly tapped the boys mother, telling her that he was hungry. "I have nothing" she told the woman, then repeated to the boy, rapidly and guiltily swatting at his tears with her bony hand, shaking him lightly and telling him not to cry. "Don't cry," the older lady next to him kept repeating, obviously hurting for him and disturbed by his tears. Quickly she pulled 5 gourdes out of a hidden kleenex, and in moments so did the woman in front of her, then a woman one row over. They all thrust their tiny offering, some 38 cents US, at the mother, who rapidly swooped up her now sleeping daughter and headed out the back.

Moments later she returned, clasping three tiny foil packs, each containing four Saltine-type crackers. It took each child only seconds to open their tiny parcel, but almost 30 minutes to eat it...each savoring every tiny bite and picking up every crumb. The tiniest, wide-eyed and happily munching her cracker, continued to play games I've seen much chubbier children play with their mothers, "one bite for me, one bite for you," insisting on sharing every other bite with her mother, who obviously hadn't eaten anything more than any of her children.

By now I was finished, hot tears running down my sweaty face as I watched all of this...the pain of their suffering and tears, the beauty of everyone's collected sacrifice, the love between these children and their mother, the agony of sitting behind starvation and having no idea what to do, the torture over the 2 bites of cold scrambled eggs I had tossed out this morning and the bucket of crackers sitting on top of my loaded refrigerator...the pain of knowing this was just one small family in THOUSANDS...MILLIONS around the world.

I wanted to take off my wedding ring, my glasses, take my hymnal, Matt's wallet, our Nalgene bottle, the keys to the dump truck we drove into town and just give them all to this family. I wanted to pile them into the car and drive them home and shower them and feed them the biggest meal they had every seen and just...KEEP them....FIX it.

Suddenly the service was over and everyone was standing, hurried to leave as the dark block room had become an oven in the noonday heat. I grasped at the oldest boys hand and he smiled shyly at me. The little bird girl was shy and hid her small face in her mother's dirty t-shirt. I grabbed the mother's hand as the crowd pushed her past, and she smiled full joy as well, and I told her her children were beautiful, because I didn't know anything else to say, and she nodded in agreement.

The middle boy, however, had held back a moment, and I sat down on my heels to be at his eye level. "Good morning" he told me as I held his hand and then he grinned the most ravishing smile I have ever seen, his glassy eyes full of joy. I smiled at him brokenly, and a remnant tear slid down my cheek. Without missing a beat, he swung his tiny hand up to my shoulder and patted it quickly before he ran after his family.

This morning my face was four inches from the skeletal, open-sored face of Jesus...and when you meet Jesus face-to-face, it has to change you, doesn't it.

Please keep praying for Haiti, for Jesus to be made known, for all those that are so hungry in so many ways...and for all the pieces of our hearts.

friends...

We both felt the Lord give us His joy today, and it was truly a good day of relationships. Maxi, our good friend and neighbor, turned 33 today. He is a sincere, earnest and joyful man who loves the Lord. It was our joy to celebrate with him and his family. Kerline, his wife, is just as joyful and intelligent, but is sassy, too :) This family has been such an encouragement to us both since the day we moved in, despite the many difficulties they have faced just in the last 6 months.

They are each other's unwavering best friend, and it is a joy to see them ACT like best friends in a culture where most couples keep the appearance of being quite distant. Lily LOVES hanging out at their house, chasing "Poul" (chickens), their poor cat, and eating lollipops they consistently give her.

There is NO one, however, that she loves more than her friends Jacob and Josephine. She will twist out of my arms to go to Josephine, something she does for NO one else. They are fantastic to her, and she clearly thinks of them as big brother and sister. Their family is only here a few months a year, and we're already dreading their upcoming departure. What a joy it can be to be in the body of Christ!


We also have three visiting professors on campus right now, Pam, Miss Betty, and David D. They've been joyful and encouraging company, and tonight after dinner we all enjoyed (or suffered through, depending who you talk to) Robert Redford's "Jeremiah Johnson." I will never forgive Gord for introducing Matt to this depressing man-movie.

Tomorrow morning I'm teaching about Ishmael and God's covenant with Abraham at the church across the street....will be an interesting exploration of God's plan vs. Our plan and His faithfulness and grace, whichever we follow. Please be praying for that precious time as we explore who He is and why we need Him tomorrow morning from 8-10 in this dark, dark area.

Jil update...after some talk and prayer, we decided to send Jil's four oldest children to school for the rest of the year at the school associated with the church here in Sakenville...getting them a guaranteed one good meal per day and getting them out of the house. Still praying about what else to do, but know they have been on your hearts and wanted you to know they'll be starting in school Monday!