drawing on His grace through friends

It's officially summer, which means that we officially cannot imagine not being sweaty, stinky and sticky.  There is no way there is a place that is cool right now, in the whole world,  there just isn't.

But the best thing to do when that's the case is spend good time with good friends, because they are frizzy and sweaty and stinking, too, so you drink iced coffee and cokes and share your toys and talk about ice cream and thank God for the richness of what Oswald Chambers calls "always be poor."

Never hold anything in reserve.  Pour yourself out, giving the best that you have, and always be poor.  Never be diplomatic and careful with the treasure God gives you...and yet possessing all things, 2 Corinthians 6:10, this is poverty triumphant.

It was a joy to sweat with friends at Fanfan's house...watching the girls all play (Could Nathanaielle, one month older than Nora, be ANY cuter??)

It was a joy to catch up, to learn more, to grow together a few hot hours.  To pray for their sweet family in the place they call home.  FanFan was in Matt's very first class here at Emmaus and is now working on his doctorate and our vice-academic dean.  After graduating, he married another student's sister...(now also staff)...Jodenel!  And Majorie is the best, also one of my English students.  Gotta love all that good family!

Marjorie's in the middle

Then today we spent celebrating more dear friends at a nearby hotel.

Micheline and Gertha are such beautiful graces and encouragements and helpmates in our lives, and have loved and nurtured and taught all three girls since they were infants.  So so thankful for them in our lives.

  

Many have been praying for Micheline, and please continue.  She heads to the Dominican this weekend to seek further medical help for horrible back pain and headaches, one of her daughter's is due to deliver any day now, one has a very sick baby, her father is on his deathbed, her husband is still in Brazil...  Thank you.  

God loves us WELL through these ladies. 

Then tonight we were sticky with some more friends, just moved in down the road (it would be 30 seconds if it weren't for the miserable road between them and us) who have already been such a joy and blessing in our lives.  By tonight Lily was begging to live with the Hari's for a few days...but I'm not sure she'd ever come home.

And beautiful still, tomorrow we have friends coming!

YES, they know that it is almost July in Haiti, and they are coming to visit us anyway!  We are so excited to have the Sunderlands, our good friends from NorthRidge, Kansas coming for a few days.  We've got some great relationship-stuff planned, and some adventure-stuff, too, and are just so blessed to have friends coming HERE.  To our home.  Just to spend time with us and nothing else.  

That's crazy.

Wait 'till they smell us.

Also, our fantastic film crew of February is almost finished with the EBS story, and we are SO excited to share.  Hopefully we'll have it when we start speaking stateside July 9th!  (See the full speaking schedule here!)  If you're not going to be with us at all the four weeks we're in America, we'll be sharing it like crazy in August, so hang in!

If you're coming up short lately, I give you this word from My Utmost that God's been using to work on me.

Prayer is the practice of drawing on the grace of God.  Pray now--draw on the grace of God in your moment of need.  Let circumstances take you where they will, but keep drawing on the grace of God in whatever condition you may find yourself.  

One of the greatest proofs that you are drawing on the grace of God is that you can be totally humiliated before others without displaying even the slightest trace of anything but His grace.