Sunday Won’t Leave My Mind

Today my mind is on yesterday. I had the honor of speaking in one of my Bible school students' church. We had no idea what it would be like or how many people would be there. The church was located in a very dark (voodoo) village where five other pastors had been run out. My student maintained his ground for the past five years! He was taken to court last year because on trumped up charges because the witch doctors wanted to be rid of him. He won the case and refused to counter sue but chose rather to forgive the man. He's one of the most attentive students in my class and when he was teaching Sunday School, I realized he truly is teaching what he's learning at Bible school.

This church, like so many is nothing more than coconut palms put together to form a roof and sides. The uneven dirt floor with rocks jutting out, make it difficult to keep ones balance. When it came time for the pastor to introduce us, he said, "This is the first time foreigners have been here. I was ashamed to ask my teacher, but when I did, she accepted." Do you know how humbling that is? After the message, he brought us cold cokes and crackers, cokes being a hardship for him to provide, (again very humbling). When the time came for me to speak, I encouraged him never to be ashamed because he's preaching truth and not having a big fancy church didn't mean that the Presence of the Lord was not in his church.

His suit was mismatched and wrinkled. His wife was very outgoing and friendly but her clothes were not what we've seen in other churches on pastors' wives. She was so poorly dressed, I wanted to take off my shoes and give them to her. The only reason I didn't is that we've learned impulsive giving steers them away from trust in God to trust in the missionary. There will be the right time and circumstance to help this pastor and his wife. His five children revealed how desperate they are. After the service he shared that he'd had a toothache, found someone to pull it with pliers and the tooth broke off! OUCH!!! We did give him money to see a dentist and get the job done right.

I preached on Choose the Right Rock. Since this was a peasant church in a dark village, the Lord reminded me of the experience on Russeau when the guy came in with the rocks he was worshipping. There are so many scriptures referring to Jesus as our Rock, and knowing rocks are easily worshipped by those who have for generations been steeped in animism, I used many scriptures and a rock. They were listening as I cried out to a rock (my object lesson) and listened to see if it would answer me. It's not too difficult for any of us to get pulled from believing the Word of God over what we can see or do for ourselves. It might not be a rock, it might be a plan that's totally opposite what God would have us do. We need to be very aware in these days and choose to trust God over all the distractions because He is longing for a people who will never look elsewhere. Pressure situations come to all of us and the way we handle them determines not only the outcome of our future here but also our eternal future. So, I exhort you today to choose the right Rock!

Trying to put pictures on here.

Great is the Lord and worthy of Glory,

A Wonderful Day

Good Morning! I'm so excited to have discovered a new way to do my blogs. This is so much easier than doing it right on the blog. So, you may be hearing from me a bit more.

Can you believe this? The temperature right now is 76 degrees….quite chilly compared to 85 or 90. It was so chilly last night, I couldn't bear bathing. Gary said he heated his water (a first).

We've been meeting with the Carpenters and Barbara every Thursday for Praise and Worship. It's such a refreshing time in the Presence of the Lord. And it's been a great time of fellowship. I wake up on Friday mornings with thoughts of that sweet time on my heart. The Lord said we should make a joyful noise and if you were to hear our off key blunders you'd say, yes, that's a noise all right, but God loves it. I know because the Holy Spirit shows up.

When we arrived at their house, Bev had camera in hand ready to go over to the orphanage, so I joined her. There were the three little guys helping Kally do the laundry. What a neat picture. They love helping do that. I wish I had the picture to post but I don't. I am going to try posting some on here though.

Today is chapel. It's a time of centering on God and His will for our lives. We've been showing the teenagers a G.Craig Lewis' DVD, on why teen dating is wrong. It's been powerful. The kids are having to think about their choices. Today they'll take a test on what they've learned. It should be interesting.

Now, how do I get pictures on here, I wonder. If you see some, then I've succeeded. If you see none, you know I need to learn a little more.

A scripture for today: Fear of the Lord lengthens one's life, but the years of the wicked are cut short. Proverbs 10:27. Walk today in the fear of the Lord and experience long life.L. Orphans R. El Shaddai

I'm trying something new. That is to type on Microsoft Word 2007. It tells me that I can post blogs from here which would be wonderful so let's see how it goes.

Things are happening in Haiti. We've had a very unusual winter and now we are getting rains so early before the rainy season. St Marc flooded downtown the other night because of the huge amount of water that came from the mountains and with the damage done during the hurricanes last summer, nothing can hold the water back. Then today we heard from another missionary who was on his way to work at Agape, that Cabaret was having manifestations, concerning the fact that the bridge there has never been fixed and these early rains are scaring people. Cabaret lost many lives and was flooded over and over again last summer. Their only voice is to manifest. It was not pleasant for our friends because they got in the middle of a gun fight between police and citizens, rock throwing all of it!! They finally got through without incident but it was pretty scary to say the least. Praise God for His protection in situations like that.

We are looking forward to Diana Moreno, her daughter Alicia and Dr. Mary Mikowski coming in for a week to do clinics. There is so much sickness and disease that gets no attention due to the poverty issue. Their giving will alleviate some of the suffering. It's amazing to me how Haitians tolerate the pains that we simply take an aspirin for. One of our kindergarten students mother cannot find the heart medicine the doctor prescribed….another problem. If you have the money (we were buying it) finding it is hard. So, we are looking forward to Dr. Mary and Diana's loving care.

Somehow I was encouraged to go on Facebook, so if any of you are on there, I invite you to be my friend.

The orphanage is really going well and the boys are doing great. I need to get there and get some pictures of them. They are beginning to gain a little weight and look quite healthy. If we could only take in a dozen right now, it would help so many more. It costs 100 USD to care for each boy a month, when you factor in the night time and weekend help, all the food, electricity, water, etc.

We are in desperate need of a school principal at El Shaddai. If you know of anyone who is mission minded, would love a positive experience in a safe environment, please tell them about us. Our biggest need is an American presence at the school. Gary and I desire to move on to evangelical things but we cannot leave the school unattended. It's a good school and we want to see it get to be even better. We need younger blood.

They are getting ready for elections here for Senate seats that have been empty a long time. The Lavalas Party was told they could not run for these seats. Lavalas is the Aristide party. It's not a bad thing that Lavalas can't run. They were in when this country went up in smoke. Their having seats would usher Aristide back. Our landlord told us that if Lavalas is allowed to be voted into those Senate seats, many people (who can afford to leave Haiti) will leave in fear of their lives. So this is not just an ordinary election time. Please pray that it will be peaceful.

Isn't it wonderful to know we have a constant in our lives? Without the Word of God and the assurance that He's in control where would we be? Is. 33:17 says …and the work of righteousness shall be peace and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. May that be true in your lives as you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. God Bless. Carolyn

 

DID YOU KNOW THIS??

We are always amazed at what we don't know about Haitian culture and beliefs. Here's one that we thought was worth sharing that we found amusing.

A few months ago, in a third grade class in an Animal Science book, there was a comment about chickens. I overheard one of the girls say, "I don't know where the chicks get the milk." I immediately told her that chickens come from an egg and the mother has no milk, that chicken's aren't mammals. I didn't think about it any more until Sunday at the missionary meeting. One of our friends raises rabbits for consumption and had to explain to a Haitian employee that the babies got milk from the mother rabbit, which the employee didn't believe. Then the conversation about Haitian beliefs and chickens came up. You cannot buy chicken breast meat in Haiti. You can buy whole chickens but no where, whether the Haitian market or grocery store, you do not find chicken breasts. Do you know why? Because the mother chicken feeds her babies milk and they do not want to eat the chicken breast. Having learned that on Sunday, I just asked Yvesner this question. Mind you, Yvesner is our school secretary, is fluent in French and English, a very bright young man. Yvesner, do baby chicks get milk from the mother? Yes, was his reply because they go under her wings to nurse.
We called the cook in and asked the same question and of course, it was the same answer, but they can't find where it is that the chicks nurse. So, they throw the breast away.
Of course, we corrected them and we all laughed about it but you know what? I would not be afraid to wager that they still will not eat a chicken breast.

There are political woes brewing. Please be in prayer about this. The Lavalas Party was not allowed to run for the Senate. There are six empty seats that are up for vote. Lavalas was Aristide's party and those wanting to run have all been convicted of crimes during the time they were in power. What will happen? We don't know. The UN has a section of PAP blocked off and guarded to protect it from the Lavalas. Elections are in April. We pray that it's peaceful and there is no violence.

The next time you buy chicken breast remember we cannot get it here due to misinformation!
Until then may our Lord bless you with all good things!