Since New Years --

Oh so much has happened – again. I can hardly believe it has been another week gone by. So much has changed in my heart and life. Time here is so different it seems. A day can seem like an eternity, and yet they pass so quickly. I am always amazed at how much can be accomplished in one day here. We had a pastor’s conference that started on the 2^nd and I was very unsure as to how I felt about some of the teachings and some of the things that were being said. I will never agree with anyone fully I am sure because each person on this planet has a little bit of a different approach to life. We all come from different walks and different backgrounds and God teaches us all things differently. We are not clones of one another so it would make sense that we are always learning and changing and in a perfect situation we are always becoming more and more like Christ each day. However, I have been incredibly challenged through the last week… to see Jesus for who he really is. I have been taught many things not through any one person, but by seeking the true will of God… and not even just seeking the path God wants for me, but truly seeking the face of my God. He has shown me so much in this last week… it is incredible truly. I have been challenged every day to lay down my own desires and my own will, my timing for his timing and my thoughts for his thoughts. I had the incredible opportunity to spend a little time with Pastor Richard and Beth from Canada. They are not perfect, but they have a lot of life that has been lived. Getting to know Pastor Beth has been a real encouragement to me. Lisa has talked about them constantly since I first got here, insisting that they are incredible leaders and mentors. I have had such a hard time respecting many “pastors and leaders” in authority the last year or so, but God is restoring me and who I am… and in doing so I am finding a healthy respect and appreciation of my authority. I will never again believe that any man is perfect or complete or knows all there is to know, but this couple taught me a lot about trusting God… not man. But who God is through people.

I have been challenged through many different things this last week to stand. All through this week I felt like God was speaking to me telling me it was time to stand. That I could not keep dreaming about tomorrow or the great things He will do in my someday… but to realize that today is a day to be enjoyed and lived and worked through. Every day seems to come and go with its challenges, and joys and trials. It seems almost a contradiction and yet it isn’t. I am so encouraged all the time by the way that God is orchestrating his plans and the times that he allows me to be a part of it, the times that I just get to sit back and watch God move. No matter what is happening, I can choose to see the goodness of the Lord. He is so good and so beautiful and so much more real than lots of people give Him credit for. He is so not just a name on a page or an idea or concept. He is the living Word. Jesus is the all knowing, all loving and all consuming God. He is a Fire and he will consume me if I allow him to, yet I will not be harmed. He will burn away the weak and sick parts of me and purify me like a beautiful treasure… He is. Every day. He is enough. His grace is enough. There is no reason to try and make him out to be someone different… He is everything and nothing else can be compared to Him. These are all things that I have heard and “known” in my head my WHOLE life. But especially in the last week I have come face to face with the reality of my God. I am seeing that this God that I serve and love is more real than any person or living thing that I see. He is Beauty and Life. There is nothing that can be said that could truly show who He is. And my prayer and hope in this life is to be so full of God and the Holy Spirit that those around me and in my life will have no choice but to believe. This God is real. He is not a stranger and He certainly has no plans in His heart for evil. He is just and perfect in all He does. I cannot express what God is revealing to me in words that are adequate… but I will say that as I sit in the presence of my God I am finding the clarity and focus that was promised to me before I came to this place. Nothing else matters as much as pleasing my God and living the way He is requiring of me. I have no idea what God has in store for me when I leave this country, but I do know that He is caring for me… that He has not forgotten me, that He is in control and is laying the path out in front of me for the furthering of His kingdom. I want to be so surrendered to His will and plans that my dreams are not fulfilled in any other way but walking with and beside Him. Hand in Hand with my Father and full of the Holy Spirit. I see the goodness of my God and know that the battles ahead are not to be won in my own strength, but in the complete confidence that comes from living and abiding in HIM.

So those are some of the things that I have been praying through and working through… Practically some of the things that have been happening in life… The pastor’s conference was a great time of service. I worked with my friends Henry Claude and Francklin a good portion of the week setting up the PowerPoint for worship services and preparing and recording all the sermons. This meant I sat in the front of the congregation and directly in front of the speakers. It was so neat to be a part of a team that was working so hard to serve and be a blessing to the pastors that came to the conference. I know that great seeds were sown and that the Kingdom of God will grow in Haiti as a result. Continue to pray that the teachings and the Words of God will grow in these men and women and that there will be life and good fruit that comes from it.

Church on Sunday was wonderful! We had a great service with Pastor Richard preaching one more time and an amazing alter call. There were so many people that came up to rededicate their lives to Jesus. It was beautiful!

Yesterday Pastors Richard and Beth and Pierre and Louise, Joe and Rebecca and I, Marc and Lisa and the kids and Frantzy all went for a ride to Jacmel – a town on the other side of the mountains to go swimming. It was quite an adventure. We had a great lunch, some people had fish and I had lambi. It was delicious! We were enjoying ourselves in the water immensely when all of a sudden it started pouring rain! It was crazy! Buckets of water were dumping from the skies. There was no point in even attempting to dry off! So we got into the van wet for the 2 hours drive home. Let me tell you that was an experience!! LOL. I am always amazed when I get goose bumps in Haiti but yesterday it happened. It was cold!

I am very glad to report that I have not been sick for almost a week now. I am finally over the nasty effects of the amoeba that had apparently attacked my system. Praise God. That was NO FUN AT ALL!!

Routine life now starts up again. Classes have started and so there are people here all the time and Jess and Steve are busy during the days! This leaves me with my never ending job of working on the website and newsletters and many other things related to “media”. I am finding joy in this job now that I have some more vision for it.

So life continues. I can hardly believe I have just a little over 3 months left. 90 days goes by oh so quickly! I am in shock really that I have been here for almost 2 months already. Wow.

I will attempt to blog again soon, but now I must go back to “real work”. :o)

Blessings to you all. Let’s continue to seek God and stand up and fight the battles of the Lord. We have so much to do as the body of Christ… let’s continue to build up our faith. Get in shape and training so that we can push through and find victory and life! He is there waiting for you… none of us are worthy, but He is worth all the breath we have in us. Seek him and he promises to be found. You are all in my thoughts and prayers!

OH and P.S. I got my care package from home -- finally!! AND I AM SO EXCITED! It's like Christmas all over again! My parents bought me a new camera! A Canon Power Shot A560. It is wonderful! I am having so much learning about all the different features. It is fantastic really! So more pics soon!! :)