Who ever said you didn’t get to stop home during the World Race? The Lord gave me that gift when He placed Haiti on our World Race Route. Two years ago the Lord blessed me with a few months in Haiti at a place called Canaan. Canaan is a home to me. It is a place where the Lord revealed Himself to me and showed me His power. He taught me that His love, His grace, His mercy and His forgiveness is ALL we really need and that I should stop longing for more. He taught me to believe that He was capable of anything and to never stop dreaming, hoping or believing that He is able to do more than I could ask for or imagine. I saw Him work in that way during my time here. He taught me a lot about my identity in Christ and the fact that I have nothing to prove. I believe it is intentional that we are here this month. I have struggled with some of these truths over the last month on the race. New communities are hard to fit into, it takes time to find your place and your role. Even though I know the truth, it is easy to revert to old ways. It is easy to try and take things into my own hands. I believe that the Lord brought me home to Canaan where I can see and remember all that He did during my time here. I have many standing stones from my time at Canaan. I am thankful to be in a place where God’s goodness is so evident. And I am thankful to be amongst my brothers and sisters for a few weeks and see the growth that has occurred in each of them and the blessings the Lord continues to pour out on this place.
A little about Canaan for those of you who haven’t heard me talk about it before. Canaan is very appropriately named. It is a land of goodness, clearly blessed by the hand of God. Some would call Canaan an orphanage, but I believe that it is so much more. Canaan is a community of love.I am blown away by the way
they love each other here. From the people who run the place, to the
older children who serve, cook and help out constantly, and even down to the
little ones who get up at 5:30am to do their chores before school. They carry rocks,
they pick up trash, they fetch water, they do laundry and they do it
with joy, the joy of serving one another. The Canaannites, as they
call themselves are some of the most selfless and kindest people I have
ever been around. Their love for one another and for the Lord runs deep. They greet
you with a smile and a kiss and every ‘how are you’ ends with a ‘good,
thank you.’ Everyone is welcome at Canaan and everyone that lives here plays a part. The motto around
Canaan…when unsure of what to do they PRAY…that is always the
solution. Pastor Henry and Sister Gladys are like parents to these
kids and they love them as their own. It’s a pretty unique place in the midst of a dark country. These children are being raised up as warriors for the kingdom. They are learning everyday what it means to love one another. The Lord keeps screaming to me the truth that how we love one another communicates His love to the world. I am thankful to learn from the Canaanites over the next 2 weeks.
they love each other here. From the people who run the place, to the
older children who serve, cook and help out constantly, and even down to the
little ones who get up at 5:30am to do their chores before school. They carry rocks,
they pick up trash, they fetch water, they do laundry and they do it
with joy, the joy of serving one another. The Canaannites, as they
call themselves are some of the most selfless and kindest people I have
ever been around. Their love for one another and for the Lord runs deep. They greet
you with a smile and a kiss and every ‘how are you’ ends with a ‘good,
thank you.’ Everyone is welcome at Canaan and everyone that lives here plays a part. The motto around
Canaan…when unsure of what to do they PRAY…that is always the
solution. Pastor Henry and Sister Gladys are like parents to these
kids and they love them as their own. It’s a pretty unique place in the midst of a dark country. These children are being raised up as warriors for the kingdom. They are learning everyday what it means to love one another. The Lord keeps screaming to me the truth that how we love one another communicates His love to the world. I am thankful to learn from the Canaanites over the next 2 weeks.
I believe God has big plans for our next 2 weeks in Haiti outside of Canaan as well. We have already spent some time evangelizing in the mountains (a blog coming soon on that) and today we spent time at a hospital praying for patients. It was pretty emotional and stretching, but we clearly saw God working. Please continue to pray that we would listen to where He is leading and that we would be obedient and go. Pray for protection, safety and that God would reveal Himself to our entire squad over our next few weeks here in Haiti. Pray also for those fighting sickness. We could not do this journey without you! THANKS!
