Haiti – Collage of Thoughts
I am finally content. Content with being in Haiti. Content with doing construction all month. Content with living with the squad of 46 people. And yes it took me two weeks to get to this point. But I have such a peace about being here, living here, and the ministry. Some days are harder than others, but I have finally found ways/places for quiet within the chaos of the month, quiet with my soul. God has just been showing me His love and His grace to me through this month, through my injuries (which are all healed!), and through people. A verse that stands out to me is “Devote yourself to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Col 4:2. That is a powerful verse that speaks to my heart. You should read it again.
Beauty in the Rain… Chaos in the Rain
So we are tent camping this month, which is actually really nice and peaceful. Especially at night… Now during the day, it is crazy ridiculous hot soooo I can’t go in there at all. But at night its fine. Here is the thing, when it rains in Haiti… It pours. Like serious rain for hours on end. The land is Not used for agriculture, because it is barren and dry and lots of rocks. The land just doesn’t absorb the water, so it floods. The first night of rain was complete chaos because everyone’s tents were flooding, and it was really bad. And a lot of moving stuff, or packs, or tents. Thankfully mine was one of the very few that didn’t flood. Praise Jesus. God is good. So then the next day we rearranged tents, made trenches, leveled the land… And that actually helped overall. Fewer people got flooded out of their tent/homes the next time it rained… So listening to the rain on a tin roof in the DR was peaceful/beautiful, listening to the raining and thunder in Haiti in a tent is not so peaceful and slightly scary to be honest. It is beautifully chaotic the nights it rains here.
Verses to Ponder
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your life may win respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anyone.” 1 Thes 4:11-12
“Be joyfully always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire’ do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” 1 Thes 5:16-22
The Potter and the Clay
Does the Potter have the right to do whatever He wants with the clay? In the midst of the tragedies that life often brings, in the midst of the mysterious and hidden ways in which God often works, inthe midst of the theological tensions and paradoxes that are woven throughout Scripture, in the midst of the pain and sorrow and misery and confusion that accompany our existence on earth – we must come to a place where we can answer yes to this question. Yes, the Potter has this right.
-From ‘Erasing Hell’ by Francis Chan
Furthering God’s Kingdom
“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances… And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:11, 19 You have an opportunity to further God’s kingdom. One of my teammates, Dania Spillett – http://daniaspillett.theworldrace.org/, is currently short $1570 dollars for the April 1st deadline. She is an amazing woman of God who seeks after God with all of her heart. I am asking you to simply pray. Pray for the team as a whole with furthering the kingdom of God in the coming months. And pray in particular for Dania and for the funds to come in. “With God all things are possible.”
College of Thoughts
Sorry this blog has been sooo random, but I was struggling to come up with a blog this week so I took pieces and parts from my journaling and from my quiet times. Thanks for all of your prayers. They mean soooo much to me. I have one week left in Haiti, than on Sunday I leave for Romania!
