Moments of Hope
Sunday, July 28, 2024
They're here!!! Lex and I have been anticipating the arrival of our friends from Bless Back Worldwide and Moments of Hope Church. This high-energy team of mostly young people has hit the ground running.
They carried about 70 suitcases and backpacks from Charlotte to Luperón. Upon their arrival, they carried them all down the long driveway and into the house. After dinner, they assembled a half-dozen fans to help them have a restful evening.
This morning, the team was up and at 'em early, unpacking all those suitcases and organizing the many supplies for this week's planned mobile clinics.
After a hearty breakfast (including mangos, watermelon, and dragon fruit!!!),,,
...they descended the road, heading to the Haitian Baptist Church of Luperón. They learned how to react to a herd of cows booking it down the road, too!
After the church service, they walked to the future home of this congregation. Those of you who have visited us in the Dominican Republic know the walk home is considerably more difficult than the walk downtown. We live at the top of a not-so-short and very steep incline. They made it, as did the cows.
After a quick swim and some lasagna, they were on their way again - this time to La Grúa to scope out their worksite for the week. Did I mention this team has a lot of energy??? Our friends in La Grúa who lost their homes in a fire will benefit from all that energy as they work together to put the walls up.
We are eager to see how the LORD will work through this team this week. Undoubtedly, many lives will be touched - including each of our friends from Charlotte.
I've been thinking a lot this week about balance. I tend to be either all in or all out. Perhaps my daily vision is a bit too narrow. I need more of God's perspective in my day to day.
Multinational Security Support forces have been arriving in Haiti for several weeks and are now beginning to conduct operations to combat gang control of neighborhoods, cities, and regions. There are two extreme opinions (two of many, I suppose), "Go in, wipe them all out, and start over!" and "Let Haiti fix Haiti!" I empathize with both perspectives and ask, "Where is the balance?" I don't accept either as being the answer. So many of us (myself included) are these amazing armchair quarterbacks who offer simplistic solutions to extremely complex problems. We, admittedly, on my part, lack proper/complete perspective. I pray, LORD, may things be better than they have been!
I am part of the greater—a follower of Christ, a member of His Body, the Church. As such, God intends for me to fulfill a certain role. My role includes both giving and receiving. I can neither withhold my assistance to someone in need nor can I refuse assistance from someone because of my pride. We are designed to function best together.
At the end of my days, however, I will stand alone before the LORD. I cannot blame anyone else (spouse, church, people group I associate with...) for my own shortcomings. On that day, it won't matter that everyone told me how amazing I was or what a horrible person I was. All the flammable parts will be gone. Only the gold will remain.
Where is the balance? First, love God. Second, love people. We don't love God and throw out the people as insignificant. Think about it: God loved people enough to sacrifice His Son to bring us back into fellowship with HIM. That's a huge sacrifice. Obviously, He greatly values people. Likewise, we don't love people and throw God away, for it is "in Him we live, and move, and have our being!" (Acts 17:28) We wouldn't be here without HIM.
And so, as I work out my salvation, I am determined to remain diligent. Neither harsh criticisms nor glorious praises shall be used to measure my worth, nor will I judge what following Jesus looks like based on either of these. I will continue to pray for more of God's perspective to be revealed to me and to the world. I pray for godly balance beyond myself.
Ben and Marlouse have been doing a wonderful job. It's so exciting to see the things that bring life to them. The biggest life-givers are the START NOW program and the school-aged child feedings (a two-month program in La Grúa).
Met Ben has been gathering supplies to keep the construction sites moving. Last week, they finished pouring the foundation slab on the second housing unit and finished the floor on the water house.
Of course, Marlouse loves utilizing her nursing skills in caring for our neighbors.
The clinic staff in Haiti also finds great fulfillment in caring for our students, staff, and neighbors there.
Edon Carries pastors Eglise Evangélique Mission of Hope in Thozin. Last week, he preached at MOHI's church in the mountains of St. Etienne.
The children and staff have worked hard and are now on Summer break. As is customary in Haiti, final grades are released at the "Remise des Carnets" where parents are invited to receive their children's report cards.
It's been over 3 years since we've brought any teams into Haiti. The students and staff really miss the many visitors who would come to support them each year. It's definitely more difficult to keep everyone connected when they're not visiting regularly. We are so grateful to those of you who have remained connected to the school and the ministry in general through child sponsorship.
It's very exciting for us to see new child sponsors coming on board despite never having been to MOHI in Haiti. Hats off to Donna, who this past week decided to sponsor 4-year-old Donalson. His future is looking bright!!! Thank you, Donna!
Thank you, Friends, for your prayers and support of MOHI and our ministry to the people of Haiti and the Dominican Republic! We are so much better together!!!
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