Please Help us!

At times I think I have taken clean water for granted. I turn on the faucet and water comes out that we can drink and not worry about getting sick. And there is a spigot on the outside of our house with a garden hose hooked up to it and we can turn it on to water our grass and yet that same water is clean and we could drink it without fear of getting sick or catching an illness that would lead to our death. That sounds a little drastic and yet it is a truth for people who live in Haiti. If you've looked over this blog at all you may understand that Haiti is near and dear to us, And it hurts to know that people in Haiti are catching cholera because they don't have access to clean water and their life is being cut short because of this.
The mission (NWHCM) we had the honor to work with in Haiti has an outreach to a Haitian prison and a friend of ours has gained favor in the eyes of the authorities at this prison and is there weekly for a Bible study. And the prisoners (and guards who are probably pretending not to be listening) are hearing about Jesus and singing His praises and coming to know Him. The prisoners don't have water often times. They sometimes go days without water. Can you even imagine? And the truth is for about $4800 this problem could be solved. With this money 2 600 gallon water tanks and a well and 4 pumps could be drilled/installed and the prison would always have plenty of water that is safe to drink. Some people scoff - they are prisoners, why does it matter? Well, if you claim to know Jesus then it matters and now that you have heard of this need you really don't have an excuse. Jesus said a little something about being in prison and something about I needed a drink of water and you gave it to me. You see, if you really look at those prisoners you might just see Jesus looking back at you. I did. I never expected it, but it happened. The need is $4800. So far I believe $0 has been given. You can contact either of us and we can give you more information about the project and where to send the money. This is not some hypothetical concern in a far away country but it is the reality of a country only about 700 miles away from Miami. PLEASE join us in helping with this worthy project.

Needle and Haystack Life

Sometimes it is easy to make life too complicated. As Christ followers we've made the decision that our life is not our own and we've surrendered that. We 100% believe that God has plans for us and our goal is to know that plan and follow it accordingly. It would be easier, I think, if we were to get a letter or a set of directions explaining the plan and how it would all fit together. But as it is, we live each day with a knowledge that we just get to see the plan live as it unfolds. It is assuring to look back and see that indeed there is a plan and how the steps we took, the joys and the low times we have experienced all fit together perfectly. We have our plans for the future, having children and someday living in Haiti as full time missionaries, and we are constantly praying that we are following what God has for us. It is somewhat of a fine line to walk. You can't just sit on your keester day after day and expect things to just happen and on the converse side of that you cannot run head first into things and ask God to bless what you are doing (instead of seeking what you should do). But I think at times we over-complicate it. Sometimes we won't move because we think we aren't supposed to or we wait for the neon sign in the sky to tell us what to do. When we live within God's will we have some latitude in what to do. Sometimes we just have to honor God by making a decision and moving in faith. On the radio the other morning I heard a great analogy about this. The guy was saying that sometimes we are looking for God's will like it is the needle in the haystack, but really God's will for us is the haystack. It think God gives us more latitude than we often realize. So the prayer I have for our future and any of you who may read these words is to find the happy medium - to search for God's will but to realize that at times it is not one specific thing, but it could be one of many different things.

One year later

It was a year ago today that the workday was coming to a close and my co-worker Joanie said, "CNN says there was an earthquake in Haiti". I wondered what part of the tiny country it had hit and I immediately thought of the missionaries I know who live there. I texted Brittany and told her the news, but she had not heard anything either. I drove home from work and turned on the television to see if any of the news stations were reporting what had happened. It was then that I found out the severity of the earthquake and I felt sick. And I really wondered what God would allow this to happen, why poor Haiti?

I kind of wonder if I am even worthy to write about Haiti. I have friends who serve there day in and day out and I have been there a grand total of 8 days in my life. But I also know that it made a huge impact on both of our hearts and it hurts when someone, or a country, you love is hurting. So though I am no Haiti expert I still felt a sense of shock, loss, and horror as the events from a year ago today unfolded.

Now we are a year removed from that and we have seen Hurricane Tomas again strike this little country and we have seen a disease that can easily be controlled wreck havoc on this counry. Anderson Cooper and Dr. Gupta and Brian Williams and all of their cameras are no longer in Haiti and we no longer have the nightly reports live from Haiti. The celebrity hosted telethons are over. And most of us felt sorry for Haiti and then moved on with life. Meanwhile, for the last year the people of Haiti have lived in conditions that are probably what most of us would consider hell. There are still tent cities and piles of rubble and missing family members. We continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Haiti are for those there to help. And we pray that we will be able to again go to Haiti.

Hello Blog!

Dear Blog,
How are you doing? It has been awhile...life keeps moving on but I forgot to keep you and the three people who read this filled in. I figured today was a good day to come back...I am going to try to come by at least once a week...