Our daily bread.

“Give us today our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11

What did you have for dinner last night?  Did you have enough to eat?  Did you go to bed hungry?  Did you have something to eat before you came to school this morning?  Those are a sample of the questions that a Trinity/HOPE mission team member will ask about a dozen or so children while visiting their school in Haiti.  Answers don’t very too much, seventy percent generally answer ‘no’ to eating questions and ‘yes’ to the question about going to be hungry.

When was that last time that you would have answered ‘no’ to eating before bed or before you left for school or work?  In North America we might ‘skip’ a meal if we are in a hurry to get somewhere.  Our children come home after school and open the fridge door and stand in that cool air spend time just considering all the options for a snack before dinner.

A dietitian from Vanderbilt University was asked to put together a good meal for Haitian children considering the ingredients available.  The photo is what a child in Haiti quite often has for lunch at school, if there is a Trinity/HOPE feeding program; many schools have no such program.  A bowl of beans, rice, vegetable oil, tomato paste, onions, maggi and little bit of smoked red herring for seasoning; the children absolutely love it.

This bowl is for a medium sized child, costs a quarter for their meal for the day.  What a bargain.  When they pray the Lord’s prayer and come to the “Give us this day our daily bread” their heads nod as the words leave their lips.  Sadly, we take that petition for granted too often as our cupboard and fridge are generally full of food.  Next time you pray before your meal, pause and think about a child in Haiti and their noon meal, praying over that bowl of beans and rice and consider how blessed you are and how you could be a blessing to one of them with your abundance.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

How about your school?

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6 (NASB)

Where did you go to school?  I won’t ask you when.  Was it a large school; did it have desks, blackboards, projectors, a furnace or air conditioner, a solid concrete or wood floor, a bathroom, electricity, a kitchen or running water?  I started school in 1955 and I would have to check each of the above qualities with a “yes”.  Not to mention locking doors, windows with glass, a gymnasium, a music room, a separate room for each class and I was blessed to have attended a Lutheran grade school so we also learned about Jesus.  That was in 1955 and my old school has seen many upgrades in the past 65 years.

The attached photo of the school at Bois Marchand was taken in March of 2010 when I did a solo visit to Haiti.  These children could not have said ‘wi’ to all of my questions regarding their school; they have a kitchen which is a pot setting over a small pile of charcoals outside and they also learn about Jesus; that is it.

Their desks also double as church pews on Sunday as their school is used as a church.  When you look at their school, does the word success cross your mind?  I don’t know what their GPA average is or what electives they are taking or how well their basketball team is doing in the Districts they are not familiar with any of these things; didn’t see a trophy case.  I am sure that their parents are concerned that they do get good grades and will have a brighter future than they had. 

When I interviewed fifteen of these boys and girls, I recognized the unique way God created each of these children and is preparing them to share the love of Jesus at every turn along their journey.  To me, at this point in my life, that is what is really more important than the report cards, elective classes and trophy cases full of sports medals.

Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” and that causes me to consider the words, “… in the way he should go.” Is our world placing more importance on training our kids that the “way he should go” is to chase worldly achievement or to chase God?  Whatever they learn to chase as a child, they will chase as adults; you and I both know that to be true.

Their school may not look like much but these children are so very special to Him and to His work in Haiti.  When they give thanks for their Trinity/HOPE meal each day, they are thanking our Triune God for you, for helping to make their lives so special…for Him.  Thank you for sharing your excess with these who have nothing to spare.  God be with you.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Six missionaries.

“All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”  Luke 2:18

When you first head about Trinity/HOPE what was your reaction?  Too good to be true?  When the shepherds told others about what they had been through and what their eyes saw, people had a hard time believing; amazing!  One of the blessings I received while living in Haiti was seeing children in schools without feeding programs and schools with Trinity/HOPE programs…amazing!  The six girls sitting at the blue table in Cap Haitian in the attached photo are evidence of something truly amazing.

A dollar and fifty cents will provide lunch for these children.  Bright smiles and eyes and you probably should also know that none of these girls had anything to eat the night before school or the in the morning before they walked to school.  That metal plate is more than likely their meal for the day unless their parents give them a piece of bread or a mango or a banana.

If you are now a donor, or are considering being a supporter for children like these in Cap Haitian, Beni Soit L’Eternal! (Praise the Lord!)  While your $1.50 is certainly a blessing for this lunch table the bigger picture sees six young missionaries who will be taking the Gospel message to a neighborhood and country still dedicated to satan and devil worship through vodou.  The next generation of these young Lutheran girls and children attending Christian schools throughout Haiti are the hope for a country that is without hope.

What a blessing it would be to one day travel to Haiti and see no vodou temples with flags flying in the air and be able to say “amazing” what has been accomplished by our Triune God through these children and supporters like you.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

It never changes.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”  James 1:17

The attached photo is of just a few of the 194 children attending school at Font Baptiste that is high in the mountains in the Arcahaie District.  The journey up the mountain is an adventure as the dirt and rocky road is steep and narrow and there are occasions when you need to get out of the vehicle and move rocks out of the path so you can continue onward.

Font Baptiste is a rural community that stretches out along a dirt road in the rolling plains on top of the mountain that is over 4,000 feet above sea level.  Almost every child in this school walks several miles to school every day.  The small home of every child will typically have two rooms, one is their bedroom and one is their living room, where they cook, eat, study and have fellowship.

On my first visit to Font Baptiste we arrived early in the morning and we were invited to have breakfast with the Pastor there.  In the small two room house I was given a cup of coffee, a boiled egg, a piece of bread and a banana.  My breakfast was a daily meal for the Pastor and his family, for the children at the school a plate of rice and beans was their daily meal.

Probably the most important lesson that I learned on that day in 2002 was that these children, whom our Heavenly Father created to do His work, fully realize how important you are to them.  They recognize that “every good and perfect gift is from above from their Heavenly Father…and that NEVER changes.”

You have been helping to complete His work in these precious lights that are being shaped, molded and energized to go throughout the neighborhoods around Font Baptiste to share the Gospel message.  Our work with Trinity/HOPE is nothing to brag about or be boastful about the numbers of children in feeding programs.  Rather it is all about Him who is accomplishing this good work through us and them, one life at a time, one bowl of beans and rice at a time.   

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

You are a chosen people.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”  1 Peter 2:9

The attached photo is of just a few of the 174 children who attend a school called Mannou which is located in a suburb of Port-au-Prince.  Here the children are praying before they receive their lunch which is truly a special possession to them.

Their school suffered physical damage during the earthquake 1/12/10 and these children most likely suffered the loss of friends and possibly family members when the earth shook on that late afternoon hours after school had been dismissed.

We are a chosen people; you, I and these souls are truly some of God’s special possessions.  The Holy Spirit moves each of us to give of our bounty every day to bring them physical strength as they go out into a world of darkness and bring the Hope of Him who called you, and me and them.

There are those in this world that will say “look at me, look at what I have done!”  To me it is important that we say “Look at these children, look at what God has done through them and through me.”  As the Apostle Paul often wrote, “boast in the Lord.”  It is all about what He has accomplished and if my blindness has in any way been used to further the sharing of the Gospel message to the lost, than praise the Lord for what He has accomplished…through me, through you…through these children.  Thank you for continuing to support Trinity/HOPE feeding programs that are such an important part of their lives as they go out into a world of darkness and let their brilliant lights shine.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

You brought me to Jesus.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  Matthew 5:14-16

My Sunday usually begins at 5 AM, taking a handful of pills that my doctor thinks will provide me with a longer, more fulfilling life, turn on my laptop and make a cup of coffee while I am being ‘connected’ and then come back and listen to the Lutheran Hour and then read the E-Mail and check the ‘news’ and listen to a Southern Gospel internet station.  I was getting a photo to send to you today and the song “I brought you to Jesus” by the Isaacs was playing and the Holy Spirit once again nudged me.

The school in the attached photo was taken on one of Keith Logan’s mission trips and this school is located at Acquier in the Les Cayes District.  I was there in 2002 while living in Haiti and this photo was taken in 2010 and the red dirt and school building appear to had not changed in 8 years and probably not now in 2021 either; only the faces of the cloud of smiling children have changed.  At the time of my visit in 2002, I was told by Pastor Isidor that I was the first blan (Caucasian) Lutheran to have visited this school.

Getting back to the lyrics of the song, the chorus goes something like this; “I brought you to Jesus but you brought a blessing to me.  I brought you to Jesus and you showed me how a willing heart should be.  You taught me how a little child has the kind of faith that everybody needs, I brought you to Jesus but you brought a blessing to me.”

It always seems that when a mission team from North America goes to Haiti the members feel that they are ‘bringing Jesus’ to the school children or at least that is what I often through when I visited schools such as this.  The most recent Trinity/HOPE teams that have gone to Haiti, visiting children have been more about ‘sharing’ their love of Jesus Christ with these young lights, together celebrating our relationship with our Savior.

We bring tools, such as multi-colored bracelets to assist these young missionaries in their outreach to eyes that have not seen and ears that have not heard the message.  The children at Acquier are letting their Gospel lights shine brightly before others in their neighborhoods and you have been an important part of their journey with your continued support of their school feeding program.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Are you satisfied?

“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”  Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh.  Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it.  Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”  The Ninevites believed God.  A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.” Jonah 3:1-5

Yesterday, Pastor Tom Wirsing followed the nudge of the Lord to not go to Nineveh, but come to Our Redeemer in Bloomington and share a message over these verses from Jonah 3, and he did very well.  He challenged each of us, young and old, to consider how we have answered the call to go to our own Nineveh during our journey.

While driving home, I felt pretty good about having quit my engineering job after 31 years and at 50, left to become a Lutheran missionary in Haiti.  I felt satisfied that my time spent there was my Nineveh and then I wondered if God was satisfied with my following His call.  Well, to my sinful mind, the answer might be “yes” and “no”.  Yes, hopefully He is pleased with my work but “no” I am not nearly done yet; because I am still here.

When I got home the next item on my agenda was to watch the service from Christ in Lincoln, NE on my ipad and Pastor Luke Schnake talked about seeking, listening, choosing and doing what is God pleasing.  Midway through his message it seemed as these two servants must have been sharing notes but they preached on different scriptures; a God moment.  If you don’t hear God talking to you or feel Him nudging you, please put down the church newsletter during the sermon and pay attention.

And if you are reading this, there must still be a Nineveh or two left for you to complete on this side of Heaven.  Please, prayerfully consider joining me in feeding a few kids in Haiti this year, who will become missionaries to the many Ninevites in their own neighborhood.  I am closing today with words from the first verse of the hymn “Blessed Jesus, at your Word” that were sung at Christ in Lincoln, NE yesterday.

“Blessed Jesus, at your word, we are gathered all to hear you.  Let our hearts and souls be stirred, now to seek and love and fear you.  By your gospel pure and holy, teach us, Lord, to love you solely.”

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Go, make disciples.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28-19-20
When living in Haiti and visiting congregation in the rural areas, it was not unusual to see this type of structure in the attached photo, there were a few that did not have the palm branches covering the walls but did have sturdy wood poles or concrete pillars supporting a roof.

When you get into your vehicle tomorrow and drive to your home congregation, consider where most of the Christians living in Haiti are worshipping on Sunday.  They either ride in a taptap or walk to church and their pew is generally a small wooden bench that is used for a school desk during the week.

No hymnals, no organ, no indoor plumbing, no electricity and their service will not be over in an hour or less.  The best way to describe why their worship services last for up to three hours is because they have so much to be thankful for…a risen Savior who is Christ the Lord.

When Jesus gave each of us the great commission, He closed by saying that “He is with us always, to the very end of the age.”  Imagine that He is with you always and with them always…to the very end of the age.  Comforting, isn’t it?  He delights in our opulent filled sanctuary and also enjoys their simplicity.  Not interested in our surroundings, that is worldly, He is interested in our souls and tells us to go and win more souls and save them from the burning lake of hell.  Thank you for helping to prepare thousands of His children to answer His call.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Richly blessed.

“Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.” Genesis 47:27

I have a couple of stories for you this morning, first, I have a friend that lives in Nebraska and whenever we greet, I ask “how are you doing Kelly?” and he always replies “richly blessed.”  I wish that I had that feeling, because I too am richly blessed, but this sinful world still tells me I am blessed, but certainly not “richly blessed.”  Hopefully, one day on this side of Heaven, I will be able to reply to people that I am truly “richly blessed.”

Part two of being richly blessed.  The attached photo was taken on a scorcher of a day in August of 2001 at the port in Gonaives, Haiti.  John Hall and I are standing next to a crate (John on the right, me on the left and the crate is in the middle) that his congregation had shipped to Haiti that was full of clothes, computer things, cooking utensils and other items.  John was the smart one here as he was standing in the shade.

Over the years, as I learned more about Trinity/HOPE and my relationship with John grew closer, we would sit and talk about the program, where it would be best to grow next and how to lower the cost per meal.  It was probably just a fifteen years ago, following a Trinity/HOPE board meeting in Nashville that we talked about growth and where God would lead the program next…somewhat concerned with financial growth matching the number of schools that were ready for a feeding program.

At that time, as I recall roughly 8,000 children were being fed and we pondered on how many years it would take to reach 10,000 children being fed.  That level was attained probably a decade ago and last week I was speaking with Keith Logan, I observed that we were feeding over 13,500 children in 2011 and by January 2012 that number had grown to over 17,500 children in 91 schools and today we are feeding 33,500 in over 160 Christian schools.  Beni Soit L’Eternal!!!

I don’t have the words to describe my shock at that number, nor will my mind embrace the blessings that our Triune God continues to pour out on those children in Haiti.  You cannot ‘out plan’ God, you cannot out spend God and you cannot imagine where the limits of His endless love begin and end.

The feeding program continues to increase greatly in number.  From 46 children in Tarasse ten years ago to over 33,500 throughout Haiti; young missionaries are being prepared spiritually and physically to go and share the Gospel message of our Savior with the eyes that have not seen, the ears that have not heard and the hearts that have been hardened.

Richly blessed.  Thank you for your continued support for these children through Trinity/HOPE.  Give thanks to the One who has made this journey for these children, His children, who live in a land with so little but yet are filled with the joy of knowing their Savior and telling others how they are richly blessed with a meal each day from their Heavenly Father.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

LWML kitchen.

“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”  “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”  Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”  He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”  The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”  Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”  John 21:15-17
The title that I give to this photo is the “LWML kitchen” and it is located at the Messif School in Ouanaminthe.  I can tell you that there are at least 90 other kitchens at schools throughout Haiti that closely resemble this cooking station.  Nothing fancy, a big pot of rice and beans setting on top of some burning embers just waiting for a horde of hungry children to come running with clean hands and eager for their lunch.

Reading the exchange between Jesus and Peter draws me back to that photo, back to that pot at that school and the wonderful aroma.  Jesus basically tells Peter again and again “if you love me, take care of my sheep.”  Not a lot of direction, pretty simple, take care of my children, feed them…take care of them if you love me.
There is one element about Trinity/HOPE that I have always admired, they are focused on feeding His sheep, all of the over 33,500 of them at the present time throughout Haiti.  Trinity/HOPE doesn’t build schools, dig latrines or wells, purchase school supplies or buy land with any funds from the support that is donated from people like you…they feed children.
While living in Haiti I witnessed too many well-meaning organizations try to do too much, go in too many directions, trying to please everybody in Haiti and in North America and they ended up being similar to the Platte River in Nebraska with their accomplishments…a mile wide and six inches deep.
Getting so spread out in different directions, doing so much but not doing it very well…using God’s resources in ways that were not the best use of the support that had been donated.  Christ told Peter quite simply to feed and take care of His sheep. 
Trinity/HOPE has continued to do one thing very, very well…feeding children attending Christian schools in Haiti.  Thank you for continuing to keep the kettles at our schools in Haiti full of beans and rice every day.  Thank you for answering the call of our Savior in the Gospel of John

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay