International Prayer Day First Monday each month 10 am

Joel Griffith 4/23/21 Joel Griffith 4/23/21

The parable.

“for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Philippians 2:13

I read a ‘parable’ recently that made me chuckle at first and then caused me to consider its subtle worldly wisdom. “Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.”

The church in the attached photo is “Christ the King” Lutheran church in Merrotte, Haiti which is in the Arcahaie District and is located about 50 minutes Northwest of PAP and a quarter of a mile North of the Bay of Gonave. It is nestled within a rural neighborhood with scattered houses, plantain groves and vodou temples. When visiting this Church, I would usually sleep in the backroom on Saturday night so that I didn’t have to drive back there on Sunday morning, and the evening there was always a loud concert of vodou priests pounding on their drums, making pleasing music to their evil spirits.

This sanctuary was constructed with support from a family in Southern California, adopted by the FL-GA District as a mission outreach and a school and daycare facility were constructed by a congregation in Kansas. There are 391 children attending school here and enjoying the Trinity HOPE feeding program; God is at work in Merrotte.

There have been struggles here; good versus evil type of struggles. Satan continues to bring troubles to the Christians attending Church and school in Merrotte. Sin manifested itself into the life of a pastor, and he had to leave the congregation at Merrotte, attendance dropped and it appeared that the vodou priests had brought sufficient evil spirits to cease the Gospel message at Christ the King. School attendance has grown threefold since then and children continue to be blessed and share the message of their risen Savior throughout their neighborhood, bringing an end to the lies of the vodou priest and in time will silence their drums. The work of the Holy Spirit in their lives enables their “Christian” witness to be more powerful than the lies of this world, and in their neighborhood. Thank you for your continued support of their Christian education as they go about fulfilling His Good and Perfect purpose.

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

Joel Griffith 4/22/21 Joel Griffith 4/22/21

A preaching station.

“In all their distress He too was distressed, and the angel of His presence saved them. In His love and mercy He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.” Isaiah 63:9

Have you ever looked at something and felt kind of helpless because you knew that you could easily improve whatever it was you were looking at? What my old weak eyes look at may seem pitiful because of my North American culture, but in fact it may very well be a real blessing to others and more importantly, may be a very important step in God’s plan for just a handful of lives who are needed to complete His plans.

The attached photo is of a preaching station in the Plateau Central and I am sorry to tell you that I don’t recall the name of this location. I just recall having walked there because it was about a half a mile on the other side of a creek that my truck could not drive through. It was always that way when making visitations; preaching stations were generally located on the other side of an impassable creek or deep ravine.

As you look at this photo you are probably thinking that ‘preaching station’ is akin to ‘temporary church’ and you would be correct. When the winds blow the branches move. The blue plastic that can be seen in the backside of this structure covers some of the worshippers and protects them on rainy days. When I would come back to North America while living in Haiti I would typically purchase several blue plastic sheets to take back with me to Haiti and bring to preaching stations that would be on my next series of visitations.

You and I both know that all things in life are temporary. If life is going well; enjoy it as these times will not last forever. If things are not going well, don’t worry, they won’t last very long. God protects us and He protects them. The Holy Spirit works within us and within the people worshipping at this preaching station to accomplish His good and perfect will.

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 4/21/21 Joel Griffith 4/21/21

A pretty place.

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10

The earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince (PAP) on January 12, 2010 brought death and destruction to hundreds of thousands of people living there on that hot, late afternoon with school children walking home. The attached photo is of my pickup truck parked in front of Bon Berger Evangelique Lutherienne in Caredeux which is a suburb in the eastern part of PAP. This Church was built with the support of faithful stewards living in Michigan, and the school which is behind was constructed with support of faithful stewards living in Nebraska, South Dakota, Washington and Canada.

The photo was taken in 2001, not too long after I moved to Haiti and the only damage that was sustained by the earthquake was to a portion of the north security wall. The congregation worshipped outside on the south side of the church for several months following the earthquake, until the government allowed them to return as the buildings on this property were determined to be structurally sound.

Bon Berger was my Church home while living in Haiti and worshipping there always made me think of what Heaven must be like. The two-hour long services, the joyful music and the hope of a Risen Savior that was etched in the smiles of the members will never fade from my memories. I heard a Bluegrass song recently by the Stanley Brothers called “The Prettiest Flowers” and that brought back what it felt like in Haiti and what it might feel like when we all are together in Heaven.

“I know there is a land of beautiful flowers where we’ll meet again when life is over where we’ll while away the endless hours on heaven’s bright eternal shore. The prettiest beds of flowers will be blooming by the prettiest treats our eyes will ever behold where the beautiful tree of life for us is waiting by the prettiest mansion made with purest gold. I want to meet you by that beautiful river on that eternal morning in the sky where we’ll live in peace through endless ages where we’ll never say goodbye. The prettiest robes and crowns we’ll all be wearing in the city four square beyond this world of strife and the prettiest songs of the angels will be singing on the beautiful morning by the river of life.”

Thank you for sharing your prayers and support for the Trinity HOPE feeding program at Bon Berger as the children attending school here are being prepared to go out into the world and share the reason for their hope. Neither, earthquake, being homeless or hungry will separate them from the love of Jesus Christ.

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 4/20/21 Joel Griffith 4/20/21

House of worship.

”For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:11

I don’t know where you happened to worship on Sunday, but it was probably a comfortable Sanctuary. During the pandemic I’ve been blessed to have been able to worship online in Churches throughout our country. There are some very noticeable differences between Churches here in North America and in Haiti; doubtful that your pews are also used for a classroom during the week for school children. I have visited Churches in North America where a congregation holds their worship service in a gymnasium on Sunday and that cannot compare to what takes place in Haiti churches and schools.

The attached photo is of the Lutheran church in Los Cacos which is just a few miles from the border with the Dominican Republic in the Plateau Central in Northeast Haiti. This wooden building with a tin roof is about the size of a Sear’s aluminum shed that stores ‘precious stuff’ in the backyards of many North Americans; it was about 12’ x 16’ when I stepped off its width by length.

The pews are wood boards nailed onto cut branches dug into the dirt floor and light is provided by opening three wood shutters on the windows and the door. School children sit in the pews during the week and children and adults worship there on Sunday. It is God’s house. Doesn’t matter how small, how plain or simple it may be, it is God’s house and the work of saving soul’s is taking place within the wooden walls. We sang the song “the Church is one Foundation” recently and the words for this song were written by Samuel J. Stone in 1866 and it seems like a good time to share them with you today.

“The church has one foundation, tis Jesus Christ her Lord; She is His new creation, through water by the word. From heav’n He came and sought her to be His holy bride; with His own blood He bought her, and for her life He died. Elect from every nation, yet one o’er all the earth, Her charter of salvation; one Lord, one faith, one birth. One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food; and to one hope she presses, with every grace endued. Long with a scornful wonder men saw her sore oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed. Yet saints their watch were keeping to hail a brighter day, when God should stop their weeping, take their reproach away. The evening sun is shining, the cloudy day is past; the time of their repining is at an end at last. The voice of God is calling to unity again; division walls are falling, with all the creeds of men. Back to the one foundation, from sects and creeds made free, come saints of every nation to blessed unity. Once more the ancient glory shines as in days of old, and tells the wondrous story—One God, one faith, one fold.”

This Church in Los Cacos is complete; it was built by Lutheran Haitians on the firm foundation of Christ. The members constructed this church and school; it is alive and preparing the people with hope to share the Gospel with the hopeless. There were no walls left unfinished by well intending North Americans, no unfulfilled promises and nothing for the vodou priests in the community of Los Cacos to question why their God did not complete building their church. Thank you for continuing to add to your daily prayers, the children attending Christian schools in Haiti

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 4/19/21 Joel Griffith 4/19/21

Share the Word.

“And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'" Luke 16:30-31 (ESV)

I heard a message on the Lutheran Hour recently that used the above passage for one of their morning devotions; that I read every single morning and the wonderful thing about losing memory is that they are always new. The message they gave is different from mine, as the passages in Luke struck a different cord in my mind this time around. The parable Jesus was teaching was about a rich man and Lazarus, and he asked that Lazarus should be brought back from the dead, because then this miracle would make believers of those who were witnesses of this wonderful moment.

Jesus told them that their ancestors had Moses and the Prophets and the people did not listen and if He raised Lazarus from the dead, they would still not change their evil ways. Do you ever wonder what you would have done if you had been wandering in the desert, following the pillar of smoke and eating manna; what would you have thought? Did you ever think that if you had been there when Jesus called Lazarus from the tomb how you would have reacted? Surely, we would have believed and not turned away or fell asleep in the garden as Jesus prayed before he was arrested.

The children in the attached photo attend Ecole Lutherienne in Osse and they like you, have heard the story of the Son of God and the miracles He did on earth. Before they learned of Jesus they had heard about Erzule Dante and all the other evil spirits that are called upon by the local vodou priest. Those are the memory lessons planted in their minds by their parents and relatives, who learned them from their parents from the beginning of their lives.

We are blessed with an opportunity to share what we have been taught and know with the children in Osse so that they can go out and share it with the rest of Haiti that relies upon satan and the vodou priest each day. They live in doubt, fear and hopeless. In John 20:29 Jesus tells us “Blessed are those who have not seen but believe.” Thank you for helping to bring that message of hope in a risen Savior to the lost in Haiti.

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 4/17/21 Joel Griffith 4/17/21

We need Jesus.

“And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

A hour and thirty minutes south and east of Miami, FL is the Republic of Haiti; just a short swim to the east of Cuba. After arriving in Haiti you leave the airport and drive through the roundabout and start to head out of Port-au-Prince, and your vehicle will pass by numerous goats and pigs who are rummaging through piles of garbage that have been heaped on street corners and burned. If you travel up Mont Cabrit (Goat Mountain) to the north you will pass through a number of small rural villages that will cause you to think that the year is 1900.

It is amazing that only two hours separate you from traveling on a ten-lane paved freeway in Florida to traveling on a 10’ wide dirt trail. North Americans come to Haiti to ‘improve’ their way of living by bringing electricity, Internet and machines to do their work for their brothers and sisters in Haiti. What they really need is Jesus. Pass by a number of vodou temples adorned with various colored flags and you will understand that first, they need Jesus.

One of my favorite photos that I took in Haiti is attached and it doesn’t need a lot of explanation. It was taken of a small rural church about two hours from the climb up Mont Cabrit in the Plateau Central between Hinche and Thomassique. It was a Saturday morning in 2002 and there had been a wedding there and following the ceremony the Pastor was talking to some of the family and placed his Bib la (Bible) down on the pew as he talked and shook hands. The Word became flesh. A Bible resting upon a board in a small church in rural Haiti is a powerful message; we cannot begin to fathom how strong the Word of God is in a land still dedicated to satan.

Haiti needs Jesus Christ. We have the Great Commission from our Lord Jesus instructing each of us to “go and make disciples of all nations”. We are not going to preach the Gospel; we are helping them by preparing their children for the task at hand. They don’t need electric lights and computers for their schools, they need food…they need Jesus. It is that simple; they need Jesus. We too, desperately need Jesus.

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 4/16/21 Joel Griffith 4/16/21

Relevant words.

“He (Jesus) said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Mark 16:15-16.

After Bible study on Tuesday night, my thoughts turned to Lent as we were going through the first 14 chapters of Acts and I started to think about the many parallels between Baptism and the Cross. The attached photo was taken in Les Cayes, Haiti in the fall of 2002. Pastor Israel Isidor was baptizing the first group of orphan girls who would occupy the Lutheran orphanage there.

On that day, these sisters in Christ received the blessing Eternal life through the waters of Baptism and will one day be with their Savior whose blood was shed for them on the Cross of Calvary. We Lutheran’s in North America have a wonderful hymn titled “Come to Calvary’s holy mountain” which was written by James Montgomery in 1819; just a couple of decades after Haiti gained its independence from the French. The words are relevant for these Haitian girls and for us.

“Come to Calvary’s holy mountain, sinners, ruined by the fall; here a pure and healing fountain flows to you, to me, to all, in a full, perpetual tide, opened when our Savior died. Come in poverty and meanness, come defiled, without, within; from infection and uncleanness, from the leprosy of sin, wash your robes and make them white; ye shall walk with God in light. Come in sorrow and contrition, wounded, impotent, and blind; here the guilty free remission, here the troubled peace, may find. Health this fountain will restore; he that drinks shall thirst no more. He that drinks shall live forever; tis a soul renewing flood. God is faithful; God will never break His covenant of blood; signed when our Redeemer died, sealed when He was glorified.”

Pastor Isidor is today celebrating with Jesus Christ today as he enjoys his eternal home. The orphans in Les Cayes are enjoying a Trinity HOPE meal every day they are in school, drawing closer to Christ. You and I continue to do what we can do to go and make disciples throughout this entire world, bringing Christ to the lost in our country and Haiti.

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 4/15/21 Joel Griffith 4/15/21

What is really important?

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4

Going through some photos that I had taken in Haiti years ago and came across the attached photo of a large cemetery high along the side of a rural mountain road on the way to Font Baptiste in the Arcahaie District and I thought that this would be a good time to share it with you and why it grabs at my throat whenever I see it. You’ve probably seen it before.

When you visit a cemetery here in North America and place flowers on the grave of a family member or friend and then spend some time reflecting on memories that you had with them, how often do you stop and thank Jesus for saving them and you? If you are like me, that thought may not cross your mind. The cemetery on the hillside in Haiti probably has graves over 200 years old filled with several generations, and sadly, most of the souls that were brought here didn’t know Jesus but lived in fear of the vodou priest; they probably won’t be in Heaven. I heard a Pastor recently give a test to his congregation, asking them if it was more important to live a happy, fun filled life or a life focused on striving to accomplish God’s will. Can’t we do both? It’s hard to imagine that there are ear’s that have still not heard the truth about Jesus Christ and the empty tomb, but there are; take another look at the cemetery in Haiti. Sharing the message of Eternal Life is so important to the living souls in Haiti and also in your home town. On Tuesday a friend shared that there are an estimated 140,000 in Lincoln that don’t know about Jesus. How about in your home town? A gospel song found its way onto my computer today that provided a message about never growing old; in Heaven we will never grow old. The words were written by James C. Moore in 1914 and they are still relevant today.

“I have heard of a land on the faraway strand, ’tis a beautiful home of the soul; built by Jesus on high, where we never shall die, ’tis a land where we never grow old. Never grow old, never grow old, in a land where we’ll never grow old; never grow old, never grow old, in a land where we’ll never grow old. In that beautiful home where we’ll never more roam, we shall be in the sweet by and by; happy praise to the King through eternity sing, ’tis a land where we never shall die. When our work here is done and the life-crown is won, and our troubles and trials are o’er; all our sorrow will end, and our voices will blend, with the loved ones who’ve gone on before.”

When my journey in Haiti would pass by cemeteries or funeral processions the same question arose, “do you suppose they had accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior?” Had anybody told them about the Hope that came to us from the empty cross and tomb where our Savior broke the chains of death, satan and the vodou priest?

Christian education is so very important in Haiti, and Trinity HOPE feeding programs are so very important to the young missionaries who need to grow spiritually and physically as they prepare to take the saving message of Christ to the ear that have not heard and lives that have not accepted Christ. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, you are Easter people, your eyes focus upon that cross of Calvary, you remember Who was there for you, why He was there and why all this world needs to turn to Him.

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 4/14/21 Joel Griffith 4/14/21

Put this to memory.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:12-13, 17

Every mission team member should have these verses written down and tucked into their pocket where they can be read and re-read again and put to memory as they head out into the mission fields of this earth. We are children of God first and foremost and citizens of the U.S. second.

The Apostle Paul wrote these words centuries ago and they are still applicable in our fast-paced world today. As we travel to foreign countries, through the door to a nursing home or into our neighbors back yard we are marked by the Cross of Christ; we are His children. Our struggles, lack of patience, pride, arrogance, selfishness and lack of compassion need to be left at the door to our house before we walk out into the world.

Heavenly Father, as we teach V.B.S. in our community, visit the aged in our nursing homes, feed children in Haiti or give a smile and hug to a loved one; cause our witness to be sincere and guard us from hypocrisy and that which satan desires. I close today with the words to the hymn ‘Take my life and let it be’ that were written by Frances Havergal in 1874.

“Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee; take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise. Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love; take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee. Take my voice and let me sing always, only, for my King; take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee. Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold; take my intellect and use every power as Thou shalt choose. Take my will and make it Thine, it shall be no longer mine; take my heart, it is Thine own, it shall be Thy royal throne. Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store; take myself, and I will be ever, only, all, for Thee.”

May God be with you…Jay

Joel Griffith 4/13/21 Joel Griffith 4/13/21

We feed children.

(Jesus said) "DO NOT judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves." Matthew 7:1 (Amplified Bible)

A wonderful tool that the Internet has, is providing you the ability to search Scripture with many different versions of the Holy Bible. I have never read the Amplified Bible version, but it provided a few more words to think about when reading Matthew 7:1.

I have been criticized for helping children in Haiti; some people think that it is just wasting money; quite often I feel the same way about our government. Some synodical purists have chastised me because Trinity HOPE programs feed children in schools which are predominantly Lutheran, but also has programs in a few other Christian denominations. There are also those who consider Trinity HOPE not doing enough as they are not paying teacher salaries, building schools and purchasing vehicles for principals, school busses and generators and also are not in the well digging business.

Trinity HOPE has a very simple and successful approach to helping Christian schools prepare young children to become missionaries; we provide them with a daily nutritional meal. Not a snack of North American peanut butter and crackers or suckers or candy bars that some mission teams have brought. We provide them with a hot meal of rice and beans, which just happens to be the National food of Haiti. It is that simple, we feed children; His children.

If you or your family just happen to sell prize winning fried chicken; don’t add pizza to your menu. If you drive a GMC truck, don’t put Dodge mud flaps on the back end. Do the very best with the very best gifts that He has given you. Kelly Downing is a friend of mine from Lincoln, NE who shared an analogy of comparing a ministry to the Platte River that flows east to west through Nebraska. A mile wide and a foot deep in the springtime; Kelly remarked that a ministry going in too many different directions is like the Platte River, no substance, a mile wide and shallow.

God gives each of us a direction and the means to serve Him in this lifetime. The children who attend the Christian school in Lauture are some of the 99 children attending this school in the Jacmel district. They are thankful for the education, food and the fact that they have a Savior and no longer fear the vodou priest.

Don’t criticize what your brother is doing if he is using God’s provisions in a healthy way and not wasting those gifts or using them for self-serving gain and pride. Not sure why people criticize, but at least they are not killing, just complaining, blaming and pointing a finger at what isn’t their idea or direction. I suppose that we all do that from time to time. I read a quote recently that was attributed to a famous trial lawyer, Clarence Darrow, who once said, “Everyone is a potential murderer." About himself, he admitted, "I have not killed anyone, but I frequently get satisfaction out of obituary notices." We are all critical; please just take a hard look at your problems before finding fault with others.

Thankfully God is not like many in this sinful world, and doesn’t complain about how Trinity HOPE is feeding children; He continues to bless the program and bring more and more children into the schools so they can share the saving message of His Son to the lives in Haiti that are still chained to the vodou priest.

May God be with you…Jay