Blessed are those who mourn.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”  Matthew 5:4

As more and more years and decades pass me by, it seems that names I recognize in the obituaries of several newspapers I read, become a regular occurrence in my weekly routine.  A co-worker from back in the day, mentioned to me that they had attended three Celebration of Life services a week ago.  Sad to say, but mourning is taking on a different feeling.  I rejoice as the memorial services are shown on the website of the funeral home, and are more of a celebration as another soul is meeting their Savior.

The attached photo is of a Hospital in PAP and this compound near Croix-de-Bouquet, not too far from the U.S. Embassy, has seen its share of suffering and mourning in the years since the earthquake in January 2010.  Lives that came in through the gate were crushed and broken and were never the same.  One hymn sung during Lent recently was played at a funeral that I viewed recently.

Stricken, smitten and afflicted brought to mind the condition of so many in Haiti who survived the quake, so many of us who are reaching an age where our final day seems to be drawing closer and also and more importantly the passion that our Savior endured for us.  This hymn was first written around 1850 by Geistliche Volkslieder and was sung to the German tune “O Mein Jesu, Ich Muss Sterben.” 

“Stricken, smitten, and afflicted, see him dying on the tree!  This is Christ, by man rejected; here, my soul, your Savior see.  He’s the long expected prophet, David’s son, yet David’s Lord.  Proofs I see sufficient of it: He’s the true and faithful Word.  Tell me, all who hear him groaning, was there ever grief like this?  Friends through fear his cause disowning, foes insulting his distress; many hands were raised to wound him, none would intervene to save; but the deepest stroke that pierced him was the stroke that justice gave.  “You who think of sin but lightly nor suppose the evil great, here may view its nature rightly, here its guilt may estimate.  Mark the sacrifice appointed; see who bears the awful load; it’s the Word, the Lord’s Anointed, Son of Man and son of God.  Here we have a firm foundation; here the refuge of the lost; Christ, the rock of our salvation, His the name of which we boast.  Lamb of God, for sinners wounded, sacrifice to cancel guilt!  None shall ever be confounded who on him their hope have built.”

Our lives go on, until that moment when we all will draw our last breath and are in the arms of our Savior.  Thank you for sharing your time and talents with the children in Haiti who are bringing Jesus Christ to the lost still living in Haiti; still awaiting the news of Savior, the Lord’s anointed.

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

Blessed are the poor in spirit.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  Matthew 5:3

Coming full circle through the passion story of Jesus Christ the past several weeks, brings the immenseness of the victory that was won for us on the Cross of Calvary and the joy of an empty tomb on Easter morning.  During Holy week, each day in the early morning for me, I sat in my recliner with the Lutheran Hour Lent devotion in my still, quiet and solitude home, spending time with my God; examining myself, giving thanks for what He has done for me, confessing my sins, giving thanks for the bounty that is daily poured into my life and seeking His direction.

There were moments when I felt poor in spirit, recalling times when my path was not His, when my words were not His, when my thoughts were not His and then what He gave for me, in spite of my sinfulness.  There is nothing I can do, no amount of work, money or time to right the wrongs that have come from my life; they are only rectified by what He did for me on the cross.  The sacrifice of Jesus Christ sealed the deal for me, for you, for the world.

The women in the attached are doing their laundry in one of many tent cities in PAP following the earthquake in 2010.  You would have to talk with them to better understand what was going through their lives at that time.  If they didn’t have that simple tent. they were homeless; but they have a Savior.  Today their lives are being uprooted again with gangs.  Their children are not in their Christian school because of the violence and they are missing out on a meal from Trinity HOPE.  They are thankful for what their Savior did for them on Calvary.  They, like us will receive the Kingdom of Heaven, and prayerfully their words and actions will bring many more from Haiti away from vodou and the gangs, and into the arms of a loving Savior Jesus Christ.

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

Taste and see.

“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”  Psalm 34:8

Back in the day, I wrote an article for Trinity HOPE inviting people to imagine what the life of a cook might be like in Haiti.  Also back in the day, yet another ‘imagine’ story was written by John Hall and it took a glimpse into the life of a child attending the Lutheran school in Thomassique in 2006.  I happened across John’s story, and am sharing it today.

“Envision with me this plausible account by a boy named Kevin who shared this story through an interpreter.  It was a hot March morning and a neighborhood rooster and hunger pangs woke me.  My older sister and I started getting ready for school.  My little brothers were crying because they were hungry.  I didn’t ask if I could have any breakfast because I knew the two slices of bread and small serving of beans my family had divided the night before was all the food we had.

The walk to school was one of about four kilometers.  The road was rutted and dusty and today there were a lot of people on it hurrying to the market with things they could sell or exchange for things they needed.  Men led cows, women walked with huge loads on their heads, trucks loaded with people and their goods bumped by in clouds of dust.  When we reached the center of town, people were already setting up their spots.  There were lots of things; goats, chickens, corn, tomatoes, onions, dirt cakes, shoes, clothes and tools and all of these things could all be bought by those who had a little money or something to barter.  I paused briefly beside a lady selling beans and rice and said a silent prayer to God for my Papa to find enough work today to buy some food so Mama would be cooking it when we got home.

But today was a special day as well.  We had been told that a Trinity HOPE mission team might be at our school (L’Univers Lutheran) School in Thomassique to talk about our getting one of its feeding programs.  When we arrived a big, dusty vehicle was parked in front of the school and the mission team was in our school yard taking pictures of some of the children who were bringing wood so the food could be prepared if we truly got such a blessing.  I wished I had found some wood this morning.”

This was an actual account of this small boy named Kevin and one year later God had provided and the children were getting a meal at school each day.  When that year’s mission team visited the school to see how the program was working, a young boy rose and asked if he could read a letter he had written for his entire class.  It was Kevin and the letter said in part: “Thank God for providing and Trinity HOPE for feeding us.  The food is so good.  We love to eat it. Please do not stop feeding us.”  Today, this school is feeding 649 students.  Beni soit L’Eternal!!!

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

Confronting challenges.

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence; continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”  Philippians 2:12-13

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 Merotte, Haiti which is located in the Arcahaie District about 50 minutes Northwest of PAP.  It is nestled within a rural neighborhood with scattered houses, plantain groves and vodou temples; on a rough road.  When visiting this district, I would usually sleep in a backroom bedroom of this church on Saturday night so that I didn’t have to drive there on Sunday morning and the evening was always a free concert of vodou priests pounding on their drums, making music to their evil spirits.

This sanctuary was constructed with support from a family in Northern California and then adopted by the LCMS FL-GA District as a mission outreach and a school and daycare facility were constructed by a congregation in Kansas.  There are 456 children attending school and enjoying the Trinity HOPE feeding program here; God is at work in Merotte.

There have been struggles here, good versus evil type of struggles.  Satan continues to bring troubles to the Christians attending Church and school in Merotte.  Sin manifested itself into the life of a pastor, and he had to leave the congregation at Merotte around 2005; 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 had reached a smaller level and maintained it for a while and has now increased 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

Clinging to our Savior.

“While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade.  When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you?  Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?  The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus.  You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.  You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you." Acts 3:11-14

A week ago, I was the Reader at my church and these verses were a portion of the first reading; they have been in my thoughts since.  Just imagine, God has used Peter and John to heal a man who could not walk.  Now the three of them are in the temple courts and the now healthy man is still clinging to them!  The story tells us he was already walking and leaping, so he is fully healed.  He doesn’t want to let go!  If you have ever been in a hospital for a week and finally get released, that first night at home in your own bed and shower is quite a joyous time!  This man has no physical need to be hanging on to Peter and John.  But he has an emotional need.  He is hanging on to these men out of joy and thankfulness, because they are the ones God used to heal him.  He can't bear to let go of them.
And you and I and these Haitian children hang on to Jesus the same way; don't we?  If we don’t feel that way, we should.  Because each of us, were once completely helpless, worn down and desperately in need of a Savior.  And there are others who are still in need of our Savior.  Life without Jesus is filled with darkness, being lost, being a slave to sin, oppressed by gangs and vodou priests and spiritually dead.
Jesus came into this world for you, me, these Haitian kids and for all the people God made on the face of this planet; to give Himself as our Savior. His suffering and death have broken the power of evil over us, and His resurrection means that we too, will live with God forever.  We are forgiven. We are healed; all because of Jesus!  HE is Risen!
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

Saturday.

“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 

Ah, the weekend is here; Saturday in North America; it’s frosty in Central Illinois.  Have you ever looked at something and felt sad because you knew that you could help to improve whatever it was you were looking at?  Sad to say, our government leaders seem to spend my taxes to ‘improve’ the lives of others while going deeper into debt.  What my old weak eyes look at may seem pitiful because of my North American culture, but in fact may be a real blessing to others and more importantly may be a very intricate 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 sad to tell you that I don’t recall the name of this location.  I just recall having walked there because it was a half a mile on the other side of a creek that my truck could not drive through.  It was usually that way back in the day, 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 on a furlough, I would typically purchase several blue plastic tarps 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.

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

Bon Berger.

“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.  The gangs in PAP have put chaos in the headlines and believers have not been able to worship there for several Sundays. Sixteen of twenty-eight schools with Trinity HOPE feeding programs in PAP have not been able to stay open this month.

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 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 a couple of months until the government allowed them to return as the buildings on this property were determined to be structurally sound.  It has been sitting empty for several weeks now because of gang violence.

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 who are attending school here are being prepared to go out into the world and share the reason for their hope.  We continue to pray that they will be back in school very soon.  Neither, earthquake or violent gangs will separate them from the love of Jesus Christ.

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

One simple church.

”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 is probably a comfortable Sanctuary.  Unlike in Haiti, your pews are not also used for a classroom during the week for school children.  I have visited congregations in North America where a congregation holds their worship service in a gymnasium on Sunday, my previous congregation in Nebraska does that with their Room 211 service; it 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 backyard storage shed that holds all the ‘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 adult’s 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 hymn “the Church is one Foundation” recently.  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 is complete; it was built by Lutheran Haitians on the firm foundation of Christ.  The members constructed this small church and school; it is alive preparing the people with hope to share the Gospel with the hopeless.  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.

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

Unfinished work.

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect.”  1 Peter 3:15

This passage from first Peter encourages each of us to always, no matter where we may be or what challenge we are facing, to be prepared to share the reason for the hope that we have in Christ Jesus, and only in Him.  That message holds true for us living in North American and for His people living in Haiti and throughout this world.

I spent a couple of hours yesterday going through photos on my computer that either I took while living in Haiti or somebody else captured while visiting Haiti with a mission team.  The three girls in the attached photo attend the Lutheran school at Torbeck which is in the Les Cayes District.  They are standing behind an un-finished wall, something a well-meaning mission team from North America, began but did not complete.  There are a lot of unfinished walls and buildings in Haiti; the money ran out and the construction halted.  Unfinished business is all over this fallen world.

You and I and these three girls from Torbeck are all un-finished business.  He has had plans for us from the beginning of time and now the Holy Spirit is working in us to go out into this world and connect with a soul that is waiting to hear the reason for our hope.  Alexa recently brought me the song ‘Shout to the Lord’ and the lyrics really seem to go well with the message that we are called to share in Haiti and throughout the corners of this world.

“Shout to the Lord, all the earth, let us sing power and majesty, praise to the King; mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of Your name.  I sing for joy at the work of Your hands, forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand, nothing compares to the promise I have in You.  My Jesus, My Savior, Lord, there is none like You; all of my days I want to praise the wonders of Your mighty love.  My comfort, my shelter, tower of refuge and strength; let every breath, all that I am never cease to worship You.  Shout to the Lord, all the earth, let us sing power and majesty, praise to the King; mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of Your name.  I sing for joy at the work of Your hands, forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand, nothing compares to the promise I have in You.”

Thank you for continuing to support the ‘un-finished’ business attending Christian schools in Haiti, may their lives shout to the land their love for their Lord.

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

Play dough.

“But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?  “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’”  Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?  What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath; prepared for destruction?” Romans 9:20-22

I read a devotion last week that reminded me of a time when I was a little kid in kindergarten and also about the current chaos in Haiti.  Back in the day, when we lived in black and white, when I was a young child at St. John’s Lutheran school in Seward, we were given a square log of Play dough and told to make an animal to add to our class zoo.  It’s amazing that I can still recall that I made a turtle.  There are times I forget to zip up my trousers and I can recall making a clay turtle in 1955.  I formed a shell, a head, four legs and a tail.  Then we were told to just leave them on a shelf to get hard overnight and become a part of the zoo the next day.

Have you spent time creating with Play Dough or doing that with your kids or grandkids?  If you have, then you are well aware that keeping the clay supple and flexible calls for constant attention along the way.  We are like that too.  Once you grow hard and brittle to God's leading, you're less usable to Him.

When I daily read the news coming out of Haiti, I just want it to end now.  Lord, bring an end to this chaos and reopen the schools in PAP.  We are like clay in His hands.  We need to stay open to whatever it is God may have for us by removing all the limitations we see.  We need to tell the Lord we're willing to cooperate; like working with soft clay.  We can’t allow the voices in this fallen world to bring hard and negative words and thoughts into our lives and thoughts.  Remain like soft clay for His hands.

Let God be God.  He is selective when He moves people to accomplish His work.  He has been preparing His people living in Haiti for decades to accomplish His plan; His way to end this chaos and heal Haiti.  We daily pray for Haiti and remain to wait and watch for Him to use us to help Haiti.  There have been some hardships, some horrible wrongs and difficult challenges; just continue to trust Him to take care of the restoration of Haiti.

We need to remain like soft and pliable clay, ready to be molded and shaped by our Heavenly sculptor.  Waiting and trusting in His time and His way of completing this restoration.  It may not happen in our lifetime, but it will happen.  Christ has assured that when he left the tomb empty.  Satan has been defeated and the chaos he brings is a lost cause.  The battle is over.

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