Don't be afraid...

“Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”  Mark 5:35

The words of Jesus to the leader of the Synagogue whose daughter was either dead or dying; “don’t be afraid, just believe” should resonate with each of us…through every day.  The leader’s sense of urgency was not on the same page as Jesus’ plan.  All too often our impatience with the timing of this world, the lack of a sense of urgency and the seemingly failure of our plans cause us to doubt and despair.

The road to the church and school at St. Raphael that is located not too far from Cap Haitian can be frustrating; much like the road to many of the rural congregations in Haiti.  There are no road signs or road maps that we are accustomed to using in North America; no OnStar.  The attached photo shows the ‘road’ sign alerting you to the Lutheran Church and school at St. Raphael.  There are 97 children attending school here and they enjoy their noon lunch provided by the Clyde and Carolyn Schroeder family from Gallatin, TN.

When traveling to congregations in remote, rural areas of Haiti, listening to the driver and interpreter discuss if they should turn left or right at the ‘Y’ in the road brought me a sense of being stranded in the middle of nowhere quite often.  “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”  Those words of encouragement always held true, as we always reached our destination.  The 97 children attending school at St. Raphael wondered when they would get a feeding program; “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”  The Holy Spirit moved a team from Trinity HOPE to their location and provided a donor to bring the gift of food to their school.

If you are facing times of high hurdles, raging rivers flooding your future, pain and suffering at every turn, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”  The most important thing in your life is your relationship with Jesus Christ, the champion of this world, the conqueror of satan, the carpenter’s son, the Son of God who has prepared a place for you in Heaven.  “Don’t be afraid, just believe.”

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

What are your idols?

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.  Sell your possessions and give to the poor.  Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:32-34

I hope this title doesn’t offend you.  Today is St. Patrick’s Day and some people put green food coloring into their beer so they can enjoy their idol and fit right in with the crowd.  Everybody living in this fallen world has an idol that occasionally, takes their attention away from God.  Have you ever stopped and considered how many idols you have?  Which take up more of your time?  Family, fortune, occupation, hobby, travel or relaxation time spent on the internet, cable TV or a good book?  Have you ever ranked them by how much time you spend with your idols during the week? 

I took an online Bible study about idol worship decades ago and I recall that it said that any idol, regardless of its beauty or usefulness or original purpose, is to be set aside so that Christ might reign supreme; without a single competitor.  Idols today, can be made out of anything like gold or silver or paper currency.  They can be another person.  I’ve seen people treat their dog better than their children; a furry, four-legged idol with a wagging tail.  What idol has first place in your heart?

A church building can become an idol to us, when all the while it is simply a place to meet and worship our Lord for an hour on Sunday; nothing more.  And dear North American, retirement can occupy your thoughts so deeply that it can become your future idol.  Luke writes to us in the above scripture; "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”.  What you invest your time and treasure in, what you talk about, what you keep returning to in your mind reveals what's really in your heart.  It's just that simple.  Our Lord and Savior wants to occupy first place in our heart.  My purpose for today was to consider the scripture from Luke and prayerfully take a peek at our idols.  Now, take a look at the attached photo.  This is a street market in Haiti.  When I look at the things for sale the words “mwen gran goo” come into my memory.  I have heard many Haiti children and adults say that to me; “I am hungry”.  Could any of the produce in this photo be an idol for you?  I have never been so hungry to idolize having a banana or as they say in Haiti; “fig”.  Will you please join me and pray for children attending Christian schools in Haiti with a Trinity HOPE feeding program?  May Christ live in their heart and the idol of food be melted away with their daily lunch.

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

Bringing the message.

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  John 8:32

Sharing the truth to the lost is a precious message for them, and also for our Triune God.  The lies of the vodou priest have for two centuries told the people of Haiti that Jesus Christ died on Good Friday and was buried and that was the end of him.  There was no resurrection and there will be no mansion in Heaven and God does not love them.

If the lost souls in Haiti cannot hear the truth, they have only a lie to believe as the truth of this world and that provides them with no hope, only fear.  I hear a song recently by Bill and Gloria Gaither called ‘Passin the faith’ and its words seem to reinforce what our purpose in life is in this world.

“The runner of a relay, finds in his baton the purpose for the runnin' and the strength to carry on.  We hold within our grasp, the faith that makes us strong and like the relay runner, we seek to pass it on.  Passin' the faith along to my brother, passin' the faith along.  Helpin' to build the faith of another, passin' the faith along.  Sharin' a word of faith with another, helpin' to make him strong.   Passin' the faith along to my brother, passin' the faith along.  Countless generations of saints have come and gone.  A spark ignites into a flame, and the faith continues on.  A challenge for the young, and assurance for the old.  The faith burns ever brighter, each time my story's told.  Passin' the faith along to my brother, passin' the faith along.  Helpin' to build the faith of another, passin' the faith along.  Sharin' a word of faith with another, helpin' to make him strong.  Passin' the faith along to my brother, passin' the faith along.”

The children in the attached photo attend a Lutheran school in the Les Cayes District.  These children are being prepared to pass their faith along to their brothers and sisters who are still in bondage to the neighborhood vodou priest and living in and believing the lies of satan.  Thank you for helping to share the message of the truth of Jesus with the young messengers living in Haiti, through your financial gifts and your prayers.  May your labors in North America bring many more living in Haiti into the Kingdom before your race comes to a close.

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

The boat.

“Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”  “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”  Revelation 14:13

I can’t tell you how many times I think about why I went to Haiti.  It has often seemed that when God nudged me to follow His call and go and live in Haiti it was either a learning opportunity for me to improve my patience when walking on uneven ground with my artificial knees and arthritic ankles or perhaps it was His way of bringing moments of joy into His activities because my engineering background brought me endless moments of torture seeing the condition of the roads, water crossings and lack of traffic regulations.

Transportation in Haiti was an adventure; at times a frustrating adventure.  When Dr. Doug Rutt from the LCMS came to visit in 2001 and found me in a 4-wheel drive leased pickup truck, and he chided me for not taking the taptap which immersed me into the Haitian culture; I had tried that but after several attempts it seemed to be too physically dangerous.

Modes of transportation included driving through rivers, wading through rivers, walking for hours to visit small rural congregations on dirt pathways, riding a horse, a small airplane and even a boat.  I came across the attached photo and it was possibly taken in 2002 and the man to my left is Pastor Israel Isidor, at that time the President of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti.

His earthly work ended several decades ago and his legend in Haiti is still talked about by those of us who remember him and miss his bright, strong energetic witness.  We had been visiting congregations and schools in his Les Cayes district and one day we drove from Les Cayes to Port Salute and up the coast to Tiburon.  There Pastor Isidor told me we would either spend an hour in a boat or walk for four hours to reach Carecasse, a congregation that he didn’t get to visit very often.  The answer seemed really obvious to me; rent the boat.  The first boat shown me was a wooden Haitian boat that appeared to have been constructed by the French in 1800, cost was $200 Haitian dollars for the voyage.  Back in the day, I was a strong swimmer, but I knew that Pastor Isidor was not so I asked if there were any other boats for rent and by the grace of God there was one other; the fiberglass boat in the photo.  It would cost me $400 Haitian dollars with no life preservers but it was well worth fee.

Pastor Isidor had a briefcase in his arms and his knuckles turned white clutching it as we rocked back and forth on our hour journey.  We arrived and walked on a narrow dirt pathway probably thirty minutes back into the mountain to the Church and people kept coming out of the foliage along the hillside to find out who the visitors were and where they were going.  There were probably a 100 people following us by the time we reached the Church.  Pastor Isidor encouraged the congregation for their work, sang a few hymns and we prayed.  My dear friends, I pray that the remainder of your journey will be fruitful as you take the message of our Lord Jesus to the lost of this world through your words and actions.  May your labors bring many more into the Kingdom before your time spent here; serving Him comes to a close.

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

The paths of our journey.

“So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.” Exodus 13:18

Fifteen years of my forty-year career in Civil Engineering were spent designing highways for the State of Nebraska.  There were highway projects that improved what was already in place, widening the roadway, adding driveways and improving drainage and guardrail but the most enjoyable projects for me were the ones that involved a new horizontal and vertical alignments.  I laid out the geometrics for a few projects that were major expressways in Nebraska that had tri-level elevated roadways high above other freeways and railroads and streams; they were intentionally designed to move the traffic more effectively and bypass anything that might cause traffic to slow down. 

We live in a fast-paced culture and have grown to find the quickest way to get from point A to point B.  When God led Israel out of slavery in Egypt, He did not take them on the shortest route as it would have led them through enemy territory.  Had Israel taken that route they would have wanted to return to their starting point.

Sometimes the paths that God sets for our journey are not always the shortest, quickest routes or at least that is how they appear at the moment.  The attached photo was taken on the road between Arcahaie and St. Marc and the truck on the right is similar to the way the Trinity HOPE feeding directors transport supplies from a large town to the rural schools and their kitchens and eventually to the plate of a waiting child.  It is quite a distance from point A to point B, not is kilometers, but in time.

Our lives may seem at times to be bogging down and we need to trust God, knowing that His purpose for our lives happens to be taking the long way.  How often have we complained about our journey that is taking place in His time and not our choosing?  His way is always the best way, probably not the way of this world, but the better way.  We may not yet know God’s purposes for our lives but we can and should be sure that God guides us through our journey for our good and for His glory.

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

Two teachers.

“As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me.  Night is coming, when no one can work.”   John 9:4

By now, you must be fully aware that Trinity HOPE school feeding programs are all about school children; they are the future missionaries in Haiti.  Their Christian witness in Haitian Creole is far superior to anything that a blan North American could say or do in their neighborhoods; ‘go and make disciples’ pertains the work that we are called to do and they are called to do.  Most of the time you see the photos of the children studying, eating, playing and smiling and there are a core of individuals whose importance sometimes get left in the background. 

In the attached photo are two teachers at Bon Berger Lutheran School in Caredeux.  The woman on the right is one of my favorite teachers, Sylvia; Pastor Thomas Bernard’s sister and I was delighted to see her on a solo trip to Haiti in March 2010 and know that she and her family survived the quake.

While traveling throughout Haiti visiting schools it was interesting to find that many of the teachers returned to the small schools where they had attended as children to become teachers and principals after they received their teaching certificates.  Their journey certainly provided hope to the students who sit in the class wondering about their future.  They will prayerfully share the news of our risen Savior with the lost and perhaps return to their roots and also share their lessons of life with the next generation.

Teachers; my mom was a school teacher in Seward County before she became a farm wife and raised my sister and me; teaching us life’s lessons.  When teachers have went to Haiti on a mission team with me, it is always a comfort to have them along as they interact with the children so much better than I do.  They share the love of Christ through songs and crafts and that leaves time for me to do the mundane tasks, checklists and interviewing the children.

I never thought about interviewing the teachers in the same manner as the children are asked about their eating habits away from school, but hope to accomplish that through a mission team that returns to Haiti when that is able to take place.  Looking at the smiles on the teachers faces; it would seem that they could be your next door neighbor but their lives are much different.  They too eat a Trinity HOPE lunch and are probably just as thankful as the children at their school to have a meal every day they are in school.  Thank you for your continued support of these programs.  When you pray for the children attending Christian schools in Haiti, please remember to add the dedicated teachers and principals as well to your daily petitions as they are an integral part of His divine work in the lives of the children in Haiti.  I am going to close with Hymn 371, ‘God loved the world so that He gave’ which is found in the LSB and is also sung from memory in Haiti and it brings a tear to my eye and closer to my Savior.

“God loved the world so that He gave His only Son the lost to save.  That all who would in Him believe should everlasting life receive.  Christ is the solid rock of faith, who was made flesh and suffered death.  All who confide in Him alone are built on this chief cornerstone.  God would not have the sinner die; His Son with saving grace is nigh.  His Spirit in the Word declares
that we in Christ are heaven's heirs.  Be of good cheer, for God's own Son
forgives the sins that you have done.  You're justified by Jesus' blood;
baptized, you are a child of God.  If you are sick, if death is near, this truth your troubled heart can cheer: Christ Jesus saves my soul from death; this is the anchor of my faith!  Glory to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Three in One!  To you, O blessèd Trinity, be praise now and eternally!”

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

Sunday in Haiti.

“O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.  Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.  For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.  In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.  The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.  O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.  For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”  Psalm 95:1-7 (KJV)

For those of you baby-boomers who grew up Lutheran, you probably recognize these verses from the Liturgy of decades ago.  There were a few Lutheran churches in Haiti that sang that song in French, and it was a joy that I could sing along in English as they sang in French and it caused me to think about what Heaven will be like; all singing praise to our Creator in one language together.

Worship in Haiti is slightly different than in North America.  We both share in common the Liturgies, Lord’s Prayer, Confession and Absolution, the proclamation of our faith through reciting the Creeds and the Sacrament of Baptism and Holy Communion.  Sermons are much longer, choirs sing more songs, Sunday school children and adults recite their Scripture reading at the beginning of the Church service…and did I mention that the sermons were longer?  With an interpreter they were twice as long.

I heard a song recently about singing praise to the Lord on a Gospel station on the satellite radio and it caused me to think about Haiti.  It was called “God wants to hear you sing” and was written by Rodney Griffin.

“Their chains were fastened tight down at the jail that night.  Still Paul and Silas would not be dismayed they said, “It’s time to lift our voice, sing praises to the Lord, let’s prove that we will trust Him come what may.”

The attached photo was taken some time ago near Cap Haitian as people were traveling to Church, getting ready to lift their voices and sing praises to the Lord.  I have yet to see people come to my Church in Illinois, packed into the back of a pickup.  When I would drive my truck to church at Bon Berger in Caredeux there would usually be six church members in the cab and another twelve in the back.  There are many differences between Sunday in Haiti and Sunday in North America.

“God wants to hear you sing, when the waves are crashing ’round you, when the fiery darts surround you, when despair is all you see.  God wants to hear your voice when the wisest man has spoken and says, “Your circumstance is as hopeless as can be.”  That’s when God wants to hear you sing, He loves to hear our praise on our cheerful days when the pleasant times outweigh the bad, by far.  But when suffering comes along and we still sing Him songs; that is when we bless the Father’s heart.”

Singing praise to the Lord, good times and sad, He loves to hear us sing.  God loves to hear the children you are supporting in Haiti sing praises of their creator, redeemer and comforter throughout Haiti to the lost in their neighborhoods.     

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

A lesson from Haiti.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  Acts 1:8

Mission teams from North America; following the call of the above scripture to go to ends of the earth to be His witnesses sharing the love of Jesus with the lost souls that have not accepted Him as their Lord and Savior have unfortunately at times not remembered Who they serve and to Whom they belong.

Back in the day, my LCMS synodical supervisor in Haiti, Pastor Jim Tino, shared with me many truths while living in Haiti.  I was a guest in Haiti, I was not to push my North American culture upon them, and I was a brother in Christ with my fellow Lutheran Haitian and should try to live as they lived.  Some lessons were easy and some were not because of my cultural expectations of having things now!  I was an inpatient old man.  Food, rooms, nightly animal sacrifice noises from the neighborhood vodou priest, lack of electricity, clean water and did I mention patience?

I heard a song on Alexa recently called “Lord keep me in your will” and the words brought back memories of my prayers while in Haiti and my frustrations and humiliation while working with some other North American mission teams visiting Haiti while I lived there in Petionville. 

“Sometimes I think I'm in control and I act so foolishly facing problems on my own.  I don't know what's best for me, my mistakes at times disturb all the plans you have made.  Lord, keep me in your will, so I won't be in your way.”

The attached photo is a plate of food that was served to our Trinity HOPE team in Cap Haitian some time ago.  I didn’t hear any complaints from any members of that team, but I have been with North Americans who would have turned up their noses and demanded something different than the rice, carrots, peppers and goat.  I recall one LCMS Pastor sending back an omelet at Hotel Kinam in Port-au-Prince because it didn’t have the green peppers, onions and ham that he liked, expected and he even went into the kitchen to find those ingredients so his meal would be to his liking.  I would estimate that nearly all of the over 65,000 children being fed rice and beans every day in their school are thrilled and thankful to have a meal.

“And, put me where you want to, not where I want to be.  If I should ask, for things I want just give me what I need.  When I complain from time to time, forgive me Lord I pray.  Lord keep me in your will, so I won't be in your way.”

Many people have commented that they could not understand how I could have lived ‘there’ and I sometimes wonder how or why I am living ‘here’ in this country.  Mission team members have needed hot water in their shower, cold water to drink, a flushing toilet and air conditioning in their guest room.  We ‘need’ these things and ninety percent of Haiti does not have these luxuries.

“Remind me Lord, I'm just a glove in which you place your hand.  Not my will, but yours be done, though I don't understand the best laid plans I've made somehow always go astray.  Lord keep me in your will, so I won't be in your way.”

Interesting concept, we are the glove that is going out to share the gospel message with the lost and inside of us is our Triune God, directing us to do His work.  Being a North American is not a prerequisite to be a glove; being His child is what is important.  Thank you for helping support the work of the children attending Christian schools in Haiti today, to go out into their neighborhoods and country and share the love of Jesus with the lost.

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

Got a thorn in your fleah?

“Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth.  But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations.  Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.”  2 Corinthians 12:6-7

God does not promise any of us a care-free life like some of the celebrities in North America seem to be enjoying every day.  “Why?” we are tempted to ask.  Only God can know all the reasons, but according to this scripture reading from the Apostle Paul, it is sometimes God’s way of forcing us to depend upon Him; that is a tough pill for this North American to swallow on some days.

Paul tells us that God purposefully allowed satan to torment him.  The Bible teaches us that satan is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour and therefore we may assume that he is allowed to attack many of God’s children here in North America, in Haiti, in Nepal and throughout this world.

I don’t ever recall at this moment what Paul’s particular ‘thorn’ may have been.  When I see the word ‘thorn’ it reminds me of what my ancient feet seem to touch every morning when I arise.  It seems that perhaps this ‘thorn’ in Corinthians may be more about pride.  We in North America have many thorns to deal with, who happens to be “Number One” this year, new boat, new house, new gold watch; and the list goes on and on; we are proud of so many things.

Not every thorn has to do with pride, but perhaps more do than we would like to admit.  Regardless of the reason, this much we can know; God will not allow thorns to afflict His children without first there being a divine reason.  But what we need most to understand is that God’s reason is not for the purpose of punishment, but rather for the purpose of provision.

The attached photo is a stark reminder for me, to give thanks for where I live, what I have and most importantly ‘Who’ made all this possible.  This woman living in Gonaives holding two small children does not have the ‘stuff’ that we have in North America.  I cannot imagine hearing her boast about anything, but I can tell you that when she receives a blessing from you, it is as if God placed the energy bar into her hand instead of you.  Why can’t my ‘thank you’ be like her “THANK YOU?”  Satan must be smiling as we wallow in our wealthy ways and seldom give thanks to God for all that we have, the words may be in our mouth but our hearts have difficulty embracing how blessed we truly are by his providence every day. 

Please don’t doubt my sincerity when I thank you for supporting feeding programs in Haiti.  The over 65,000 children thank you and will see you one day in Heaven where there will no longer be any thorns in your side or in their lives as they run to hug 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

Follow Me.

“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.  Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”  Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”  John 21:15-20

A few simple truths from our Savior; ‘seek and save the lost, feed my sheep and follow me!’  When you travel to Haiti with a Trinity HOPE mission team you will see living evidence of these instructions from our Savior.  You will see the vodou flags in the neighborhoods and know that the presence of satan is within your reach and you may also hear the ‘pop pop pop’ from a few gangs bringing a bucket of chaos in the neighborhood.  You can see it, smell it and hear it in their neighborhoods; it has been there since Haiti became a country and continues to try to lure His children into the snares set with lies and fear.

When you visit one of the 264 Christian schools throughout Haiti with a Trinity HOPE feeding program you will sense the need to ‘feed my sheep’ as you see the children who are not eating daily bread and hear their responses to the questions; “did you have anything to eat last night before bed or this morning before school?”  There is no fridge in their home with meat and cheese or cupboards with pop tarts and cookies.  Their families live from day to day not knowing if there will be food on the table.  When you witness their class learning about the Apostles Creed, or listen to their meal prayers you will better understand the pressing command to ‘follow me!’  These are the children who will be the next generation of missionaries in Haiti, taking the love of their Savior out into the streets and pathways, sharing the message of salvation with the lost.

The girl in the attached photo is from Ouanaminthe and she is receiving one of the over 65,000 meals that were being served throughout Christian schools on this particular day in time.  Thousands of His lambs were fed on this day and will be fed tomorrow and the next day.  Their strong voices will spread His words, “follow me!” to the ears that have not heard that message and voices silenced by the lies of the vodou priest.  Thank you for sharing in this miracle by supporting their mission to seek and save the lost.

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