International Prayer Day First Monday each month 10 am

Joel Griffith 2/27/26 Joel Griffith 2/27/26

More water.

“but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14 NIV.

The quality and quantity of water in Haiti is some of the poorest in the world according to a recent article in the National Geographic. It is no wonder why a river or canal near a Haitian village is such a public meeting place. As seen in the attached photo near Gonaives, people bathe, do their laundry, gather water for drinking and cooking and also water their goats, pigs and cattle in the same area. Jesus Christ is the Living Water and that is something that all of us need to survive. A lack of living water can cause symptoms of spiritual deadness. If you’re feeling spiritually dead, God offers hope to restore your supply channels to his living water.

Our spirits are like streams branching off God’s river. His river keeps life flowing through our spiritual veins and washes away impurities. His water satisfies each of us in a special way. Drinking the living water brings contentment; it nourishes and heals us, enabling us to be fruitful for God and it in turn causes new springs of living water to well up in us, flowing into the lives of people around us.

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38 NKJV. How many of the people in this canal know about living water? How many are still caught in the lies of the local vodou priest and caught in the drought of satan? Thank you for supporting Christian education in the Gonaives area, for supplying the young missionaries attending school with a noon meal that will provide them with physical strength as they share their river of life with the lost 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

Joel Griffith 2/26/26 Joel Griffith 2/26/26

At the well.

“On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” John 7:37-37.

Too often, we take the quality and availability of our water for granted here in North America. As a child I remember being able to drink out of the pump near the barn. While working on a survey team in the Sandhills we would go and fill our thermos bottles with water directly from the cattle tanks on the prairie. Water is so precious, and that gift of water should always remind us of how truly precious is the gift of Living Water that Jesus shared with us.

The attached photo was taken at one of the Lutheran schools in Cap Haitian, where they are blessed to have a well. The children at school and people in the neighborhood can come and drink freely of this water. Our mission team members could also drink of this water, but only through a filtered water bottle lest they become ill.

There are some schools in Haiti that have a cistern that holds water that has either been brought in or was filled with rain water. There is a huge difference between a cistern and a well. A cistern is labor intensive and has to be filled with water from the outside. It is not self-renewing and can run dry. The wells in the Sandhills, and the one in the photo in Haiti are artesian wells and they have flowing water that bubbles up with its cool and refreshing blessing.

This same difference exists between a person trying to ‘be spiritual’ and a Spirit-filled person. When we become Christians, Jesus blesses us with his Spirit. That presence and power in our lives makes all the difference in the world. It is his Living Water inside of us, renewing us, refreshing us, empowering us, slaking our thirst, and giving us life. Living for Jesus is more than just a spiritual commitment on our part requiring our effort; it is also the gift and blessing of Jesus enabled by his Spirit.

Like the two girls and the missionary at the well in Haiti, we too are filled with Living Water inside of us, flowing through us as we share the news of our risen Savior Jesus Christ with the lost. Thank you for being a blessing to the children in Cap Haitian who share their living water and message of Hope with the lost and thirsty souls in their neighborhoods.

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 2/25/26 Joel Griffith 2/25/26

Saying goodbye.

“After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1:9-11

Mission team members that have been to Haiti, seeing children, sharing their medical skills with people of all ages, photographers who have captured images and people like me who have shook their hands, hugged them, patted their heads, laughed with them, prayed with them and experienced their joy and suffering; we all share the same sorrow when it is time to leave and board the airplane and leave for North America.

Being separated from their smiles is hard; their faces in photographs bring comfort when memories of that short term relationship come to mind. There are photographs on the walls in my room and my computer is filled with many faces. Do you have special things that you hold on to, cherishing the memories? The attached photo is a nameless memory for me. Somebody’s mother, wife, sister and perhaps a grandmother from Port-au-Prince. This is a memorable ‘goodbye’ photo, a woman at the airport with a handkerchief to wipe the tears as new friends leave.

There is a Michael W. Smith song that puts these feelings into words. “Tell me when the time we had slipped away; tomorrow turned to yesterday and I don’t know how. Tell me what can stop this river of tears; it’s been building up for years for this moment now. Here I stand arms open wide. I’ve held you close, kept you safe till you could fly. Tell me where the road ahead is gonna bend and how to harness up the wind and how to say goodbye. Tell me why, why does following your dreams take you far away from me and I knew that it would. Tell me how to fill the space you left behind; how to laugh instead of cry and how to say goodbye.”

Saying goodbye to Haiti, saying goodbye to Jesus; don’t be sad, you will see them again soon. Jesus left us with His Spirit and Word. Haiti has left you with their love and images. And you can continually remind them of you through your generous gift to Trinity HOPE as their children daily receive a bowl of beans and rice and they share their love and your love of Jesus Christ with their neighbors in the streets of Haiti.

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 2/24/26 Joel Griffith 2/24/26

The Kingdom of Heaven.

“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.” Matthew 13:47

From every trip that I’ve taken to Haiti and every minute I’ve spent looking at photos there is one question that usually arises; “what will it be like in Heaven?” Will it be more like Illinois, Nebraska or Haiti? Will I even care? When that time comes, I will probably not care and probably will not recall all the worldly questions that were asked throughout my lifetime.

The attached photo was taken on Sunday, October 3, 2010 in Bon Berger Lutheran Church in Caredeux, Haiti. There were close to 300 souls in the sanctuary on this hot morning and at about one hour and fifty minutes into the service the distribution of Holy Communion was taking place. This is a normal occurrence in Haiti; if a service would always last this long in North America the pews would probably be empty.

I heard a song recently from Echo, an old Gospel song titled ‘Never grow old.” The words brought me to think about what Heaven will be like for the believers in Haiti and in Illinois and Nebraska who will come together in Heaven.

Verse one; “I have heard of a land on a faraway strand, tis a beautiful home of the soul; build by Jesus on high where we never shall die. Tis a land where we shall never grow old.”

Verse two; “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 sings. Tis a land where we shall never die.”

Considering what Heaven might be like through these words, it sounds like it will be an improvement to everyone on this planet, no matter where we are now living or in whatever our present situation may be; rich, poor, healthy, sick, hungry or starving. I know it will be better that here in Assisted Living.

Verse three; “When our work here is done and the life-crown is won, and troubles and trials are o’er; all our sorrows will and our voices will blend with the loved ones who’ve gone on before.”

All of God’s children will be in Heaven, yellow, black, white…doesn’t matter; they will all be there. American, Canadian, Sudanese, Haitian, Indian; doesn’t matter they will all be there. What a shame if the lost didn’t hear the message of salvation. Jesus said in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." That is the call to the people in Caredeux and to you and to me. ”Seek and save the lost.” Thank you for supporting the children in Caredeux, Cap Haitian, Jacmel, Jeremie, Gonaives and all the other 301 schools throughout Haiti with Trinity HOPE feeding programs.

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 2/23/26 Joel Griffith 2/23/26

3 wooden crosses.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10

You and I are prayerfully well aware that there is a thief that comes to steal our time, steal our resources and rob us of our energy. Satan wants all of our attention, all of our time, all of our resources and all of our energy to be used by him in this sinful world where he roams daily; seeking to devour and claim lost souls for an eternity in hell.

While writing a devotion yesterday I was listening to an Internet radio station and a Pastor happened to be talking about being tapped on the shoulder and asked what our reaction is when somebody taps on our shoulder. We generally turn around to see what the person tapping wants to either tell us or ask of us; that would be a normal reaction.

Throughout the Old Testament God tapped on the shoulders of people He had chosen to do His work. Their replies were varied. Some said “Here am I” and some said “Please don’t send me there” and too often free will came upon them and they turned away and tried to hide. In his explanation of the third article of the Apostle’s Creed, Martin Luther writes “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel and enlightened me with His gifts.” The Holy Spirit comes into our lives, tapping on our shoulders every day; wherever we may be.

Sometimes HE finds us in the kitchen peering into the refrigerator, lounging in the recliner, in the garage, at the computer, at the store or on the patio. He taps on our shoulder and nudges us in a direction that this world would say “you fool.” He taps on our shoulder and asks “what are you doing with your time?” Often the replies of this fallen world are “this is too much fun, it is my time, it is my money” or “I will get to your business later, perhaps for a couple of hours on Sunday.”

The Holy Spirit calls, gathers and enlightens us with His gifts. As we occasionally drift into the alluring ways of this world the Holy Spirit taps on our shoulder and reminds us that there is work to do, more children to feed in Haiti; thousands more children to feed in Haiti; thousands more lost souls to save in Haiti, here in my city, here to the ends of this earth.

Each of us was given specific gifts, talents and treasures to use for His work. I listened to the song “three wooden crosses” by Randy Travis yesterday and it reminded me of how important it is to always be attentive to the nudging from the Holy Spirit. I’m not going to share the whole song but just the first couple of verses.

“A farmer and a teacher, a hooker and a preacher, ridin' on a midnight bus bound for Mexico. One's headed for vacation, one for higher education, an' two of them were searchin' for lost souls. That driver never ever saw the stop sign. An' eighteen wheelers can't stop on a dime. There are three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway, why there's not four of them, Heaven only knows. I guess it's not what you take when you leave this world behind you, it's what you leave behind you when you go.”

I have seen wooden crosses along highways. There is one near the highway on the North side of York, NE where my father died in an auto accident 69 years ago. I have seen them in Haiti where there were bus accidents and Christians lost their lives and gained their Eternal Glory. This simple song not only makes me think about how many lives in Haiti that are needing to hear the Gospel message from a child in a Trinity HOPE feeding program, and receive their wooden cross when their journey is complete.

The last line; “I guess it's not what you take when you leave this world behind you, it's what you leave behind you when you go” reminds me of what am I leaving behind. How have I finished the work He gave me to accomplish? How many tasks have I left undone or turned away from? I am sinful and I know fully well that I have not always turned around when I was tapped on the shoulder, but too often have turned away.

We need to invite the Holy Spirit into our lives, to come and tap on our shoulder and finish well the work that He has for us to accomplish. If it doesn’t seem like there is anything for us to do, our Savior tells us to knock on the door and ask; and be patient and wait for His directions.

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 2/21/26 Joel Griffith 2/21/26

If eyes could talk.

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:12-13

For the past decade, it has become increasingly difficult to remember names. Do any of you happen to recognize the young boy holding the chair in the attached photo? He attends the Lutheran school in Cap Haitian and your gift to Trinity HOPE might be providing his noon meal. Do you remember his name?

When I look at his photo the words “I love you” seem to be in his eyes. "I love you" is a phrase that everyone longs to hear...often. Looking at this boy might make one imagine that real love is evident without a word needing to be said. His eyes are saying “I love you” and thank you for your attention to his needs, affection for his school and sacrifice that you have shown for the other people they care about. Wish I knew his name.

If you ever wondered about how much God loves you and him, just look at what He's done for all of us. When Jesus arms were stretched wide on the cross, He was saying "I love you" more beautifully than it's ever been said before. But God's love didn't stop there as He daily listens to your prayers and his prayers as if the two of you were the only people in His world. He brings good things into your life and then seemingly out of nowhere He brings blessings to this nameless boy in Cap Haitian. God's love for you will not end nor will His love for children in Haiti.

I recently came across a saying by an ‘unknown author’ that said “Jesus did not come to make God's love possible, but to make God's love visible.” Have you seen any of His love visible in the world around you recently? Dear friends, there won’t be any nametags in Heaven and you will know his name and he will certainly remember you. On behalf of this little guy on this side of Paradise, I want to personally thank you for supporting this young missionary through Trinity HOPE.

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 2/20/26 Joel Griffith 2/20/26

Wash those hands.

“The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.) Mark 7:1-4

When were you taught to wash your hands before you ate and say a prayer before you eat? As a child, I remember getting my fingernails checked by my mom’s hands and eyes after I had ‘washed’ my hands. My dad came in from the farm chores and scrubbed his hands with Lava soap and I still recall how white his hands looked and how clean they smelled.

In the attached photo the children attending the Lutheran school in Cap Haitian are washing their hands before they enjoy their Trinity HOPE lunch. This is one of the ‘lessons’ that is done at every Trinity HOPE lunch program, along with prayers. Washing of their hands is so important now especially with the spread of diseases in recent times.

Trinity HOPE is not just about feeding body and soul in Haiti, they also teach hygiene and reinforce the importance of turning our thought of giving thanks for all that we receive every day from our Heavenly Father. Thank you for continuing to be a blessing to each of the over 65,000 souls who are so thankful for your daily touch in their lives.

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 2/19/26 Joel Griffith 2/19/26

Being separated.

“But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:32

In this passage, Jesus is praying for Simon Peter. Isn’t that a wonderful reassurance; when we pray in the name of Jesus; He intercedes for us. This was a time when satan was seeking to separate Peter from Christ; it daily happens to us too. When we see something more exciting in this world than holding our eyes upon His cross we need to be reminded that He is still in our presence; it is us that are turning away.

Too often we don’t know how much we have been blessed, rescued, gifted, healed or been comforted by our Savior’s prayers. When we are brought into our Heavenly home, we will hopefully be able to realize all of the times He has touched our lives and we will have endless times to praise Him.

These children attending the Lutheran School in St. Marc pray for you daily. They ask their Savior to bless your journey; they give thanks for you and rejoice for the blessings that you have provided for them; a meal at their school every day. That day when you stand at the feet of your Savior, look around you and see their joy filled faces next to you as they join in praising our Savior. I would like to close this devotion with the words from the first verse of the hymn ‘While yet the Morn is Breaking’ which was written by Johannes Muehlmann in 1613.

“While yet the morn is breaking, I thank my God once more, beneath whose care awaking, I find the night is o'er, I thank Him that He calls me to life and health anew; I know, whate'er befalls me, His care will still be true.”

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 2/18/26 Joel Griffith 2/18/26

Do you know your purpose?

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2

Ash Wednesday is upon us and it reminds me that Easter will arrive in a few short weeks; it causes me to think about the death and resurrection of Jesus. The real purpose of His life was to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, for the sins of mankind. Jesus became sin for us so that we could be forgiven and found sparkling clean in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. Jesus knew His purpose on this earth and he predicted when and how it would happen in Matthew 26:2.

Do you know your purpose as your life’s journey continues? Luther would probably say our purpose is to love and joyfully serve the Triune God. If you have read Rick Warren’s ‘Purpose Driven Life’ you may have a more laid out course that you feel matches your God given talents. The verses in Hebrew 12 direct us to fix our eyes upon Jesus, the perfecter of our faith; Jesus looked beyond the cross and focused on the joy that would be for us.

The attached photo is pure joy. This girl in Cap Haitian is holding tightly on to a plate of real happiness; you can tell that in her smile and the look of her eyes. The Bible teaches that there is great joy in heaven whenever a sinner repents and my human mind thinks that there is also a great shout of joy when the over 65,000 children in Haiti with a plate of food that will bring energy to their life as they go out into their neighborhoods sharing the Gospel message of their Savior who died on a Good Friday Cross and rose from a tomb on Easter Sunday.

What is your purpose? What is this girl’s purpose? Our awesome Triune God gives us many opportunities to share the news of His only Son, our Savior with the lost in this world. We have been given an opportunity to share of our abundance with a generation of believers in Haiti who will in turn bring the Cross to the lost. Your purpose and her purpose can be one in the same; that is a God thing. Thank you for your continued support of these Trinity HOPE feeding programs.

May God be with you,

Jay

Joel Griffith 2/17/26 Joel Griffith 2/17/26

Refusing rescue.

“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,” 1 Corinthians 2:13-15

Recently, I listened to a rebroadcast from the Lutheran Hour by Pastor Ken Klaus titled “Refusing Rescue” and this title has been with me all week twisting and turning in my mind seemed to lean into Fat Tuesday thinking about a Muffuletta sandwich from Jason’s Deli. Pastor Klaus talked about the construction of the Kariba Dam between Zambia and Zimbabwe and how building of this structure displaced close to 60,000 people from both countries. The people knew what was happening and even though they might not have liked the project they understood that they would have to move.

The bigger problem was that the animals didn’t understand what was about to happen, the flood was coming and it would not cease until their territory was under a lot of water. With the flood gates closed, a team of animal rescuers came together to rescue the antelope, leopard, elephants, the buffalo, the rhinoceros; all the animals from their shrinking islands being overtaken by the coming flood. They didn’t understand the dam, appreciate the rising water and continue to resist the efforts of their well-meaning rescuers.

The attached photo is of a vodou temple along National Route 1 Northwest of St. Marc and sadly these temples are a haven where over 65% of the population of Haiti still seek help from their own rising waters; the problems caused by satan, bad government, gangs, disease, angry neighbors. They seek assistance from the vodou priest to call upon their evil spirits to rescue them from the rising waters. The vodou priest insists that Jesus Christ died on the cross and was buried and satan was victorious…period. The vodou followers march through the cities and rural roads proclaiming victory for satan on Easter. Refusing rescue.

We have the Holy Spirit, and need to share good news, the truth, with those who are sadly following the loser, the liar and the louse of this world. God sent a rescuer into this world, His Son our Savior, and Christ gave us a commissioning to go and make disciples throughout the world.

Thank you for following His call to throw the only life preserver to the lost in Haiti that will save, by promoting Christian education through your generous donation to Trinity/HOPE. They will pass the life preserver to the lost, who have been and are continuing to refuse to be rescued. Thank you for helping them to reach out to the lost, those who have not heard the truth, those who have resisted being rescued because they believed the lies of satan.

May God be with you,

Jay