April 1, 2010

Hello again,
Well, here I am, days late again. First, I'm doing a lot better, so can't use that excuse. It's just been so overwhelming lately, I find myself coming and going.

Tuesday we had a former missionary come for a visit. Gene and his family lived here here in Haiti for quite some time, but left here ten years ago. He came to see where best to help Haiti and how to do it. This has been a great time. He has talked to several people already and it's been eye opening for him. I'm glad we are working with some great pastors that he can talk to and get "real" information from. He brought tents, and we weren't sure where to direct him with them. I had made some calls before he got here and finally talked to Pastor Paul. He was SO thrilled that someone would be willing to help the people he knows in Port. Paul had gone down to Port au Prince not long after the earthquake to preach at a fellow pastor's church. They not only lost their church, the people in the church lost their homes. Gene brought in some army surplus tents that were bigger than the regular store bought ones. We (that is a collective term, they worked I watched) spend Wednesday out at Pastor Paul's setting one of the tents up, so they could see how to do it. To see the joy and excitement in Pastor Paul's eyes, when he realized how many people these tents would help was awesome. So, that was a day well spent and a joy to us as well as those who will have a roof over their heads now.

Today we headed out to the airport in the awful rains we've been having. Just about the time we would think it would clear, the sky would open up and dump again. Inside the building, where the outbound passengers check in, were puddles of water from the roof leaking. But praise God, when the planes came in, the rains stopped. We were damp and chilly (us Haiti living people, anyway) but we came home happy to get our of the elements.

Our team arrived safe and sound and we are looking forward to working with them. They are such a great group. Several we knew before, and some were new to Haiti. But talk about willing workers...wow, they did great. Tomorrow they head out to the IDADEE orphanage and start painting. Don't know how long it will take the paint to dry, but at least they will be inside in case it rains again. We are supposed to have some dry weather for the Easter weekend. I hope we do, there is so much going on here.

We still have our days of wondering how things are going to change here, and WHEN they will change for the good. But we have to step back and remember that GOD is in charge, not us. We can't make things happen any quicker by striving and stressing about it. We have to simply keep praying that the Lord will work it out in HIS time. I don't know if I shared on here the youtube page about Haiti, so I am going to put it here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq0o4GkZVgA&feature=player_embedded
Go to this page and check it out. (You may have to copy/paste it to get it to run). It is done by a group that is not trying to make a fortune out of the disaster here. The song and the pictures are so well done. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I have had quite a few responses to the email I had sent out about it. I even sent it here in country, so others can appreciate what is happening outside of Haiti, FOR Haiti. Thank you so much for your prayers for the people here. This will be an on going thing and they will continue to need prayers for a long time. But in praying for the people, pray that the Lord will step in and make Himself real to those who do not know Him, or are not walking with Him. We need to draw people's attention to what the Lord wants them to see and hear.

Have I mentioned lately how AWESOME our God is? Each and every day He shows us things that we knew....but didn't really pay attention to. The little ditty we used to sing when we first accepted the Lord keeps coming back to me. "When you walk with the Lord, you don't get bored...sing hallelujah, AMEN". Sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's easy, but it's never boring walking with God. Some of the roads we have to travel have potholes, (for those of you who have been to Haiti can understand that part), and some of the roads seem like super highways. But wherever and however God takes us, He is there to travel with us. And those potholes in the road are there to help us to grow in love and grace. We learn from each and every "pothole" we travel through. We sure have been hitting a lot of potholes in our life lately, but God has been faithful, and He has been there with us, and through these times. For that I praise and thank Him. HE REALLY IS AWESOME!!