Catch up time

Catch up time again,

Does time ever slow down?  Nope it doesn’t but it sure seems to speed up once in a while.  Let’s see if I can explain that one to you.  I think the first thing that comes to mind is our leaky roof.  We’ve prayed and waited, and praise the Lord, the funds came in to replace it.  BUT… now we will have to wait until we return in August to get it done.  We have the roofing now, but the one person we would trust to do it, has a problem getting here before we leave.  A wise person made a statement, “There must be a reason, or the Lord would have had him here.”  And as strange as it sounds, I’m at peace with that.  I KNOW it will get done, and it will be finished when the Lord tells us to do it.  Our heavy rains seem to have stopped, and for some reason, these last storms have not caused problems in the house.  Could it be a “God-instance” and He plugged a few holes for the time being?  I’m fine with whatever He does. 

And our kiddo, Cequer.  We have not gone out to see him, and for a definite reason.  The Lord impressed on me not to, YET.  Vero and I talked about it and at first, I was a bit confused why I shouldn’t go.  But after our conversation, I have a very definite feeling both Vero and I know why.  The Lord impressed on both of us that we need to encourage the Haitian Christians, who totally believe in the Lord’s power to heal, to go out and pray with him.  And after talking to several strong Haitian pastors, I know what we felt is true.  People in this country have seen the power of voudou.  But they have rarely seen the power of the Lord manifested.  Oh, they have seen foreigners come in and talk and preach on God’s power but haven’t seen much of it.  We need those who are walking in tune with the Lord to go and pray and for others to see God using Haitians to step in and use the power the Lord has given us, to pray for and receive answers to those prayers.  And it has been exciting to see those pastors and other believers do exactly that. The first breakthrough was over a week ago.  Our Abbie, who is a strong believer in God’s power at the age of 13, went out to see Cequer for the first time last Sunday.  She has been praying fervently for him.  When she got there, Cequer recognized her…the first person he has recognized.  (I have been told this by quite a few who are there with him).  He is now recognizing more and more people.  He is walking with crutches.  He is up and eating.  He is progressing, and it IS THE LORD!!  Very few believed he would even survive after the horrific accident and all the injuries to his head and leg.  But we serve an awesome, miracle working God, who has stepped in and is answering all those prayers.  We will now go out and see him in the next day or so. The community has seen God working through His Haitian believers and that is awesome, too.  Isn’t God amazing?  Keep praying for Cequer.  We need him back with us, working at the airport and at our home and being the lighthearted kid he was before.  I know ten days ago he celebrated his 44^th birthday, but he’s still a “kid” to us!!

Abbie is really an inspiration to us.  She is showing her upbringing by her mother, for sure.  Her 13^th birthday was just 2 days ago, but her wisdom where the Bible is concerned is amazing.  And her mom has instilled in her a love for reading and learning.  When she comes home from school and has either an A- or a B+ on a test, she is upset.  Like all kids she went through a VERY SHORT period of rebellion where school was concerned.  But she overcame that and is an excellent student and her love for learning is awesome.  Ask her “study buddy”, grandma.  Grandma is learning things she never knew before, too.  (And here I thought I was too old for that!!)

Vero and her ministry keeps growing.  Our concern is that she will overextend herself and wear out.  Her problem with her legs is still there, but not as bad as it was, thankfully.  She just doesn’t let that slow her down at all.  Her list goes on and on…she works with the IDADEE orphanage, she is a worker for MFI at the airport, in charge of the container, she (and others) do a lot of evangelism work, they have a ministry teaching adults to read and write, they have services for kids out in the country in a high voudou area, they are teaching young girls who are pregnant, basic schooling, since they can’t attend regular school.  Some of these girls are 12 and 13 years old!  All of this out in the area where they are dealing with a strong presence of satanic worship.  But they are making a huge impact.  On top of that, she comes home and does dishes and cleans… against our wishes.  We started calling her our resident restovec (Creole for slave)…she gets upset and says, “NO, I like doing this!!”  

I’m still enjoying working with MFI (but don’t tell them that), and with the IDADEE orphanage, and with a few other ministries and individuals.  Don is working on trying to finish up the bathroom in Vero’s place.  There is nothing simple here, one small job can take ages, since things keep going wrong, or you have to fix one thing to fix another.  The list goes on and on.  And we are hoping to get another delivery of buckets out before we take our trip to the states.  There are people constantly at the door needing help, especially now that school is about to end, and they have to pay to take the tests here.  And of course, medical bills that people have a hard time coming up with the money for.  And medicine, too.  But that is why we are here, to help alleviate some of those problems.  Keep us in prayer as we try to keep on keeping on through all of this.

I’m enjoying working with English Bible Fellowship.  I’m leading service today and we’ll be focusing on the word “FEAR” in the Bible.  Many Haitians have no concept that fearing the Lord is NOT to be afraid of Him, but to revere and honor Him.  So it will be a very short topic, but a needed one.  It’s been a joy to see so many Haitians in our service.  And when they don’t understand a word, they are willing to ask, knowing we’ll do our best to help them.  It’s opening up the Bible and it’s meaning to a lot of them.  Please keep it in prayer.  Our committee is doing a great job.

Must close for now but remember to keep both Haiti and the US governments in prayer.  Last week one of the verses I shared at English church was 2 Chronicles 7: 14, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  We need to keep the governments and all the leaders in prayer, that the Lord will work in and through them.

Until next time, blessings beyond measure to you and yours, and keep your eyes on the Lord ~~~ HE IS COMING SOON!!!