Reflections

We just dropped our last team of the month off at the airport.  They had an early flight this morning.  These have been three different but great weeks.  I have discovered that each team and each week of ministry are very unique and have their own sets of joys and challenges!  God works through each of them in different ways and continues to surprise us with how He works and changes lives.

Our first week, we were at Life is Hope Orphanage and the team was very energetic and passionate about working and loving on kids.  They were a blessing to work with!  Our second week was spent moving a lot of blocks at Mariani to build the walls of the church.  The team was willing and determined to see progress in their work and in their relationships with the children and workers.  This last week was also spent at Mariani with a joy filled youth group who worked quickly to pass buckets of concrete to pour the columns in the walls of the church and took the time to love on the children.

Each week of ministry was a blessing.  Each team was a blast to work with.  God is truly amazing in bringing people together to accomplish His purposes.  All of this ministry is done under the guidance and leadership of the local church, so the partnership is always there--the Body of Christ truly coming together.

These were the first three of many trips Al and I will be leading this year.  We know that each one will have challenges and each one will be exactly as God wants it to be.  He is the One who is working here.  We are just serving Him.  How refreshing to remember that He is God!  He can do ALL things!

Friends, be praying for us as we continue to grow together.  Pray for us as we have a couple of days of rest before meeting with more pastors, churches, and organizations to make more partnerships and set up the trips for the summer.  Each season is exciting, but I am looking forward to hearing the vision that God has laid on each pastor's heart and talking about how a potential partnership could encourage them in that vision.  These next two weeks--before our next set of trips--are going to be exciting!  Pray that God would guide our conversations and our steps.  Pray that He would give us wisdom. He is God!

A Fantastic Finish!

We--me and Al--have been serving with a group from Living Faith Fellowship this week and it has been a great week getting to see God working!  Praise Him for His goodness.  Here is their last Trip Journal entry talking about the final hours of their final day of ministry serving at Life is Hope.  This is where I have been and what I have experienced!  Keep watching the trip journals for where we are at next week!  God is Good!

There was a brokenness in that room that could be felt. Walls in hearts being broken down, language barriers being broken down, and even pride being broken down. We knelt before each child to wash his feet. We knelt before the pastor and the staff. We prayed as we washed. We cried as we washed. Some of us washed the feet of the children we had become so attached to. Some of us washed the feet of those we just met. Some of us had messages from God for those precious children. Some of us simply wept.

They also wept. They knew the point. They knew the purpose. They cried openly. There was a brokenness. I watched as we took turns bringing children to the basins of water. I watched the tears fall. I heard the whispers of prayers. I heard the sobbing. I heard one of the older boys accept Jesus into his heart--he was one of many this week who gave their lives to Christ. I heard the worship in the distance as the children waited.

These were beautiful tears. I have never seen such a sight before. God was present in that room--in that place. This is how He led us to conclude our time at Life is Hope. This is how we did. God touched lives here. His Spirit was very present. His heart for these children was evident. He loves them all so much--and we got to show them just a small part!

Family, friends--thank you for your prayers. We know that they made a difference in how this week happened. In how open we were to God's leading. In how He chose to work! We praise Him for this! We pray that we will not forget these precious children. We hope that you remember them too! 

Hosting Guests: In our Home and In our Country

We hosted our first guests in our new home a week after we returned from our honeymoon. We excitedly prepared chicken, mashed potatoes, salad, and fresh squeezed orange juice. We cleaned the entire house and we were ready. Our day started early that morning because it was a Sunday and church started at 6am. By the time they arrived, we were tired. We welcomed them and gave them a tour of our new home. They were surprised at how quickly that house had been transformed into a home. We had some time to laugh and make connections between cultures and ministries. What a blessing to be able to have a place to host people.

These last couple of weeks have been overwhelming and restful at the same time. We have been busy working on our house, meeting with pastors, visiting the two orphanages we have partnerships with, and setting up ministry sites for teams who will start arriving on Saturday. Just when we started getting used to married life, we are hopping into a different “season”: Trip Leading Season.

In March alone, Praying Pelican Missions will be receiving over 140 short term missionaries in Haiti. We will be serving in 4 different communities and will be working with 4 different orphanages during this month.  Almando and I will start off leading a group of 33 people serving at Life is Hope Orphanage.  The Lord is really blessing this orphanage and all those who live there.  Stay tuned to see how things have progressed!  In the coming weeks, I will be working on blogging for our teams, so if I don't blog here, please check out the Praying Pelican Missions website to see what the teams we are leading are doing.  

Be praying for us as we are kickin' our life into overdrive.  Leading teams together will add a different dynamic to our marriage, so be praying that we continue to be completely centered on the Lord and what He wants for us!  We desire to give Him all the glory and point to Him every moment of every day.  He is so good to let us serve Him this way.  Pray for us as we host guests in our home and in our country!  For His glory!