11/28/10

I actually wrote this on the 26th, but then we fasted the internet for a day and a half.
This has been a good week! Last Saturday, I had a revelation about not taking burdens on me that are not mine to take on. So in all that has gone on this week with the bus burning and other things that have happened, I have made it a point to not take them on myself. So even though things get stressful on base and things are slightly crazy right now with the elections coming up, I have still been in a great mood.
I got to talk to my family on the 24th for my nephew, Adam’s 1st birthday!! I turned the video on Skype on for a few minutes so I could see them. The video kept freezing, so that kind of sucked, but I still got to see them. It made me kind of homesick, because my aunt Kathy and cousin, Tisha were there and Kathy’s other daughter Kendra, and her family were coming that evening. But they know that I love them and I know that they love me, and we all know that God has me here for a reason. So yes, God is faithful!!!!
When something is my burden, I tend to take it on pretty heavy. For example, some of us realized that Thanksgiving was coming fast and we hadn’t even discussed any plans for it. If we had not had teams here, we probably would have gone to St. Marc and joined them for their partly catered meal. So I decided to go ahead and plan on having a Thanksgiving feast. I asked one of the teams what they would like and got some ideas. I went shopping several times, stressed out a lot, but I had help! We had 5 chickens, 10lbs of potatoes, a large bowl of gravy, some Haitian sweet potatoes, fruit salad, cranberries, beer bread, Haitian bread, corn, green bean casserole, and for dessert there was rice crispy treats, carrot cake, layered vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, and brownies. It was quite the production. I think I stressed out so much because my mom is really good at hosting events, knowing the correct quantities of food, knowing when to start things so everything will be done at the same time. Why didn’t I take lessons? I don’t know!! =] My friend, Emery, reminded me that my mom didn’t learn this overnight but had probably learned it over the years, so that was encouraging. But everything turned out really well; there was enough food for everyone with some leftovers. After dinner, I felt pretty accomplished, and then decided to not be responsible for anything else for the rest of the evening.
Lucy was calculating to see how many teams we had come through since February and the numbers are 33 teams with 371 people and 82 staff and volunteers. God is faithful to provide the people that were needed.

This is why we should be missionaries!!!!

So we came back from conference. This last week was really long and pretty difficult. But there was light at the end of the tunnel. Dani, Jude and I had talked to some new (to Dani and I) friends on staff in St. Marc and had decided to go to the DTS graduation which was yesterday. Although we did not leave on time and had a flat tire on the way there, we eventually arrived. It was a really relaxing time in St. Marc. Dani and I took a walk and processed some things and it was really nice. No one was asking me questions about stuff on our base, there were no situations for me to try to figure out, I was able to relax. We had some very hospitable ladies hosting us. I stayed with Sarah, Stacia and Rose and Dani stayed with Hana, Anne, and Chrissi. They fed us and let us relax and treated us great! I am very happy that we are now friends and family with the St. Marc staff!
We attended the DTS graduation. It was really great! I had only met most of them at the conference, but there were four Haitian guys that were not able to get their visas, so I did not meet them. The Haitians had gone through 11 months of discipling and had all changed a lot. There were two American guys, Craig and Mike, that came in June for their DTS. DTS outreach in Haiti is different than most other places because you don’t usually leave the country. Anyway, all of them that I met and got to know better are amazing. I am very sad that I was not in Port au Prince for the time they came for part of their outreach. But they are a great bunch of people. Several of them are wanting to come back to be on staff with YWAM Haiti, some in St. Marc and some in P au P.
Craig and Mike had flights out of Port this morning, so we got to catch a ride with them instead of riding taptaps and public buses. About 20 minutes into our trip, Freeman (head of transportation in St. Marc) called me and said that a girl from one of the teams at our house had called him and said that there had been an electrical fire in the wires in front of our house. So I told Dani and she said that had happened before and I told Jude and he said, “Okay.” Ronald, who drove us, dropped us off at the bottom of the hill close to our house. When we turned onto our street, there were people from out teams gathered out by the bus. As we got closer, we noticed that the bus had black all over it and the tires were all melted. This was a big surprise! I knew there had been a fire, but didn’t know the bus got fried. It is a crazy story. This is getting long, so I don’t know if I’ll explain it right now, but let me tell you what we’re doing in the spiritual realm right now.
This Sunday, November 28th, Haiti’s national elections are supposed to take place. They will be voting on a new president, senate and other things. We have a team here called Fire and Fragrance, they have a focus on worship and prayer. They have arranged that the 200 hours before the elections people will be praying for a different year that Haiti was in a pact with satan. There are churches and people all over Haiti, America, South Korea, Canada and I’m sure other places joining us in this. So we believe this was an attack from the enemy that caused like $65,000 worth of damage and to put a spirit of fear on our teams and staff. This morning, even as I type this, we are coming against this attack with a spirit of worship. We already had worship this morning, but we are continuing in that spirit.
Last night at the DTS graduation, one of the testimonies was about when they had to walk through knee high mud and water with their sound equipment on their shoulders. They were all discouraged and didn’t want to do it, but Owen decided to have a good attitude and said, “Hey guys! This is why we should be missionaries!!” So every time something didn’t go right, or it didn’t make sense or was frustrating, that’s what they would say and it would make it better. I decided I was going to bring that back to our base. This morning, as I went to take pictures of the bus, I had that thought, ‘This is why we should be missionaries!!’
In other, Tabby took her first steps by herself this weekend and she did some more this morning for me and Dani. She is pretty proud of herself!

11/09/10

We have been at conference for a few days now. It has been really good! The resort is pretty nice. Maybe not quite American standards, but nicer than where we live in Haiti. I am sharing a room with Dani, who I work with in Port au Prince, and Flourine, who has translated for us some and is planning to eventually come on staff. I was laying in bed the first night and I commented to Dani that I felt like our blanket was a curtain. It’s funny because the curtains are actually the same material!! But there’s hot water and electricity 24/7!
I have been reading The Book That Transforms Nations by Loren Cunningham (founder of YWAM and one of our speakers these past few days). In the book, he talks about how God has created people to be creative in all countries and cultures, even if a lot of people are stifled by their culture or government. I recalled a recent conversation when I told Dani that I am not creative. I had the revelation that I’ve been stifling my own creativity for a so long that I’m not sure of my creative areas. God has made me to be creative! I am creative!! So through that book and some of the teachings this week, I have been challenged to walk out in my creativity and areas of gifting. Also to more diligently seek out those things God has gifted me with.
I am getting more of a passion to get God’s Word in every home in the world. I know that a lot of Americans say they are Christians, but I really have wondered about a lot of the people I’ve seen because I don’t see the fruit that should be there. I’m not trying to offend anyone. I know what it’s like to say I’m a Christian and to not be bearing fruit. It’s just something I’ve observed. If we, Americans, instilled the principles in the Bible into our lives, our businesses, our children’s lives, I have no doubt the economy of America would turn around from this decline it is in. We have lost sight of our first love, of the principles our country was founded on. This is a huge mistake. I challenge you to search the Bible and apply the principles in it to your everyday life. Just read one chapter in Proverbs a day and apply what you learn everyday and I believe there will be a shift in your life. It’s crazy to me how many people in the States have Bibles, yet never read them. It’s our guide!! It has the answers to all of life’s questions in it! It’s full of wisdom and you will get discernment just by reading and applying it!!
Wow, ok, that must have been from the Lord, because that’s not really what I was planning on blogging about. This is something I am being challenged with and maybe someone else needed to hear it too!