Be Blessed

Our day was filled with joy and blessings.

In our morning devotion, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples,

John 13: 16-17

Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

With the word 'blessed' ringing in my ears, I watched this team so full of joy all day as we found opportunities to serve, connect and learn.

Peace,

Joyce

Morning yoga with Haitian friends

Haitian honey vendor

Kathi & Elizabeth dancing

Therapeutic massage and foot washing at Sacred Heart home for the elderly

Sister Alida loves to dance!

Sharing joy

Sister Alta graciously gave us a tour of Notre Dame university and showed us her lovely office

The talented guesthouse staff baked this beautiful cake for Ellen's birthday!

“Let the children come to me” (Mt 19:14)

Today was all about the children! In the morning we travelled to Terre Promise school in Cite Soleil. Children attend from age 3 through Grade 13. We were greeted by classrooms full of smiling kids. On the upper floor, the oldest students were studying chemistry (on one side of the room) and Spanish (on the other side). We spent most of our time at the school with the pre-school age children. First, we performed a skit about baby Moses in the Nile River (with translation help from Reiser Relief’s in-country manager, Joseph). Next, we sang songs, including a rousing rendition of “Pharaoh, Pharaoh, Oh baby, Let my people go!”, followed by “Baby Shark” (not biblical, but fun all the same). Lastly, we provided the kids with crayons and “baby Moses” coloring sheets, and a craft-kit to make their own baby Moses at home.

The afternoon was spent at Sakala (also in Cite Soleil), which is a community center with a large after-school program. It was a joy to see some of the kids we had met earlier in the day, complete with their finished Moses artwork! Sakala has so much going on! They provide tutoring, computer lessons, a community library, a meal program for the kids, and a wide variety of sport activities (even tennis, ping pong, baseball, and American football!). The center is also home to the Tap Tap Garden (Jaden Tap Tap), a beautiful, urban “secret-garden”. Among the crops they grow is moringa, which is very nutrient rich. The garden even is home to several hives of honey bees! The garden had an area for people to just sit and experience nature (which at this time of day was being occupied by the teenagers who were enjoying the peace and quite away from the younger kids). While some of our team had their athletic skills tested by the kids, while others were humbled by the chess-playing talents of several children. As we left at the end of the day, older students were gathering for a fancy graduation ceremony, 20 kids were starting their Tae Kwon Do lessons, and the Sakala was preparing to host a big chess tournament on Saturday.

Days like today remind us all of the hope and joy children bring to every nation. We see the wonder of students learning new subjects and songs in school. The laughter of children playing games and sports can chase away the blues from anyone’s mood.

 

Read more about Jaden Garden here and here.

This #%@$ Just Got Real

Three weeks ago, our family was together at the Ice Cream Shoppe scoping out the flavors.  All looked familiar except one; its title so in-your-face, not to try it was an act of cowardice.  Stepping up to the attendant I put my money on the counter and ordered a dish of, “This #%*@$ Just Got Real.”  Hands down, best ice cream I’ve ever eaten. 

It’s day three in Haiti, and our mission team has learned the drill.  We’re welcomed by staff, get a quick orientation, then we go to work.  Something most mid-westerners do well.

                  

Today it was a smaller population of 20-25 orphaned children, most with some kind of disability.  There’s always a pause when entering a room like this.  We each take inventory of the children, noting carefully which ones are:

·      bandaged and will need a gentler touch,

·      sleeping, and may require us to be quieter,

·      sporting full diapers, and need a change,

·      runny noses, open sores, rashes, growths or other health-related concerns.

In less than a minute our team of 12 had paired up with a child and were busy changing, feeding, playing, cuddling…in short, doing whatever needed doing to make some kind of meaningful impact in our all-too-short time.

Showing us around the large compound her order had received as a gift from, “Food for the Poor,” Sister Matthias shared their simple, ‘if-then’ vision.  If they cared for the very least, then God promised to provide for their needs.  It was that passion & promise that sent them each day into places like the local dump and nearby slum to load up and bring back to Kkottongnae
those upon whom society had given up. From the gruesome pictures we saw, we couldn’t disagree:  they truly were, ‘the least’. 

At the close of our time and tour, she ushered us into the ICU;  a small, narrow space that was home to the most critical patients.  After offering what comfort we could, Sister Matthias then motioned us to a bed in the corner.“This man is dying,” she said. “His name is John.  Would you please pray for him.” 

The day had already been a full-on tug-of-war between heartache and hope.  Most of us doing our best at holding it together after absorbing multiple stories of tragedy and triumph.  This request though, took us to a whole new level.  Circling his bed, we held hands and thanked God for the special blessing of this brother in Christ; a precious and much-loved son of the Father who would soon be held in the tender and loving arms of Jesus.  We marked John with the sign of the cross, kissed him on the forehead, then whispered in his ear, “God in peace. Go with God.” 

Thanks to God’s promise of unconditional love, we know that is exactly what John did.  And in Christ, today, so did we. 

Pastor Ned Lenhart

He Had Compassion

Morning devotion came from Matthew 9: 36-38

When he saw the crowds he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Our day passed at Kkottongnae, a ministry for the abandoned managed by Korean nuns.  Sister Matthias shared with our group how much courage it takes to put faith in action.

As Jesus experienced when performing miracles, the crowds of desperate humanity grow quickly when acts of compassion occur. At the landfill turned residence for those who have no means of survival other than sorting trash and collecting items to recycle, the sisters do a monthly food distribution. Protection and security is needed. Although the sisters bring all the food they can, it is never enough.

But miracles happen. God puts abandoned men and women in their path. The sisters bring them to the village to nurse them back to help. Those who can return to their community return. Those who cannot stay with the sisters and turn into workers in God's harvest field, contributing as they are able to the life of the community.

God's compassion was evident at every turn today.

Peace,
Joyce

Team members chased down this children's toy with Sr Matthias that blew away in the wind

Smelling Jesus

Circled up for morning devotions, this was the opening line of our prayer before stepping into the van; prayed by Mother Teresa of Calcutta: 

“Dear Jesus, help me to spread Your fragrance everywhere I go.”

There were more words to the prayer, but I got stuck on that first line.  This was a brand-new thought; that Jesus might have his own unique smell.  If so, what would it be like?  And how would we recognize it? 

Twenty-four hours into this journey we’ve already been introduced to an array of powerful and sometimes overwhelming smells:

• Open sewers between houses
• Burning garbage
• The mixture of dust & diesel, traveling between mission sites
• Soiled, wet diapers needing of changing

Today took us to two different locations for mission work:  a hospital in the morning where we rubbed lotion on the dry legs & arms of sick & dying adults.  Then in the afternoon we donned aprons and walked into a nursery where we spent several hours feeding, holding, playing with, singing to, and being present with the rooms-full of beautiful and hungry cribbed babies.  

The sun is set, the day about over, and I’m not sure I have an answer to the question:  what does Jesus smell like?  Perhaps the best I can do here is point to the life of Mother Teresa.  To the many who sojourned to her door seeking connection to something greater, she offered no ‘secret sauce’.  Just this guidance:  that we – you & me, wherever we are and whatever we’re doing – could be the answer to someone’s prayers, if we would only, “let Jesus’ light shine in us, and be in us.”  (Mother Teresa, “Fragrance Prayer”) 

I spent the final hour today holding a beautiful, quiet little 18-month old girl.  My original plan was to spend a few minutes with each child but after quickly draining her bowl of porridge, this one put her arms around my neck, nuzzled in close, and held on as if her very life depended on it.  

While rocking, rubbing her back, and stroking her cheek, I hummed all the songs I sang to my own three girls.  What she’ll remember of this day I will never know.  My prayer is only that the holy fragrance of our time together was healing and life-giving; and that it will linger for both of us long after our final parting hug. 

Pastor Ned Lenhart

Go and Make Disciples

Our morning devotion was The Great Commission from Matthew 28.

...Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you

At the Missionaries of the Poor we were humbled. Humbled by the resilience and smiles of special children.  Humbled watching the children love on one another. Humbled by the devotion, faith and service of the brothers. 

The  children baptized us with laughter; demonstrating the amazing power of the human spirit and the Holy Spirit.  We are blessed.

Peace
Joyce

Expectations

So after months of planning, meetings, forms, emails, text, phone calls and prayers...here we are. All 12 of us, together for the first time, over dinner last night in Haiti. We are exhausted, excited, apprehensive, giddy, nervous and confident.

I am reflecting this morning on The Great Commission from Matthew 28:  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.

On trip applications, we ask our team members to name any concerns or expectations. Many are concerned about safety or getting sick. One team member had the following concerns:

"I will feel that what we have offered isn't enough, leaving with the sense that we could/should do more than time allows. Also concerned that I will have too high of expectations for making a difference in someone's life."

God, cover us today with Your promise to be with us always.  You will make a difference in the lives of the Haitians we meet today and in our lives throughout this week.

Peace
Joyce

Team members flying through Miami

Team members flying through Atlanta