God's Word

“The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when the city shall be rebuilt for the LORD.”  Jeremiah 31.38

“Then Jesus poured water in to a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them.”  John 13.5

We each process life through our own unique set of lenses.

·      Musicians, they tune into melodies & rhythms & lyrics.

·      Engineers puzzle over taking things apart and putting them back together.

·      Numbers people are constantly adding things up and comparing the sums.

Pastors?  First thing each morning a big chunk of us dutifully crack open God’s Word and use the message we’re given as our day’s compass point.  After all, scripture itself says this:  “the Word of God is living and active…”  (Hebrews 4.12)  Good enough for me.  How, I wondered, would the above verses be speaking into and guiding my heart on this day?

This morning our van groaned up the steep hillsides of Port-Au-Prince where we spent a good chunk of the day with Sister Alta and the Sisters of the Companions of Jesus, Sacred Heart Home for the Elderly.  Our mission here was simple & straightforward:  treat these 25 or so ladies to a fun, memorable spa day.  Armed with nail polish, lotions, towels, and basins filled with clean cool water, we were ready to make some smiles. 

Grabbing a basin, soap & towel, and kneeling before one of the residents, using my best Creole asked permission to wash her feet.  Smiling, she gently slid her foot out of the sandal and into my hands…just as the words to this worship song came over the speaker on our playlist: 

Here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that You’re my God!
You’re altogether lovely,
altogether worthy,
altogether wonderful to me!

Hunched over the dry, cracking feet of the wrinkled woman in the wheelchair, I quickly realized it wasn’t a word from Jeremiah or John that would be speaking to my heart on this day.  Rather, it was a third passage, one from the physician Luke that would help me understand and see more clearly, the healing encounter I was doing my best to absorb through my now blurry, tear-filled eyes. 

“A woman of the city, a sinner…standing behind Jesus at his feet, weeping, began to set his feet with her tears…”  Luke 7.38

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