Prayerful Monday

Update from last week and prayers for this week:

• The student who needed stitches last Monday is doing well. He busted his forehead open on the playground, so he got stitches and a tetanus shot. Arold said the bandages have been changed (probably at a clinic or the hospital) and he is doing just fine. Praise God!

Church closed with Ricky-J singing a closing song with
the 78 new believers behind him

• Praise God for the 78 people (mostly students) who made decisions to follow Christ at church yesterday. 
• One of our high school students had an episode at school earlier this month. It's not clear whether she passed out or had a seizure, but her parents came to get her from school and took her to the hospital. Reports are that she's at home now, but she hasn't returned to school yet. Please pray for her healing.
• We finally heard from the Embassy that the initial paperwork for Arold's visa was approved. Praise the Lord!!
• The end of the semester is about a month away. Pray for the students and teachers as they wrap up this semester.
• The youth choir that Arold is leading had their first performance last week. They are excited to sign praises to God and are planning a Christmas performance/party.

My awesome husband

I'm not sure if I've posted about this already, but I'm too lazy to go back and check right now. :-P

In February Willem asked my husband to preach during church one Sunday. He really wasn't looking forward to it, but he prepared for a couple of weeks and was ready when the time came. He did a great job! He was only nervous for about the first 10 seconds, and after that he was fine.

The topic of the sermon was "The Mark of Distinction." He first talked about Passover and the blood of the lamb that protected the Jewish families. Then he talked about the blood of Christ and difference it makes in our lives. Everyone agreed it was a great sermon.

At the end of the service two boys from 11th grade walked up to the front of the church and said they wanted to dedicate their lives to Christ! Willem, Arold, and the deacons prayed over the boys as they prayed the sinner's prayer.

What a great Sunday!!

So many things to say... about ministry

1. School starts tomorrow. I'm not really sure of my schedule. I'm not finished planning for the week, and I'm supposed to help "translate" for some fluoride varnish treatments tomorrow before my English and computer classes. I'm feeling a little anxious, but I'm sure that everything will be fine. I know I have the older kids tomorrow, so they had me in class last year and can understand me.
2. There's a really big team at the guest house this week, 28 people. Most of them are working in the clinic. A handful have been working on handyman projects. It's fun to work in the clinic when there is no school because I get to help more and don't have to pay attention to the time. Plus, I like working in close proximity to Arold all day in the dossier room. ;)
3. Thursday night a man was severely burned on his face, chest, stomach, and back by a car radiator that blew up all over him. He came to the clinic yesterday. The team spent three hours cleaning his wounds and teaching him how to care for himself. He came back today and they worked on him after church (maybe during too). The medical leader of the team said he looks really good considering what happened. His face is even showing signs that the skin will have pigment after everything heals. He'll be back for care on Monday and Tuesday. Hopefully he'll come back in two weeks so we can check on him when the next medical team is here.
4. Church has been awesome lately. I don't know if I simply understand more Creole, so I get what's happening more or if I'm just more aware of the Holy Spirit. At any rate, it is sweet to be back with my Haitian church family again.
5. Speaking of church, six young people stood up in the service today to say that they have decided "to walk with Christ." It was so exciting to see some of my students on the stage among those who declared their faith in Christ. I hope a baptism is in the near future!
6. The Illini Life team that came last year to give the computer lab a makeover is coming back in March. They have some fantastic ideas for physics and chemistry in the high school. I can't wait to see what God does through this team of people! 
7. I'm so thankful for the opportunity God has given me to serve here in Haiti. Please pray that I would follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit as I teach and live here.

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which he prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

Student Spotlight: Richmond

Richmond (pronounced reeshmoan) will be a Rheto student this year, which is the equivalent of being a junior in high school. He is definitely a class clown and likes to be the center of attention. He is generally enthusiastic and full of energy. I got to know Richmond through my after school computer class. He loves learning about the computer almost as much as he loves making people laugh.

At the beginning of the year, Richmond was a little rougher around the edges than many of my other students. For example his topics of conversation were more colorful than most of the other kids. However, I saw a major change in Richmond once he started attending Willem's discipleship class on Monday nights. Then I gained some insight into his life. Richmond told me, through a computer assignment, more about his family. He says his mother was a "woman of the night" in Cite Soleil before she died, and his father was a man of adultery. He admits that he was doing life his own way for a long time, but this year he has learned about the Lord because of being at a Christian school (MTM's school in Gramothe) and the discipleship class. Pray that Richmond would continue to grow in his relationship with the Lord and become a shining light to his family.

Baptizing Disciples

Originally a group of people from the Gramothe church was supposed to be baptized in December while I was in the States for the holidays. I was really bummed about missing the baptism. However, the waterfall where they typically do baptisms was dry, so it was postponed. Two weeks ago a group from the Gramothe church and the visiting medical team traveled to Ibo Beach for the baptismal service. 

Ibo Beach

February 6th, 2011

Checking out the water upon arriving.

Looking for shells to take home before the baptism.

 Willem asked a visiting pastor to share about the significance of being baptized.

 There was a nice gazebo area that we gathered under prior to getting in the water.

One of my high school girls. Her parents did not want her to get baptized and actually encouraged her not to do it.

I don't think any of the Haitians knew how to swim. Some of them were nervous about being in the water. The deacons helped them walk out to the dunking spot, but the water was still only knee high there.

The younger boys (David, Monley, and Rosias) found lots of shells to bring home and were soaked before we left. Are you surprised?

Some kids and the deacons playing after the service.

The following Sunday each of the people who were baptized shared briefly during church. They each gave the reason they chose to be baptized. It was a great day of celebration for the Gramothe church!

Readings from church this morning

A Peacemaker Will Come

The Third Week Of Advent

Anticipation grows within us. The day of Your incarnation is near.

There is no war nor division in the world that is beyond Your capacity to heal. The day of Your incarnation is near.

There is no hatred in the cosmos that cannot be transformed by Your forgiving love. The day of Your incarnation is near.

There is no social ill, relational breach, nor systemic evil that will not dissolve at Your touch. The day of Your incarnation is near.

In this third week of Advent, we sing with the prophets. That One will come who will bring the shalom peace of God to all human conditions.

In this third week of Advent, we shout with the children. Prince of Peace, quiet a world screaming in pain, and hungry for your Presence.

In this third week of Advent, we pray with believers around the world. In this third week of Advent, we pray with believers around the world.

Prince of Peace, we recognize that You are the God who alone can bring restoration to a fallen planet. Your capacity to restore broken relationships, communities, nations and ancient rivalries is boundless. Come, restore peace to our hearts today, and intervene among our restless human family.

Lord, make us instruments of this same transforming peace wherever we go. We prepare our hearts in this Advent season by praying, listening, singing and responding to Your restoring forgiveness. With the ancients who awaited You, we say “Prince of Peace, plant the seeds of Your coming restoration in our hearts. After Your likeness, make us your Peacemakers.
Amen.

© 2008 The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies. All rights reserved. Feel free to copy & distribute. Written by Dan Wilt, M.Min. www.essentialscourse.com

Old Testament Isaiah 65:17-25
New Testament 1 Thessalonians 5:(12-15)16-28
Gospel Reading John 3:23-30
Psalm Reading Psalm 126

Salvation

Lately I've been thinking about this thing called salvation. Most of the time in the evangelical world the word salvation is directly connected to the eternal dwelling in which a person will inhabit. You know, heaven or hell. But I think we lose something when we only talk about salvation in reference to our final destinations. I do think it's pretty amazing that Jesus' death on the cross gives believers eternal life in heaven. I'm not saying that should be diminished in anyway, but I am saying I don't think salvation stops there.

The more I read the Bible and study God's word, I'm convinced that salvation is not just from eternal damnation. Jesus made it clear he came to give us abundant life (John 10:10). Paul says we've been given every spiritual blessing which includes wisdom and understanding, grace, the Holy Spirit, and his power. In Galatians Paul explains that where the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control follow. While I can't imagine that any of those will be lacking in heaven, I have to believe those gifts were meant for this life--not the next.

Just as I was starting to really wrestle with this topic, it came up in our study of Romans at church. This Sunday Pastor John spoke on Romans 6:1-14. He announced the beginning of his sermon was about the three phases of salvation, and I couldn't stop the enormous grin from taking over my face. He went on to explain the three phases of salvation by defining the following words. I'll just write what he included in his outline.

• Phase One: Justification, being set free from the penalty of sin, happens the moment a person hands his or her life over to God.
• Phase Two: Sanctification, being set free from the power of sin, is the process of becoming more like Christ. This is the daily salvation I have been contemplating recently.
• Phase Three: Glorification, being set free from the presence of sin, will happen when we reach heaven some day.