quick updates and thoughts
September 7, 2010
Happy Anniversary to my beautiful bride!!!! – Maria and I celebrated our 8th year anniversary by sneaking away for a day and night at a beautiful cabin near the Great Smokey Mountains. We had a wonderful time together. The cabin was great, beautiful view, quiet, great outdoor hot tub, and all things good. We sat in the hot tub last night staring at the stars and marveling at the vastness of God. To think that those stars were all put there by Him and are held there by Him is overwhelming. We shared in the words of David that “such knowledge is too wonderful for me and too lofty for me to attain.” Yes, the Lord is BIG! He is MIGHTY. And He is LOVE. He is all we need in this life and eternity. So, we had a great time sharing our lives together and reflecting on what the Lord is doing in our lives. We have had some incredibly challenging years in our marriage, but by His grace we have remained committed to walking through those times together. And now the Lord is doing some deep work and healing in our lives and we rejoice in what He is doing and what He will continue to do. I am blessed to have such a beautiful and God loving wife.
We began our morning in prayer on our knees together, yielded to our great and mighty God, surrendered to His will for our lives. We talked about how frail and fragile is our human soul. We are so delicate. We break so easily. We get distracted too quickly. We forget too often. We remember too much. Yes, we are a delicate people. Thank the Lord for His grace and mercy. In Him we press on and seek more and more to become like Him, while our frailty and fragility simply remind us that we are not yet home in our permanent place, therefore we continue to long and yearn for our complete redemption when He comes to take us home.
We are so thankful to our friends, the Prevost’s and the Brown’s, for taking care of Isabela and Susana while we were away. The body of Christ is such a blessing!
Back to Haiti next week – I will be heading back to Haiti next Wednesday to Sunday. I am looking forward to getting back and spending time with many people that I have come to know and love. I will be bringing a bunch of school supplies to give to the orphaned children. I will be visiting with the children in the homes where they are currently staying in order to determine what needs remain. Our sponsorship program should be up and running very soon. I will also be meeting with another young guy I know that just started up an orphanage in Titanyen, an area outside of Port au Prince. I will be assessing his orphanage and will be praying about whether or not the Lord will have us work with him and the children. Since Global Outreach has a mission base right there in Titanyen, I will spend the night there visiting with the other missionaries, and then I will fly home Sunday morning.
I am also very excited about the progress that we are making with regards to getting large amounts of meals shipped over so that we can expand our feeding programs. we have a contact in Florida who we are currently working with. They are currently filling a 20 foot container with Kids Against Hunger meals that will be shipped to us in Jacmel. They plan to start doing this a few times per year so that we have a consistent food supply coming in for the feeding programs and orphanages that we are wanting to help. Please pray for the logistics to be worked out with regards to shipping and receiving.
We have a team coming in December and another possibly in November. The December team is a college group that is coming down to hand out Christmas shoeboxes to several hundred children, including of course the orphans that we are working with. They will be shipping the boxes over within the next few weeks to insure that they arrive by December. Please pray for the details to be worked out and that the boxes arrive in time.
I am happy that our 4 wheel drive pickup truck is now in our possession. Thanks to our Ministry Director Fenel, who traveled to St Mark for 3 days to work on getting it out of customs and then to Port au Prince for a day to get it registered and insured. So, now we have a pickup truck to be able to haul supplies and food.
Pray that the Lord continues to give us vision and direction for what we are to do in Haiti. There are so many needs and so many possibilities to minister, but we just want to be in step with the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Update on Susana – Susana had surgery a few weeks ago to have the tumor removed after getting back tests that showed that it had shrunk by more than half its size and that all the other tumors were gone. The surgery was very successful as they were able to remove 90% of the tumor and they cauderized (seared) the remaining 10%. She is healing great and is feeling great. Tomorrow, we go back to the hospital for her last round of chemo here before we head off to Duke for 3 months for her stem cell transplant. So, we are getting ready for a long stretch of time where we will be away from home and in the hospital every day. Please pray for God’s strength over us.
We are so thankful for how she has responded to treatment thus far. She could not have responded better. So, we pray that she continues to respond so well that these tumors never return…ever. My prayer is that Susana lives to be a very old woman, seeing both her own children and grandchildren grow up. And I’ll make sure that her house is next door from us so that Maria and I get to witness as much as possible. Anyway…that’s our prayer. And I will continue to pray everyday for that to happen.
I don’t know all there is to know about prayer. Its a mystery that I will never understand on this side of heaven. I mean, prayer doesn’t change God’s mind and direction. He already knows the beginning from the end. But what I do know is that Jesus gave us models and examples for prayer, and the 2 examples that keep me on my knees for my daughter every day is the story Jesus told about the man that asked his neighbor for bread late at night because he had a guest. The man kept banging on the door because it was late at night and his neighbor did not feel like getting out of bed to answer the door, but Jesus said that the neighbor will finally get up and give his bread away simply because of the other man’s persistence. So, this teaches me to keep being persistent in praying for Susana’s healing. The other story that Jesus told was about the woman who was wronged and went to a judge day after day demanding that she get justice. Jesus said that even though the judge does not fear God or care about this woman’s case, that He will grant her justice simply because she is persistent. Again, I am encouraged by these verses to continue praying for my little Susana. Jesus states, “Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks is given, and everyone who seeks, finds, and all who knock, the door is opened.” And I am reminded also of the story of David and Bathsheba when they had their first child who died as a result of God’s judgment on David for his adultery. But, even though he was told that the child was going to die, he fasted and prayed like never before. He sought the Lord. He pleaded for mercy. He did not stop. And it wasn’t until he received word that the child died that he finally got off the floor and ate. So too I will remain on the floor pleading for God’s mercy until the Lord answers in one way or another. and I hope you will all do the same.
Personally – God continues to draw me closer to Him than I have ever been. I am still brought to my knees every morning and sometimes even throughout my day. I stand in thankfulness for what He has done in my heart. My soul longs to know Him more. I long for Him to continue to radically change my heart and bring it to life. I long for Him to radically change my marriage and make whole all that has been broken, and restore all the lost years that the locust swarms of sin and selfishness have devoured. I long for Him to use me to lead my family into greater truth and righteousness. I long to see Him heal my daughter. I long for Him to use my family to reach the lost and minister His love and truth to the poor. I just want Him to be the absolute center, to borrow the words of John Piper, that Jesus would be the sun in my universe in which all the planets of my being would orbit around in harmony and order. That is my prayer.
Drawn by Him…
August 9, 2010
Well, the Lord is continuing to work in my heart in a manner in which I cannot even describe. I find myself just weeping at some small point every day because I am overcome with His presence and thoughts of His goodness.
I am being drawn to my knees in prayer every single morning. And when I say “drawn to my knees”, I mean it. Its like I’ll get up, get some breakfast, take a shower, then I’ll walk into my bedroom to get something, and immediately I’ll just find myself dropping to my knees to seek Him and cry out to Him and thank Him and to yield myself to Him. And sometimes I’ll just be drawn in the middle of the day or the evening to do the same, just talk to Him and seek Him and commune with Him.
I am being drawn to the bible in a newer and deeper way. Truth be told, reading the bible has always been a challenge and a struggle, something that I just had to almost force myself to do just knowing that God calls us to do so and that we have to do it in order to grow. Maybe I’m exaggerating a little. Don’t get me wrong, I mean, I would enjoy God’s Word every time I would read the bible, but then I would still find that there was always this major battle for me to pick it up the following day. And sometimes I would persevere and win that battle…and yet sometimes I would lose. I’m not being legalistic here, I mean the Bible commands us to meditate on His word every day. It is not a suggestion. It is not just for some that really like to. it is a command to every one of God’s children. And so I tried my best to follow that command. But these days, I am being drawn to read the bible all the time simply because, yes I want to obey His command, but more so because I want to know more about this great and awesome God who has redeemed my soul and has set me free. My cry is the same as that of the apostle Paul, “that I may know Christ and the power of His resurrection and to share in the fellowship of His sufferings. And so, I find myself just picking up my bible here and there throughout the day just to seek to know Him more. I even installed the Bible on my iphone just so I can have it with me wherever I go and get the opportunity to read it throughout the day.
He is drawing me into a new and deeper “quiet time” or “personal devotion time” like never before. Again, my “quiet time” (though I never called it “quiet time” because I wasn’t always quiet) was a struggle to maintain no fail daily time alone with Him. And again, having that time alone was always enjoyable, but it would be a struggle to get up and do it again the very next day. And so I have spent years as well trying to develop a discipline where that would just be part of my daily routine. But it would often be a battle. And again, sometimes I would win…yet other times I would lose. But these days, my time with God is not just being reduced to a “Ok, read my 5 minute devotion, read a scripture, and said a quick prayer, so now I’m set for the day.” Again, maybe exaggerating a little, but I hope you get the point. But these days, my quiet time or time with God or whatever you want to call it is not just a 10 minute thing in the morning, but rather throughout my day. I want to spend time alone with Him in the morning to start out my day, but then I want to stop what I am doing in the afternoon just to pause and pray and seek Him and tell Him that I am so thankful. And then I want to talk to my wife about what He is doing in my life. And then I want to journal my thoughts and prayers and ask Him to reveal more of Himself to me. So, its like my time with Him is constant, and I so much enjoy His presence that I want to include Him in everything that I am doing!
I am being drawn to worship Him all throughout my day. I just want to listen to worship songs that glorify His name. I just purchased an itunes card so that I can download more worship songs on my iphone since I don’t nearly have enough. Unfortunately, I do have enough secular songs, many of which I have removed because I realize that I cannot bring honor and glory to God by listening to them. Now, I’m not in the boat of “Christians should only listen to Christian music”, even though, at this time, that is all I want to do. But I am in the boat of “Do all things for the glory of the Lord.” And so, if I am listening and gaining enjoyment from a song that actually takes away from the truth of His glory, then how is that bringing Him glory? And you know, some of the songs that I have removed are considered “Christian”, but the truth is that the music label does not matter, its what the song is about that matters. So, if I am listening to a “Christian” song that simply expresses all kinds of heartache and defeat and struggle, but never points to the source of truth and freedom, then how does that bring glory to God? It actually takes away from His glory. And I just don’t want to do that anymore. So, these days, I just want to worship Him in complete purity of mind and heart.
Like I said in my previous post, I feel like I have been born again, again. I feel like I have been given a new heart that is undivided. As I read in Ezekiel that after the Lord said that He was going to execute judgment on the people of Israel for all of their detestable acts and sin that they committed, that He would bring them back from the land of captivity and He would give them a new heart, one that is undivided. He would take away their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. And as a result, the people would return to their land and tear down all their false altars and remove all their vile images from their temple, and they would wholly seek the Lord. To me, as well as many who have used this verse in sharing the gospel, this describes the salvation experience, when Jesus takes away our old heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh. And though I had an experience when I was 19 years old when I surrendered my heart to the Lord and asked Him to forgive me of my sins as I acknowledged Him and agreed with the message of the cross, I can’t say that I experienced what I am now experiencing. I mean, I remember acknowledging my sin and asking for forgiveness, but I don’t remember falling to the floor overcome with such grief and just crying uncontrollably because I realize the gravity of my sin in the light of a holy God. And I remember being so happy that my sins were forgiven, but I don’t remember just in any given moment being brought to tears simply at the realization of how rich his mercy is to have covered my wretchedness with His love.
Ok, so did I just get saved? No, I truly believe that when I prayed at age 19 and asked Jesus to become the Lord and Savior of my life, that He truly did at that moment. But, all I can say is that He has done something in me in this last month that has never been done before. I can’t fully describe it, but He has done it by His grace. He has given me a new heart, one that is undivided, one that wholly wants to seeks the Lord. And I am overwhelmed by His love as I am being drawn by Him. – Cody
Sweetly Broken…
July 28, 2010
“At the cross you beckon me. You draw me closely to my knees, and I am lost for words, so lost in love, and I am sweetly broken, wholly surrendered.” – “Sweetly Broken” – Jeremy Riddle
And this is the state of my heart today. I am broken. But not a pitiful broken, but rather a brokenness that brings me joyfully to the foot of the cross where I can see love – perhaps for the first time in my life. Have you ever had that experience as a Christian, where you feel like you have been born again, again? Well, that is what the Lord is doing in my heart and words cannot even begin to describe it. This does not have anything to do with Susana and what we are going through as a result. This has to do with God doing some intense work in my heart to make me more like Him.
You see, there are parts of my own heart that are more cancerous than the tumors that currently invade Susana’s body. There has been sin there for the longest time that has never been truly dealt with, perhaps because it wasn’t God’s time, but I think more because I was not ready to deal with it myself. I had not been brought to the place of brokenness that is needed to see what I now see. But recently, the Lord has indeed brought me to that place. And He has broken me and continues to break me. It is like a blindfold has been lifted off my eyes and I can see things (some really ugly things) in my heart that I have never before seen.
As issues in my life have caused some of these ugly sinful patterns to come to the surface more and more, I was brought to a place where I just began crying out to the Lord and asking Him to break me open, asking Him to open up my eyes so that I can see the sin and ugliness that is keeping my heart from being wholly surrendered to Him, asking Him to reveal and expose those things that are causing ill effect in my marriage and other aspects of my life, primarily my relationship with Him. And it all started with a heart’s cry of desperation, realizing that only the Lord can effect change in my heart for His glory. And so, I cried out, “Lord, break me. Let me see my sin that has robbed You of Your glory, and then let me see Your glory so that I will truly repent and turn my heart to You in ALL ways. I am desperate!”
And The Lord, who hears the cry of His children, heard the heart’s cry of this poor child, and answered Him. Through His word and through my prayers, and by His grace, He broke my hardened heart wide open. And I wept, not like a baby, for a baby cries without really knowing why he or she is crying. No, I wept like a grown man, a man who hungers after God yet for the first time has seen such sin in his heart that has kept him from the very God he hungers after. Oh, I cannot express the grief that my heart experienced, and continues to experience. I have had times of falling to the floor, overcome with grief (yet at the same time overcome with the knowledge of His love and mercy) and just heaving sobs and wails and groans like I have never known before. I weep now even as I write this. He has answered my prayer! He has broken me, and continues to break me.
This, although painful, has been the sweetest thing to happen to me. The death is always painful. The letting go of something is always painful. The reality of sin and depravity is always painful. But the reality of Christ’s love that reaches such a depraved heart and has both power to forgive sin and love to restore a heart is indescribable! The bible is altogether true as it states, “It is the kindness of the Lord that leads to repentance.” Oh how I thank the Lord that He has granted me the gift of repentance. He has caused me to truly turn away from my sin. I cannot explain it all, but He has done it.
So, I have had many many days as of late where I just weep as I realize how my sin and wretched heart has kept me from receiving so much more of Him. And I also weep with the greatest thankfulness that He both loves me and is setting me free. I cannot contain my excitement. I just have to share it. It is like those blind people that Jesus healed that went in the temple walking, and leaping, and praising God. For I have been one of those blind men that has received the miracle of sight. What can I do, but walk and leap and praise the One, the ONLY One, who is able to open the eyes of the blind and bring a dead heart back to life.
Some may think that I am sharing too much by talking about God exposing sin in my life and breaking me of years of spiritual blindness…I don’t care. Just like David said when he danced naked after the ark was returned to Jerusalem, “I will be even more undignified than this!” So, I will not go dancing down the street naked, but I will show the nakedness of my soul that has been touched by my Savior, for I have nothing to hide. He has redeemed me and is setting me free. I cannot stay silent.
I have been consumed these days by thoughts of Him. I cannot put the bible down. I cannot stop writing in my journal. I cannot stop just wanting to give Him glory and honor in everything that I do. I have lived 38 years of my life so far. I only pray that He gives me at least 39 more years so that I can live more than half of my life with this new found love and joy that I have found in my Savior. I have lived 8 years of marriage where I have been unable to give my whole heart to a woman that I really love. I only pray that these 8 years are a tiny fraction of the years of marriage left where I can give my wife my entire heart and see the Lord glorified in our midst every single day.
As I was thinking about these things the other day, I said, “Lord, You have indeed answered my prayer asking You to break me open and reveal my sin so that I would see it clearly. But now I want You to answer my prayer of showing me Your glory.” And as soon as I said this, I felt the Holy Spirit say, “I have shown You my glory by exposing the depravity of your heart and then covering it with my love.” Oh, how my heart shouted for joy when I saw this to be true. What can be more glorious than a heart that has been revealed to be full of such sin and yet the love of Christ that covers the sin of such a wicked heart? Yes, mine eyes have seen the glory of the Lord.
Just a personal note to YOU!
June 26, 2010
We wanted to take the time to write you a note and say, “thank you”. June has been an incredibly busy month in our home. Taking care of Susana and Isabela at the same that we are dealing with our new life routines has been quite a challenge. We could not have done without you. So we wanted to take some time to let you know that we truly appreciate you.
- Thank you for all the gifts you sent from the Target.com registry list and even outside the list.
- Thank you for putting together a birthday party for our sweet Isabela. And thank you for all of her wonderful birthday gifts.
- Thank you for all the furniture and housewares that you provided.
- Thank you for your financial contributions to help us get back on our feet and take care of Susana’s expenses.
- Thank you for all the cards and the notes and the simple little things that brought much joy to our hearts.
- Thank you for putting an auction together on Susana’s behalf and for participating in it.
- Thank you for creating and joining a prayer group on Susana’s behalf through Facebook.
- Thank you for coming to visit.
- Thank you for providing a meal.
- Thank you for watching Susana in the hospital while I ran home to let the dog out.
- Thank you for watching the dog while I traveled four hours to Duke for a doctor’s appointment.
- Thank you for calling and checking on us.
- Thank you for driving out of your way (or flying) to come and see us.
- Thank you for the clothes for the girls.
- Thank you for the movies.
- Thank you for the prayer bracelets.
- Thank you for the food and snacks in our pantry.
- Thank you for the gift cards.
- Thank you for the toys for the girls.
- Thank you for flying our dog, Casey, back to the States.
- Thank you for bringing some of our belongings back to us.
- Thank you for Susana’s iPod. I’ve never seen the girls so quiet.
- Thank you for providing phones for us.
- Thank you for the girls homeschooling curriculum.
- Thank you for understanding when we felt stressed and weren’t on our best behavior.
- Thank you for being a shoulder to cry on.
- Thank you for listening to us.
- Thank you for sharing our pain and our joys so graciously.
- Thank you for loving us.
- Thank you for volunteering to help.
- Thank you for giving Cody and I a date night.
- Thank you for your continue support towards our ministry in Haiti. We love knowing that our love for the children of Haiti is mutual and that it doesn’t stop with our circumstances.
- Thank you for coming to Haiti with us.
- Thank you for being a true friend.
And above all, THANK YOU for praying for our family. We truly appreciate all that you have done and continue to do for our family. In many ways the burden is lighter when we know we have you. We could not do it without you. And we thank the Lord for you.
And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. –Acts 2:44-47
Biltmore Baptist Brings the Love of Jesus to Haiti!!!
June 19, 2010
What an AWESOME week it has been to have the team from Biltmore Baptist with us in Haiti to reach out to the people with the love of Jesus. The team consisted of 14 people, all of which have showed such love and care to the people of Haiti. The group was divided into 3 different teams: The construction team which has been helping repair the home of the pastor that we are working with in the community, the outreach/orphan team which has been doing various outreaches in the morning and then ministering to the group of orphans that we are currently supporting, and the soccer team which has been joining the outreach and construction team in the morning and then have conducted soccer clinics/games in the afternoon with a large group of kids from a school in Marigot that we are partnering with.
Day 1
The team arrived on Monday afternoon. After having to file claims for 8 lost bags, we left the airport and began our 3 hour drive down to Jacmel. I absolutely love having new teams that have never been to Haiti before. Their comments and observations remind me of what my very first visit was like. I too would marvel over seeing pigs in the streets of Port au Prince eating the garbage, or the sight of a person bathing in dirty brown water. But, now after having lived in Haiti, its like I don’t even notice those things anymore because they are just so common.
Anyway, after getting to the mission house in the evening, the team was greeted by our awesome house staff with a meal that knocked their socks off. I had told the team that they would not suffer with regards to lack of good food. I think they finally believed me after eating dinner. They all ranted and raved over the food!
It was so late by that point and the team was so exhausted that I decided to postpone our orientation/devotion time for the morning. After dinner, everybody crashed hard. Well…not exactly. First, the girls got all wigged out because there was a huge cockroach in their room. So, after disposing of that, they found another one. So, after taking care of that one, I heard one of the girls say, “um…Cody…there’s a crab in our room…”. I didn’t believe them at first, but they insisted that they were telling the truth, so I went downstairs to investigate, and sure enough there was a crab about 5 inches long crawling in the corner. So…being a man as well as a missionary as well as a great host, I um….well I uh…kinda…got wigged out and asked one of the ladies to capture it so that we could get it out of the house. hahaha. Francie stepped up to the task and captured the little bugger and then I threw him over the fence. After sweating off a few pounds in the intense heat, the team finally fell asleep with the sound of fans blasting throughout the house.
Day 2
The day began very early for both Fenel and I, as well as our house staff, which consisted of a woman from the states named Sharon, who is kind of like Fenel’s adopted Mom as he spent 3 years living with her family in Ohio many years ago. Anyway, Sharon came down to help specifically with the team and she did an incredible job. So, Fenel was at the house early trying to fix our water pump which just happened to break just before the team was arriving. As he was working on that, I was on the phone with American Airlines trying to track down the lost luggage from yesterday. They told us that the bags had arrived and that we could pick them up at the airport in Port au Prince. So, my schedule for the day was instantly changed as I now had to spend the day driving to Port au Prince…again. Sadly, I had to take a team member with me so that the bags could be claimed. I felt bad having to take a team member since the whole group was so excited to start their week of outreach and ministry.
So, as I headed out to Port au Prince, the team broke up into their groups and headed out. The construction team headed down the street to work on Pastor Jean Franko’s house which sustained lots of damage from the earthquake. He was so happy to have a team come down and spend the week repairing his home. The outreach team headed over to the Sister’s of Charity orphanage to minister to the children. They had an awesome time holding babies and playing with children. They also saw baby Mackenson and prayed over him. They said that he looked very good. Praise the Lord. The report from the soccer team was great as well. Levi gathered the entire group together before starting and shared the gospel of Jesus with them, letting them know that this was most important. Many of the kids said they wanted to pray to receive Christ. Then they did the clinic and it went great. I think he said there were about 75 kids that showed up.
After making the long drive to Port, picking up the bags, and driving straight back, I felt like I wanted to take Robin (the team member that had to go with me and miss all the other outreach) to the places that the team went to earlier and even to some other places so that she could still get to reach out to children that day. So, we first went to the hospital infant room and prayed over a newborn baby who was very sick. Then, we went over to Sister’s of Charity orphanage and she got to see all the babies and little children. We also saw baby Mackenson. He looks great!!! He looks so healthy. I was so happy to see how well he is doing. I held him, kissed him, and prayed over him. I also got him to smile and giggle which made me so happy. It was hard to imagine that this was the same baby that was nothing but skin and bones when we first brought him in. Many thanks also to Hands and Feet orphanage who have helped care for him and visit him often. This is definitely a team effort and we are so blessed to be part of it.
After leaving the orphanage, I brought Robin to see Peterson and his wife. Peterson is the guy we helped get married by providing the funds, rings, clothes, etc. Unfortunately, Peterson was not home, but we did sit with his wife and other family members for a bit and spent some time with them. It was really good.
Lastly, we headed over to Hands and Feet orphanage to say hello to the staff and children there. It was great to see them. They are such cute kids. They call me Ti Kabrit, which means little goat. They are a lot of fun.
We then went back to the mission house for dinner with the team and then followed that with a recap of the day and a time of prayer and devotions. It turned out to be a fantastic day for everybody.
Day 3
This day was definitely the highlight of my time spent in Haiti. First, after the construction team departed, we headed up into the mountains to Kap Wouj, which is my favorite place to go in the mountains. The team was in shock with the steepness of the drive to get there and the level of poverty that they saw along the way. We did an outreach at the school where we are partnering with. There were about 100 or so kids, and they were very happy to see our group. The BBC team taught them a song in english, then told them a bible story. After that, we all went outside and just played like crazy! We played soccer, jump rope, did the limbo, threw a football, etc. Then, we gathered all the kids together and I shared a short message about sharing God’s love with others. We then gave them each a little stuffed animal on our way out.
When we got back to the Mission House, the team started preparing their craft activity for the orphaned children that would be arriving shortly while I took some time to work on my message since I would be preaching later that night.
Having the orphaned children come to our mission house was really a milestone for our ministry. Remember that our original vision for coming to Haiti was to develop a ministry for orphaned children. And now, the Lord has brought us a group of 23 orphaned children that we are starting a ministry to help care for them. This brings great joy to our heart as we are able to bring great joy to their hearts.
The kids all arrived and the team was so excited to see them. It was the first time for us to have children from the community into our home, and it was such a beautiful sight to see these 23 kids come in with anticipation of having a good time. We sang songs about Jesus. We shared the word of God with them. We did a craft activity. We did face painting. We measured their feet so that we can give them shoes the next day. We took a profile of each child so that we can begin getting these kids sponsored. It was an amazing time we had. The kids were so happy and thankful. They all gave us kisses and hugs before they left. It was definitely the highlight for me because I believe that it was the first fruits of many great things that the Lord is going to do now that we have a mission house to bring kids from the community into for discipleship, love, and encouragement. Many thanks go out to the awesome Calvary Chapel Castlerock Colorado team that came down a few months ago to paint the inside of the mission house in anticipation of what we are now experiencing. Again, a great partnership effort in order to grow the Kingdom of God.
After the kids left, we had just a few minutes to shovel down some good food and get ready for church and the fun night that we had planned for the church after service.
So, church was awesome. I love preaching the Word of God, especially in Haiti. I shared from Psalm 62. I talked about the victory that we have in Jesus, that the victorious life is not at all one that is pain and problem free, but rather one that can rejoice in the deepest pains and struggles of life because of our hope in Jesus and the power and love that He has. Just like David said in Psalm 62, “He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress. I will never be shaken”, we too can say the same thing because of our hope in Jesus. It was a good message that the people could relate to, and of course, I can relate to also. It is in the ability of us to be able to rejoice in the midst of such pain that will be a testimony to the world around us that Christ is indeed real and powerful and loving, and this testimony will bring glory and honor to God.
After service, we set up shop to make peanut butter sandwiches to give to everybody as well as juice. Then, we set up the projector and showed some Tom and Jerry cartoons. Everybody had such an amazing time. I am so thankful that the Lord is using us to be able to minister to this church. I really love Jean Franko and the people. They are very special to me.
Day 4
Well, this was my last day in Haiti and I had to get up at 4:00 AM to get to the airport by 7. I flew back to Ft Lauderdale at noon, jumped in my car, and headed north as far as possible to try to get as close to Asheville as I could before having to crash at a hotel. I made it to Savannah, GA.
The rest of the team is staying until Sunday. So, their plan for this day was to go to the school in Marigot where we are partnering with and deliver them food for our feeding program that we have started. Then, the team would have the orphaned children come to the mission house again for some fun and outreach. The team would also give clothes and shoes to each child. It would be a great day again for the team. The following day, they would go around our neighborhood in the morning to spend time with the kids in the area and just get to know them. Then in the afternoon they would go to an after school program in Jacmel and do an outreach with the kids.
Today (Saturday), the team is having a fun day. They will have a short tour of Jacmel in the morning, then in the afternoon they will go to Basin Bleau and swim at the waterfall, and then they will go out to eat at Cap Lanmandou Restaurant for dinner. Then, they will fly home early Sunday morning.
It has been a great blessing to have the Biltmore Baptist team come and serve with our ministry in Haiti. I know they had an awesome time, and it was so great to have them share in the work that we are doing in Haiti. I only hope that they will come back again.
I was very pleased with my trip back to Haiti. While there, Fenel and I spent some time planning and strategizing for the future of the ministry. I will say that I am VERY excited to see how the Lord is blessing the ministry and I am VERY excited for the things that we have planned for the future. I will be sharing more about this soon.
I also will post many pics on the next post, once I figure out how to upload them from my new Mac.
What love can do
May 23, 2010
It has been a week since we came back to North Carolina and a month since Susana was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma. I (Maria) have been through a roller coaster of emotions. Some days are definitely better than others. I can still hear the news being spoken by an unfamiliar person holding a stethoscope in her hand, “Your daughter has cancer”. It became even more real when my precious daughter went from a head full of long brown curly hair to none at all just two weeks later. Today I look at her and although I see no hair, I thank God that I still see Susana.
It has only been a month and I can tell you that it has not been very easy to let go and move on. At least no for me. Although I am in familiar grounds with familiar people and surrounded by incredible beauty I am often drawn back to the fact that my world was rocked and attacked by some ugly words doctors call childhood cancer. I can tell you right now that the journey so far has been hard, painful, uncertain, dark, and looks very much to me like the valley of shadow of death that I never wanted to pass through. Yet, in the midst of this emotional turmoil in which I find myself at times, I am able to stand up higher, walk straighter, and trust Christ more because God has brought you to hold my hand.
Yes, every single one of you who read our posts and keep up with our messages on facebook is a gift and answer prayer to us. You who came to the hospital and mailed packages and sent cards and bought toys and gave gifts and prayed prayers as if you were praying for yourself and were the healing balm we needed. And you still do these things. You are all evidence of God’s unconditional and unfailing love to us. You thought you gave a card or brought a meal, but in reality you were an extension of His love and mercy when my emotional world was crumbling and my faith was lacking and I needed to know He was right there next to me. That’s what love does!
While in Haiti, one day Cody and I were driving down the main road in Jacmel when it occurred to me that somehow I was an answer to someone’s prayers. Whenever we fed someone, whenever we clothed someone, whenever shelter was given or a word of kindness was expressed, I was God’s way of showing love to someone else. Somehow the thought humbled me. I know the many flaws I have and the weaknesses I struggle with and the thought of being “an answered prayer” or “an expression of love” was beyond what I could even understand.
But now I do. I do because I am on the other side. You are all God’s answer to my prayers when I need to see His love the most. Every single one of you is God’s way of loving us and providing comfort, support, mercy, grace, and all the things that I secretly pray for in my own times of despair. Somehow your love brings healing to my heart. And it fuels faith when mine is very little or non-existent.
I wish I could list on this post every single one of you who has held us through this time individually by name, but there are just too many of you. So, please receive this as our way of personally saying thank you to all of you. Your support, love, prayers, and encouragement means so much to us. You have no idea how much you do. I am in awe of God even more because you have chosen to love the way you do. And your love does not go unnoticed in His eyes. You are storing treasures where it matters most. And I can’t wait to see you in Heaven wearing the jewels you earned on behalf of the love you shown to us. We love you. Thank you!
Here are some recent pictures of Susana and Isabela.
Susana.
Isabela.
Sisters.
“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”–Matthew 25:40
Awesome work requires an awesome team!
February 24, 2010
The teams from IsleGo Missions and Calvary Chapel are doing an incredible work this week rebuilding homes in our community. But they are not only rebuilding homes, they are touching lives and in the process God is touching them. Take a look at these pictures.
On the first day, the team heads out to check out the area they will be working at. They bring with them two tents that will serve as temporary homes for the people whose homes will be rebuilt.
The next day they get to work right away. There is no wasting time over here.
The team from Patmos, a discipleship school in the Bahamas led by Pastor Chet Lowe from Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale is working one of the houses.
We hired local workers to assist with the work. In fact, the locals are the ones heading the work. The teams are only assisting in whatever they can.
It is great to see both short team missionaries and local residents work side by side.
We know that in the process, God is getting all the glory.
The tents that GO Ministries provided serve as temporary shelter until their homes are built.
The IsleGo Missions team is led by Dusty Cooper, an awesome man of God whom the Lord has brought to our lives. Everyone from the team is working very hard.
They are rebuilding homes that were damaged by the earthquake from the ground up.
These guys look clean now. No, they are not being lazy. They are just ready to go back to work on day three.
They are taking the time to share and pray before they head out into the community.
And this is why we do it–so that these little ones can have a home.
We truly love the children in our neighborhood and their families.
In investing in children and their families, we are investing in the future of Haiti.
Everyone in Haiti is lovely, including this precious grandma.
Each day, the families and the workers receive food.
They are working hard…
…but they are also building relationships with people in the community.
It takes an Awesome God with an awesome team to bring awesome smiles to the faces of people.
Calvary Chapel team visits Jacmel
January 27, 2010
We are hosting a group of men from different Calvary Chapel churches in the states. It truly has been a blessing to have these guys in our home. I am sure it makes Cody very happy to have some male representation in the house. He is probably thinking that it was about time that I got to experience what he has to go through when he is home alone with females only. LOL!
Here are some pictures of what the team did on night that they arrived.
The guys delivered a tent and mat to a family in our neighborhood.
They helped setup the tent for this family. Their home is actually on the background laying on the ground.
Even though these are temporary homes, it truly blesses the people to have a roof over their heads. They have been sleeping outside for days. The day that the team brought the tent rained a little bit.
Many hands make the load light.
There is nothing like a big smile on a child’s face.
These kidos are ready to go to sleep. They love their new mattress.
Imagine these little ones blesses to have a new tent to sleep in. Yes, one tent can make a difference.
Mike and Brian were having fun with the kids.
Here is the finished product.
And here are our CC friends with our neighbors.
Some many not think that delivering one tent is all that great. Perhaps it may not be as great as feeding 10,000 or even 1,000, but the truth is that one tent matters. This is one family in our very own neighborhood that lost their home. All the money they had saved throughout the years to build their home is forever gone. One tent may not replace that, but the love of Jesus can. And simple little things such as bringing a tent and making a child smile touches both, the heart of the giver and the heart of the receiver.
Thank you Calvary Chapel for coming to our little neighborhood in Lamandou, Jacmel. We really love opening our home to you. You are bright stars for Jesus. –Maria
Another day of giving aid…and lifting up the name of Jesus
January 26, 2010
Ok, this will not be a well written, well polished post like they normally are. Haha. I am very tired and it is getting way too late for me to be up after such a long day.
Normally, we would be in la la land at this time of the night (close to 11PM) but the truth is that there are many still up in our house gabbing away. Oh, did I forget to mention that Hotel Whittaker has expanded their occupancy capacity? We now have 10 Calvary Chapel pastors and leaders living in our house for the week. They kind of just showed up on our doorstep yesterday and asked if it was cool for them to stay with us. I had no idea what to say…I kind of just paused with my jaw hung open. And then I told them “Kay mwen…kay ou” (My house is your house). So, they are all here camped out all over our floors and yards. They are here to help and seek the lord as to how to best get involved to help out here in Haiti. So…it’s cool
Today, we got behind the iron gate of the world food program thanks to our friends at “Hands and Feet Project” who gave us clearance to come in and get some food to give out to the community. We loaded up our 2 vehicles again in the morning with a ton of food. We went back to our packing and distribution center (our driveway) and started sorting food so that we could give out to several different large family groups.
We loaded up the vehicles with the food designated for specific family groups whom we have been providing food for since the quake. We delivered the food to these groups and they were so happy. We also delivered a good size amount to a church down the street from our house that has many displaced people living there. We met the pastor and I asked him to lead us in a prayer of thanksgiving and a song. It was beautiful. They were so happy to get so much food. I would like to return and help them with more than just food, but maybe get a team to help them finish building their church. We could also do a medical clinic there and some programs for the children. The pastor said that he would love for me to come and preach sometime. So, Lord willing, we will return.
We also brought another doctor (one of the guys from the Calvary Chapel group) to one of the rural medical clinics that we have been helping out with supplies and doctors. They put him to work all day long. He will be there all day tomorrow as well performing surgeries for the many people there who are waiting.
All of the food that we loaded up in the morning was all given out before noon. We were like a well oiled machine.
We also spent part of the day looking at homes for our Haitian missionary friend and his family who are living with us since his home crashed. God has put it on our hearts to put some money together to get him into another home. God is providing for my friend as some of the short-term guys from Calvary Chapel here have also told me that the Lord has put it on their hearts to give financially to my friend to help him. God indeed provides for His children who trust in Him. We have no worries.
So, by noon we had given out all the food we had and our warehouse (spare bedroom) was empty again. In the evening, I get a call from Drex at Hands and Feet Project telling me that he has an organization called SCORE that he doesn’t even know sending him 40,000 pounds of rice and beans and he wants to send as much to us as we can possibly handle as well as help him get it out to some missionaries who we know will get it directly to the people. Again, God provides.
So, tomorrow we will rent a truck and spend the majority of our day loading supplies from the planes that bring this in and driving them to some missions that we know and trust to get it to the people, including driving a ton of it to our own mission (aka house). We are also expecting several thousand boxes being sent our way from Kids Against Hunger. We have many rural communities that we will start getting this aid to.
This evening around 9PM, we all gathered outside on our upper terrace and had a sweet time of worship and prayer with all of our house guests…all 15 of them.
Now…I am beat. Mwen ale dormi (I’m going to sleep)
So what are we doing?
January 21, 2010
Here are some pictures of some of the things we have been doing:
These are Mirlande and Fenel. My favorite people from Haiti. The are true lovers of God. I can’t believe how God has blessed us with their friendship. They are staying in our home. Truth is our home is now theirs. We share the same love for the people of Haiti, particularly, the children.
Cody standing in front of a military airplane from Canada. They are bringing resources to Jacmel.
Cody loading boxes of fish. We were blessed to get resources from Hands and Feet, a ministry down the road started by Audio Adrenaline.
There is Fenel bringing those bags of spaghetti to the car.
Waiting for the boat to unload the food at the dock.
I am waiting too.
Our team of hard working unloaders at the dock. Mirlande, Fenel, me, Cody, and Mark Stuart from Hands and Feet. He is the lead singer for Audio Adrenaline.
Unloading begins, but there is something wrong with this picture. Everyone is so close to each other. They all want to help, but there are too many working hands here. LOL!!
Okay, now we have just enough hands.
Whoa! 125 pounds of rice. Those are some strong guys.
Humor and friendliness also kills the stress. These dominican soldiers all wanted their picture taken for the cover of How Can They Hear. LOL!
The people worked until dark. We were all tired. And hungry. And drained. But praise the LORD, now the people will be fed.
The people are eating. Whatever we have we will give them. It is such a blessing.
Relationships are being built.
Little bellies are being filled.
The Gospel of Jesus is being preached.
And lives are added to the Kingdom.
Yes, we are living in our new temporary homes. A team from Calvary Chapel in New Jersey donated their tents to us and we have set up CAMP HAITI on our yard.