Moto Mania.

Today we went further out to a few churches. I drove myself and Elisee rode with Pastor Matey. After the first church, we picked up a guy to take us to the second church, so Elisee rode with me. We drove through a little market and I didn’t hit anyone or anything (I did have a close encounter with a pig though). Overall, I would say I did pretty well navigating the rocky terrain and going up and down hills. After the second church, we drove a little ways and then stopped. Matey said that we need to leave my moto at this random lady’s house because it was dangerous going down the mountain. So we went three deep down a steep and curvy mountain. Let me tell you, the view was gorgeous! If we weren’t riding three deep, I definitely would have tried to take some pictures. Green, rolling hills with a river flowing through them. Li bel anpil (it’s very beautiful)! We got down to the church and were greeted by the sweetest children and family. Upon entering the church, it was evident that they lived inside of it. They quite literally lived in the Lord’s house. It also appeared that they lived off the land. As we were waiting for the pastor to arrive, they were picking mangos, shelling peanuts, and had some kind of bean drying in the sun. While we were sitting out in the shade waiting, the sweet boy climbed into what I was told was an orange tree, but it looked more like a like tree to me, that is if limes even grow on trees. Anyways, next thing you know, fruit is falling from the tree and the boy is just up there singing and swinging around on the limbs and branches. I’m going to take a wild guess and say he has done this before. After our interview with the pastor, we headed back up the mountain and stopped to get my moto. I paid the lady a little bit of money and we were back on our way. We made it back to Jephthe’s with no problems or accidents. 

I have enjoyed these past couple days so much and really feel like the work I am doing will serve a great purpose. As I meet all these pastors and see their churches, I can’t help but think how great their reward will be in heaven. I also can’t help but think about how blessed we are back home. Our churches have walls, a roof, seating, electric, musical instruments, microphones, A/C and heating, etc... I wonder how the answers would compare if I asked the same questions back home, like, “What’s your vision for this church?” and, “What are your needs as a church?” 

I’m thankful that God has blessed us abundantly. I’m grateful that he has. My prayer is quickly becoming that I do not take it all for granted. That I am a good steward of the blessings bestowed upon me. I pray that God continues to soften my heart for these people and their churches. That I continue to learn what dedication and faithfulness to Christ looks like. That I continue to learn that the church is more than just a building. Would I go to church if I didn’t have a seat, a comfortable climate, and a good worship band? Would I faithfully devote my life to Christ if I had next to nothing? 

These are some of the thoughts and questions that are rattling around in my head as I am rattling around on a moto. I hope that my thoughts and my questions can help you examine your own life and relationship with Christ. 

I ask that you continue to pray for health and safety as I spend my time down here. Also, I ask that you pray for Elisee and the rest of the orphans in Cap as they mourn the loss of their brother, Wilguens. For those who don’t know, Wilguens succumbed to his battle with cancer on Sunday night. He was only 16 years old. He was one of the boys our youth group supported for quite some time. We will be going to Cap this weekend to attend his wake and funeral. Finally, I ask that you would pray that God would continue to teach me, mold me, challenge me, and help me to grow and mature in my faith and relationship with him. 

My Inability.

Last week I shared about how all people, no matter their background, are commanded by Jesus Christ to go and make disciples. I also hinted a little bit at my own doubts in preparing for this ten week trip to Haiti. This week, I want to be even more vulnerable with you and share more about those doubts and insecurities that I have been experiencing. However, despite these doubts and insecurities, I know that I am serving a God who is bigger, stronger, and able to take my fears and turn them into opportunities to bring glory to himself.

“God actually delights in exalting our inability. He intentionally puts his people in situations where they come face to face with their need for him. In the process he powerfully demonstrates his ability to provide everything his people need in ways they could never have mustered up or imagined. And in the end, he makes much of his own name.”

― David Platt

How refreshing it is to be reminded that our God is able to turn all of our inabilities into opportunities. Last week, I shared briefly about how l find myself doubting my abilities and adequacy to share the Gospel and make disciples because I am not smart enough, educated enough or old enough. At the root of all those doubts, though, is that I don’t think I’m good enough. I’m a sinner. I make mistakes. I mess up. I make bad choices. I have a not-so-spotless past. I get nervous in front of people. I’m awkward. I’m not the best speaker. I don’t have a Bible degree or an education from a Christian school. So why, God, would you choose to send me to Haiti on this trip? Why not someone else who is better qualified? “God actually delights in exalting our inability.” ...but. “He intentionally puts his people in situations where they come face to face with their need for him.” ...oh. Okay, God.

This quote was a breath of fresh air. I am not able but that’s okay. God is able. In fact, He is more than able. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us…” He can do far more than I can even imagine. I heard a quote other day that went like this, “God doesn’t call the qualified, God qualifies the called.” I may not be qualified, but I am called. I may not be able, but God is. The amount of peace and joy that I find in knowing that God is able, despite how I feel, despite if I think I am qualified or not. The more that I rest in the fact that I can rely on God to meet my needs and accomplish his work through me, the more excited I become. I get excited thinking about all the ways that God can be glorified this summer, all the ways that God can do things through me that I never thought possible, all the ways that God can use someone like me to bring himself glory. Praise God because he is able!

This is exciting as well because I can boast in nothing other than Jesus Christ and his divine power. A passage that sums up how I feel is found in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31. It says, “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’”

As if that passage was not enough, I leave you with this final verse that reassures me of the ability of God to turn my inability into opportunity, 1 Thessalonians 5:24, “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” Rest assured brothers and sisters, if you are feeling called by God to go do something for Him, but you feel like you aren’t capable, just remember that He, the Lord, is faithful to provide and see you through.

Thank you for taking the time to read my rambling. I appreciate all of your prayers and kind words as I prepare for my trip this summer. If you feel led to give financially, you can click here and it will take you to my GoFundMe page. Thank you and may God bless you!

Personal Notes.

9/1/2016

Reading: Acts 17 & 18

Acts 18: 9 & 10 – “One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.”

Don’t be discouraged, don’t stay silent, God is always working and we are in HIS hands. To live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).

Do I really live my life this way? Do I really see dying as gain? Do I live my life as if it is Christ’s? Do I do all things to and for HIS glory? Do I openly share the Gospel? Is evangelism my top priority? Do I actively try to bring the Good News into every conversation and relationship? Do I devote myself to prayer? Do I spend time every day in the Word? Do I put my time with Jesus before everything else? Do I even make time for Him? What am I pursuing? How do my actions, my thoughts, my life reflect my relationship with Christ? What keeps me from following Him wholeheartedly? What am I scared of? Why do I sit silent? Why do I not share this life-changing and life-saving news? Am I afraid of failure? Is it failure if I they don’t accept it or reject it? Or is it failure if I don’t even share it? Am I afraid of what it may cost? Am I afraid what they may think of me? Am I afraid of what God may call me into? Am I afraid of what the Holy Spirit may convict me of? Am I too in love with my sins to give them up? Am I too in love with being comfortable and content with my life as it is, rather than letting it go to experience all that God has for me?

These are the questions that need answered. These are the questions that I really need to be honest with myself about. These are the questions, that no matter how much they cut to my core, no matter how uncomfortable they make me feel, no matter how much they convict me and challenge me to change, to give up my life for the sake of Christ, I need to answer.

Lord, Jesus, I need you now. I need your strength. I need your patience. I need your guidance. I need your boldness. I need your humility. I need your forgiveness. I need your conviction. I need your discipline. I need your persistence and perseverance. Lord, I need you now more than ever. Please come and help me be honest with myself. Help me to be real with myself. What is this life about? It’s not about me. It’s about you. It’s all about You. Come, Lord Jesus and wreck my life with the truth of Your Word and bring me out of this self-satisfying life, into a life that is dedicated and devoted to growing, learning, and sharing about You, the one and only thing that really matters.

Judge Not.

5/12/2016

In the book of John, in one of the last public messages that Jesus’ gives to the people, he says this, “‘If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.’” Now, let’s keep in mind that Jesus is fully God, but fully human as well, meaning that while on earth, he faced the temptations of the flesh as well, just like you and me, but  he did not sin, he did not judge these people. How easy is it for us, as Christians, to see the actions of someone and instinctively judge that person? We are so quick to judge others from what we hear, see or even just assume about someone. In today’s society, there are so many lifestyle choices that I do not agree with, nor support. But these words have really challenged me to examine myself and how I think about and treat those who live a lifestyle of sin. As Christians, we are to strive to be Christ-like; treating others as Christ would, walking in step with the Spirit. If we are truly trying to do this, it should change the way we look at other people. If Jesus, while here on earth and battling the flesh just as much as you and me, did not judge these people, then why do we? Why are we so quick to condemn them and judge them? I know that I am guilty of this as well, but if we really want to be like Christ and be a light to this dark world, then we should really take these words to heart, “…I do not judge that person.” Jesus did not judge people while here on earth. That was not his mission, and if it was not his mission, then it surely cannot be ours. We are to be children of the light, bringing truth, hope and love to the world, not judgmental attitudes. I know that we are all human, and because of that, we sin. But I want to challenge you, as reading these words of Jesus have challenged me, to not be so quick to judge others. Instead, let’s really try to follow Jesus’ example and treat those people with love and respect, revealing to them the truth of the gospel and the message of salvation by the way we speak to them, treat them, and love them. Our mission is not to judge the world, but to be children of the light, sharing the message of salvation that is for ALL people.