The gospel is awesome! No matter what country you set foot in, it is the most important truth that can be shared and received. As Mark exclaimed in his prayer tonight at church service, "Thank you, Jesus, that you are the one true hope of the world!"
John the Baptist told his followers when he first saw Jesus: "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Jesus, we want to behold you every day and serve you in response. We hope that you were honored today . . .
Today, we beheld the Lamb and experienced the gospel in all the details. It's only by God's grace that we can live and move and act as his children and serve Him. The gospel binds us together as family in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are the sons and daughters of the King, and that means we are brothers and sisters with members of SDLG. (By the way, we are officially family now that Matt drives on Haiti roads and Sara has a Haitian hairdo!)
Sharon and the crew experienced sisterhood on a whole new level today as she taught a group of Haitian women how to sew. (In case you hadn't heard already, we brought quilts made by LCF women for the kids at SDLG. The LCF ladies displayed the quilts during women's ministry on Monday, and the SDLG ladies asked if they could learn how to make them!) Ten women from SDLG showed up to learn! They were so overjoyed to learn a new skill, and they already plan to serve a family that is in need by making a quilt for them! In Sharon's own words, "It couldn't have gone any better!"
Mark, Matt and Opelco finished the electrical wiring for 4 of the 5 rooms on the lower level of the school. Tomorrow they should finish as much as we can do with the wire that we have! It truly is a joy to hear all over campus the echo's of Matt's Creole accent put on English words ("water" is "wat-air"), Opelco's instructions in Creole, and Mark's endearing laughter! They are working really hard and enjoying one another's company!
(Davidson, Matt, Opelco, Mark, Joe)
Bev and I got four quality hours with Moise today to talk about some important matters. We are continuing to form a deeper bond and partnership with our dear brother and with SDLG. What a privilege to spend such quality face-to-face time! God continues to be sovereign over all the details of our trip (why would we expect anything else?).
The other six enjoyed acting out the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) for the children. Mark relished his role as the man going down to Jericho, especially when James and Emerson (two of the boys) got to beat him up, acting as the robbers in the story. Joe got to be the test dummy as we taught the kids about hygiene (brushing teeth, washing hands, and using the toilet). I think Joe himself learned some lessons that he can take back home. Football and parachute were also a hit!
At church tonight, I had the privilege to preach again. We walked through Romans and talked about the common identity and common mission we have with SDLG through the gospel. I focused on Romans 12:1-2 and urged all of us to offer our lives in view of God's great mercies in the gospel. If you haven't read Romans for a while (or even if you have!), go read it with a heart of gratitude and it will basically be the same as you being there tonight, for the preaching at least . . . for the other elements, you just had to be there, but I'll try to explain . . .
The body of SDLG sang a song of blessing over us at the end of the service. As Moise continued to sing, Joe Knittig from Global Orphan Project (what a joy to see him today and worship together . . . he is sleeping here with us tonight) prayed over us and LCF. Also, the rest of the Haitian believers in the sanctuary prayed simultaneously, a beautiful chorus of Creole cries to our King. We were very humbled. Mark offered a powerful closing prayer for the service, and Matt offered a beautiful benediction (they really were powerful and beautiful . . . I had goosebumps!). What an honor to worship cross-culturally with partners in the gospel.
Man, so many other details the Lord worked out today: Another girl, Nadine, came to live at the children's home. Sara got to sit down with Dr. Archer to go over our health assessments with the kids. It was Samuel's birthday and we sang to him. Matt, Mark, Joe and Opelco made another trip to get wire (on Monday it took 4 hours and today it took less than an hour, and the store was cheaper!). God is so good!
Drew & the Team
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