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Finished

Finished but Not Really

I eeked out the last of my shampoo this morning. This was after squeezing every last ounce of soap from the bath gel as well. I put on the last of my clean clothes, and have only 50 cents worth of minutes left on my Haitian cell phone. That is more money than I have in American dollars though, so I think I am blessed. I think my work here for summer 2012 is finished, but I know it isn't. Despite all the miles on foot, all the hugs, all the lesson preparations, all the sweat and all the fumbled Creole words, I know that was only a part of the important work done here this summer. The most important work can still, and should be, continued from my home: prayer. It was only through prayer that anything we did was accomplished well. It was only through prayer that we overcame the darkness, and withstood the trials. It was only through prayer that people's hearts were touched. Because we are only the vessel, and the real worker is the Holy Spirit. So please join me in praying that the good work that has begun here to the glory of God will continue, well past the last drop of toothpaste, the last pair of clean underwear, and the final goodbye tears.

Winding down?

It has been a whirlwind the last two days! Saying goodbye, again, is never easy. But first, some news from yesterday. We started the day at the church in Faugasse where we trained a group of young adults to be leaders for their upcoming VBS. They were glad to use some of the games and songs and material from the VBS that we did. It was super collaboration to be able to receive instructions from the Haitians last week and then to help them this week. I love this model... Sharing information and materials in order to advance kingdom work. From there we walked through the woods (a lovely path I have never been on before) to a music school. There were lots of kids there (over 100) learning to play instruments in private, semi private and band style classrooms. I had the opportunity to play a soprano sax that was brand new from UNICEF. I have no idea what key it is, but for sure it wasn't in the B flat key that I was reading the music in! Haha. Several of the kids from around the area were there and greeted me warmly. I enjoyed playing instruments with them! 

After that, we went to a new location on a mountain top to hold another Bible lesson. Several kids were already there waiting for us. This group was a little more unruly than previous groups, but candy is a universal tamer! We talked about God as the creator of all things. It was a beautiful spot, especially as the sun began to set. Afterwards, I walked over the mountain path following my new friend James (a 15 year old boy with the sweetest spirit I've ever seen... Well, maybe besides Tim). We went to visit and say goodbye to two of the families that I am close to. It was a bit tough managing the terrain in the dark, as well as sidestepping the poop piles... But we did just fine. 

One of the other reasons for the visit was to talk with the school committee about a young orphan who would like to enroll in our school. Between last nights conversations, and today's ( which, without going into tremendous detail, we're filled with moments too special to call coincidental), I believe the girl will be taken care of. Thank you God.

Today we visited with another couple who recently accepted Jesus. They will be getting married on our next visit! Two weddings in a year! How special! We did some measuring for wedding clothes and bands... I think when I come again I need to bring a measuring tape! My notes look like this: bottom of knees touch top of my knees... Top of my head to bottom of his chin, etc! Afterwards, we looked at a lovely piece of land on a hillside, facing the mountains, with plenty of level ground below for playing fields. Who knows what the Lord might have planned.

As we waited for a special ride to Port Salut, I got to hear about more Holy Spirit work. A young man who has always been closed to the gospel wanted to talk about it this morning. He had never heard of the good news, and was captivated! Pray for the Spirit to continue working in his life. God is setting this place on fire!

Tonight I missed the Bible lesson with the teenagers. Actually, I guess a bunch of kids showed up, not just teens. They had a wonderful time and heard a story of David, with a cliffhanging ending that shall only be revealed next week. I heard it was one of the best meetings yet. I'm so sad to have missed it. But, I was preparing for another visit that we had tonight with an older man. He knows Jesus, knows He cares for him and looks out for him, but won't change his deceptive ways because he thinks it is the only way he can support his family. We prayed the Spirit would move in his heart, and I believe He did. I look forward to hearing more about his journey as I return again.  He gave me a gift of lovely avocados as we left. Yum!

off to bed now to prepare for the final journey home tomorrow. We leave early and get back around midnight. Pray for uneventful travels and a good night sleep, and joy for all the Lord allowed us to be a part of this past month.

The Plastic Container

All we had to do was open the gate to the school yard and they came. We didn't even have to build anything!

Yesterday morning two of us went to the school to have a Bible study. We planned (read this as Wilson planned and I agreed) a few small simple games, songs, a lesson with review, a verse and questions to go along with the theme of Who God Is. More than 50 kids showed up, and you can't believe how wonderful it was. Their ages were as mixed as their levels of faith in God. Every child was engaged, the 2 hours flew by, and we all went away full. Today we plan to do the same thing on the topic of sin. Tomorrow, or maybe even today, we will follow that up with a lesson on being a new creation in Christ.

After one of the teenagers fixed my hair, she and I had a good chat about life's choices, and Gods redeeming love. My prayer for her is that she accepts the forgiveness offered, and truly experiences it in her heart. then she will have joy and not feel condemnation.

Later in the day, we walked up to Bambou to present a similar program right among the houses. We had only been there a short while when it started to rain. The sprinkles turned into a downpour. Not so bad for the girls who were close to the houses, but the guys had gone a little ways away to play soccer. They came running back after trying to play in the rain, completely drenched. We all had a good laugh, and then had a captive audience for the lessons. Here we talked about being afraid vs having faith and not being afraid. Wilson used the story of Jesus walking on the water. There were over 20 kids that joined us here. My favorite was a little tyke that looked to be about 3 years old (which means he was probably 4 or 5). In the middle of the lesson he walked away, his little bum cheeks peeking out under the long shirt he was wearing. He came back a few minutes later carrying a large plastic jug, like a gas container, that was bigger than he was. I couldn't believe this little guy was going to the well to get water with that huge thing. How would he carry it full of water? Well, he had another plan! He plunked it on the ground and then sat on it! I laughed out loud. There was such a beautiful dichotomy between this half dressed, shoeless, muddy faced and legged boy who went home to get a bucket to sit on rather than sit on the grass, I just had to smile. I love this place!