I thought of her a lot today. Everywhere I looked there was a pole going in somewhere. At one point in the afternoon, it was so hot and I was so tired other people started looking like poles. We’ve essentially formed three teams: 1 team doing the advance work: Digging holes (and dropping and cementing some posts as well). The second team spent the entire day dropping posts (got another 12 finished), while the third team is up on the scaffolding (yes Tyson, it’s real now! Not just 2x4s propped against the wall!) dropping the panels. We finished 17 full panels—at 5ft each, a now completed 135ft of wall, and it looks great.

For those of you having a hard time picturing how the wall works, or what all is involved:

Step 1: Hand dig a hole mimimum 3ft deep, roughly 2ft wide.
Step 2: Drop premade concrete pillar into said hole (it takes at least 4 grown men to move one of these pillars. 5 if I’m one of the men. These things are heavy.)
Step 3: Drop large rocks into said hole to brace and help level pillar (either hunt for rocks and carry them over, or hope the skid steer blesses you with a well timed load of rocks.)
Step 4: Make sure pillar is level, dump premade (by other team members) concrete into hole from pile left by the ever-gracious skid steer (or “bobcat” for the less mechanically inclined). Really make sure it is level.
Step 5: R Place 2×4 spacers in between the newly planted pillar (in the grooves—these grooves come in handy down the road) and the one on the end from the previous day (after the first one, they can go to each other), then ratchet-strap them together so that the pillars stay the right distance apart and unmoved while they set. Really really make sure it is level.
Step 6: Repeat 5ft down the line.

Once out of pillars, let stand and cool for 24 hours. “Sauce” should thicken, and voila! Pillars! But you are not done 

Step 7: Stack wall panels in stacks of 9(ish), 3 stacks wide for skid steer to pick up and bring (see why we love the skid steer so much?)
Step 8: Set up scaffolding by now unstrapped and firmly cured pillars. 2 dudes up on scaffolding, 2 dudes passing panels up the scaffolding.
Step 9: 5ft x 1ft Panel goes up (and it’s solid concrete) on scaffold, then slides down from top in the two grooves on the sides of the pillars on either side. 2 more dudes grab it from the scaffold dudes on the other side (while the second 2 dudes collect the next panel) and drop it to the ground (confused yet?) Level that first panel off at the bottom.
Step 10: Repeat 9-10 more times depending on height of wall in that spot.

Annnnnd, presto!

You have now completed one wall panel. 5ft. Rinse and repeat as necessary.

By the end of Saturday, the goal is to have, at minimum, another 100ft done there, and an additional 135ft (17 sections) done on the “problem” piece.

Which brings us to the problem piece: We are here on rush assignment to finish this wall as quickly as possible because of some issues Marc and Haiti Arise have been having with the placement of the wall (even though it is on their property). That hasn’t totally gone away. Marc was meeting with some people this evening, but it is pressing to get a specific piece done as much as possible. A lot harder to make a stink about a wall already in place than to meddle with markings and stringline! Pray for Marc as he meet with the families, and that we would be able to make good progress over the next few days to help them get past the hurdle that continues to be the burr in the shoe, so to speak.

Beyond that, we’re exhausted, sore, but having fun and enjoying working together. Bedtime is a welcome end to the day! Which is where I’m off to now…

Thanks to everyone who prayed for us while we we’re gone.  On a personal note, thanks for praying and caring for Melissa.  She felt very loved, and, thank the Lord, Baby is still where it should be.

It was a wonderful week, in all kinds of ways, and each person took home something different.  We’re looking forward to being able to to share with Cornerstone (tentatively the evening of March 20th), and anyone from out of town has been following along, feel free to ask away!  We’d be happy to share.

I’m going back to bed now…

I won’t even pretend to have a complete grasp on Deuteronomy.  Exploring the blessings and curses found within God’s discussion with the people of Israel make for some fascinating research and Bible study.  But in my own reading this week a passage from Deuteronomy 28.  In the chapter, God is outline the blessings of obedience if Israel follow Him, and then the judgment if they don’t.  What stuck out to me was verses 46-48:

⁴⁶ They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. ⁴⁷ Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, ⁴⁸ therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the LORD sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.

We absolutely live in a time and culture of prosperity.  And so often, that preoccupies us from being able to serve the Lord joyfully and gladly.

As I spent some time looking up joy in Scripture these past few days, working out my own thoughts, I think what we really need to take away from church services like the ones we were privilege to be a part of is what it means to be joyful in our worship.  And this, we absolutely have to bring home with us and live out at home if we want to effect transformation.

Psalm 100 is as good a place as any to start:

¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
² Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Paul calls us to rejoice.  Luke tells us to be joyful of the good news of Salvation.  James says to have joy in the midst of suffering.  Over and over throughout scripture this theme of joy surfaces.  Even worship itself is joyful (James 5:13; Acts 16:25; Hebrews 13:15; 2 Corinthians 9:7; Luke 1:46-47; John 16:22).  Paul’s writings talk about having joy, or being joyful over and over.  In 1 Thessalonians, Paul puts it bluntly enough to say that it is God’s will for us. This is not just circumstantial.  That is the lesson to be learned from watching people worship in places like little Grand Goave, Haiti.

Nehemiah sums it up:

…for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (8:10b)

It all comes back to the big picture we’ve been working through back at Cornerstone:

1 John 3:17 : “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”

There are needs here.  Needs we have the resources to do something about.  Yes, we can enjoy the blessing that God has given us, but we absoloutely must not miss the chance to care for the need as well. If we as a church were challenged in this last year to give, we should be challenged all the more.  They bring the last of their finances to give while going to home to nothing. We bring a drop in the bucket while going home to mansions and pantries stocked full. They worship with joy, while we find something to complain about, or nitpick over, or be bothered because there’s wasn’t the program we wanted.

We need Haiti.  Maybe even more than Haiti needs us.

But mostly, we need to rediscover what it means to full of the Joy of the Lord.

yep.

BRIGHT red.  Just cause Lukas and I wanted to trying playing catch with a mango from the roof to the field.  sigh.

I, for one, am ready to go.  Time to go have a baby!  At the same time, it is still sad to leave a place you are just starting to get a feel for.  I am more than excited about the opportunity for long term relationship with Haiti Arise, not only as a church but as a student ministry as well.  Moms and Dads, this is our “home” for the foreseeable future.  We want to continue to build relationships, and the bond between ministries.  We’ll be looking to open things to high school students again in February break of 2013.

As we leave this morning, I wanted to expand a bit on my ramblings the other day about worship in churches outside our own.  I’ll break this up over two posts over the course of the day, so check back later around noon-ish for the second half.

Like I said in Sunday’s Post, what it boils down to for me, is an understanding of the Joy of the Lord.  Perhaps the best thing do would be to have Lorn follow up with some thoughts on this as well, but for the time being, let’s see how far down the rabbit trail I can get.

The main idea behind my thought from earlier in the week was this:

I think maybe what we should be saying, rather than “church should be like that” in the sense of all the movement and noise, is rather, “the church should always have a joy in the Lord like that.”

It is always easy when abroad (sometimes even the next town, but more noticeable in different countries) to find thing is churches we visit that we see as being “better” or in some way, more honest or truthful in the hearts and attitudes of the people.  The challenge, in the midst of that, is to actually be a catalyst for change when we return home.  I have no patience for those who want to gallivant around happily and find things to complain about, only to come home and be completely disconnected from effecting any change, even in their own lives, and in their own approach to worship, simply because it wasn’t the way it was.

If, however, we are open to seeing areas we need to grow or be challenged in, and then to be part of the change process, and allow our own hearts to be changed along the way… then we’re talking!

The way we express ourselves is going to be different from one culture to the next, and to suggest that each one should be the same as the next is actually counter-productive.  God created us each differently and unique because each of those small nuances can bring honor and blessing to Him.  In that sense I don’t think the comparison game is fair, or appropriate.  The cultural context of Haiti is going to be different from the cultural context of rural China, which will be different from that of Ghana, Mongolia, Turkey, and Northern Vietnam.  While in each context you may find a deep understanding of the joy of the Lord in all circumstances, and–as Shaquille put it–a people who “have nothing, and yet have everything”, they will not all worship in the same exact manner.

And that’s fantastic!  So from that, we shouldn’t feel as though we have to mimic the same behaviours back home in Saskatoon.  If we want to dance, we should feel the freedom to dance, and having the courage the shuffle the feet from side to side from time to time is absolutely something we can grow in.  There are times that I feel like bouncing a little more than I actually do.

But what we should share with all our brothers and sisters in Christ around the globe is a deep understanding of what it means to find our sustenance, our hope, our faith, our life, and our daily understanding in the person of Jesus Christ.  And that shouldn’t be something we mimic, but something we commit to discovering for ourselves.  In this, our affluent North American culture can work against us.  But we have to commit to battling against that independence and apathy, and recognizing that we are in desperate need of God, and that we find our everything–tou bagay–in Him and Him alone.

(To be continued… check back around noon.)

MARK

It wouldn’t be the complete experience without, you guessed it, a tremor.  Around 3am this morning, a small tremor woke some of us up and reminded us of one of the reasons why we are here.  It was a small one so there was no damage that we know about.  It did make for some great conversation around the breakfast table though.

Another concrete pour is scheduled for today (footings for the Technical School), and the morning has been occupied with preparation work for the crews on the compound.  It has been a slower morning for most of our team, providing some time to reflect on the past week and to allow our bodies and minds to wind down.  One of the pressing issues has been “are the clothes we wore for the last concrete pour,really fit to give away?”  The conclusion has been “yes”, but not without some significant soap and water first.  Brad has finally wrapped up his projects with the completion of a cart to be used for acetylene and oxygen bottles…much better than being strapped to a tree which was their previous home.  The girls also had their last recess at the school this morning; I am not sure who will be more sad…the girls or the kids.  After a week of recesses, some great bonds have developed.

This afternoons schedule includes some R&R at the beach, cleanup and wash down of the areas we have been using, and church service at 5.  After that it’s final pack up and preparations to say farewell.  With an early departure in the morning, we will have to make sure we are ready to go tonight.  Stephen WILL NOT allow us to be late tomorrow morning.

A few final notes : we have had a tremendous time at Haiti Arise working on projects, building relationships, passing along the blessings that were sent along with us and also receiving many blessings, in many different forms, from our hosts and members of the community. The Haiti Arise leadership and long term volunteers have provided leadership and have been great role models to us.  I also want to commend Stephen for leading our team this week and keeping us moving along as a well oiled machine. Pray for us as we hop our way through the US and back to Canada.  See you all again soon!

Glad that’s settled.

Laying in bed last night wide awake and unable to sleep when we we’re treated to an aftershock.  A decent shake–enough to wake about half our group, who, for the most part, all thought they were dreaming, since it only lasted about 5 seconds, before settling to a hum-like vibration for about a minute.  Still, enough to shake some windows, scare the cat, and give a deep rumble for a few minutes.  Kind of a weird feeling to feel it in your gut as you’re laying there.  I remember the odd little tremor growing up in BC but this, even tiny as it was, had a shade of the raw force and power exerted when plates shift.  I laid in bed smiling, and praying that God would comfort those for whom, I am sure, it was more frightening than exciting.  I can’t imagine what must go through the mind of Haitians–especially those without a firm grasp on cause and development of quakes–when it rumbles away like that, especially in the dead of night.

As we speed headfirst towards the end here, I would be remiss not to mention how grateful I have been to have Brad with me on this trip.  I have already asked him to come with me again in two years when we bring the next crew of students.  He has been a constant servant, to me and to Haiti Arise, a fantastic sounding board and I value his insight and wisdom greatly.  Cheryl, Lisa and Loretta have been fantastic with our girls, and the work ethic, relationship and leadership that Mark and James have shown has been fantastic and genuine in their care of students.  Jon has been a wealth of information as a grizzled veteran.  Mitchell, I think, is a cyborg.  He just doesn’t quit, and has inspired us to keep going as well.  He has left a lasting impact with the people here, and Haiti has left a mark on him as well.  Michelle and Alyssa have been a joy to watch as mother and daughter both have stepped so wildly out of their comfort zones to embrace all that God has for them here.

I have been so proud of “my” kids.

Laura has worked tirelessly in ways she probably never imagined, and has been a huge help with her french.  She’s been a hit, and has been completely selfless all week, whether she realizes it or not.

Tyson has shown his Sawatzkian work ethic, and has kept us all entertained.  He was constantly working, and his example helped set the pace for his peers.

Lindsay has been absolutely fantastic with the kids, and to watch her pray has been a gift.  She had led confidently, and always helps.  When she speaks, one would be wise to listen.

Hannah has a gentleness about her that blesses everyone.  And she’s been fantastic in the mornings too, which, for her and I, is quite an accomplishment in and of itself.

Bethany is a wise, wise young woman of God.  I loved hearing her lead devotions, and her intensity of thought, and purity of heart bless and rub off on everyone.

Shaquille’s take no prisoners attitude has been fantastic.  She attacks whatever she is doing with energy and passion, and her laughter has lifted many tired spirits.  It was especially fun to see her grasp what it means to “have nothing, and yet have Everything.”

Lukas has been a Man’s Man.  More than that, he’s been a Godly man.  He has worked hard and long, and yet I could not be more proud of hearing him pray a blessing over each young boy at the end of Kids Camp.

We are running around cleaning and packing this morning amidst finishing up some work projects, and a last pour (and we WILL be packed.  Everyone has been informed that not leaving on time in the morning is not an option.  I have a wife to get to.), and I have been reflecting on the  week that was.  My hope is that each one carry a piece of Haiti with them in their hearts.  That the prospect of return excites them.  That they go home with the memory of what it means to worship joyfully planted deep in their souls.  I hope too, that for those of you back home you have gotten just a glimpse of how the week has been for us, and that it has, perhaps in a small way, challenged you to look for ways to live outside yourself.  Maybe it’s Hands On Ministries in Saskatoon.  Maybe it’s changing the way you approach church on a Sunday morning.  Maybe it’s coming with us next time to Haiti, or getting involved in the lives of these incredible students at Youth.  Maybe it’s sponsoring one of the students in the school through the education fund of Haiti Arise.  The lady that Brad mentioned in his story yesterday has taken in two children who are now orphans due to the cholera outbreak, and can barely get by).  Or helping to finance the Children’s Village.  It could be as simple as committing Scripture to your heart they way the children up at Tapion do, and committing to live it out in your day to day life.

Regardless, my prayer for those on this trip is that we not allow ourselves to get swallowed up by old habits and busy lives the moment we get home.  Sure, it will be different.  And routine and life will return, but even still, we can chose to remember and celebrate, and live in the Truth that God has made plain to us here.

And that–more than houses, or clinics, or wall–is the big picture of why we come.  That we would be transformed into the likeness of our Lord.

One last guest blog tonight from Mark Dick, then an early morning  post before the long bus ride to the airport…

Here’s your guest bloggers for the night…

BRAD

Hello this is Brad coming at you from Grand Goave, Haiti. This morning the day started around 7.  Me and Mark were downstairs before anyone else so we wandered out onto the porch to wait for breakfast.  We just stood there taking in the view feeling the warmth of the day mixing with the coolness of the night.  It was the best feeling.  The menu for breakfast was porridge and biscuits with fresh squeezed grape fruit juice.

After breakfast we all went out to do the work assigned to us.  Mark stepped into his bobcat to start hauling supplies out to the wall for Jon, James, and Lukas.  The wall building did not go well today due to the fact of more boundary disputes the boys ended up coming home after only putting up seven posts.  Beth, Laura,Tyson, Mitchell, and Shaquille were leveling off the floors in the medical center, getting them ready to pour the floors when the next group gets here.  Loretta and Lisa spent the day cleaning in the main house and one of the tool cribs.  Cheryl and Hannah first cleaned the tool shed, ran errands for me then ended up the day piling the concrete slabs (that fit into the wall).  Michelle and Alyssa started to organize the medical rooms for the clinic that is happening in a week and they also ended up the day stacking slabs.

I on the other hand was in my usual spot.  I have set up a welding table under a huge mango tree in the middle of the yard it is positioned just right so I get shade all day long.  It took me awhile to get it just right.  My job has been to make forms to increase their pole production. When I got here they had two forms now they have six so now they can produce as many poles as they can stand up in a day. Starting at four we went in two groups to do a community walk.  These walks are meant to bless people with gifts such as food and health kits and clothes or shoes. We also ask to pray for the families, which is readily accepted.  This one family, when asked if they wanted us to pray for them said yes and proceeded to kneel down in a circle as we surrounded them laying our hands on them and praying for them.  This felt like a special moment in our walk today.

Things are starting to wrap up here with lots of talk about packing up, cleaning, and coming home. One last story that I would like to relate is about a boy named Frans. This boy spent a lot of time with me last time I was here after the earthquake.  I had been looking for him since I got here and not been able to find him.  No one I talked to seemed to know where he was and I thought I would never see him again.  Then on Sunday morning I was looking ahead two rows and straight in front of me a little boy turned around and it was Frans. He stared at me awhile, then he started to smile and he said “Blad!“.  Even in thirty degree heat that warmed my heart.  As the service continued you could watch him slowly changing seats getting closer and closer to me, when finally he was close enough he leaned over and whispered in my ear “soccer”.  Which means he wanted to play. Well that is it from me.  See you when we get home.

LISA

Our second last day in Haiti. It’s filled with sadness and happiness all at the same time. Sad to leave this beautiful country and the joyful faces – and happy to go home to hugs and kisses of family. Today was an “easy” day for me and Loretta. We spent the day inside cleaning and organizing. Nothing too physically taxing. Last week we were sweating it out moving concrete slabs and shoveling the trenches of the foundation for the technical building.

The best part of the day started at 4 p.m. The adult ladies of our group met in the church for the ladies’ Bible study. Loretta, Cheryl, and Michelle shared their testimonies as well as two of the Haitian women. It was so very encouraging to hear these testimonies. We always think we’re so different from the Haitians, and yet we are so much alike. They have the same concerns we do – we pray that our children and families will grow in Christ. It was a very special time to me to join with these women in sharing and prayer.

Now, everyone is starting to pack and getting ready to go home. Everyone is excited to go home, but I can sense a bit of apprehension in the group. How will people react to our stories? How will we react to life back in Canada with plenty of food and money? God has worked in me in so many ways and I have been humbled so many times by my experience here. God bless you all!

ouch.

Now, in my defense, I am not the first to seek help from Johnson & Johnson:  Lukas and Tyson needed to be taped up after getting cuts from the buckets while pouring concrete in order to keep working, and I cowboyed-up and pushed through the pain of my first scratch.

But this–this was different.  For those of you who have never worked with concrete, what’s important to know is that concrete left on the skin can cause a burn, similar to a chemical burn.  What I didn’t know, is that at some point during the pour, a nice little chunk of juicy concrete made its way down my shirt and landed right on my nipple.  I didn’t notice, cause I was sweating buckets.  Buy the end of the day, it felt a tad sore, but I just figured it was due the wet shirt chafing all day.  Then Yesterday morning I woke up to a red, raw, rashy pectoral area.  Of course, heat doesn’t help this.  So now I look like a true marathon runner–band-aid covering up the left side, so my shirt doesn’t end up rubbing it completely off.  Even a massive purple-nurple would feel better I think…

Tapion yesterday was one of those life experiences that I think I will cherish forever.  To give you an idea, it’s about a 15 minute drive, through the backwoods, then up the highway that climbs up the side of the valley between two mountains.  About halfway up the mountain, you pull to the side of the road, and there is little rock “path” (that’s being generous) that goes straight up the side of the hill.  You feel as though you aren’t going anywhere, but all of sudden there are a bunch of crudely built tents (think Eeyore, from Winnie the Pooh), the odd building battered and bruised from the earthquake beyond recognition, and then…. a miniature version of the church here on the compound–an open air tin roof, held up by a bunch of poles with a dozen or so wooden benches underneath.  The view is breathtaking in all directions.  You can see all the way down the valley, and across to the mountains on the other side, and behind the church the mountain dips before rising again.

And it’s here, with this village of mountain people, that they have a church almost exclusively made up of children.  Lots of children. We’re talking up to 200 plus.   And boy do they cram them in.  We showed up and took up a ton of bench space, so some of us guys stood at the back… until a weathered grandmother with a large smile started bringing us the chair from her home–100 yards down the path–one by one, until we would all sit.  We hit the floor pretty quick once we realized what was going on, so save her the extra trips.

Then Rosalin got things started.  I like to think of her as the Haitian Jessica.  She runs a tight ship, and the children are quick to respond to her.  Contrasted to the “order” of our Kids Camp, I felt kinda sheepish.  Only 24 years old, she’s studying in Leogane to become a nurse, but every week, for the past few years she has led those children.  She teaches them hygiene, etiquette and manners, and, because most of them cannot read, she teaches them Scripture to memorize.  And lots of it.  The rattled off verse after verse as they practiced together in unison.  Then, one by one, a few of the kids got up to sing songs.  All I could make out were words like “joie” (joy), “dieu” (God), and “Jesu” (Jesus), but in that moment, I felt so incredibly blessed and humbled to be able to witness what was going on.

With the incredible backdrop of God’s creation, and the gentle voices of children–children who are seemingly forgotten by the rest of the world–singing praise to their Father, I couldn’t help but cry, and be thankful.

I think that might be the closest glimpse to Heaven I ever get to see in my life.

And I still had to get up and teach yet.  What do I teach to a bunch of children who are, in that moment, teaching me??

We talked about Moses, and the Exodus of God’s People, and how God promises to protect us–not from difficulty, or hard time, but to protect our hearts, and to lead and care for us if we continue to follow him.  As I closed I wanted to give them a new memory verse to learn, to remind them that if we follow Jesus, he promises to guide us and go with us.  “Psalm 119:105″ I said.

And before I could even begin, they recognized the reference, and began reciting it back to me:

“Pawòl ou se yon chandèl ki fè m’ wè kote m’ap mete pye m’, se yon limyè k’ap klere chemen mwen.”

We sang some more as a group with actions, (they loved the “tootsie-wootsie” part of the one song), I botched “I’ve Got A River of Life” (no one cared), then said the few Creole phrases I had picked up (which royally confused Lisa Honorat who was there translate for us, as she began translating me back into english before catching herself, to everyone’s delight), and the did some crafts and gave out visors to each kid.  We ended with handing out rice.  We had packaged the rice in 1kg bags, which would feed a family of 5 for a week.  The excitement caused by the rice almost started an uproar, but it all got handed out as little hand clutched tightly to their precious cargo–hat on the head, rice in hand.

With that, they prayed, said thank you in english, gave some hugs and we’re gone.

Never in my life have I more clearly understood Matthew 19:14.

Tapion was an incredible experience.  I’ll let Beth and Lindsay give you their perspectives for tonight.  Try and fill you in some more in the morning.  For tonight, here’s the girls…

BETHANY

Today wasn’t the busiest day we’ve had, but it was still a great experience! We got to get up a little later (which I’ll admit was kind of nice) and we went to church. It was super full and I was scooched up right beside a little boy who remembered my name from VBS. We had a good chat and he made me rub his head. Super cute! The service was about the story of Mary and Martha and how Mary chose what was good, which was spending time with Jesus. It’s amazing how close these people are with God. It makes me realize how much time I need to spend with Him in my own life.

We got to hand out rice after church, which was awesome because you get to see how grateful people are, and it makes all the lifting of the bags of rice definitely worth it.

After lunch we went to Tapion, which was a kids church just up the hill about ten minutes.  When we got there, the leader of the church had all the children recite about six or seven Bible verses. I can’t believe how early in life they learn God’s Word! I was very impressed. Some girls sang for us, and then we sang with the kids. It was a blast! Stephen gave a talk about Moses and then we did a craft with them and gave them rice as well. They seemed really grateful too. There is a family in that church with eleven kids and a sick mother. We prayed for them today and I ask for all of you to keep them in your prayers, because the mother is not able to work anymore. It’s astounding how joyful all of the children can be though, even under the worst circumstances.

The trip has been amazing thus far, and I can’t believe we only have two days left.  It’s going to be tough leaving all the people here!

LINDSAY

Today we got to sleep in a bit later than we have the other days which was nice. We started the day with going to church. Church today was a bit different than the ones on Tuesday and Thursday because today all of the seats were filled up, and all the girls dressed up very nicely.  It was really nice because a little girl that I made friends with at VBS found me in all the people at church and sat with me. After church we did the rice distribution, it was nice to see that even a little bit of rice could make someone so happy. In the afternoon we went a short drive up the mountain to Tapion. We got to sing songs, make crafts and give the children rice to take home. I have enjoyed every minute of this trip so far and it’s hard to believe that we only have two full days left.

This ain’t your grandmama’s church service.

It was a ton of fun to be able to be a part of their community.  Brad had a “conversation” with a little boy he remembers, and the girl that James gave a pair of shoes to earlier in the week tracked him down during church and crawled into his lap.  Gilandrianne is the best we can figure for a name. (Yeah, we probably butchered it.)  I spent the morning getting the white hairs in my scruff pulled by a couple boys who kept giggling “cheveux blanc” (white hair).  They were also enthralled that my hair would be short like theirs, but not rough and stiff.  So after being told during orientation not to be touching our faces when playing with the kids, I had the kids touching my face.  That way if I get anything, at least I didn’t transfer it myself

And then came the rice feed.  I feel so completely bankrupt, humbled, and blessed all at one time.  The offering this morning was done with a plate at the front, and people came to the front with their tithes.  As Marc explained after church, more than 90% of those in church this morning were going home to no food.  And yet many, many (waaay more than the other 10%) came forward with what little money they had to give as an offering, knowing they were going home to nothing (they didn’t find out about the rice until after the service).  The most recent statistics I’ve seen, suggest that the average North American christian tithes about 2.5%, and only about $2 a year is specifically donated towards poverty and hunger.  If we knew there was no food at home, would we still be putting the offering envelope in?  I want to say yes, but I think of becoming a dad, and feeling the need to provide for my family, and have to admit, I wonder what my response would be in that situation.

Regardless, the rice was an answer to prayer for many, and it was a huge blessing to be able to provide the resources.  We intentionally stayed in the background during the distribution, and let the elders handle it, as we wanted it to be a blessing from the church to them as a body.  Fun to watch.

On another note, my mind has been mulling over some thoughts since Thursday’s church service, and they surfaced again this morning.  I heard the same thing in Mexico.  Then again in Trinidad.  And now here.  People in our group keep saying things like “I wish I could feel free to dance/sing/praise/pray/______ like that at home”, or “that’s the way church should be”.  And while I understand the sentiment, it irks me a little bit for a few reasons:

1. We say those things, but we don’t even do them here.  Surely that would be the first step, no?

2. God is worthy of our worship absolutely, but it isn’t necessarily about the “show”.   I think of MercyMe’s song I Can Only Imagine, and the line that says “will I dance for you Jesus, or in awe of you be still”.  There is a place for stillness before God.  If we want to dance as an expression of our joy and thanksgiving, then we should feel free to do so, and we really need to learn to get over ourselves (even when we are here), but reverent awe and quietness can also be worship.

I think maybe what we should be saying, rather than “church should be like that” in the sense of all the movement and noise, is rather, “the church should always have a joy in the Lord like that.”  It can manifest itself in many ways, but that is the big difference I see between us in North America and those in developing countries.  Shamefully, we often miss what it means to be joyful always, in all circumstances.

I realize my thoughts are all jumbled on this right now, and it may not be completely clear, but this is–this was the refrain from the song we sang during the message this morning:

“Merci Seigneur, tou baguy va fini tres bien”

Thank you Lord, everything will end alright.

In the depths of my soul, I yearn to be able to pray this with confidence each morning–Thank you Jesus, for with You, everything will end alright.