The Journey

Welcome Bless Back Worldwide

Lex is back in Haiti and has been joined by a great group of women from Bless Back Worldwide in Charlotte, NC. They are troopers! They arrived in Grand-Goave last night and were up bright and early this morning to attend church at Eglise Evangelique Mission of Hope. Lisa McCloy, who is leading this team, shared words of encouragement with the church this morning as she introduced her team. Our community is so blessed each time they join us.

Pastor Hakine

Pastor Hakine is also back in Haiti. We thoroughly enjoyed introducing him to friends, old and new, in New England and Ohio. Here he is with Pastor Lex at Steve & Cindy Brown's home in Akron:

Thozin Church Service

Did you join our worship service this morning on Facebook Live? It's great to be able to feel like you're right there with us. Here are some pictures from this morning:

Spread Hope Peanut Butter Drive

We're blessed to hear that over 500 jars of peanut butter have been collected so far. Contact us today to add to that number. Children's lives are being saved and repaired through the nutritional intervention they are receiving at MOHI. Help us to keep it going by donating peanut butter. Thank you!

Reflections

Our journey in life, is very much that - a journey. We are constantly in motion - moving forward, stepping back, scampering up a ladder, sliding down a slope.

Your journey may look quite different from mine right now. Perhaps you are traveling on a dirt road with lots of mud and pot holes. Progress seems insignificant. And yet there is progress, because you are moving.

I, on the other hand (and this is purely hypothetical!) may be traveling on Route 95 at 90 mph. Everyone sees my progress. People say, "She's just aMAYYYYzing." Everyone wishes they were on my journey...at least until the State police catch up with me.

The reality is that neither journey is all good or all bad. If we put our hope and trust in Christ, we can rest in the knowledge that both our journeys will bring us closer to Him. And there is no better place to be.

Over the past 17 years of working and living in Haiti, I've had many moments of contemplation about the journey I'm on. I've had the wonderful opportunity to get a peak into the journeys of many others, as well. I find myself praising God for the amazing journeys of my friends and finding great contentment in hearing about and seeing how the Lord cares for them.

I'd like to share with you this parable from Jesus that speaks to me very personally and regularly...

So often people see missionaries as "super heroes," giving up everything to serve Jesus. Just like our friends who work a job and serve in their churches, missionaries are all different, too. We each have a unique journey we have embarked on. All are called to lay down their lives for the Gospel, but we do that in varying degrees.

I remember living in Leogane, Haiti in 1989 and feeling like I'd given up so much to be there... perhaps entertaining a bit of a pity part over it. When I moved to Grand-Goave, 11 years later, I longed to be back in Leogane, where we had decent furniture, appliances, electricity every evening, clean drinking water coming out of the pipes in my private bathroom and kitchen, and where we enjoyed desserts daily. It's all relative. Right? What I might consider a great sacrifice for the Kingdom in my own life, you might consider everyday normalcy in your own.

I believe it's really dangerous to compare ourselves to others. It's not good to believe the negatives, but it's scariest when we believe the flattery of others, telling us we are so spiritually mature or we are sacrificing so much for the Kingdom. No, Jesus sacrificed everything for us. He is the only one worthy of our adoration. He is the Perfect One whom we strive to be more like every day.

Back to the parable - Perhaps you would see me as a "poor" missionary. How do my neighbors in Haiti see me? I live in a solid home. I have safe drinking water, electricity, indoor plumbing, nutritious and tasty food, transportation, the ability to leave the country at a moment's notice and never go back. In Haiti, I could easily be considered the Rich Man in the parable. My prayer for my own life is not to be. Lord, please give us ears to hear, eyes to see, and a heart to love like You do.