Most everyone knows that we are going to Haiti, but we need everyone to understand why we are going to Haiti. We are not going to start a brand new ministry. The Lord has called us to help ensure that a proven, successful,godly ministry continues to meet the most basic needs of the Haitian people and leading them to Christ. The compound where we are serving was started 28 yrs ago by a couple who gave up a thriving business and a comfortable home, left their college age children and moved to a very unfamiliar place, only because they want to serve the Lord wholeheartedly. You can say they sacrificed a lot, which they did, but being credited for dieing to self and furthering God's kingdom, what greater blessing is there, what an act of unselfishness. I want God to say to me in Heaven "well done good and faithful servant".
We just received an email of the greatest urgency. Right now the head missionaries for the Global compound are in Ecuador, encouraging missionaries there. That leaves 2 couples on the compound until yesterday. One couple has to fly out today because of a death in the family, leaving one couple to run all the ministries that Global provides to the Haitian people.
They are pleading with us to come as soon as we can. We want to be there helping run things. But we can't even think to set a date for going back full time until we start getting funds coming in. We are at about 20% funded right now. Please pray about what you can do in Haiti. When you support us you are supporting well drilling, the kids in the schools, the burn clinic, church planting, conference center, etc. We are not going down to live in a tropical island and go to the beach everyday. We are going because we have been blessed beyond measure and we want to obey the Lord and give back. No amount is too small, it is individuals giving $50 - $100 (some give less and some are able to give more) a month that will allow us to get to Haiti full time and ensure that these most basic needs are met in Haiti, things we take for granted everyday. Please pray about supporting us. We know God will get us there. We feel He is calling all of us to further His kingdom in one way or another.
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| We didn't have it stacked to the top but it was pretty full. |
I can't decide if this last month has been a blur or tipping the scales as overwhelming. We have been in the process of cleaning our house here in NC to get it ready to rent. We moved the kids out of their rooms, so they are sharing a dresser and their beds are in the living room floor. Nicky and I are sharing a dresser and the only thing left in our room is the bed. We had placed our stuff, quickly becoming junk, in piles one for Haiti, one for our SC trailer (where we will live when we are in the States), and one for Goodwill/ give away. After a few days of this I realized how the stuff that had had meaning to me was becoming "just junk", you begin to realize how much money you waste over the years. We were trying to figure out what to do with our Haiti stuff and discover we could take it to Nashville, TN for storage, to be shipped on the next container. We found this out last Monday at about 5pm. So Nicky rented a Penske truck for the next day. With the help of some really good friends and their teenage sons we filled the truck. We had things stuck in the drawers of the dressers, anywhere we could stuff things. The company that we are shipping through requires you to inventory each item that is being shipped, including picture frames, books, dishes, cups (ie. 6 large red cups). I am so thankful for my friends that helped me do all this. Before they got there I was standing there wondering what to do, I couldn't decide where to start. Praise the Lord for someone else to look outside of my box and get started.
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| We had many friends to help load the truck, well after dark. |
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| The kids were really excited to ride in the truck |
So Wednesday morning we started out to Nashville. We dropped off our stuff at a warehouse then headed to Tupelo, MS. We arrived Thursday morning at the house of a wonderful Godly couple. They were such a blessing. The next two days were filled with meetings and food. Both were great. We got to meet missionaries that were new to the field, some that had been on the field for years and some who were in the fundraising mode like us. It was such an encouragement to see God using ordinary people to further His kingdom.
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| The kids are worn out! |
Friday night we attended the Missions Conference, open to the public. It was so awesome, the theme was China through the Ages. Thursday and Friday about 1400 school children got to go through the exhibit and have Christ shared with them. They learned about the music, food, industry, language and customs of China. Definitely counted Friday as a school day! Thank you to all the volunteers that made the conference possible.
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| We display the flag of each country that Global has missionaries in. |
We set up a table next to Dave and Judy Heady, the couple that started Global 28 yrs ago. What a great evening! We got to talk with lots of different people and made many new contacts.
When we returned home we continued to slowly whittle away at the accumulation of stuff. I am happy to say that we are ready to start painting. We are praying for a miracle, that God will have someone ready to rent our house before we go back to Haiti the first week in December. We have faith that God will provide. That will be a huge step in our journey to moving to Haiti full time.
We still have a lot of fundraising to do, we are at about 20%. Please pray that God will put it upon the hearts of many to support us. We know that we need prayer most of all but without support we can not go.
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| Getting the rooms cleaned out and ready to paint. |
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| Xander and Ellie love sleeping in the living room. Their beds can be right next to each other. |
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| We are living on very little, and it is in the living room. |
