“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” 1 Peter 4:12-16
Years ago I suffered when my daughter mentioned that her oven was not working; the worldly father didn’t want to hear that as her life needed to be filled with the least possible measure of stress. Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? My mother used to remind me of life in the dust bowl years, and I recall her talking with joy as we went through the many museums on the prairie about the old odd shaped tools that she or her father used when she was a child. It was fascinating but I would probably not want to return to those days for more than a month.
I also would not want either of my daughters to live as I did while in Haiti. Many of those same odd shaped tools in the Nebraska museum were still being used in Haiti. I don’t mind telling them about my daily activities there; but would not want them to live there for more than a week. Stressed and suffering; a couple of things that we usually don’t associate with life in North America.
The attached photo is of a kitchen at a school in the Port-au-Prince area. This is it, no oven, no broiler, no roof, no electrical outlets or lights, no tile on the floor. This is the kitchen in a Lutheran school in a city of 2,500,000 people and there are many more like this throughout Haiti in the schools that are blessed with a Trinity/HOPE feeding program.
Forget about the world my brothers and sisters in Christ. One quarter will feed one child one meal at this school. Our world is not their world. Our Savior IS their Savior and that is what is truly important. They don’t need a new stove, a roof, electricity…they need a Savior. Thank you for your continued support to prepare missionaries in Haiti.
Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you…Jay