Join Our Team

I just wanted to let everyone know that we know have a link to our support website.  If you haven't already and would like to join our Haiti team by supporting us on a monthly basis, or provide one time payments to help pay for our start up costs, then please do so though the link on the right side of this blog.  We are hoping to move to Haiti within the next year, but the timing will depend upon our being funded.

One of our big upfront costs that we have coming up soon is for our Missionary Training School coming up in September.  It is a 3 week school called SPLICE designed to help our family to prepare for the Mission field in the following areas- Spiritual, Personal, Lifestyle, Interpersonal, Cultural, Endure/Enjoy.  We have several missionary friends who have attended the school and say even years later that it was the best thing they did to prepare for going into the field.  The cost of the school is $6200, and we will need about $4000 to come in by the end of August in order for us to be able to attend. If you would like to help with these costs, you can do so through our support website by making a one time payment. 

Below, I just wanted to share a few photos from my last trip to Haiti that I took in March.  I helped lead a team from Utah to Terrier Rouge in Haiti where we did VBS with the children during their Easter break.  We had an awesome time.  Our small group of 8 had over 400 kids each day.  We were also blessed with the funds to be able to give each child a meal for the days we were serving.  For many of them, this would be their only meal for the day.  Can't wait to be there and be a part of their lives everyday. 

WE HAVE EXCITING NEWS!!!

We have officially been approved to join Hungry for Life and work on ground with them in Northern Haiti.  WooHoo!!  For those of you who have been following our story, you know this has been a dream of ours for several years so we are absolutely ecstatic.  We will be living there as Strategic Liasisons doing on ground support, administration, team leading, and discipleship training.  We are thrilled at this opportunity and are so humbled to know that God chooses to use simple people like us in such an amazing way.  We will have more information coming soon as well as opportunities for those of you who want to join in our work..  In the mean time, please pray for us.  Pray that the necessary funds and planning would go well so that we can began our move.  Also pray for our family as we embark on this new adventure.  We will be moving to a new culture and will have many challenges in the process.  We also want you to pray that we remain humble servants of God who want HIS name glorified.

This time ahead for us is exciting and a little scary as we step out into the unknown, but I know that God has promised to be with us for when he sent the disciples into the world to make disciples of all nations he reminded them, "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  This promise remains true for those of who follow him today as well.  He is our portion and will sustain us.

Haiti

It's been almost 3 weeks since the earthquake hit, and the images are still haunting me. Some would say that I need to move on, and that it is not healthy. I say that in some cases that may be true, but I believe that God has burdened me with a heart for Haiti, and I don't ever want to forget those images.

The sad thing is that I was already haunted by images of Haiti before January 12th. You see, Ray & I had the privelege of spending a week in Haiti back in October of 2009 where we processed children for His Hands for Haiti. I thought that I had been to some poor countries before, but these people were living in ways that I couldn't imagine, and in ways that I don't believe any human should have to endure and this was BEFORE THE QUAKE!!! I came back from Haiti to a materialistic world of which I am included. I cannot believe the abundance of things that we have and we still want more! I pray to God everyday to rid me of myself so that I can have a heart for the things that he had a heart for. I want to care about the needy, the children, the widows, the unreached, and the outcasts of society. He is working in my heart, but I know I have a long ways yet to go to rid me of my selfishness.

I am so thankful for all the support that has been raised for Haiti and have heard from many people that have broken hearts of what has happened there. I also however have heard those who question why we are helping them when we have poor there. It's hard not to be judgmental, but I have to remember that they have not been where I have been...they have not had to walk the streets where I have walked. If they had, I am certain that would not even be a discussion. You see, I do agree that we have poor here, but our poor are rich compared to the rest of the world.

Matthew 25:44-4 says They will also answer, "Lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick in prison, and not help you?" "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me.'

Christ says that when we do not help others, especially the least of these, it is the same as not helping him. I don't know about you, but those are pretty strong words to me. How can we not help a people who are suffering. This is a country where over half the population is children. And one out of 10 of those are slaves.

I can only imagine that things are going to get worse before they get better, but I know that with God all things are possible, and I pray that he uses this situation to open peoples eyes, hearts and pocketbooks to help a nation of mostly kids who have needed help for a long time.

Please keep pray for Haiti and also pray for us as we continue to explore our calling. We have had a strong pull towards Haiti even before the earthquake, but feel an even stronger pull now. We are definitely passionate about this country and we love the people, but we want more clarity from God in the direction that he's calling us.

The Rich Young Ruler

I've been thinking a lot lately about the rich, young ruler from the gospel of Luke. We are all familiar with the story. Here is a young man who meets Jesus and wants to know what he must do to inherit eternal life. He's basically asked if he is following the commandments and he says yes. Then Jesus tells him there is one more thing he must do. Jesus says, "Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then, come follow me." We are then told that the man walked away very sad because he was a man of great wealth.

What we see here is that the man wasn't following all of God's commandments because he was putting an idol above God-his wealth. Everytime I have heard this story, whether in church, in a book, online, etc., it is almost always followed by a quick explanation that God does not expect us to give up everything-that is is just an illustration of something that was an idol in this man's life, and God would NEVER expect us to sell everything and give it all away. We would only have to do that if it were an idol in our lives.

I am left wondering if the fact that as Christians we are so quick to rationalize this explanation and excuse ourselves from this command to the young man means that indeed money and "stuff" IS an idol in our lives. We don't have to be rich to put money above God.

We are so eager to give of our time, but when it comes to money or material possessions, we cling to them, because we "need" them. Need them for what? Did God not tell us not to worry about what we would eat or drink, and promise that we would be taken care of even more than the birds of the air or the lilies of the valley? He tells us to seek his kingdom first and then all these things will be given to us. Do we not trust God to keep his word? Matthew 6:19-21 says not to store up treasures on earth, but to store them in heaven instead. It ends by saying, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

So where is your treasure? Is it being used to further the kingdom of God, or put away to buy things for yourself, and make your life comfortable? Do we have the right to live comfortable lives when others are dying in the world due to lack of water, food, and basic medical care? I'm not so sure. I know I don't have all the answers, but I do know that God is growing me in this area. I still have a long ways to go though. Ray and I pray daily that God will open our hearts to a world in need. I want to have a heart like God's, but I struggle with my inner-self as well, which is selfish and wants what I want. I do believe though that through continued prayer and submission that God has the power to change even someone like me. We likewise pray that he will change the hearts of Christians around the world until we can all learn to do everything to the glory of God.

Blogging

Well, since Ray & I have decided to explore missions, we thought it would be helpful to have a page where people could see what is going on our lives and what God is doing and has planned. We especially thought this would be helpful for those who are out of state and don't get a chance to chat with us very often. I am new to blogging, and will admit I haven't a clue what I am doing, but I do feel God has asked me to do this.

I've been feeling a lot of that lately. God is constantly asking me to do things that I am not comfortable with or feeling incompetent at. I've heard the saying that God doesn't use the qualified, he qualifies those he calls. Well, I certainly hope that is true, because Ray & I both feel overwhelmed in the different things that God keeps laying before us. We do know that God is awesome and he will guide us and use us as he chooses, so while we feel unsure of our path we are certain that God knows what it is, and we are trying to rest on that assurance.

Hopefully over the next few weeks we will add some features, pictures, etc. We thank all of you who support our journey through prayer and financial support.