Underneath the Mango Tree

So what happened to the other posts from my week with JiHM?

Ummm....I accidentally deleted my notes from the week. I did have several more pictures to share and a few stories, but I will move on as the Lord is working on us anew this week and I feel it is more important to share this with you. Perhaps in the future I will come back to the rest of my time at JiHM, but if you want the director of JiHM's take on how the week went, check out his blog post on it here:

http://blog.jesusinhaiti.org/2011/02/doing-number-3.html

On to our current week.

As I sit here on the second floor balcony of the girls orphanage in Port Au Prince, Haiti, my view is of a giant mango tree, I am shaded by it from the morning sun while listening to the hustle and bustle of honking horns and semis as they make their way through the streets.

It is often when we are quietest that it seems God chooses to speak. Perhaps this is because it is the only time that we can hear Him, due to the fact that most of the time we are creating noise that drowns out His "still small voice." I am no expert on hearing the Lord speak, I see myself more as the stubborn one who needs 100 different glowing neon signs directly from God pointing where to go. But is this a lack of faith on my part? Should I be more willing to do what I think He is calling me to do, or should I rely on my own feelings of what I want to do or where I want to go and call that His will for my life because he gave me those desires?

This week is one of seeking. Seeking His will in many things. Seeking Him for guidance as we do fundraising to finance the ministry that He is calling us to. Seeking Him for a clear direction as to what country He wants us to serve in with Back2Back. Seeking Him for a better understanding of His grace and forgiveness. Seeking him simply to seek Him.

This week, as Anna and I have spent much of our time reading, praying, fasting and talking, we are seeing that through this time of seeking for specific direction, we are, more importantly, drawing nearer to our savior. There is something about running to Him that shifts the way you view what you thought you were running to Him about. It is hard to explain, so I will not try to do so further, but let me just encourage you to give it a try. Give something up for awhile, whether that is food, video games, TV, Facebook...just give it up and seek after Him. Let me be the first to assure you that what you will discover will be profound.

So as Anna and I continue to seek God for a vision of where He wants us to serve, we are praying that you will join us. We need all of the prayer and support we can get as we decipher His will. Please pray that He will show us clearly if He wants us here, in Haiti. Or if He wants us in Cancun, MX. Or if He wants us in Belize City.

These are the three possible location that Back2Back is either, currently serving the orphan child, or will soon be.

We need to make a decision before we come home from Haiti on March 15th, but the sooner the better obviously for planning purposes. It sounds silly to put God on a timeline, ridiculous even. But we believe that He put us here in this place and at this time for a purpose and we believe that He will show us where He wants us within His timeline.

Please join with us in prayer for these next days and weeks.

Thank you.

Andrew & Anna

My Week @ Jesus in Haiti - Post 1

Life without internet is two things.


At first, it is debilitating. You feel as though you are disconnected and unable to keep up with all of the things you have come so accustomed to knowing.


Then, you begin to realize that all those things that you were constantly checking and information you were constantly downloading into your mind, was not as necessary as you thought it was. Life goes on even if you dont know what is happening. And then you realize how much more time you have on your hands when you are not constantly checking email, Twitter, iGoogle, CNBC Stocks, Facebook, and the other 25 apps that get daily use for the typical person.


It was frustrating knowing that I would not be able to blog, but I took alot of notes and journaled some, so that I would be sure to remember all of the things that I wanted to share with you all. Hence the reason I am numbering these posts.


For the first post I want to share with you about the Tree of Life orphanage.


As one of the five points of light of the Jesus in Haiti Ministry, this orphanage is home to approximately 25 beautiful little boys and girls from the age of 6 months old to about 10 years old.




This orphanage has a very unique story. Shortly after the earthquake, a successful Haitian woman who had a very good job and made a pretty good living began to have a heart for the orphans of the earthquake. She chose to act on that conviction and leading and found a vacant home that was not finished and began renting it from the family that owned it in Florida. After she secured the home, she hired 6 Haitian women to work at the orphanage full time and began taking in orphaned children off the streets.





Because she provides the funding for this orphanage solely from her own paychecks, there was no furniture, very little clothing, and no toys whatsoever for these children. All that she could afford was the rent for the home, the salaries for the workers, and one meal a day for the children. 

This orphanage just happened to be located right in between the JiHM guest house and Tom's home where he lives with all of his boys. So, one day while walking between them, Tom divinely happened across this home filled with children, scantily clad in tattered clothing and slightly malnourished, sleeping on the floor. He immediately saw the need and knew that JiHM needed to step in here and help with whatever they could.





Tom began bringing beds, bedding, toys, rice, diapers and other essentials that these children needed. But most importantly, Tom and his boys, along with the short term groups that were coming down, began spending time there, investing in the lives of these precious little ones.





While it is such a joy for us to have this opportunity to briefly visit with these kids and do our best to love on them, share Christ with them, and play with them, it is the ongoing relationships that Tom and his boys have with these children that will really help shape these children into followers of Christ in the long run.





And as is with most things on a short term missions trip, the people that you think you are traveling to a different country to minister to, and share Jesus with, to bless, are the ones that are blessing you, that are sharing Jesus with you through their smiles. It is so easy to see the face of Jesus in these smiles. These smiles that persevere in the midst of more difficult and horrifying circumstances than we as blessed Americans will ever begin to comprehend or understand.

Here is a great picture of Linda Neal, the new Chairperson of Jesus in Haiti's board. She has such a heart for Haiti and these kids. You can see how God has placed her in this new role and how perfect she is for it.

Here, Germaine gives each girl a brand new dress that she brought down with her.

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And just a few more...

One Trip Ends, Another Begins

As we sat on another airplane on our way to Haiti yesterday morning, I was drawn back to the many hours I have spent on airplanes and in airports over the last two years, and just how different it felt. Obviously traveling with my wife is an improvement. Traveling with a baby is a challenge. But what is really different is the feel of it, knowing the difference between what I used to be traveling for and what I am traveling for now. Knowing that this is where I am supposed to be, this is what I am supposed to be doing. And, not just me, but Anna and Kai also!

Our time in Cancun was wonderful. We learned so much and were able to spend a lot of time with the Back2Back staff there learning from them and fellowshipping with them. There were several discussions about the future of their operation as well as Back2Back's overall plans. We were also able to meet with the founders and directors of Back2Back, Todd and Beth Guckenberger. We spent two hours with them just discussing staff responsibilities as well as possible future locations for the new Back2Back start up in the caribbean.

After returning home, we were able to relax for a couple of days and spend some time with family before starting to get ready for our next little adventure. On Tuesday evening we flew from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale, FL. We had an overnight layover and caught a flight to Port au Prince first thing yesterday morning. It was certainly a long trip. But since arriving here, we have been thoroughly enjoying catching up with our dear friends Jared & Jalayne and the three precious girls here in their orphanage, Ciara, Genese, and Kiara!

Tomorrow evening I will be heading to Jesus in Haiti along with some other Back2Back staff to spend a week getting to know them and their organization better and to help assess whether now is a good time or not for Back2Back to put full time people on the ground here in Haiti alongside their current partnership with Jesus in Haiti. I will be spending the week with them and will return to the orphanage after Anna joins me for meetings on Thursday.

After this upcoming week, we are praying that the Lord will begin giving very clear direction on the path that He wants us on. Wherever it may be and whatever it may be doing, we are willing. But just because we are ready to know His plan does not mean that He is ready to show us. We still have much to do to prepare, but we will wait on Him in all things because we know that His timing is perfect and our shallow view of our own lives is a burden that we have to get past.

Please pray that God will show us His plans for Back2Back here in Haiti and for His plans for us.

Pray that the Lord will open our eyes and our hearts to the specific needs that He has prepared us to meet.