I'm Forever Yours, Faithfully

I have not been faithful in blogging this year.  To be honest, I haven't been faithful in a lot of things this year.  Which is a problem, because it's only 6 weeks in.  We have 46 more left.  (Lord, have mercy on me!)

Not that I put much stock in the changing of a calendar page and the seasons story of my life coinciding.  I think it's blarney, hogwash, silly, and often damaging to allow myself to be defined by years, seasons, weeks, status in school, or a 5-year plan (or any semblance thereof).  I am defined by God's time, by God's refining, and by God's mighty and perfect hand.

That being said, I live in this world.  While I wait for the next, where eternity will be spent, I am in this.  Where we have linear time, that progresses consistently - via calendars that happen to be defined by 24 hour - 7 day - 52 week increments.  And this is the way the Lord has created and allowed it.  And so, to a degree, I must be faithful to that. 

All digressions about the nature of time aside, I truly have not been faithful in much this year.  My heart is in a slump.  I find no joy in the Word.  I fight with myself to pray fruitfully and meaningfully.  I find myself being drug along this crazy roller-coaster of emotions.  Sometimes, at moments, I find I have a passion and a flare, a desire.  Similar to what was a constant in my heart for the last year.  My heart is closer to being in line with God's.  But then, I sit alone in my room, struggling to motivate myself to do work, and I find myself procrastinating.  Not just on school work, on my time with the Lord.  Normally, I'd procrastinate THROUGH time in the Word.  Now, I'm not doing either.

Perhaps this is the Lord's way of using the attacks of the enemy to deal with my propensity for procrastination.  He is no longer being used by me as the enabler.  This is ultimately a good thing for me.  This is something that I can attack.  That I can tackle.  I can refuse to diminish God to something I do because I don't want to be doing something else. 

I know that if I continue to pray, to seek, and to walk humbly (although I may be tripping every other step), the Lord will grow in me.  I'm so thankful that the Lord has promised to be faithful, always, no matter what my state of being, or what state of emotional flux I'm in.  Always -- that's one of the most beautiful things to me.  My affections, my desires, and my love for him will have no choice but to expand, because of His faithfulness, not mine. 

Lord, have mercy on my soul. 

***!!!!WE'RE GOING BACK!!!!***

Hello Friends!  It is my privilege and joy to tell you that I will be returning to Haiti in a little less than 6 weeks (my spring break)!   My heart is just overflowing with joy as I write this, but also with confidence and hopefulness that the Lord will provide health, finances, opportunity, people, and resources for us to take this trip – it is going to cost $1100 per person, but it is worth the time and effort to see God’s Kingdom proclaimed and advanced.

I am going again with a team of 8 from my church (another team of 8 will go down in early June), in our partnership with HaitiLove The trip itself, however, will look a bit different than last year.  As circumstances, the political environment, and our knowledge of the situation in Haiti have changed, there have been some shifts in the way that HaitiLove, and thus Restoration Church, are interacting with and caring for the people of Haiti.  Also, because of the instability and constantly changing circumstances in Haiti, our itinerary is not yet solidified.  But the flights are booked (Praise God!), so regardless of what we end up doing, or where we are, we will be going to serve the Lord and build His Kingdom!  

The plan is to leave Washington, DC early the morning of March 10^th, and fly to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  From there we will hopefully be going to Puerto Plata, DR.  This is a beach resort town (but we won’t be doing any lounging…) in the DR, where Haitians often migrate to in an attempt to find work, if they can cross the border.  The problem is that the Haitian-Dominican relations are not good, and so the Haitians at this resort are not paid fairly, are discriminated against, and often find that they are not even recognized by the government.   We will be working with this group of people, and a local church there to help build a community center that will serve as a church, clinic, shelter, and anything else. 

We will then go to Phaeton, Haiti, where we will attempt to build a church in this small town.  This community has no healthy churches in or around the area, but there are a few Haitians who have been connected with HaitiLove, and through this partnership we now have the opportunity to help get a healthy church off the ground in an area that desperately needs it.   We will then return to the United States on Saturday the 17^th. 

Although this trip looks much different, I am blessed by the opportunity to go and share the Gospel.  The Haitian community in general is severely lacking in leadership and spiritual maturity, and this trip is an opportunity to help build on this.  We have, as a church, been building a children’s curriculum, a pastor’s curriculum, and a women’s curriculum for HaitiLove, in hopes that they can consistently teach Scripture and truth to those they interact with.  The goal is to build consistently across the various teams that are able to take short-term trips, that the ministry might be more effective. 

We need your help to do this.  Please spend some time in prayer with us for this trip.  Haiti is a dark place, and we need many people praying for us now, and as we are gone.  This will be the first trip HaitiLove takes in 2012, and will be the first trip since relationships have changed with some of the Haitian organizations and people we will be working with.  Please pray that we can build solid and scriptural groundwork for this organization and for the Gospel in this country.  Please pray for the health of all our team members, and that we might be consistently and earnestly praying for and preparing for  this trip, even this far in advance.  Please pray for the hearts of those that we meet and interact with, that the Spirit might open their eyes to the truth of the Gospel.  Pray we might find the financial resources to make this trip happen, and for the resources for it to be fruitful.   Please take some time and pray, and if you would like to donate, please email me, call me, or otherwise track me down (in the virtual or physical realm!).  Regardless, please pray with us.  Our church is young and small, but we desperately desire to see the kingdom of God advanced, and we need your prayer to make this happen. My heart just aches for these people, but I cannot do this alone.  Please, please pray with us. 

I cannot wait to tell you all about our preparation for this trip as it continues, and all of the mighty things God does during this time.  Know that I love you all, and pray for you regularly. 

In Christ’s abundant blessings,

K