Mission | Reveds's Blog

Day 3 in Haiti is wrapping up. We’re being serenaded by the Bamboula Party outside: a little reggai, a little calypso – I don’t know what you call it, but its Haitian. It is catchy, but I don’t think I’ll be adding it to my music library anytime soon.
The day started slowly – the entire team had a good night’s sleep, and a good morning’s sleep too. For some reason, we all slept in a bit, but that’s okay. Our mission partners here had a funeral to attend in the morning, so we were left at the beach house to organize the items we brought, and were asked to help clean out the garage. That was all finished pretty quickly, so we took advantage of the beach being quiet for a moment, and spent some time in the water. The waves were great, the water nice and warm – really it was a wonderful morning.
After lunch, we left for the Consolation Center. The women went on to visit the James 1:27 Community – a ministry that houses widows and pairs them with orphaned or abandoned infants – they held the babies and loved on them for a while. They weren’t allowed to take any luggage there – we didn’t want to tempt them with the idea of bringing a little one home.
While the women were there, the three men stayed at the Consolation Center to try to fix the school bus. They have a big yellow bus from Laurens-Marathon schools to transport the kids. Problem was, it wouldn’t go in reverse. Bruce checked the transmission under the bus, I was electrocuting myself on the start switch (which was hotwired). Meanwhile, Matt was tinkering with the electrical box on the side of the bus. He found an unplugged cord marked “Rev:Rel” and wondered if it should be connected to the other unplugged cord; he put them together and viola – the bus goes backwards now.
We then tried our hand at a little welding, repairing the door of the bus. The welding didn’t work though, as we didn’t have the right welding material – but it was a noble effort.
Our study for the day was on Peace – the peace of God which we know in Christ, a peace that comes in the power of His Spirit.
It’s funny: we long for peace in our busy, hectic, frenetic lives. We chase ourselves around and around, thinking that by doing a little more, earning just a couple more dollars, having just a little more stuff, we’ll finally find that peace that we’ve been longing for. But it never comes. We keep running just to stand still (thank you, Bono), we keep chasing the horizon, peace eludes us.
And then we come to Haiti. The motto here seems to be, “Hurry Up and Wait.” We’ve got goals and expectations for the trip, but as we go through the day, we realize, those goals are far less important than just loving the people, showing the kids that they are cared for and treasured. We have to remember that sitting with a widow and holding a baby is more important than building something or checking something off your to do list.
There is peace in holding a child who just needs to be loved, in playing soccer with kids who’ve never known an adult who cared for them. There is peace in the contentment and satisfaction in knowing that you are where God has placed you, and you can only do the work that He places before you – anything more or less would be a step out of His plan (thank you, Amy Grant).
We have peace with God, we have peace in God. We were at one time rebels from the throne of God, violators of His will, trespassers of His law. But now, through the mercy of Christ, God has reconciled the world to Himself. We have peace with God – our sins are forgiven. Our longing, our desires, our hopes and expectations – they are all met in Christ Jesus our Lord. He is our Prince of Peace; when He came into the world, the angels sang “Glory be to God in the Highest, and on earth, peace and good will toward men;” as He prepared for the cross, He gave us His peace, so that our hearts would never be troubled (John 15:27).
We shared tonight about what peace means, when we’ve experienced the peace of God in our hearts. We cried a little, laughed too, but spoke to one another’s hearts. We shared the peace of God, the peace that passes all understanding. It is this peace that allows us to serve here. A peace that tells us that we are not in control, but there is One who is in control. He knows our yesterdays, our todays, our tomorrows, and our tomorrow’s tomorrows: there is nothing He does not see, nothing that is not in His hands. Knowing this gives us peace. We are in His hands. Our cares, our worries, He knows them, and He will provide, and when we delight in Him, our hearts will be satisfied.
He is with us, His peace abides with us. The presence of the Lord is the calm in the storm, the confidence in the face of the accuser, the stronghold in times of trouble, the rock that is higher than the flood, the peace in the midst of the choas. This is the peace that allowed Job, that allows us to say when everything else was gone, I know that my redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth” (Job 19:25).

SDG

Day 2 of our Haiti Mission is coming to an end. The party outside at Bamboula Beach is crazy. There’s probably a couple hundred people out there. The music is loud, and its been playing since 3 or 4 this afternoon (I kind of know how Manuel Noriega felt). The A/C in our room, and the generator in the back yard help to drown out the sound, but the beat goes on. Still, it adds to the sense of adventure, and the people are celebrating, and that’s a good thing.
Today we got to visit the orphanages that we have been working to support. We were greeted by familiar faces, welcomed with love, and blessed to see so many improvements since our visit last year. The children have grown. Some have moved on. There has been sorrow and pain, and there have been times of joy, and God’s gracious hand has provided all things in His wisdom and time.
Today was a day of joy. It was difficult, don’t get me wrong. Arriving at the Center for Help, where the memorial funds for Mark Sarchet have helped to radically transform a struggling facility into a place where children can grow and thrive – it was painful. We spent time in prayer, thanking God for His hand that has upheld us in the midst of loss and pain, and taking even that hardship and allowing such good to come through it. We played and laughed with the kids – I cant think of a better way to spend the day.
And as I said before, under the surface of everything we did today was a spirit of Joy. These kids have faced more at 8 and 9 than most of us will ever have to deal with in this life. And yet they are full of joy.
Maybe that’s why I needed to come back, to be reminded of the joy that should dwell in my heart. So often I struggle with an identity crisis: I know what Jesus says about who he is and what he has done for me, but I tend to forget what that really means. Jesus said, “I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).
The “These Things” Jesus spoke of was His death for us, and His sending His Spirit to us to comfort us and give us strength. He has done all this – why? – that our joy may be full!
There is something terribly inconsistent in the joyless Christian. Christ came that we might know joy, and that our joy may be completed in Him. He was abundant with joy, deep in His heart there was a joy that drove Him. Hebrews shows us this when we read, “Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:2).
When we trust in Christ for our salvation, when His Spirit moves in us and gives us life, we will know this lasting joy. It does not come ourselves, we don’t have to muster up a certain feeling. When we know and remember the truth of the Gospel, joy will prevail in our hearts. Joy is the work of the Holy Spirit within you, satisfying your soul in the presence of God – bringing delight in the inmost being.
Remember your catechism – What is the chief end of man? The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever!
SDG