Oh Jesus!

You are sending me home tomorrow, but Lord, let me never forget all that You have taught me here in this country! Let me never forget the children that bathed in the muddy streets. Let me never forget the smell of the dump, where these people of yours came to eat. Let me never forget the pain this country is enduring Father! Let me never lose my compassion for these people Lord! Never let my spirit grow numb to empathy for my brothers and sisters that struggle to survive everyday. Never let me forget how Your Holy Spirit moved in this place..

Lord, let me never live my life in selfishness, but always be looking towards the needs of other around me. Let me continue to be generous to my brothers and sisters with a joyful heart.. Help me to be more humble, loving, compassionate, joyful, and filled only with pure, holy thoughts! Let my soul, along with my spirit WORSHIP only YOU Father! Remove any idols from my life Jesus! If there is something keeping me from Your heavenly presence, then God, tear it from my life! Lord, I only desire YOU! With every breath I desire to EXTOL Your name to whomever I speak!

God, help me to give grace to those back home, which you have blessed immensely, that ungratefully complain in their ignorance. Help me to give grace to the selfish, to the sloth, to the glutton, to the slanderer, to the proud, to the unloving, and to the Christians who don't live in fear of you God!

God, remain with these Haitian people! Heal them, restore them, touch them, fill them with your joy and PEACE! Give them the strength to endure all the hardships of this rough world. Let their sins be covered in your PERFECT grace JESUS! Teach them to turn away from their dark ways that plague their society and only seek YOU Father!

Father, I pray that my work here would not be in vain, but would plant a seed for MANY to discover your love, and everlasting LIFE! I pray that my words to these people would plant seeds that would grow and bloom into a hunger for more of you FATHER.

With my journey coming to a close and as I step off this island, I will with all sincerity exclaim your POWER, LOVE, GRACE and BEAUTY with a resounding..

AMEN!

My heart exposed

Bonswa!

So I have been meditating all day about what I would like to write in my blog tonight, and I have been bouncing ideas around in my head unceasingly. I was asked to share more of my heart on how God is speaking to me while I am here, and what sorts of things I have been taught while in this crazy/beautiful/ugly/ amazing/depressing/uplifting/poor/rich-country...

I honestly don't think there are any words to truly describe in full my experiences here. I could show a million pictures, describe every detail, and explain how God is moving, but I truly don't think anyone that has never been here can fully understand what it is like to BE HERE, and to first hand experience Gods presence among the people.

To be fully honest, I don't even know where to begin to try and express my heart.. I almost dread coming back to the States and feeling the pressure to talk about Haiti, and explain as best as I can a whole month of the most intense, life changing experience in my life up to date. But nonetheless I know that part of the reason God sent me here was so that I can spread news about the poverty and pain here, but also the complete overwhelming spiritual warfare here, and how Gods presence is in the air so thick that He naturally rubs off on you.

I have a hard time pointing to one specific area that God has changed me, because I feel like as a whole person He has matured my mind, and progressed my spirit closer to Him. I really am starting to feel like I have been here years, and have grown up here.. Even though I only have been here for the blink of an eye. I feel like I have put away many of my childish ways, and God has replaced them with better ways...

On the other hand, I fear talking about what God is doing in my heart publicly for the fear that I will be judged when I return..

"He doesn't seem any different to ME!"

"Now look, he is returning to the person he was before his trip!"

"Everything he wrote in his blog was fake, and he never genuinely was effected by anything.."

These are the judgments that I am afraid of, cause I know, whether the surface shows it or not, that I am permanently changed in my spirit. I know that God has taught me SO MUCH through conversations with the people here, as well as just time alone with Him, where his whispers are so beautiful.

I know that being here has made me MUCH more accepting of people where they are at in their walk with God, and life. I have been known to be very much a "my way is best, and if you don't agree with me that is because you are wrong!" mentality.. But living in a culture so very different from my own, and meeting people that are both similar and opposite from me has shown me that we are ALL deeply loved equally by God, and regardless of culture or walk in life we are apart of one big family, whether we act like it or not. True fellowship, community, and love is what makes the gospel attractive, not screaming into a bullhorn on a street corner, or telling everyone that you have it all together and they need to be like you.

As the body of Christ we need to draw together and truly treat each other like FAMILY... Time is too valuable to waste arguing amongst ourselves! How can my body EVER do anything constructive if one limb fights the other? If my hand attempted to strangle my throat, how could my lungs breath life into my body? We have one purpose and ONE goal, as being apart of Our Fathers' body; this is to simply love the WHOLE WORLD, without any sort of conditions or dress code, and without and distinction between gender, race, and culture....

Here I go sounding like a hippie don't I?

Well anyways, there is a small bit of my heart for tonight..

I love you guys!


-Elijah-

Work projects and courage

Hey everybody!

So I figured it was about time that I update you all on what I have been doing, and how all the work projects down here are going..

Those of you that have been following me closely know that the first few weeks here, I was working with the missionaries from Ransomville, New York, on a school called petite place cazeau.. We all worked together laying brick, welding windows and doors together, painting, and putting a roof on the place.. At last, on tuesday we finished the project!


This is what the site looked like in the middle of May...



..And here is the finished project!

As of right now this building will be used as both a school and a church, until next to it another building can be constructed.

Also, yesterday me and some of the missionaries from from Ohio finished repairing the damaged wall in the Childcare building. It was a lot of work, but after finally bolting the two steel beams on either side of the cracked wall, the damage seemed very secure.

Today, most of us spent the whole day working on building a wall around a school that is down the street from where we are staying.. Me and Pastor Scott from Ohio worked together most of the day. He is a really nice guy, and definitely a pleasure to work with. It was the first time I have laid brick, but I learned how to spread mortar and level the bricks pretty quickly.

I hope to post some pictures in the future, but technology hasn't been cooperating lately..

Reacently I have become friends with a Haitian named Willson.. He doesn't speak hardly any english at all, but for some reason he has taken a liking to me. :) The last few evenings after work he has waved me over to sit around and talk with him and his family.. We do a pretty good job of communicating. Between all his family members and himself they can pick up basic things that I say in english.. Yesterday evening was definitely the most entertaining! I taught him and his family english and they taught me a little creole. Already we have had many conversations about Jesus, politics, and personal beliefs. These people certainly aren't afraid to speak their mind. I find that to be a trait I respect immensely! I find that too many Americans are afraid to be transparent about their beliefs for fear of offending someone, or being disagreed with. This reminds me of a few verses that have been on my mind lately...


"But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him. But We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but those who believe and are SAVED." Hebrews 10:38-39

"Be on your guard; stand firm in faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love." 1 Corinthians 16:13-14


Finally I would like to thank ALL of you guys again for all the prayers and support, there are so many awesome things God is doing here, I am just honored to be apart of it all! I believe in places like Haiti, where life is hard, where people are hurting, where the society is broken, and where there shouldn't be any hope at all, is when God shows his presence even brighter, and changes lives and hearts. God really does work all things together for good. You better believe it!

Lots of love!


-Elijah-

A changing heart

Hey guys!

So the first half of today Me and Larry spent running errands around the City. First we picked up a load of bricks and brought them to the school for the hardworking group of Haitians to continue work on the school. After that, I am pretty sure God was just teaching Me and Larry a lesson in patience! Today was the second day this week that we have gone from hardware store, to hardware store looking to buy an air compressor.. Each place recommended another place which recommended another. I think air compressors may be as hard to find as white people in Haiti! ;)

After another failed attempt at that, we began work on the building across from our house. It is an International Child Care building, which handles sponsorships of the children in this country. We are going to be putting up horizontal support beams on either side of a wall which was damaged by the earthquake.

I have found myself extremely spiritually disturbed today.. I was not sure why I felt so uneasy in my spirit, so I spent a lot of time in prayer today, and read a lot of the word tonight.. I feel like God is moving in me a lot.

Changing me. A lot.

I have been reflecting on the person I was before this trip... I feel like so much of my focus before recently has been on fighting my "human" or "sinful" side. But now I feel like God is trying to change my focus to be more then that. Instead of simply trying not to do wrong, I feel like I should be striving ahead towards Christ and not accepting anything less then holiness. REAL holiness. I don't want to just be known as a good or kind person anymore. I want to be known as someone who contagiously overflows the love of Christ! I want to be someone, who doesn't need to explain where he stands, because all his actions scream exactly where he stands! I don't want to see and think about only the physical world anymore. I want to see beyond, into what truly matters, loving the souls and spirit of BOTH those who stand by me, AND those who oppose me.

I can feel my beautiful Savior taking me to the next step in our relationship..
I am humbled and amazed that the Creator of the universe would even give me the time of day to speak to my heart!

Here are some verses which have spoken to me lately.. I hope they impact you as well!


"Do not love the world, or ANYTHING in the world, if anyone loves the world, the love of our Father is not in him." 1John 2:15

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need and has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?" 1John 3:17

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope that we profess, for He who promised is FAITHFUL. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." Hebrews 10:23-24

"Avoid godless chatter, cause those who indulge in it become more and more ungodly. Their teachings will spread like gangrene." 2Timothy 2:16-17

"Above all else, love each other DEEPLY, because love covers over a multitude of sins." 1Peter 4:7

"Finally brothers, whatever is TRUE, whatever is NOBLE, whatever is RIGHT, whatever is PURE, whatever is LOVELY, whatever is ADMIRABLE- if anything is EXCELLENT or PRAISEWORTHY- think about such things." Philippians 4:8


Once again thank you all for all your guys continued prayers! I am so excited for all the things God has yet to do while I am here in this country.

Lots of love!


-Elijah-

Beautiful Haiti.

Hello again everyone!

So today Me and Larry met up with Pastor Rick and his wife Cookie. They are missionaries that are permanently living in Haiti. All four of us went to Puits Blaine, the fastest growing Free Methodist church in Haiti this morning for service. Because Pastor Rick was preaching, we all sat next to the choir in front of possibly 900 Haitians... It was a little awkward at first! But eventually it seemed like everyone was staring at us less and it became more comfortable.. Pastor Rick spoke on forgiveness, and was translated by one of their church members.



Here is the church right after the service, from where we stood.



After church all four of us took a little road trip up the mountain by Port Au Prince to an extremely nice hotel/restaurant called The Lodge. It was so incredibly relaxing! The food was excellent and everyone there was very sophisticated and well spoken. Most of the food there was imported from outside the country.. Which is amazing since the Lodge is a very difficult place to get to from the city. Certainly it was a whole different side of Haiti. I almost felt guilty for having such a high quality meal, knowing people are starving just across the countryside from me.. But nonetheless, I gave thanks to God who for whatever reason has blessed me greatly!


Here is the front of the Lodge.


One of the things me and cookie talked about today was the tremendous contrast in Haiti.. There is the depressing destruction, and poverty side to Haiti, which I spoke of in my last post... And then another whole side of Haiti which is extremely rich, prosperous, and beautiful. There is not very many people in Haiti which are considered "middle class".

Here are some shots I took today while we drove up the mountain...



Almost ALL of the mountain sides are farmed somehow.. Even on insanely steep angles.



These pictures definitely don't do any justice to how amazing the view really WAS. But they at least give you all a taste!





I will continue to pray for you all! And I would like to thank all you guys that have stepped up to my last posts challenge.

Much love!


-Elijah-

Red bandanas and selfishness.

Hey everyone!

So I just finished an amazing, two and half hour game of chess with Jamie, and my brain is about fried, but I feel like there is a lot I want to talk about. Please bear with me and hopefully my thoughts will make some sense! I apologize in advance if I say something odd.. hehe! It's getting late!

First of all I would like to thank those of you that leave me such encouraging comments. It has definitely given me the motivation to continue to blog as often as I can! =)

On another note, I found out an extremely interesting fact about Haitian culture that could have gotten me in trouble had I not known about it!... I was speaking to a Haitian today (whose name I will undoubtedly butcher) who could speak English very well. We spoke of my home in Michigan, and the weather, as well as my love for snowboarding. He then pointed out my red bandana which I wear everyday while I work, in order to keep the sweat out of my eyes. He then explained to me that there is a Rap group in Haiti. And those who support that group wear red bandanas, while those who support a different Rap group wear black bandanas... He then laughed, as he continued to tell me that many gangs wear red or black bandanas. And to my complete ignorance, he explained that if you are in certain areas of Port Au Prince where there is an opposing gang to the red bandanas, that you could get beaten up.... Needless to say I think I may retire my faithful red sweatband.

I have spent a lot of time thinking lately about my future, and what I am doing here, and if this is what I want my life to be about. I have thought about how I feel extremely satisfied at the end of the day, knowing I have to some degree made a difference to something that actually mattered! I reflect on how I did not spend my day for myself. I did not waste my time seeking what would benefit me more, or what would make me more comfortable.. Then I think about how often my thoughts before arriving here were generally inward focused. Even when I DID do a favor for someone it was only because it would make them more happy towards ME! I did not see a favor for someone worth doing if it would never be noticed.. Oh how self centered my nature IS!... I can't say that I know for a fact that I will spend my whole life as a missionary in foreign countries. BUT! I do know that wherever I go, and whatever My Incredible Lord has me doing, I want to be a missionary in my heart and in my actions 24-7. I know that the ONLY way I will ever lead a satisfying life, is by living it for others.. The funny thing is that I have known that fact probably my whole life, but until you fully and completely give yourself over to an outward focused life, can you see why your life is so often unrewarding, mundane, and frustrating!.. I hope that concept made as much sense in writing as it did in my head. ;)

Lets change gears now... Literally! Larry took me out today to a road in town which doesn't get much traffic, and attempted to teach me how who drive his stick shift. It's harder then I thought it would be! But hopefully by the time I have to drive anywhere, ill have the hang of it.. As if worrying about the crazy traffic here wasn't enough!

Well, sleep is now fighting for my attention, so before I finish I want to thank you all once again for your continuous prayers! I believe God will take what we are doing here and use it in mighty ways to reach out to his children here in Haiti.

I hope God is as real and present in you guys as he is for me!

Lots of love.


-Elijah-

Rest and passion.

Sometimes it seems like the days that you sit and relax are more tiring then when you work all day! Today we took a much needed sabbath day, and we got back around 5PM here and I was so exhausted I could barely keep my eyes open! So now that it is 11:30PM here as I write, I feel as though I have already had a full nights sleep!... But then again, my tiredness could have been due to the HUGE and LOUD party that was going on right outside my window last night, which dragged on apparently until about 3:30, and was finally crashed by some police who unloaded their guns into the air. Needless to say Saturday nights in Port Au Prince are crazy!

Today we went and worshiped God in a tent, right next to the school we have been working on. My understanding is that it is a Haitian free methodist church. The Haitians are so VERY passionate when they worship! I didn't know what to think when a woman up front began praying at the top of her lungs. It sounded as if she was screaming because she was angry. Because of the language barrier, I didn't understand a lot. But I soon realized she was crying out to God... Possibly in desperation? Many of the women in are group were moved to tears by her passionate prayers. I realize this is a different culture then at home, but either way it still got me thinking..

Why are so many Christians back home so scared to show passion for the Lord? Surely it's not because Americans just aren't emotional.. As I say this, I realize that there are "charismatic" churches, which are full of emotion.. But I am not saying our faith should ONLY consist of emotions... However I believe there is a time for sadness, a time for anger, a time for excited-ness, a time for peace, a time for calm, and a time to let loose your heart before God. But it seems our worship services consist of very little WORSHIP! It is as though we have gotten comfortable with watching others worship. Don't you realize that God gave you emotions for a reason? Don't you realize every emotion can give God worship? Why are we ashamed of emotions?.. One of the greatest ironies I have seen, is an entire congregation sing about being free to run and dance...... Yet doing neither. Does it show holiness to act bored? Be aware, that I am speaking to myself as much as anyone else!

On another note, after church today me, Larry and the group of missionaries all went across Port Au Prince, out of town, and through some incredible wilderness, to an extremely nice beach. I swam for the first time in the Caribbean! It was the warmest salt water I have ever experienced. The water was so CLEAR and beautiful!

Here are a few shots I took today..




Outside of Port Au Prince there are long stretches of just prairies, with the occasional "tent city" or small town.




One of the small towns we passed.




We had mountains on one side of us...




And the sea on the other side of us!




Here is the beach we stayed at. =)



I will be praying for you all!
Thank again for all your guys support.
Much love.

-Elijah-