Haiti: A Miracle

I imagine that all of us have seen some horrific images and heard devastating accounts of the earthquake in Haiti. There is much suffering there right now.

There are a few missionary families that I know of in Haiti, some I'm more closely acquainted with than others. Being concerned for them, I poked around on facebook trying to discover if they were okay or not. I want to share with you a miracle that unfolded on Wednesday.

Biz and Erica Lerisse, along with their children, are missionaries to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. This letter was written last Saturday, before the earthquake.

Dear Praying Friends,

I remember hearing in Bible college over and over again about the evil days that would surely come to every believer, and especially to those attempting something for God. So it has never been a surprise to us when things went wrong or contrary to the way we prayed or planned. I have seen the inside of the Haitian jail twice. I have had thugs stone our bus. I have seen our church property vandalized and demolished. We have been lied about; accused by Haitians of having voodoo powers to get people into the church and accused by American bothers in Christ of "all those people did not really get saved." We have fought severe asthma in one child, and have fought worms, parasites, salmonella, and malnutrition in others. My wife and children have been in a near death accident and walked away unharmed. Along with these wrestlings from without we have had our wrestlings from within - those evil days of our own making.

But recently we were confronted with news that we never expected to hear. My wife has been extremely ill with acute bronchitis and weight loss in her 7th month of pregnancy. Upon taking her to the doctor and an ultra sound being done, it was found that our little baby Steven Ray has fluid on the brain and a disconnected spinal column that is known as spina bifida. We will not know the severity of the complications until the baby is taken by C-section on January 18th in Santo Domingo. Immediately upon delivery, surgery will be performed to cover the exposed spine or vertebrae, and surgery will be done on the brain to implant a shunt to drain the fluid. Of course we covet the prayers of all of God's people. We know that God is able to correct these problems before the due date, and of course we are praying to that end. But more than we want these "problems" corrected we want His will for our lives, His grace and mercy to be demonstrated to unbelievers and weak believers, and we want to be more like Him; and to that end we pray.

In the midst of these days, we have seen victories in Saint Marc and what seem like defeats. While out of town a few weeks ago, the people opposing us for the church property came and demolished the foundation we had raised for the wall. A few days later they came to the property with the city commissioner to sell a portion of the land. We still have possession of the front part on which the church stands, but they have taken possession of and sold the back. And yet, in the Living Baptist Church of Saint Marc souls are still being saved and baptized, and young men are preparing for Bible College. God has allowed me to see over 35 souls saved this month in personal soul winning, and our second church is growing.

Pray for us. Pray for my Beloved. Pray for our precious children. Pray for the ministry and that God's perfect will be done in His perfect way. Pray for the finances that we need in the starting of this Bible College: for dorms, furniture, meals, and curriculum. Pray for the expenses we are about to accrue with the birth of our little baby Stephen and the special needs that he will have. Pray that God would give me wisdom and understanding. Pray that through all these things Christ's kingdom would be enlarged and our family would become more like the Master.

We love you, and we thank you in advance for your effectual, fervent prayers.

Biz Lerisse

This letter is so poignant. I can feel the raw emotion and am reminded again that our missionary friends are just regular people like us. Not to minimize their great faith and sacrifice for Christ; I truly admire them. I only mean to say that they are afraid just as we would be. They get homesick and lonely and discouraged and sad. They worry for their children's health and safety just like any one of us would. They are not some super breed of Christian who are not affected by all the persecution and hardships. Missionary wives don't hate huge bugs in their cupboards any less than I would! And yet, they go anyway. They stay anyway. Their lives are not their own but the Lords. And we don't have to have a foreign address to live the same way.

After reading this and learning of the diagnosis in their unborn baby, I felt such sadness for the Lerrises. I don't know them well; they attended the same college I did but were a couple of years my senior. They do however have a reputation among anyone who does know them of being very humble and sincere servants of God. Thinking of all the trials they've been enduring and then the earthquake hit, I and many others, held them in prayer on Wednesday that somehow they were safe.

On Wednesday evening, I decided to check facebook before going to bed to see if there were any updates on the Lerisse's and other missionary families for which I was concerned. It was then that I learned about a miracle God had done!!!

The c-section, which took place in the Dominican Republic, had been changed from the date given in the prayer letter to the 13th. Wednesday. The day after the earthquake. The Lerisse family was safe and not even in Haiti during the earthquake. Not only this but....

The baby does not have spinal bifida. The baby is fine.

"Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD." Psalm 135:1

Of-course, they and all the missionaries down there need our continued prayer. Their churches are hurting, people are devastated, supplies are hard to come by and violent people are trying to take advantage of the situation. Haiti is spiritually in darkness and even before the quake, it was a hard place to labor.

And lastly, here is an article written by one of my friend's young brother. He, with his parents, are missionaries in Haiti. All those faceless thousand who are injured or killed have faces and names to them. They knew them and loved them. Kasey Baker can tell you better than I.

Good news

Eden has returned from her space voyage and is no longer radio active. Confused? This will grant you clarity.

I've been having way too much fun figuring out PE8. I have totally neglected house work and cooking to do so but I'm not feeling guilty enough to stop yet. Okay not really. I just so happened to have planned very simple meals this week. I should do that more often!

Also, the wheels on turning on the house situation. We're expecting a closing date to be set in a week or so. So my mind is beginning to turn to packing and remodeling and paint colors and frankly, it makes me hyperventilate if I ponder it for long.

I'm feeling very snarky today. I'm not exactly sure what "snarky" means but I heard someone use it once and going just off the context, it means a bit sarcastic and a bit snooty, and a bit snippity. Now I'm not going to define "snooty" and "snippity". Just rest assured that I want to be in my jammies right now and eat some very dark chocolate. Which I have none of. I mean, I do have jammies but not dark chocolate. Do you ever NOT buy goodies when you are grocery shopping because your will to eat good was strong at that moment and then regret it later...when your will wasn't so strong anymore?

And now I will leave you with the cutest thing in the universe: my little girls.

A new trend in toy storage

It seems that I am constantly looking to improve the way we organize and store the girls' toys. And after Christmas, this becomes a down right priority! I guess Eden has taken notice and wants to help. When I hoisted her up to get her diaper changed, I notice that her jammies were snug. Oh no! I thought! These are brand new! And then I saw how lumpy her body was. Oh no! She is covered in tumors! Okay, I didn't really think that. I'm a crazy mom but not THAT crazy!

As I unzipped, I realized that Eden had stuffed as many toys as possible into the legs of her footie jammies. Just when I thought I had found the last one, there would be another!

She was quite pleased with herself, as you can see in this (gritty) picture:

Photoshop. It's hard.

It's 11 p.m. And I'm up. Not good.

Why? Because I'm really really trying to figure out Photoshop Elements 8. It's fun but it's hard. At least for me. I think I used to be smart. But my babies stole my brain cells. It's okay. They were worth it.

Here the original photo. Isn't she pretty? She's mine. She stole my brain cells.

Now what I wanted to do was make the curtains in the background all soft and blurry and put all the focus on Eden's pretty eyes. But somehow, I ended up making it night time in the background with an unnatural glow around Eden. It looks like she's floating through space after being dipped in nuclear power plant waste.

The good news is that I have figured out how to remove pimples from people's faces. That's a mighty handy trick to have when you're a youth pastor's wife who takes oodles of pictures of teenagers!! (Of-course only the stinky boys get zits around here... the young ladies never get, ahem, blemishes, right girls?)

So if anyone wants to be a pimple free, toxic glowing, space floater, let me know!! I'd me happy to take your picture!

New website

Our new church website is up and running. There are still a few things to finalize (such as setting up the email accounts) but I thought I'd go ahead and share it with those who would be interested. We've had a website for a couple of years and have had several guests stop by church as a result!!

http://www.hartshillbaptist.com/

What else have I been up to today? Hmmm....

Lots of laundry, took the girls out for a few hours to give Seth a quiet house so he could study (he is preaching tomorrow night instead of our Pastor), roasted a big ol' turkey for dinner then went out for our weekly date to Barnes & Nobles while Nana (my mom) watched with the girlies. I bought the turkey right before Thanksgiving... even though I wasn't hosting Thanksgiving, it was so cheap and I've only cooked a turkey once before so I wanted another whack at it. I did a brine yesterday (this recipe) and roasted it today using Alton Brown's technique. I think it came out really well, if I do say so myself!! (Humility is one of my best attributes.) ;) Making gravy is not my strong suit, since I don't make it often (it's super fattening and although Seth loves it, it does not love him back and leaves him with terrible heart burn if he eats it often). Today was probably my best gravy ever. I used chicken broth and I think that was the difference. I had always just used fat, drippings and flour and was never thrilled with it. Today's gravy was just how I wanted it: flavorful, not too thick, not to thin, no lumps, no gnarly pieces of turkey particles. Just perfect. Why am I going into such great detail about gravy?!!

Okay if you've lasted this long into the post, you deserve a prize. Each one of you go to your cupboard, get a handful of crackers and smear some Nutella on each and every one. Sit down on your couch with a blanket and gobble them up before any family members come requesting that you share. Since I lasted this long as well, I shall do the same.

G'night, you turkeys!

Wait on the Lord: My theme for 2010

This, for me, is one of the harder to define terms in the Bible. I feel a little vulnerable publishing this post. Maybe I’m the only one who has trouble wrapping my mind around the meaning of “waiting on God.” I have looked up all the variations of wait, waiting, waiteth or waited in Scripture. Here are the most common lexicon meanings:

Hope, look for, expect
Ambush
To tarry, to wait or to hope for (it always amuses me when a word is used in its own definition)
Inspect, examine, hope, wait upon (as in a restaurant waiter who takes your order)
To be silent, to be still, die

Webster’s 1828 defines “wait” as:

WAIT, v.i. [The sense is to stop, or to continue.]
1. To stay or rest in expectation; to stop or remain stationary, till the arrival of some person or event. Thus we say, I went to the place of meeting, and there waited an hour for the moderator or chairman. I will go to the hotel, and there wait till you come. We will wait for the mail.
2. To stay proceedings, or suspend any business, in expectation of some person, event, or the arrival of some hour. The court was obliged to wait for a witness.
3. To rest in expectation and patience.
All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Job 14.
4. To stay; not to depart.
Haste, my dear father, tis no time to wait.
5. To stay; to continue by reason of hindrance.
6. To lie in ambush, as an enemy.
Such ambush waited to intercept thy way.
To wait on or upon, to attend, as a servant; to perform menial services for; as, to wait on a gentleman; to wait on the table.
To wait on,
1. To attend; to go to see; to visit on business or for ceremony. Tell the gentleman I will wait on him at ten o’clock.
2. To pay servile or submissive attendance.
3. To follow, as a consequence; as the ruin that waits on such a supine temper. [Instead of this, we use await.]
4. To look watchfully.
It is a point of cunning to wait on him with whom you speak, with your eye. [Unusual.]
5. To attend to; to perform.
Aaron and his sons shall wait on their priests office. Numbers 3, 8. Romans 12.
6. To be ready to serve; to obey. Psalm 25. Proverbs 20.
To wait at, to attend in service; to perform service at. 1 Corinthians 9.
To wait for, to watch, as an enemy. Job 15.

Phew! That’s a lot to digest!! Need a minute? Me too. Putting on the tea kettle and I’ll be right back!

Okay. Now… how does this fit into my theme for the year?

I’m a goal oriented person. A task oriented person. I want a job to do all the time. I can only handle so much free time before I get annoyed, or even depressed because after a day of doing nothing with purpose I’ve convinced myself that I’m wasting my life. I know- I have issues. I don’t know why I’m like this or how I came to be the psycho that I now am. Really, this blog is a result of my need to be doing something. I know that many people view blogs as just a giant time waster, and I’m sure many are- even this one sometimes. But it makes me feel like I’m being productive. To record the days happenings, to establish or strengthen friendships, to be inspired by other’s writings, to develop my own writings, hopefully be an encouragement to someone, or at least make them smile as they think “this girl is whacked”, to relay helpful information, yada yada yada. It’s not curing cancer but hey, it’s not watching TV or reading a corny Janette Oke book either. Not that I’m anti-Janette Oke. I think I’ve read all of her books. It’s like setting your mind on cruise control and loosing yourself in the world of perfect heroes and elegant ladies roughing it in the Canadian frontier. How did we get on this subject?

Focus, Kayte, focus!

I am in a really calm season of life. Most of my time is spent inside my home, keeping a small house clean and 2 small girls clean. And fed. Yes, the law says we have to feed them, doesn’t it? Of course there are days when just accomplishing those deeds is quite enough to keep my plate full. But I get to feeling restless. I want to DO DO DO!!! (My sister in law who is 30 going on 13 would be laughing right now because I said “doo doo”.)

I am far too inclined to get ahead of God. To decide for Him what I should tackle next or what direction our family or ministry should go. I happen to think all my ideas are brilliant. Until I figure out that they are not.

A while back, I made this silly looking wheel to represent a Christian’s life. Don’t laugh at it… circles are hard for me! The spokes are showing a few of the areas in a Christian’s life (of course we have many more than what I included on this visual aid) and the hub, or center of our life, is Christ. As we go about our life or just each day, we might be tempted to jump to the spoke that we most enjoy or think most needful at the time. Or to add spokes according to our own wisdom. But that is not the recipe for success. Now obviously there are spokes to every Christian's life that we don't have to wait for a specific directive from God to add; the Bible tells us what spokes we should ALL include in our lives. But there are some spokes that are more specific to each individual and what God has for them. The point is that before going on to the next spoke, or adding or removing a spoke, we need to go back to the center. Returning to the center (Christ) to find our way to the next spoke is what I'm calling "waiting on the Lord."

I gave part of my lesson from the story of Cushi and Ahimaaz running to tell David important news. (I Sam. 18) Ahimaaz ran very fast and reached the king first, but he did not have a complete message to relay. Meanwhile, Cushi approached shortly after and had all the details David needed to know. I am prone to be an Ahimaaz. Seth is prone to be a Cushi. He’s much slower to get his engines in gear but when he does, he is confident that it’s a job from God and is right to do. I’m more of the let’s just get started and if it is not right, we’ll just figure that out on the way. And then like Ahimaaz, I'm tired and out of breathe and wondering why all my efforts weren't productive. Because I didn't wait long enough for God to lay out the plan for me.

So for me, what this theme of “waiting on the Lord” means is both the waiting like a waiter waits on your order, “God what do have for my life today?” and patiently waiting for His answer. Both of these contexts are against my natural strengths. Probably most of us don’t like taking orders, or being patient while the orders come in. I was struck by the word “silent” in the definitions from the lexicon. Keeping my soul quiet so that I may hear what God has to say to me.

“My soul, wait thou only on God; for my expectation is from God.” Psalm 62:5

“Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” Psalms 27:14

Most of this has been philosophical but now I’m going to be practical and pointed. The things I’m specifically working on waiting on the Lord about:

- Our ministry. I want to see growth, both in number and spiritually. I can occupy myself for hours thinking of sure fire ways to do this but ultimately, this is GOD’S church and GOD’S youth group and He will give the increase. I know this may seem like a statement the youth pastor might say and not his wife but what can I say… I’m whacked.

- Our housing situation. Since May ’09 we’ve been on the verge on moving to a different parsonage… but well… it’s a long ol’ boring story. Basically, we’re just praying for God to make his plan for our living arrangements known.

- Our personal financial future.

Maybe some of what I’m getting at is just simply “plodding”, as I’ve heard others call it. Just cheerfully going about the day to day mundane nose wiping and mess cleaning and story book reading and laundry folding while NOT feeling like I’m doing wasting my life or am making no real impact on the world. I in no way mean to diminish my role as wife and mommy. I’m working on viewing the less than glamorous aspects of domestic life as being God ordained and of utmost importance… because it truly is.

My lay person definition of “waiting on the Lord”: letting God direct my steps in His own time. Not allowing frustration, impatience or preconceived ideas to hinder Him.

Professional taste tester

Here she is: my professional taste tester. Today, she was quite a busy girl and ate an entire tube of chap stick. She had the plastic tube cleaned completely out. Then later, the girls were helping me clean up after dinner and I thought putting the dishwasher tablet in it's place would an easy task for Eden. So I unwrapped it and handed it to her while saying, "Put it right in- NO NO NO!! Out of your mouth!!!!!" She thought I wanted her to taste it, I guess. She's so helpful like that.

Madison got over the urge to put every object on earth in her mouth at a much younger age. Especially things that don't taste good. Eden, however, thinks this is her occupation in life. She's almost 20 months old... doesn't it seem a bit old for this??

This past summer, the girl ate as much sand and dirt as she did food. Blach! And even worse... oh, do I even admit this?? Ohhhhhh. About 6 months ago, she made a discovery on her diaper.... it was a little brown ball. Apparently, she thought it might belong in her mouth too. The horror of that scene still haunts me. I think I literally cried.... and just about drowned her "washing" her mouth.

So there is a lovely thought to leave you with tonight. Pleasant dreams.