Sunday, May 8, 2016

Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed.






Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for thou art my praise. Jeremiah 17:14

The Lord always has something important to show us, and maybe it's just a little bit easier for us to see it when we're living in a place like Haiti. Last week we were reminded about the brevity of life. We were reminded that God is always in total control of who is granted his next breath, and who he choses to send into eternity. We were reminded of the great need to share the blessed hope of eternal life that is offered through the blood of Jesus. This week, God showed us these same things again, but this time with a different type of story.


In a place like America, men can say they don't really "need God." If we fall sick, be it a simple cold or a terrible, chronic disease, there is an abundance of medicine and men to turn to. Here, though, especially in the mountain, its not so easy. The doctors aren't so easy to get to, and despite the significantly lower cost to visit them than in the states, the people who could get there still can't often afford it. This leaves people with two options. Many of them, unfortunately, turn to voodoo. The other option: call out to the Almighty God in faith. Sometimes, they don't know how to go about it, so they ask for a Pastor. This is how Barry met one dear family last week, after some friends had come with the message that a very sick man was requesting to be prayed with.

There he found a young man, in his early thirties, whose body seemed to be eating away at itself. Just one year ago, he was a strong, robust man, but now his frail, bony body was lying helplessly on the bed, where he had been for quite some time. He was so weak he was barely able to speak, and his young family seemed to be suffering from the distress of the situation. This man, having no idea what was wrong with him, only knew that he was in pain and desperately needed help. He had declared that if God would heal him, he would wholly dedicate himself to serving Him. Barry prayed with him and called out for the healing he so desperately needed.
A family clearly in need of help


That evening, Barry was sharing his heart with us and explained the severity of the situation. The man was slipping into such an awful condition, he explained, that we would soon be faced with a decision ourselves. Either God would heal him, or we would have to take him to get medical help before this man died.

First thing the next morning, Barry made the drive past Williamson and into the mountain a short distance to check on the man and his family. What he found is still enough to bring tears of joy. He was sitting up, smiling, and said that he had been out working in the garden that morning! This is nothing short of a miracle and we praise Jesus for hearing our prayers!

Barry is continuing to check on him, anxious to see the life change this man makes. May God be glorified through his testimony!






Around our Neighborhood

Due to some setbacks with vehicles, the long-distance preaching and discipleship meetings had to be postponed. Fortunately, though, there is still plenty to do nearby. Last Sunday the Lord had it that Barry preach at Lifeline again. He felt weak that morning, and it was truly up to the Spirit to lead his speach. He spoke on deception and explained how it happens within the church. At times like these we can always see that less of me is more of Christ. The only way anyone could have left that buliding with sin in their hearts is by some serious distracting and pulling from the enemy.

This morning's Sunday services were at a church within walking distance from home. Some young people had stopped by earlier in the week to present us with some of the moringa products that they sell for a living. They quickly learned what we were here for and what we were about. Two of them were leaders in the church and invited Barry to preach there today.  He was led to share a message on the wages of sin is death, as many in the congregation were effected by the recent accident in the neighborhood that took several lives. He explained that if a man is born again, there is power in the blood of Jesus, and that man should no longer be held captive by sin. He ended by detailing what it means to repent, and expressed that we should no longer desire to go "back to the water where we were drowning" ever again. There seemed to be quite a mixed group there, with several of the older women giving "Amen" through the message, while some of the apparently rebellious young people we have seen elsewhere continued to be distracted by their own desires. May God continue letting the words be heard as the week continues.






We're enjoying getting to know a lot of the people who are our very nearby neighbors. Some of them are working on the widows' house, many of them attend the nearby church where Benji preached during his visit, and the children are often out and about and anxious to visit. Some of the young ladies have expressed a desire for more modest clothing, and we were blessed to have some dresses to share with them. Many thanks for all the hard work that was put into getting these down here!


Thursday night night we said good-bye to our dear Katie, as it was time for her to head back to Ohio after her two-month stay. She was a tremendous blessing in helping around the house, loving our children, and most importantly out spending time with the neighbors. She certainly did what she came to do in building relationships here, through which she was able to answer a lot of questions about why we do things the way we do them. She opened doors for us that may have taken us a lot longer to get to while we're busy with other things. We enjoyed having extra seats filled for our family devotions many nights while young people came to see Katie. We'll all miss her being around!



2 comments:

  1. Praise the LORD!!
    “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,Unto him [be] glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. ”Eph 3:20-21
    We will pray for you as you continue to minister to the hearts of that dear family...
    I'm sure you miss Katie...but hopefully you as a family will have a bit of time to connect too before others come.
    May our heavenly Father keep a hedge about you spiritually and physically...
    Love to all,
    Steve, Marie and family

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