Our family is going home. On time.
Melissa and I met with folks at Headquarters Thursday and they, like us, had done a lot of praying and crunching numbers and talking through possibilities. They had reached the conclusion that putting us back on the field in time to prepare for the coming school year was a necessity, BUT it was going to be possible only by shifting part of our financial burden onto the field itself.
Believe me, Melissa and I were incredibly relieved at the prospect of getting back to Haiti in time to start our third year at Cowman, but we certainly didn't want to inflict our stresses on an already strapped mission field. I assured HR that we were seeing some incredible support coming in, consisting of both one time gifts and new monthly pledges - and that Melissa and I felt confident that our support account would soon be healthy and would not be dependent on, nor infringe upon, other valuable ministries in Haiti.
After all, we had already seen a number of friends and churches respond with generous financial support for our ministry. We were seeing progress...
A few hours after the meeting, Headquarters received word of a very generous new gift! We all rejoiced at the timing of this encouragement; it seemed to confirm that we were on the right track and that the Lord was intending to provide for our ministry in such a way as to not draw down from Cowman's limited funds.
God is so good. And the generosity and love of friends, family and complete strangers continues to overwhelm us. Thank you - to all who have given for years and to those who have recently joined our support team. THANK YOU on our behalf and on behalf of the precious Haitian friends we are privileged to work among.
While hosting our family recently in Grundy Center, Iowa, our dear friends (and some time surrogate grandparents to our kids!), Phil and Connie, treated us to some of the best Chinese food I've ever tasted. (Yes ... in Grundy Center, Iowa!)
Now, I am not superstitious about fortune cookies, but I have learned over the years that God knows how to get my attention, especially when anxiety has risen in my heart and I need a glimpse of hope. So when I cracked open my fortune cookie at the end of the meal to see this fortune, I felt justified in allowing it to lift my hopes:
You couldn't find a more concise description of our home in Haiti. (The English word "Haiti", in fact, is a derivative of the original "Ayiti", which means "Land of Many Mountains"!)
There is still support to raise, but with God's help, and the generosity of many brothers and sisters in Christ, we are moving forward! God bless you and God bless Haiti!
[If you have not given yet, but the Lord has been prompting you to do so, please visit our OMS page and follow the instructions there. We'd be so grateful!]
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