WHAT OUR HEARTS NEEDED

Henry Van Dyke once said, "A friend is what the heart needs all the time."

With some friends, no matter how much we'd love to have them ALL THE TIME, we have to settle for a week now and then. But when we get those weeks ... man, we try to make every moment count!

We just came off a week long visit from Melissa's great friend, Keri, and her daughter, Anna (who happens to be our Hannah's great friend), and her son, Matthew (who is Caleb's great friend). Simultaneously, my great friend from Asbury Seminary days, Tim, visited with his friend, Clint.

It was an absolute FriendFest! ™

It was the first time to Haiti for all but Keri, so we had a lot of "showing around" to do.

Here's Tim giving a motorcycle a little test drive:

Of course, we put everybody to work along the way. Tim and Clint shared music with all our younger Cowman students throughout their first full day.

They even came up to my middle school writing class and put the students' creativity to use in writing an original song.

Meanwhile, Keri and her kids went to town on Cowman's library, which was needing some serious cleaning and a fresh coat of paint.

All our OMS friends were happy to have Tim and Clint lead some worship time during our midweek prayer meeting.

On Thursday, we all played hooky from school to visit the Citadelle - always an amazing experience.

Matthew is a goofball.

We actually made it back to school by the end of the day so that Tim and Clint could meet with our worship team (and Matthew) to practice some music for chapel.

Friday morning came quickly.

The music was great and then Keri shared a fantastic message with all the students about being a good steward of the time God has given us ... by always putting God first.

That evening, after school, we hosted a special event for the middle school and high school students. Tim and Clint and Keri provided music and games, Melissa brought the hotdogs and smores, and I managed to build a successful bonfire out of rain-soaked wood.

Saturday morning brought a trip to Daniel's neighborhood. 

He had a lot to share about his hopes and dreams for the kids of his neighborhood ... and the near total lack of resources to realize them.

We had promised a beach day to our friends - because we HAVE to show off the natural beauty of this island - and the sunshine did not disappoint.

By this point in the week, everyone was needing a little down time.

Well rested, we headed Sunday morning into Cap Haitien to worship at Pastor Joseph's church. 

Tim and Clint jumped into the morning's music line up with ease.

I had the privilege of preaching, so we brought along my number 1 translator, Mikken.

After service, Pastor Joseph showed us the second floor - a work in progress - where he hopes to move the sanctuary someday.

On our way home, we made a stop at The Potter's House. Tim and Clint got to share their musical gifts there as well. And these kids LOVE music and singing.

After a quick late lunch, we turned around and went to Radio4VEH where Tim and Clint once again led music, this time for our English Bible Fellowship.

Back home, Tim organized a quick video for YouTube of his most popular song at Cowman for the week - a little earworm about God's Word. 

Take a look at the finished product, filmed in front of our house, featuring Guest Musician, Caleb - on trash can:

We had to squeeze one last thing in on Sunday - since every friend was leaving the next day - and that was a little trip up the mountainside to Johnny and Ruysdael's neighborhood.

Monday morning was sad - even by Monday morning standards. None of us were too happy to be saying goodbye. We put everyone to work for the morning back in the library since the ride to the airport wasn't leaving until noon.

And to be candid, when the moment of departure came, I couldn't get the words out to tell Tim - or any of the others - how much the visit meant to me and to our whole family. I honestly tried but it was one of those moments when you become conscious of some odd physical connection between your jaw and your tear ducts ... so I kept my mouth closed. But I'm saying it now, at least:

There are a lot of long days here and daily frustrations, big and small. And even five years in, there are bouts of homesickness and questioning. And sometimes you just want a friend from "back home" to lean on. 

You gave us that. You gave ME that.

AND there are moments here of elation, surprise and pure joy. And times when God feels as present as the breeze on your cheek. Honestly, THOSE moments often generate a similar desire to find a friend from "back home" to SHARE them with. Those moments keep us going. 

And you all brought a bunch of those moments with you to add to the ones already here.

You are what our hearts needed. You are what my heart needed. And you will likely never know what a gift your visit was. 

(Interesting ... I just discovered that my typing fingers are also connected to my tear ducts...)

(There is something beautifully metaphorical about this photo. When we reached the Citadelle, at the top of the mountain, it wasn't long until clouds rolled in and enveloped us all, obscuring the view. The only thing Caleb and Samuel could see clearly was their friend, Matthew, right beside them. Those cloudy times are when our hearts need friends the most.)

A MORNING IN LIMONADE

Shortly after Christmas, I got a visit from a local pastor whom, I confess, I didn't know very well, but he works with our church planting program, Every Community for Christ.  Pastor Israel invited me to preach at his church in Limonade on March 4th.

Now, March 4th seemed like a long, long time away and there was nothing on my calendar for that day, so I said, "I'd love to!"

Over the last two weeks, Pastor Israel messaged me every few days on Facebook to say, "Don't forget about March 4th!" But when the weekend finally arrived, I found a few conflicts. For one thing, Melissa's friend was visiting from Michigan with her daughter and plans had been made to spend some time together at the beach. This put me in search of alternate transportation to get me to Limonade.

So, much of yesterday was spent going through plans A to E with nothing to show late in the evening. At one point Melissa asked me, "Why do you agree to do these things?" I was beginning to wonder myself ...

Melissa was willing to sacrifice her trip to the beach, but I knew many others were counting on her to drive and she was really looking forward to it. After I had exhausted Option E, Melissa (the smart one) had the brainstorm of asking our friends at Emmaus Seminary if we could borrow their truck.

They were graciously willing to loan it for the day but that did mean that my Sunday morning started at 7:00 am as a passenger on the back of Mikken's motorcycle to retrieve the vehicle. 

Actually, I admit, a pretty fun start to the day ...

After securing transportation, Mikken, Kacie, and I drove the 45 minutes to Limonade. It didn't take long to discover I REALLY didn't know where the church was. When I had asked Pastor Israel for directions over Messenger, he had sent me a picture of the church's sign. So at least I knew the name of the church! I had asked a mutual friend for directions, but they got a bit confused in my head - especially after we got trapped for a few minutes in the city square, surrounded by a parade of Catholic school children. I started to panic about being late.

Mikken had the presence of mind to search Google maps on his phone and, surprisingly, found the location of "Eglise Baptiste de la Trinite Dubourg Limonade". Well, at least the FORMER location of the church. From there, a little boy offered to ride with us to point out the new location and he was excited to receive 10 goudes from Kacie for his help.

We slipped in the side door after the service had already started. The church was small but well packed with people of all ages. The day was sunny and breezy outside and the worship was lively inside. 

As always, Mikken did a wonderful job as translator.  I preached on Romans 12:1 - "present your body as a living sacrifice" and the congregation was very receptive. 

The whole service was a joy. This young lady was celebrating her birthday, so she was brought forward and we sang to her ... twice. And then, one by one, congregants young and old came forward to give her a kiss on the cheek. 

She endured it with great grace and composure. ;-)

Communion was served after the regular service, and these two little guys sat beside me, hinting that they'd really enjoy having the rope I had used as a sermon illustration. 

They got it.

After communion, Pastor Israel graciously set a table for the three of us just outside the church and we enjoyed a lunch of fried chicken, plantains and pikliz. The morning couldn't get much better!

Here's Pastor Israel, on the left, with his wife and an associate pastor. The church is growing and he's making plans to start a school in September. 

I must say, this school's student body has the potential to be one of the cutest ever.

So why do I agree to preach whenever I get asked? Because it's a joy and a privilege to experience a new corner of God's gathered people. Not to mention, I hate to pass up an opportunity to proclaim God's word. What could be better?

P.S.  Melissa truly enjoyed the day at the beach with her friend Sarah. It was a wonderful time to catch up. We are sad to see Sarah and her daughter Megan head back to Michigan after such a short visit, but we are confident we will see them and the rest of the family this summer, God willing.

We would appreciate prayers for her as this week marks the beginning of her second intensive class for the Master's degree she started on in January. 

Melissa helping Sarah, a friend, and Megan get situated on a moto to head back to Children of the Promise for the night.