A MATTER OF DEATH AND LIFE

One evening nearly three weeks ago now I logged onto Facebook to find distressing news: an old friend had died too young - a massive heart attack at age 36.  I first met Jason when I arrived in Le Mars, Iowa in 1991 as a newly trained youth pastor, fresh out of college.  Jason was finishing junior high that spring and it didn't take me too long to get to know him, his parents, Bill and Jodee, and two younger sisters, Jennica and Jonalee, and his little foster brother named Spencer. 

I was young, single guy 700 miles from my family and Jason's family adopted me as part of their own.  His parents became two of my most trustworthy youth ministry helpers, and Jason earned a reputation as one of the most hard-working and fun-loving teens I have ever known.  The whole family was such a joy to spend time with.

Of course, I stayed in touch with them even after life took me in new directions over the following years.  Two years ago I was thrilled to bring Melissa and the kids to Le Mars for a few days to meet Jason and his family. 

Then, three weeks ago, Jason had a massive heart attack and died on his parents' couch, leaving behind a wife of six years and a recently adopted daughter along with all his other relatives and friends. 

Melissa and I agreed the night we heard the news that I should make the effort to get back to the funeral.  I spent the next day making flight arrangements (from Cap Haitien to Florida to Omaha) and writing substitute plans for school. Since the next week at Cowman was going to be a short one (in honor of a Haitian holiday) we decided I should not rush the trip and, instead, allow time for me to swing through Indiana for a quick visit with my mom after the funeral. 

Below are some pictures from my trip:

Coming back into the U.S. after 9 months away can be mighty strange.  Does anyone really need a vending machine for electronics?

I made it to Omaha early enough that Friday afternoon to hitch a ride with Jason's aunt and uncle, making it to the visitation on time.  There was a line of mourners out the door and across the parking lot for over four hours.

Hard to believe ...

I woke up Saturday morning to a glorious Iowa day.  So thankful for the generosity and hospitality of good friends, Dixie and Calvin, who put me up for the night in their brand new home. 

Came across reminders of new life after death as I walked to Bill and Jodee's house Saturday morning before the funeral.  I was thrilled to catch a bit of spring - coming from the land of perpetual summer heat.  I was quite chilled throughout most of my week back in the States. 

Jodee cradling Jennica's sweet little girl.

Jason's funeral was like no other I've been to.  Jason had lived a few "prodigal son" years as a young adult and then had come back to Christ in a powerful and unmistakable way a few years ago.  His family was comforted by so many testimonies of those who were touched by Jason's life and his faith.  The funeral turned into an outright WORSHIP service and the officiating pastor even finished with an altar call!  And you know what?  Twelve souls were added to the Kingdom that day.  New life in the midst of death!

Jason's daughter had the idea of lighting and releasing Japanese lanterns in honor of his life and so that is how we spent that evening at a local park.

Bill lights a lantern.  No father could have loved a son more dearly than Bill has. I am tearing up now as I look at these pictures and consider the pain Bill and Jodee, and the rest of the family, are  enduring right now.

Jonalee lights a lantern for her brother.  More tears.

Jonalee, Spencer, Jennica and Eliana break ground in Bill and Jodee's backyard to plant a rose bush in Jason's honor.

Don't even ask.  Let's just say that Jason's sense of humor lives on in his sisters.

On Monday, Bill and Jodee drove me to the Sioux Falls airport. My flight to Chicago got delayed 14 hours and then more delays in Chicago.  So  glad to finally touch down in Indianapolis where I was picked up, fed and delivered to my mother's house by good friends, Bob and Jill.  After a quick visit in Indiana, I was back on a plane to Orlando by Thursday afternoon and departing for Haiti by Friday morning.  It felt like coming home.

Brought back some goodies for the kids and Melissa, so everyone was excited to help me unpack!

And that following Sunday, since I had missed Mother's Day, we had a do-over.  (Especially since Melissa was left here over a week to hold everything together while I travelled.) Apparently, without my coaching, three out of four kids forgot to even wish Melissa a happy Mother's Day on the actual holiday.  Oops!  With coaching, Samuel and Caleb managed, a week late, to assemble a nice little bouquet and ...

... breakfast in bed. I must admit, I have been a little more thankful and bit more attentive to my wife and kids since returning.  None of us knows how long we get. 

I had the honor of speaking briefly at Jason's funeral.  I took the opportunity to share an observation.  I knew the Midwest had suffered through a terrible winter, so it occurred to me as I got a glimpse of springtime beauty that there was no way I could possibly appreciate and treasure the spring like the folks who had lived through a tough winter.  The tougher the winter, the more joyous the spring!  I know that Bill and Jodee, Jonalee and Jennica, Jason's wife, Mindi, and their daughter are all going to have some awfully tough days ahead.  I know life will never be the same.  I know the sense of loss will make some days downright bitter and nearly unbearable.  It's going to be a tough winter.  But the reunion coming in Heaven will be a springtime like no other.  Not only will we be reunited with our loved ones, we will be in the presence of the King Himself. For eternity. 

Personally, I can hardly wait for spring.

IF WE CONFESS

Sweet and sacred moments with our littlest one tonight.  Sarah, our seven year old, came out of her bedroom a full half hour after we put her down for the night.  She whined to Melissa, "I can't get to sleep ... and I REALLY need to sleep."

Having attended a funeral last week for a 36 year old father of a little girl not much older than Sarah, I have returned home determined to simply BE with my kids more than I have been in the past.  None of us know how much time we have with our precious little ones. 

So even though I was in the middle of some computer work, I offered to climb into bed with her and tickle her back for a few minutes. (It's something she has loved since she was a toddler ... it would definitely not help ME fall asleep to have somebody tickle MY back, but it works for her.)

It turns out her lack of sleep was the result of a guilty conscience.  Mid-tickle she started to cry and all of a sudden she was confessing - in halting, tearful breaths - to all sorts of recent lies she had told to her sister, her friend and her classmates. 

I quickly called Hannah into the room and Sarah confessed a lie to her ... and was forgiven. Relieved, Sarah hopped out of bed to give her sister a hug. So precious!

I prayed with Sarah for forgiveness and then we went out to the living room again to confess to her mother (and teacher!) some lies and naughty behavior at school.  She was forgiven, hugged tightly, and Melissa prayed over her too.

Once again, I carried Sarah down the hallway, crawled back into her bed and began to tickle her back.  Now with a clear conscience before God and man, within a couple of minutes she was sound asleep. 

What a reminder to me of the importance of keeping our hearts unhardened by sin.

And of the power of confession.

AND of the potential ministry in my own household I miss out on when I am "too busy" to pay attention.

Lord, forgive ME...



"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."  1 John 1:9

"THE ONE WHO HAS TWO SHIRTS...

... should share with the person who has none."

"That is the verse they quoted to me!"

Last night I listened intently as Daniel explained a conversation he had had recently with some "friends" of his in his neighborhood.  They were quoting John the Baptist to him (as found in Luke 3) and taunting him: "You say you are a Christian, you say you are going to go to seminary, then PROVE you are a Christian."

They were rudely testing the sincerity of his faith with their demand that he make a willing sacrifice.

In the American church, we speak of the sacrifices associated with faith in Christ in largely abstract terms most of the time (- if we speak of sacrifices at all). 

We might sacrifice our "time", our "resources".

Daniel's neighbors were asking him to sacrifice his cat.

Not to become someone else's pet.  But to become someone else's dinner.

[Please note that eating cat here would be sort of like eating squirrel in the States in that some Americans enthusiastically eat squirrel - on rare occasions - while most would be turned off by the very thought of it. I don't think Daniel's "friends" wanted the cat because they were starving and there were no other food options, but rather because it was a somewhat novel "food" and they were trying to goad him into an unchristian reaction.]   

"When they said to me that they wanted to eat my cat and that he who has two coats should share one, I told them, 'I only have ONE cat. And he keeps the rats and mice from chewing on my book.'"

They persisted in asking for the cat. 

Daniel resisted in giving it. 

But in the end, the "friends" forcibly took the cat. Daniel came home one day a few weeks ago to find it cooking in a pot.

"So what did you do?" I asked him.

"What could I do?  As a Christian, I had to forgive them, and I did.  I did not want them to become my enemies."

And that was that.

With his eye on becoming a pastor, Daniel will be starting a course of study this coming August with our friends at Emmaus Biblical Seminary just down the road. 

I think he's going to do all right...

A VISIT FROM OUR HOME CHURCH

Tonight I got Melissa back.  For the past week she's spent every spare moment with her friends from back home in Indiana.  (Reminded me of the week she discovered "Downton Abbey" DVDs!) 

Three of our visitors over the past week - Kate, Keri, and Karen - are women Melissa numbers among the best friends of her lifetime.  The fourth - Kelly - came as a stranger to us and left as a new friend.  (And with the four of these ladies came four other new friends from Ohio.) 

One of the first things Keri did was to show pictures of HER four kids to OUR four kids who are all really good friends.

In the afternoon of the Wednesday they arrived, several team members joined all the regular missionaries for the prayer meeting at our house.  Prayer and Bible study - a great way to start their week!

During their stay the team got to visit all of the various OMS ministries in this area, like the Emmaus Biblical Seminary.  It was our privilege to show them around a bit.

On Thursday afternoon, we took the team over to The Potter's House orphanage.  Keri and Karen both work with the kids' ministry at our home church, Community Church of Columbus, and they had led the kids there in raising money for bunk beds for the orphans.  What a joy for the team to meet the kids face to face.

Karen bonded with this little girl who is a recent arrival.

While Kate put her Creole skills to use in getting to know some of the boys.

The kids of CCC sent hand-decorated pillow cases to the orphans.  What a cool idea!

Meal times were spent at the Holiday House.  Melissa snuck down there for as many meals as she could over the course of the week.

On Saturday, it was our pleasure to take the team to Dhaloo Beach.  Folks are always struck by the beauty of this place.

On Sunday, we joined the Bundy family and the team for a trip into the countryside to worship at a church in Grison Garde.  We took the big flatbed truck in order to fit everyone in.

I was glad to NOT be behind the driver's wheel this time around.  After an hour's drive, Brett drove us down a steep bank and through a river for a quarter mile or so before we hiked the last little leg of the trip to the church.

A beautiful church with beautiful believers inside.  This little girl kept looking back at me and smiling throughout the first part of the worship service. Eventually she came back and held my hand for a bit - a precious moment.

Here's Keri introducing herself to the congregation.

This is the church's school building.  Employing this site and the sanctuary next door, the church works with about 200 students on a regular basis - the only opportunity for education in their area.

The main thrust of this team's visit, though, was sharing the Gospel in two remote villages:  Leroux Caichiman near Trou du Nord on Friday and a village called Adam outside Dondon on Monday.  Melissa took both days off from school to go with the team and on Monday Caleb and I also joined them.

Contact with the village was made in advance through a local church.

 
The local congregation provided guides and prayer coverage as the team of Americans divided into smaller groups to disperse throughout the village.  A Haitian translator also went with each group.

Upon finding a willing audience, a team member, via the translator, would present the Gospel. Regardless of whether or not the homeowner responded to God's call (many already claimed to be Christians, in fact) we left a solar-powered radio tuned to OMS's Radio 4VEH.  These radios are very gratefully received and have a proven track record of drawing listeners closer to the Lord - and even introducing folks to Christ.

I had the privilege of leading these three young people to Christ.

I enjoyed watching Caleb in action, too.  Here he was challenging and encouraging a sister in Christ.

The four ladies from Indiana gathered back in the sanctuary after an afternoon of doorway conversations.

Dondon is in the shadow of one of Haiti's most famous landmarks - the Citadel, a vast mountaintop fortress built two centuries ago.  We haven't had the chance to explore it yet, so this is the closest I've been to it.  Gorgeous.

 It was a two hour trip back to OMS grounds.  Keri, Karen and Melissa were sad to say goodbye to their interpreter, Orinel.

And then, just like that, the week was over.  We said our (temporary) goodbyes outside our front door this morning before our family left for school and the team prepped to go to the airport.  If all goes well, the team should be back in Indiana about the time I get these pictures posted tonight.

Again, we found this visit from friends from the States to be such an encouragement and we thank God for that and for all they accomplished while here.  I know their visit especially recharged Melissa's batteries. 

That's important because we have just over FOUR WEEKS of school left and we need to finish strong.  When Sarah shed some tears last night about the team's departure, I was able to comfort her with a reminder that we will be flying back to Indiana for a visit ourselves in just five weeks.  We would appreciate your prayers as we finish up the school year, pack for a two month trip, and finish making plans for church visits over the summer.  Thanks for lifting us up! 

And thank you, CCC, for sending this delightful, humble and encouraging team our way.

GOOD FRIDAY WATER WARS

While our friends and family back home in Indiana are barely a week out from the latest (and last??) snow shower, we are well into the heat of what feels like SUMMER here. 

Good Friday was hot and sunny and we had the day off from school.  After spending some time in Daniel's neighborhood in the morning (more about that in another post), it was refreshing in more ways than one to have a simple task like washing the truck turn into a raging water war among our four kids and my three "Haitian sons" - Ruysdael, Johnny, and Mikenn.

It started with a simple chore request from Melissa: "Somebody" needs to wash the truck.  Our kids decided they should put on swimsuits since the work might get a bit wet.

I drove the truck around to the back of the house, broke out some rags and borrowed a hose from the Bundy's next door.  For the first few minutes of the job, some actual work got accomplished.

 

 

But then the self-induced hosing started...

 

 

 

And Caleb broke out a water gun ...

All downhill from there!

 

 

For well over an hour.

Finally, Melissa called a truce for some freezer pops.  (Looks like Caleb is experiencing a bit of brain freeze here!)

But then out came the water balloons!

 

 

Originally I had no plan to blog about the afternoon, but when I took a closer look at the pictures and saw the absolute JOY on so many faces, I just had to share them.

 

And, though I was too slow to put two and two together in the moment, it did strike me later that this was undoubtedly the first water war that Mikenn, Ruysdael and Johnny had ever experienced.  No wonder they took such delight in dousing each other and their American siblings in cold, clear water! Like so many of the other folks on this mountainside, they don't have the luxury of indoor taps with hot and cold running water on command.  And they don't have a hose in the back yard.  Water is a necessity that requires extra effort and/or extra money to obtain.  From elsewhere.  For them, a nearby spring supplies their washing needs, but for cooking and drinking they need to buy cleaner water in jugs from sellers on the main road down the hill.

 

Water is scarce, good water even scarcer.  It's certainly not something you are used to playing with.

 

So that got me to thinking that my three friends, and many others around this globe, might have a deeper appreciation of the story found in John 4 than you and I currently have.  That's the one where Jesus, in the heat of the day, confronts a Samaritan woman at a well and offers her "living water".

 

Can you imagine how the offer would catch your attention if a good chunk of your time and energy - EVERY day - was spent in fetching water?

 

As much as she dreamed of a never-ending source of physical water close to her home, Jesus was wanting to share a deeper spiritual reality which leads to even greater JOY that would be INSIDE her ... or me ... or you: "a well of water springing up to eternal life"!

 

As we close out another Easter season, my prayer for you and for me is that we may live in that joy of living water, made available to us by Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.