"It must sometimes break your heart"

It breaks my heart consistently. That's probably the biggest reason I've stayed here most of the last two years - second only to my (sometimes wavering, if I'm honest) desire to be obedient to the Lord. But you know what I've realised? It is out of my own brokenness that I can best love and serve the broken. I do cry a lot for them and call out to God on their behalf too. And this deepens my love for these precious children of our Father. And then, on days like today, I am confident that that is the greatest thing in this life - to love with Jesus' love and to pray for each other.
 

I wrote this to a friend from years past in an email today.

Then I thought, if I really believe that, I need to back it up.

So I'd like to ask you to pray for a young girl I am working with. I cannot describe her more succinctly than to say she is an utterly chaotic, never satisfied vacuum. On the exterior she is pushy and sometimes overly friendly while other times cold and distant. Her hunger is for love and only our Redeemer can satisfy. Her pain and brokenness is deep and ugly and riddled with shame. And when I am with her I can feel how she desperately tries to both connect with others and to not be destroyed by what is happening inside. It affects every part of her and every part betrays the pain, if you're looking.
It is one of the heaviest things I've experienced but I know I do not carry it alone. I love her, but she is not mine. She is one of the orphanage children, but she does not belong to Mission of Hope. She belongs to Jesus and He is transforming her - He alone has the power to heal this child's horror. Not only is He healing her, He is redeeming her and WILL use every bit of her story and pain to multiply His beauty and love.
So, please, help me love her by praying for her - not by name, but by heart. Pray to release her into His power and light. Her redemption story is already brilliant and God is forever faithful to His children.
Our hope is endless.
There is no end to our Hope in Christ!

Mackenlove

Today we welcome Mackenlove!
Mackenlove is the newest edition to the Village of Hope Family. He is about 20 months old. He arrived this afternoon and had time to play with his new brothers and sisters and eat a great supper before falling fast asleep in his crib.
Please pray with us for this sweet little boy as he adjusts to his new home, his 63 new siblings and life here at MOH.
Our loving Father has placed him here and we are honoured to have him in our family.



Mackenlove
 

Christella snuggling with Mackenlove

 

 

 Mackenlove with some of his sweet new brothers.

They were so welcoming as they shared toys and chatted away to him.

 

 

 

With exicited big brother, Iverson.

 

 

 

Soudline (helping Mackenlove smile) with Julien.

        

 

Welcome Mackenlove!!

 

Embracing Hope

My friend Diana is one of the greatest treasures I've touched on in Haiti.
She is from Ontario and has been teaching the missionary children here at MOH for 5 years or so.
She is brilliant and humble and always ready with an encouraging smile and a soft word of love.
Sometimes when I am around her I realize how my heart has become hard in ways that I haven't been noticing - I see it because her heart is so gentle - and I desire and pray for softening.
I love that we can do that for each other; as brothers and sisters reflecting back the Spirit in us, to each other.
Diana writes great blogs and I read one this morning that I want you to read.
The title of the post is "Pote mwen" here's the link: http://embracing-hope.blogspot.com/

Sometimes it's hard to find words for life, and sometimes, especially, life here. Yet there really is so much to share - so read her post and her perspective and hear the Holy Spirit in her.

Re-posting ... comes after recyling, right?

I know I posted a link to the MOH updates page about Clinton just the other day, but here is another one worth reading: http://mohhaiti.org/posts/82#.UP7rss0lKOU
It is a link to the MOH blog page and this entry was written by a friend of mine, Ruben, who is so full of life and faith - he has a contagious spirit!
I hope you let his brief story bless you. He is one of a group of young leaders being sponsored to study at the college and being poured into by our staff. Training them, educating them, equipping and empowering them - I picture God fist-pumping at each step in their journey. It's men like Ruben who can really be used by the Lord to change this country... and we get to ride along, at least for a ways!

We Recycle!

This news really confused my mouth.
I didn't know I could smile so big while my jaw was on the floor.
In a country where, when you're done with something (whether it be a water bottle or a tire), it is common drop it and walk away, the organizations that are re-using and re-purposing trash are held, by me, in very high esteem. Now we at MOH certainly don't dump our trash on the side of the road. We burn what we can and the rest has it's own place, a place I never like to go, a place people shouldn't really go, but a very necessary place. We do a pretty good job with our trash. Sounds dramatic, but it's just a mini land-fill sort of deal.
But, upon return to MOH after my Christmas time at home, I have learned that we are kicking it up a notch. A beautiful, big, fat, lovely notch.
Not only are we recylcing the thousands upon thousands of cardboard boxes we accumulate each year, we are sending them to ... The Apparent Project!!!!
Even better than recylcing, we are supporting The Apparent Project's mission to employ Haitians in order to keep families in tact, healthy, happy and connected with the gospel of Christ!
Do go to their website and look around. I gifted some of their beaded ornaments at Christmas - they are just lovely! In the future we can expect many of their paper beads to be made by boxes have passed through MOH hands!

I just LOVE when stuff like this connection happens. LOVE IT!