Monday, October 17, 2011

Update after a full weekend --mostly good

TiNor & Carline: Yesterday when Francoise & her 3 kids came over, I asked if they all went to church at the chapel and the kids said yes. Then they told me that their "tonton" (uncle) went with stuff that Monsieur Richard gave him. Francoise said he went Saturday afternoon (there's a 5pm service for people who work on Sundays) and Sunday.

I asked Francoise if he liked it and if he seems serious about seeking. She said he wants his life to change so that he doesn't smoke anymore. I think in God's grace, we don't realize the gravity of all of our sins at once. It would probably be too much. We come to God aware of one or a few sins and later see that we were full of them. Do you agree?

A BEAUTIFUL WEDDING: Saturday we had the privilege of attending a beautiful wedding of two of our teachers at QCS. An American PE teacher (Ricky's basketball coach when he was here) and a Haitian nurse and science teacher. They have lived out a godly relationship in front of the students of QCS (answered some of the kids questions & kept a bit of privacy). They have been modeling the respect a man and woman should have for each other in a relationship so well and they are two young people that get along really well with the teens. The wedding was simple and beautiful and we had fun at the reception.

I loved seeing 5 beautiful orphan girls in cute sundresses and dressy sandals from an orphanage where Art (and later Miquette)have made some friends. Art has gone there and played games with the girls. You would not have known they were orphans, the girls looked wonderful and conducted themselves beautifully. And the thought came to me that Art and Miquette might have invited hundreds of orphans if they had the money for it.

CHURCH WITH THE DEAF: Sunday morning was great because we went back to the church we used to attend when we lived on the other side of town (2000-2003). I wanted to sit with the deaf people but I was nervous to go back since the last time I went (6 months ago) I hadn't seen anyone I knew. I was hoping to renew contact with my deaf friends since I'm teaching beginning sign language at QCS. But since I don't want to take advantage of them, I decided to ask for a tutor that I would pay.

I was glad to see, one friend, Benoit, during the greeting time. But I was really curious about our closest friend among the deaf, David, whom we had heard got married last year. Finally he came late, by himself. But at the end of the serice I found out that his wife was at home with their 3-week old baby girl! Everybody was so nice. We exchanged phone numbers & email addresses. And I loved the fact that I could understand them so much better than the ASL (American Sign Language) I see on the internet. It makes sense because I took lessons in 2002 from a Haitian interpreter. This was really important for me and my class because of the variations in sign language from one region to another. You can learn a lot online, but they always remind you that many words have 2 or 3 signs and you have to find out what the people in your area use.

DISCIPLESHIP GROUP: I am so grateful every Sunday afternoon when I see the discipleship group guys come in. Most come from pretty far away because of our contacts from where we used to live. Fortunately on Sundays it's a lot easier to get around Port-au-Prince. I don't hear exactly what's said, but I hear them praying together and all of them getting into the lively discussions. Richard will share more I'm sure, but a lot of the churches are so big, it's great for them to have that interaction.

CORRUPTION: I can't say much about this, but even during this wonderful weekend I could not escape being touched by how evil corruption is. It is so hard to have justice happen when corruption spreads its tentacles throughout a system and greed is fed, inflamed and will not relent. Miracles are needed. Please pray.

No comments:

Post a Comment