Humbled, Honored, and Grateful

My fellow Michigan Servants for Christ:

In Isaiah 61: 1-8 it says:

 "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
   2To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
   3To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

As I prepare to preach from the Haitian Pulpit this Sunday, I want you all to know that I am humbled, honored, and grateful to God for the opportunity to share the glorious light of his gospel with the people in Haiti. I take this task seriously and will do my best to serve the way that the Lord would have me to serve! I know that you all with pray with me and for me as I preach.  God is great and greatly to be praised! Amen!

by Carnel

Fasting - Day 2

We are 3 days away from the beginning of our Mission trip to Haiti.  We have decided as a group to fast at least two times before the trip.  Tomorrow is our second time.  I was reading the chapter on fasting in Richard Foster’s book Celebration of Discipline.  This book was published in the late 70’s yet the similarities to our present day are not too far off.  He begins the chapter saying, “In a culture where the landscape is dotted with shrines to the Golden Arches and an assortment of Pizza Temples, fasting seems out of place…” (41.)  We can add to that many more images that signal to our brains a we-can’t-have-enough-food message so compelling that creates a constant struggle to indulge and feel guilty or diet and take control until we can give in again.  Yet fasting is not about controlling what you eat in order to overcome the marketing of the food industry but according to Foster, “Throughout Scripture fasting refers to abstaining from food for spiritual purposes” (42).  This spiritual centeredness is what we are seeking through the next 24 hours.  Foster gives many examples of fasting in the Bible and some of the examples highlight group fasting, which is what we are doing.  The example that I would like to share with you comes from Ezra 8:21-23.  Ezra has the privilege to lead his people back to Jerusalem after 70 years of captivity in Babylon.  Instead of asking for protection from the powerful army of the king, he says in v. 21 “I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions…” and in v.23 he concluded, “So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.”  As we prepare for our journey we pray that we can be humble ambassadors of Christ, that we can trust our children and our possessions to Him and that we can give Him all the honor and glory through our time away from home.  If you have a condition like diabetes, or heart disease or are expecting, you should not fast.  But we can all have a praise in our lips, a song in our hearts, a scripture verse in our mind, and an attitude of “…righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17.)

By Dolly

Thoughts from Gary on Haiti!

Thoughts from Gary on  the upcoming trip!
So glad he is on our team.
You can catch up with him on his blog garygilmoresblog!

Been reflecting a lot recently about my upcoming trip to Haiti. Recently I shared from the Word with my traveling companions to Haiti, about spiritual preparation for the trip. I need to take seriously the message God gave to me to share with them! As I think about that, it's funny how God works. Really that devotional was for me. I am the one who really needs to start preparing spiritually for this mission trip! It has really just been in the back of my mind that I'm going to Haiti in July! Now it's getting close, I believe less then 30 days! The words God gave me were from Acts 13 as the Church prepared to send Paul on his first missionary journey. They were committed to fasting and praying. What can I begin to fast from in these next 30 days. I need to consistently include the trip, and what God will desire in my time there in my prayers. I love Haiti, at least I think I do! I remember my first exposure to Haiti was the Tony Campolo commercial where a mother is desperately trying to give Tony her hungry child as he is leaving in a Helicopter. I remember being moved with compassion for that country. God has also given me a wonderful Haitian friend, and I thought that God would send me to Haiti somehow with my friend.

I'm also melancholy about Haiti. There are so many people trying to help Haiti right now, do they really need me? So much money has been spent and yet Haiti seems to be struggling more then ever. What is the answer, and does it have anything to do with me? Over 230,000 people died in the earthquake that struck Haiti. I can't even comprehend that. 80% of the population lives on less then $2 a day. Over 5,000 additional people have died from cholera in the last 6 months. How can I help? I think this trip inspite of all that, is in large measure God working in my life more then my helping in Haiti. God calls me to love and serve the Church we will be "helping". I am called to humble myself, and in humility serve some brothers and sisters in Christ who I don't know. Even though I didn't want it to happen, living in a rural and predominantly white community, has kept me from being exposed to the world community I once so loved. I look forward to the challenges, and joys of serving on a multi racial team! Even as I listened to my brother in Christ share from the Word, I thought how unique and different his style is from what I've heard for the last 12 years of my life. I want to rejoice in that. So as I think about why God would send me to Haiti in the summer of 2011, I'm not convinced it is so much to help Haiti, as it is for Haiti to help me! I pray that as I live, work, and share with 13 other folks from all walks of life, that God blesses me, and helps me to humbly love them. I pray that our love for one another will point to Jesus, the one we desire to make famous. I pray that same prayer for the folks in Haiti who we will work beside, and serve. I do pray that we will spread the seed of the gospel in Haiti during our one week there! I know that it will be God who causes those seeds to grow, and to multiply. I pray that I can rest in this assurance, and know it is only my job to love those who cross my path during that God ordained week! So even as I experience the discomfort on my arms from the vaccinations I just got, may I be prepared to experience discomfort, and may that discomfort cause me to display the fruits of the Spirit. I love Haiti because God loves Haiti, and I'm excited to see what the people I serve in Haiti have to teach me about the love of Christ. I'm also praying for unity for a team of 14 very unique individuals, that we may grow in our love for God, and for each other, as we experience Haiti together!

by Gary Gilmore