Marriage in Haiti

If you have been following us since the beginning you know we made absolutely sure that God was calling us to Haiti before we moved. So our move was obedience. We prayed, telling God that we would do anything, that we gave him our everything, and that we want to be a Kingdom Couple and he answered. He doesn't always tell his people to move to Haiti, but it was VERY clear that he was telling us that that was the next step for us. 

We have learned the hard way that it is always better to be in Gods will than to be doing what we want. So we chose obedience. We chose to trust in God's goodness and faithfulness. He has proven to be all of that and more. We are finding that through our surrender to God's will and not our own, we are being blessed beyond what we would have imagined. Our marriage is stronger than it has ever been before (God put us through quite a bit of training on this marriage thing in the last 5 years, but thats another story for another time). We are sharing our job role, which if you are married you know can be a challenge; it is tricky to decide who does what, to give each other direction without tweaking the other person's triggers, and to make sure that the communication lines are always open. We are working as a strong team and enjoying the time we get to spend together. One of the coolest things is that when one of us is out of balance (Shane...hehe serves him right for not writing in the blog) the other person usually is able to be grown up about it and we avoid a big todo. Its a wonderful blessing. 

We have been married for 16 1/2 years and there have been many ups and downs, but this moving to Haiti thing, which has got to be the most stressful thing we have ever done, is bringing us closer to God and to each other. Our pastor one time described it like this; when each partner in marriage is pursuing a relationship with God, they end up finding each other because he is what holds them together. I made a picture to show what I mean. Look how close the couple can get to each other when they pursue God first?!? 

I know the pic is cheesy, but this closeness is what we were always demanding from each other and now we find that to get this closeness we each pursue God first. I can't wait to find out what he has planned to teach us in the next 16 years. 

"Seek the Kingdom of god above all else, and he will give you everything you need." 

Luke 12:31

One update; we have been praying like crazy about whether or not to purchase a vehicle in Haiti. We have been in Haiti for about 7 weeks and we have very limited access to the world outside of Grace Village. This is not to complain, but is a fact. We had put together some very specific things that needed to be present for us to consider purchasing a vehicle; it needed to be owned by only one owner, that owner needed to be a missionary, it needed to be 4 wheel drive, automatic, able to fit our family, and within our budget (which is not very much). We found a car that met all of these parameters and we knew it was the one. 

So, we took a leap of faith. Our faith is that God is in this, that this vehicle will continue to run, and that God will bless our finances to cover this expense. I don't do this often in my blogs because asking for donations is not something we want our ministry to be defined by. We want to be able to share how God is using us and how God is using Haiti to change us. But, we live on donations and THE hardest part of living as a missionary is funding. 

So, we want to open up the dialogue about donations. If you have felt moved to give, but didn't think we needed help, please consider dontating. If you have been touched by our blogs and want to be a part of what we are doing down here, please consider donating. We would love to be so blessed by sponsors that we are able to give to the needs we see around here. Healing Haiti has amazing programs that are giving directly to the people. Your donations will never be wasted or taken for granted. 

In light of this request, I want to take a minute to say 'Thank You!' to our monthly and one time sponsors. We could not do this without you! Your generosity is overwhelming  and we are just thrilled that you are on our team. 

Those of you who are covering us in prayer, we say a huge 'Thank you' as well. I am reading "Draw the Circle" and it is all about the power of prayer. Then today we sang a song about how the same power that raised Jesus from the grave, lives in those who believe in Jesus. That power holds the universe together, yet it lives in us. Wow! Prayer matters...your prayers matter. Thank you. 

Shane and I pray a blessing on those that read this blog. We pray that God will bless you with wisdom. That you will understand more and more about God every day. We pray that He will continue to help you grow to be more and more like Jesus; filled with love for others and grace for their faults. We pray that he shows you his purpose for your life and that you would have the courage to say, "yes" to his call. 

"I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." 

Ephesians 3:16-19

In Jesus name, Amen.