Fuel for the tank

"...every blessing you pour out, we'll turn back to praise..."

As we sang "Blessed Be Your Name" in worship tonight, I was reminded that all He has blessed us with in this very short, but full week, we want to turn back to praises to Him. He has been so present. Our group feels charged up at the end of this time, and we talked some in devotional time about what all this will mean for us when we  transition back to our routines shortly. We heard sixteen amazing testimonies this week. Everyone shared 'their' story and Joe reminded us that Jesus spoke to us in stories and how important our storytelling was to the depth of this week. It was the general concensus that this time was a kickstart in our spiritual lives. Bill T told us that God reminded him that this week was 'fuel for hist tank' and that he was now to drive forward and continue to be a missionary in his world back home.

Our work was about 70% done when we left the jobsite at Rue Frere this afternoon. We left 2 large duffel bags full of school supplies, a banner for their church and tools for the team that was going to work on completing the roof and classroom work. A highlight was when John Gary, our driver for the week, sang a song of gratitude and prayed for us in Creole before we departed.

Rachel Pitot, our team leader from Partners with Haiti for this week, told us tonight that they have been praying for a team for four years to be able to come and do this work for Pastor Sannon and his wife at this school that they run. And the results of our efforts and the resources so many of you contributed, will live on for years to come. This week we got acquainted with 13 year old Wagley who attends first grade, yes, first grade at this school. The children here have such limited opportunites for education, so we are grateful to be even a small part of making this a reality for more children.

One of the children we met that touched the heart of so many lives right here in the tent city across the street from us. His name is Richard and he is 12 years old. He is one of the only children we met, maybe the only one who speaks English. He came to us and told us that he loves Jesus. He said "please pray for Haiti...Jesus loves Haiti and Jesus is doing so much for Haiti right now." It was so powerful. And we know that it was most likely the sacrifice of others that made English as a second language a possibility for Richard and for him to realize the call and power of God even as such a young kid. Some of our team members reminded him of how important it was for him now to share what God has shown him to the many, many other children that live right here.

We are amazed. We are weary. We are energized. We are at a loss for words to describe so many parts of the week.  We are struck by the level of poverty that is everywhere. We learned but have so much more I'm sure we haven't begun to capture in this short time. Thanks for doing the journey with us. We look forward to seeing you all soon.

We are soooooo ready for food from home---at least some of us. Thanks Pastor Rob for the cheese and crackers this afternoon....it was the best.

The Sannons

Crackers and Cheese a la Fringer