January 7, 2009

First day of school down, many more to go. slept in some this morning (meaning up by 6:30) had a great talk with everyone this morning, it really was great to have Bev/Al/Gary/Caroline and myself together to just talk about stuff. the trip in, the time home, where we are at with God and the mission, etc. really was encouraging to everyone I hope. school was good, Kensson is back (!) and worked today. hugs from everyone, all asked about my vacation as best they could. at lunch got to tell Rose "mwen grangou pou diri e pwa" and she laughed. it means "I am hungry for rice and beans". lots of tests were taken and we are all falling back into the routine here.

at our talk this morning we talked a lot about the grind of mission work. not that it is always terrible, but meaning that things usually don't happen in a rush. you hear of those who go out and organize revivals, etc., and draw 10-50,000 somewhere and they all get saved and everyone goes away happy. if you look a week later at those thousands who were "saved" often they show they are completely still in their previous lives, or discouraged that their life has not had a miraculous change so they say "forget this", etc. What I mean by the "grind" of mission work is not how difficult it is, but the staying power needed to continue day by day. Jesus said we were to make disciples of all people, not fly in and fly out. to make disciples it means being there every day to fight the battles. growth doesn't come in miraculous spurts usually, but in day by day persistence. these workers, these students, parents, etc., become closer to God little by little, especially in a place such as Haiti where you are fighting SO much culture. frankly, kind of like the US now. in the US though the enemy is complacency mainly (IMO). here it is active voudou worship and lifestyle. people are bucking tradition and family in doing many "Christian" activities. the bar is high, and the progress is slow, but progress we do.

so personally I am setting my sights for the next few months on "focus", meaning doing one thing at a time and doing it well, if possible. and with that, organization, so that when Iam spending time on the internet, let's say, it is positive and not just trolling, and it is towards a purpose. like blogging. :) I want to spend my time doing the things I want to get done, not just "float" with my time and wish I had done more later on. I am going to stretch and exercise daily, blog regularly, and study Creole daily. Spiritually, I will read or pray, or listen to worship daily. those are my goals. I know I won't do it perfectly, but as a good personal trainer I know would say, you won't get anything done if you don't start. I hope that focus will keep out some of the stupid in me, or at least make it more difficult for it to surface. it is a process though, so don't expect the blogs to become literature ok? :) maybe I'll find it easier to think good thoughts and become better at those thoughts and processes if I focus on those good things in front of me. seems like there is a book that talks about thinking about what is good, lovely, truthful, and how beneficial that can be for us. now where did I put that...........? bye for now