Faith in the Playhouse

OUR AWESOME PLAY HOUSE

Today I was reading the faith chapter in Hebrews and then read a devotional by Oswald Chambers about faith. He was saying that faith is a gift.
I see that faith as big as a mustard seed when planted grows more faith.
I keep a baby monitor turned on in the kitchen when the children are playing in the play house. It's kinda fun to ease drop but I really do it so I know that they are okay. The door handle in the play house is a little messed up and sometimes cause the door to seem to be stuck closed. One day Abbie was playing out there with Nico and I hear her telling him "Oh no! It's stuck! we can't get out!" and she starts crying. Of course I went right out and opened the door and reminded her that I was listening on the monitor and all she had to do was say "Nanny, the door is stuck. Can you come help me?" A little while later I heard "Nanny, the door is stuck. Can you help me? OH NO! SHE CAN'T HEAR ME!! and she started to cry. A few seconds later I opened the door again and explained to her that just because she could not hear me did not mean that I could not hear her.
Yesterday, she went to play once again in the play house. A while later I heard "Nanny, the door is stuck. Can you come help me?" I went right out and Abbie said "Did you hear me when I talked to you?"
Slowly she is getting it. Each time I could hear her. Each time I went quickly to help her. The first time there was complete panic because she did not even realize I was there. The next time she knew I was there but could not really trust that I had heard her. The third time she readily accepted my presence but still expressed a little doubt that I had heard her. Next time she will have more confidence that when she calls I will answer.
So it is with God. God deposits that seed of faith in us. At first we don't even recognize His presence. The seed grows and it is not our actions that make the faith grow but God's reaction to our cry for help. We see him show up time after time and slowly our confidence grows and our faith becomes strong. So much so that we don't have to see Him to know He is there. We don't have to heard Him to know He will answer. We just know because time after time He has shown Himself faithful even when we had no faith at all.

Parent of a Missionary+the wonder of Skype

I think about Gwenn and Nick and the children a lot and wonder how life is in Haiti. I am blessed that I have always had the kind of relationship with my children that we talk often. Not always ever day often but close to it. I am blessed that Gretchen and her family are close by. Melody, Chris and Evie are pretty far away but that considered,we get to see each other several times a years.(thank you chirs :)And even Chris will call me sometimes.(mostly really late at night when a:he is driving home from some job and he is bored and he know i will be awake or b:is calling me late at night when everyone else is sleeping so they wont know that he actually calls his mother in law!)
I am fairly used to not seeing Gwenn and Nick all the time but I always knew we could get in the car and be with them 3-4 hrs. later.Sometimes we would meet half way and pick up the kids for a visit with Nanny and Grandad and Gretchen and her tribe.
Now that I have been to Haiti I know that it is really not THAT hard to get there. But it is still another country and it is not like visiting in the US. Gwenn has called me a few times and it was so awesome to talk to her. We chat on facebook too. But now I have downloaded Skype and I can see the children and they can see me! It is so George Jetson I can hardly believe it! Ok, I have a pretty cheap camera and it's hard sometimes to clearly see and the Internet service in Haiti is not exactly what you call reliable but I do see my grandchildren! I am waiting to see the damage on my pretty grandson's face where he kissed the pavement in a fall...maybe that is why they keep the lights so low at night.(that or maybe it's because there is only one small light in the room. it is Haiti after all)
Last night the cousins got to visit with a very poor connection. They could not quiet get the concept that you have to take your turn to talk and then wait for a response. Sometimes the connections is so slow that Gwenn just makes faces at me. She makes me laugh. She makes me miss her more. She makes me miss her less..
and the skype alert just popped up to say that she is now on line....I think I'll give it a try :)

Angelina's Mother's Day Holiday

Steve is famous with the children for his Angelina stories. These stories are all based on events from his childhood with the names changed to protect the sometimes not so innocent :)
This is for Nia, Nico and Josiah so they don't have to miss out while living in Haiti.

I am me because of her. I care because she cared. I share because she shared. I love because she loved. I laugh because she laughed.I want to be her when I grow up.I want my grandchildren to love me as hers loved her. I want my children to miss me as much as I miss her.
I am glad we said good bye well. Make sure your mom knows. Not only on Mother's Day but each day.
Looking forward to a reunion with my Mom. Because of Jesus that day will come....

Journal entry from Haiti-Friday

I am glad I wrote down my thoughts each day while I was in Haiti. I wanted to continue that when I got home but I guess it is easier to just write my thoughts here. Friday: A young man pushes a wheel barrow down the street. The sun rises in the east but the ocean lies to the west! Wow! I just noticed that! I have only known the ocean to be to the east of me before this. I hear a chicken cluck and now a rooster crow. "Before the rooster crows twice you will have denied me three times." It is 6:30 Am and already the streets are waking up. A man is wiping down a large red truck with a rag until it shines. A preteen girl arrives at the gate of our next door neighbor with a bag in her hands. The bag is filled with charcoal and money exchanged. A very thin dog waits outside the gate. When did he last eat? The smell of diesel fuel. I am praying "Lord, I want to experience this will all my senses. I hear things, I see things, I smell things, but Lord help me to remember a touch." At that moment I feel a tender squeeze on my shoulder as Nixon leans down and kisses my left cheek- "Good Morning."he says and I offer up a silent prayer."Thank you Lord for that touch from you." I taste the sorrow of knowing my time here is soon to be over.

Haiti trip - A video postcard

Solid Rock

"My Hope is Built on Nothing Less"
by Edward Mote, 1797-1874
1. My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

2. When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

3. His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

4. When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.


This morning our good friend and elder,Jim, preached at our church. He spoke about Christ being the solid rock and used this song to remind us of the foundation of our faith. We can not trust in what we see or be overcome by the storms we face. But where it took me was...
Two weeks ago to the land purchased for Haitian Children's Home in Haiti. We hiked the land. It was all rock. But it was not an easy walk. The foundation was stable. I was not. It was a hard walk for me being a lot older than the rest of the team. But my age was not the factor as much as not trusting where to step and being afraid of my footing. There was a young Haitian boy who moved effortlessly over the lava rock. He did not seem even a little winded.
Had HCH bought different land it may have been more easily transformed into the home sites for the homes that will be built there. But when hurricanes come, not if but when, these houses will be strong against the prevailing winds and driving rains.
The rock was not the problem. It was that I was unsure of myself upon this rock. If each day I returned to this rock my walk would become like that of a goat with sure footing and a graceful climb.
I can trust Jesus, He is a firm foundation. But I must go back to Him again and again and again if I am to truly know how to gracefully stride. He does not change. I change. I can make my walk easy or hard depending on how familiar I become with standing on the truth of this foundation. To be apart from Christ is the place of sinking sand.
To stand on the rock is not as comfortable sometimes as sinking our toes into the sand. Sand is constantly moving, shifting, changing. Not suitable for long term standing. So Lord help me keep my feet on the rock and to trust you. For you are my strong foundation.