PRAISE REPORT!

GOD IS SO GOOD and He never fails!

Even if I wanted to question God's call on our life, it would be no use. He has certainly made himself clear and brings new understanding to us daily. There are so many sayings "Those who God calls he also equips" or " God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called' and many more... and while they may seem cliche, there is certain truth to these statements. God has placed a call on many of us. When you follow God in obedience to those calls, placing your trust in Him, and knowing that you can't do anything apart from His goodness, HE makes a way. He is THE way after all!

We have been blown away in the last few weeks with so many of you, allowing God to speak through you and provide through you for the mission he has given to us. Kindness and selflessness like this can only come from One Spirit. We are blessed to be in the path of the Most High and His purpose and plan for each of us to meet each other, love each other and have an intertwined relationship of obedience and trust in our Heavenly Father. You are solidifying the call of God and we pray that your blessings are returned 100 fold!

We want you to be encouraged at just how amazing God is and how he is working in this time of preparation. See what a blessing it is to trust in God and to obey in faith when he gives us opportunities of growth and surrender! 

A VEHICLE AND A LEGACY

You can tell a lot about the life of a person by their children and the legacy they leave behind, but what is even more telling, is how a person spends the last few months of their life in the face of pain, sickness, and death. I'll never forget reading the caring bridge update on Ms. Gwen, hearing Candace tell how her mother was sharing Christ with everyone who came to tell her goodbye. As her battle with cancer was coming to an end, not a moment was being wasted. She worshiped, she loved her family, and she was unashamed of the Gospel until the day she met her Lord face to face. 

We have been incredibly blessed in having a relationship with the Fry family. (Remember this post?) Camille and John Thomas are our tiny friends who are at times smarter, and more spiritually aware than we could hope to be and are a complete joy in our lives. We began babysitting them a couple days a week after school so Candace could spend time with her mom. God was creating a beautiful web of love and friendship during this time and through it all, we came to know Ms. Gwen for the beautiful spirit God had created her to be. 

Ms. Gwen and Mr. Rodger encouraged us and helped us in our fundraising efforts for AMT in Zambia earlier this summer. In the midst of the battle, she was still focused on the Kingdom of God and wanted to be a part God was doing in us.  Full of gratitude, we went and continued to pray for the Phelps and the Frys. A few weeks into our training, we learned that Ms. Gwen had been called home to be with Jesus. 

When we returned back to the states we shared our story and our next step with our church.  Our Sunday school class asked what we would be needing to get back to Africa and among the things we needed was a 4x4 vehicle. After hugging Candace's neck, she mentioned that her Dad had a jeep that she thought he was thinking of selling and she would check it out for us. 

Not 2 weeks later, we heard from Mr. Rodger, ready and willing to DONATE this beautiful vehicle to us. It is a 1989 Jeep Wrangler with a brand new engine and all kinds of bells and whistles the 4x4 driver needs! And because it's a 1989 the import tax will be so much less than we were anticipating! Even as I type this I am without words to describe how incredibly thankful we are, how incredibly wonderful our God is, and how beautiful the tapestry of the Body of Christ.

So, Ms. Gwen's legacy lives on. Not only through her husband, who carries the same generous and Christlike spirit; or her daughter Candace, who lives her life as a reflection of who her mother was; or through her grandchildren, who talked about her all the time; but also through the gospel. Ms. Gwen's life was modeled after her Savior, and this is the piece of her legacy that each of us can carry on; Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, and the Peace, Joy and Love of our God to those who haven't heard.

Remembering her and our loved ones who are cheering us on from the clouds (Heb. 12:1-3), we promise to live our lives worthy of His love and sacrifice, and of your love and support. This vehicle will help us reach the unreached in the remote areas of the Zambian Bush and wherever else God may lead us.

Thank you Mr. Rodger and the entire Phelps and Fry clan for loving God and allowing Him to bless us and our ministry through you! We cannot express our gratitude, so allow us to quote Paul in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians. He speaks of how God sees hearts like yours, and what it means to Him and his kingdom when the church gives:

2 Corinthians 10-15

¹⁰ Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹ You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

¹² This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. ¹³ Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. ¹⁴ And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

To all of our family, friends and special support family:

We love you, appreciate you, and thank you for joining us in a journey of obedience, trust, and glorious blessings from our Father!

Do you feel God may be asking you to be obedient in some way?

There are many ways that you can be a part of what God is doing throughout the world.  It may be as simple as a hug or a prayer. Maybe he's asking you to commit to a monthly donation to support missionaries across the globe (I know a couple ;) ). Sometimes it might sound like something crazy, but obedience to the Spirit can bless people in the most unconventional ways! God knows what we need, and He speaks to you just as clearly as He speaks to us! Contact us to find out more of how you can join our support family! Email us at brandonandsallymissions@gmail.com or give us a call anytime at 912-536-4591.

*Stay tuned for another incredible story of how God works in the little things to make a big difference, and how He shows us that in the Body of Christ, there are no 'strangers' - only children of God, obediently working together to fulfill HIS purpose!

Love y'all!

Brandon and Sally 

Haiti - Last few days

a month later... :) ... sorry! It's been crazy the last few weeks!
So much has been going on; some wonderful, some sad, some expected, some unexpected - - but all beautifully woven into the tapestry of life God has given us here on earth. We have welcomed new life, and tomorrow we will be saying goodbye to a loved one. In the midst of our uncertainty and sorrow, or in the midst of excitment and elation, God is in control! Praise Him for his unfailing love and for the hope we find in Him.

Brandon will tell you in a couple days about his experiences chaperoning the youth and kids camps with Vineville. He had a wonderful time and was able to witness so many great things!

I didn't want to leave you hanging on the end of our Haiti trip, so I'll finish it out today. It's been a month since we were there, but it still feels like yesterday- so forgive my brain for leaving you out to dry! So here it is, the end of a beautiful trip, Goodbyes to beautiful landscapes and even more beautiful people.

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012

Today is bittersweet. It will be our last day with sister mario and Mr. mario's family in Gressier. tomorrow we will go to the beach in Jacmel and Friday we fly home.
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We visited the school again this morning. We did the Good samaritan skit. The kids, as usual were too sweet and sang almost every song with us. We prayed over the director and the school before we left, that God would use them to strengthen their community and to protect them and the children they serve.

We arrived at mario's house for the last day of work, greeted by Rodney's smiling face! (I recently learned that while you pronounce ODNE just like that...it is in fact spelled like RODNEY! who knew?) It was so wonderful to see him there. He is such a joyful person and he is more hardworking than most of us! Stevens and Bernie also joined us! We made fast friends with a little boy named Rijkad and a little girl named Senti. Rijkad, only 11, helped us all day too!
We ended up having to move 'sand' which was really more like a thick chalk dust, from one pile at the top of the mountain down to Mario's house for them to be able to use it for mortar. We had 6 buckets and spent the day in assembly lines passing full buckets down and empty ones back up. Many more helpers joined in as the day went on. Wilda and Junior came to visit and she ended up jumping in line! She is so wonderful, and I know God is planting a seed in her heart. She is smiling so much, and only God gives that kind of joy! Steevens was still in pain from his tooth today. We gave him more medicine and prayed for comfort.

It was very hot, as it was every day, but we all worked hard and talked and smiled with our new friends as much as possible, hanging on to every last moment we could. We played frisbee with them on our lunch break and had some AMAZINGLY delicious fresh mango - - which tasted better than any I've ever had in the states!
After a few more hours of bucket passing, we spent time hugging, taking photos, and saying our goodbyes to Mario's family and neighbors - our new family and friends. We prayed for them and asked God to bless their new house that it would be completed quickly and would be a strong foundation for them to build their lives upon. We rode off to smiles and tears and "Arevwa"s. We learned a new phrase - "Pachwen ane si Dye vle" which  means 'next year if God wills'.

Worship was great tonight. We were able to lead the songs again and had such a wonderful time worshipping together at the end of such an emotional day. A young man named David shared his testimony and really touched us all. From the outside, he was just a good looking, strong, 18 year old boy who didn't have any problems. But he shared with us the physical difficulties he has come through - even being in a wheel chair for 3 years - and the emotional pain it caused. He spoke about how alone he felt and that he was even agnostic for a while, blaming God, acknowledging his existence, but feeling trampled on. He shared that his youth minister, Chad, was always there for him, encouraging him. He told us that he found God's purpose for his life while coming on mission trips with their church - to serve - as he is now healed and is pretty much in perfect condition physically. I pray that as he goes to college he remembers his purpose, and remembers God's presence in his life through the hard times, and in the rebuilding of his body and of his spirit. He was an inspiration to many of us, though I'm sure he doesn't even realize it. Such a beautiful testimony and we all loved him more at the end of the evening for sharing his heart.

For more photos of Wednesday: Click Here

Wrapping it up - Thursday - Friday, June 7 - 8:

The beach was AMAZING. it was incredible to be in the blue Caribbean water ( a little polluted with seaweed, but still beautiful!) and turn around to to the shore and see the majestic Haitian mountains! We all got a little burned, but it was a wonderful day. Traveling to and from the beach we had to cross the mountains, so we got a ton of wonderful pictures! Such a beautiful countryside! On the way there, Almando got us some fresh bananas - straight from the tree! They were little and so sweet, YUM!




We had our last worship service and a send off from Pastor Sampson. We stayed up singing, and spending time with our friends and then packed our stuff up before heading to bed.





Friday morning started early, some of the group had to leave for the airport by 6am! We had more time than that, so we were able to get pictures with everyone and give out some last minute hugs. Kathryn was able to leave most of her stuff behind so she didn't have to lug it all back when she hopped back on the plane on Saturday. (She is still in Haiti and will be back at the end of the month! She is having an amazing time and I can't wait to hear all her stories!)

The flights were great, and we even met an evangelical pilot! He was a trip, and was inspirational with his excitement to talk about the gospel. Praying for Michael Harrison, American Airlines pilot and brother in Christ! As he said at the end of the flight, "See you in Heaven!"
We are grateful to be home safely, but are missing our friends and doing God's work in His beautiful country - Haiti. Thank you all for your prayers! It was an incredible experience and we hope to be back to work with our friends at Praying Pelican Missions in the future.

For more photos of Thursday and Friday: Click Here

On to the next step!

We covet your continued prayers and support for our training in Zambia in less than 2 months! If you'd like more information on the training program, visit www.overlandmissions.com/amt . I have been making some cookies for donations toward the program and our future in full-time missions, so please email me or facebook me if you'd like to help out in any way. We fly out on August 27th, so keep praying for strength, courage, and retaining all this knowledge we have been given in his Word so that we may effectively share it with the people of Zambia. We love you so much and thank each and every one of you for your love and support. We are just doing the best we can (which we know is filthy rags in comparison to Christ) to follow His Word and to stay in line with His Will for our lives. We are learning daily to endure the costs and sacrifices, to deal with the tough questions and the judgements from those around us. But know, that no matter what you, or we think is best for us, it is only God who knows. We pray that we have a strong faith to trust him with EVERY single aspect of our lives - not just the easy ones. We pray for you as well, that you would let go of control in areas of your life where you have been stealing the reigns and the Glory from God. Our lives are but a means to his Glory - in all that we are, in all that we say and in all that we do - may we bring Glory to God.

In His Love,
Sally

Haiti - Day 3 - First 'work day'

the view from our project location in Gressier

Monday, June 4th, 2012:

Wow. I feel like I say that every time... but each day is so different and amazing!

Today started off with peanut butter and jelly (although there was no jelly left by the time I made my way to breakfast! I've gotta get up earlier!) We went to a school first. It was neat and organized and the children were so smart and precious. We started with 'Simon Di' or Simon says, led by Marisol Ortiz. She did the entire game in french, which the children understood perfectly! It was amazing to see the excitement on the kids faces that they could understand her without an interpreter. (Everyone in Haiti speaks Creole (their own form of language based on french) but schools teach French and most Hymns are in French!)


After the game, we did the skit for Paul and Silas. I read while Phito translated and the kids loved watching everyone act out the scenes! We even had a few tiny prisoners join us in the 'jail'! We sang a few songs, they loved 'Praise ye the lord' which is a stand up sit down song we do at most VBS here in the states, but we also sang a couple songs in Creole! They knew 'When the roll is called up yonder' and 'I'll fly away'. It was so much fun to sing with them in their language, and you could tell the kids (and even the teachers) were getting a kick out of us trying to speak creole. They also sang a song for us and we ended with a great time of prayer and blessing.


We moved on from there to the project work site. A home in the mountainous region of Gressier that had collapsed during the earthquake. 4 family members were in the house when it fell, but the tin roof did not collapse and ended up saving their lives. We learned later in the day that after the house had collapsed, sister Mario (the mother of the family) began to sweep the church every day as her offering and prayer to God because she said she knew he would give them a new home. She told us that when we came her prayer had been answered and that God had accepted her offering to His church and brought Praying Pelican Missions to deliver the gift of her new home. TOO cool.


When we arrived at the house (after walking straight uphill on a narrow path for at least 5 minutes) we saw sister Mario trying to 'clean up' the rubble that was left of her house. She was pulling grass and weeds from the broken rocks that used to be the foundations and walls of her home. I asked her, "Mwen ka ede ou?" which means, 'Can I help you?' as the cinder blocks had not yet been delivered for us to carry up the mountain. She smiled and said 'no no' but with gratitude and humility allowed us to help her pluck the weeds and grass from the the stones that, I can only imagine, mean such a great deal to her and her family. During the act of pulling these weeds from the rocks, Brandon was reminded of the parable of the sower that Jesus explained to his disciples (Matthew 13:1-23). This was an excellent focus for the task at hand, and reminded us that our faith should not be easily uprooted, like this grass that has grown among these rocks. I told Brandon that he should share that tonight at worship if we were given an opportunity. Cassie had asked our group to lead worship on Wednesday, so he thought he might just save it and do it then.


We labored on the weeds for a while and with broken creole, we mingled and attempted to get to know sister Mario's family and neighbors. We began separating the broken blocks and stones into piles (small or large) until our next job was ready. Bring on the sledgehammers! A man showed up and had sledgehammers! He was the foreman for demolition and we were his workers! There were still a few broken walls that were standing and these had to be knocked down in order for new walls to be built. Apparently he didn't want to share the hammers, and was trying to do most of the hard work on his own, but a couple of us started using rocks to break up the columns and walls and his heart was softened and he shared his tools and taught us how to work efficiently. (Isn't it neat to see God teach?) We knocked down the broken fragments of the Mario family's cinder block walls and carted them off into piles as well.


WE SAW A TARANTULA!!!!! Thankfully, I wasn't that close to the surprising find, and Mr. Mario stepped on it a few moments later, but we actually saw it! It wasn't as scary as I thought but I wasn't the one who found it hiding in my cinder block either! It looked more like a mouse than a spider, it was so big and hairy! I am so glad that I was able to witness this... as I know God is helping to prepare me for Africa and showing me little by little that I can handle these creatures and reminding me that they are His creation - and fear is not an option!



After lunch, the cinder blocks arrived... we had to carry them via assembly line about 100 yards straight uphill and winding around a mountain path. There were 10 of us, but luckily Phito (our brother and interpreter) joined in as did sister Mario's son, Manou. So the 12 of us moved 100 blocks, but it took us 5 assembly lines to get up to the house... so we passed each block 5 different times. OUCH! So it was like passing 500 cinder blocks uphill, with the heat, and in the sun!Craziness! About halfway up, a young boy (about 14) named Bernie joined our line and for no other reason but to help and maybe practice a little of the english he knew. I gave him one of my gloves and thanked him for helping us. He enjoyed asking little questions in english like "what is your name" and "where does your father live". His smile is beautiful and contagious and his spirit is sweet. We were so glad to have met Bernie and hope we will see him again tomorrow.


We returned back to Cote Plage in Carrefour to some wonderfully cold showers and some much needed rest before dinner and worship. (I actually ate and enjoyed dinner today because I didn't take the Doxycycline!) After dinner, Cassie asked our group if we could lead worship and possibly a devotion. We sang God of Wonders, Amazing Love, and Give us Clean Hands. Brandon was able to share his thought from earlier in the day about the weeds and rocks for the evening devotion and was able to tell the other groups about our experience of the day. (Isn't it cool how God gave us the opportunity to share that, when we weren't sure we'd have the chance?) It was an incredible time of worship and we ended up singing all night after the meeting.

Now it's time to get some sleep, because Cassie wants us to move 200 blocks tomorrow! I'm already sore from today (Praise ye the lord at the school killed my quads! who needs P90X? Just be on the Hallelu side and don't use a chair! haha) Lord, help our bodies heal and our spirits be willing, I pray our attitudes don't reflect the pain in our backs and arms, and that you will help us finish the task for the day so that we do not put the project behind. Thank you for an incredible day today, Amen.

Haiti - Day 2 - Worship and Playtime

Good Morning! I'm trying to get back in the habit of being up and about at 7-7:30 because there is so much to do and, clearly, I've been falling behind on some of my duties! :) I will have the whole week of the Haiti trip blogged and photos uploaded to Facebook before next week... even with a visit to the baby in there! haha. (if you haven't seen pictures... check out the last blog! I'm an Aunt of 2!!! )

Our church had VBS last week, and as wonderful as it was, I got sick--well a few of us got sick in the preschool department. I thought it was funny that I spent a week with Haitian orphans and children and came back fit as a fiddle, but one week with American preschoolers did me in! :) But, in all seriousness, it was a WONDERFUL week at VBS and I learned so much from the kids and from our time sharing songs and bible stories with them. So grateful that we have time to be a part of important things like this before we leave for Africa! God uses each little thing as a teaching moment for us and we are soaking it all in!

Kathryn is doing great! We get some updates from her on occasion. If you haven't read her blog here is a link: A Servant Life  .  She will be in Haiti for 6 more weeks, and I know God is doing some amazing things through her and the rest of the Praying Pelican team and volunteers serving in Haiti and elsewhere this summer. Continue to pray for health and for beautiful experiences that can shape her life and the lives of those she encounters. We love you Kathryn!! 

Day 2 - Sunday  - June 3, 2012

We all slept pretty well last night. I woke up a lot, worried my fan batteries would run out or that I had been attacked by mosquitoes, but all was well. One of the groups had to be at church at 6am, so we were up at 5am with them...but we still love them.. haha. I got up and read and let Kathryn lay on my mattress for a while so she could stretch out from her ENO hammock position. At about 6:30 every one was getting up and starting to get ready. Brandon and the guys were already dressed and had eaten by the time I got out there to get some bread and peanut butter. The mornings in Haiti are beautiful and the guys were soaking it in on the roof listening to the church service going on next to us that had been at it since 6am and was still going strong! (not to mention there were people flooding out of the doors and sitting outside listening!)

We attended a church in Gressier, where we will be working this week. Cassie, Almondo, and Phito's family attend this church. We actually got to see Cassie and Almondo's house for a quick potty break. She told us that Almondo built most of it! It was wonderful and had a beautiful little garden in the back yard! Just up the mountain was the church, we arrived as Sunday School was ending (all in the same room, even the kids - who were most impressive paying attention the entire time for all 3 hours of the following service!) The church itself was in construction, but where the windows and doors were missing, God replaced them with the most spectacular view and a much needed breeze. It reminded me of Nichole Nordeman's song "Gratitude" in the 2nd verse where she says "A starry sky offers a better view if no roof is overhead". While they had a roof, it was a breathtaking experience worshiping the Creator in view of His creation.

The Service lasted about 3 hours and it got pretty hot as the morning progressed, but we didn't even look at our watches. Each moment was so Spirit-filled that the hours passed like minutes. How contrary to how we 'do church' (which is the wrong way to think of it...but true). We schedule out our songs and sermons to be sure that we don't go over 45 minutes or our congregations will start getting antsy and probably hop churches if they have to sit there for more than an hour. We as Christians have GOT to get used to praising God with ALL we have, EVERY moment of the day  and ENJOYING it... otherwise, you may want to re-evaluate your eternity, because that is what you will spend it doing if you reach the Pearly Gates. No football, no TV, and no JOBS --- Just singing and praising the Creator of the Universe. It was eye-opening, to say the least. They sang at least 10 different hymns, singing EACH verse and repeating most of them twice. (We grumble when we have to sing all 5 verses and usually end up cutting some out, am I wrong?) There was an amazing point in the service where we literally said "Alleluia" for at least 10 minutes straight. Not changing tone, no music in the background, no showy interludes - just Alleluia. Each time the word left the lips of the church it was sweeter somehow, it was more reverent, it was bleeding with repentance and gratitude and with Love for a God who is ALIVE and who hears us when we praise Him. Just Alleluia. If that wasn't powerful enough, for 3 minutes we 'let our hands praise Him' and in silence we reached up to the sky and channelled our hearts through our fingertips - the emotion in the room was tangible as we reached as high as we could.

The songs were interspersed with beautiful moments of prayer. One of the most unforgettable moments was when the minister asked everyone to pray simultaneously. Each person bowed their head and OUT LOUD began to pour their hearts out to the Father. I prayed as well, but I couldn't help but be in awe of the faithfulness around me. I peeked... and what I saw stays with me and I pray it never leaves. The faces of God's people, unashamedly calling on Him, confessing to Him, asking of Him, thanking Him, and with such fervor. The voices mingled and rose and, I can imagine, were a sweet melody of honesty to our Lord. It sure convicts a 25 year old Christian of 17 years who is still shaky about leading prayer or talking about her faith. If I can't be strong and courageous when speaking to my Heavenly Father... how can I not be terrified when facing the enemy? What beautiful conviction and a challenge to me just from seeing the deep faith of our brothers and sisters. If I could thank them for anything, it would be just that.

It was also communion Sunday. Before uncovering the bread and the wine, the pastor took at least 20 minutes to talk to his church about the importance of the act of taking communion, as well as the severity of partaking of the bread and the wine while still having unconfessed and unrepented sin in your life, or while serving anything in your life more than God and His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. He reminded us all that to come to the Lord's table, your heart must be true, must be clean, and must be broken. Because God is the one who cleanses us, who heals our brokenness, and who replaces the darkness of our hearts with light and truth. I evaluated myself and repented of my doubt and lack of faith, for questioning aspects of my life that I know He is in control of, for my attitude and for my lack of sincerity every other time I have eaten the bread and tasted the wine. It was not a just a tradition with little, stale squares of bread and grape juice where we sit in silence with our mouths dry waiting for the Pastor to say, drink this, so we can rinse the taste of fake bread out of our mouths (maybe I'm just talking about me, but I doubt it). The wine and the bread had a very deep meaning and caused me to look inward and see just how incredible Jesus' sacrifice of His body was, and how meaningful His blood was - it served as the new blood covenant between God and His creation, making the way for us to be redeemed from the clutches of sin and bought us back from the possession of the serpent. What have I been thinking about every other time? How can we not see the seriousness of this act of worship? I am so grateful to have been a part of this service!

We got to talk to Cassie on the way back from church about her life and path to becoming a full-time missionary in Haiti. It was extremely helpful and insightful, and reassured us that we don't have to have all the answers, we don't have to be 'brave' and we don't have to know what we're doing... We just have to give our lives to God and let him work through us - because anything we do pales in comparison to the work of the Spirit of God. Thank God! :)  Lunch and then we head to the orphanage from 2-4!

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SO the orphanage was amazing... It started off with an inspiring encounter with the director, Sister Mona. She spoke wonderful english and was so joyful and loving. She told us that she had mentioned to her sister earlier that morning that she wished she could get some flip flops for the kids - and out of the 4 suitcases we brought to Haiti, the one we were bringing to donate to the orphanage was FULL of flipflops (among other things). When we told her that we had brought her at least 50 pairs, she just laugh and with wonderment said "I didn't even pray for that, I just said it to my sister! Isn't God so great! When we live in faith, God can take care of us without even asking Him." Brandon also remembered her saying that she lives a life of complete faith in God for provision, for everything, because it was so much easier to live that way - not having to worry or be burdened. She prayed over us and thanked us for coming, but we all knew that we were the ones who had been blessed by the servant spirit of God's chosen, Ms. Mona.


We were then thrust into a 2 hour play session - Angela was swarmed by overjoyed children as she brought out the stickers and frisbees. She threw me some and you would have thought we were passing out gold! They piled on us, sticking out their hands and saying 'you! Ban Mwen!' meaning, you...give me! We played on the swings, took about a hundred pictures, frisbeed, basketballed, soccered, and see sawed until we couldn't stand up any longer. They were just beautiful, happy children. Aside from them wanting our water, watches, cameras, and rings, they were completely content just hanging on us


and hugging us and playing with us. God's children are found in every country, in every city, in every village and tribe, and in each orphanage. It was liberating to just love them, for the short time we were there, to play with all our might, and to hug with all our hearts. It is no wonder Jesus loved the little children, and as followers of Jesus, it is sure hard not to.  We will continue to pray for Sister Mona and the wonderful work she is doing in the community and in the lives of the children there. We will also pray for the children, that they will continue to live in the way of the Lord after leaving GSO.

For more information on the Good Shepherd Orphanage & School Foundation please visit www.gsohaiti.org. They have many sponsorship programs and ways to give and list a full overview of what they do - which is A LOT. If you're looking for a way to give, consider this in prayer, as Sister Mona is certainly a wonderful steward of this facility and the children in the orphanage as well as in the surrounding neighborhood.





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We got home about 5:30, exhuasted but in a state of  joy. We showered and had some time to rest before dinner and worship. Brandon and I took our malaria medicine and that's where things got hairy... We both ended up throwing up, (remember how I felt sick on Saturday?) Apparently the number 1 side effect of Doxycycline is vomiting - yuck. SO in lieu of feeling sick every day and not being able to eat anything - we decided that faith in God was stronger than any medicine and certainly stronger than any mosquitos! (Thanks be to God that none of us saw more than 2 the entire time we were there!!!) We will be looking into other options and considering what to do when we go to Africa. We didn't have a problem taking the medicine before the trip, but while in Haiti, and out in the sun, the effects got the best of us. One girl took hers at night and didn't feel any of the nausea, but the day she forgot and took it in the morning she threw up... so we can always try to take it at night! we just don't want the sick feeling to get in the way of God's ministry - but we know he can take care of us with the medicine (maybe taking away the vomiting!) or without it (protecting our bodies from malaria in order for us to continue to serve him totally). Our God is an Awesome God... if we have faith in Him, there is nothing that is impossible!

We shared our experiences of the day in worship and enjoyed an evening of singing praises on the roof once again...it was a beautiful end to an incredible day.

Lord, please keep us safe tomorrow so that we may be most effective in working for your kingdom. Keep our attitudes focused on you and your love. Thank you for the understanding of what was making us sick and protect Brandon and I as we try to make the best decision and quit taking the medicine while we are here. Lord, give us strength, courage, and patience. We love you. Thank you for your Son and for giving us the opportunity to serve.  Amen.

(For ALL the many pictures of the kids and the rest of the pics from day 1 and 2 visit the facebook album here: haiti 2012 )

Happy birthday to the Church!

It has been so wonderful being a part of Vineville Baptist Church and learning all about the seasons of the Church (as a whole). From Advent and holy week, to celebrating Easter for and the Ascension, to this Sunday which is Pentecost - the birthday of the Church.

Pentecost was the day when God breathed his Spirit onto the Apostles and gave the gifts that would allow them to spread the word of Christ throughout the nations. Praise God!

Thank you Lord, for sending Jesus your Son, and for giving us the Holy Spirit to comfort us, to guide us, to teach us and to convict us when we sin so that we may repent.

Happy Birthday to the Church- may we continue to do the good work God has given us to do, until the day our Lord brings us Home.


This was a Hymn we sang this morning, and the words (especially the second verse) mean a lot to us!

Wind Who Makes all Winds That Blow

Joseph Parry, 1879

1. Wind who makes all winds that blow—

gusts that bend the saplings low,

gales that heave the sea in waves,

stirrings in the mind's deep caves—

aim your breath with steady power

on your church, this day, this hour.

Raise, renew the life we've lost,

Spirit God of Pentecost.

2. Fire who fuels all fires that burn—

suns around which planets turn,

beacons marking reefs and shoals,

shining truth to guide our souls—

come to us as once you came;

burst in tongues of sacred flame!

Light and Power, Might and Strength,

fill your church, its breadth and length.

3. Holy Spirit, Wind and Flame,

move within our mortal frame.

Make our hearts an altar pyre.

Kindle them with your own fire.

Breathe and blow upon that blaze

till our lives, our deeds, and ways 

speak that tongue which every land 

by your grace shall understand. 

And So It Begins

We are leaving for Haiti in 9 days! WOAH! 

In the mean time...I'm trying to balance out my excitement and my 'fear of forgetting something'... it's been a while since I've done this! It's been seven years since my last overseas mission 

- - - 

and MAN have I missed it! 

Mom and I with Katiya in 2002, orphanage in Bryansk RU

Puppets for the kids at The Church of the Ascention, Bryansk RU

Zhenya Rozhkov, Me, Kim and Pasha Rozhkov, 2003, Bryansk RU

I love the people of Russia. I love the language, the kindness, the beauty of their history and redemption, and the strength and reverence of the church. I miss the hunger, the need for Jesus and His love, and I miss being inspired and humbled by our Russian brothers and sisters and their fervor for spreading the gospel and living it out each and every day.

I cannot wait to fall in love with more people, and further in love with my God. Haiti is a beautiful place with such tragedy, with such a need for love, for help, for the Word of God, and for His hope. I can only imagine that these people will be as special to me as the brothers and sisters in Russia. That, as we travel to do our best to lend a hand and a heart, we will steadily be changed and humbled by the Spirit through these beautiful people. Through their smiles amidst their adversity, through their joy and through their stories of sorrow, I pray that God will change our hearts. I pray that we will not come home unaffected by His grace and His mercy. That we will not allow our hearts to return to selfish indulgence when we know that there are people across the planet in dire need of salvation - of love - and of water, food, and shelter.

We are so excited to be traveling to Haiti with family and friends. It's the only way I've done missions up until now, and I'm grateful for the chance to do it again. God has blessed us greatly by surrounding us with people who are willing to go, willing to help, and even those who cannot go but are willing to donate and pray. You are also the hands and feet of Christ. Thank you for ministering to Brandon and I and to the rest of the team.

We will have a commissioning service for the Haiti team this Sunday at 10:45 (normal worship time) at Vineville Baptitst Church, Macon. If you are able to come and pray with us, please do so! We will be leaving June 2nd (before the crack of dawn) and will return June 8th.

The first big step in our journey is so close I can taste the sweat already... :)  

BRING IT ON! We are ready, Lord! 

a video about the organization we will be traveling

with and their ministry in Haiti. 

Oh, yeah ... Happy Anniversary!

Oh, how perfect we are for each other... 3 years to the date tomorrow! Thank goodness our family members sent us a card or we would have missed it completely! I know most married women joke and complain about their husbands forgetting their anniversaries, but I can't join in because I'm just as bad! Literally, we opened the card and were confused... "OH YEAH! that's tomorrow!" and then we just laughed and looked at each other- "You forgot too, right? Thank God!" And Brandon is thinking "whew!" haha

Sometimes things get tough, sometimes we annoy each other, but what a joy to be reminded (sometimes in the strangest ways) that God put us together on purpose. Maybe it's because we've known each other half of our lives. Maybe it's because we were young when we got married. Maybe it's because God knew what he was doing...I'm gonna go with that one. :)

We are a team.. forgetfulness and all! Love speaks to each person differently, and as long as you and your honey are speaking to each other in the right language, you'll never feel unloved! Take the time to be a team! It won't always be perfect, but when it's not, it just doesn't matter as much :)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TOMORROW, BRANDON!

(and thanks for the Olive Garden and the reminder, Elena! haha)

We love you all!

Sally



Mr. and Mrs. Brandon Lewis ~ May 16, 2009

About to see Jon do this at his own wedding!

My little loves...

Me and my girls!

Are they not the CUTEST things in the world???

Had to end with some pictures from the happy day! Thank you all for being a part of our lives then, now and in the future! We are blessed with the best family and friends and thank God for you every day! XOXO

Wool Underwear at Jury Duty

Ok, tonight I'm going to offend someone! Yay! Truly, I hope to avoid that completely, but if you are offended by anything in this I do hope it is a holy offense (meaning something that makes you uncomfortable and eventually changes the way we look at life, in Christ). I want to talk about two enemies in our churches. I want to talk about two enemies in our homes and in our everyday lives. I am talking about the enemies of convenience and comfortability.

To start off I will tell you where this is coming from. Sally and I were speaking with someone over the weekend about our call to full time missions. I really do not remember who it was, as we saw a lot of people over the weekend, but as we were talking, the person said something to the effect of, "That is so great and its at a good point in your life. I mean, you guys don't have kids yet and you are still young." Mind you, this person meant well, and I don't even know if it came out right, but what they said really stuck with me. We are a people of Christian convenience, Sally and I included. What the person said above was a very sweet thought of, "wow God called you while it was still convenient for you guys." Wrong. No he didn't! Yes, it was convenient for us in our sense of the word, but God doesn't call us in convenience. God doesn't even have convenience in accordance with his will, because with God's will the time it was set to happen is always the time its going to happen. Convenience is man-made. God calls us when God is ready. God called us at the only time God was ever going to call us to respond to a lifetime of missions, I believe, since we accepted that call and of course He has complete foreknowledge and knew exactly when we would finally surrender. Therefore, His plan has always been and will always be at the perfect time and place in our lives no matter what our outlook is on the situation.

We revolve around convenience and it's brother comfortability. If its easy for me to do and doesn't take much sacrifice for me or my family, then I am all about it. Take up my time, though, and we gotta problem. That is evident in our churches today as we plan our church calendar around when people will actually show up. Things like football games, school functions, dinner parties, piano lessons, gotta brush my teeth at this time every night, (and on and on ....) take up our time during the week and then we let God have whatever is left, if there is anything. I'm here to tell you that this is not the original plan that Christ came to tell us about. When I think of Christ I think of reckless abandon. RECKLESS ABANDON!!! A love for our Savior and a love for our God that says, "I'll give you EVERYTHING!" Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Hear that? We don't get Saturday off. "Daily", he says.

The key phrase in that statement by Christ is 'he must deny himself'. What does it mean to deny oneself? I think of it as putting ourselves last. So God comes first, then others, then ourselves. That is a very simplified list of denial. Now the tough part is that the second group in line still comes after God. Yes, that means your family too. Jesus tells us to love Him so much that it is like we hate our family members. He doesn't say hate them, but that the love we have for Him has to be so great that it pales in comparison with those we love on earth. Therefore, sometimes we even have to deny our families things for the sake of doing God's work. You say, "Brandon, surely God wouldn't put me in that position." Wrong. Ask Abraham.

I whined today at church because of how hot it was in the sanctuary. Yep, people are dying from dehydration due to lack of good water. Freaking, WATER!!!, and I'm whining because it was 78 in the sanctuary. We sure live in a comfortable society. So does God call us to live comfortable lives and coast on through? Nah. Jesus sends us out as sheep among wolves. Comforting, right? He says not to worry about man because all they can do is kill you. Whew, that's all? These are not comforting statements unless we are recklessly abandoned to Christ. Christ did not call us to be comfortable. He just said to follow.

Let's step out as a church and get uncomfortable. Let's talk to people about our faith (God knows I need help with that). We struggle to talk to people about Jesus. I know this because I struggle a lot with it. Man, I can invite them to functions and dinners at church, but talk to them about the Savior of mankind and I clam up. Guess what, Jesus never said invite people to church. I'm not saying that we shouldn't (please don't hear me saying that). I'm saying that WE were meant to share the Gospel with others. We think, well that's my pastor's job. Wrong. It's ours. If we are going to believe what the Bible tells us and follow our God then we are going to be uncomfortable and inconvenienced. It will be like wearing wool underwear at jury duty.


Love you all,
Brandon

Don't be a blind chameleon

Did you know, that a blind chameleon still takes on the color of its environment even though it can't see anything? The first thing I think of is, "what a waste of those cool eyes!" However, as I was thinking about this fact I started to contemplate on how God calls us to be in the world, but not of it. What's that you say? How, do I get blind lizard to God's calling us not to be of the world? Stay with me.

John 17:13-19: "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified."

First thing to note is that this is that top shelf RLS. I am talking about that Red Letter Stuff (sigh....if you still don't get it, Jesus is speaking here so yeah.... letters... red). Jesus is praying for his disciples. He prays to his Father "not that you take them out of the world..." and therefore implies that he could do just that. However, what would have been accomplished by that? Well for starters, I can tell you that you could kiss the book of Acts goodbye. So what does Jesus want? He says, "I have sent them into the world"; but just because he is sending us in the world, does not mean that we are to be of the world.

Ok, thanks for that Brandon! There's nothing like hearing an 'easier said than done' message to really get my engine going! So how do we do this? Simple, become sanctified. Duh! Sanctified here is the greek word hagiazo which means set apart for sacred use or make holy. So we are to be made holy. Ok, how do we do that? That answer, my friends, is two-fold. Both parts are in the scripture above. The first step comes from the end of the scripture and is the most important message in all scripture. JESUS! That is the first part of becoming sanctified. It says, "For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified." Jesus offered His life so that we might be set apart. The second part of becoming sanctified is by the truth, God's Holy Word. Psalm 1:2 and 119:11 along with Joshua 1:8 speak of the importance of staying in the Word. The Word is life. Deuteronomy 8:3 says, "...man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." I don't know about you, but I normally try to eat every day. Don't you? You think God used that analogy on purpose? Let me sleep on it, YES! Be in the Word of God constantly. After we have part one we never lose it! Praise God!! However, we need to stay in God's word, the truth, to continually set ourselves apart from the world.

So now you see the connection between the lizard and God's call, right? No? Fine. Moving forward.

The blind chameleon is a picture of what it means to be a product of your environment. Even though the animal can't see a thing, the outside world, somehow, soaks in and turns him a brown poopy color. (On a side note the little red line popped up under poopy. Really, spell check? You don't recognize the word poopy?) God does not want blind chameleon's out of us. He wants us to be what the world soaks in, not the other way around. That means WE are to be the examples. WE are to be sticking out like sore thumbs. That's scary isn't it. We all want to blend in like a chameleon. Don't get me wrong, we are not supposed to go around with our noses in the air correcting what everyone is doing. We are to be a light. We are to be LOVE. Jesus, earlier in John 13, says, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." Pretty cool, huh? But he goes on to say, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." That's the message, if we are to be in Christ then we are to be love to one another thereby making us holy and set apart. Here is the downside, though. In being like Christ we are going to be persecuted for this holiness. We are not always going to be accepted. We are going to be looked down upon or be told that we are close minded. Hallelujah, because Jesus also says, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." All this is to say, be in the world and live among the people of this world shining a light to the lost, but don't be a blind chameleon.

Love you all,
Brandon

White suit and a Puddle of Mud

Ok, I read the coolest thing in one of our books today and I thought I'd share it with everyone! As most of you know, we have some 'textbook' reading we have to do in order to prepare for our classes with AMT in Zambia. Every book we've read has been better than the next, and I honestly can't wait until our next shipment arrives!

The book I wanted to share with you tonight is called, Such a Great Salvation by Mike Petzer. It's only about 130 pages, and while he get's a little wordy sometimes, there are golden little nuggets of insight in each chapter!

The chapter in reference is titled 'Without Spot or Blemish, Blameless?' and the synopsis of the chapter is that once we accept Christ in our lives, that we are forever changed into sinless beings. But that begs the question as we clearly still have sin and temptation in our lives. While there are MANY different discussions and blog posts out of this one idea, what I want to share with you tonight is the illustration he used to help make his point. He talks about an issue we have with our self perception, even after we are saved from our sins and made spotless. We often use the excuse that 'everyone messes up' and eveyone has sin in their lives; but this doesn't mean we should not strive to be spotless, how God made us, especially after Jesus cleansed us! And here is his illustration:

"Imagine you walk out your front door and you are faced with a giant mud puddle in your way. If you are wearing dirty coveralls you will think nothing of just walking right through the puddle. Your response is 'I am already in such a mess, why bother to stop some extra dirt?' This is the attitude of all who do not see themselves as clean. They have very little resistance to sin because they see themselves as unclean already. But imagine you walk out of your front door and you are wearing the most expensive, top of the line, tailor made, white suit with appropriately expensive shiny shoes. Even the smallest spot of mud will make you look a mess, you reason, and so you take great care navigating the edge of the mud; you give the mud pool the widest berth you possibly can. This is the attitude of the one that sees himself as totally clean." - pg 125, Such a Great Salvation, Mike Petzer

I love this. When we accept Christ's sacrifice to atone for our sin, we accept that His work was perfect, and that it is finished. If that is true, then we are totally cleansed when we accept the redemption He provides. 1 John 1:9 says that when we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive them and also cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Who hasn't heard that 'God doesn't just forgive, He also forgets'? That means we have a totally blank slate. A completely, spot free, beautiful, expensive (one that cost Him His Son) white suit -or dress- that all we had to do was accept.

What a beautiful gift. Can you see it? What Love, what Mercy, what Grace. He sees us as spotless, beautiful children. Often times, the problem is how we see ourselves. While God forgets our past mistakes, it's not always as easy for us. We do not see the worth in ourselves, we do not understand the forgiveness and complete restoration of our righteousness. How on earth could we, how on earth could I, ever deserve such a gift? Knowing everything I've done, knowing every thought I've had, knowing every word that has come out of my mouth. How? How can I deserve such a gift? Because I am a child of God, and you are too. Because His ways and His thoughts are higher than mine,  and because while I can't understand how God can forget everything I've done and love me unconditionally, He can, He does, and He chooses to do so. From the very beginning He has known what we would do, how many times we would forsake Him, yet He still made a way to forgive us - before we ever opened our eyes - He made a way to make it right.

How can we then choose to take this dress, this suit; this spotless, beautiful, garment of Grace and roll around in a puddle of mud? Why would we? We are beautiful spotless children of God. It's time we saw ourselves as He sees us. Maybe then we would value ourselves as he sees value and worth in us. And maybe then we would understand that our actions matter to more than just ourselves, more than just this day, this place. We were bought with a price, and in humble and grateful obedience and praise I want my suit to remain clean, because it matters for all eternity!

For the first time in my life, I know that I am not who the world, or who the sin in my past, tells me I am. I am spotless, and it is my choice to do all I can to overcome any temptation that comes my way. For the sake of the cross, for appreciation of His sacrifice, and for the unfathomable love of my God.

You are clean. You are loved. You are beautiful. See yourself through His eyes, and live as light.

-Sally