Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' …

Hello everyone, I hope that you are all doing well, and enjoying the weird weather we’re experiencing this winter / spring. Not that I’m complaining, but it just doesn’t seem right that we’ve had days in the 50’s, and had hardly any snow this winter. Perhaps mother nature is just trying to help me acclimate me a little closer to Haitian weather. Or maybe we’re just being set up for the other shoe to drop, so to speak J

It’s hard for me to believe we’re already into the first week of February. My time before I start my service in Haiti is slowly fading away, and sometimes it’s seems like there’s just not enough time to get everything done that needs doing. I have gotten my plane tickets, so I’m officially leaving on the evening of March 30^th, flying to Miami, the continuing on Haiti on the next morning. I’ll serve the people of Haiti with the men and women of NWHCM, then return to the states on November 7^th, where I’ll meet with a NWHCM representative in Savannah, then returning home to Indiana on the 8^th. Now that I have plane tickets and a set date to leave, I’m starting to feel more of a sense urgency to get things done, but I’m just taking deep breaths, saying a prayer for peace, and working on getting things done bit by bit.

On another note, I am very excited that to date I have received monthly pledges to cover just a little over half of  my needs while serving in Haiti. I am very grateful for all of you who have chosen to step out in faith and partner with me. While I still have a way to go, I am not worried, because I know that God is with me, and has plans for my service in Haiti, and I know that he will provide! As it says in Luke, chapter 11: 9-10

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

I am still in need of partners willing to join with me as I serve our God in Haiti, and I hope that you all will consider joining with me. I know that times are tough, the economy is bad, and we are all pulled in many directions. I also know that God has richly blessed all of us, and that the more freely and generously we give, the more we receive. We are called by God to step out in faith, and I would encourage everyone to commit to supporting a missionary this year. Of course, I would love for you to partner with me, but if not, there are thousands of men and women serving God and the Kingdom throughout the world. I would encourage you to partner with one of them, and learn the joy of helping to expand the Kingdom!

On Sunday, February 19^th  following services at FCC, we are hosting a “Hearts for Haiti” fundraising dinner. For $5 a person you can have a great dinner (Spaghetti with choice of sauce, salad, bread, dessert and a drink), enjoy some fellowship and learn more about Northwest Haiti Christian Mission, their ministry in Haiti, and my impending service with them. We will also be having some live entertainment and a great silent auction, with all of the proceeds going to help support my work in Haiti. I would love for anyone in the Brazil area to come out on the 19th, have some great food and learn how Northwest Haiti and I are serving, and ways that you too can be involved in Haiti!

I pray that you all stay well, and I would love to speak with you in more detail about the need in Haiti, and my service there. If you would like to reach me, you can either contact me at the church office (812-446-2214) or by email at servinginhaiti@yahoo.com

Have a great night and weekend, and God Bless!

Justin

At once they left their nets and followed Him…

“As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.  When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.” ~ Mark 1:16-20 NIV

I’ve been thinking a lot about this particular verse the last several weeks. As I’m getting closer to my date to leave the states (I leave on March 30^th) I find myself consumed with a lot of things that I need to get done before my internship starts. One of the things that I’ve been working on is trying to determine what I will need for my 7 month internship in Haiti. Over the past several years, I have packed for many a short term mission trip, but trying to plan for 7 months had me a little befuddled. Not only the personal items (Clothing, shampoo, etc.), but trying to plan the basic needs for my type of ministry, so that I will be able to hit the ground running in March. It’s all a little overwhelming. On top of that, in order to get anything I need to Haiti, I either have to carry it in when I fly in, or I need to get it up to the warehouse in Zionsville, so it can be loaded onto a container and start making its way to Haiti. I’ve actually already got a couple of boxes of supplies on their way, loaded in a container that left a couple weeks ago. I think that these supplies should get to the NWHCM campus about the same time I do, or a little before.

Anyway, as I’ve been planning and packing, I got to thinking about the great faith of the early disciples, who, when called by Jesus, immediately stopped what they were doing, left everything they had and everyone they knew, and followed Jesus. Can you imagine the tremendous faith that it must have taken to simply stand, leave everything behind and follow. I stand in awe of these simple men who answered His call and set forth to change the World. Even though thy were plagued with doubts and trials throughout their ministry, they still answered when called and they served God with all their lives.

I know God is calling me to serve in Haiti, and I’m very excited to see how God will use me for His glory. I have always wanted to serve, and I look forward to serving the people of Haiti, however He chooses to use me.

I would encourage everyone to put their Faith and Trust in God, to be still and listen for His guidance, and when called, to not question. Just Follow where He leads!

You will be blessed!

Justin

Blessings & Sorrow

Hello everyone, I just wanted to take a few minutes and comment on a couple of events that I experienced this week. First, the blessings:

I was blessed to go to the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission warehouse in Zionsville on Wednesday to help load a couple of containers full of food bound for Haiti. In a little under 6 hours, myself and four other volunteers were able to load 2 shipping containers with enough packaged rice meals[1] to provide meals for over 450,000 people in Haiti! Not only is it wonderful and amazing to see so much food going to people in desperate need, but the fact that all of this food was purchased by donation, packaged with love by people young and old throughout the country, and is going to those who need it most! What a wonderful blessing it was for me to be just a small part of serving so many!

Also this week, I was blessed to help sew diapers for the NWHCM birthing center with a great group of people here at FCC. For over 10 years, a dedicated and ever growing group of volunteers has met several times a year to sew re-useable cloth diapers that we send down for the mission to use, and give out to new mothers at the birthing center. This week, in four days, our group was able to sew 345 diapers, and have a lot in various stages, ready to go for the next sewing event, scheduled for April. Not only do a lot of wonderful people volunteer to sew these diapers, but also it is funded completely through donations, a lot of which they get  through their “Dimes for Diapers” campaign, where people donate their spare change to help provide diapers for children in Haiti. Just another example of small things that we can do every day, seemingly insignificant  things, which can grow to have great results throughout the Kingdom!

Finally, on a sadder note, I learned this week of a friend of mine is struggling with some very serious family issues. While I don’t want to elaborate and get into details, just suffice to say that their family is facing great turmoil, and is desperately in need of prayer. My heart goes out to her and her entire family and I pray that God will grant them strength and peace through these troubling times.

God is everywhere, in all things, at all times. Sometimes His will is easy to see, sometimes it is incredibly difficult ( if not impossible). We just need to be strong and carry on in faith that all things can be and are used by Him for his purpose. It doesn’t make our pain any easier, our grief any less, but it does offer hope for tomorrow.

I would like to ask for prayers for my friend, and I pray that you all will continue to seek ways, big and small, to serve your fellow man and woman, and the Kingdom of God!

God Bless you all!

Justin

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[1] For more information on this type of program, please visit the “Kids Against hunger” website at http://www.kidsagainsthunger.org/ or the “Feed My Starving Children” website at http://www.fmsc.org/.

Sharing my story

Hey all I hope everyone is having a great winter! I wanted to take a couple of minutes just to catch up with all of you. Things have been progressing very well here in my world, and I wanted to share it with all of you.

As a missionary in Haiti, I need to raise financial support in the amount of $1300.⁰⁰ per month in order to serve. This amount will cover all of my expenses in Haiti, the cost of travel to and from, as well as the cost for health / life insurance. Sitting here at this point in my journey, and looking out at the prospect of finding enough people and churches willing to help support me for the foreseeable suture is very daunting. I think one of the hardest things about going onto the field is finding support, especially in the current economy. Not that people don’t realize the need and want to help, its just finding the “extra” money. It’s difficult, but obviously never impossible. God is in control of all things, uses all things to His purpose, and as followers of the King, we are commanded to spread His truth to the four corners of the world.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ~ Matthew 28:18-20 NIV

All that being said, I know that God is with me and is directing me as I seek to serve in Haiti. Since my first short-term trip in 2008, I have known that I am meant to serve on the mission filed, and my constant prayer since then has been for God to show me where and how He wants to use my life for His glory. I may not know what He has in store for me, or how it will work out, but I know that it will work for His glory if I just put it in His hands, and allow Him to work in my life.

On Saturday January 7^th , the Brazil Times, our local newspaper printed an article that they did about me, and my journey unto the mission field (here is a link to their story: http://www.thebraziltimes.com/story/1802108.html). It is a great story, and I am blessed that they chose to write about me, as it’s just another way to get my story out. My hope is that I will not only garner prayer (and possibly some financial) support, but maybe I will also encourage some other people to step out into the mission field, to serve and feel the same joy that I feel while working for the Lord. I’ve also been interviewed by the Spencer Evening World (my hometown)about doing a story, so I’m looking forward to sharing my journey with some old friends from home.

I have been sending out batches of letters to friends and family asking for their support, and I have also been contacting local churches, hopefully in order to have a chance to present my calling to their congregations. Along with this, I have been blessed to meet with several groups at our church to talk about my service, including several of our adult Bible study classes and small groups. I have to admit that I am really not comfortable speaking in front of groups of people, never have been and never will.  But once I get up and start speaking of my mission I generally calm down and do a decent job of representing myself, without looking like a blithering idiot J

I should be very nervous, worried and scared about all of this. I should be apprehensive about my future and my work in Haiti. I should be, but I’m not. I know God is in control, and I know God will see me through. At the end of the day, all we have is the knowledge of God’s truth and His promise for our lives.

What more do we need?

God Bless you all,

Justin

P.S. ~ On Sunday, February 19^th following services at FCC, we are hosting a “Hearts for Haiti” fundraising dinner. For $5 a person you can have a great dinner (Spaghetti with choice of sauce, salad, bread, dessert and a drink), enjoy some fellowship and learn more about Northwest Haiti Christian Mission, their ministry in Haiti, and my impending service with them. We will also be having some live entertainment and a silent auction, with all of the proceeds going to help support my work in Haiti. I would love to invite anyone in the Brazil area to come out on the 19^th, have some great food and learn ways you can be involved in Haiti!

A GREAT TAX DEDUCTION...(OR, A SHAMELESS PLUG)

Hi everyone, i hope you had a great Christmas. I was blessed to spend Christmas Eve with my family, and then enjoyed a wonderful church service on Christmas Day, followed by visiting my grandmother in Spencer.

As we look forward to the New Year, there is a dark presence looming in our near future. I am of course talking about the Tax Man!

April 15^th will be here before you know it, and I wanted to take this opportunity to offer a small way to help ease the governments bite, and to help a worthy cause at the same time. All donations made to help support my service in Haiti are tax-deductible, and if you act in the next couple of days, you can even deduct it from your 2011 taxes! What a great way to help send a Worker into the Field, and keep the IRS out of your pocket! So, if you would like to take advantage of this tax savings, you can click on the following link: Help Support Justin in Haiti

Or you can visit www.nwhcm.org, click on the “Give” tab, select “Missionary Support” from the left side of the screen, and then click the link with my name.

OK, seriously though, as I have sought my place on the mission field, one of the things that I have been most concerned with is the thought that I would have to raise support for my work. This was a very big hurdle to overcome, because I do not like asking for help. And I really don’t like asking for money, especially in this economy.

After much studying, praying and some very wise counsel from fellow Christians more knowledgeable then myself, I now realize a couple of truths:

1)      We are all commanded by scripture to proclaim the good news of Christ’s salvation to the entire world. Matthew 28: 18-20 says “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

2)      We are all gifted differently. According to Romans 12:6-8 “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;  if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;  if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”

So therefore, we can all use our specific gifts, to the glory of God and the reaching of the lost! I have a passion to serve, and I have found a place where they need my skills and talents. A place where I can use my passion and gifts to help the people of Haiti, as well as the other missionaries on the ground in Haiti.  I can and am ready to go to Haiti to serve, but I need willing people to partner with me. You can help me serve the people of Haiti through prayer, through giving and through many other ways. The important thing for all of us to search for the way in which we are called to serve, and serve!

If you are called to partner with me, I would love the chance to speak one on one with you about my calling and future service in Haiti. I can be reached via email at servinginhaiti@yahoo.com just drop me a line so we can set up a time to talk.

I thank you all for reading, and continuing this journey with me. I encourage you all to stay strong in the Lord, and I pray for all of you to have a wonderful and blessed new year!

Justin

Are You Sure ?

Ever since I first announced my plans to join the mission field in Haiti, I’ve been asked a lot of questions. Some strange, some funny but probably the most common has been “Are you sure?” A couple of good friends have asked “are you sure you’re being called, and not running away?”

Believe me, this is a question I have asked myself a lot, as this year has been very hard for me. I lost my sister Michelle in February, and I still struggle with her loss every day. I’ve had many times where I pull out my phone to talk to her, and even start dialing her number, then i remember. On top of that, my wife and I divorced this summer. I wont go into any specifics here, but suffice it to say that mistakes were made on both sides, but the ending is not what I wanted, and the pain and loss I feel are deep to an extent that I wouldn’t have thought possible.

Now please, let me pause here for a second to recognize that there are many, many people whose lives are much harder, and have faced greater loss this year than I have. I’m not trying to whine, just telling my story.

I have battled depression many times in my life, been down into dark pits where words like “Hope” and “Joy” lose all meaning. My mom lost her battle with Leukemia when I was 16, and my father passed away 7 years later. I’ve spent most of life hiding, ashamed of my weight, certain I was no good to anyone or for anything.Throughout the years, when my despair was at its worst and the pain unbearable, something always brought me back and started me on the climbing out of the pit. I never knew what it was, but I always felt something there. I know now what it was then, and what still gives me strength when times get tough. God’s love.

God, who sent His perfect son to die for all of us. God, who never turns His back on us, even when we turn ours on Him. God, who is always there, we just need to be still and let Him lead us.

God has blessed me more greatly than I can ever deserve. I have great friends who truly care for me, wonderful Christian role models who are my support when I am in need. I have family that loves me. I have been blessed to travel to many distant lands, to serve with amazing Christians from around the world. I have been blessed to see God at work in the lives of many people.  I have been blessed with a place to God and man, a place where I can use my gifts and talents.

Throughout this experience, I have felt God moving in my life. I know that I am moving how and where He wants, and I am anxious to see what He has in store for me. I know that no matter what comes, God has plans and a purpose for me. As it says in Roman’s 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” So... long story short, the answer to the question “Are you sure?”is a heartfelt and resounding YEP!

Until next time,

Justin

Haiti or Bust

Last week, I was finally able to get with the staff at Northwest Haiti Christian Mission in Zionsville to confirm my plans to join the mission field in Haiti next year. After a few tests and several meetings, i came away with not only the answer to most of my questions, but with a renewed sense of peace about what i’m meant to do and where i’m meant to go.

I will be traveling to Haiti on or around March 30 of next year, to begin a 7 month internship with Northwest Haiti Christian Mission at their main campus in St. Louis Du Nord. I’m very excited to serve with and for the people of Haiti, and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me.

As i continue the process for preparing to serve, i have a lot to do and figure out. Not only do I need to begin fundraising and seeking prayer support, but I also need to investigate health insurance options,  make plans for what I need to take with me, and just generally figure out how best to prepare for service.

As I prepare and learn, I again invite you to join with me and share my experiences, both here and in Haiti. I look forward to sharing with you, but I also invite you to ask me any questions or tell me any thoughts or suggestions you may have.

Until next time,

bondye beni ou!

Justin