A lot of us here in the Delaware Valley seem to be little disappointed that the Hurricane wasn't more violent and terrifying. And some seem a little angry at the media for the "fear-mongering" to keep us safe. Instead of complaining, we should be thankful that the full effect of the storm didn't hit us like it did our friends in the southern states or our brothers and sisters in the Bahamas.
I spoke with Raoul this morning about the effects the hurricane had on Grand Bahama Island. When the storm reached this third-world country, there were fears that it would smash directly into Freeport, which would pretty much be the final deathblow for a country on life support right now. It appears that God's hand steered the storm off of its anticipated course towards the east, sparing a direct hit. They didn't go fully unscathed - a lot of water damage, roofs torn off, etc. But by the grace of God, not one life was lost.
On a selfish note, some of the work that we did this summer held up. The three roofs that we fixed had no leaks, and the gardens we installed were spared. But there is still a whole lot of work to be done. If you are interested in supporting the beautiful people of this island, right now they are asking for monetary donations. Raoul and Karen will be heading to Miami this week to do some shopping for non-perishable items. Then when they return, they will be able to get a discount from the Bahamian Government on plywood and lumber. Also, many of the children are in need of underwear and socks.
If you feel called to donate, make checks payable to Karazim Ministries and mail to:
Karazim Ministries
1777 Venice Lane # 136
Miami, Florida 33181
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Taking Action
Like I have mentioned in an earlier post, you get Godwinks all the time. Some are really subtle, and some smack you right upside the head. We got a good smack Sunday morning at church when Rev. Lewis preached about the only way to defeat evil is to take action, no talk about doing good things. Since our verse of the week was 1 John 3:18 – “Dear children, do not love with words or speech, but in actions and in truth,” we were pretty sure God had something special in store for us this week.
Now when you come down here, there are ample opportunities to serve and take action. From the time you get up in the morning, you can carry someone’s backpack, help them on the bus, or carry the water jugs. At breakfast, people can serve the food, clean up the tables, or bring drinks. And then once you get to the jobsite, you can paint, roof, fix gardens, or play with the kids. But it is really easy to do those things when you are in another country with a group of Christians. We’ve got a clear connection to God this week. There’s nothing blocking it – facebook, phones, work, friends, family problems. Just us and God.
But we are on our way home. As I’m typing this in Freeport International Airport, I look around and see the groups reading magazines, playing cards, and snacking. The tv is on and I’m hearing about Amy Winehouse’s death, Rupert Murdoch’s problems, and the crazy heatwave. Already the distractions have begun. So we have put a challenge out to all team members (me included) to take action. Last night at the closing service, we announced our action step for when we return. A lot of what was promised last night was to getting more involved in youth group, praying more, sharing the experience with friends and family, going to church.
The Jesus that we all worship didn’t just talk the talk, he walked the walk. He didn’t half –way do it. He went all out for us. So I pray that the promises we made last night don’t become just lip service. As James 2:22 says, “You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” I know that He will work through this team, and we will be taking action this year.
Now when you come down here, there are ample opportunities to serve and take action. From the time you get up in the morning, you can carry someone’s backpack, help them on the bus, or carry the water jugs. At breakfast, people can serve the food, clean up the tables, or bring drinks. And then once you get to the jobsite, you can paint, roof, fix gardens, or play with the kids. But it is really easy to do those things when you are in another country with a group of Christians. We’ve got a clear connection to God this week. There’s nothing blocking it – facebook, phones, work, friends, family problems. Just us and God.
But we are on our way home. As I’m typing this in Freeport International Airport, I look around and see the groups reading magazines, playing cards, and snacking. The tv is on and I’m hearing about Amy Winehouse’s death, Rupert Murdoch’s problems, and the crazy heatwave. Already the distractions have begun. So we have put a challenge out to all team members (me included) to take action. Last night at the closing service, we announced our action step for when we return. A lot of what was promised last night was to getting more involved in youth group, praying more, sharing the experience with friends and family, going to church.
The Jesus that we all worship didn’t just talk the talk, he walked the walk. He didn’t half –way do it. He went all out for us. So I pray that the promises we made last night don’t become just lip service. As James 2:22 says, “You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” I know that He will work through this team, and we will be taking action this year.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Divide and Conquer
For most of the trips, we stick together on the same site. Occasionally, a small group might go a few houses away to tie up a loose end. But today we had a split squad with 13 people sticking around the feeding center to work on a few projects, so I’ll start there first. Dan, Todd, and Nick were jumping out of their seats to get the opportunity to JACKHAMMER! Yep, we have moved on to the big boy toys. They had to break some ground to find a pipeline to connect a dishwasher to. Lissy, Caitlin, Audrey, and Melissa bent and formed about 10 new fish traps. And Carrie, Kim, Barbara, Alyssa N, Cyrus, and Jessica emptied, cleaned, and organized the large storage bins on the side of the feeding center.
The rest of the group went back to the village to work on the beginning of the end. By now it’s just like riding a bike. Before some of the supplies are off the bus, the teams are already organizing and tackling the various set-up jobs.
The Roofer’s union finished up roof #3, the painters finished house #3 and began #4, and the gardeners firmed up the retaining walls and cleared a bunch of weeds around various houses. And of course the kid’s club crew kept going with a bunch of new activities to keep them busy – like Kung-fu and Magic Carpet Ride.
We ended our night with a few more GREAT Helen games and some devotional time. Most of the team headed to bed early in anticipation of our long closing devotional tomorrow night, but also because they are dead tired. It’s going to be hard getting them up for the 9:30 service Sunday morning. (Thanks goodness for the 7:00)
Even though we were on two parts of the island, most of the kids shared the same “Jesus” moment. (These stories were pretty much the same from both groups.) It was really hot today (not as hot as home), but occasionally we get an afternoon thunderstorm. We don’t want the thunderstorm because that messes up a lot of our work, but today a big one was coming. We scurried quickly to get cleaned up before it hit. As we waited for the rain the come, a nice breeze picked up, the clouds gave us some cover, and the temp dropped about 20 degrees for almost 30 minutes. Fortunately, the rain never came, but the relief we got was just enough for us to make it through to the end of the day.
The rest of the group went back to the village to work on the beginning of the end. By now it’s just like riding a bike. Before some of the supplies are off the bus, the teams are already organizing and tackling the various set-up jobs.
The Roofer’s union finished up roof #3, the painters finished house #3 and began #4, and the gardeners firmed up the retaining walls and cleared a bunch of weeds around various houses. And of course the kid’s club crew kept going with a bunch of new activities to keep them busy – like Kung-fu and Magic Carpet Ride.
We ended our night with a few more GREAT Helen games and some devotional time. Most of the team headed to bed early in anticipation of our long closing devotional tomorrow night, but also because they are dead tired. It’s going to be hard getting them up for the 9:30 service Sunday morning. (Thanks goodness for the 7:00)
Even though we were on two parts of the island, most of the kids shared the same “Jesus” moment. (These stories were pretty much the same from both groups.) It was really hot today (not as hot as home), but occasionally we get an afternoon thunderstorm. We don’t want the thunderstorm because that messes up a lot of our work, but today a big one was coming. We scurried quickly to get cleaned up before it hit. As we waited for the rain the come, a nice breeze picked up, the clouds gave us some cover, and the temp dropped about 20 degrees for almost 30 minutes. Fortunately, the rain never came, but the relief we got was just enough for us to make it through to the end of the day.
A Colorful Day
Houses in the states are boring – brown, white, black, grey – but in the Bahamas they are dynamic – mint green, bright yellow, deep blue, coral, and pink. Imagine seeing one of those colors in a Yardley neighborhood. But down here they are commonplace. So seeing the white primed houses looked a little odd this morning. But it wasn’t long until the painting crews had brightened up the site. Led by the painting coordinator Helen Hughes, her team of Lissy, Joy, Kelsey Mahan, Sarah K, Kim E., Kim S.,, and others blew through the job in no time.
The roofing team, led by Jeff Hill, continued to seal up all the leaks. It was a hot one today (but from what I understand we are the lucky ones down here), so the tar was extra gooey. Jenny, Sarah B, Kate B, Mike M, Andrew M, Pillz, Alyssa N, Matt, Chelsea B, Carrie, Mike and Mike H, and Jeff L were doing some sweating for Jesus, and they came off the roof with only one color – BLACK. The ride back to dinner was filled with the smell of mineral spirits.
The gardening team made major strides today. Fourteen frames were completed and the retaining wall was extending. A lot of heavy pick-axing and shoveling was done to create a more stable and level area for the frames, leaving most members with a dusting of white all over their legs. Tom, Todd, Jeff R, Dan M, Alyssa C, Melissa T, Sarah K, and Chelsea really let their hammers do the talking today.
Then after dinner, we encountered a small rain shower and we saw – yep, a rainbow.
Finally, the day ended with a glorious beach service at sunset. The magnificent sky shone bright with an array of colors. And we were all able to worship with song, prayer, and fellowship for a few hours, enjoying some of God’s creation.
(Sorry for the late upload. This typing thing between 11 and midnight is starting to take its toll.)
The roofing team, led by Jeff Hill, continued to seal up all the leaks. It was a hot one today (but from what I understand we are the lucky ones down here), so the tar was extra gooey. Jenny, Sarah B, Kate B, Mike M, Andrew M, Pillz, Alyssa N, Matt, Chelsea B, Carrie, Mike and Mike H, and Jeff L were doing some sweating for Jesus, and they came off the roof with only one color – BLACK. The ride back to dinner was filled with the smell of mineral spirits.
The gardening team made major strides today. Fourteen frames were completed and the retaining wall was extending. A lot of heavy pick-axing and shoveling was done to create a more stable and level area for the frames, leaving most members with a dusting of white all over their legs. Tom, Todd, Jeff R, Dan M, Alyssa C, Melissa T, Sarah K, and Chelsea really let their hammers do the talking today.
Then after dinner, we encountered a small rain shower and we saw – yep, a rainbow.
Finally, the day ended with a glorious beach service at sunset. The magnificent sky shone bright with an array of colors. And we were all able to worship with song, prayer, and fellowship for a few hours, enjoying some of God’s creation.
(Sorry for the late upload. This typing thing between 11 and midnight is starting to take its toll.)
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Slow and Steady
Day 2 always brings about big expectations. We end Day 1 with so much enthusiasm. There’s usually a lot of physical progress made at the site, so people think it’s going to be more of the same. Unfortunately, that is rarely the case on the second day. Our plan is never the same as God’s.
It’s not that we aren’t working, but the BIG stuff is already taken care of. We were able to really clear up the most of the brush, weeds, and garbage that was strewn around the village.
But it’s probably the most important day of the week for team morale. It’s easy for us to get down when you can’t see the big steps. Yesterday, Raoul was able to secure the services of a front-end loader that was able to clear out a huge portion of the area behind the houses that we are using to create gardens. It also spread out the four loads of fill that were dumped to create a base for those gardens. So there was a huge change in the appearance of the site.
Our job today was to create retaining walls to allow the rainwater to flow to certain areas in the rear of the village. Now the thing with this fill is that after it gets wet, it gets pretty hard, so the rain we had last night didn’t help much. The task was daunting. Pick-axing, shoveling, dumping – over and over again for about 4 hours to place about eight 8-ft boards in place. But the team that worked on this project was ecstatic that it was completed. Three of my small group members were on this project, and they all shared that this was their “high” point of the day. And one member said that when she felt like she couldn’t continue, she could feel God’s presence give her the strength and will to finish the job.
The other groups were able to also make progress – finishing the roof of one house and beginning a new one, painting one house and priming another, and continuing to replace some boards off of various houses.
Today reaffirmed in us the importance of patience – with each other, with the kids, but most importantly within ourselves. We can’t rush through this expereicne. We need to take it all in, and listen to what God wants us to do.
It’s not that we aren’t working, but the BIG stuff is already taken care of. We were able to really clear up the most of the brush, weeds, and garbage that was strewn around the village.
But it’s probably the most important day of the week for team morale. It’s easy for us to get down when you can’t see the big steps. Yesterday, Raoul was able to secure the services of a front-end loader that was able to clear out a huge portion of the area behind the houses that we are using to create gardens. It also spread out the four loads of fill that were dumped to create a base for those gardens. So there was a huge change in the appearance of the site.
Our job today was to create retaining walls to allow the rainwater to flow to certain areas in the rear of the village. Now the thing with this fill is that after it gets wet, it gets pretty hard, so the rain we had last night didn’t help much. The task was daunting. Pick-axing, shoveling, dumping – over and over again for about 4 hours to place about eight 8-ft boards in place. But the team that worked on this project was ecstatic that it was completed. Three of my small group members were on this project, and they all shared that this was their “high” point of the day. And one member said that when she felt like she couldn’t continue, she could feel God’s presence give her the strength and will to finish the job.
The other groups were able to also make progress – finishing the roof of one house and beginning a new one, painting one house and priming another, and continuing to replace some boards off of various houses.
Today reaffirmed in us the importance of patience – with each other, with the kids, but most importantly within ourselves. We can’t rush through this expereicne. We need to take it all in, and listen to what God wants us to do.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Let it Begin
Day one of the trip is always my least favorite. There is so much anticipation to get going, but there is also so much waiting around. As the leader, there’s a lot of pressure to make sure everybody is working and has something to do. We weren’t at the site for more than 15 minutes and it felt like I was being pecked to death by chickens, seeking answers to questions that I had no answers to. So I did what I do best, I faked it. And then I prayed for God to give me some guidance on how to make this whole thing work.
So after a little alone time with the man upstairs, I surveyed the situation with the help of some of the veterans of the trip. We quickly set up a home base under the tent, made a list of the big jobs, assigned leaders to paint, roof, and scrape, and began to do what we at Woodside do best - kick some butt!
And as Raoul was going over some details, he showed me the first gardens we build in Rainbow Village back in 2007. I was distraught at what I saw, or thought I saw. It looked totally overgrown with large plants overtaking the entire area. Raoul said, “Can you believe what has happened here?”
I thought, “I can’t believe all of our hard was went to waste and no one took care of it!”
“Look at what YOU started!” he exclaimed. “You guys planted the seed the first time around and motivated the village.” He pointed out to me the sugar cane plants, pumpkin vines, sweet potatoes, and variety of other vegetables. “They have been asking for you to come again to help make it bigger and better than before, and you have answered their prayers.”
The rest of the day became a lot more enjoyable, especially when I returned the last time from the store to see EVERYONE fully engaged in some way or another. Whether it was on the roof, priming and scraping, pulling up weeks and overgrown brush, tearing out rotted wall boards, or playing with the kids, there was a smile on every face (and a lot less questions).
So after a little alone time with the man upstairs, I surveyed the situation with the help of some of the veterans of the trip. We quickly set up a home base under the tent, made a list of the big jobs, assigned leaders to paint, roof, and scrape, and began to do what we at Woodside do best - kick some butt!
And as Raoul was going over some details, he showed me the first gardens we build in Rainbow Village back in 2007. I was distraught at what I saw, or thought I saw. It looked totally overgrown with large plants overtaking the entire area. Raoul said, “Can you believe what has happened here?”
I thought, “I can’t believe all of our hard was went to waste and no one took care of it!”
“Look at what YOU started!” he exclaimed. “You guys planted the seed the first time around and motivated the village.” He pointed out to me the sugar cane plants, pumpkin vines, sweet potatoes, and variety of other vegetables. “They have been asking for you to come again to help make it bigger and better than before, and you have answered their prayers.”
The rest of the day became a lot more enjoyable, especially when I returned the last time from the store to see EVERYONE fully engaged in some way or another. Whether it was on the roof, priming and scraping, pulling up weeks and overgrown brush, tearing out rotted wall boards, or playing with the kids, there was a smile on every face (and a lot less questions).
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Seeing Jesus
One of the questions we ask each day in our devotional is “Where did you see Jesus today?” For the new people on the trip, it’s kind of difficult for some to open their hearts to see Jesus working. But having been on this trip for so many years, I’ve experienced this many times. Typically, it occurs during the church service, and it happened again today.
Our verse for the week is 1 John 3:18, “Dear children, do not love with words or speech, but in actions and in truth.” Reverend Lewis from St. Paul’s Methodist Church didn’t quote this verse, but he came pretty darn close. His message today was “Can good overcome evil?” And within the first few minutes he was talking about how many people say they are good, but don’t really do anything. He commanded us to take action, and by doing good deeds we will be able to defeat evil. The hair on my arms stood up, and I could feel a tingling all over my body. The murmurs from the group could be heard behind me, “That’s what our verse is.” Pretty cool.
Later in the day, we were able to head out to the beach for “God in Nature” day. But unfortunately, the initial plans did not come to fruition. Randy, Raoul’s brother, owns the boat that is used to take us out to the fishing traps and snorkeling location, but it has a broken part, so plans had to change. I don’t want you to feel bad for us because we were still able to spend 2 ½ hours swimming and playing in the cove, eating hamburgers and hot dogs, and just having some great fellowship time.
Where is Jesus in that? For me, it was in the laughter of the team, the new relationships that were being formed, and the positive attitude that everyone showed.
Finally, one of the biggest concerns that we had was how in the world would we be able to fit all 47 of us on the bus. (We now have 47 members because we adopted Lydia, the intern from Seabring, FL, who was rooming with Clare this past two weeks.) Well this morning as we boarded the bus for church, we discovered that it had EXACTLY 47 seats. Made it a lot easier to take a headcount. That’s what we call a God-wink.
This week we’ll be looking for Jesus in all facets of our work. Can’t wait to see Him again.
Our verse for the week is 1 John 3:18, “Dear children, do not love with words or speech, but in actions and in truth.” Reverend Lewis from St. Paul’s Methodist Church didn’t quote this verse, but he came pretty darn close. His message today was “Can good overcome evil?” And within the first few minutes he was talking about how many people say they are good, but don’t really do anything. He commanded us to take action, and by doing good deeds we will be able to defeat evil. The hair on my arms stood up, and I could feel a tingling all over my body. The murmurs from the group could be heard behind me, “That’s what our verse is.” Pretty cool.
Later in the day, we were able to head out to the beach for “God in Nature” day. But unfortunately, the initial plans did not come to fruition. Randy, Raoul’s brother, owns the boat that is used to take us out to the fishing traps and snorkeling location, but it has a broken part, so plans had to change. I don’t want you to feel bad for us because we were still able to spend 2 ½ hours swimming and playing in the cove, eating hamburgers and hot dogs, and just having some great fellowship time.
Where is Jesus in that? For me, it was in the laughter of the team, the new relationships that were being formed, and the positive attitude that everyone showed.
Finally, one of the biggest concerns that we had was how in the world would we be able to fit all 47 of us on the bus. (We now have 47 members because we adopted Lydia, the intern from Seabring, FL, who was rooming with Clare this past two weeks.) Well this morning as we boarded the bus for church, we discovered that it had EXACTLY 47 seats. Made it a lot easier to take a headcount. That’s what we call a God-wink.
This week we’ll be looking for Jesus in all facets of our work. Can’t wait to see Him again.
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