Mission Haiti~ Post trip update

Editor’s note: Political contributor, Nathan Cherry, wrote about his mission trip to Haiti a few weeks ago.  Here is an update on how he was impacted by the trip and what he encountered there.

Bypassing all the details about our trip from the U.S. to Haiti we arrived safely to the missionary’s compound where we will be staying for the next week. After experiencing the “airport” in Haiti I can say most assuredly that God is actively working to oversee this trip. I am grateful for the Divine favor and blessing we have been shown in all aspects of this trip. But if the heart of Christ is to serve “the least of these” and to minister to the needs of orphans and widows, then certainly Christ Himself has given divine approval to our coming to the people of Haiti. There is poor, and then there is Haiti.

As we pulled into the compound it was hard not to be overcome with emotion by what we saw. More than a hundred kids eagerly welcomed us with hand slaps and hugs as we tried to make our way through the crowd to unload our vehicles. We barely got our things unloaded before the kids begged us to play. They inspected us, smiled, looked curiously at our tattoos, and surrounded us so that we couldn’t move. It was too much for some and tears were evident.

For me the hardest part of Day 1 was seeing a little girl, no different in size and age to my own daughter being fed by her only slightly older brother. These kids, many homeless, some orphans, but all poverty stricken are excited to eat the meager meal of rice and beans (most with their hands) because it is the best – in some cases only meal – they will eat today. AS I contemplated my daughter surviving on one small meal of rice and beans each day it broke my heart.

As we drove around the capital city of port Au Prince in back of an old pick-up truck it became glaringly obvious that most Americans are wealthier and more blessed in their need than these people will ever be. The depth of poverty here far exceeds what Americans can comprehend. The crowded streets are dirty, noisy, polluted with humanity begging to make a dollar. The ruins of a city and people ravaged by poverty and earthquake are a staunch reminder that wealth has less to do with money and more to do with perception and attitude. My old clothes and worn shoes were priceless to a people that aren’t 100% sure of when they would eat next.

After just one day I’ve resolved to be more thankful, complain less, and never let food go to waste. I continue to pray for God to wreck me, to tear me down and show me how to value Him and His glory more than the things of this world. He intends to do something here.

Today we began the projects prepared for us for this week. One group began laying block that will be a family’s house. This family of six currently lives in a tent under a tarp. The two room block house is no more than 200 square feet, a size smaller than most people’s living room. There’s no kitchen or bathroom, just a room for sitting and a room for sleeping. My garage is bigger.

Another group is building a bookshelf for the missionary to replace the very old items he was using. This is no doubt a blessing to the humble man and his wife; and will be well used.

The last project is to paint the room where they prepare the food for the kids. This is also the Kindergarten room at the small school operated by the missionary. It’s not an industrial kitchen with lots of state of the art equipment. It’s a bare bones room with two car rims and a heating element hooked up to a propane tank passing as a “stove.” It’s quite remarkable. I can just imagine asking a group of Americans to use this “equipment” to prepare food for kids. We would think it was a joke, yet this is reality for them each day.

I took a ride today with the missionary to see some of the churches he is helping to start. This man that needs an incredible amount of work done to his own facilities has helped start more than 50 churches in Haiti. The two we saw were little more than brick shells with tin roofs. For the area’s they are located in, they are quite nice. Again, to ask an American church to hold services in these facilities on a regular basis would be an interesting experience. It’s hard enough to get people to come to church in nice clean, carpeted, air-conditioned buildings with padded chairs. If we asked them to come to a concrete building with no electricity, padded chairs or indoor bathrooms it might cause a riot. Maybe what we need is a riot in our hearts that causes us to long for God and His presence more than pews, projectors and coffee. I couldn’t help but shake my head when more than one person asked me where I was from and then said “It’s hard to reach people for Christ in the United States.” I had to say “yes, it is.” I got the feeling that they believed it was hard because we have so much. We have so many distractions, so many comforts, we are the church at Laodicea that believes we are wealthy, yet, God know better of us. The people of Haiti know better of us as well.

Today we all piled into two vehicles and took a ride into the town to see some of the villages. The ride itself was interesting considering I was standing in the back of an old pick-up truck holding tight with white knuckles. I don’t think I’ve inhaled so many exhaust fumes in my life. The country is beautiful, with mountains and greenery that is misleading for the amount of poverty. You would immediately notice a large number of walls surrounding houses, businesses and other structures. Seeing walled compounds is normal here, not ot mention razor wire and broken glass bottles cemented to the tops of the walls.

It’s astounding to see what passes for normal and acceptable here; conditions we would find appalling are common place. The difference is so distinct it is almost other-worldly. As we drive the scene just goes on and on. You would expect, at some point, for it to end, but it doesn’t. The small tent/shack houses, the garbage lined streets; the kids walking alone, the ruins of once inhabited buildings simply go on and on.

Several times along the way as we came to a stop we are approached by peddlers and beggars alike wanting food, water, or a dollar. One dollar from us is nearly 1/3 days wage for these people; yet I spend a dollar on any given day for no reason at all. That sort of disparity is hard to comprehend.

I know I will never forget the things I’ve seen or experienced here in Haiti. To see people work all day just to feed their family, or kids scrounging for any piece of material that could be traded or sold. To see women and small children walking miles for groceries along busy roads and seeing kids as young as 8 or 10 walking alone, leading their younger siblings is a sight hard to forget.

But despite the conditions these people lived in I couldn’t help but see a form of joy on their faces that I don’t see much in America. There seems to be a peace and contentment here that people with ten times as much “stuff” don’t know anything of. It’s not contentment with not having enough food or clothes or shelter, it’s a contentment knowing that life is more than stuff. Would a new flat screen change someone’s life dramatically here, I don’t think so. I think it would be the vehicle for providing food, clothing and essentials for a family. The things that are highly prized here are only prized for what they can provide – food, water, clothing and other basic needs – to these people. A game system or television means nothing to people that are hungry.

I suppose the point is that we have abundance here in America and have become comfortable with our wealth to the point of apathy for those with less. We almost look at those with less as having done something wrong to get where they are; “If they had a better education, better job, better sense they wouldn’t be where they are today.” This mentality is surely grievous to a God that has compassion on and loves people regardless of their material possessions or state in life. I know I would do well to remember that everything I have, even the country I was born is not because of anything I have done, but because of the grace and divine sovereignty of God. In the words of English preacher John Bradford, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

I can’t recommend enough that everyone visits a place like Haiti in order to understand just how blessed each of us truly is. Such a trip would also cause everyone to realize that we have the ability to help if we simply make the effort to look outside of ourselves and our own selfish desires to the needs of others. We are called by Christ to minister to “the least of these” and I can’t think of any that are the least, and have the least like the Haitian people (though I know some other places are just as bad, if not worse). God says that His heartbeat is to see His people minister to the needs of orphans and widows in their distress; Haiti has an abundance of orphans and widows. I believe this is a place where faith and works intersect in a collision that is sure to bring glory to Christ.

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…”
James 1:27

Nathan A. Cherry lives in Bunker Hill with his wife and two children. He is a contributing blogger for the Family Policy Council of West Virginia as well as Eastern Panhandle Moms. Nathan is the Connection Pastor at New Hope Church in Inwood West Virginia where he serves to connect folks into places of service both within the church and in the community.

Local church traveling to Haiti to offer hope and more

Nathan Cherry, Connection Pastor for New Hope Church in Inwood, is excited to embark on a mission trip to Port-Au-Prince, Haiti next week.  Cherry will accompany eleven other members of New Hope on a trip they pray will provide tangible care and hope to orphans living in the impoverished country.  The group will be taking 550 pairs of shoes with them after becoming aware of the need for shoes to protect children’s feet from cuts, etc. that can quickly lead to infection.  The group is also taking Bibles, laptops and preparing to be Christ with skin on to the people they encounter.

Cherry, whose church had to raise $12,000 in six months to make this trip possible asked that local businesses that contributed to the funding of this trip be recognized.

The local businesses who donated to the trip include Martinsburg’s Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Distinctive Touch Interiors, East Coast Billboards, East Coast Outdoor Advertising, Stanley Steemer, Orchidstrated Design, U.S. Cellular of Inwood, Cameron’s Car Care, Dave Piepenbrink State Farm Insurance Agency, 4 State Real Estate, Home Solutions 4 U, the Dentist Office of Bonner Smallwood and McKown, the Charles Town BNI Group and 31 Gifts distributor Lizzy Fontaine.

Please be in prayer for the group as they embark on what is sure to be a once in a lifetime experience, bringing hope and shoes to orphans in Haiti.

Shedding pounds, making friends

I don’t know about you but the scale is not my friend.  I started off 2011 with a commitment to Weight Watchers.  I armed myself with a point tracking app for my smart phone and set off, in my own strength, to shed some unwanted pounds.   I succeeded in losing 7 lbs in one month and have gained 10 lbs since!

I am tired of being on the diet roller coaster.  And, I have discovered a way to get off!  

Lysa TerKeurst, president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, has written a best selling book called Made to Crave: Satisfying your Deepest Desire with God, not Food.  I have read the book and am beyond excited to be leading the Bible Study at First Baptist Church, Martinsburg beginning this Wednesday, September 14th from 9am-10:30am.

This is what the study is about:

Made to Crave is the missing link between a woman’s desire to be
healthy and the spiritual empowerment necessary to make that happen.
The reality is we were made to crave. Craving isn’t a bad thing. But we
must realize God created us to crave him. Many of us have misplaced
that craving by overindulging in physical pleasures instead of lasting
spiritual satisfaction.
“God made us capable of craving so we’d have an unquenchable desire
for him, and him alone,” says Lysa. “Nothing changes until we make the
choice to redirect our misguided cravings to the only one capable of
satisfying them.”
Women struggling with unhealthy eating habits can break the “I’ll start
again on Monday” cycle, and start feeling good about themselves today.
Lysa, in her conversational style, helps women learn to stop beating
themselves up over the numbers on the scale. “We need to define ourselves by our obedience, not a
number on a scale,” says Lysa. “The scale does help measure our progress, but it can’t tell us
everything.”
Readers will discover that weight-loss struggle isn’t a curse but rather a blessing in the making, and
will learn how justifications that lead to diet failure can be replaced with empowering go-to scripts
that lead to victory. Made to Crave plus a healthy diet plan will lead to a healthy weight goal—and
growing closer to God in the process.
This is not a how-to book. This is not the latest and greatest dieting plan. This book is the necessary
companion for women to use alongside whatever healthy lifestyle plan they choose. This is a book to
help women find the “want to” in making healthy lifestyle choices.

So many parts of this book spoke to me but mostly it was like Lysa had crawled up in my brain and was aware of every insecurity I have, every conversation I have with myself {and the mirror} and the encouragement to overcome them, once and for all.

One of the things she stresses the most is going through this journey with a group of friends to hold you accountable.  That is what the study will provide.  We will go through the journey together, hold each other accountable, laugh and have fun- all while growing closer to God and hopefully watching our waistlines shrink.

My goal is to be healthier, spiritually and physically.

Care to join me?

If you are interested in joining us, please leave a comment below or email me {Melissa} at here2therewv@yahoo.com.

Here are some details if you are interested:

• You do not need to have read the book or purchase it to participate in the study.
• The group will meet for 10 weeks, starting this Wednesday.
• The participant’s guide will be available for purchase at the study for $8. {If you can not afford the book, please just let me know in your email}

Women of Faith, Washington, DC tour- TICKET GIVEAWAY!

I have attended two Women of Faith conferences in Washington, DC at the Verizon Center.  I always leave with my spiritual cup filled, having enjoyed the amazing line-up of Christian women speakers, drama and music.

Through my affiliation with BookSneeze, I was provided with two tickets to the event and I can’t go…so my loss is one reader’s gain!!!

I am giving away the two tickets here on the blog {a $198 value!} to one blessed Eastern Panhandle Moms reader.

You will be able to hear speakers including Luci Swindoll and Sheila Walsh and musical guests, Natalie Grant {I love her!!} and Mary, Mary!!

The event is Friday and Saturday, August 26 and 27th!

If you are able to attend and interested in winning these tickets for you and a friend follow the instructions below.

MANDATORY ENTRY: Simply leave a comment on THIS blog post telling me why you would like to go to the Women of Faith, Imagine tour.

Optional extra entries {1 entry for each}:

• Share this giveaway on your Facebook page and leave a comment on THIS blog post letting me know you did.
• Follow this blog using the networked blogs widget on the right sidebar and leave a comment on THIS blog post letting me know you did.
• Subscribe to the RSS feed for this blog {the orange widget at top of right sidebar} and leave a comment on THIS blog post letting me know you did.
• Follow @epwvmoms on Twitter and leave a comment on THIS post letting me know you did.

The winner will be chosen via random.org on Saturday, August 20th at noon.  Winner will be announced on this blog and will have 24 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

Be blessed!

The Great Date Night

Looking for something fun to do with your spouse?  Has it been too long since you had a date night sans kids?

Then come out and hear Mark Cable in concert, in a bistro type setting for the low price of $10/couple.

(photo courtesy of markcable.com)

Coffee, scrumptious desserts, comedy and music.  A great combination for the Great Date night.

When:  Friday November 5 at 7:30pm

Where: First Baptist Church 315 W King St. Martinsburg

How: Call (304) 268-1913 or visit www.twogetherministries.com for details.

Hope to see you there!

Local church hosts fun event for teen girls (and their moms!)

Saturday, July 31st, 35 girls and 19 moms enjoyed a wonderful time of laughter, music, drama’s and motivational speaking courtesy of Unbound Ministry, who traveled to the Eastern Panhandle for this event from North Carolina.

We were reminded we are all princesses in God’s eyes:

There was awesome worship

Great giveaways

and most of all, fun with friends!

If you are interested in more information about the Beauty Within Tour or First Baptist Church, Martinsburg simply click on the links.

Photos courtesy of Bridget Covell, Beautiful Beginning Portraits.