Becoming!!!

Pastor Alan from our home church back in Carlisle, ask me a question in front of the church right before they prayed for us during our last Sunday before we came to Haiti. The question was "What is the one thing that you would ask us to pray for you and your family as you head off to serve in Haiti?" My answer was "Please pray for us to BECOME, become the people that God created us to be, become people that fulfills the dream that He has for each of our lives."

That is one thing that we want to continue to stress not only to ourselves but the people that are coming to Haiti to serve on short-term trips. There is a lot of work to be done here in Haiti. There are homes to be rebuild, there are the sick that need care, there is children that need love, there are families living in tents, there are so many that want to be self-sufficient, but there is so little opportunity. So there are businesses to start and jobs to be given. So yes, if you want to come and work in Haiti, there is plenty to do. Good things to do. But I would like to challenge those coming to serve here: Don't just come and do, but focus on Becoming. I feel that God has a dream for all of our lives. This is a great place to seek God's dream for your life. All you have to do is ask and then take a little time to listen.

As I seek God's wisdom to "become" he took me to a place in the bible that I feel somes up what it means to live for Him. It is in Romans 12: 3-21. Paul writes:

"Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measure yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body (the church). We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the gift of prophesy, speak out with much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. if it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have the gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine effection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiasticly. Rejoice in our confident Hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
Bless those that persecute you. Don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who mourn. Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy to company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all!
Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things is such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do things that you can live in peace with everyone.
Dear friends never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the scriptures say:

"I will take revenge;
I will pay them back,"
says the Lord.

Instead,

"If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads."

Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good." AMEN

What a beautiful yet very challenging way God desires us to live our lives. As I read that over and over again this morning, one thing that became very clear to me. I am glad I asked Pastor Alan for prayer to "Become" the person God wants me to be, because on my own there is no way I can be that person. I am far too impatient, unloving, unforgiving, prideful, and far too often seek revenge when prompted. Though I can't ever be that person on my own, I don't have to rely on myself any longer. The Holy Spirit dwells within me and He is patient, loving, forgiving, and seeks peace not revenge.

My prayer for myself , my family, and you, is that we all fulfill the dream God has for our lives. We play our part in His story and do our best to keep adding people to it.

Bondye beni ou, (God bless you)

Jeff

Seeing God's people doing His work!!!

It has been a lot of ups and downs for Deb and I since we arrived here in Haiti a little over a week ago. A lot more ups than downs but there have been some moments of questioning. It is one thing to come here for a week or two or even three, but it is a different feeling all together knowing that this is your home now. It is also very different and sometimes even very difficult seeing your children here. Knowing that you can only do so much to protect them from what they may encounter by living here.

Today we loaded up the family and headed out to make some visits. We first went to an orphanage that cares for eight HIV positive orphaned children. What a blessing it was to see God's people responding and doing His work. Taking care of these kids day in and day out must be challenging but they do it in an act of obedience and that is reason enough for them.

Then we stopped at a friends of ours that is currently staying in a tent city right outside of Port-au-Prince. He has a wife and a small child with one on the way that is due in Nov. They were so happy to see us and invited us into their tent made of tarps and large sticks. As we repeatedly wiped our faces as the sweat came pouring, Colton turned to me and said "Dad how can they sleep in here" I looked over at Deb and saw that look in her eye and said back to him "I don't know buddy, but don't worry I have a feeling they won't be here much longer.

Then off to Freedom House Orphanage for some fun. Brooke and Kylie made 13 new friends and got to swing on their play set and Colton got 13 kisses as the girls all greeted him in Haitian style. It was comforting to see the girls and Colton embrace this as they have so far. They have given up so much, their home, their schools, their friends, their extended family, and now even their beloved dog Tundra. There has been no complaints or even tears for that matter. Just a heart to learn, love, serve and be a part of this. I'm so proud of all three of them.

We ended the day with Colton and I taking two of our guest to the boys orphanage for a little soccer. I felt bad for them getting schooled by our eight, nine and ten year olds. Deb and the girls stayed back with the Good Sam girls for an afternoon filled with soccer, musical chairs and a very spirited game of spoons.

For those wondering about some answers to some questions you maybe afraid to ask, here are a few. Are we scared at times? yes Do we question at times? yes. Do we sometimes wonder if this is the best thing for our kids? yes. Do we get frustrated? yes Is God with us and is constantly reminding us that He is here with us and will comfort us when we need Him. YES

Bondye Beni, (God Bless)

Jeff

I am trying to write in between power outages and getting the kids' school done. We were without power late Sat night until this morning. There have been many strong storms coming through and city power has been very sparse so the batteries we have as back up don't have enough time to charge. Hope fully we'll have "the beast" generator hooked up and running tomorrow that will be back up to the back up batteries.

Sunday night was a bit comical. We had no fans all day so we were all roasting. We all took showers early because we were afraid we'd run out of water with no electric to pump the water from the cistern to the water tanks on the roof. Without the fans, we were all hot and sweaty by bedtime anyway. Without fans in our rooms, it gets too hot so we decided to sleep out on our balcony like we did the first two nights. The problem is that even with bug spray on, the kids are getting bites. We had two mosquito nets here (thanks Rick) so Jeff got them all rigged up over two mattresses, got our mattresses moved out. We had out lantern going, just sat down with some coffee and a movie on the laptop when yet another storm decided to move through. Jeff and I scrambled to get all the mattresses huddled together in the corner so we could keep them dry. Kind of fun, camping out!
Monday, we had power for most of the day. Enough to pump water up to the tanks and to get school done. We are so very thankful for those two things. Dinner by lantern, another evening on the balcony to thunderstorms. Kind of fun!
We still have some things to figure out...how to do laundry??? When to make dinner so I'm not using unnecessary power in lighting. How to do things without using too much power while we have it. We are so very thankful for the electric we have when we have it and the water we have. We're laughing about things like making coffee the old fashion way, then the power coming on. God has been so faithful to us. We are good! The kids are doing great.
thank you all for prayers and encouragement, it is truly felt. We love to skype when we have power and we love getting emails and facebook messages!
blessings to you and your families!
~Deb

Arrival!

We made it safely to Haiti yesterday late morning after no sleep except for the short intervals in an upright position. We left DC @6:15am after having to say an unexpected goodbye to Tundra. It turns out we were misinformed about regulation concerning air temperatures in our destination. Because it was forcasted to be 90 degrees when we landed, they would not fly her. She was the one thing we promised the kids we would not part with. It was purely heartwrenching for all of us and for Jeff and I to have to watch our kids go through it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. She is now in good hands hanging out with her cousin Sonny and we are hoping to get her here soon.
The kids have done a fantastic job with all this change thrown at them. Kylie and Brooke were amazed by the ladies walking down the street with large bowls full of all kinds of stuff on their head. That might be something we try at home before venturing out on the street! They also loved meeting all the girls living below us. The girls wanted Kylie and Brooke to sing so they did a few cheers and loved the audience. Kylie spent a good bit of time playing cards with them today...our social butterfly. Brooke was hanging mighty close to me today...she always needs a little extra security. They have enjoyed opening all the containers we sent down on the sea crate, it's like Christmas morning around here!
Colton couldn't wait for Max to get here so there was another male around. He spent a good bit of the day putting together all his star wars lego ships. He hasn't seen them since June. He is looking forward to visiting the boys' orphanage, hopefully tomorrow we'll get over there.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers as we go through this time of transition. We will all deal with it in our own way, while hopefully being understanding and patient with each other.
~Deb

Denlinger Farewell

Farewell Bonfire

Sunday, Oct 10, 2010
3pm-???
Hot dog roasting at 5pm, please bring a dish (A-L side dish, M-Z dessert)
Please bring lawn chairs

J.O. Lehman Retreat
379 Long's Gap Rd
Carlisle PA 17013

In the event of rain:
Carlisle Brethren in Christ Church, MPR
1155 Walnut Bottom Rd
Carlisle, PA 17105

Settlement on our house is done! we moved out Wednesday 9/29 and settled on Thursday 9/30. Everything went very smoothly. Emotionally it was a bit hard for all of us. There are a lot of emotions and memories attached to it. Colton was just 6 and finishing kindergarten, Kylie was almost 2 and Brooke was 4 months old when we moved in. Colton is now in 7th grade, Kylie is in 3rd grade and Brooke is in 1st grade. We played a lot of family games in the yard, enjoyed the pool a ton, and had lots of family and friends to share it with. While it was hard, we know we are doing the right thing and we will be building memories in our new home and surely there will be many things to celebrate and enjoy there.
We have one item left to sell...our '97 Ford expedition. We pray it goes next week. We have half a garage full of STUFF that needs to be sorted into priority for our luggage for our flight in two weeks, some will stay behind for teams to bring.
We are trying to juggle sorting, school, finishing some ministry details and spending time with friends and family.
Jeff and I will be sharing some of our journey and ministry at New Life Community Church (10:00 at the Carlisle Theatre on High street) on Sunday Oct 3rd. We are thrilled to share what God is doing in and through us and AwakenHaiti with this church family.
As the departure date approaches, we anticipate some anxiety within our family and we know this will be a hard time for our parents. Please be in prayer through these next two weeks for them.
Thank you for your prayers, we know they are being lifted up for us, we feel them through God's guidance through each step of this process.

~Deb