Goal........

"If We Are The Body"

But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way

by Casting Crowns

These are the words that convicted me as I join the children and youth of New Life tonight at worship and devotions.  I was a very efficient blogger tonight and I had the blog written way before our deadline.  Just for the record we don’t have a deadline.  It started when a young girl of about five named Fabiyan rushed up to me as I was walking to worship and grabbed my hand and sat me on the front row and sat on my lap singing this song and others as we worshipped together.  I was sitting there with kids from the ages of 2-8 and they were singing praise songs in English and it brought a tear to my eyes as it felt like a small piece of heaven when we are all worshipping together bringing praise to his name.  The two year old next to me actually rushed to the projected image on the wall during one of the songs and raised his hands and worshipped and sang as the image projected on the back of his head.  The words from this song and these children helped me to realize that I did not share how we have seen God work while we ministered in Haiti this week.

One of our prayers for the week is that we have the eyes to see and ears to hear where God is at work.  I want to share just a few of the ways we heard of and experienced God’s presence.  The way the young adults on our team came together and would do anything needed to help, serve, encourage and love everyone they encounter was amazing.  We live in close quarters and spend all of our time together and no one ever complains about the heat the dust the dirt the field conditions or the children we meet.  They always find the best in everyone they meet.  One of the children from New Life came to serve with us on Tuesday.  He is a kid who lost his entire family in the earthquake and deals with most adversity through acting out in anger.  He helped us serve at a tent city orphanage and when he returned he had a new attitude.  The act of service to other had changed his demeanor.  One of the young boys here at New Life lost his leg in the earthquake.  He never complains and he will be right in the middle of the soccer field using his leg and a crutch to shoot on anyone who can handle his shot.  Several on our team shared how he will always be an inspiration to them when they think they are having a bad day.  We met with the founder of Respire on Tuesday and she told several amazing ways in which God is working in that ministry the helps educate indentured servant children by giving them an education. Megan found out after she bought the land that a local pastor had prayed for twelve years that the Lord would use that land for his work.  She prayed for the land next door to the property as well and asked God to bring clarity to any decision that was made and she received a call five minutes later from the same pastor that the land was for sale and asked if she was interested in buying the land.  Megan had another miraculous story about how she learned the Creole language as well.

We spent our nightly devotions talking about love, respect, honestly and as the conversations progressed throughout the week I realized how this team was brought together to reach out the youth and young adults using the world’s best ice breaker, a soccer ball. We all could see and hear where the Lord was working as we ministered this week to the babies, children and youth of Haiti offering hugs, kisses, high fives, chest bumps, soccer balls and equipment.  Thank you to all of you who helped us financially, through equipment donations and most importantly through your prayers.  The words of a song and the touch of a child’s hand helped me to realize that we are the body of Christ and we are called to be his hands and feet to those less fortunate.  We prepare to leave tomorrow with heavy hearts that will always have a special place for our Haitian friends.

Bonswa,

John Keefer sharing for the 2012 Haiti Soccer Mission Team