T. David Beck: The Simple Way of Jesus

One of the unforgettable things we got to do on this last trip to Haiti was have the first ever "Church in the Ben's" service. The Ben's is the area beside the boys' home where the kids play soccer and basketball. It's a cement area the size of a tennis court and a half. On Sunday we held a church service there. All the orphanage kids were present, and I think a few kids from the neighborhood as well. About half way through worship, I heard the gate rattle, and in walked a proud procession of well-dressed Haitians in single file. It was Pastor Gabriel and his congregation from the Ravine. He is the one who hosts the Ravine feeding every week, and the day before we had invited him to come to Church in the Ben's. Pastor Gabriel's congregation had on their Sunday best -- maybe not fancy by American standards, but for the little those people own, they were dressed to the nines. I had the privilege of preaching the sermon that morning. I preached in English...

We are back in the U.S. now, tired and emotionally wrung out. Going to a place like Haiti, which is so different from our home here, cannot help but affect you emotionally. But what is more, I cannot help but give my heart to the kids and leaders of the MDL orphanage, and it is really tough to leave them. I didn't get a chance to blog the last two days we were in Haiti because we were too busy winding down the trip. But I want to tell about a couple of things that stood out in those last few days. This post is about little Dillickson and his sister Mylin. On Saturday, we went down to this slummy area called The Ravine and did a feeding for the kids there. I have been told that the average Haitian eats one meal a day. Those kids aren't living up to the standard of the average Haitian. If the Manasseros weren't feeding the kids, many of them would be badly malnourished. Some still are. We hold the feeding in a ramshackle hut used for a church. It has four walls made of cinder...

Believe it or not, we pigged out on a huge American style Thanksgiving meal yesterday. Just like any other Thanksgiving, I ate way too much food. We went to a party with some local folks the Manasseros know. It was fun! Today David and I held our last Bible study with the leaders of Maison de Lumiere. They are sharp folks and very caring. It has been such an honor to serve them! In the afternoon, we helped the kids paint t-shirts. That was a blast! I especially liked sitting with the littler kids, holding their t-shirt in place so they could paint on it, helping them get the right paintbrush, and wiping the inevitable paint smears off their arms. You will see those t-shirts sometime soon, as we will be selling them in a fundraiser. Tonight we held a worship gathering for all the kids at the boys’ house. What a blast! When they really get going with Creole songs, it is a wonder to behold. I couldn’t sing along, so I just prayed and looked around. Each time I gazed on a kid’s face, I fel...

It was one of those days that you want to live over again just so you can soak up its goodness a little more. And think of it. When we live one of these incredibly good days, we still haven’t seen anything like what we will experience in the age to come, when we are completely open and love flows without restriction. God is good! Highlight #1: Praying for the orphanage leaders . David Jones and I have held a daily Bible study for the leaders of the boys’ and girls’ home. This morning our team gathered, and we spent about 20 minutes praying over the five leaders (Zach, Fritz, Marval, Erta, and Navy). It means a lot to them to receive ministry from missionary teams. The focus of everyone’s attention is the kids, as it should be. That made it even more gratifying to bless the leaders with prayer. Highlight #2: The Beck boys . It has been amazing to watch Spencer and Nathaniel mix with the kids here. When you think about it, it is not all that common for kids to come here on a mission team...

I didn't blog last night because in the time we have available for blogging and such, a "God thing" happened. I was sitting on the back porch talking with Morgan Keach and David Jones about life and Haiti and God. About 10:00, Markenson, one of the orphanage graduates and and currently a Maison de Lumiere employee, walked by with his bedding to go sleep up on the roof. (The flat roof of the guest house is a very desireable place to sleep when it is so hot.) As soon as Markenson passed us, a little voice in my head said, "Pray for him." That little voice is a good one to follow. A couple minutes later, David, Morgan, and I were on the roof with Markenson and his friend Robinson, the night security guard. With the cool evening breeze drifting over us, we gathered around Markenson, placing our hands on his back and praying quietly for him. Markenson aspires to be a pastor, but he lacks the means to go to Bible school. We found ourselves praying for his future, grow...

Great day today! We went to church with the Maison de Lumiere folks (Manasseros, staff, and kids). Then it was lunch at the Manasseros' house. Then we spent the afternoon hanging out with the kids. In the afternoon, the older kids played a Bible Challenge game that they set up like a game show, in which a team of boys and a team of girls square off against each other in a contest of Bible knowledge. Lucas and I watched from the back of the room in which the game was being played. We had some great laughs! One of the kids (Patrick) graciously served as interpreter, but we still couldn't understand what was going on half the time. We just knew that at decisive moments, all the boys or all the girls would erupt in elation that their team had scored a point. As the game went on, we embraced our confusion and cheered wildly whenever either side expressed happiness. Every time we cheered, one side looked at us with approval, while the other side glared at us to express their displeas...

We are here! The team made it to Maison de Lumiere without any incidents. We are exhausted, though. Travel started with a massive check-in procedure (12 people flying from LA with 23 checked bags plus carry-ons). Then we flew the red-eye from LA to New York (it's much better to fly through Florida, but that option was not available to us this time). Our connection between flights was very quick, so we didn't even stop for a cup of coffee in JFK before boarding the plane for Port au Prince. All told, we spent about 15 straight hours in airports. Everyone is turning in early tonight. And... what it's all about... we finally got to see the people of Maison de Lumiere today!! That begins with the Manasseros and the staff of the orphanage. But most enthralling of all is renewing relationships with the kids. We got to worship with them tonight, and it turned into a raucous time of singing and clapping. We rejoiced because of the goodness of God ("Bondye bon!"), and also...