Life As A House

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."--C.S. Lewis

It's not really hard to imagine my life, my soul as a house. When I first asked Jesus into my heart, I knew that there would be great change because not only could I feel it, I saw it instantly. But, after over 12 years of change & remodeling, somehow, I was beginning to feel that God had taken a hiatus from His work on me. The "construction site" had seemed so silent the last couple years. I was beginning to wonder what was happening. Last year, in particular, felt like an eternity of waiting for the architect to come and tell me what the hold up was. I waited in anticipation, then waited some more, twittling my thumbs. It soon turned to anxiety. Was I doing something wrong? Did He even see me? Hear me?

Fast forward to the last several months. God met me in a prayer session late last year. Through the words of a brother in Christ, God confirmed that He saw me. He saw that I was faithfully waiting and to hold on...He WAS working, even though I couldn't see or hear Him audibly. As those words of promise filtered through my soul, I could finally see Him working again. Just because the construction wasn't as loud as it used to be, it didn't mean He wasn't around. He is working on the fine details of His palace of my life and will continue to do so until I go Home to Him.

And what do you know? One of those construction projects happen to be going to Haiti. What?!? So Cool!!! I get to go to Haiti and work with children and get dirty and get to go with an awesome team of really amazing people?!? This is hardly work at all! It is a stinkin' incredible opportunity to see, yet again, the glory and miracle of God in our lives (can you tell I'm excited?) :-P. Who would have known "construction" would be so...well, great?

Abba Father, You know just how to bless your child. You keep me on my toes but You are much too fun to stay away from. I am forever grateful. AMEN!! - Liz

Love is a Verb

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:17-18.

Over the past year I have come to realize that having faith in God and loving Him is not enough in terms of being a complete Christian. God doesn't just want us to be happy with the things WE are blessed with. He wants, and even commands that we go out into the world to help our brothers and sisters in need. He wants us to bless their lives through Him. You see, feeling compassion or sympathy towards someone doesn't help to improve their situation. Nor does it fuel the fire of God's love in your heart.

I struggle with this every day. If I see someone on the street begging for food my heart breaks for them, but that doesn't fill their stomach. I usually would say a prayer to myself as I drive past them, but only in the attempt to make myself feel like I did something for God. But then it finally struck me one day that I need to be doing more than the minimum for Him. We all do! I need to be challenging my myself to make a difference (no matter how small) every single day that I am blessed with. I need to help people with a humble heart. I believe that in that moment, when I realized what kind of person I need and want to be, God decided I was ready to do something big. So he gave me the opportunity to go to Haiti.

I can barely express how excited I feel about this mission trip! I know that God is going to do so much within me and through me when we are on the ground in Port Au Prince. Even though I have no idea what it's going to be like, I'm not nervous because I have so much confidence in God and the people on my team. I'm honored to be working with such amazing people! I pray that this is just the first of many mission trips I'll be part of! - Olivia

We are representing much more than ourselves

“For all people walk in the name of his god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.” ~Micah 4:5

Wherever we as people are, and whatever it is that we do,we are representing much more than ourselves. More than the organization we might be under and more than the words that are displayed for all to see printed on our unified T-shirts. Our words and accents reflect more than our heritage and the places we grew up; our actions show more than how our parents raised us.

We as people are walking, acting, talking, thinking and representing the name of our god.

LORD,

Let us have in the foreground of our minds, let it be in our hearts at all times that You are to be shown in a glorious light though our behavior. When we are in Hawaii, on a plane, in foreign land and pouring efforts in astringent climates and conditions, let us pour forth in an effortless motion Your unrelenting love and compassion.

Thank You for the opportunity to serve those who are in need. Thank You for Your provision in so many aspects and arenas of this mission to bless people in Your name!

In the name of Jesus I do pray

AMEN - Joshua

He has given strength and courage every step of the way

Since I learned how to swing a hammer and turn a wrench I had a desire to help provide shelter for those less fortunate than me. Shortly after I arrived to the island 10 years ago God spoke into my heart. I was being drawn to the organization Habitat For Humanity, but because of my work responsibilities I was not able to volunteer. In the last couple of years I have developed a closer relationship to God. My love for God has brought a greater love and respect for my neighbor. This year God has given me the opportunity to help, but as I raised my hand in faith and volunteer I am being challenged and tested. And I rejoice and welcome the hard times because I know if I keep my heart open I will be a better person for it. Some one once told me that a walk with God can sometimes be like walking up a dark staircase where you can not see the next step in front of you. You have to have the faith and trust as you raise your foot the next step will be there. That has been my walk with him since I begin. My human nature has not made it easy but he has given strength and courage every step of the way. I am amazed by his love, forgiveness, and faithfulness to me. I don't feel like I deserve it but I do not argue with him I am thankful to him. Haiti is another step in my walk. I do not know what to expect but I am excited and willing - Eddie Villasenor

This will be a life-changing experience and it has already begun

James 2:14-17

Dear brothers and sisters, what's the use of saying you have faith if you don't prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can't save anyone. Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, and you say, "Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well" –but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

So you see, it isn't good enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn't show itself by good deeds is no faith at all–it is dead and useless.

I was convicted after reading this.

For so long I lived a life full of "good intentions" -I thought that was enough. I thought that as long as I felt compassionate towards someone or wanted to help someone in need, maybe even said a little prayer for that person begging for food on the side of the road, then I was doing good in God's eyes. Boy, was I wrong! Maybe that is just the beginning... there is so much more to DO.

So how can I sit and do nothing at all, when God is clearly asking me to MOVE! -not just here in Hawaii, but wherever He might be calling me to go.

Earlier this year, God told me that I would be going on a mission sometime this summer. He didn't give me specific dates, where I'd be going or for how long I'd be there. I immediately began planning and taking control of things. Nothing was working out - doors kept shutting and I was going nowhere. Summer was approaching and I began to doubt that what I heard, was in fact, from God. He reminded me of His promise. This time, I had no choice but to give it all to God and give Him control of the planning -It was only a few weeks later that I was sitting in on the very first Haiti Mission meeting!

Words can't even begin to express just how excited and blessed I am that God would be willing to send me to Haiti with an amazing God-focused team. I don't even know what to expect when I get there but I do know that God will show up and He will do amazing things in both the lives of the locals there and as well as our team. This will be a life-changing experience and it has already begun! - Jara

Building lives for Christ is my passion

I've been on a couple mission trips in the past so when Pastor Fernando asked if I would be willing to take a team to Haiti it was an easy choice. But as I prayed about it, I felt an even stronger tug from the Lord to go. Mission trips are always life changing - we can have a huge impact as we lean on God for guidance. But mission trips also change the lives of the team members as well. I am all about building and construction - it's been my life. And building lives for Christ is my passion. This opportunity to help rebuild the structures in Haiti and also build lives at the same time is a perfect combination for me!

Recently I was privileged to go to Haiti for just a couple days to make preparations for our team's arrival. Even then I saw God's hand moving as I arrived to work with another team from New Hampshire and found out I was the only person with any construction experience. The project for the week was to build roof trusses for the assistant pastor's home and since no one else knew quite what to do, I was immediately "drafted" to be the foreman and off we went to build roof trusses and install them for two days. What a wonderful experience!

God has put together an amazing team for this project and I am confident that we will see God's hand continue to move and work in an even greater way as the team travels and gets on the ground in Haiti. Can't wait!! - Pastor Mark

Team Hawaii To Haiti

Over the next few days we would like to share with you the hearts behind the faces of Team Hawaii to Haiti. Follow along as we count down to July 12th!