FINISHED!!!!!

I finished memorizing Psalm 119!!!!! I did the last section, TAU, on Christmas Eve.

Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word.

Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word.

My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes.

My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.

Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts.

I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law is my delight.

Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let they judgments help me.

I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.

Favorite Christmas Carols: Who is He?

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Who is He in yonder stall at whose feet

the shepherds fall?

Who is He that stands and weeps at the

grave where Laz'rus sleeps?

Lo, at midnight who is He 
prays in dark Gethsemane?

Who is He in Calvary's throes, 
asks for blessings on His foes?

Who is He that from the grave 
comes to heal and help and save?

Who is He that from yon throne 
rules the world of light alone?

'Tis the Lord, O wondrous story! 

'Tis the Lord, the King of glory;

At His feet we humbly fall,

 crown Him, crown Him 
Lord of all!
 
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Photos are not mine. I borrowed them from the internet.

Favorite Christmas Carols: Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

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Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown 

when Thou camest to earth for me;

But in Bethlehem's home there was found no room 

for Thy holy nativity.

O Come to my heart, Lord Jesus: there is room in my heart for Thee!

Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang, 

Proclaiming Thy degree;

But in lowly birth didst Thou come to earth,

 And in great humility.

O Come to my heart, Lord Jesus: there is room in my heart for Thee!

The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest 

in the shade of the forest tree;

But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God, 

in the deserts of Galilee.

O Come to my heart, Lord Jesus: there is room in my heart for Thee!

Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word 

that should set Thy people free;

But with mocking scorn and with crown of thorn 

they bore Thee to Calvary.

O Come to my heart, Lord Jesus: there is room in my heart for Thee!

When the heavens shall ring, and the angels sing 

at Thy coming to victory,

Let Thy voice call me home, saying,

  "Yet there is room, there is room at My side for thee."

And my heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus: there is room in my heart for Thee!

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Update: Psalm 119 Resh

Over a busy summer, fall and beginning of winter I have slowly continued memorizing Psalm 119. I didn't quite make the goal of finishing in October, now the goal is Christmas. I have just finished section number 20, RESH.  Two more to go!

Some of the verses that have stood out to me are:

:5-6 O that my ways were directed to keep thy ways! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.

:18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

:41-42 Let thy mercies come unto me also, O LORD, even thy salvation according unto thy word. So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word.

:46 I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.

:53 Horror hath taken hold on me because of the wicked that forsake thy law.

:59 I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.

:63 At midnight I will rise to give thanks thee because of thy righteous judgments.

:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

:101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.

:133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any have iniquity have dominion over me.

:137 Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments.

:160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever.

Haiti: Part 6

AA Flight 804 Port-au-Prince to Miami                                            Sunday, August 12



I have left my heart in Haiti. Josna, Jude, Jon Jon, Wislin, Kersendy, Dada, Becky, Marlie, Nana and Sam have all captured my heart. Josna and Wislin especially. I hope I can go back again. [soon]

Me with Josna

Jude and Me

 We went to church with this them this morning. The church currently meets in someone's house, and is only  about a month old. They have land for a church, but no building yet. I think a team from Florida is going down to help build it.

Church property

 They have about four Pastors, and they all spoke. Either with a prayer, or song leading, Scripture reading.  Reggy is one of them.  They did a lot of singing. And repeated the verses several times in each song.  I recognized "Here I am to Worship" and that was it.

Becky

Dada

Kersendy

Brother Jacques had Sarah and I get up and say a few words.  Nothing like being put on the spot. :)
Then Dr. Renner preached, with Brother Jacques translating.  His text was Ephesians 4:17-32.
Sarah and I sat with the children on some very low, and very hard pews.  Nana was falling asleep almost right away, and Wislin looked like he was.

Nana

Sarah

After church we gave the children the bubbles and bouncy balls.  And also gave the church the leftover material from our VBS.
Riding back we had a few of the preachers with us. It was quite cozy. Brother Jacques said we were driving "Haitian Style."

Sam

Jon Jon

Brady

 After packing up we went over to spend time with the children. And then it was time to go. It was so sad to leave. I was only there 5 days, but I love those children dearly.

Josna, Me and Nana

Me with Wislin

Me, Reggy and Sarah

When we landed in Miami we had to wait an hour to reach our gate, because another plane was still there.  The airport had been closed for an hour earlier that day, and the whole place was backed up.  We ended up missing our flight to Minneapolis, and were put up by the airport in a really nice hotel, then flew up to NYC and on to Minneapolis.  They were so nice the whole way too.

We knew God had a purpose in delaying us, and we kept reminding ourselves that "all things work together for good, to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." And that His ways our higher than our ways.  It was a wonderful time to praise the Lord for showing us that He will always take care of us, even when our plans change.   We were able to visit with one lady who was having a very bad day due to missing her flight, and were able to give her a tract/booklet.

This trip was the best experience of my life. I pray that God will allow me to go again.

Haiti: Part 5

                                                                                      Saturday, August 10th

I laid down with a headache yesterday about 2, and didn't leave the room until 6. We went over to the orphanage for their devotion time, and then watched "Facing the Giants" with them.  In French.  And at first it had French subtitles. But then Brother Jacques put on the English subtitles.  [The children speak Creole, but watching French tv/movies will help them learn French, which is what they teach in high school.]

I had 2 children in my lap starting out, and the girl kept losing her shoe. So then I sat on the floor, so it wouldn't fall off, but it didn't help. She was very restless.
Today I had to go over there early to get our food. Brother Jacques had asked us to send anything that was perishable over to their kitchen. Because our fridge was draining the batteries on the house.  It took awhile, because none of the worker ladies knew English, and I didn't see Jacques or Marie. Finally I did see Marie through the window of her house, and asked her where it was.  They had stuck it in the freezer!  So we had solid milk, and 2 slushy and 2 solid eggs.

Jon Jon

  Marie also told me that if we wanted to do anything with the children today, we could.  So Sarah and I took bubbles over to them. And, no matter where you live, or what language you speak, children are all the same when it comes to bubbles. 

Jude

  The first ones I blew they ran screaming after. Then very quickly they got the hang of blowing them.   Eventually it got out of hand and they were shaking them up, and spilling it out.  But it was fun while it lasted. [One boy, Jon Jon, spilt his and then kept trying to make me give him more.  And the children all kept calling us "Missionaire"]

Sam and Sarah

  After a while Wislin grabbed my hand and led over to their dining room where the older girls were watching t.v. It was some anime show in French. Even in English those shows don't make sense. I was thankful when they changed it to the Olympics. It was on all terrain bike racing for a while.

  Then I had to go lay down. It was only 10, but my head hurt so bad.  I'd really like to know what is causing it. My head hurts every day. Maybe it's the bed and pillow? Cause my neck hurts, and the headache comes up my neck. Is it tension? Or the climate? Or something spiritual?  I don't know. But I'd like it to stop.
  This afternoon Dr. Renner gave a lecture on the Seven Deadly Stresses. The men seemed really interested, and had a lot of questions. Reggy was kept very busy with translating back and forth.

We walked over to the orphanage and played with the children a little before they ate supper. Then we brought Nana and Sam over to the Guest House so Sarah and Dr. Renner could give them some clothes they had brought.  Sam was enthralled with his. After playing a little bit he gathered them up and walked toward the door saying "Orvwa."

Again we joined them for devotions. And Marie asked us to sing. Since we'd left the hymnal at the guest house we just sang "Jesus Loves Me."

Then we went out for supper with Jacques and Marie. The place we went was an outdoor restaurant, and was really nice. I ordered a Pepper Steak, and it was delicious. Brother Jacques ordered fish, and he warned us that it came as a whole fish. With the head and eyes and everything..........

Haiti: Part 4

Guest House                                                                                         Friday, August 10th

I don't think I fed anymore mosquitoes last night. But I did find myself scratching all night. Now I am afraid to put bug spray one, because they are all open sores.
Anyone who complains about low water pressure should come to Haiti and shower. Today there was barely a trickle, and it was cold. The other days there was enough to wash my hair, but not today.
Also, Americans are so wasteful. We brought plastic forks and spoons with us. After using them once our natural impulse is to throw them away. But there are families who pick through the trash and use whatever they can find. So we have been reusing our plasticware, to cut back on "waste."

I could seriously cry right now. Wislin accidentally deleted all my pictures. All my pictures. From 2 days with children I will probably never see again. All the special moments, and fun pictures the kids themselves took.  I am so bummed.   But Sarah has her pictures, and Dr. Renner took some too, there are some left.

Today, Dr. Renner is doing a class on spiritual warfare for the Bible Institute. Sarah and I are just around the corner playing with Dada, Becky, Wislin and Marlie. We taught them connect the dots and tic-tac-toe. And Sarah brought a card game called "Blink."  Now they have left for lunch.