Maguire is the dog that "is".  Maguire is the biggest of all of mastiffs and is by far the most well behaved and self assured.  His size takes care of everything.  He does not need to bark, doesn't bother with chasing lizards, rats or people.  He enjoys life by watching it go by.    He barely shows emotion other than delight when we come home after being gone.  Then he almost knocks us down with happiness.  He lives to please and feels most secure when by our side. 
People are amazed by Maguire's size.  We can't be exact due to the impossiblity of getting him on a scale but we are sure he is well over 200 pounds.  He is apricot brindle and has the elegance of a lion.  His tongue is so long is doesn't fit in his mouth but we assume it keeps him cool with his panting.  His quiet presence keeps our visitors staring.  Our Haitian friends find him especially interesting.
His partner and leader of this twosome is Marley.  Not quite as big as Maguire but he makes up for it in aggression.  He goes after strangers, rats, lost chickens, lizards and people that for some reason unknown to us he finds undesirable.  He has trapped a guy in the bathroom and wouldn't let him out.  He barks at any strange sounds and flies through the screen door at record speed if something is in the yard.
Not Maguire.  His peace is never disturbed by chickens, rats or people.  He is content.  He must know he is big and strong but never seems to need to prove anything.  His size says it all.  His inner calm speaks for him.  He loves life, loves his masters and needs to prove nothing.  He is regal.
There is something to envy in this giant dog who enjoys being rather than doing.  He just "is".  There is something very spiritual about all this.  I admire people who have the ability to "be".  I envy those who know who they are, stay calm and rest in the joy of being loved by their master.  Like Maguire, their strength comes from within and they have nothing to prove.  The proof is in their calm.
Someday I hope to be more like my dog.  I hope to "be" and enjoy who I am and hang out by the master.  Around here, the giant dog is worth modeling your life after.  He is after all the most photographed dog in all of Haiti.  Come meet him!

Beth McHoul

He wrote, “CHRISTIANITY IS NOT A MATTER OF PERSUASIVE WORDS.  IT IS A MATTER OF TRUE GREATNESS AS LONG AS IT IS HATED BY THE WORLD.”

I wonder why Jesus didn’t try to attract more followers by telling them things that were not so offensive?  I wonder when the gospel becomes popular, if it is in fact the gospel that is being preached?

John McHoul

The girls were playing kitchen the other day with their play food and dishes.  They often make French Toast and spaghetti and other yummy imaginary foods and serve it to whoever is around.  The tiny coffee cups are my favorite.
Jeffy, the token male, held up two strainers and said, "these are for straining bugs".  I laughed.   Not for straining spaghetti, not for rinsing food but for getting bugs out of food.  And he's right!
Last week we had an infestation of ants at our house.  They came in droves and got into our food and our dog food.  Judi White, who rightly decided my cabinets needed reorganization, declared that ants had invaded our trail mix.  "No problem", I exclaimed and popped the bag into the freezer to kill the ants.  The freezer happened to be working at the time.  Throw something away due to an ant infestation - are you kidding?
We live differently in Haiti.
We value electricity and spend a lot of time dwelling on it, talking about it and waiting for it.  We get up in the middle of the night when we hear the pump come on and plug in the freezer and refrigerator and water cooler.  We can wake up from a dead sleep because we hear the pump. 
Offering a guest ice all depends on how much current we have had.  Moods can change due to the availability of fans.  Freezers double as fridges and fridges double as bread boxes.  It's all in your perspective.
The other night we went to the the girl's home during black out.  The inverter had run out and the girls were laughing and playing in the pitch black.  No one missed a beat.  They were delighted when John turned on the generator but were happy without it.  Afraid of the dark?  Not these kids.
We had visitors once who showed they clearly did not know John well.  They actually complained to him that the peanut butter had ants in it.  He took the jar, stirred the ants in and handed it back to them and walked away. 
So, if you visit us in Haiti remember this:  bring a flash light and zip lock bags and don't expect ice.  Ice is a gift and ants are protein.  

Beth McHoul

SEPTEMBER 8, 2008

The storms continue to buffet Haiti.  We in our almost twenty years here have not seen such a prolonged time of inclement weather.  It is difficult to complain about the rain and the really minuscule impact that it has had on us, when I consider the thousands who have lost their small homes and possessions and now the count is over 500 of those who have lost their lives.  There is much difficulty in getting relief supplies to those so impacted because the roads and bridges have been washed out. 

Our church, Port au Prince Fellowship, will be giving funds to one of the missionaries in our church who has an active ministry in one of the most severely impacted areas.  He then will add the funds to money collected and purchase what we call the BIG THREE: FOOD, WATER, and CLOTHING and look for a way to get the supplies into the area where he works.  I talked with him yesterday morning and he told me that  Saturday’s storm took out the remaining bridge into this particular area.   

Saturday night it rained all through the night in our area.  We have cancelled church twice in our ten years at Port-au-Prince Fellowship.  Once was due to a severe storm, the second was due to a military coup and yesterday came close to being the third time.  One of the problems we have is that we have no effective way to communicate with the majority of those that come to church and so I figured that some people would come no matter what as the rain had let up.  So we had church with about 100 people there and not the usual 300 plus.  God was there and I must admit that it was nice not being cramped in like sardines.

Later in the morning the rain resumed with force and all last night the wind was blowing strongly.

Yesterday morning as I was going to the crèche to check on everyone before we headed off to church, I turned onto the road and saw that two telephone poles had fallen and they took with them the electrical wires and so even though throughout the night the area had electricity, the houses of the children and the other houses on the street had no electricity.  So I parked the truck and walked under and around the poles to check on the children.  There is a back way to get to the crèches and so that is the route that people used until late in the afternoon when the electric company came and spent a few hours putting the poles back up and stringing the wire.  I must confess that I was surprised how quickly they got it done.

Yesterday before service, the worship team gathers together outside for prayer.  I asked one of the missionaries to pray and so he did, the prayer was a tad long and it started raining while he was praying; but he kept on praying.  The Haitians don’t do rain as well as say the Americans as they put more effort into their dress and appearance and hair and so while he was praying on I looked up and saw all the Haitians with looks of HURRY UP AND SAY AMEN.

It reminded me of when Beth and I were in Bible College in Canada.  Beth trying to be a matchmaker invited her cousin to visit us and a man that was a close friend of ours. We live in a two room apartment and to say it mildly, the match making attempt was a complete failure.  In fact during the several days that they were with us the tension between them was quite easily seen and felt.  Finally the day of departure arrived and Beth’s cousin was going to leave on a bus back for the States.  So at the bus station, we stood in the parking lot to hold hands and pray together as we needed to pray especially due to the failed matchmaking attempts.  So with hands held and heads bowed while we were praying I heard that sound of the bus leaving the station without Beth’s cousin on it.  ALL I COULD THINK OF WAS ANOTHER DAY OF THE FOUR OF US LIVING IN THE TINY APARTMENT.

We survived until the next day when she boarded another bus and this time we didn’t pray before she boarded the bus.

John McHoul   

SEPTEMBER 5, 2008

EFFECTS OF RECENT STORMS

The two recent storms that drenched Haiti with days of rain have caused tremendous destruction throughout parts of the country.  The reports from some of these areas tell of isolation as roads and bridges are washed out.  Many displaced can not get out and rescuers and aid workers can’t get in.  Some are being air lifted out, but that is just a few compared to the tens of thousands stranded.

I received a call from a missionary that attends our church and he told me of a man that he works with somehow has found his way out with twelve children, ages three to six, and that they are coming into Port-au-Prince.  We here at HEARTLINE will be gathering supplies and looking to see how we can join with others to help.  WE APPRECIATE YOUR PRAYERS AS WE ENDEAVOR TO BE THE HANDS OF CHRIST HERE IN HAITI.

JOHN KELLEY

We as well are working to save the leg of a seventeen old boy named John Kelley.  In the year 2000 he was found waiting at a clinic being held by missionaries out in a village area.  He had broken his leg perhaps a couple of years earlier and now it was badly infected and it had actually burst due to the untreated infection.  God placed this young man on the heart of Sheila Lynch who was on that group and who now with her husband work with us here at HEARTLINE. They brought him back to Port-au-Prince where he has since lived in an orphanage. She over the years has helped John Kelley and in 2003 she raised the funds for him to have surgery here in Haiti.  They with this surgery opened his leg from the ankle to the knee; they scraped the bone and put in a new canal to promote new bone marrow growth. 

His leg has never returned to normal but he has been able to walk, run, go to school but he could not play like the other kids.  Two days ago Sheila received a call from some of the kids in the orphanage telling her that John Kelley was not doing well.  His leg had grown worse and since he is not one to complain, they were calling on his behalf. 

He, Wednesday, came to the Women’s Center where we got a look at his leg and while we are not doctors, although sometimes we think that we are, we could see that stuff was going on inside his leg and that his leg was becoming further misshapen.   We through email consulted with a doctor in the States who after seeing the recent picture said that he needs more than antibiotic as  infection has roared back like a wild beast.  And yesterday a doctor was seen, x-rays were taken, and today blood work was done.  We are gearing up to try and save the leg of this boy.  A U.S. doctor told Sheila that if she sent him to the States, that he probably would have his leg amputated.  Well, we are doing what we can to get him medical help here, and we will know better where we stand next Friday after the blood work comes back. 

WE WOULD ASK THAT YOU PRAY FOR JOHN KELLEY.  PERHAPS YOU CAN GATHER YOUR FAMILY TOGETHER AND PRAY FOR HIM AND FOR US AS WE WORK TO SAVE HIS LEG.

John McHoul

SEPTEMBER 4, 2008

• It again rained throughout the night in our area but that was about it.  We have not experienced strong winds and massive flooding that other areas of Haiti have experienced.  We are praying for those that have experienced the brunt of these two recent storms.

• I was at Troy Livesay’s house this morning to give to him a box to be mailed in the States.  Troy is leaving this morning for a few days to attend and speak at a mission’s conference in the States.  It is rare that anyone can leave without being given mail and or packages to be mailed in the States.  While at Troy’s the kids were getting ready for school and being kids.  It brought back memories of getting our kids ready for school.  Morgan would always be early to the car and sitting inside with me as we waited for Sam. 

While I was in the driveway saying good-bye to Troy, three of his children: Isaac, Hope and Noah all came up to him and starting talking to him at the same time.   Watching this and listening to the children talk to their papa, I thought about God.  I wondered if it is somewhat similar except God may have millions of people talking to Him at the same time.  Yet when I talk to Him and pray, I do not feel like I am competing for his attention.  IT IS PRETTY AMAZING.

• If you have done any driving in Port-au-Prince, you know that people use their horns often.  The other day I was at a place on Delmas that doubles as a dirt road and as an outdoor market.  The road is narrow and there are thousands of people selling their wares and tens of thousands of people looking and buying.  In places like this the horn is used often as the sellers scramble to move their basket of wares out of the way and as the crowd allows for no more that seeming a path for the vehicle to pass on by.  The real challenge is when a vehicle or truck is coming the other way and does it ever become interesting.  There is a lot of shouting by the sellers and buyers as they get pushed further back by the two vehicles trying to pass each other, which they do with barely an inch to spare.  It is a part of Haiti that visitors should see and experienced; although it may not be good for those that may be claustrophobic as the vehicle is swallowed by a crowd of thousands as it passes on by. 

When driving in Haiti the horn is used to warn those (and there are a lot) that are people walking on the street and on the sidewalks and to get the attention of a vehicle that may be heading right at you.  Sometimes it is used to get the person in the vehicle in front of you to move along after the driver has stopped in the middle of the road to have a prolonged chat with the driver of another vehicle coming in the opposite direction. 

I have decided to try to be more patient in using my horn to get the vehicle in front of me to get moving.  I also am trying to drive so I don’t come close to hitting people walking along the streets or on the sidewalks. 

I guess that I should fess up that I have made these decisions before my horn has not worked for several days.  It is amazing how much more patient I can be when the power to move the guy along with a prolonged blast of the horn is no longer there.  But before I go back to the narrow market road, I will be sure to have the horn fixed.

John McHoul

SEPTEMBER 3, 2008

RAIN, RAIN, RAIN

For the past two days it has rained, rained and rained.  I talked to a guy who lives several miles away up the mountain above Port-au-Prince.  He told me that at his house they were experiencing very strong winds that had knocked down all the banana trees in his yard, blown off the tin roofs of some of the nearby house and blown off the roof water tank of a nearby house. 

In areas a few hours north of Port-au-Prince the water has reached up to the second story of some houses.  Untold homes have been destroyed. 

Yesterday two ladies in our Women’s Program came and said that they now are homeless, due to the houses that they were living in were destroyed by the wind and rushing water.  We will see how we can help them. 

Although it is only 1:25 in the afternoon, it has somewhat quickly become dark as the wind is blowing and the storm clouds are moving in. 

I have just spoken to some friends that I had seen while I buying some supplies at the market.  They told me that they have heard several reports from the UN on how bad the flooding and destruction is in several areas of the country.

We here are in no of danger of flooding.  We do very much appreciate your e-mails of concern.

We appreciate your prayers and support as we endeavor to be the hand of Christ here in Haiti.

John McHoul

SEPTEMBER 2, 2008

Beth is in Massachusetts with our children, grandchildren, her mother and Beth’s siblings and children.  They are enjoying their last Labor Day at the lighthouse where Beth’s mother has lived for the past twenty years. And, of course, I must admit to being somewhat of a snob when it comes to fish.  In my mind nothing beats fresh New England seafood which is part of Labor Day on the ocean.

While Beth has been away, I have been enjoying my normal while Beth is away eating routine.  Today, for example, I have enjoyed several cups of coffee, a few diet cokes, a Skor candy bar, two bags of Doritos, and Mexican food from a can.  In my mind this is good eating.

Our son Sam left Haiti about nine years ago.  Yet yesterday and today I have had people on the street call me “Papa Sam.”   Sam is a chef but for the life of me I can’t figure out how he ended up as a chef.  It is possible that all the canned food that we ate while Beth was traveling did some good.  He cooks delicious food but I can’t ever remember the names of the stuff that he cooks. It all seems kind of fancy to me.

About 25 young people sang a song in church Sunday morning.  They did a great job and could do a great job because they were there, in church.  I am encouraged by the many young people that we have in church.

We in preparation to do rooftop gardening have started composting.  I think that we will have to start the rooftop gardening with dirt that we have to buy.  There is just something about buying dirt that irritates me.

It has been raining all night and a good section of the street leading to the office is flooded.  As I drove to the office this morning, I found three of our workers on the side of the road, hoping that I would drive by as they could not walk through the flooded area unless they removed their shoes and then waded through the muddy, trash strewn water.  So they hopped in the truck and I drove them right to the crèche. 

Our prayers are with the Haitians that have much more to deal with than flooded streets.  Some will lose their homes due to the flooding and sadly some their lives.

Our prayers, as well, are with those in the States that are experiencing flooding due to the storm Gustav.

John  McHoul

AUGUST 30, 2008

I am not one to startle easily, but yesterday while in the office I had a moment when I was taken by surprise.  I was waiting for a bio mother of one of the children to come and see me to prepare her for an appointment that we would be having at the American Consulate.  This is the appointment where the bio parent is interviewed to see if in fact she understands that the child will be adopted and will leave Haiti for a new home in the States.  It as well is a time where the Consulate verifies that the person claiming to be the bio parent is in fact the parent. 

Generally, I will spend about an hour with the parent making sure that she knows the answers to some basic questions, such as: date of birth, place of birth, names of parents, name of child, date of birth of child, place of birth of child and so on.  Have you willingly release your child for adoption?  Why are you not able to care for your child?  I know that it may seem crazy to ask such questions, but quite often the bio parents are not certain about such details

While in the office I could hear Junior, my assistant, coming up the stairs with the mother that I was waiting to see.  In walked Junior and then in walked a lady that I had to strain to see if this was really the birth mother, because she did not look like the young woman that first came to us a couple of years ago.  She was quite thin, gaunt, and seemingly had aged decades in just one year.  Speaking to her, she told me that she had given birth to a baby four months ago and that she has been sick since that time.  I asked her a lot of questions, such as, “What did the doctor say that she had?” and “Is she seeing a doctor regularly”? and “What medicine is she taking?”

As I was talking to her, Sheila came into the office and pulling her aside, I asked her if we had anymore quickie HIV tests.  We use the ones where we swab the mouth with a little applicator and in about twenty minutes we get the results.  She said that we had one left (IF YOU HAVE ACCESS TO THESE TESTS WE COULD USE SOME) and so Sheila using the quickie test swabbed her mouth and twenty minutes later, she came up to the office and simply nodded to me and I knew.  This young lady, that has changed so much in appearance tested HIV positive.  My heart sank; although I suspected that she could be HIV positive.

As I type this blog, it is 9:06 Saturday morning.  This twenty-two year old mother is sitting here in the office.  I have given her a sandwich and a drink and she is sitting with her head drooped down upon her chest.  Junior brought her to the church today at 7:30 to meet me and then she came with me to the office.  Today, yes on Saturday, we have an appointment at the American consulate for this mother to be interviewed.

We will leave at 10:30 for the consulate as I wait for more bio parents to come for another appointment that we have today.

I do not know if this young woman knows that she is HIV positive.  Some of the doctor’s here are not always forthright and she may not have been told and even tested.  I am waiting until after today’s appointment and then I will have her go to a clinic that specializes in working with those that are HIV positive.  She will be tested and then  she will be able to enter the program and receive counseling and free medication.

We also will become a family to her.  We will be a place where she can be supported and   where she can encounter the power and love of God through people that are endeavoring to love God and to love people.

WE VALUE YOUR PRAYERS AS WE LIVE AND MINISTER IN HAITI!

John McHoul

AUGUST 29, 2008

Yesterday ranks right up there as one of the worst days of my life!  I got to the airport by 6:30 AM and knew I was in trouble when the line wound down the street.  When I finally got close to the entrance things got crazy and people were getting nasty and we were crushed like sardines.  At one point I wanted to leave but couldn't since the crowd was too thick waiting to get inside.  Finally (after a few hours) a police man saw that I was crying and grabbed me and pulled me inside. 
Once inside it got worse.  The normal line was only for folks who had tickets for today.  People with tickets from yesterday and the day before had to go in the stand-by line which had hundreds of people in it.  The ticket agent told me to get in that line.  After several hours I find out they are calling people for stand-by who got their tickets put on stand-by at the office.  I stood crushed against mobs of people for six hours only to find out I wouldn't get on.  Very large women with huge suitcases seemed to rule the day and push their way ahead.  Those of us under 200 pounds with carry-ons were helpless.  People were fighting and yelling.  Even the police could not get them to form a line.  They just mobbed the ticket counter. I had to crawl over people to get out.    I left frustrated and disappointed. 
I called AA when I got home (at 2:30) to find that there are no spots until a week from Saturday.  But, never lose hope he said, keep calling back.  They may add in extra flights to make up for the hundreds of people stuck.
I called Tara and told her I didn't get on.  I told Sheila I didn't get on.  They both expressed disappointment since Noah, Tara's son, had been praying for me and Sheila had the entire pre-natal group praying for me.  I was moved.  A little guy and a room full of pregnant ladies praying for me!  Women who would never go on an airplane cared to pray for me to go home for Labor Day weekend to see my children, grand children, mom and siblings.  My mom lives at a lighthouse on the east coast and this is her last holiday there.  We are all spending it together.  My mother is too elderly to keep up such a place and we are saying goodbye to our family get together spot.  It was important for me to get there. 
After a day like this at the airport I was almost ready to give up.  We decided to keep trying on line (safer than the airport) and by SKYPE.  No flights, no flights, no flights! I called one more time last night and the agent said, "We have an opening via NY for you!".  I thanked her profusely and was in tears!  She had no idea what I went through and how good those words felt! 
So, I'm headed to the airport EARLY with fear and trepidation of large ladies with big suitcases standing in my way.  I've run marathons that seemed easier than yesterday.  Today I have a confirmed ticket.  A hard copy piece of paper that allows me into the confirmed line and  onto the flight. 
We learn a lot about ourselves and other people while sandwiched closer to them than is comfortable.  Nastiness comes out but kindness also surfaces.  I saw people screaming, scratching and fighting.  I also had fellow mobsters look after me (I must appear lost and vulnerable) and show interest and helpfulness.  We helped each other up when the crush of the mob pushed a fellow sufferer over.  We listened to each other in sympathy over how the delayed flights were inconveniencing each others lives.
I watched in humor as a very big woman with a tee shirt that read "Got Jesus, its hell without Him" pushed her way through the crowd.  She was not acting very Christ like.  I was tempted to tell her so but thought better of it.  She was a lot bigger and angrier than me.
Got Jesus?  Better to grab His robe in the crowd than be part of an angry mob.  I pray I can remember those words as I head to the airport now.  And come out in Boston alive!

Beth McHoul

UPDATE: BETH RETURNED TO THE AIRPORT TODAY AT 9:30 AM.  SHE CALLED AT 2:30 AND SAID THAT SHE HAD HER TICKET IN HAND AND THAT SHE WAS WAITING FOR THE PLANE AT THE GATE.

AUGUST 28, 2008

This is the first time in three days, due to the storm Gustav, that we have seen the sun.  It has been there it’s just that we couldn’t see it.  It can be that way with God sometimes.  He is there but sometimes the storms of life keep us from seeing Him. 

Sheila Lynch sent me this little tidbit.  

I think this guy must have started his journey in Haiti.....the longer I am here the more I find myself saying "I don't know anything about that"!  Sheila


A Hermit advised, “If someone speaks to you about a controversy, do not argue with him. If what he says makes sense, say, ‘Yes.’ If his comments are misguided, say, ‘I don’t know anything about that.’ If you refuse to dispute with his ideas, your mind will be at peace.

For years I knew a man who was a very wise Christian. For most of those years I failed to recognize the wisdom and thought his simplicity came from lack of learning, training, or unfamiliarity with the many books I had read.

I was aware that in discussions of prayer we would quickly come to disagreements and he would say, “Well, I don’t know anything about that.”

It was commonplace that I would argue with him about his understanding of Providence (he had uttered and complete trust in it). I would make very good points and he would say, “I don’t know anything about that.”

I knew that even in the years before he retired he would rise early to go to his Church to simply walk about and pray. He did this at least as regularly as he ate breakfast. He had many other times and places for prayer - but “I don’t know anything about that.”

He passed away several years ago, as faithfully and joyously as he had always lived. I used to argue with him about his attitude of giving thanks to God for all things. I remember many those arguments, like others, ending with his, “I wouldn’t know anything about that.”

I now know his understanding to have been true wisdom - the wisdom which comes from knowing God and keeping His commandments. Some years before his death I came to agree with him about thanksgiving for all things. After that, our conversations were largely confined to discussions of the goodness of God. About this we could find no disagreement.

John McHoul

AUGUST 27, 2008 

THE WALK

As a runner I know that the best way to experience Haiti is on foot.  Haiti can remain distant, not real, and impersonal if experienced by an air conditioned vehicle.  Thousands of people line the streets of Haiti selling things, walking places, living life.  To really feel this you have to be among them.
As a person who lives in the city I jumped at the chance to hike over the mountain from Furcy to Jacmel with a group of about 30 people.    Kids and adults, Haitians and Americans gathered together at 5:00 am to start the trek.  Although it was dark Haitians were already starting their day, going places, setting up their wares.  There is no getting up earlier than a Haitian.  Their lives are hard and their day starts early.
The entire 8 hour walk was bumpy, rock filled and steep up and down.  For the novice it would not be an easy day.  When tempted to complain all you would have to do is look around you and feel silenced.  Women and girls trekked past us with giant bundles on their heads.  They navigated the route, over the rocks they went, never missing a step.  Little girls carried bundles that looked heavier than they were.  It was enough to silence any complainer.  Your feet hurt - I passed an old lady with a huge pack on her head and no shoes on her feet.   Her feet  were large and wide from years of such barefoot living.
Any long road that is filled with obstacles can become spiritual.  Pushing through pain, discomfort and the desire to stop all relates to who we are as Christians.  Knowing this is only a day in my life humbles me as I pass mountain folks who live up here in small huts and walk these roads daily.
The beauty was unsurpassed.  The mountains were glorious.  The children were adorable beyond compare.  The aged faces of the women had a hard won beauty that a hard life gives.  Like everywhere, the country folk have a sweetness that city folk don't have.  One of my walking friends, early in the walk, said Beth, "You have said Bon Jour 65 times already."  He had been counting. 
If you didn't watch your step you could easily slip and fall.  That would not have been good since much of the walk is a foot path made for walkers and not vehicles.  No help, no 911, no ride home.
We don't get a ride home in Christianity until the walk is done.  No easy way out, no free ride, no giving up.  Complaining is useless, crying doesn't get you a ride.  You gotta finish the race.  Like Paul, it's more to our benefit to end well.  Though tired and sore finishing is like getting a gold medal.  If you limp your medal is all the more meaningful.

Beth McHoul

AUGUST 25, 2008

Today Junior and I visited an orphanage outside of the city.  The man who runs or I should say funds the orphanage lives and works in the States and comes to Haiti every few months to spend several days at the orphanage.

He visited with us last week and he kept saying that his place wasn’t as nice and I kept telling him that it was ok.

So today we visited and he was right it is not as nice as our place.  But he had no reason to apologize.  He is making a difference in the lives of several dozen kids and in the surrounding village.  In some respects I was wishing that I could do as much as he.

Sometimes we judge success by the size of something, such as a church or ministry.  I’m not sure that is how God sees things.  When is the last time you read a book about successfully pastoring by a guy that has a church of fifty people.  Why do such books have to come from the mega church guys? 

Success, I believe, is being faithful to what or where God calls us.  Success for someone may be working at a low paying job where he/she is impacting others for Christ.  For others it may mean a job that pays very well and where he/she is impacting lives for Christ.  Is one more important or successful than the other?  No, success isn’t measured in what you have or make; it is measured in obedience to God’s call.