All In - Loving and Serving God (Haiti update)

Well, good morning. Good to be home. And good to see so many of you. Friends and faces from so many years. We are so thankful for each of you and for the work that you're doing here in this community, I want to send Greetings from my mother, Doris, she would love to be here today. So she's just kind of stopped traveling out right now but that she wanted me to share. That she is doing well. And this was her 90th birthday. We got to celebrate with her and we had about 2:45 come from all over the country to be part of that event. So my brothers and sisters were there nice and Jane at myself and then did we had to Too, eager for Easter. We got all of our, all of our kids. Mom now has nine great-grandchildren and we have eight grandchildren of our own and we got everyone together in one room. Thankfully it all for about 30 seconds And the picture went off and this is what we got. So amazing. It's just amazing that the miracle really. So I we're really blessed enough. She also sent a box of photos. She's been going through all Britton Road photos from way back and so you may recognize a few folks here this is been the some of this 1979, the elders and their wives and a missionary couple from Otep in Atlantic Iowa, at the time. And so we got a whole box of photos that feel free to help you going to return those over. I think, two rankings and let them have those that she sent with me, but we're continue to thank you for your prayers for mother, and thank you for those who've come by to visit. Also, thank you for those that came yesterday to our event. At the zoo. We had a wonderful turnout to about 135 140, I believe yesterday there, and we had a outpouring of helped so far. I think $25,000 is come to help us to keep the work. You'll see some of the progress that's been made through that that you at work. They're probably call that their project, hope efforts and thank you for maybe you're sponsoring children and will hear a little bit more about those children that you're helping in Haiti, despite all the obstacles. God is still shining brightly in a dark dark time. I'm going to just share some from a sermon perspective of something that I found that William has been meaningful to me and it's just two really reflect on a passage is Mark 12:30 today that where we read about what Jesus Calls the great and greatest commandment and to illustrate that he really talks about all of it being all in. And I thought about that from a comprehensive perspective and I was looking back, you know, there's some people that you might think of it that are considered to be all into in today's environment. Do you think about these folks? This works, these are called highliners, and they like to sleep in hammocks suspended over the Italian. Alps talk about all in We've got these folks call base jumpers that like to jump off a Giant Mountain that tops and just free fall for I guess long distances with these wingsuit type things. And in Haiti, we've got those who consider themselves all in and Truck Repair.

Not recommended. But you know, our God is all into when he created this universe. Just the more we are able to try to get her head around it, the harder it gets because we look at just now we've got the James Webb Space Telescope. And if you took your finger and you took a grain of sand and you held it up and you looked at that grain of sand. Black space, that's what they did. Just to say, is there anything out there in that black. Guess what? That's what they found. They found in that one black Speck. They found it took 12 and a half hours of exposure but they found thousands of galaxies. That's what they saw on that Dock and that little speck. And now we know that there's probably two and this is hard to get your head around but there's probably two hundred or two. There's two trillion galaxies. Each galaxy has 100 billion stars, so that's 200 Quinn trillion stars and each star has about one and a half Planet, so that's three hundred Quinn trillion planets. That's our current estimate. We don't even know that that's right.

And now we're looking at the human brain. And now the more we're trying to understand the brain, if you took, they took a the most, this was just done last year. They they had a study done to try to understand how many connections and synapses are in our brain. So Google and Harvard and bail the most detailed ever map of human brain. They took one cubic millimeter of brain tissue that's less than a grain of rice. And they said we're going to examine that to see what's inside of that in our brain. And they took him, they found 57,000 neuron cells 9 in of blood vessels and 150 million synopsis That's just one. That's just a one neuron and all that synopsis. And we believe that there's at least. So the human brain has at least 100 billion of those neurons and each. So each neuron is connected to 10,000 other. So you on your, on your neck right now is the most complicated object in the known universe right now. Eventually the team ended up with a 1400 terabytes of data. From that single sample of a tiny grain of rice, a brain matter. That's enough content for a 100 1 billion books. I'm a tiny tiny piece of brain tissue so our God is that a mint and that powerful from the smallest to the largest he is incredibly.

Just awesome, awesome, God, we serve and we think about how God created each one of us and the integrated parts that he's made in us. I just think if we think about our first part which is are sold, sold in the most important part, the one that's Eternal. The one that he gave us when we were uniquely formed in His image and will return to God. When we die Ecclesiastes, 12:7, remember your creator before the just returned to the Griffin to came from, while you're alive, remember God, while you're alive and the Soul returns to God, who gave it? Matthew 10:28 do not be afraid of Those Who Kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and Body in hell. And then we think about our mind as we talked about that includes our thoughts or intellect reasoning capabilities. Several passages. Come to mind here. Isaiah 26, verse three, you God will keep in perfect. Peace. Those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you and in Jeremiah 31 God says, this is the coming. I will make for the people of Israel. After that time, I will put my laws in their minds, the New Covenant and write it in their hearts. They will be, I will be their God, and they will be my people. And so, we have are. So, all we have our mind, we have a heart, but we also have the, the heart, which is our center of our will, and our emotions, and also involves our relationship to others or social emotional Center. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to Above All Else, guard your heart for everything. You do flows from it. Matthew 18. Jesus tells us we have to forgive our brothers. What? From the heart? And of course, the last part is our physical body which God has created an amazing vehicle, which we've been given to live here on Earth and it's amazing and his design and it's in a course where is out. We know some of us feel that more and more everyday but this is where we see that. God recognizes the fact that our physical bodies, that's where he says the six things. The Lord hates 7 or two tests will take him haughty eyes, lying tongue hands, that shed, innocent blood heart, the devices, wicked schemes feet, that are quick to rush into evil. A false witness reports that lies in a person who stirs up conflict in their Community through our body is the container where all the other aspects of our human nuts are so remind heart. Reside. Until we look at the complexity of our body, we look at the interrelated process is everything. Working together in a relational egrowth digestion respiration. In a related in our body, incredible relationships, God has built in and we think about that from our whole person. And we look at the god-given parts, the interplay between our soul in her mind and her heart, and her body, the more we study this more, we realize how integrated we are. Proverbs 14:30 tells us a heart at peace gives what life to the body heart and body go together. And Proverbs 6-15-13, a happy heart makes the face cheerful. But heartache crushes, the spirit Proverbs 17:22. A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a cross Spirit, dries up the bones, physical, Luke 21, watch out, don't let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness with the effects of course, her body. And by the worries, which impacts our heart of this life, Jesus and Jesus says in Matthew 15 for all the heart come evil thoughts mind which leads to your body to commit, what murder adultery sexual immorality theft false, testimony and slander. And so with that background like us to turn tension to the most important commandment, Jesus identified was spoken by Moses, to the people of Israel, and Deuteronomy, 6, verse 4 and then quoted by Jesus in the gospels. And Matthew chapter, 12 verses 28 to 30 So children, this, these are the most important things you can learn today is found in this one, scripture, Matthew 28, Matthew 12, I'm sorry. Mark 12 28, verse, 31 of teachers of the law came and heard them debating noticing that Jesus had given them. A good answer. He asked him of all the Commandments which is the most important. The most important. One Jesus answered, is this hear o Israel? The Lord Our God, the Lord is one, love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. And with all your strength, the second is like this, Love your neighbor as yourself and there is no commandment greater than these. And if we wanted to translate that word love. Probably have an English as we only have one word and the Greeks had five words for love and love and the gossip, I love me and you honor, someone, and you sacrificially serve someone. It's not a feeling so much as you are honoring, someone and your sacrificially serving a copy to be translated like that. So we can translate this honor and sacrificially serve the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind with all your strength.

Well, unfortunately.

A lot of us aren't doing that in Haiti. It's even it seems even worse, so many have turned away from God. So many have turned to worship, Voodoo Gods, Gods, who are basically evil or say, do whatever you want. And we see what happened in Old Testament. When Israel turn to wait till foreign gods. And what happens even sacrificing their own children to these Gods. Well, right now we've got to continue to have news The Gangs have not stopped and we're still dealing with. Those matter fact, they went into a new area of of Haiti that the central part of Miracle Aid where we have three of our schools and so is our schools. This as of right now, had to shut down early the school year and we're praying that they can reopen back in the fall because they had those gains came in those areas and people had to flee for their lives because they come in, just terrorize. It's like they're really haven't identified. Now by the US government, as terrorists is what we got in Haiti right now. But hate is such a wonderful kind, hard-working people. And Just have it unfortunate history of corrupt, government, and these greedy cartels, who have drug import to come in and have taken away, a lot of the resources from the, the folks there. And so our mission has been to demonstrate Christ compassion to show Christ through the local church. Working through them to be able to help these children and support. They may be able to help them become outstanding leaders in their home Church communities and that started while back with this car, gation helping us back in 1995. With our first children who needed help with the orphanage. In this congregation stepped up and said we're going to help. And so this work, this work is started with you back then when we began working through.

And the neat thing that we've seen is how God's people have been the ones to do the work and continue to do the work on the ground. We believe in a holistic approach as we talked about, we wanted to be able to provide those things to our young people and children who are in need of food, you can't. It's not as easy to say, learn God's word and you can't even eat. And so, a lot of them need to be fed. A lot of the need to have schooling. A lot of them need to be taken care of with her health and others who don't have parents need to be taken care of, with some care from from an orphanage and that's all tied to the spiritual training. As I mentioned, this was the church that 30 years ago that damage Church of Christ to partner with us, in this activity, they they were the ones that were invited us to come and see the work that they wanted to do locally, they showed us of ministry, that's in the slum area that they wanted to reach out to this was the city sole area and the church there wanted to have this Outreach. Program to help the children that they saw as in the greatest need. And so, that's how this work began. And thankfully, as we mentioned it, our congregation and you'll see after the earthquake and 2010, Gary Durham came to help us. We had a lot of folks here, helping us with medical Mission teams and support it and choose a sponsorship program. It's been incredible to see how God continues to use this ministry to bless thousands and thousands of children, as you'll see one of the things that again, it's been just so wonderful. As this courageous Haiti team who continues to work day in and day out, we have a lot of Zoom calls. We have a lot of WhatsApp communication right now. This is only 1/6 of the team. We have 220 about 250, people working full-time in Haiti right now because of the 10 Christian Schools, the orphanage and the operations center down there. So you're helping support a lot of families as well. Who are doing the work on the ground. Day in and day out, and talk for me to describe how neat it is. To have those calls with them every day to see how they're passionately giving back. We have are a lot. Some of them have been sponsored, get some cells and now are the ones leading the work down there. So, the Christian, the first thing that we focused on was education because that is so important for every child to have a, a good education. And so that's the, the work that through the sponsorship. And then with helping to construct these 10, Christian Schools, fees also serve as the meeting place for the local Church of Christ in the area. So it's it's a double blessing for the community and also provides a lot of time to clean water to the community and a lot of resources to help them. Do we have two schools up on the top of a mountain, we have five of them outside the main city for the prince and Villages. And three of them are in Port-au-Prince itself. And now, four thousand children are being educated through those schools. This one admirable lady was are on the left of the building they have now to Church of Christ there across the street. We got a big construction project underway, thanks to many of those helping us at a breakfast yesterday. We're now at the point of trying to get that to completed for this next fall and I don't know if this video will show or not. We'll see. Nope, didn't show you all the activities going on. They have buckets of concrete that they bring up a bucket by bucket. And so it employs a lot of folks in that area. A lot of the Christian families are able to get jobs through this work. And so a double blessing there, that's our current picture of where we're at on that building and that's hopefully we'll get finished off. We pray for this next fall and that'll be a cave all the way through high school. Cilty for that community, and that's going to be just incredible blessing. We also are completing the completed these classrooms last year that allows of the children of the Orphanage go all the way through the 13th grade and they go through 13, grades are in Haiti, and that is been a wonderful things. I asked you to be able to, so they don't have to be bussed across town to other schools.

Food and water. So important, of course, and a Haitian Creole says that which is a hungry child is a deaf child. They can't hear. That's kind of a proverb in Haiti, but we've seen that happen. Thanks. Thankfully, this last year, all the kids were able to get a hot meal and in Haiti, if you don't have a food, a lot of times the clicker going, a lot of times the kids will try to eat these mud cookies that basing made out of a mud and a little bit of flour and it keeps your stomach acid from eating a hole in it. So having the food every day, you'll see most of the kids. Favorite food is rice rice and beans cuz that's just a such a stable and they like to have that served every single school day. So that's helped their attendance and their health and their able to provide to actually buy the food locally so it helps the local farmers in Haiti as well. Healthcare. One of the things that we were we had health health, health teams coming in from the US. But now it's we can't get healthy u s teams in so we have nurses and every one of the schools that is watching the children and finding problems with those kids and then is able to identify those. And we have a Telehealth doctor back in Port-au-Prince, actually to doctor, they can refer back to, who can prescribe than they can go get the treatment locally without having to travel great distances. So last year, 1581 Health case that we have that all in the Salesforce system and had some help with that. So all those go in and get processed and we are able to track all that and we have a call Rhonda and I have called every Thursday with our nurse administrator, down there to follow up on these children. And some of these are so serious and if we didn't follow out, they would have we would have lost kids last year. We're certain of that are we have a hundred and ten last year? Received and we have 149, were able to get their eyes. We had some glasses donated, so we were able to get the children, the glasses they need and that local school nurse has been a key to us being able to do that and be able to provide a recommendations for surgeries. And we did have several that were able to get their legs. Either through that young men in the top-right broke his right there, broke his leg in this last year and we had some cases where I'd email where if we didn't treat it within 24 hours that child would have died. So we just thankful for the help there to keep these children healthy and finally, the area of a physical care. We're providing is an orphanage, and there we have a 60 kids and you would think an orphanage that would not be considered a blessing, but in Haiti kids are peering in, they want to be in the orphanage is like a golden ticket. So that's The situation with so many because the kids are fed, well, they're able to get there, they're able to get educated. We help them with their continuing education, to get to learn to have a living, to make a living for themselves. And so are those, your kids are such a blessing and we're glad to be able to provide them with what they need. And so many areas. As I mentioned, a continuing education is so important for them to be able to learn, to be able to make it basically, they have to make your own job in Haiti cuz there's not a lot of employers. So we have nurses. We have folks, learn how to do construction. These have already gone out and done that one of our young men for the orphanage actually made was in charge of making all the uniforms this last year. And that's a lot of uniforms about 2,500 children, they needed uniforms and so he is busy earned quite a bit of money because he was able to hire some of our former orphan kids, to help us make those uniforms. And they had the whole this whole story room going with making these Simple plan to do that again, this next year I just need to see how that's worked out. This is another need example of one of our young ladies, her name is flabby f. L a b y yes, flabby that's her name and she has grown up there since she was young at the 2006 was when she came to the orphanage lost her parents but was outstanding young lady had grown was able to get a scholarship to go onto to becoming a nurse and you can see her graduation there in 2024. She got to wait a full Nursing degree and now she's back out as our nurse at thomazeau and she's working with all of the children there, a day-in and day-out caring for them. And we're so proud of her and she's so excited to be able to use her skills, and serve the kids back, and where she and get back to the work that she was able to be blessed from. And finally, the spiritual training course, the core of everything we do. We want it to point children to know, God, to know Christ and know about that his people in the church local church. And that's what's nice about the schools being in the local churches and the Outreach of the youth ministers there, a Britain Road continues to help support that work in the spiritual Dimensions. I were thankful for the way that that's being done. Inside the school, we have a curriculum program inside the schools, for all of that. We have Bible teachers now, they've been hired and every single school to teach a Bible as an actual. Graded course. So they're tested on that as well. And we also have Camp hope which is at summer camp for children to learn about Christian leadership. And that this last year, we had a total of 200 to 10 and what was really need to see again that God's working through the through them to bring 39. To make the decision to be baptized last year at Camp, hope. And that's a total of some. We've had a total of some 280 baptisms in the last 6 years from that work. Jacob, Lewis is another orphan young man grew up in the orphanage and yet we see how God work through him, he wanted to be to become a preacher. And so he went to the four-year preacher training school. That brother John short on mirror ran at the Del Mar Church of Christ. And he is, now our spiritual director at the Cuzzo Christian School in charge of the youth, Outreach at the church of Christ. He's also involved in Camp, hope, and he's been helping us a lot with the kids there. And so we've seen how God's work to him. He was married to a fine Christian lady. Vanessa and actually their stories written up in the Christian Chronicle, last year of the work that he's been doing it at the, at the church, and through the school and providing help where he grew up. And so, the knee thing is, this is this is his home Kardasian there. And now he's leading the children who are coming behind him and train. I'm baptizing them in the name of Jesus and this is just some of the facts. We over the course of those thirty years, that's an impacted 4835 children. In elementary school, 2100 children and secondary schools. We've seen 618a baptized into Christ of those, a teens 348 of their parents have been baptized. And then out of that, 20 trans English translator has five. Train preachers, two principles by Vice principals. We have six or teachers who were formerly sponsored children. Three nurses Master Carpenter federal police officer and administrator of another nonprofit in the area and a medical doctor OBGYN. And is practicing his medical and helps us has helped us with those children to be mentioned in the remote calls that he's able to take So we look at what God's done through this work, we see the impact, ultimately, on these thousands of thousands of lives through the work has been done and I think the funny thing is it's been a holistic ways, been able to take care of Jesus. Did when he walked on this Earth was care for those in need and show God's love to them and provide God's truth. So it was Grace and Truth Love and Truth working together and we see that in this work, I do want to mention that we have a about 2:10 more kids that need to be sponsored. So if you have thought about that this would be great time to do it. And matter fact, this year we have a foundation is providing a matching grant for every new sponsor that comes along. They're going to give us one whole year of their sponsorship and match it for $42 a month. * 12 is like, $504. They're going to get $504 for every new sponsor we get this year and so it's a great time. If you've been thinking about sponsorship or know someone that And in the back we got 10 more children that would really be blessed to have a sponsor this year. And so we're this would provide basic $1,000 out cuz you're going to have 500 for that. Child hundred percent of your money, goes to that sponsorship, and then that'll be matched as well to help the school with their out their needs and be able to provide for the chill child. At that school. As we mentioned, the sponsorship is just, we have story after Story of those. This was a young man that was able to become one of our teachers. He now teaches fourth grade was sponsored by Bruce Zuppa from the Bellevue Church of Christ back in 2002 and so that that again is available to you today and we for the kids, these are the kids that are in need today. And if we think about how do we honor and sacrificially serve and love God with all our heart soul, mind and strength. And that's what we're training, our young people to hate you to do but something we want to continue to think about especially for those who haven't made a decision for Christ in his, we think about what Jesus said in Matthew 16, what good will it be for someone to gain the whole world? What if you earn, what if somebody told you I will give you every five hundred trillion dollars in your bank account today.

What if someone told you they would do that? What if you could earn that? What if you could get the whole world and yet forfeit your soul. Would you trade your soul for all that money in the bank? Jesus says, what can anyone give in exchange for their soul to our soul is made to spend eternity with our perfect. Holy heavenly father. But his nature is such that no one with sin can approach just like putting an ice cube out on your patio on a sunny day. What will happen to the Ice Cube? Anyone with sand in the presence of the Holy perfect. God will not be able to stand. And so how do we honor and serve God? We must first get right with God. And so with our soul black and by sin, every one of us has the same problem and sand is just Disobedience to God in any way. Any time through an ungodly thought or action. That damages, our heart mind body or damages other's Hearts Minds our bodies and send one, send even leads to death because of God's holiness and that's what he finishes to tells us as for you. You were dead in your transgressions and send in which you used to live when you follow the ways of this world. All of us were like that. Gratifying the Cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts like the rest. We were by Nature, deserving of Wrath.

But God, thankfully has provided and we know that they're there is a way out of that, but the issue we've got to think about is in her. So we got to realize our sinful State and hear Christ call. When he says, Christ tells us in John 8:24 eyes, I tell you that you will die in your sins for unless you believe that I am, he the Messiah, you will die in your sins. And that impacts our souls and Matthew 11, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest, take my yoke upon you, and learn of me for. I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your Soul for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. It's a once we hear Christ, call are mines. Need to understand what God's word says about the sacrificial. Love that the father has for us and sending his one and only son to die for us on the cross, which we deserved. Hebrews 4:12 for the word of God is alive, and active sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing Soul, and Spirit joints, and Marrow it judges, the thoughts, the mind, and the attitudes of the heart. And then our hearts must repent, we sometimes call that a change of heart, that's repentance. We put a new King on the throne of our hearts, as followers and Disciples of Jesus. We now serve a new Lord and Master for the rest of our lives. And so salvation involves our entire beating being, our heart needs to respond. And we need to confess with our mouths, and we need to repent, and believe in God. And then with our body, we confess with thy mouth and we submit to being buried in water to be baptized into Christ. So today, maybe you need to put price. Maybe you need, you need to be born again to Faith. Repentance confession and be baptized into Christ, or to recommit, your Feeding on God's word and prayer to realized that we need to continue to grow and our love for God, is we sacrificially honor and serve him every single day? We're going to have a song out, and if we can help you in any way, we're going to stand and sing at this time.