Rick Reflects: January 25, 2012

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.   Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.   Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV)

Haiti Providence University

I sometimes feel that I am seeing the world of the Bible playing out before my very eyes.  This was certainly true a couple of weeks ago as Cookie and I participated in a two day retreat for the leaders of Haiti Providence University.  The first day of classes was a week away and they were trying to put the final touches on being ready for their first class of students.  I found myself in the midst of an amazing group of Haitian leaders driven by a vision.  Their vision is to transform their nation by providing a college education for men and women who would go on to become leaders in all aspects of Haitian society.  Their first class will produce business leaders, nurses, engineers, and educators. These Haitian leaders want to do more than give students a good education: they want to develop their students to approach life with a Christian world view.  They believe this is the only hope for the future of Haiti.

If you were to look behind them you would see two centuries of struggle.  Just in the two years that I have been in Haiti this struggle has included an earthquake, two hurricanes, political instability, and a cholera epidemic.  But these leaders were not looking back.  If you look around their world you will see grinding poverty, high unemployment, 50% illiteracy, and on it goes.  But they are not looking around.  They believe God has called them to a higher task. And with their eyes firmly on Him, they are looking at what they believe can be.  I was humbled to even be invited to be in the room.

Cookie Teaching at HPU

When you are around people with such vision and passion, its dangerous.  You just might be infected.  They have certainly captured Cookie and I with their vision.  We are both teaching in this first class of Haitian leaders-to-be and are finding this first class of 45 students or so to be bright and highly motivated.  Where is God working in your world?  One of the mistakes Christians make is to ask God to bless what they want to do.  In Experiencing God, Blackaby suggests that a more Biblical approach is to see where God is working and join in.  You might be surprised at the impact it could have on your life when you find where God is working, and join the team.

Rick

Cookie and I are supported in our work in Haiti by people like you.  If you would like to be a part of our team and support us financially or prayerfully (both are needed) go to our website at www.servinghaiti.com where you will find links under the “Join Us” tab.