Dear ones,

Here I am, sitting on a balcony beside an almond tree. A great macaw plays sweetly on his perch, and a gentle breeze blows the heat away from my laptop.

The porcelain cup is full of rich dark coffee, and a kind waiter has just cleared away the dishes from a delicate omelette, asking in perfect French whether I would like anything more. And for all the world, I would not know that I was in Haiti, except…

The ants, grateful for a feast of sugar, have swarmed the coffee cups – a morning ritual. One must pour the powdered milk into the coffee in a very slow, thin stream, to make sure that no six-legged bodies run into the coffee unseen. The heat, though not severe because it is only 7:00 am, is still enough to make the heat from my laptop on my hands quite unpleasant.

Follow up:

When I checked into my room last night, the mould and mildew smell was so strong, it was difficult to breathe. When the fan was on, it became more bearable. There were holes in the pillowcases and sheets, but the water in the sink worked. All was well, and right on track, except… when I was stepping into the shower, I could not get the water to come on. After putting all my sweaty travel clothes back on, I got help. The shower fixture came off right in the repairman’s hand. Gratefully, I was relocated next door, where the shower worked.

After an excellent night’s sleep, I awoke to worship and time in the Word.

We stand, today, September 15th, 2010, between Rosh Hoshannah, a time of rejoicing and blowing of trumpets, worship to prepare ourselves for the day of atonement, Yom Kippur. After that comes the time of the feast of tabernacles, or Sukkot, dwelling in tents on our way to the promised land, with the Lord. These are God’s moeds, his appointments with man, to be close to us, to teach us, and to prepare us. All this in three weeks!

Today, September 15th, we sit between the end of man’s lease on earth, and the catching away of the church. We stand in a period of grace between the ages. And all in our lifetime!

I am not wanting to preach, or even share the precious treasures I glimpsed this morning in the Word. But, I do want to share with you how great a joy it is to sit in this heat, drinking Koolaid, which is called ‘juice’, to have the privilege of ministering to the people in Haiti again!

In the Holy Spirit this morning, I sensed that the choice was mine whether I would draw close to God or not; whether I would see past the bugs and the mouldy air, the heat and the wet clothes, and see the people whose eyes meet mine; whether I would let Jesus dwell in my heart close to the surface, so that He lives in my face, my hands, my thoughts, my communication; whether His relationship with the Father will be permitted to be my relationship today…

It is no different than choosing to live in a world of balconies, almond trees, tame parrots who love people, breezes, and loving people – or to trade it for a world of heat, bugs, sweat, depression, and loneliness, where others are my enemies.

It is a choice.

Here, perhaps clearer than home with our comforts, the two kingdoms are apparent, the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Kingdom of Darkness. The choice is inside me where I live today. And today, I choose the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of Love, Life, Light, Power, and a strong mind! O, our God is so good, to have left His home in glory to walk here among us!

This trip is only a short one. I will return to Canada on Saturday for one week for a friend’s surgery, before coming back to Haiti for a couple of months. My reason for being here, as far as schedules are concerned, is to take Helen Crawley, from Health Partners International, Canada, on a tour of our pharmacy, lab, clinics, hospital, and our work here in Haiti. HPIC had donated millions of dollars of medicine to us and they need to see what we do with it. I pray the Lord will allow Helen to see some of the lives which have been blessed, bodies healed, babies born, with the support of HPIC.

But I KNOW, that my REAL reason for being here, is because today, God wants someone – me – to demonstrate what life inside the Kingdom of God looks like in Haiti. I do not know what bugs or filth I will have to look past today when I leave here to begin my travels north to St. Louis du Nord. But I pray that each person I meet today will meet the love of Jesus to them.

The choice I make today is the choice many in Haiti must make daily to live… the choice between Heaven or hell, between the Kingdom of God, with its grace, love, and goodness, and hope for a better tomorrow, or the kingdom of darkness…

God bless you today, as you, also, home in Canada, choose life!!!

In His great love, Tina