Happy Easter!

Sunday comes! Jesus lives! The Resurrection and the Life. Believe!!!

Where I Fall Short

Just a very, very few of the areas where I fall short:

Love for others. Honesty. Hard work. Friendliness. Loyalty. Faithfulness. Personal discipline. Pridefulness. Anger. Parental guidance. Spiritual discipline. Listening. Broken vows. Dietary concerns. Being a neighbor. Hard-heartedness. Prioritizing. Competitiveness and fair play. Showing grace. Boundaries. Stewardship. Following through. Foul language. Sympathy. Lustfulness. Kindness. Self-indulgence. Bearing others' burdens. Protecting my own heart. Prayer. Apathy. Love for God.

So I confess, work on, and pray about those things where I'm the one holding the hammer and driving the nails. On the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter, those sins haunt me. But for all those things... Jesus died. And Easter Sunday's coming.

Haiti - E-mail from a Missionary

Was forwarded this e-mail from my cousin's wife. It's from my Aunt Dorothy, who is a missionary in Haiti, working with orphans and children whose parents cannot afford to take care of them (heavy emphasis on children with HIV/AIDS). She works for Christian Light Foundation, which I'm linking. A minute ago I was thinking what a disaster it was that I didn't have anything in my fridge to eat tonight when I go home. Then, I read this. Puts things in perspective and sums up what's going on down there. Even though I don't know anyone else she references, I don't need to add anything; I get the picture. Here's a copy of the e-mail:

Jan 15 2010

We survived the earthquake, all of us. PRAISE GOD!!!!!!

Amanda, Natasha and I were just arriving at Sacred Heart Hospital (CDTI) near what we think was the strongest area of the quake. Jesula, our nanny who had been with Poutchino at the hospital, was collapsing on the ground outside, in shock. Natasha ran inside for Poutchino. We parked the car. A man carried Jesula to the car. She was frozen with fear.

Hospital patients were brought outside, injured people came in thru the gate. All hospital personnel worked thru the night and next day with barely a break. Amanda and I took turns holding a flashlight for a surgeon stitching wounds and gradually learned how to do more. Natasha had to stay in the car holding Poutchino.

Some people were beyond help: the doctors gave them medicines for pain and treated those they could help. I counted about 40 people who died during the 24 hours we were there, all ages. Security manned the gate, only letting in the injured people that the doctor felt they could help.
Generators lit the parking lot. It seemed like a scene from hell with all the moans and screams and cries for help and the ground covered with injured people and blood. People panicked at every aftershock. Burns were the worst injuries but thankfully few.

Communications were cut off -- no one could find out about the rest of their loved ones. We had to try hard not to imagine the terribles thing that might have happened to our children and staff. Rumors trickled in about the buildings that had crashed. A rumor started that a tsunami was coming and we had to leave.

Heroes were everywhere. Groups of people sang and prayed and praised God for sparing so many. Doctors and nurses barely stopped to rest thru the night and well into the next day. Pain pills and shots were given freely. Every injured person got a shot of ampicillin. I gave shots, too. The hospital emptied its shelves, giving everything they had to help people. The strong carried the weak. Everyone comforted everyone else. People walked around praying for others. Two people scoured the streets for anything that could be used as splints. I am still amazed and glad that I had donated blood just that morning! We saw God working in us and all around us.
We finally were able to leave the hospital Wednesday afternoon, bring Poutchino with us. Collapsed buildings, wrecked and crushed cars, blood and bodies were everywhere. Coming home was such a blessing! No one was injured, the house was intact! Hallelujah! sweet relief!

Praise God we had just received new supplies of antibiotics. We gave most of them plus a lot of gauze and tape, tylenol and ibuprofen, needles, and IV sypplies to a clinic set up in our neighborhood. We had a little bit left over to give to Healing Hands this morning, and sent home some gauze and soap with a nanny for her injured grandmother.

Poutchino definitely had meningitis but there was no more infection by the time the CSF was tested. Considering the chaos at the hospital we brought him home with us. His abdominal pain is completely gone. He can eat again. I give him 1 gram of ceftriaxone every 12 hours hoping to keep the meningitis from returning. Infection could be hiding in his shunt. An operation to remove the shunt would be difficult to get now.

For those of you who know our staff, Claudia's leg is broken and her house destroyed. Jesula and her family are safe but their house was destroyed and they are staying here. Leonne's home was destroyed and she is staying here. Eva's house was destroyed but she has another place to stay. Suzette's house was destroyed: she can't come to work. Rosemanie is fine. Bb was thrown from a truck during the earthquake and was injured but is doing okay. She was on her way to work the overnight shift. The other ladies who were here took care of everything. They worked very very hard. Our staff is fantastic!

Both of our usual grocery stores, Caribbean and One Stop, were destroyed. We haven't heard what happened to the people inside. Those were the only places we could cash checks. Gas stations arent open yet. We heard that Sherrie Fausey's building partially collapsed and one child was killed. Sherrie and Julie are fine. Karen Bultje and her kids are fine. Nikki, who went to live with Roberta, was killed by a falling wall. Roberta and all other children are okay. Pastor CJ came by this morning to see if we were okay. He said Pastor Leny and his family are okay. Pastor Genada called. They were in Port au Prince during the quake and a block fell on his daughter's leg. They had to go all the way back to Gonaives to get help for her. Karen Bultje is still being an angel of mercy for as long as her diesel fuel holds out: she brought us several cases of pop tarts so we have breakfast for a while. Dottie was temporarily trapped in her house but is okay now. Nickson and Ivens and their families are okay. Deedee, the Boyers and the Olssons are okay. Barb Lataillade's foot was nearly amputated. The U.S. military got her out to Jacksonville, Florida for care.. Our pediatrician called to check on us.

Phones are starting to work again but not yet normally.. Helicopters are flying overhead all the time, and small planes. The U.S. military is running the airport now. Civilian flights are all canceled. UN police are in charge of security. Not much is seen of Haitian police, I don't know why. I expect, hope, that relief supplies will come in soon. Our biggest concerns at the moment are cooking fuel and water.

We all are fighting shock, trying not to be overwhelmed with grief and horror. I am trying to plan without being overwhelmed with worry. PRAYER AND PRAISES REALLY WORK TO KEEP SPIRIT UP! Remembering what God has already done in protecting and providing for us reassures me that He will continue to provide for our needs. I am so thank Natasha and Amanda were with me at the hospital and that Natasha can stay here for a while to help.
I have heard that maybe 100,000 people died. I can believe it based on what I have seen. I heard that the earthquake was 7.3 on the Richter scale. We need news from outside but please keep emails strictly to news. We have to use our precious supplies of gasoline to get online. Since we have no place to cash checks I have to work with Christian Light Foundation to find a way to get money to us.

Please pray for all of us in Haiti and for all those sending and bringing help.

Dorothy Pearce

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." I Cor. 13:13

Faith-Hope-Love Infant Rescue
http://dorothypearcehaiti.blogspot.com/

Donations:
Christian Light Foundation, Inc.
P.O.. Box 23881
Jacksonville FL 32241-3881
Memo: For D. Pearce, Haiti

A Christmas Card for Everyone!

To steal a quote from one of my movie favs: Unforgiven (ironically enough):

"Deserve's got nothing to do with it."

Christmas!

Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouforeverandeverandeveramen!

God With Us!
Prince of Peace!
King of Kings!
Lord of Lords!
First and Last!

Feel free to add on!

Joseph's Lament

Traveled too far for the girl to end up like this,
bent in pain, tears mixed with sweat, and totally spent.
The cries of the child, this child not mine, in such darkness,
echoing against the stone walls, rising above the lows and bleats.
Cries that rend my soul.

For a dream did I stake this union, sure that I had heard from the Most High.
Yet, the house filled above, while she and I outcast with beast,
lying in straw and dung, searching desperately for cloths to cover the infant,
speak to the lucidity of my vision.
I am undone.

The arguing in halls overhead stirs the ass beside us.
Handing her the strips I find, she wraps the babe.
Sets him in the swine trough after I clear the refuse.
Footsteps descend from the stairs above, and slurred voices rise.
Who now, at this time of night?

She pulls her garment across her body just as they step into the lower room.
The stench betrays these men as herders, nomads.
I go to stop them when one grasps my arm.
Another trods past and falls to the flooring before the boy.
More follow, speaking of the sign.

Fit near rage, I break from the man's grip,
but then I stop.
These sheepherders, these outcasts, they groan praises.
Praises to the child. To this King. Praises to the Lord God of Hosts.
In this moment I am struck.
Who am I to do this?

Here's a Gimme Question for You

In my Sunday School class, we're discussing the Trinity -- right, one God, three persons, three-in-one. Question:

What is the best explanation you've ever heard that describes the Trinity?

Fire away!

Messianic Christianity? I'm Clueless. Open Questions to The Realm.

Whenever I don't know something, I've been told the best thing to do is ask the Internet. Certainly, one can't go wrong doing that, can one? Better still, since I have a blog, I can put forth my inquiries to wiser people than me that come to The Realm of Possibility. Surely, I can arrive at some conclusions in here, my happy house. So here goes. I've got some questions about Messianic Christianity, if someone knows something about that. Hopefully, I've got that name correct as I'm really not even certain about that. This post could sound utterly and amazingly ignorant, but it wouldn't be my first one of those, nor my last.

Apparently, Messianic Christians are different in at least one respect, maybe a great many more, from Messianic Jews in that, well, they're not Jewish. Let me just get to my list of questions for those that might know:

1) Messianic Christians are non-Jewish persons that adhere to parts of Leviticus and the old Jewish Law? Why? I know some people that are involved in this denomination -- if that's what it is -- and they certainly aren't adhering to all of it. So... just select parts of the law. Is that correct? What is the reasoning behind this?

2) Also, is most of their "church" focused on trying to obey the Jewish laws and customs rather than on Christ? I know they celebrate the major Jewish festivals, feasts, and holidays, and they may or may not celebrate Christmas and/or Easter. Does anyone know about that?

3) They believe in Jesus... do they believe as orthodox Christianity does, that He is God, was resurrected, and through God's grace is the salvation given for all men and women? Do Messianic Christians believe following the law is part of salvation along with believing in Jesus?

4) At least the folks I know that are in Messianic Christian groups (and this is a small sample size, so I probably shouldn't generalize), they say they don't believe in preaching, as that's man telling the congregants how to live. They think God through the Holy Scriptures has given us what we need. Instead, they have instructors for their small group church. Is this how most Messianic Christians operate? And do I have right that they don't believe in the preached word? However, they're okay with teaching? Is that right? And most of the teaching is from the Old Testament, not the New?

I guess, just from what I've heard... well, I have a lot of problems with what I've heard, and it's a little concerning -- but, really, I am very ignorant on this practice and what Messianic Christianity is (who Messianic Christians are and what their intent is), and I'd like to learn a few things. If anyone knows something about it or if anyone is involved in it, please enlighten me. It would be much appreciated. Thanks.