Mannequins Make Great Models

It must be lovely to be a mannequin; to be perfect in every way and to never have to struggle with emotions.

Sometimes it's typical to think that missionaries have this "all together", "picture perfect", "I'm-working-for-God", "queue the angelic music" kind of life.

Contrary to popular belief, we experience;
doubt,
fear,
loneliness
and anger.

There are times, when we feel so alone, the lizard on the wall seems to be our only companion. We look at the little creature, and in all of our loneliness, we talk to it (don't worry, this doesn't happen a lot). We get pissed to the point where we yell at the coconuts hanging on the tree for not falling (or falling). We get tired of having to communicate in a language other than our own. We look at the fellow to which we are trying to explain something and start to blab in English (yeah, it's kind of awkward).

We have days when we ask ourselves why are we in a third world country - where showers are cold and bathrooms are scarce. Why are we in a country whose currency can be counted in two ways (gourdes and Haitian dollars) and the electricity is never consistent; in a place where everything takes two times longer and is usually done backwards. We ask ourselves these questions and sometimes feel a tad bit clueless and somewhat confused. These feelings and emotions aren't something that disappear as one mounts on a plane to enter the mission field, in search for the will of God. We have no halo, we carry no wings.

We are humans (in a foreign country), trying to conquer the mass of arrows and darts life throws at us. We are humans who have experienced the Grace of God on our lives. This Grace, so intense, so pure, so precious that we can't help but share it with others. And we seek to spread it. This is why we do what we do. Far from perfection and still learning to deal with our vast array of emotions we look to hold the orphan, shelter the parent-less and teach those who would otherwise never get an education.We give of the Grace that was so freely offered to us.

Oh! To be a perfect little mannequin would indeed be ideal, but then I would never have the ability to receive this wonderful Grace and participate in his perfect purpose.

This Was Church

Taken by Tara & Troy Livesay

I spent Thanksgiving, this year, with over 70 missionaries from all over the world who have come for some reason or another to serve the country of Haiti. Some are dedicated to helping the hurting women of Haiti. Others are teachers who came to educate and facilitate the children of Haiti. Some came to living with the orphans and establish housing for them. As I ate my turkey feast I shared a conversation with a pair of "missionaries". We laughed, joked and stuffed our faces. As I looked around the room I saw a flood of content faces illustrating hearts full of joy. This thought struck me, THIS was church. No one had a problem with another. Everyone had something encouraging or uplifting to tell another. Everyone was there to thank God, each other and to have a good time. This was God's original plan for church. We were free. Free, in the sense that no one was looking to offend or be offended.  The atmosphere was as like as the whipped cream that topped the pumpkin pie; light and sweet. The heaviest thing was the pitcher of gravy on the table (which was phenomenal by the way). God wants us to fellowship and know each other in such a way that even though we are people form different walks of life in one location of various reasons, we can still gather together and thank Him for his goodness and enjoy another's company.