Being a DAD

One of the greatest callings on PLANET EARTH is to be a DAD!  I love being  a DAD.  I guess it

helps that I have three of the coolest kids in the world as well.  While the three are all connected under 

the last name "Barnes", in many ways they are each so uniquely different!   I can hangout with all three

of them at different times of the day and do three totally different things.  Isn't diversity GREAT!  

As I was thinking about the DAD gig the other day, I was really humbled when I truly saw the 

enormous calling of my life.  I was going through a time in the WORD about leaving a LEGACY and 

what that means as a DAD and I had to take a step back to become very honest with GOD.  I mean 

I only get the time I have to leave a legacy with my kids that is CHRIST CENTERED!  Was I doing

it correctly?  What am I missing?  The enormity that each of my children will create their own depiction 

of JESUS based upon a large amount of time viewing how my relationship with Jesus is lived out!  

That is HUGE TO ME!  The heaviness that sank in to my heart in the realization that each WORD I 

SPEAK and ACTION I TAKE, makes a huge impact upon the way my children view JESUS. 

You can see the importance and the priority GOD placed upon this calling on the Israelites in

Deuteronomy 6;

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.  (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 ESV)

Oh man, did this blow me away!  Even amidst their many religious traditions, God placed a heavy 

emphasis on parents not to compartmentalize their faith but to live it out 24/7.  To go way beyond 

just "doing the sacrifices" and "journeying to the temple", but live an active transparent faith all day 

every day!   

Eternity is a long time and the time my children is very short!

God, may my life be a picture of your love, forgiveness, patience, discipline, mercy, etc.

Fathers, don't exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master.  Ephesians 6:4

Learning Curves

The last month at the House of Moses has brought on many things.  We all have been on a great "learning curve" along the way.  Here are a few things I have learned over the last month:

• Experienced plumbers in Haiti are worth their weight in GOLD
• There is a difference between sumberagble water pumps and nonsubmeragable water pumps 
• 240 Amps wired incorrectly is costly to your Ryobi chargers 
• 19 people can go through alot of water very quickly 
• Water is LIFE in Haiti!
• Porches are great for sleeping when it is hot outside.
• There are difference between electrical chords
• Water filters are very important in Haiti! 

Along with the learning curve have come some great insight!

• Acts 2:42 can exist today 
• Biblical reconciliation works with brokenness and repentiece 
• God is complete control of our everyday lives
• Students rise to any challenge placed before them 
• The beauty of my wife, inside and outside, amazes me! 
• There are people dying each day, going to hell, as we sit back and watch.
• It is important for us, through our words and actions “taste and see the LORD is good”, not just sit and talk about Him as if we know Him.
• Faith is action iniated and susatained by God...all we do is surrender 

And finally to not to make this too long...

“Greater is He that is in US, than he that is in the world!”

For His glory alone!  

God sets eternity in the Hearts of Men

God's Word says, if I be lifted up - I will draw all men unto myself.  I find comfort in Jesus being the only one who can save.  Good friend's of ours who have devoted their life to serving Jesus in Haiti often remind us that the only true difference we make in Haiti, the World or in life is leaving a legacy of the only thing that doesn't return void...the gospel - God's Word! They get passionate about feeding people temporal food and then talk about having people fat and in Hell versus skinny but in Heaven.  Just wanting to keep the main thing...the main thing.  Well, tonight we saw the kingdom of God in our meek living room.

Today was another great day of ministry:
-Water delivered to the jail
-A kid's hurt foot taken care of
-Reconciliation biblical meetings in our home
-Discipleship meetings
-Fellowship and prayer with a young adult couple pursuing God's will for their  lives

BUT THEN,  (don't you love those words)  I LOVE when the Bible says, BUT God  (so powerful) 
Everyday we pray that our home and family is an aroma of Christ, a testimony and example - Right now in that I hear the Word...If I be lifted up, I will draw...
Tonight during family Bible Study a young man named Maxion who has become family and comes in the evenings for devotion time, surrendered his life to Jesus!  His commitment to Christ through salvation got the other boys who come with him, Alince and Eddie talking about their salvation.  They know they are Christians but have never been baptized so they want to be obedient to follow Christ in baptism.  THANK you Lord that you are at work!

Oh Glorious Day!

I'm not like John...I can only "blog" when I am so filled that something has to spill out and hopefully that is fulfilling what the Word speaks of in Revelation when it says that Satan is defeated by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of our testimony.

Today is one of those days for me.  A day when life is so real and so right that in spite of anything and everything; the peace and joy of the Lord is totally consuming and you feel more alive in the moment you lay your head down and thank God that you are who he created you to be and doing what he's created you to do...THEN, you grab a computer and share it because just as in Acts 4:20 "you can not stop speaking about what you have seen and heard."

This was our day.  I woke up to my baby boy Jordan wanting a cartoon, went and found a computer that still had "charge" from the night before and our average four hours of electricity and put on a cartoon.  Then, I headed down to the kitchen to begin preparing breakfast for our family (of 19-us, 15 children, our brother and interpreter Johnny, Jessica our nanny).  When finished with breakfast we had family morning devotions which were incredible as Jocelyn (one of our students that wants to be a pastor) led the worship and prayer!  John brought an awesome Word out of Philipians and then John and I headed up for our daily meeting and prayer time.  We were wrapping up when Terah came in and said, "a team is here."  So, I headed down and gave a tour of The House of Moses to a great group of youth that was led by Hickory (a previous Summer intern from NWHCM).  We had an awesome time of prayer and they headed to the mission for lunch.  While on the tour they got to see our kids doing their responsibilities and chores (even Terah who was doing laundry and yes, our laundry is by hand as we don't have enough electricity to run a wash machine).  John has to leave for his discipleship meeting with Johnny, and Jocelyn leaves to pursue some legal registration of his birth certificate in Port au Paix AND lead prayer and devotion at the prison for Magdalla who couldn't make it today.  *Side note: His brother is in the prison and he came home BEAMING because he got to have time with him and be a testimony and example to his brother and the other prisoners!  

     By this time our beautiful sister and cook had arrived to prepare lunch, also a "brother" of our kids from Salines Mayette orphanage arrived to visit.  We told the kids that their friends and family couldn't come until after their end of year exams.  They finished yesterday-LOL!  They didn't waste any time.  So, we have an extra son for a bit and I pray that his time her is absolutely a hug from Jesus!  As I was sharing with the group and introducing our leaders in the home; I look over to see a few of our kids heading John's challenge from the previous night's devotion to reach out to the neighbors and invest in the lives around them and before them daily.  My heart smiled.

We put on some worship music throughout our home and it's "Le pou priye pou manje."  Time to pray for lunch.  We pray together - we eat together.

     Then, I head to the mission to take care of TONS of U.S. business and HoM accounting that I need to get done...which I worked hard and got a lot done but lost electricity before I could finish! ;-(  As I'm walking the kids along the way no longer call me Blanc, they call me Madam Paste John or Madam Christi and I LOVE this because we own a relationship with one another.  At the mission I also get to visit with many friends and loved ones that we miss and pray for, have a great conversation about how what we believe is not what we say but what we do as we listen to dear interns so we know how to partner in prayer for them and tell some Americans short term missions teams bye as they head back to the States- then we head home.  On the way home we come across our kids teacher grading their final Biology exam.  I greet the teacher and get to see and bring home their grades!!!  It was an honor hear that they are a joy to have in class, always respectful and all great students (I knew this already but it was great to hear!)  For the most part, they all did good BUT Fedner Severe got the highest score in the class 18/20!  

     When I get home, John is on the porch playing cards with the kids and we laugh as a family.  John leaves for a meeting at NWHCM and Michlaie and Elaie from La Baie come over to the house!  Woo Hoo- they help us put up our new basketball goal as a family (which was VERY exciting!) and then we sit back and enjoy the 3 on 3 games going on at the House of Moses.  John comes home and joins in awing at the new court and then another haitian friend Sarimone stops by for a visit.  Mislene and I make Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Dinner is a wonderful time of sharing and community as a family and then I was blessed to see Jessica serving Johnny to help with dishes (which is no small task in this household).  A bit later, a German doctor friend from the community who works for an Austrian NGO comes to visit.  He is leaving Haiti and wants to know if we are going to buy his inverter and batteries for the house.  We tell him we don't have the funds right now though we need them and would love to and he stays to tour the house and visit.  He is an unbeliever and he stays for evening worship and devotionals!  We always have a house full during this time and it was sweet.  Even with our brothers from LaBaie there was lots of food left over after dinner and there are too many hungry mouths in Haiti to waste good food.  So, we walk down the road to one of our sisters houses and ask if they would like the food.  It's the end of the month and she doesn't get paid until the first of the month.  She, her elderly mother and her daughter's walk with us to the house and get the food.  She says that he babies were crying right before because they were hungry and Jesus answered her prayers.  We pray together and the family leaves blessed.  Even our sons were filled as they said, "That was really good mom."  I watched them walk down the dark road and said yes, it's incredible that when we were making food tonight God knew it was for their family too and he provided."  I was filled by this thought of the love of the Father and then from the upstairs porch Jordan and Ava yell, "Mommy, Come sing to us."  I go up where they are sleeping on a palet under a mosquito net because it's cooler on the porch than it is in the house and sing with them.  They are so filled as they giggle and love their "tent."  They go to sleep and John and I bask in the day.

  I walk through the house to get beds ready for Michlaie, Elaie and T-Fran (our new temporary kid) for the night and their is peaceful fellowship going on throughout the house from kids talking on the porch to neighborhood friends, girls watching a movie on the computer, boys playing futbol games and a crowd watching the fun... Wow, thank you Lord.  My husband is working on the computer and stops to tell me about a sermon he listened to last night from Frances Chan. He said his wife was talking about a mission trip he was going on to China for three months and how so many people were commenting about what a sacrifice it was and about how they lived.  Her response was that I was reading in Acts and there is nothing wonderful about how we live, in fact this is just what following Jesus looks like.  He lovingly says to me, there is nothing special about us or our life-we just read the Bible and follow.  I am so in love with this man.

    I join Terah and the girls to watch another movie.  The generator goes off, I still need a bath but I have no words to tell how blessed, alive, and a part of God's kingdom I feel.  Gonna go now because I have a beautiful house of 21 lives that Jesus has provided food for me to prepare for them in the morning.  When, if it's His will, the Sun will rise and declare his glory...and His mercies will be made new.  Thank you Jesus. Mesi Jezi.    Bon Nwit (Good night!)

The House of Moses...Living in Obedience

Obedience is costly, but oh so rewarding and fulfilling.  

Even if I had the words they would not do it, to post a thousand pictures would only give you a imperfect view of the House of Moses.  What we are able to experience on a day to day basis is something that is raw and unexplainable.  To have twelve students living with your family; eating together, praying together, serving together, playing together...is something that I believe God intended.  For followers to open up our homes and share in the joy that the Creator of the Universe has given us through the gift of our salvation, Scriptures, and the fellowship of the Spirit.  To walk alongside other brothers and sisters in the word and in relation.  To be able to share in the celebrations and defeats, to rejoice in the winnings and mourn in the losses.  

We are not a machine, we are an organism.  A living breathing organism orchestrated through the headship of Jesus Christ, working and serving alongside one another for His glory.  Being a light house in the darkness of the world. Sharing a Christ that exposes the darkness but does it with much grace and mercy.  

Our journey is called the House of Moses!  What is the journey God is calling you to?  

Surrender to His obedience, live in His power, express His joy to a joyless world seeking something greater than the demise of their own pain.  

Live beyond yourself.  

Thank you for walking with us in this call to obedience in our own lives.  Please share how we may pray with you and what God is calling you to!!