Church Family,
This week's article challenged and encouraged me as I read it on one of our church member's Facebook page. Enjoy the following by Nicole Hornback.
As many of you know, our church is going to Haiti this summer for a missions trip and I decided about a month ago that I would jump on board. What I would like to share in this post is the back and forth tug-of-war that I struggled with leading up to the decision to finally commit to going. It sounds silly and was definitely a selfish battle on my part, but I finally came to my senses and I couldn’t feel more free! I hope that it will be a help to others that may feel this daily tug-of-war as well in various decisions.
We had known about the trip for a long time as it was posted on our church calendar that we received near the beginning of the year. I think initially I had liked the idea of going and was considering it, as I have been on a mission trip before to Mexico and loved it. It wasn’t until we got closer and started having meetings about the trip that I became hesitant. I kept making excuses in my mind and really didn’t have any good ones to voice so I just kept trying to fly under the radar. Caleb already knew he was out for the count due to his work schedule and not much time off. I think that may have also been something holding me back because I kept selfishly thinking, I just want to be with my husband this summer and make the most of my time with him.
We reached the missions conference weekend at our church when missionaries came in to tell us about their work and we made mission giving promises to support them. During the weekend we also had an international lunch where we were able to spend more informal time with our missionary guests. The Lord was tugging on my heart SO intensely during this one weekend and I became crabby and irritable for no apparent reason each night (at least at the moment I had no idea why). During the lunch questionnaire time I really started to think more about the mission trip to Haiti and started to be real with myself and with God on why I was so hesitant. I still had no real reason not to go, in fact…. I have the summer off as a teacher so I have every reason to go! I made the decision in my heart at that moment that I would talk to Caleb about me going on this trip, and the sense of relief and joy that fell over me was amazing… I realized that I could have had that joy this entire time had I not been so stubborn about it. Isn’t it always like that?
The Lord works in mysterious ways, and it was an amazing feeling to know that God will always reveal His plan for us. When we submit to His leading it isn’t a chore or a burdensome act...He provides us with the joy we need, He makes His desires our desires and He is the sole provider of our joy…
All of this to say, if you are feeling unstable with your emotions, crabby, irritable, and not really knowing why… evaluate your heart and what you value most. Our emotions are a window to what we are valuing and sometimes our values are sin-tainted which causes and unbalance of emotions. The world is sin-tainted, and if we try to find our sole provider of joy in ANYTHING but the Lord….we will be disappointed, hurt, frustrated, cranky etc…. I find myself in this scenario all too often.
Furthermore, I am so very excited now about our trip to Haiti. WAY more excited than I was before and I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store for us there and how He is going to use us. As you may know, the island nation of Haiti was devastated by an earthquake in 2010 and by a hurricane in 2016. The people of Haiti continue to live in poverty with many lacking running water and electrical services. The mission team will be working with CORE (coremissions.org) personnel in a feeding center, doing work projects, and assisting in nightly evangelistic services.
I hope that you can join us and many others in praying for this trip and for the hearts of the Haitian people. Listed below are a few ways that you can pray for us or even help financially if you feel led to do so:
Prayer Support:
- Pray that we will achieve our goals of encouragement of the Haitian people
- Pray that we are able to spread the gospel and for the hearts of the Haitian people to be open.
- Pray for team unity
- Pray for safety and for the Lord’s protection from any obstacles that may come our way
- Pray for the team spiritually to be grounded in God’s word and leading
If you feel led to financially partner with us in this ministry project, you may contribute online at includefaith.org/give or by sending your check (of any amount) made payable to Faith Baptist Church.
If giving online, please include “Haiti Mission” and my name in the comments section or you can designate it to the whole team to be divided among all of us that need financial support. All gifts will be included in an end of year giving statement and are tax deductible.
Yours in Christ,
Nicole Hornback
If you would like to support any of the team going to Haiti, please pray. Also consider sending funds to Faith Baptist Church.
You may donate online or by mail to Faith Baptist Church at 4215 Indian Ripple Road Beavercreek, OH 45440. Please designate it as “Haiti Missions Trip.”
Pastor Paul