Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Update from Cindy McMartin - June 6, 2010

Greetings!

We didn’t hold a funeral service, but I did join with many of our Haitian colleagues to watch as demolition started on the Bible school building May 10th. Bruce was in the middle of it all as he worked alongside the men helping to oversee the job. There were groans, even tears, as the large tractor clawed and pounded the building to bring it down. There have been many godly leaders trained in the classrooms of this building; many hours of prayer have risen up to God from meetings held within its walls; lots of laughter and good fellowship have filled its rooms; numerous different materials and resources have been written and produced by those within this building; and many different Christian ministries have been birthed and directed out of offices in this building. The building is gone, but thousands of souls remain for all of eternity.

Immediately following our return, Bruce was back into different work projects on the STEP campus. One house that was vacated shortly after the quake was repaired and prepared for teams. It was immediately filled with a team from Churches Helping Churches that came in coordination with STEP to host a 4-day seminar for 200 Haitian pastors. These pastors came from all over Haiti and enjoyed good fellowship, encouragement, and teaching from the Word. It was good to hear their voices raised in worship, in laughter and in discussion of the materials being taught.

May 22nd, a team from Alderwood Community Church in Washington arrived to spend a week working out at Jehu’s property. We really enjoyed these men and their time with us. They accomplished a lot on the construction project and also helped Bruce with a bunch of odd jobs around the campus. Just as important, their lives were impacted by their time in Haiti and we are certain God will use them to impact other lives as a result.

Please continue to pray for Jehu and his relationship with the boys. They’ve all experienced trauma and continue to live in challenging living conditions. Pray that God will fill Jehu with love, patience and wisdom as he interacts with them. Pray for the work being done to reinforce and strengthen the building to withstand any future quakes. Pray that they’ll soon be able to move into their new home.

During the past month there have been times of discouragement; we have been frustrated with the frenzy of activities and work that don’t always seem to have a planned strategy guiding them; we have missed the regular interaction with the students and our ministries of teaching; there are times when it’s hard for us to find the motivation to keep slugging away at the mundane tasks; and we continue to feel overwhelmed with the great needs all around us – how some people are living is just unbelievable.

Please pray for us: we don’t doubt God’s sovereignty, but need a real sense of His direction for our involvement in the months ahead so that we’re not just letting circumstances dictate what we do. Please pray for us as we receive and facilitate teams coming down to work on many different projects. Pray that God would direct us to identify those projects that are His plan and which will be the most beneficial to the advancement of his Kingdom. In everything, please pray that we’ll be filled with God’s joy and that it will overflow in all we do.

We can’t do anything here without the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, so we covet your prayers. We continue to be grateful for abundant life we have in God and for His grace and mercy at work in us each day.

Love, Cindy for Bruce too

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