We were blessed with a team (2 couples) who spent 10 days with us. The primary focus was VBS for the children at Marche Kabrit. We had 3 days of VBS. There was a Bible lesson (David & Goliath, Good Samaritan, and The Lost Sheep). Each lesson provided a drama, a memory verse, songs and crafts. There were also outdoor games and a snack. The children waited at the door for us each morning as we arrived. They were so thrilled that foreigners came to share with them that they had planned a small program for them each day. There were prizes for memory verses, and gifts just to bless the children. The children basked in the attention and love!! Even though it was a bit of a shock for the team the 1st day, that there were no tables to work on crafts, they soon realized Haitian children can work on their laps, or on their knees and use the bench!! On the contrary, Haitian children would not have expected tables to work on! 
VBS at Marche Kabrit December 26, 2007
Love Covers all Offenses December 4, 2007
Love Covers all Offenses
Prov. 10:12 ¶ Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.
Creole: Pwov. 10:12 ¶ Lè ou gen renmen nan kè ou, ou padonnen tout peche. Men, lè ou rayi moun, ou toujou ap chache kont.
As I was reading Proverbs 10, seeking for a word that minister to me. When I found this verse, I could hardly pass it; it stuck to me like glue. The Creole version of this verse says, “ When you have love in your heart, you forgive all sins, but when you hate people, you will always seek trouble.”
Again my mind floats to this holiday season. I’m happy this time of year. It’s hard not to be, honestly. People are smiling. You look at your tree (even if it’s a fake fiberglass one like mine!) and get that cozy “hot-chocolate” feeling in your toes… Or maybe that’s just me. Snow is falling swiftly, but it’s still new enough that I look outside and that magical winter feeling sets in. I love the holidays!
This verse, like the last one I shared, really strikes me as “holiday-ish”. Why? Because love covers all offenses. How magical is that?! Isn’t that the best thing you’ve ever heard?
As a newlywed, sometimes frustration mounts for both myself and my husband. I’m happy-go-lucky-messy; he’s neat as a pin. I like sleeping until 10:00 am (even though, this is a rare treat); his eyes open like clockwork at 5:00 am. He cooks like a pro; I struggle boiling water. He squeezes toothpaste from the bottom; I squeeze from the middle. He likes the history channel; I love drama shows. Tell you the truth, sometimes we are like opposites on a pole, and nothing works quite right.
In a way, sometimes in my relationship with my husband, I feel like the “screw up” (After all, I’m the messy one who squeezes the toothpaste from the middle). But then he wakes me up when he leaves for work to say he loves me. Or he gets up in the middle of the night, when I’m sick to get me some medicine. or he teaches me how to drive his car, a stick-shift. Or he tells me to relax while he cooks. Or he just holds me. Or I wake up to find a love letter on the sink. And when I’m being a complete jerk, or just totally dumb, he gets this look on his face that makes me blush: it’s the look that says “ you’re absolutely crazy, but I cannot help loving you anyways.”
In those moments, I’m reminded of my relationship with Jesus. I’m the one who messes things up where Jesus and I are concerned too. I just can’t seem to get things right. But then I read verses that sound a little like a love-letter to me. Verses that say,“Love covers all offenses.”
I see a nativity scene and think “Jesus was born there.” But my thoughts never stop there. I see flashes of his life in my head, until I see the one of him hanging there, on the cross…for me. I picture him looking at me, whispering to me, “ Love covers all offenses.”
If that isn’t holiday-tingly, I don’t know what is.
Until next time, Rachel
