Word of the Year, 2012: Faithful

In college, I formed the habit of choosing one scripture verse to be my theme for the year. I memorized the verse or group of verses, prayed it over my life, and tried to apply it to all the situations I found myself in throughout the year. It was a really good habit and caused growth in my spiritual life.

In 2009, I mixed things up and chose a one word theme for the year. In 2009 I focused on humility, in 2010 wisdom, and 2011 was patience. I don't feel like I've had an "easy" year in the mix at all. I mean, if God wanted me to focus on LOVE, I feel like that would be easy. But since the point is spiritual growth and not comfort, I guess being uncomfortable indicates it's working.

The end of 2011 was a bit... full. I prayed about a theme for the year, but I didn't really sit and listen to God much. I was kind of busy with my wedding and being a newlywed. It wasn't until a week or so ago, that I really felt peace about a theme for the year. I tossed around perseverance,  peace, and other fruits of the Spirit. But ultimately I felt like God was giving me the word faithful.

So this year of 2012 (Is it weird that I always say it in Creole when I type or write it?) will be a year of pondering what it means to be faithful and looking for evidence in my life that God is faithful. I don't think it's going to take much work to recognize God's faithfulness, but learning to be more full of faith could make life pretty interesting.

Anybody else up for choosing a one word theme for the year? If so, leave me a comment with your word.

Word of the Year, 2012: Faithful

In college, I formed the habit of choosing one scripture verse to be my theme for the year. I memorized the verse or group of verses, prayed it over my life, and tried to apply it to all the situations I found myself in throughout the year. It was a really good habit and caused growth in my spiritual life.

In 2009, I mixed things up and chose a one word theme for the year. In 2009 I focused on humility, in 2010 wisdom, and 2011 was patience. I don't feel like I've had an "easy" year in the mix at all. I mean, if God wanted me to focus on LOVE, I feel like that would be easy. But since the point is spiritual growth and not comfort, I guess being uncomfortable indicates it's working.

The end of 2011 was a bit... full. I prayed about a theme for the year, but I didn't really sit and listen to God much. I was kind of busy with my wedding and being a newlywed. It wasn't until a week or so ago, that I really felt peace about a theme for the year. I tossed around perseverance,  peace, and other fruits of the Spirit. But ultimately I felt like God was giving me the word faithful.

So this year of 2012 (Is it weird that I always say it in Creole when I type or write it?) will be a year of pondering what it means to be faithful and looking for evidence in my life that God is faithful. I don't think it's going to take much work to recognize God's faithfulness, but learning to be more full of faith could make life pretty interesting.

Anybody else up for choosing a one word theme for the year? If so, leave me a comment with your word.

Only because some people have asked...

Recently several different people have asked me what kinds of things they could bring/send to Haiti for Arold and me. I thought a blog post would be a good way to get the information out there, and in the future I can just copy and paste the link to anyone who e-mails me.

Ministry Related Items

• blue pens--please bring blue pens. We go through these very quickly.
• men's neckties
• hand held pencil sharpeners
• erasers
• stickers to give out in the clinic
• water bottles
• backpacks
• socks--adult and children's sizes

Personal Items

• Dove dark chocolates (or any chocolate really)
• Crystal Light packets (peach iced tea is my favorite)
• chocolate chips, or other chips to use in baking
• dried fruits and nuts

Only because some people have asked...

Recently several different people have asked me what kinds of things they could bring/send to Haiti for Arold and me. I thought a blog post would be a good way to get the information out there, and in the future I can just copy and paste the link to anyone who e-mails me.

Ministry Related Items

• blue pens--please bring blue pens. We go through these very quickly.
• men's neckties
• hand held pencil sharpeners
• erasers
• stickers to give out in the clinic
• water bottles
• backpacks
• socks--adult and children's sizes

Personal Items

• Dove dark chocolates (or any chocolate really)
• Crystal Light packets (peach iced tea is my favorite)
• chocolate chips, or other chips to use in baking
• dried fruits and nuts

Klas Disip

Last year a group of young people told Willem they wanted to be more involved in the church. He thought it was great that they wanted to get involved, but he also knew they needed to know the Bible better to be good leaders. So, he started a discipleship class. They meet on Monday nights for intense Bible study and they even learn some church history. 

I'm not involved in the discipleship group at all, but I have seen some fruits of the class. The students know the Bible better. They volunteer to take on responsibilities in the church services. They are leaders among their peers. And they are growing closer to Jesus Christ. 

Please pray for the these young people to continue to grow and learn through the discipleship class. This is an awesome group of young adults, and I am excited to see where God takes them in the coming years!

Klas Disip

Last year a group of young people told Willem they wanted to be more involved in the church. He thought it was great that they wanted to get involved, but he also knew they needed to know the Bible better to be good leaders. So, he started a discipleship class. They meet on Monday nights for intense Bible study and they even learn some church history. 

I'm not involved in the discipleship group at all, but I have seen some fruits of the class. The students know the Bible better. They volunteer to take on responsibilities in the church services. They are leaders among their peers. And they are growing closer to Jesus Christ. 

Please pray for the these young people to continue to grow and learn through the discipleship class. This is an awesome group of young adults, and I am excited to see where God takes them in the coming years!

A Glimpse of the Computer Lab

 We've been busy this month with two clinic teams back to back, so I haven't been posting much. Plus, my husband kind of likes to eat dinner every night, which puts a damper on my internet time. ;) 

Here's a little glimpse of what the computer lab looks like this week. We currently have about 45 students in three different computer classes. This week we reviewed some basics of word processing and used a typing program to help the new students get acquainted with the keyboard.

And finally, the backpack hooks. I asked my favorite Canadians to put some hooks in the computer lab for backpacks. My students always want to put their bags on the tables, but there's not enough room for the laptops and their bags. My Canadian friends didn't understand why we needed hooks if there was floor space available, but the floor is for walking not putting bags.