Once upon a Wednesday

In Haiti, nature (daylight and livestock noises) dictates when you go to bed at night and when you wake up in the morning. So Wednesday morning, I woke up near dawn. This was the view in our room, outside the window, in the CSI missionary house we stayed in.


On that particular morning, as I looked out on that breath taking view, I read Matthew 25 in my quiet time. Here are just some of the verses started off my day with…

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."


Wednesday turned out to be one of the hottest day’s temperature wise of the entire week, reaching over 100degrees. So when I saw the last patient of the day through the triage area of the medical clinic where Ashlyn and I was working, I was relieved to find a spot in the shade to sit and catch some reprieve the scorching Haiti heat. As soon as I made my way to spot in the shade outside the mobile medical clinic, I noticed a friend waving me over. This friend was a little boy who had lingered around the clinic site all week… not being seen as a patient, not attending the school next door, but just hanging out all week watching what we were doing and soaking up any love and attention he could from the medical team visiting.

As he motioned me over, I knew exactly what his intentions were. He wanted to play “slaps” (a game in which one person lays their hand palms down upon the other persons hands and the object is to quickly flip your hand over and slap the other person’s hands before they can move them away)


I had played “slaps” with this little boy all week but on that particular day… I was exhausted, drenched with sweat, and just wanted a quiet moment to myself in the shade before we started loading up all medical supplies back into the truck.

But as soon as I had resolved to ignore my friend’s insistent motioning over, I was reminded of the verses in Matthew 25 I had read earlier that day. I heard the still quiet voice of the Holy Spirit nudging my hardened heart and whispering “that little boy wants to play slaps with you… will you play with him? JESUS wants to play slaps with you… will you play with Him?”

Needless to say, I decided to forgo my spot in the shade for an encounter with Jesus himself and I am soooo glad I did. After playing slaps with my friend until the top of my hands were bright red and burning, my friend and I retreated to the spot in the shade together.

As he was sitting on the steps, holding my red hand, he started softly singing to me in the sweetest voice…“God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He’s so good to me”. Looking at my friend, wearing the same dirty clothes he had worn all week, with mismatched shoes, handicapped, missing one arm and covered in scabies… I thought to myself “he is singing in English, he probably doesn’t even know the words or what he is even saying.” But after a couple rounds in English, my heat skipped a beat when my sweet friend then started singing it Creole and I could barely hold the tears in as we sang the song together.

That “ah-ha” moment challenged me to the core. How many times have I missed the opportunity of a face to face, hands on encounter Jesus because deliberately chose to ignore someone around me? How many times do I get so caught up in uncomfortable circumstances that I lose sight of the goodness of God?

GOD IS SOOOO GOOD!

Highlight video from team in Haiti last week AMAZING ... big tears rolling down my checks AMAZING! want to go back right now sooo much it hurts AMAZING! thanks for sharing Kyle:)

my amazing daughter... Haitian children's favorite "blanc" on the block

Last week, my family (minus our youngest son Jimso) had the opportunity to spend some time in Haiti exploring a possible future with a mission organization called Christian Service International (CSI). My husband and I have spent lots of time doing short term mission work in Haiti and my son, Drew, had previously accompanied us on one of our trips. But this was the maiden voyage, so to speak, for my 11 year old daughter Ashlyn.

Prior to leaving, several friends commented on our decision to go to Haiti with our kids and the week of school they would have to miss as a result of the trip. To which I can confidently say that all they saw and experienced last week was something most adults will never experience and something that no classroom could EVER teach. Teaching my kids that most of the world does NOT live like we do as Americans and the invaluable lesson of service to fellow mankind was PRICELESS!


Because serving the country of Haiti is something we are very passionate about and therefore something that gets discussed around the dinner table at our house quite often…. Ashlyn had heard all about Haiti, seen more pictures than you can imagine, and knew many of the heart breaking statistics surrounding the precious people of Haiti. Yet one of the most exciting aspects of this last week was to see Haiti through her eyes.


As a mom, words can’t describe how proud I was to see my daughter stretch herself as she came face to face with overwhelming poverty and suffering. Throughout the week, she helped a team of doctors and nurses at a mobile medical clinic. Ashlyn’s assignment included helping me work in the triage area of the clinic and her smiling face was what greeted the more than 125 patients we saw each day. Sometimes Christians limit ourselves by focusing on what we think we lack or what we feel we can not do instead of embracing what is we can do for the kingdom. She didn’t know how to take blood pressures, compile a list of chief complaints, or diagnosis patients but she did know how to extravagantly love on the people who came through the clinic, especially the children.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, I will let these pictures tell the story of how two worlds came together under the banner of Christ’s love… how a privileged Caucasian American girl and Haitian children who knew nothing of her world could come together and just simply do what kids do best… PLAY. The differences between the two worlds were drastic from an adult perspective. Here are children whose way of live included waiting all day to see a doctor in a make shift outdoor clinic and a girl who never has to wait more than a couple of hours in a comfortable waiting room to see a doctor. Children whose world and culture say that the basic necessities of life like an education, health care, and food/shelter are a privilege or luxury not a right playing with a girl who has been given every chance to thrive. Haitian children live in the reality that their place of birth determines their right to life. While my daughter has had it ingrained in her mind from birth that with a lot of hard work she can achieve whatever she wants in life. But the differences of language, culture, and quality of life issues didn’t keep them from forming a bond with each other so much so that every morning as our truck pulled up to the mobile medical site, children would come running up smiling, waving, and yelling, “Ash! Ash! Ash!”

ADOPTION DAY

Two years ago today, we brought Jimso home from Haiti!!! And it was one of the best and most important days of my life!!


We have some dear friends currently navigating their way through Haitian adoption. And we are currently navigating our way through some pretty rough waters as we prepare to move to Haiti. But being reminded of God's impeccable record for being faithful to fulfill that which He has called us and promised us is the most reassuring place to be. This morning I was reading some thoughts I had wrote on the day we brought Jimso home and was brought to tears just thinking about God's faithfulness to move mountains throughout our adoption journey. Just thought I would share those thoughts with you.....


“It Is Done~ Welcome Jimso Taylor Lenhart ”


I woke up this morning before it was light out and as I lay in bed trying to decide if I should get up or go back to sleep, all I could think was “I can’t believe this day is finally really here.” I have prayed for this day for 2 ½ years. I have dreamed about what it will be like to bring Jimso home since the moment God placed this burden and calling on my heart. As a mom, I have cried many tears on his behalf and felt my heart literally ache for a child who grew not under my heart but in it. This journey to bring Jimso home has not been easy but I would not change one moment of it. God has spoken so much truth over my life during this process. I know that each tear that fell and each obstacle that we had to overcome was wrapped with divine purposes.


One day years from now, we will be able to tell Jimso about this adoption process. I pray that through the hard times and seeing all that we had to overcome, he will grasp the depth of our love for him. As one day he seeks to understand why he was abandoned by his biological mother, I pray that he will choose to focus not on the hurt and sting of that abandonment but instead focus on how much he was wanted, how many people prayed for him and loved him before they even met him.


If this journey had been smooth, I would not be so incredibly grateful and full of praise. Nor would I be able to attest to the power of faith, hope and love. If I have learned anything on this journey, it’s that He who promised is faithful!!!


Last week I made a list of things that God had to “work out” in order for this day to come to pass. Just some of those mountains included:


1. According to Haitian law, adoptive parents must be 35 or older (which we are not)


2. Also according to Haitian law, both biological parents must be decreased, even in cases of abandonment (Jimso biological mother is living)


3. GVCM is not an adoption agency; though they establish and run the orphanage, there have been no adoptions to date therefore we had no one with the legal knowledge to navigate us through this confusing process. Many couples who attempt independent adoptions (with no agency) are unsuccessful. That compounded with the language barrier we faced as we tried to get information was overwhelming.


4. The financial burden of an international adoption is very costly and beyond the salary of a family in full time ministry.


Yet God knew all this when he called us to the God sized task of this adoption. He alone could move the mountains in our way and that is exactly what he did!!


A famous missionary named J. Hudson Taylor (Jimso’s middle name) once said, “I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done!” Throughout this journey, it has been impossible and difficult but today it is done!!

wilderness season = open season

One of my kids’ favorite movies is one called “Open Season”. The movie tagline is “the odds are about to get even.” The two main characters find themselves smack dab in the wilderness, just days before “open season.” So they unite with the cute lovable wilderness animals that have grown weary of always being the ones hunted. In desperation, they decide to band together on opening day of hunting season and turn the tables on their predators. There are times in life when it seems like someone has declared “open season” and we feel like walking targets at the shooting range. Well today “the odds are about to get even…”


The last several weeks have been one of the most intense times of temptation I have ever experienced. Circumstances beyond our control seem to have thrusted our family into a “wilderness” season in our life unexpectedly (from our foster daughters being unexpectedly moved out of our home to physical illness). But thankfully we have been able to find encouragement in God’s word over and over again.

Our team that is preparing to be going to Haiti in 2010 has been studying the “red letter” words of the New Testament. Through that, I have been focusing on the temptation of Jesus found in Luke 4:1-13. Our enemy is not creative in that he still uses the same tactics today when it comes to tempting God’s children. Here are some of the observations I have noticed through this study of God’s word and our present wilderness season:

Jesus was tempted immediately following his baptism and just prior to entering full time ministry/ mission work. I know for us personally it seems like we face intense periods of temptations just prior to doing something “big” for God’s kingdom. Season of intense temptation are not indicators of our spiritual well being. The closer we seem to get to being in Haiti full time, the more opposition we seem to face. Last week when we booked our airline tickets, we joked about wondering what kind of curveballs life would throw at us this time. But the more battles we face in this arena, the more confirmation we receive that we are exactly where God wants us to be.

Jesus faced temptation immediately following a 40 day fast in the desert. Satan is shrewd. He tempts us when we are alone and beyond tired, hungry, and weary. Our enemy knows our personal weaknesses and is calculated about the timing of tempting us. He knows that, just like the Israelites were, God’s children are most vulnerable during the “wilderness” seasons of life.

The passages in Luke also demonstrate our enemy’s tenacity. He doesn’t give up easily but is extremely persistent in his efforts to tempt us and get us to abandon God’s plan for our lives.

Scripture was the most powerful weapon Jesus had when he was battling temptation. I am so guilty of not knowing God’s word well enough when it comes to battling temptation. I will vaguely know the promises of God but it’s easy to forget where they are found in the midst of a battle. This present season of life has driven me to immerse myself in God’s word. I have found that scripture is the most powerful tool in our fight against temptation. Don’t fight back with your words, fight back with God’s (and turn the odds in your favor)!!

"We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--- yet without sin.... Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those being tempted." ~ Hebrews 4:14-15




My world is closing in
On the inside
But I’m not showing it
When all I am is crying out
I hold it in and fake a smile
Still I’m broken
I’m broken
Only one can understand
And only one can hold the hand
Of the broken
Of the broken

When no one else knows how I feel
Your love for me is proven real
When no one else cares where I’ve been
You run to me with outstretched hands
And You hold me in your arms
Again

I need no explanation of why me
I just need confirmation
Only You could understand the
emptiness inside my head
I am falling
I am falling
I’m falling down upon my knees
To find the one who gives me peace
I am flying
Lord I am flying

When no one else knows how I feel
Your love for me is proven real
When no one else cares where I’ve been
You run to me with outstretched hands
And You hold me in Your arms
Again

I have come to you in search of faith
Cause I can’t see beyond this place
Oh You are God and I am man
So I’ll leave it in Your hands

The journey begins...

We have had many of you ask us what is next in our Haitian adventure and how you can come alongside us and support us in our endeavors to become full time missionaries to Haiti. This blog was created to keep our friends and family up to date on our progress. It's function is also to serve as an avenue to share about all the amazingly cool things God is doing within our families life.

Right now we are seriously considering partnering with an established mission organization that has been working in Haiti for over 40 years and has an impeccable reputation for their work there. We have completed the interview process and have passed a psychological evaluation with them. The next step in our endeavors with them is for our entire family to go to Haiti with them on what is called an “exploratory trip”. On this trip, we will learn more about the work they are already doing in Haiti (medical clinics, orphan care, church growth) and spend some time examining how we could enhance what the other missionaries (several families) are doing there. This week with them will be a crucial part in cementing our relationship with them.

Because zeal without practical wisdom can lead to heartache and the squandering of Kingdom resources…. another aspect of our preparation is missionary TRAINING. We have purchased Rosetta Stone and have begun French language studies in hopes that we will then easily convert that knowledge into Creole once we are in Haiti full time. Another aspect of training that we plan to invest in is the SPLICE training offered at the Missionary Training Institute. SPLICE training is a “three week pre-departure program that is designed to help the entire missionary family develop the practical skills and attitudes that will successfully take us through the challenging and rewarding process of being interwoven with another culture.”

First and foremost we need your spiritual support… we need extra encouragement and covet your prayers as our families begin this new chapter in our lives. Please be specifically praying for discernment in knowing what organization to commit to and that God would use these months of preparation to deepen discipleship and prepare us spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

We also ask you to prayerfully consider if the Lord may be leading you to financially support us. Cost of airfare for our family exploratory trip will cost an estimated $3500. The SPLICE training for both families will be an approximately an additional $7,200. We know that He who called us is faithful and we trust Him to provide for all of our needs. If you might be able to partner with us with the financial aspect, tax deductible gifts can be mailed to Cherokee Hills Christian Church 6601 MacArthur Oklahoma city, OK 73132 with “Lenharts” in the memo line.

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end… Haiti here we come”

As a family in youth ministry for over a decade, the hardest part of our calling has hands down been the times when God has revealed to us it was time to move on and close a chapter with one church family to start another somewhere else. This last Sunday was bittersweet with for us as we shared with our church family the calling God has placed on our hearts to be in Haiti full time. Bitter because words can not express how much we love and adore the students we are serving alongside and can not count the ways this church family has made our lives so blessed. Sweet because we know that God has awesome things planned for our family, our future mission work in Haiti, and the body at Cherokee Hills Christian Church.

In case you were still celebrating the 4th of July and are currently out of the loop… On Sunday, Kurt (our pastor) announced that our family and the Lechtenberg family have felt a calling to become full time missionaries in Haiti and are currently in the process of making plans to do so. We are completely confident in our calling to Haiti yet still unsure as to which organization we would like to serve alongside. We are seriously praying about and considering two organizations in Haiti who do similar work there (lead short term mission trips, orphan care, church planting/support, and medical mission work). Regardless of what organization we end up serving with, we think the preparation (missionary training, budgeting/ fund raising efforts, language study) will take at least 6 months and could possibly take up to 2 years.

Jake and I instantly fell in love with the country of Haiti and the Haitian people on our first trip there in 2005. We joke that “Haiti had us at hello…” but it’s so true. We didn’t know if we would EVER recover from all the things God revealed to us during that trip. Our comfortable life was turned upside down by everything we saw and experienced there. Thankfully, we never did “get over” it… God changed our entire life goals from that point on. We have said that our retirement plan would include serving in Haiti but always saw serving in Haiti as something we would do when we “outgrew youth ministry” or when our kids were grown or at least off to college. Over the last several months, as God has revealed to us his calling over our lives, we have realized that we can not ask God to respect our “timetable” and conditions when it comes to serving Him. We also realized that our numerous short term mission trips there are at times as effective as trying to put a band-aid on knife wound, it may help for a while but if we want to be a part of lasting healing impact on Haiti, we need to be there full time. As God began laying this on our hearts, we tried to reason with him (ever hear the saying “wanna make God laugh, tell him your plan”). In that process, Jake asked God to do three things (if He was really calling us to full time mission work)…

1. Families, not individuals, are called into ministry/ mission work so Jake asked God to create a desire within my heart and our children’s heart for Haiti~ Like I said earlier, Haiti had me at hello, and even though I am the biggest girly girl and scaredy cat you will ever met, I could not be more on board with this. Drew (our 14 year old son) has always been excited about our plans to be there one day when he was grown but previously was NOT interested in going there full time himself. As Jake began praying through this element, almost overnight Drew approached us about living there full time. He came to us in tears on several different occasions just heartbroken and home sick for the people he met in Haiti last November and desiring to be there NOW. Ashlyn (our 11 year old daughter), although worried about staying connected with her circle of friends here (especially Gentry), is also on board and excited. Jimso (our 7 year old adopted son from Haiti) is as well…. Kurt joked on Sunday about having a sneaking suspicious that Jimso will somehow fit right in.

2. The mission field in a third world country can be a difficult and lonely place, so we asked that God would not send us out alone but would provide another American couple or family to join us on the field~ Again as we prayed through this, we waited on the Lord. One night in particular, Jake and I left a Monday night prayer service at church feeling completely burdened and broken over this calling God was placing on our hearts. We went to Starbucks after prayer to sort through and process some of what we were experiencing. I asked Jake if we could call Mark and Belinda and ask them to join us at Starbucks so they could be praying for us too. He said “no, let’s wait” and then not 5 minutes later… who should “happen” to walk into the very Starbucks we were at?? But Mark and Belinda. As we shared with them where we were feeling lead (nothing about the other couple part), they shared with us that God had placing the exact same call onto their lives. Again God provided what we were asking for in prayer with out us even having to approach people! As God is weaving this team He will be sending out together, I am amazed!! With the background Belinda and I have in nursing, Mark’s background in business/agriculture/ animal husbandry, and Jake’s construction/ ministry background… God is sending us out equipped to meet some of the most crucial needs of the Haitian population!

3. As we have read about serving in full time mission work, we have learned that over 70% of American missionaries are unable to fulfill their commitment and end up coming home prematurely. We also learned that having Godly wise counsel and organizational support PRIOR TO AND DURING can greatly increase the effectiveness of missionaries. So we asked God to send us that from the very beginning~ Remember that night at Starbucks? Kenny and Linda McDonald “happened” to be with Mark and Belinda and “happen” to share the same heart for mission work and Haiti in particular as we do. The McDonalds were a part of the team that went to Haiti with us last February and they were impacted by what they experienced there. Since that meeting at Starbucks, the McDonalds have been an essential part of our team and the planning process. They have been faithfully interceding for our families in prayer and have been giving us a lot of WISE counsel since that night several months ago. We feel so blessed that the McDonalds will continue to be a part of our team, only based stateside, through out this journey. As we have shared the news with our church leadership, they have been tremendously supportive and just an answer to prayer as we try to navigate our way through this. Leaving church on Sunday after sharing with our church family (the people we do life with) our future plans, I have never been more in love with the body of Christ or felt more supported within the protection and refuge of that body.


This decision has not been an easy one and hasn’t been one that we have made lightly or emotionally…. With that being said, we have never been more sure or more confident of God’s leading or calling in our entire lives. As time goes, we will share more about how God called us into this, the many ways He has reconfirmed this over and over, our prayer needs, and how you can help us. But I want to close with this bible verse and an entry from my prayer journal back in April….

Philippians 1:5-7 (New International Version)
"because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me.

“Lord my head is spinning right now with the things you have been pressing on our hearts and the new things you are stirring within us. Over and over you are confirming this calling to Haiti in a million random and unrelated ways. Now that we are indeed confident in the calling, there is a sense of deep peace mixed with chaos and fear. There are a million reasons why logically this is ridiculous and just plain crazy. I could come with an endless list of “cons” against moving my family there and there is more than enough evidence to justify not going BUT making this decision all comes down to this…. YOU HAVE CALLED US AND CREATED US TO DO THIS WORK! And all the fears and “cons” could never outweigh the calling and our desire to be obedient to you. THERE IS NO PLACE I WOULD RATHER BE THAN AT THE CENTER OF YOUR WILL FOR MY LIFE. At times I am overwhelmed with fear when I refuse to take captive every anxious thought. Yet I am secure knowing that the God who calls me is faithful. You have entrusted these three amazing and precious children to me and as a mom I want to protect them with every fiber of my being. But as much I love them and treasure their little hearts, my love for them is just a drop in the bucket compared to your love for them. And even more than wanting to protect them, I want to instill in these children a love for you and their fellow man. I can think of no better way to teach them this than to devote our entire lives work to serving others. Taking my family and packing up to live in a third world country is CRAZYINESS in the eyes of this world. But being disobedient to you and ignoring the needs that exist outside my comfortable life is even crazier to me. And even if that mean walking away from everything and everyone I love in this life, I will. I believe with all my heart that you have placed me in the position I am in (as a citizen of one the wealthiest nations, as an American educated nurse) for a reason and “for such a time as this”. I want to use all the resources you have given me to love on the “least of these” and to pour out my life as a drink offering to you. Jake and I prayed a dangerous prayer when we prayed that you would “break our heart for what breaks yours” and we do not want to waste our lives chasing after temporary things that do not matter in the end. Take my life and make it matter! The greatest tragedy in my eyes would be coming to the end of my life and realizing that I didn’t make a mark and living only for myself I did not impact your kingdom in the way I could have. I have been singing/praying these lyrics over and over “I don’t want to spend my whole life asking, what if I had given EVERYTHING, instead of going through the motions?” Lord today I am letting go of everything and surrendering completely to you and your calling over my life”