Joyful Noise

Psalm 100:2, Serve the Lord with gladness!  Come into His presence with singing.

I LOVE to sing.  I love learning new songs, and having times of praise when I just belt it out.  However, if you have spent much time around me, my "songbird" voice is probably not one of the key things you would use to describe me.

I will never forget sitting at the dinner table one night with Trey, I told him I had learned a new song and wanted to know if he would like to hear it.  With his fork suspended in the air, and eyes large he looked at me and said, "Are you going to sing it to me?!"

I could not help but burst out laughing.  I had the song ready to play on Youtube, not to serenade him myself at the kitchen table.  Don't get me wrong, Trey and I enjoy our fair share of tunes together, I am simply not Reba Macintire.  Even without a songbird voice, I have managed to learn a few songs here in Haiti that I absolutley love.

I find as I learn a new worship song in Creole, I think about the meaning and truly sing from my heart.  Because Creole is obviously not my first language, I have to think about the words and what they specifically mean in order to sing.  It is for this reason, my heart, mind, and spirit are so in tune when I praise my Father through singing in Creole.

I have recently become slightly obsessed with the song below, check it out:

 

Wi mwen kwe = Yes I believe

The lyrics in the song sing the truths of God.  Some of the phrases are as follows:  Savior, Yes I believe you are God.  Yes, I believe you are the Prince of Peace.  Yes, I believe you have all the power.  Yes, I believe you died and now you reign.

As threats of Hurricane Isaac approach the country of Haiti today, I pray we remember the truths of our Father.  He is the Prince of Peace and He reigns today!

Highlights

As I write this Mom & Mamaw Peggy should be high in the sky on their way back to the USA.  I loved spending the week with two of my all-time favorite women in the world.  There was LOTS of talking, plenty of laughing, some work, and just an all around wonderful time.  I wanted to share three pictures that are a perfect summary of our week:

Mom & Creole bonding time.

Mom and Creole hit it off well!  Each night they enjoyed "rough housing" together.  It was hillarious to watch mom play with a dog that is already almost as big as she is.  We are definitely glad he is a big fan of her also.  There is no doubt she will be missed by us, as well as, Creole.


Mamaw Peggy's face after seeing the price of cereal.

It was so much fun watching Mamaw Peggy discover many of the characteristics that make Haiti so unique.  She truly embraced the culture.  I must admit, our trip to a very "Americanized" grocery store was priceless.  She was in shock at the prices on all the imported products.  I think we'll be receiving quite a bit of goodies from the Dollar General from her in the future.

Several kids enjoying watching themselves on moms' camera.

Thank you Mom & Mamaw Peggy for coming and loving on us and the people of Haiti.  Keep traveling safe!  Give our hugs and love to the rest of the family in the States for us.

Engaging Haiti

We are having a wonderful week with my mom and Mamaw Peggy.  They are definitely troopers and fully embracing everything they are experiencing.  Today we loaded up in "Big Red" to visit some work sites the mission is involved with, and to do a child sponsorship visit to the sponsored child from my sisters' youth group.  Mamaw Peggy loved the ride, and mom and I held on tight.

BHM has a child sponsorship program for students in the Christian schools associated with the mission.  $25 a month sends a child to school, provides a uniform, vaccinations, and one meal a day for the school.  My mom met precious Ann Sophie when she first came to see us in January.  Today was a wonderful reunion for the two of them.  She also had plenty of gifts and letters to give, via the youth group.  Ann Sophie loved your note Skyler!

Trey is doing a FANTASTIC job hosting several of the women in his life this week.  Today he took us out to lunch and even drove us to the grocery store!  I have been blessed with a good man.  He came down to check out our work with the jewelry yesterday and had too much fun sporting our cute bags.

We are looking forward to all the rest of the week will contain.  Kounyea nou bezwen repoze!  Now we need ot rest! 

Three Generations

All is well for the Salter family and Baptist Haiti Mission.  We are thankful to have a team visiting from Ohio, they are building 3 homes for families in Haiti this week.  We are also staying busy with the Summer Bible Institute.  SBI takes place for 2 months every summer.

Throughout the 2 months Christian leaders in a variety of churches come for training and courses on several subjects.  This is the first formal training for several of the leaders.  In the midst of the "daily" activities at the mission, we also have some unique and exciting things going on this week...

Three generations of Ballou ladies are serving in Haiti this week.  It is a true blessing to have my Mom and Grandmother visiting this week.  My sophomore year of high school was my first trip overseas with these beautiful women, and it is a joy to still have the opportunity to serve alongside them.

We had a wonderful Sunday worshipping the Lord with our brothers and sisters in Haiti.  Today we enjoyed a variety of projects on the mission property. Tomorrow will be our first day working with the jewelry makers of Kouri Deye.  Mamaw Peggy is beyond excited about working with the ladies tomorrow and I am sure we will have plenty of pictures!

101 Days

Wednesday officially marked the 101st day of my Facebook Fast!  April 24 was the day I committed to stay away from Facebook for 100 days.  I made this decision because I knew I was struggling with contentment and comparing myself to others.  I was wasting time looking at Facebook and not investing in the relationships around me.  Here are a few highlights and discoveries from my time away...

*I discovered how much time there is in a day.  So often when I would get on Facebook, I would simply zone out.  An hour would pass and I would wonder, where did the day go?!

*My mind was still.  When I look at pictures and stories from everyone all the time my brain races 90 miles a minute.  I would think about all the things going on with friends in the States, my own personal life & family, plus my brothers and sisters in Haiti...ALL AT ONCE! The Lord did not design my brain to work this way, I needed to chill out.

*Trey noticed differences in me as well.  He said I was no longer talking about other people and all they were doing...I was HERE and in the moment.  He said overall I seemed much more content and not concerned over the small things.

What's next you may ask?  Am I going to break my computer and avoid any form of social networking from here on out?  Not quite!  I do not think that Facebook is evil, and that anyone who logs on has committed the unpardonable sin.  However, I am also not naive to my weaknesses.  I plan on taking extreme caution as I begin to explore the realm of social media again.  I desire to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, MIND, and strength.

15 minutes a day.  Everything in moderation.  I found it shocking that the thought of spending 15 minutes a day on Facebook seems so short to me.  However, ask me to run in place for 15 minutes, wow that's a long time!  Or, ask me to be on my knees in prayer for 15 minutes everyday...The things I do and the way I spend my time are a true reflection of what is in my heart.

Here in Haiti, I cannot walk out on the streets without a little kid hollering, blanc.  This term refers to the color of my skin, and labels me as a foreigner.  It is who I am, and I cannot hide it.  When I was out north last week, the children would literally shriek when I passed because it is very rare for them to see blancs.

A few of the new friends I made last week.

The precious kiddos took notice of the fact that I looked different than them.  They would run their fingers through my hair, and laugh as they tried to rub the freckles off of me.  As I spent this time being "observed" I was hit with the question, "When is the last time someone has looked in my direction and yelled, Christian?"  

Oh to live my life in such a way that there is NO denying what I believe, and to whom I belong.  As believers, we are the aroma of Christ.  My love and relationship with Him should shine from me, even more than the very color of my skin.  People will see and take note of my love of Christ, by the love I have for others.  

John 13:34-35, "A new command I give you: Love one another, as I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another."

They will also see it by the words that flow from my mouth.  The way I spend my "free time" and the choices I make are also very clear indicators of whose I am.  I pray these things will remain on the forefront of my mind as I step ever so slightly back into the Facebook world.  

May the words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

 

Better Together

I had a WONDERFUL time last week while out north for VBS training.  I met some amazing people and put my Creole (the language, not our dog) skills to the test.  Not long into my journey did I realize something was drastically missing...TREY!

You remember that feeling when you would show up to school and realize your best friend was absent?  Who would you sit with at lunch?  Who was going to wait for you at your locker in between classes?  Sure, your day always turned out fine.  But there is no way to deny there was a missing link.  That very feeling was with me for an ENTIRE week.  There is not a doubt in my mind that life is just sweeter with Trey around (awww).

I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to travel, and for a husband who encouraged me to go.  However, as I sit in our kitchen this evening putting the finishing touches on our dinner, I am so glad we are back together.

Check out our website, www.bhm.org for some more information about the VBS training.

Midnight Baking

Well, Chelsea made it home safe-and-sound on Friday evening to the wonderful smell of bread...actually I had already finished with it and put it in the refrigerator. 

After my last blog, I only forgot one step.  Which was to put the starter back in the refrigerator before separating it into separate pans for baking.  So don't worry, I was only 5 hours behind schedule.  So, after skipping dinner to try and have the house cleaned and bread done by 7PM Thursday... Let's just say that didn't happen.  I did have the house cleaned by 7:30PM and had to wait until 11:00PM for the bread to have risen enough to bake.  Starting a new business....
Everything turned out great and the bread is wonderful!