Background: Stones Crossing Church has entered into a strategic partnership with 410 Bridge united in the common vision of seeing communities in Haiti transformed through connecting churches to communities so that we can serve one another  in the context of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We sensed God’s hand clearly guiding us to make a 5 year commitment to the community of Chadirac.

Priority 1: The vast majority of sickness the people of Chadirac experience is directly connected to unclean drinking water. It is estimated the population of Chadirac is 13,700 people with approximately 60% children. Providing a consistent source of clean water would significantly alter the quality of life for this community. Potable water was identified by the Leadership Council of Chadirac as the first priority.

Project Details: Through the strategic partnerships of 410 Bridge and Water Missions International, the water project will tap a spring centrally located within the community. Below is a picture of the spring as it is currently.

The project includes the construction of two 50,000 liter cisterns that will collect the water and have three outflows. The first outflow will be for a non-potable water, coffee washing station. The second outflow will fill a wash basin for clothes washing and watering for livestock. The third outflow will source a 15×15 building, housing a solar-powered(chlorinated) water treatment and storage system. The structure, once completed, will require minimal maintenance.

Once the specific site of land for the water treatment station has been officially deeded to the community of Chadirac, funds will be released and construction will officially begin in April.

Vision for the Future: Our vision as a church is to partner with the Chadirac Leadership Council to continue to develop access to clean water, quality education for the children on the mountain and provide pastoral training for the churches in Chadirac. Our ultimate vision is simply to build relationships with the people of Chadirac for the sake of eternity.

How You Can Help:

• Pray for the people of Chadirac! We believe we can have a great impact, but it will only be facilitated by the grace of God. Pray that God will grant us success with the water project, so that our spiritual influence with the people will grow.
• Go to Chadirac! We are in the process of planning a Fall trip to Haiti. We would love to send a team of 10-12 people. The goals of this trip will be to build relationships, provide pastor/church leader training, possible construction, agricultural labor and a Bible school for the children of Chadirac. We have scheduled a Haiti Mission trip meeting for April 29th. For more information, contact Tim at tsutton2@iupui.edu.

Matt is a graduate of Center Grove High School and will graduate in May from Cincinnati Christian University with a B.S. degree in Youth Ministry. Matt has completed several internships at various churches including Vineyard Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2009, Stones Crossing Church in 2010, as well as Northside Christian Church in New Albany, Indiana in 2011. Called into ministry soon after graduating from high school, Matt has a real passion for helping students experience the life-changing work of the Gospel. Matt is a gifted communicator and a solid leader.

Matt’s start date is May 21st. We are thrilled about having him on our staff!

Have you ever even considered the process of growing coffee beans? I never did until today. It is a real lesson in patience and the people of Chadirac have more patience than I do.

Let me summarize the process for you and share with you what we did today.

1) Preparing the Ground. This involves getting the soil ready. We had to til the soil with very basic tools(breaking up clumps of dirt) and create rows of planting trenches.

2)Mulching and Planting. With small amounts of mulch placed in the trench, we planted coffee bean seeds end to end down an entire row and then we covered the seeds and mulch with dirt.

3)Watering and Covering. The water had to be brought in from a local spring in small buckets. Kids from the community were doing this. Then we covered the rows, once they were watered, with palm branches. It really did make us think of Palm Sunday! The palm branches covering the seed beds helps to hold in moisture.

Our team with the help of some of the people from Chadirac, completed steps 1-3 today. We had so much fun. We saw an empty field completely transformed in 2 hours. When we finished, they sang a song to us in Haitian Creole. The words of the song were “Two heads working together bring about good things.” It sure did today. Then they asked me to pray.  I prayed for our work to produce a great crop and that every person on the mountain would know it was from the hand of God. They were smiling ear to ear at a job well done!

But the process does not end here. Get this.

4)Watering and More Watering. These seed beds will have to be watered by hand every day for the next two months! They will have to remove the palm branches and replace them as they bring water in the from the spring every day. Every tender shoot has to be protected and nurtured for 2 months.

5)Removing and Replanting. These plants after two months will be transferred to a new location where they can grow into full coffee trees all over the mountain.

It will take two whole years before the people of Chadirac will see a crop. Think about it…two years. To me, that is a long time to wait. Once the coffee cherries are harvested, they will have to be peeled and then washed at a coffee washing station. The coffee washing station will be located at the site of the water project our church helped fund and build. That was a huge reason why the water project is such a big deal.

The beans will be sold to Land of a Thousand Hills for coffee production. The money will go into a community fund to help cultivate more coffee beans as well as to help the orphans and widows of the community.

They are so hopeful for a prosperous future for their community, but they will have to wait a long time.

And if you start purchasing your coffee from Land of a Thousand Hills, you will be helping the people of Chadirac develop a “Micro-Industry.” Perhaps when you enjoy that next cup of coffee, you will think and pray for the people of Chadirac.

This morning, part of our team continued to perform the daunting task of moving huge boulders to the site of the water project. Another team began planting seeds for the coffee crop. The people of Chadirac will sell their coffee yield to Land of a Thousand Hills which will have a huge economic impact on the community. The only problem is, the yield is not very large.  But it is a start. And the water project, funded by our Christmas Eve offering at Stones, will play a major role in facilitating this very “micro-industry.”

Jeff and Cathi Hubbard and I met with the Haitian pastors for a second straight day. I taught from 1 Peter 5 on How to Shepherd Like Jesus. I cannot put into words just how fruitful our time together was. We talked about the character and role of a pastor. I encouraged them to share their own personal struggles as pastors and church leaders. They were so eager and open. And again, with the vast differences in our cultures and especially between their churches and  churches in America, the pressures and the problems are really the same. I was utterly amazed.

The entire team spent the rest of the day teaching Bible stories, singing songs and leading activities for about 150 kids of all ages. Duaine Francis brought an American football and began teaching the kids how to throw it. You should have seen their eyes. These kids have absolutely nothing. They don’t even have a flat field to play soccer because they live in the mountains. Imagine it. These activities were the first group games they have ever experienced as kids.

We moved a bunch of rocks. We taught Bible stories. We planted some coffee beans. We even trained their pastors.

But our biggest accomplishment was telling them how much God loved them with our smiles.

And they got the message.

We arrived up on the mountain at 10am. Upon arrival, we  split into three groups. Dwaine Francis, Andrew Klinger, Gordon Sutton, Tim Sutton and Jeff Hubbard began working on the water project. Their job was to move a couple of tons(estimate) of rocks up the mountain to the spring. The rocks will be used as a retaining wall for the first cistern which will collect the water from the spring. You would have been very proud of our guys…they really worked hard. But you would have been amazed at the sight of a woman from Chadirac literally carrying a huge boulder on her head while carrying two other huge rocks in her hands.  You will see pictures of this later. It was very impressive to say the least.

Mandi Klinger, Deb Workman, Linda Gallman helped some of the ladies from the community prepare lunch. Our gals did a great job even though they were not as fast as the ladies from Chadirac at peeling carrots, and cutting shallots, beets, tomatoes, lettuce. And yes, this is all “Organic.” The team could not believe just how resourceful and skilled these ladies were at preparing food. There is just not a lot of it.

While all of this was going on, Cathi Hubbard, Kristi Bennett and I had the privilege of meeting with 25 church leaders from churches in Chadirac. I shared with them that Stones Crossing Church has made a commitment to the community of Chadirac as well as to the churches. They were overwhelmed with gratitude that we would travel such a great distance to come. They are even more excited about where they see their community going in the future because of our partnership with them. They explained to me that their churches are growing in number. They are really seeing God working through their ministries. The church we visited on Sunday is planning a building project soon to accomodate the growth.

I asked them to share what their biggest challenges are as pastors. Their responses mirrored many of the same challenges pastors in the United States have. Even though Chadirac is literally a fourth world country, we have many of the same problems. It is remarkable how much we have in common.

I shared with these church leaders a leadership lesson based on Hebrews 11:23-27. I challenged them to see Moses as a model for being a great leader and to give themselves fully to their ministries. I also gave them some practical steps they could take. They seemed to be very encouraged.

The entire team spent the rest of the day at a local church teaching the children of the community Bible songs and stories. We also had prepared for them a lot of fun games and activities. These kids had so much fun! The laughter, the smiles and love in their eyes will be something I never forget. When we started this particular activity, we began with only about 10 kids. But word spread faster than a Facebook Status Update that something fun was happening in the local church. Within just a few minutes, the number of kids multiplied! The church was literally packed with kids!

Thanks for your prayers…we really are energized by them!

We made it in time for church. There were probably 120 people attending this particular church in the community. And get this: the church service was 3 hours long! Some of you think I preach too long!  At Stones Crossing Church, we use the Connect Card to take attendance. At this church, they call the names on the membership roll. If you are in attendance, you answer “Present.” If you are not, then they mark your absence.  And not only do they take attendance, but they also mark if you were “On time.” Maybe we could begin this practice at Stones!

The worship service was also inspiring. No lights, no air-conditioning, no seat cushions and no band. Everyone sang joyfully and passionately. They know how to worship God and enter His presence with singing. If you could just see their vibrancy, you would then realize, we could learn a lot from them about what corporate worship really is.

When we walked in the church as a group, one of our trip guides, Wendall Robinson, informed me that they were expecting me to preach and this on a moment’s notice. I asked God to give me a message for them in a matter of minutes. God is faithful! My text was Ephesians 3:18-19. I talked about how to experience God’s love every day and was very thankful for such a gifted interpreter, but especially for the presence of the Holy Spirit to build up His people.

We spent the rest of the day doing home visits. As Americans, it is very difficult to grasp the level of poverty here. But the people are so full of  joy. And they are so beautiful. What we learned is that they have the very same problems as us, just in a different context. And we worship a God who is able to handle any problem we take to Him.

Tomorrow, I will lead a pastor’s roundtable discussion. The goal will be to identify their biggest challenges as pastors in their community. This will be the foundation of future mission trips from Stones to Haiti.

Thank you for your prayers. Our team is very encouraged!

We drove to New Life Children’s Home, an orphanage in the city, not far from the airport. Right after dinner, we went to hang out with the kids. When we walked up to them, they came running toward us with open arms and hearts. Most of them barely speak English, but love translates into any language. There are about a 100 kids here with about 15 of those having special needs. These kids literally were abandoned, orphaned through the earthquake or left alone on the brink of death. It is the mission of New Life to care for them, feed them, educate them, but most of all, love and disciple them. This place is simply amazing! What Miriam Frederick has been able to accomplish here through the power of the Holy Spirit is remarkable. I asked her what she did to financially support such an incredible ministry. She said, “Haiti is not a third-world country. It is a fourth-world country and so, we trust God. He gives us what we need, when we need it.”

She is a great example of what our A1:8, Live Your Mission sermon series is all about. She just radiates with the joy of serving Jesus and living the Gospel everyday! By the way, that is my prayer for you.

Tomorrow morning, we are traveling to Chadirac to meet with the community’s Leadership Counsel as well as begin site preparations for the clean water project.

On Monday and Tuesday, I will be meeting with a group of 25 Haitian pastors to hear about their biggest needs and struggles. Pray that God would use me to encourage them to be bold in preaching Christ and His resurrection power. Pray that God would give me wisdom in how Stones Crossing can partner with these churches to further the Gospel in Haiti.

She also kept a spiritual journal. This was one of her last entries before she died:

God, you hold the only peace that can fill the deepest hole. Every week you bless me so much and teach me lesson after lesson. I know that once again you are showing me your love. I cannot fathom how You feel when one of your children suffers, but I have had a glimpse of your heartache. Please fill me with your wisdom that I won’t just watch others suffer, but that I will be able to say what they need to hear. As a new week approaches, my dangerous prayer is that you will place broken hearted people in my path and fill me with you, so that I can let your love heal their pain.

Brittany gets it. I am praying that our church would get it as well.

Can you imagine what would happen if we all prayed Brittany’s prayer every morning?

What if our perspective toward the Gospel is incomplete?

What if the Gospel is more than just that thing that gets us into heaven after we die?

The Gospel is what ignites the Christian life. It is the fuel that keeps us going and growing as Christians. The Gospel is Jesus doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. Sharing the Gospel is not something we have to do…it is something we get to do. And when you experience the Gospel, sharing it is something you want to do! The Gospel liberates us, transforms us, and defines us as Christ-followers. It is the source of our joy!

Pastor and author Tullian Tchividian rediscovered the Gospel for himself after going through a very difficult season in his pastoral ministry. He writes in his book, Jesus Plus Nothing Equals Everything: “The Gospel enables me to see…

• because Jesus was strong for me, I was free to be weak;
• because Jesus won for me, I was free to lose;
• because Jesus was Someone, I was free to be no one;
• because Jesus was extraordinary, I was free to be ordinary;
• because Jesus succeeded for me, I was free to fail.”

Notice the freedom we have because of the Gospel. Notice the freedom we have because of Jesus. The starting point for living on mission is correctly understanding the Gospel. And once we understand it, we are free to live it and empowered to share it.

What is God teaching you about the Gospel?

The issue of tithing is always faith. And if there is lack of faith, it actually hinders God from working in the church. Jesus tried to minister in his hometown of Nazareth, but was hindered by the lack of faith of the people. “And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.” Matthew 13:58(NLT).

Obviously, no one wants to hinder God’s work in the church, but that is ALWAYS the fruit of unbelief. The more faith we have as a church in our church, the more miracles God can do through our church!  Tithing is one huge way we demonstrate faith in God and faith in His working through the church. The less faith you have in the church, the less God can work. Unbelief ties God’s hands. And a refusal to tithe is a tangible demonstration of a lack of faith.

So, what do you do, if you find yourself struggling with a lack of trust in the leadership of your church?

1. Take time to reflect on what the issue is. Ask yourself, what is the root of my mistrust?

2. Realize no one is perfect. No church is perfect and there are no perfect pastors, church staff, elders or church members.

3. Ask yourself, should love cover it? If it was an issue from a past church, most of the time, you just have to move and stop dwelling on the past. If it is an issue with a current church, then move on to #4.

4. Deal with the issue. Go to your church’s Board of Elders and/or pastoral staff and talk about the issue. Remember, the beginning of healing is revealing your feelings.  If not dealt with, offenses have a way corroding your attitude and outlook toward everything.

What can we do to develop an even greater faith in God’s work in and through the church?