Change A Life!

This little blog is not being written in typical fashion. Many of you are aware that I took up running some time back and have been staying the course quite faithfully. I truly enjoy making my way through the quaint town of Sosua during the morning hours as it offers many wonderful experiences.

One day a few months ago, I was going past a young Haitian girl who sells bananas as a street vendor. As we looked at each other, I asked her for a banana and told her that I had no money with me. She gave me the fruit as I continued on my way. Later, I went to look for her with cash in hand.

We have had several similar encounters since that day. The little girl is thirteen-years-old and has a beautiful and captivating smile every time I see her. Her name is Aline, and she sells fruit with her mother so they can make a couple of dollars per day in order to eat.

Recently, I found out that Aline had not started school because she did not have money for clothes and supplies. I have since met her mother, and Vickie and I were able to provide funds to get this child back into school before she became too accustomed to street life in Sosua. The truth is, Vickie and I have begun watching to see how many children are running the streets or trying to make a buck while others are in school. The number is quite astonishing, particularly among the Haitian population.

As a result, we have begun a limited campaign to help these vulnerable kids get off the streets and receive some level of education. If we do nothing, it is very likely many of them will turn to prostitution, drugs, and a very degraded sort of lifestyle.

Now . . . this is where you can get involved. We were able to purchase a uniform, shoes, backpack, and supplies for about $50.00. This is NOT a monthly commitment, nor is it a monthly sponsorship program. This is a one-time donation to help kids learn to read, write, and learn for the current school year.

For only $50.00, you can fund a child for an entire academic year! We will make sure that materials are purchased and that the kids get enrolled. By the way, not one penny will be used for any other purpose. We are not asking you to support us or Gospel Team Outreach with this opportunity. This is all about helping the kids get into school and off the streets of Sosua.

If you cannot afford $50.00 all at one time, please send what you can. If you can give more, of course, that would be wonderful as well. Please make checks payable to GTO and mail to "Gospel Team Outreach, PO Box 25355, Fayetteville, NC 28314" and indicate “KIDS” on the memo line. You may also donate online at: http://gospelteamoutreach.com/secure-donations/.

Thank you so much for your kind act of love and compassion!

Grace and peace,
PG

Moving Straight Ahead

In the last blog, I mentioned the following five relevant points drawn from Ezekiel 1.  

1. Get a vision of God.
2. Receive the Word of the Lord.
3. Have the hand of the Lord upon oneself.
4. Move straight forward (which would indicate moving with purpose).
5. Go where the Spirit goes.

We need to have fresh vision and fresh Word (revelation/rhema) from God. The Word of the Lord will always line up with the Word of God. The Word of the Lord and the Word of God are going to be synonymous, in agreement. God is never going to speak contrary to His Word. If He did, He would be psychotic or possess a dual personality, and He absolutely doesn’t! We see that Ezekiel receives the Word of the Lord and that the hand of God is upon him.

In regard to point #4, the creatures are moving in a straight line. They’re not even looking to the left or right. What causes us to get off track is the fact is that we’re looking around, and our feet tend to follow where our eyes linger.

Think of a waitress. Some of you all may have worked in that profession. If they’re carrying a hot cup of coffee on a saucer, he or she is not looking all around. What is the key to not spilling? I was taught a long time ago that you keep your eyes forward and keep moving towards the goal in order to carry the food or drinks without spilling.

We are prone to move in the direction that we’re looking; we tend to do it instinctively . . . it’s automatic! If we look left, we usually move left. So those creatures moved in a straight line because their focus was straight ahead! Keep your focus straight ahead!

It’s good to learn from the past, but don’t constantly be looking back there, or you’ll regress to what you used to be. You’ll start thinking what you used to think! Don’t get caught up “window-shopping” in life. This is not about window-shopping and “which door is the blessing behind.” “Is it Door #3? Oh my, Monty, Monty!!!” It’s not like that; don’t make it so confusing! Keep your eyes fixed straight ahead and move in a forward direction! There is a goal. Even if you don’t see the goal, it’s good to know what it is and stay fixed on it. If it will help you, the ultimate goal is a crown of righteousness that is laid up for all of those who love His appearing. Okay? So keep your eye on that if nothing else!

Vickie and I knew sometime in advance that we would be heading to the mission field, yet we did not know how long we would be there. People would ask, “Well, you’re coming back, aren’t ya?” Well, yeah! Here we are . . . going back and forth on occasion. We didn’t know everything, but we knew we were going on the mission field. We honestly weren’t sure for how long, in fact, we’re still not sure of the length of time!

When I was young I usually set three-month goals, now I measure in years. We’ve already been there two years and probably will be there at least another two. Besides that, I just signed a one-year contract on a House of Prayer. It’s good to bind yourself to the vision.

Now let’s look at the four faces. The most predominant is the face of the man; we’ll get back to discussing that a bit later. First of all, I’d like us to talk about the face of the ox. What does that remind you of? An ox is a worker. In fact, in most areas of the world, an ox is the most honored of that particular class.

It’s much the same in Thailand; they pay great honor to the elephant. Not in a religious way, but in a very esteeming manner. They will tell you that the reason is because they know that the elephant has helped to build their country. The elephant was moving logs and taking men places that they couldn’t go on their own.

The ox is honored in many areas of the world because of its usefulness and productiveness. Three things I can tell you about an ox is that they work hard, they demand little, and they never whine or complain.

We’ll pick up talking about the other faces and how their representations may correlate to us as believers. I believe we’ll identify some characteristics that ought to be present in our own lives.

Grace and peace,

PG