Guest Post: "Impressed and Amazed"

Our trip with the Sardis mission team to the Bayonnais region of Haiti in April left us impressed and amazed!  “At what?” you may ask. 

Many Sardis church members  remember hearing Pastor Actionnel Fleurisma, the driving force behind the ministry taking place in that mountain region, preach and speak to our congregation about the school and medical clinic in Cathor, Bayonnais. You may have also heard from members the congregation who have been to Bayonnais, speak about opportunities to sponsor children to allow them to attend school.  We had heard about Bayonnais through many sources and have sponsored a child for three years, so when the timing of this year’s trip fit into our schedule, we eagerly placed our names on the list of those making the trip.

Once there, we saw a plaque as we entered the guest house where we would be staying. The plaque states the house is dedicated to Helen Hunter.  Mrs. Hunter is from Charlotte and sponsored and hosted Pastor Actionnel in Charlotte when he was a young man. This allowed him to get his business degree from Central Piedmont Community College.  You can read more about his story in the June 2015 Challenge Newsletter at http://www.worldofgod.org/. 

We wonder what would have happened to Pastor Actionnel if a kind and generous woman named Helen Hunter had not come into his life.  Would the school that educates and feeds over 2,000 children in Cathor, Haiti exist?  What about the newer school that has been started in the even more remote area of Nicholas and has over 400 students?  And just ask the five medical professionals who were on this year’s team about the medical clinic and the services it is providing to that community- would it be there if not for Helen Hunter? Would Pastor Actionnel be a pastor and would the church right on the grounds next to the school be a support to the people of that community?

 

We don’t know and we doubt very much that Mrs. Hunter would expect to be given credit for all the hard work that Pastor Actionnel, his team, the school and medical clinic employees, churches, and so many volunteers have done since 1993 (when the school was founded); but we are impressed and amazed at how this seemingly small act may have been the start of a ministry that is dedicated to serving Jesus Christ in big ways every single day! 

We were forever changed by this trip in ways we could not have anticipated. So now our challenge is to remember that our actions may make a difference in someone’s life, which may then make a difference in someone else’s life, and so on, and so on……  Thanks be to God!

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Ron and Janice Abluton: Ron, a former CPA, is retired and enjoying tennis, travel, cooking and gardening.  Janice is a CPA who also enjoys tennis and traveling.  Both have served as elders at Sardis Presbyterian Church  and they love spending time with family and friends and especially their four grandchildren.

Guest Post: "Angel Wings!"

From April 22 through April 28, a group from Sardis traveled to Haiti. This was Sardis’ third mission trip to Bayonnais, a mountainous region of Haiti that is a three and a half hour drive north from Port au Prince. I am blessed to have been part of all three trips and with the third trip I again experienced the gracious hospitality of the people of Bayonnais and was again amazed by the eagerness of the children and youth to get an education. I was again struck by the way the high school students set their aspirations within the context of their faith – frequently I heard them say something like, “I want to be (fill in the blank) if that is the will of God,” or “God will show the way if this is God’s will.”  Once again I saw how participation in a mission trip transforms the respectable attitude of acquaintance between fellow church members into a genuine experience of unity and mutual affection.

There was one difference this year; I think I might have been the recipient of a miracle! One day, Pastor Actionnel Fleurisma led our mission team on a walk through the village. As with all walks through the village, children and younger youth joined us as we walked along. The “walk” became a hike up to a higher area of homes from which one could look down into the valley. On the second half of the hike, the path became very steep. At the midpoint of one stretch of the steep path, I had to stop and catch my breath. Quickly, one of the young boys came to my side, he took hold of my hand and said, “You go, you go!” I tried to explain I was just resting. The boy responded, “You go, I help…I push you.” I told him I was too heavy, he couldn’t push me. He didn’t listen to that. He put his hands in the small of my back and pushed – that’s when the miracle happened! I started walking and found his pushing really was helping. I felt an incredible sense of energy and strength – I wondered if I had sprouted angel wings!?! But it was a better miracle than that!

 I experienced what it is like to be in a place where “It takes a village” is more than a catchy phrase; it is a necessity in a place where resources are limited. They knew they needed each other and seemed to possess inner radar, always scanning for the one who needed help. It happened throughout that hike: other Sardis team members received those helpful pushes up the trail; when there were streams to cross on rocks, the middle school age boys (without being asked) took our hands and helped us across. The hike was one more time for me to be humbled by the generosity of spirit that was extended to us before we ever realized how much it was needed.

Thank you Sardis, for being a mission focused congregation. Thank you for the financial support you have given to the OFCB School and medical clinic. That support has been a channel through which God has wrought miracles in the opening of young minds to a world of possibilities and creating access to medical and dental healthcare for an improved quality of life. Thanks be to God for privilege of participating as partners in God’s holy work and miracles.

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Jane is one of the Associate Pastors at Sardis. She is a native of Mecklenburg County, grew up on a farm and has milked a cow!  She is married to Mark, a Chicago native, who works for Bank of America.  They have two children; a  son, Peter, who has completed his Master’s degree in Structural Engineering and is working with a Structural Engineering firm (Arup) in Houston, TX, and a daughter, Lydia, graduated NC State this spring with a major in social work. 

“Adios, Au Revoir, Auf Wiedersehen”

Years ago, one of the most popular shows on television was the “Lawrence Welk Show”, a musical variety show that starred big band leader, Lawrence Welk.  It had a run of 32 years, ending in 1971.  You can still catch reruns, and even if you don’t like the big band sound, you will get a chuckle out of the hairdos and fashions!

One night when Corrine and I were visiting a famous BBQ restaurant just east of Pittsburgh in Monroeville, PA, called LaBarbe’s, the waitress told us a story about Lawrence Welk.  She said that the night before, just as they were getting ready to close, she heard her boss on the phone saying, “I am sorry Larry, we are about to close.  You do this every time; why don’t you call earlier?”  The Larry on the other end was Lawrence Welk, a boyhood friend of the owner, who wanted to bring the entire band in for some BBQ.   The waitress said her boss gave in like he did each time Larry called.

While I don’t recall much about the Lawrence Welk Show, I do remember that he always closed the show with the song, “Adios, Au Revoir, Auf Wiedersehen.”  Some of the lyrics seem most fitting as this is my last blog as your pastor.

“And though it’s always sweet sorrow to part,
You know you’ll always remain in my heart…
Here’s a wish and a prayer that every dream comes true
And now ‘till we meet again,
Audios, au revoir, auf wiedersehen”

A special thank you to Jessica Otto and JJ Getz, who against all of my protests got me blogging, and especially to Nikki Livingston, Dr. Ed Shoaf, and my wife Corinne: my ghost writers, editors, and encouragers.  Also, a thank you to all of you who took the time to read my blogs. I am sure someone else will slide into this slot soon. In the meantime, audios, au revoir, auf wiedersehen! 

"Zedekiah’s Question"

Over the  years I have been a homiletical pack-rat, collecting articles, stories, and anything else that I know “might preach.” I am starting to clean house in my office and in the process I came across this piece that I had tucked away in one of my old Bibles. I am glad I found it so I can share it with you!

I hope you will keep these little verse of scripture handy. There may be a time, now or in the future, when you ask the question Zedekiah asked Jeremiah long ago , “ Is there any word from the Lord?”  -Jeremiah 37:17-

Bible Reading Tips

1. When you are in trouble or sorrow, read John 14; Psalm 46.

2. When you worry, read Matt. 6:19-34.

3. When you have the blues; read Psalm 91.

4. When  God seems far away, read Psalm 139.

5. When you want rest and peace, read Matt. 11:25-30.

6. When in sickness, read James 5:7-30; Psalm 41.

7. When in danger, read Luke 8:22-25; Psalm 91.

8. When others fail you, read I Peter 5:7; Psalm 23.

9. When lonely or fearful, read Matt. 6:25-34; 11:28-30.

10. When discouraged or tempted, read Isa 40; Cor. 10:13.

11. When you have sinned, read I John 1:8-9; Heb. 7:25. 

12. When you forget your blessings; read Psalm 103. 

13. When your faith seems failing, read Heb 11.

14. When you want courage, read 2 Cor. 12:9.

15. When looking for happiness, read Col. 3:12-17.

16. When leaving home for travel, read Psalm 121.

17. When you grow bitter or critical, read I Cor. 13. 

18. If not a Christian, read John 3:16; Matt. 10:32-33; 22:35-40; 25:31-46; Rom. 10:9-13; Ephes. 2:8-9.

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”   -Psalm119: 105-