‘Called to go to Haiti’

  Originally published August 23, 2014 in the Suffolk News-Herald Group returns from weeklong mission By R.E. Spears III Editor Early Friday morning, 26 people, including a large contingent from Suffolk, returned from a weeklong mission trip to Haiti, the first major effort on behalf of the Haitian people by a ministry founded by a Suffolk pastor. Supply and Multiply was founded by Pastor Chris Surber of Cypress Chapel Christian Church and his wife Christina, who will be moving to the town of Montrouis, Haiti, with their four children early next year. They have been on several mission trips to … Continue reading ‘Called to go to Haiti’

‘Haiti is a beautiful place.’

  Originally published August 14, 2014 The old school bus rattled along the highway too fast, it seemed, especially considering the frequency of vehicles approaching at similar speeds from the other direction on our side of the two-lane road. To be fair, we spent nearly as much time on their side of the road, as speed limits in Haiti seem to be determined by the speed at which one’s vehicle can move. So you’re always passing or being passed, and about half the time, if you have the courage to look down the road through the front window of your … Continue reading ‘Haiti is a beautiful place.’

Suffer the Little Children

  Originally published August 18, 2014 The children seem to come from nowhere and everywhere. Even before one of the team members took the first soccer ball from his pack, there were curious children coming through the gate into the scrub-covered field outside of the health clinic where we were set up for the morning. First there were two or three and then four or five. When the first soccer ball — covered in scripture written in the Creole language — came out of the pack, it was as if the Pied Piper had sounded his flute, and soon we … Continue reading Suffer the Little Children

Five loaves, two fish and 27 gardeners

  Originally published August 13, 2014 In a little more than 24 hours, 27 people from Virginia, North Carolina and Illinois will board two different aircraft bound for Miami and then Port-au-Prince, Haiti, for a seven-day mission trip to the small town of Montrouis, 47 miles from the nation’s capital. Mission trips are not about numbers. They’re about showing the love of Christ, with the goal of planting seeds in fertile soil and harvesting the fruits of those who have planted before. The Holy Spirit ultimately brings the increase, as the seeds of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are watered … Continue reading Five loaves, two fish and 27 gardeners

A Ring for Haiti

  Originally published August 11, 2014 This has been a week fraught with emotion for the group headed to Haiti on a mission trip on Thursday. Each passing day brings the reality of the trip that lies ahead into sharper focus. I’m excited about it, nervous, joyful and — a word I can’t seem to stop using the past couple of days — overwhelmed. On Wednesday, many of the members of our group headed to Upper Room Assembly of God in Gates, N.C., to worship and pray with team members from that church. Sunday morning, many of us were at … Continue reading A Ring for Haiti

Carmalie’s Story

  Originally published August 9, 2014 Carmalie is a pretty, 9-year-old girl with a wide, toothy grin that just begs for a camera to catch it. She loves to dance, and her friends describe her as the happiest girl in her neighborhood. Sometime in the early morning hours of Aug. 8, in a broken-down shack in a dusty, rubble-filled little town in Haiti, her grandmother, who cared for Carmalie and three other orphans, died. The children all called her “Grams.” Grams had taken them all in, provided shelter for them and what meager food she could find with the help … Continue reading Carmalie’s Story

Why Haiti?

Originally published August 4, 2014 Since I started this blog as a way to document a mission trip to Haiti in August 2014, it’s appropriate for my first real post to describe the point of this trip. Why Haiti? It’s a fair question. I never considered myself a missionary. I never had a connection to anyone there, other than the same kind of connection every American has had who has watched the news during the past several decades. I might have said something like, “Those poor people” as I watched news coverage of the devastating earthquake or a hurricane that … Continue reading Why Haiti?

The Day of the Lord

  March 26, 2017 Last week, we talked briefly about the concept of God actively bringing pain into the lives of His people. You might remember that I asked whether God ALLOWS pain in the lives of His people. Everyone in the room nodded and said, Yes. But then I asked whether God ever BRINGS suffering into the lives of those who are His. I think I would describe your assent to that idea as muted, at best. Scripture tells us that God is good, that He loves us and that every good thing we have comes from Him. I … Continue reading The Day of the Lord

Go bear fruit

  March 19, 2017 Before we get into the meat of today’s lesson, I want to start with a couple of questions I was pondering while I studied. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to John 13:23. We’ll be just a couple of pages further along in today’s text, so you’ll want to keep your Bibles open to the Book of John. Read John 13:23 Now turn to John 19:26. Read Now, look at John 21:7. Read Christian tradition and most current church scholars agree that John was identifying himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” in these … Continue reading Go bear fruit

My shepherd loves me and keeps me from fear

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me … Continue reading My shepherd loves me and keeps me from fear