Kenny and Willie

What is trust?

The word “trust” means something slightly different to each of us.

Depending on the life experiences we have had and the beliefs we hold, trust can relate to a variety of qualities. Despite these variations, however, we know trust to be vitally important characteristic to have.

In the English language we have but one word for trust, which is “trust” and it leaves alot to be desired.

But, in the Hebrew language there are many versions to this one word trust.

In the Hebrew language there are several different meanings to trust and here are three of them:

1. Batah

2. Hasah

3. Aman

All three take on their own reality of trust, the one we will look at is Hasah.

In the New Testament the word for trust is to believe or have faith. It’s not just a religious term, it’s an action based upon believing in something to be true and trustworthy.

“In the Lord I put my (Hasah) trust.”  ~Psalm 11:1a

Try writing the word “trust” at the top of a piece of paper and then freely write down whatever words pop into your head associated with “trust.” Take a look at your list and highlight or circle the words that resonate the strongest, such as, truthfulness and honesty.

Trust is the belief and confidence in the integrity, reliability and fairness of a person; an essential human value that quantifies and defines our interdependance in relationships with others as well. Trust is a choice we make toward someone when we are inspired that they have either earned our confidence or are by some other means worthy of it.

Trust is difficult to acquire, and when fractured even harder to redeem, so perhaps the lessons of trust are not how to earn it, but what it takes to keep it. And perhaps the greatest value of trust is not the accomplishments we make with it, but rather what trust accomplishes in us on our quest to become people who are worthy of receiving it.

Do we in our actions and words show we have a character of trust?

Trust is something that is being cultivated between us and the people in Haiti, in the little village of Chauffard, and it is encouraging to see trust grow and to be apart of that as well!



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What does it mean to mature as a Christian?

How would you answer that question?

Is it through tradition?

Is it having compassion for the poor, afflicted, and oppressed?

Is it sharing with others about God’s love in Christ?

And once you have settled on a definition of a mature Christian, how would you go about instructing, guiding, and strengthening yourself and others, to continually mature in Christ’s likeness?

What is a mature Christian, and how do we as the body love, call, encourage, and challenge one another to mature in Christ’s likeness?

When pondering these questions it is helpful to read the following passage—to gain a better perspective and understanding—in Philippians 3:12-14:

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

These verses are referring to us maturing into Christ-likeness and not in regards to our salvation as Christians—born again believers who are complete and whole upon believing. The journey towards Christ-likeness begins with a sense of honesty and dissatisfaction—hence the expression “press”. And the Greek word press was used of a sprinter, and refers to one who is aggressive and energetic action.

Now that we have established that pressing is not in about striving, but about aggressively and energetically walking the journey set before us, we can see that Paul lived in a state of actively pursing the things of God—what God was leading and placing before him to do and complete. As Paul walked the path laid before him, he was sensitive to the Holy Spirits directing within him, which was an inward and ultimately manifestation of Christ-likeness.

Going deeper into these verses we see the words “lay hold”, which in the Greek means “to make one’s own possession”. God chose Paul and equally Paul chose to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in laying hold of the things God was leading him in.

In order for us to live the sort of life that Paul lived, we need to see that we are complete and whole… forgetting those things that are behind, whatever—whether these things are past deeds and achievements or failures and sins—that maybe that we tend to let distract us from aggressively and energetically embracing the journey.

As Christians we are complete and whole, able to “press” forward on the path that is before us, especially as we chose to be sensitive to the direction of the Holy Spirit within us. Knowing that we are right where we should be flowing in the moment of the journey, pouring out ourselves in the things that God has before us—maturing in Christ-likeness along the way.

Now that this has been brought to your attention, take a moment to seek God and what He might be leading you in when it comes to being apart of an organization such as CPIHaiti. I encourage you to prayerfully consider what might be in store for you being apart of something that is beyond yourself-extend yourself and be the hands and feet to help those that are less fortunate than you.

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The Twins

Many of us are used to comparing ourselves with others… we want someone else’s energy level but are unaware of our own strengths and potential. It does take time to reach a certain level and energy to see our potential skyrocket through the universe, but give yourself an opportunity to grow, become, and reach your full potential!

Does something inside keep telling you, I was meant for more than this?

Do you wonder if you’re accomplishing all that God has planned for you?

Many today settle for less than God’s best and never experience the joy and fulfillment that is available to them.

Don’t settle like so many around you, but take time to cultivate your strengths and address your weaknesses. We tend to procrastinate or try to rush through wanting to obtain the end result, instead of enjoying the in between times. The in between times are what is most crucial in developing our full potential.

For example, when you decide that you would like to participate in a marathon, you have to allow for time to train for it. You have to take the first step to begin training and continue to train until the day of the event arrives. It is the short and long runs, tempo and speed runs, the plyometric and weight bearing workouts, and nutrition that prepare you for that very moment-the in between stuff!

When we view ourselves as God does, we realize that He has gifted each of us with unique personalities, skill sets, abilities, talents, and dreams to achieve His specific will, plan and purpose for our life. As Ephesians 2:10 instructs, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” The exciting journey to reaching your full potential begins when you understand and accept this.

As our all-knowing, all-loving, eternal Father, God is willing to move heaven and earth to accomplish His will in our lives.

God sets us free from the bondage to sin and despair, and He reveals our wonderful identity as His child-full of hope, purpose, and potential. Our responsibility is to have a clean heart, a clear mind, a healthy body, right relationships, and a balanced schedule. We also need to use our God-given gifts and take God-approved risks to accomplish all He has called us to do in life.

But the path to reaching our full potential is littered with hurdles-issues we may deal with on a daily basis. A limited perspective, constantly comparing ourselves to others, self-imposed limitations, fear of disappointment, fear of failure, and even laziness can hinder us from becoming all God created us to be. These are obstacles that we generally cannot conquer on our own, but with God all things are possible.

And not only for you, but for the little community of Chauffard, Haiti… they need people like you and me to come along side and be a real live example to them as they seek to reach their full potential as well.

So, how about you do you want to reach your full potential?

Don’t just settle… reach for the stars!

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As we prepare to take a team to Haiti in July, one of our main projects is to help rebuild suitable houses, for some of the families in the mountains of Chauffard, Haiti. Most of the houses, even in the mountains, have either been damaged and unlivable or destroyed altogether.

This will not be an easy task, but it is one that we are excited to be involved in.

In most of the news as of late, it has been voiced that,  Haitians say they intend to build differently than they did before the earthquake. The government, awakened to the nation’s construction follies, and say they plan to crack down to ensure proper materials and techniques. We strongly agree with this and are doing our best to use quality materials and many knowledgeable and skilled hands to help execute this.

When it comes to the buildings being destroyed, they are in the state they are in because of one thing, because of poor construction practices. It is a goal of ours to communicate to the people in the village the importance of building on a solid foundation with reliable materials. But in order to do this we will need funding and supplies and the sooner we are able to gather these vital factors, the sooner we are able to provide suitable and safe housing for the families in the village.

We have come up with an unique strategic idea to deal with the houses to be repaired and reconstructed, it will take some time but the people in the village will get there with our and your help.

Yes, I said YOU.

We need your help in helping rebuild the village, in order to help provide a vision and opportunity for their community. There is an urgent need for housing, some aid agencies have begun to construct transitional homes for thousands of Haitians facing a potentially violent rainy season without a roof over their heads. However, this is not the case in the village of Chauffard and it will be up to us and you to help construct suitable housing.

How can you help?

Well, there are numerous ways in which you can help:

1. One time or on going financial support
2. Donation of building materials
3. Going on a trip to lend a hand in the building projects
4. And certainly not least of all, but lots of prayer

Even though our time in Haiti will be just a week, we hope that during that week, there are the noises of hammers and saws being used to provide shelter for our friends.

Bondye Beni Lakay Nou!

God bless this house!

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It was a dilapidated block building with tin roofing and a dirt floor, but that day it became a seminary classroom.  The CPI Team had traveled to Chauffard, Haiti to continue our work in this remote, farming village.  Kendal Anderson, pastor of The Crossing Church (a CPI Church Partner), had also brought a team and had prepared a series of seminars for the church leaders in Chauffard.

The meeting was about to begin when I found my place at the back of the room on a rickety, plank bench next to an elderly Haitian man.  He flashed a warm, genuine smile at me, motioned hello with a tip of his hat and quietly said, “Bon jou.”  I extended my hand to him and he placed his weathered, calloused hand in mine.  He, like so many of the men in this village, had spent a life working the land, loving his family and serving in the community.  He pulled out a Bible, notepad and pencil from a tattered plastic bag and turned his attention towards the front of the room.

My Friend

Kendal had begun his introductory remarks and was passing out an outline that had been translated into Creole.  My back row friend and me both took our outlines and prepared to fill in the blanks and follow along with the teaching.  Kendal asked everyone to turn to a specific book in their Bibles and the other 15 Haitians in the room began flipping pages and locating the reference that had been assigned.  Kendal began to lead us through the outline, giving us the key words needed to fill in the blanks.  A few minutes passed and I glanced over at my friend and I realized that he was lost.  He still had a warm smile on his face, but it was mixed with a look of confusion, embarrassment and appeal.  He motioned to me for help in filling out his outline while his Bible lay open to a book that was not referenced in the teaching.  He could not read or write.

He was not unintelligent or unmotivated.  I am certain he had accomplished much in his life.  The sheer fact that he had lived well beyond the median age in Haiti (57 years) speaks of his determination and endurance.  The problem was that he was never given the opportunity to learn how to read or write.  Education in Haiti is for the privileged and this man was not among them.

Kendal continued his teaching, but I could not bring myself to focus.  I sat there imagining the opportunities and relationships that I would be excluded from if I could not read or write.  The world is filled with complex truths, beautiful realities, diverse streams of perspectives and opinions, inexhaustible topics and issues, logic, art, poetry, solutions, ideas and MOST of them are contained in the form of written communication.  This man had experienced a lifetime cut off from all of these because he could not read.  He reminded me why the CPI team is doggedly committed to providing opportunities for Haitians to learn basic skills that will enable them to access the world of possibilities around them.  Reading is one of those basic skills that I will never take for granted again.

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Hello to Our Wonderful Haiti Supporters!

Grant and I wanted to share with you the amazing updates happening between our partners in the U.S. (The Crossing Church) and our partners in Haiti. Read below, subscribe to our RSS feed, comment, and forward it to a friend if you find it interesting!

This is just an example of the power of partnering. More to come!

Kenny,
It’s called ‘Imagine School South Lake’. They have a character development program at the school and want the kids to grow ‘world eyes’. Sherry chairs the team and so she presented a Cornerstone School partnership as an option. They loved it!

I presented the partnership possibility at a staff meeting and invited any interested teachers to participate. So far 17 classes have signed on! They’re doing a variety of things: most have a ‘Coins for Cornerstone’ jar in the classroom; kids are bringing quarters, nickels, dimes to fill them. One class brought in $24 the first day Other classes are collecting picture books, gathering school supplies, writing letters.

Two weeks ago I came to school and introduced Haiti to 12 classes in four different 30-minute assemblies; 60 kids per period, for a total of almost 250 kids! I told them most Haitian kids eat pretty much only rice and beans and challenged them to help purchase food. One kid went home and persuaded his family to eat only rice and beans for one meal a week, taking the money they would have spent and giving it to Cornerstone instead! He makes them sit on the floor with the lights off, since they don’t have electricity in Chauffard Very creative!

One of the teachers, Peggy Wamback, will be coming with us in December.

I don’t know where this will lead, but I love it I believe it has a good possibility of becoming an on-going partnership between the schools, which would be the goal. Other Imagine Schools around the nation will hear about it–there may even be possibilities of other connections.

Let me know what else I can tell you!

Thanks!
Kendal

If you would like to learn more about partnering for Transforming Travel or to help with the cause in Haiti, please let us know!

Passionately,

The CPI Guys!
Kenny and Grant

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