"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness"

Time has gone fast getting ready to go to Haiti. We had lots of things to do to prepare for the trip like: our bi-monthly meetings, fund-raising, making sure we have everything we need on our packing list, shopping for food, getting the immunizations we needed, praying for one another, getting our Bible story ready for the kids and preparing our hearts and minds for Haiti.

 One thing God has been speaking to me about as I study about Paul is my weaknesses. Who wants to brag about weaknesses! We do Strength Finders to find out what our "strengths" are. Yet Paul in 2 Cor. 12:9-10 is boasting about his weaknesses! "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." It is so contrary to the world's ways. Yet Christ wants us to boast about our weaknesses because than it is not by our power that things get done, but only through Christ! The world asks how and we can say "only through Christ." When we do it on our own strength we tend to think or say "look what I did" but our weaknesses makes us totally dependent on Him! I can't do this without you Lord. That is what I am saying about Haiti, I am weak Lord and I can't do this without you Lord. 

We all have weaknesses that we would rather hide than boast about, but instead of hiding our weaknesses that gives us the opportunity to boast about the Lord instead! So I am excited to see what the Lord is going to do in Haiti and how he is going to use our weaknesses to show His power and strength.

Thanks for this opportunity Lord!

Shari

"Everything is possible for the person who believes." Mark 9:23

I am getting so excited for our trip to Haiti - we leave in two weeks! 

Even though I already feel blessed every day in my life, it's times like these I really feel it. I know I'll be able to look back on this time of preparation and remember how much I'm cared for and loved by my friends and family. Everyone I sent a support letter to was so generous and encouraging. And just like God always does, he surprised me and went above and beyond. Not only did he provide for my trip cost, but extra money has been sent and helped defray costs for other members of the trip. I can't even explain how wonderful it feels knowing I'll have a huge support network waiting for me back home, praying for me while I'm away. I hope they all know that they are going down to Haiti with me in my heart and hands. It's because of them I can go on this trip and pass on their love and support to a most needy part of the world. 

I'm so grateful, so humbled by this entire process. Reaching out to people to raise support was intimidating, but I gave it all up to God to provide, and he did. I took a chance joining a group of people I didn't know and God has turned us into an amazing team of wonderful people. When I heard about this trip for the first time, my heart was ignited to go. So, I prayed about it, believing I was called to go. 

In Mark 9:23, Jesus says "Everything is possible for the person who believes." I hope you will continue to believe...
 

-Katie Russell

MGEFC Haiti

 We are on our way to serve the people in Haiti as a short term mission trip with ReachGlobal.
 We will be leaving March 31st - April 7th.
 Please keep us in your prayer as we prepare to go. We are team building, we are doing team assessments to learn each others strengths. It is exciting to be working with such a strong team. It is always so neat to see how God has wired us so uniquely different and yet together we can become so much more for the work God has before us.
 Our team members are:
Jackie and Rob Passer
Danielle Allen
Jen Blevins
Donna Dreher
Shari Minell
Katie Russell
Please pray for each and everyone of us to keep us strong and filled with the Holy Spirit so the enemy has no place to enter and attack us.
 We will be working with Four different partner ministries while we are there. We don't know as of yet the exact plans, but God does and we will do our best to fulfill His plan.