What to do when the well is dry?

The message below was first seen in: http://www.facebook.com/liquidchurch/posts/10151024055096316

We wanted to share this note from Brandon Stone today, our in-country Liquid Water partner project leader in Haiti. It will break your heart. But you will see how your support is directly serving the people of Haiti - it is literally a matter of life and death. Currently there are over 60 villages waiting to be scheduled so that new wells are drilled - that's almost two years backlog. These wells are being drilled with the rig Liquid Water was able to donate because of your support.

Will you pray right now for the men, women and children of Sarazen?
_______________________

I am asking that you please pray for the community of Sarazen this morning.

Sarazen: 19°34'33.72"N, 72° 3'45.00"W

Sarazen is a little community located in the Northern Mountains of Haiti in the commune of St Suzanne. We have repaired pumps in St Suzanne for the last few years and have selected it as one of our geographical focus regions for 2012-2015. We committed to drilling 10 wells in St Suzanne this year. Our LS300 was not capable of drilling the consolidated formations so we chose Haiti Outreach (HO) another NGO in Haiti that has large commercial rigs to drill the wells. Of the 10 sites that we selected HO couldn't not get their drill rigs to 4 of the locations due to difficult impassable roads. Sarazen was one of those areas.

The tragedy is that the people that need clean water the most are also in the most difficult areas to access. The people of Sarazen are those people, the poorest of the poor, that eke out a living planting yams and corn on the steep hillsides of Haiti. We had already formed a water committee and the community had completed their hygiene education classes when we found out that HO could not get their rig there. Against all conventional wisdom I decided we would take our little LS300T up there to try, if not only so that the community of Sarazen would know that when we promise something we do everything in our power to follow through. I prayed all the way up the mountain that God would be glorified and that a miracle would take place. We would drill a successful well for Sarazen to the Glory of God. I was full of hope and confident that the power of God would be with us. We drilled to 40 feet and hit sold granite. we were moving at less than 3 inches per hour. But above 40 feet we had hit 20 feet of good looking sand and 1/16" gravel. So I thought we might not have as deep of a well as we would like but at least we would have something. It developed bone dry. God is sovereign, I know that, but sometimes I don't like it. Why He didn't perform a miracle and use us to find water I don't know?

This morning I just found out that two people in Sarazen died this weekend from Cholera. I cried (FYI: I don't do that often ask Jess). When I hear of people dying of cholera the smells and sounds of working in a cholera clink come back to haunt me. I can hear the incessant wailing of mothers that lost their sons and the unmistakable smell of vomit, diarrhea, sweat. Too many people have died needlessly from cholera. One person is a tragedy, tens of thousands is an atrocity. We are in the midst of an atrocity! I don't know all the details yet but I know that a father and son contracted cholera and the father died and the son is alive. Who will teach that boy what it means to be a man? Who will take care of his mother and family? The boy himself? He is fighting for his life as well. Another boy from the village died too.

We are moving the rig and trying again in another location. Please join me is praying that God will be with us and a miracle will be preformed and that the people of Sarazen will come to know Jesus though his working though us and that Sarazen will be a Godly village because of God's provision for them.

Brandon Stone

We Are All Victims


We are...victims, of the sins of our own, but often more frustratingly the sins of others.  We can all name it, and we can all find something or someone that we feel has wronged us, that has caused us to be "worn".

Sin was not God's creation.  God gave man the ability to choose in order to create a more perfect love. True love is not forceful, but rather it draws one in.  So, on the one hand, we experience the effect of this perfect love, but at the same time feeling the brokenness from the wrong decisions made with the liberty of choice.

3 reminders:
1) God is not responsible for sin...however...
2) God is sovereign and accomplishes His work despite sin
3) God redeems all sin, providing strength in our weakness

The lyrics in the chorus of the above song, "Worn", reminds us that redemption does WIN.  God can heal and reminds us that one day, the struggle does end in eternity for we only labor a little while before we are reunited in full once more.

On August 21, 2012, Tenth Avenue North released its third album named "The Struggle".  Lead singer, Mike Donehey encouraged his fans with this message upon its release:

We may not have answers to our questions, but we do have promises for our souls.

And the promises of God are twofold.

We are free to struggle, and we’re also not struggling to be free.

Our desire for our upcoming album, The Struggle, is that listeners will walk away with both of these truths still ringing in their ears and burning in their hearts.

We are free to fail because there’s an ocean of grace that we fall into.

But also, we have the promise of a power so strong that it raised Christ Himself, and so we know that, mystery of mysteries, we’re also not struggling to be free.

Imagine if we believed these things so strongly that we too gave grace to those tangled in their struggles while still calling them to the promise that they can be set free from them?

This artwork hopefully communicates this theme as well.

We’re in this thing together. Some fighting the waves, some breaking backs against the oars, some just trying to hold on. But one thing we know, we have each other, and most importantly, we have Christ.

And though it seems like He may have forsaken us, that He’s forgotten us, we need only look to the scars in His hands to remember He too entered the storm. He calmed the seas we could not calm. He broke the chains we could not break.

So wherever you are, whatever struggle you’re walking through, know that you’re not alone, and there’s grace, every step along the way.

Reminiscent Lessons

Here I sit watching the sunset and watching the flies buzz about in the meadow. I sit atop a hill in the town where I grew up, sitting on a bench with just the crickets chirping and my thoughts. O yes, and one more familiar sound: drums. 

It is in this instant that I remember that the place I sit is only a quarter mile away from the high school that I once attended. Even at the ripe age of 23, this seems like an old chapter in my life. There was so much growing, so much trial, and so much celebration. It was during these years that I thought I understood everything at the fundamental and psychological level when, only 5 years later, I have discovered that I was only scraping the very edge of the complexity of humanity. 

Drums. Such a simple sound that reminds me also that my soul is wooed through music. I have grown up with the organization of simple sounds layered into a complexity that makes the mind stand in awe. This enjoyment has followed me throughout my years of maturity and it is through these sounds that I can remember where I was but more importantly who I was.

So as I listen to these drums from my high school band, I remember how much I wanted to quit after 2 weeks due to disagreements with the director. But I also remember the discipline that I learned that set me up well for more grandiose experiences with a college marching band inside of stadiums. 

It is through this point that I must remember that I had great fun and enjoyed a great many things, but only after sacrifice, discipline, and patience. So even now, as I muddle through and often staggering and groping for stability in early adulthood, I know that the time will come and the celebration will be had. 

"Be patient, take advantage of opportunity, and you will have your celebration day."

The advice that whispers softly in my ears causes me to lift my chin and focus my eyes. Yes, my day is coming for all roads lead somewhere, but you must first walk it to see where it is going.

The Road to Repair Continues Here



This is just a small peek into charity:water's September Campaign.
To get more excited: http://www.charitywater.org/september/

"What do you in a country where so many were guilty? Only the most absurd options remained: reconciliation...grace...forgiveness..." -Scott Harrison

The Condition of the Man's Heart



Facts:

• The number of women in church outweighs the number of men
• The sex industry is immense (approximate numbers)

"[The enemy] knows that if he can get men spiritually checked out, if he can addict them, if he can enslave them, then the power of the Gospel will be stifled" -Unearthed Pics

There is a gospel that exudes that love should cover the world.

...But there is a world that shows that LUST > LOVE.

This goes even beyond the church: the world needs STRONG MEN  

who LOVE, 

who don't go after selfish desires, 

who think outside themselves, 

and ultimately live through Jesus.

This is a condition of the heart, and if we are to eradicate this spiritual issue, we must go after the source and the root.  

We need awareness.  

We need healing.  

We need tools. 

We need resources.

Jesus came to earth with a message of LOVE! 

This message should be louder than any other in the history of the earth.

Please pray with me that Unearthed can communicate this message and consider joining

THE GENTLEMEN'S CLUB

...The women are waiting... 

Why don't you understand me?
I only told you 314 times...

As a follow-up to one of my latest posts regarding the Brokenness of Humanity in the midst the Sandusky scandal, it is only fitting then to comment on the latest buzz.

The Freeh report is the latest installment of buzz that has the media rooms busy and gallons of coffee being consumed as the fallout from the scandal continues.  One of the most striking statements within the Freeh report comments on the lack of care that was given to each victim by various key individuals.

Among many voices that were speaking when the news first broke in November 2011 was that of Tim Henderson, campus leader of Penn State Cru.  He was one of the first to call out the lack of care for the victims. In his talk to the Penn State campus, named Love Notices Wet Hair, Tim stated:

At Penn State, we have been asking questions about obligation all week. Who is obligated to report what to whom? Who is legallyobligated to report sexual abuse of a child, and to whom must they report it? Who is morally obligated to report sexual abuse of a child, and to whom must they report it? Is there a difference between moral obligation and legal obligation?  Jesus responded to the heart of that question in his famous story about the Good Samaritan. Surprisingly though, He didn't actually answer that question, He answered a more important one.  Who is my neighbor? is the wrong question. According to Jesus, the right question is "Am I a neighbor?" It's not "Who must I love?" It's "Am I one who loves?"

Tim went on to say that obligation was not the issue at all, but rather LOVE was the issue.  Tim was also quick to point out that although we wanted to point fingers, we as students also suffered from the same sickness of the heart.

I've heard of students questioning what this means about the value of their degree, or the future of the football program. Really? You're young. As I'd had conversations with many I've realized that your moral compasses are still being built. You're still filling in the blank spaces about what's right and wrong in different situations. But can I just poke you a little bit? Those questions should be way down your list. If it was your little brother, your son being raped in a shower by a 50 year old man, would those questions even occur to you?

So we all suffer from this lack of love.  Why is it so hard?  The word "love" appears 314 times in the bible, so it is not like it is some obscure truth.  It is one we hear a lot and it is one that shows a clear disconnect.  We all yearn for this "peace" in the world that can be achieved through love, yet it seems so difficult and to constantly evade us.

The Resurgence is an organization that serves the church on mission by creating tools, training believers, and connecting leaders. They have a very active "blogosphere" and have recently posted the provocative title "Love-Making".  This piece methodically states the double condition of the heart: the broken and sinful side that leads to a destructive world juxtaposed with a mended and loving heart through the Holy Spirit.  In relation to the aforementioned "disconnect", as bluntly stated by Justin Holcomb:

Love is our problem. Moreover, the command to love doesn’t generate in us the ability to fulfill it. We can be told over and over that we ought to love, but being told to do so doesn’t make it possible for us to accomplish it. The command to love actually condemns us, because we all fail.

There is, however, a hope in all things.  Justin goes on to say that we are freed from condemnation and are thus freed to love, knowing love from He who loved us first.

The world is broken and this brokenness is rooted in an absence of love.  We are called to restore Creation to what it once was intended, but we will always be examining and restoring our own hearts, perhaps 314 times over.

Persistence Tells Good Stories



Inspire, create, motivate, persist...

Passion, love, pressure, and drive...

DS2DIO is an organization that matches up YouTube music and dance artists to collaborate and simply create.  The results are high quality and highly enjoyable.  The documentary aspects at the beginning of each video also provides greater understanding into the story of each collaboration so that the audience feels invested in each experience.

Destorm Power and Jonathan Legacy Perez collaborate on this piece to show and provide a small window into what it looks like to first discover talent, to next pursue passion, to endure struggle, and to finally resolve in achievement.

This pattern is visible in many aspects of life, most notably in the pursuance of our "calling".  God is the original creator, of both these beautiful art forms and of the talents within each of us.  He asks us to multiply our talents and benefit those around us through love.  Finally, the Bible talks extensively about persistence and how this is a never-ending theme in humanity.  Struggles and conflicts create character and create stories and testimonies, from which we draw inspiration and power.

So develop your passion, push through the struggles, and let the world benefit from YOUR story.