MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE

All eyes and hearts are on Haiti. Following a cataclysmic earthquake of unprecedented proportions, the world stands in complete dismay. How could this happen with scalpel-like precision to the poorest, most needy country on this entire earth? It is incomprehensible. We look and then look away. We don't want to understand it. There is no explanation. Almost more impossible to understand, as the first night befell the people of Haiti . . . as utter darkness consumed this country now riddled with a new form of gloom . . . was not the silence of the streets devoid of traffic, or the cities devoid of electrical noise, was perhaps an unexpected sound, as unexpected as the quake itself. Anyone having experienced the quiet following a natural disaster knows too well the deafening quiet of a land robbed of the sound of life beating. The sound of nothingness is almost surreal. Thoughts race through your mind. Does anybody know we are here? Does anyone know what has happened to us? Does anybody know our suffering? Thoughts will soon turn to the only One who always does. And, the silence will fill with singing.

Singing! A joyful noise? In the dark of night, less than a day after loved ones were ripped from the arms of our fellow man? The media reports confirmed it. "The Lord will save us" became the battle cry of the Haitian people and song filled their hearts. Amazing grace in the face of utter disaster, unconscionable fear, grief seemingly too great to overcome . . . a people paralyzed, save for their ability to sing.

This is a country on the mat. Like the paralytic in Capernaum, they cry out making a beautiful noise, waiting to be lowered through what is left of some makeshift straw, mud and tile roof down to the floor at the foot of our Savior, Jesus. Over $300,000,000 has been raised in relief effort. Rescue agencies, teams and militaries have been mobilized as a world stands by watching the miracle begin to take place. It gives me pause to be reminded, again, about our humanity and compassion for our fellow man. More importantly, however, I stand amazed at the magnitude of faith of a nation choosing praise over sorrow, anger or self-pity.

I have seen this strength of human spirit first hand in every visit to the ECC in Bosnia. Fifteen years after the ethnic cleansing of the Bosnian War, the faithful continue to gather and make a joyful noise. Still, they hope and pray for complete recovery of a country torn apart by war, hatred, persecution, ignorance and intolerance. As Muslim terrorist groups move into the Northeast (see side bar article), the faithful sing out to their Savior. Deliver us! You are mighty, God. You are sovereign. Nothing will challenge their belief in an all knowing, all seeing God who will not forsake his children.

This, too, is a country on the mat. Whether for a moment or for a decade or two, it is all but a vapor in time from God's perspective. He has a plan. He will never leave you and will never let the righteous fall. He is faithful. To witness these truths, this kind of faith, lived out by those who have the most reason to question is most humbling and strengthens my own walk.

Psalm 100 is one of my favorite psalms. It is a psalm of thanksgiving, inviting us, reminding us to be thankful to God. He is a God of mercy. I thank God for those who reveal His truths to me in such relevant ways, and pray continually for their deliverance.

"Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing."

Psalm 100:1-2

Make a Joyful Noise!

Grateful,
Kathy

THREE YEAR ITCH

Army brat! No matter how old I get, how many New Year's Eves or birthdays I celebrate, I find I am still, to a great degree, the precocious kid living the nomadic life of the child of a military man. From Oklahoma, to Germany, to Texas, California and back again to the place I "call" home, San Antonio. Then, my father retired, my mother passed away, and the family imploded. Nothing but shrapnel remained. So began a journey that mirrored the life I had been leading - a hopscotch of hunkering down in temporary quarters for the next 15 years, trying to avoid the rocks and obstacles along the way. Always on the run, I never seemed to establish roots anywhere for more than 3 years at a time. It wasn't until adulthood that I recognized this Pavlovian response nothing more than the "Three Year Itch," the sense that a move was on the horizon, an inner preparation I must have made as a child to ready myself, to mentally and emotionally prepare for the next relocation.

I'm quite certain I owe my love of travel to living the military lifestyle. I'm sure it is in part why I count down my next trip to Bosnia. I can't explain my affection for this country. It is a "calling," they say. I do feel it in this regard, as if something long dead or asleep inside of me awakened when I first visited. With every visit, I feel as if I have finally found my true home. This past year, I have had visions of my family relocating to Bosnia and living the missionary life which, until now, has only been a dream, not yet something we have felt affirmed through prayer or called out in our quiet time with God.

The thoughts of moving should have been my first clue. Surely, I could see the pattern. How many years have we been in our "new" house, which we bought to be closer to school and church? After some quiet time in the mountains last weekend, completely unplugged from computers, cell phones, and television, it occurred to me. We moved into our home three years ago! Once again, I have been bitten, by the "Three Year Itch." How blind! How the world interferes with our ability to see what is so clearly in front of us. How technology and the noise in our heads separate us from hearing God's voice.

We sat in a cozy cabin barely warm enough, save for the fire-making skills of my husband, Mike. Outside the air was frigid atop the mountain, so close to the plentiful stars we could almost touch Orion's belt. The full moon provided the only illumination to light our path, while the brisk winter breeze whistled through the temperate rain forest. It is there we all realized our lives have been out of balance. We needed more of this. Our New Year's resolution came not in looking forward, but in looking back. Were we on the right path at all? If not, why make a resolution to continue going forward? We needed to go back to where we lost our way, before making unrealistic promises to ourselves about moving forward.

For me, this exercise took the form of realizing we were not a family Bosnia bound for good. Maybe someday, but for the right reasons. In response to God's call to serve, not some age old call fulfilled long ago by my father as he served our country.

I wondered why I had not heard God's answer to my prayers about taking a giant step towards Bosnia. Yet, while I was looking for a voice coming from a cloud, He sent me a whistle through a rain forest instead. There was no burning bush, but a crackling, fire blazing brightly. I had not lost my hearing, nor my vision. I had only lost my perspective, which time in reflection with God restored.

I wish all of you a Happy New Year, hoping you will take the time to reflect on 2009, before setting expectations for 2010.

And, as always, I hope you will keep the Evangelical Church, in Capljina in your prayers, specifically, the following requests:

* Their Sick - Gara (Zlata Mehic) suffers from Sclera Derma and suffers terribly from this disease. Her medication no longer offers much relief. Rajka Koprivnjak is also very sick and is not getting relief from medication either. Please pray for these precious women and the health of the congregation in general.

* Their Small groups - Pray for this time spent together, that God will reveal Himself, and hearts will be ready to receive with a bigger desire to know and be fully known by Him.

* Their Youth - Their is now a youth group meeting regularly. Please pray for those who attend - for the Holy Spirit to lead, wisdom for Pastor Bernard and Mick, for the hungry hearts, hearts after Him, for His guidance.

* The 5 Plus program - This is a program for the children, not just in the church, but in the community as well. Please pray for Nada, the Pastor's wife who heads the program, for strength from above, encouragement, and freedom to continue to dream, and share the vision. Pray for the team, for strength, open eyes and willingness to serve and give their time. Pray for the children and parents that will come. Pray this might be a seed from which their own relationship with Jesus Christ might grow.

* The Pastor and his family- Please pray for Pastor Bernard - for fruitful meetings and for God's guidance; for strength and good health. Please pray for His wisdom in leading people into the knowledge of our Jesus and that he himself will continue to draw closer to Him. Pray for him to have ears to hear God clearly and words to speak His truth, that God might "give him the words and help him to speak", particularly with those who seek his counsel. Let those who are in his presence know unequivocally that he has been in God's. Pray for, Nada, his wife, for her health, for his children and for their protection.

* Their Workers - Matthew 9:37 says, "There are many people to harvest but only a few workers to help harvest them." Pray for the workers, for their strength and wisdom in setting priorities, for opportunities from above to share the "Good news." And as the scripture says, pray for more workers.

Thank you in advance!

Happy New Year,
Kathy