INFORMATION:  It always inspires me to spend time here in what must be the information capital of the world...the USA.  There is soooooo much good information available here.  On the radio today I happened upon a Focus on the Family program that really changed the way I think about arguing against abortion.   The gentleman clearly presented four differences between an un-born and a born baby:  size, level of development, environment, and degree of dependency.  S,L,E,D.   We make no distinctions among other folks anywhere on those scales.  Examples:  SIZE - Small people have rights as humans.  LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT- Kids have undeveloped sexual organs, but still have rights as humans.  ENVIRONMENT - Born people have rights no matter where they are.  DEGREE OF DEPENDENCY - Born people depend on each other, but do not lose any rights because of it. 

SO, if a born baby has rights, why does a non-born baby have not even the right to life?  

See this page...http://www.heartlink.org/beavoice/A000000559.cfm    The man behind this information defends Right-to-Life not on a 'religious' basis, but because it is true.  Good information. 

Now I just picked that up while driving.  Last night I heard good teaching from Joyce Meyer on the TV...about how fear is Satan's tool to paralyze people. 

I don't get that kind of stuff in Haiti.  The teaching there in Creole is so often shallow. 

GARBAGE:  You'd think there would be more garbage visible in Haiti than in USA, right?  Depends what you consider garbage.  True there is less physical refuse visible in the streets here.  BUT, on the airwaves there is an amazing amount of garbage here in USA...useless, smelly, and dangerous.

Americans, choose your diet well!  
  

Haiti has been tranquil and at peace for the most part recently.  So, it came as a shock when I heard that the road to Port was going to be blocked on the very morning I'd be traveling to Port for my flight home.  By God's grace, I had checked with the WFL people to see if they'd be driving to Port on Friday morning.  They were, but it'd be early.  I leaned toward taking the bus and being on my own.  After that conversation, however, the WFL people called me and said that they were taking off the same afternoon in order to avoid being stuck at a roadblock the next day.  I rode along with them and arrived at Port well after sundown.  It wasn't my plan, but the change ended up giving me an the chance to meet with two pastors I met in Colorado.  It was an important time together, and wouldn't have happened had I stuck to my plans.  God's plans are always better.

I had the distinct joy of hearing some kids recite the first and second levels of the ASAPH Bible Academy verse memorization program in my final days in Pas-bwa-dom.  They had been slow to get started.  As my last week approached, I offered the kids a final chance to recite.  One boy came and recited the verses very well.  I gave him the red ASAPH ribbon and the book that'll help him learn the other levels.  He showed it to others, and two days later other kids came and recited.  Four ribbons awarded so far.  The ASAPH Bible Acadamy program causes kids to come to me asking to recite Bible verses.  That is not a bad way to spend my time.  In those one-on-one times I can really see where kids are in their spiritual lives and nudge them forward.

Now I'm back in the USA...a country pushing itself away from God.  It's palpable almost, the degree to which this culture is driving itself away from Jesus Christ.  After months of being away from it, the 'campaign' is so blatant to me.  Every message from media is: "You, you, you.  It's all about YOU."  A sad way to live life.   

 
 

I live in a part of Pas-Bwa-Dom that we call Delmas.  The real Delmas is the part of Port-au-Prince where middle class folks live up on the hill.  Those of us who live here in this Delmas feel like we're a step above downtown Pas-Bwa-Dom, I guess.  I love it here.  I'm the last house on this corner of Delmas.  No real close neighbors.  Peace. 

The other day, I realized that I had an international call, surfed the web, purchased and ate a hamburger without ever leaving Delmas.  I think back to just a year ago when you couldn't do those things.  Quick changes here lately.

We were blessed with a week of evening services where a former witch doctor spoke openly about the world from the point of view of demons and spirits.  He had grown up serving the 'family spirits' that so many folks in Haiti trust.  As a teenager, those spirits became too weak to satisfy his desire for money, so he made a deal with a devil.  It is an impressive story.  Contact me if you'd like to hear more about it. 

My general impression is that this life is chocked full of things happening that we can't see.  The Bible says as much.  As Christians, we are protected from so many things.  Demons long to attack folks, but find there are some who are un-attackable...if you will.  It's Christ's blood that covers them.  They are helpless in its presence. 

One thing I noticed:  Our town hasn't 'stopped' what it was doing to attend evangelical activities since about 1997 when the first drug fiasco took place.   Before then, the town would gather at revival services.  During the week of former witch doctor testimonies, the town gathered again...all kinds of folks were there.  And they listened.  The respect they showed was remarkable.  Respect for the Word and Power of God Almighty.  Would that every town showed the same respect.

Looking forward to being at home in PA soon, though I sense the culture in the USA is moving in a whole other direction.