Served

Wow!  What an amazing day we had delivering water to Cite Soleil, the poorest of the poor in the Western  Hemisphere. Every evening in the guest house we sit in a circle and share our "word of the day".  My word today after serving on the water truck was "served"....not serve...but "served".  At our first stop I was holding a precious little girl, half dressed, as we took a little tour of the area.  As we walked, this precious little one wiped the sweat off my face and moved the hair sticking to my face.  Then she started singing "God is so good, He's so good, He's so good, God is!"  Totally loving me, sharing her joy and serving me....  Then at our second spot I was holding two little ones and when it got too hard for me to hold them both,  I sat down and gained a third.  As I was moving, the rubberband fell out of my hair and a few older teenage girls came over and started braiding my hair in the beautiful, perfect braids like they have in their hair (and, I might add, picking out the gray ones they found and totatlly laughing in amazement).  They were totally serving me, loving me, connecting with me....I started out the day ready to serve God's precious people and instead God's precious people served me.

And by the way....I couldn't have been prouder of our amazing teenage boys serving, laughing, and loving the people of Haiti!

God always has a plan for us.

After a long trip through Miami we arrived at the guesthouse in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, all intact with all of our luggage and personal belongings. After a quick swim at the hotel pool across the street and a delicious dinner we got a chance to take a little walk. As we were walking through the rubble-filled streets, we were greeted by a swarm of boys. These boys, in their rags of clothes and dirty, broken shoes, were happy. I was shocked at this occurance, as was the rest of the group. Although these kids had almost nothing, barely enough food and water, they were content and even happy. This just showed me that even though they don't have much, God has a plan for them. In Jeremiah 29:11 God says "I have a hope and a future for you" this is something that we need to remember, no matter how bad we think we have it God always has a plan for us.

Thank you for your prayers and God bless,

Nick Beckman

Being "In The Game"

What an honor and privilege to be serving such an amazing team!  As I walked into "Packing Central" the first thing that stood out were the rows of shoes, caps, jerseys and personalized bookmarks that were so lovingly laid out ready to be loaded and delivered to these precious children down at Grace Village.  The efforts made all around to fulfill this special request to make sure EVERY child is to receive a pair of shoes, even the brand new residents, was heartfelt.  Thank you all for making this happen in such a short amount of time...with God anything is possible!

The caps, jerseys, boys, and planned sport activity at Grace Village made me think about being on a team and the wonderful blessing of being on Jesus' team!  We're joined with him by faith so that when He wins, we win.  That is what is means to be glorified in Him.  He chose us, and He made us "get in the game".  This group is "getting into the game"!  Our great calling is to find out what God is doing in the world and then to fling ourselves wholeheartedly into His cause.  Yes, there have been questions about what is to happen this next week as we're down in Haiti and there will be many more...but all in all, this group is stepping out on God's court in this world.  The world is God's kingdom.  He could do all of this without us, but we share in His glory because we are on His team and that's God's call to all of us!  I pray that God will show each one us His kingdom in unexpected ways and that we fully invest for Jesus and His kingdom not only this next week but always.

When we stay "in the game" four things happen:
 (1) We are living proof of God's power
 (2) We accomplish God's goals for our lives
 (3) We glorify Christ with our life
 (4) We share in His ultimate victory

What a wonderful way to live! 

"Heavenly father, your kingdom will last long after the things of the world will pass.  Help us to live today for the things that will last forever.  Thank you for letting us "be in the game" and make us living proof of your power so that those who know us will know that we know You.  May we never be ashamed to say, "I believe in Jesus".  In your precious name, Amen."

Team

If just hit me today as i was organizing my garage full of donations that God has really changed my definition of "team" over the last few months.  When we started out planning this mission trip i was so excited to have this experience with two of my sons, Tim and Ben.....team "Ose".  Then God placed it on the hearts of a few other moms and sons to come along on the adventure, moms and kids whom i love and am so blessed to share this time with...."EP mom - son team".  Then i realize that our team leaders will be my dear friend Margie Schroeder and Jeff Gacek the founder of Healing Haiti, WOW....team "amazing".  Then Jeff's brother Tom and his wife decide they actually like working with teenagers and want to come along with our crew, fantastic....team "incredible".  Then we have a garage sale to make money for Healing Haiti and i see friends donate their garage (literally), items to sell, shop the sale, donate even if they don't shop, bake beautiful items to sell to the shoppers......team "above and beyond".  Then i see the continued, growing amazing support of family and friends as people have been praying for us, making financial donations to our trip, dropping off shoes for the kids at Grace Village, boxes of Educational toys, baby food and nutritional supplements, clinging crosses for nervous moms, batteries, sports equipments,  portable green houses, suitcases, anything they can do to bless our team and the people of Haiti....team "exceeds my imagination".  To top it off, my sweet friend and neighbor Eleisha McGuire, and her 2 darling children walk down yesterday with a bag full of name tag / book marks for each of the kids at Grace Village...tags that we can tie to the shoes so the kids will know which pair is for who and then they can use the tags as a book mark in their Bibles.  The scripture on the bookmark reads...."Cast your cares on the Lord and HE WILL sustain you: He will NEVER let the righteous be shaken" Psalm 55:22.  Team...."All of You"....thank you for sharing your talents, gifts, time, money, prayers all to be part of this team!  My definition of team started out so little......and God thinks so big!!

Count Down

Alo
Bonjour
Komen ou ye?
Mwen tre byen.  mesi.
Kisa ou rele?
Mwen rele Ben.
Kilaj ou?
Mwen 15.
Bondy Beniou
Mesi anpil.
Orevwa!
Orevwa!

We leave for Haiti in 2 weeks from today!  Can't wait to talk to the kids I will meet there.  Feeling a little nervous and very excited.  I hope we will be able to serve God in a mighty way!!  Stay tuned......

by Ben Ose

Significane

In one month and one day we will embark upon our mission trip to Haiti!  A lot has happened since we started planning this adventure including the upcoming move of our dear friends and mission partners Nick and Sarah Beckman.  I consider it an extra blessing that we will get this special time with them before they head out on their next adventure in New Mexico!

Also, in the weeks leading up to this point we have had the privilege of meeting with our team and team leaders to prepare our hearts for this trip.  Jeff has so beautifully shared how his life has changed over the past 6 years from a life of seeking success to a life of seeking SIGNIFICANCE.  Significance....things that matter, things that are eternal, things that go beyond ourselves and change the lives of others.  I feel so blessed that at the impressionable ages of the boys going on this trip, they will have the chance to be mentored by a man who has found the joy and blessing of seeking a life of purpose and of being available to God and His will.  It makes me think of the verse in Matthew when Jesus reminds us, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also".  I am not exactly sure what it looks like to live a life seeking significance, but I am excited to give it a try and see what God has in store!

I also want to thank all of you for your SIGNIFICANT prayers, support, and donations to our mission trip and Healing Haiti.  We are all so blessed by your gifts and honored to have you as part of our team.

On a lighter note, we have decided to change our fundraising pancake breakfast to a charity garage sale to benefit our mission trip and Healing Haiti.  Be sure to stop by and see us!

Saturday, May 12th, 2012  8:00am - 12:00pm in the Cul De Sac at 9063 Gould Rd.  Eden prairie, MN 55347

Pictured is Gus living a life of Significance in his eyes :)

With Thanksgiving, Presenting Our Requests To God

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

2 months and counting...

I can hardly believe we're in our final months of planning and preparing for our June 11th departure date!   There are so many emotions that one experiences when planning for a trip like this.    A few we've been feeling in our house are excitement, anticipation, fear of the unknown, anxiousness and eagerness, just to name a few.

The subject of the last few chapters in our "Prepare Your Heart" study were discussing our fears, which was enormously helpful.    We spent some time looking up scripture to see what Jesus had to say about confronting those fears.   The verse we focused on was Philippians 4:6-7, in which Paul gives a means for finding God's peace over our fears..."Do not be anxious about anything, by prayer and petition, with Thanksgiving, present your requests to God.   And the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds."

So, taking this verse to heart, we committed our group time in prayer to giving Thanks to our Heavenly Father for His provisions, and then presenting our concerns.    Our prayers are for health and safety, wisdom and guidance in being respectful of our hosts and the people we're visiting, patience with language barrier, and a deeper/stronger connection to God.    Oh, and I musn't forget...that Tim Ose will like the food and that our boys will be able to wear shorts.   (Inside joke!)

We would very much appreciate your prayers for our group as we continue to plan and prepare for what's sure to be a life-changing adventure for us EP Moms and Sons.

Coming Soon:     Pancake Breakfast on May 12th in order to raise awareness for Healing Haiti and donations.   More info. to come.

To God be the Glory!
Karla

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