so…
Father, thank You for this crazy guy, who’s willing to do the crazy thing – crazy in the world’s eyes – to follow you, no matter what.
this guy’s been at this thing in Haiti for a while. The newness has worn off. now it’s the settling in for the long haul. now the real ministry happens.
give him strength, patience, understanding, wisdom, gentleness, compassion – iow, give him Yourself.
keep him safe in all the danger moments & dangerous moments. protect him from harm, hurt, disease, & jadedness. show him the new beauty of people & things, even though they are so much the same people & things, the same overwhelming need, the same desperateness.
Where he is weak, give him Your strength. Where he is strong, give him more. but in everything, weakness or strength, move thru him, loving, caring, showing the way to You.
Help him to see that every day has ripple effects – eternal ripple effect – that he & we will not see until we get to heaven. help him to know that the true ministry of life happens in the day to day seemingly mundane things & people of life.
help him to know he’s not forgotten. that we all love him, think of him often, & are so very, very proud of him, even though he may not feel particularly lovable sometimes, or do anything for which to be proud.
and most of all, let him be overwhelmed by Your incredible love. help him to feel & know, in a new & fresh way today, the height, depth, width, & length of You, & Your love for him.
thank You, Father, for this man, for all he has been, for all he is, & for all that is to come.
amen…
dan waits
May 23rd, 2010 at 11:15 am
Just want to say what a great blog you got here!
I’ve been around for quite a lot of time, but finally decided to show my appreciation of your work!
Thumbs up, and keep it going!
Cheers
Christian, iwspo.net
May 24th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
Dan, you couldn’t have said it any better. I am in agreement with each and every word written above and pray that God continue to speaks life into Stephen and through him into the people of Haiti as he presses forward, walking in YOUR will!
May 31st, 2010 at 11:32 am
Dear God,
Most of what we do and how we effect those around us is never known to us. Sometimes, though, we get the opportunity to see a little peek into how our lives effect those we encounter. This prayer/blog entry is my intention to do so. I thank you for calling me to Haiti and providing me through your miracles a way to get there and a place to do good works. Mostly, though, I thank you for those I met while there, and how they effected MY life and love for You through their works. I’ve never seen Your love and increadible kindness at work to the extent I saw while in Haiti. I’ve seen hints of it before and thought how huge and amazing it was at the time, but had no idea of the enormity of it until I went to Haiti. Stephen, Bekkah, Nathan, Sabrina, Marconell, and all the other nameless amazing people I met while there opened a whole new love for You and I believe I truely witnessed, and received miracles!!! I pray that through this prayer and blog you will show these people that they, through you, made a new life out of me. A new purpose. A rebirth. If ever they question why you sent them to Haiti, please remind them of me and the miracles you performed for me through them. It was my goal when I set out to Haiti to change one life while there, that was my only goal. I felt that if I could make a difference in one person’s life that the work was all worth while. Little did I know that I was that person. That it was You that would accomplish my goal, not me. That I would be the recipient of the gift! Thank you Jesus, please bless those who you used as your instruments to begin to shape me into who you want me to be. Give them a gift to remind them of what they are accomplishing and give it in a time when they may be questioning their purpose there. You know best when they need to hear this prayer.
In Jesus name, I pray, Amen