The Man with the Plan

For those of you who may not know, Josh, Sharles and I are planning on moving to Haiti to be missionaries starting in May 2013. We are joining the organization, Chadasha, and would not be able to make this step without our church, Lifepoint. You can check out Chadasha at www.chadasha.org or www.chadasha.blogspot.com. Also, check out the great things our church is doing at www.lifepointchurch.org. Most importantly, we are partnering with God, who has led us to this beautiful place and broke our hearts for it in January 2012, when we first visited Haiti. We are going to Haiti to spread the love of Jesus Christ and make His name famous throughout all the earth. We realize we aren't going to all the earth, but we are doing our part where God has called us. John Piper says, "To belong to Jesus is to embrace the nations with him." That is exactly what we are going to do, embrace a different nation, culture and home because we follow Jesus.

Port au Prince, Haiti

I used the word "missionary" earlier, and I really don't like that word, especially when talking about myself, because I don't think of myself as a "missionary". I don't think of myself as a missionary because I don't see myself any different from any of you reading this. I believe we are all missionaries wherever we are because that is where God placed us to bring fame to His name. Just as John Piper said above, you have to embrace the nations to belong to Jesus. You can embrace your own nation by sharing the Gospel with those you come into contact with in your neighborhood, at work, in the grocery store, at the gym, or wherever you spend any amount of time. You can also pray for the nations or pray daily specifically for those you know who are around the world. You don't have to go to a different country to be a missionary, but please don't say you have not "been called" because you have been called to your current location.

We never saw ourselves as "missionaries" or never really thought we would be called to the "mission field", but God had a different plan. As hard as it is to move away from our family and friends, we know we must follow what God is calling us to do. We have a whole book (The Bible) about what happens if we disobey God's lead, and we know we don't want to end up like some of those who did not follow the first time. It is scary to take our new child to a 3rd world country and to leave everything that is familiar to us, but we have to because God has commanded us to.

We are moving to Port au Prince Haiti. We will be working with the men and women Chadasha employs to disciple them. I will be working with the women and begin teaching them English in order to communicate with them and disciple them. Josh will be working with the men in the house, continuing to disciple them and aid them in strengthening their relationship with the Lord. We will also be working with a tent city and will teach English there as well as the Bible. Chadasha also works with heart patients and partners with the International Children's Heart Foundation in order to provide heart surgeries for children in need of them. Chadasha also has an Orphan Retreat Center at the beach, where we will be working some of the time. The Orphan Retreat Center provides an environment for orphans in Haiti to come and relax, but also hear the Word as well. It will be like a week of VBS for them. Many of the children living in Haiti live so close to the beach, but have never seen it before, so this provides an opportunity for them to experience something they might not ever have been able to experience. Furthermore, we will partner with Pernier Baptist Church in Haiti to help disciple their congregation and work with them in their outreach efforts. We are so excited about the ministry we will be doing while living in Haiti.

Inside of bus where we will teach English/Bible classes in the Tent City

Chadasha's Children's Home

                                     

Zech, our bodyguard

                                                     

Chadasha House

Tent City

Chadasha women cooking dinner

Pernier Baptist Church

Chadasha's Orphan Retreat Center

Josh and I studied discipleship this year after returning from Haiti in January. We learned from the Great Commission, "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given tome. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'" Matthew 28:18-20 We learned that this was not a choice, but a command from Christ, and God was using this to convict our hearts. 

We were also convicted by a sermon on Isaiah 6:8 "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'" At the time, we didn't realize why this scripture stuck out so much to us, but the Man with the plan, slowly began to reveal it to us as He opened our hearts and spoke to us about Haiti and the plan to move there. When you keep reading after this verse, God tells Isaiah to go, but the people will not listen. We realize that going to Haiti, this may be the case for us because Haiti is filled with confusion and a mixed up religious culture. Haiti has been evangelized, but they do not know God. Even though the majority of Haiti have been evangelized, they need to be discipled and taught the fundamental truths of following Christ. Our plan is to go and share the love of Jesus with them and disciple them, so they can have a truly intimate relationship with God.

God began working in our hearts from the moment he planted the seed for us to go to Haiti on a short-term mission trip in January 2012. We were going to Haiti with our church as a "starter mission trip", then we wanted to go to Bangkok, Thailand. We went to Haiti because it was closer and, honestly, it didn't cost as much money, but God had a different plan. When we returned home from Haiti in January, we thought it was a great trip and loved the country, but that was where our thought process stopped. Or did it? The feeling continued to linger, but we thought it was like other mission trips where we were trying to adjust back to our culture after being in a 3rd world country. After a few months the feelings still lingered, so we entered into a time of prayer and fasting with our church to determine what direction God was leading us. This time is when God revealed to both Josh and I (individually) that His plan was for us to move to Haiti. For many months following this revelation, we both prayed and knew whole-heartedly this is from God. We even took a second trip to Haiti in August, just the two and half of us (I was 29 weeks pregnant). During this trip God affirmed our call to Haiti. So now we continue to prepare to move in May without any hesitation. God has led us step by step in this journey and as we remain nervous in our human flesh, we remain calm through our faith. 

John Piper also said, "Go, send, or disobey." We do not want to disobey God, so we are going to do what God tells us to do. 

We want to make a commitment to you. We want to commit to 1.) Pray for you and your family, 2.) Send you ministry and personal updates, 3.) Offer an open invitation for you to come visit and experience God in Haiti and 4.) To live out God's will for our lives.

We also want to make a request. We humbly request your partnership with us to pursue what God has called us to do. By partnering with us, you will help us send the story of Christ to Haiti as well as help us go in obedience to God's command. We do need your help in order to make this happen. We request your prayers to ask God if partnering with us is what He is calling you to do.Please contact us if you feel God is leading you to partner with us or if you have any questions about partnering with us.

God is the Man with the plan.

Josh, Brittany and Sharles Dyer
brittany_dyer@yahoo.com
joshdyerpga@gmail.com 


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