The devastation in Haiti, although extremely heartbreaking, can seem distant…until you read a blog post from a friend who is experiencing it all.

The following is written by my friend, Jeremy, on his blog from the day of the earthquake. He moved there last year to serve the needs of Haiti with Lespwa Worldwide.

The Day the Earth Shook

We are painting the outside of the orphanage and putting on a medical clinic. We have a team from Savannah here and they have 2 doctors on the team. So after painting today, we took the orphans on a walk with some of the younger people from the team. After showing the orphans the green bridge, we begin to walk back. We passed the cemetery on the right and walked another 20 yards. Then a low, all tree ruffling shake.

Thoughts in my head, with concern growing expedientially, frantically looking for a cause:

“Is that a truck?”

“Is it a semi?”

“Is there a stampede coming?”

After about several seconds the initial continuous shake grew to a full on violent rumble. I was barely able to stand. It was shaking so hard my vision was blurry. It literally felt as though God was shaking the earth in his hand. I look over to Jean Lubeans, a 5 year orphan, standing in front on a concrete wall 20 feet away falling over like wave break. I yell out and try to gather myself to run. He steps out and barely escapes the crashing wall. I run over and take his hand and any others I can find. We drop down huddled in the middle of the road. I look around at everyone else, faces painted with shock. Then, like a ripple effect, it slowly fades out. From start to finish, about 45 seconds to a minute of shaking.

We get up. No one is hurt. Distant screams and shouts.

There is a spirit of panic in the air. We need to get back to the compound. As everyone grabs a kid and speed walks the half-mile back, I assess the surrounding damage. Almost every single house has at least one wall down. People are screaming and crying. I get back to the compound and help one of the doctors stitch up a woman’s forehead.

We have experienced about 40 aftershocks since the initial shake. Even as I am writing this the house shakes.

From everything I have heard, Port-Au-Prince got rocked. It’s dark there now, powers out. Estimates like half the buildings are down in some places. Won’t know for sure til the morning light shines.

Please be praying. I know of one hospital that has completely collapsed. Houses destroyed. People are trapped in rumble. This country is always on the edge of complete chaos. Pray for our safety. Get your friends to pray too.

God’s might and power were on display today.

It forced me down on my knees with fear and trembling.

Pray for Haiti. Pray for us.

Follow along for more about how to pray here.

A little late, but here are some pictures from our Christmas!

In light of the recent tragic events in Ft. Hood, TX and right here in our own backyard (Orlando, FL), Curt Heffelfinger has written a post outlining “Ten Ways to Think Rightly About Murderous Rampages.” I commend it to you.

Below is an excerpt from that post:

Beware the temptation in human arrogance to think that somehow others who suffer some terrible tragedy must have deserved it more than you because of their relative degree of sinfulness. Jesus warns us not to think that way. Twice He says, “Unless you repent, you will likewise perish.” Sin has left us all in the same condition. We deserve judgment. It will come sooner or later to all of us. The only hope, the only right way to think in the face of murderous rampages and collapsing buildings, the first choice that honors God in the face of apparent senseless tragedy, is to repent of our own sinfulness and place our hope and trust in the power of the gospel. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). Start here and we will think rightly about this world full of murderous rampages and other consequences of its suicidal rebellion.

Read the whole thing here.

Two Sundays ago on OGC’s 18th Anniversary Sunday, Pastor Curt unveiled our church’s revised mission statement:

Engaging peoples everywhere to pursue ultimate satisfaction in Jesus.

Sweet! My favorite part of this new mission statement is the word ‘engaging.’ That is precisely the responsibility of the church. Engage. Go after. Pursue.

I love it.

I love even more the acrostic that Deacon John Gjertsen created to describe how OGC is going to engage peoples everywhere. For someone who doesn’t particularly like acrostics, John does a pretty good job of created them!

B.R.I.D.E.

B – Building Bridges to share the gospel by moving into the lives of people within our various locales (places where we live, work, and play. – Col 4:5-6).
R – Reproducing Churches to multiply congregations near and far which share our mission and values, and cooperating with others who do the same (Matt. 16:18).
I – Interceding in Prayer to see God raise up laborers for a spiritual harvest and bring many to Christ among all people groups of the world (Matt. 9:36-37; 1 Tim. 2:1-2).
D – Developing Disciples to achieve spiritual maturity through participation in comprehensive training for all aspects of the Christian life (2 Tim. 2:2).
E – Evangelizing Peoples to further the completion of the Great Commission around the globe through strategic sending and going (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).

To sum up the heart behind this vision, I’ll leave you with a quote from our pastor: ”We do not exist for ourselves.”

The whole sermon from OGC’s 18th Anniversary Sunday is not yet up on the web, but once it becomes available, I will post it here. Check back in a few days!

Then, come here at 10:45 AM on Sunday!

If you are reading this post, you have made it to our new blog location! Hope you enjoy the new look and functionality.

Enjoy!!