i am excited to write to you. really, i wish that my confusion and stubbornness had not kept me from doing so sooner. nonetheless, i write with joy and eager anticipation, for i am seeing the Gospel worked out daily in my life, in my heart, in every part of my being. sometime ago i started to realize that as we use the term "born-again" it seems necessary that we must first die. surely we must die, and be born of Christ. there has been much dying in me lately, though not without a struggle from this stubborn old flesh, but joyfully much rebirth as well.
as you may already know, i am moving to haiti. i leave september 9. i’m not sure exactly what being ready to go looks like, but i feel nowhere close. i started a blog where you can read some about my journey towards haiti (http://zacharykee.blogspot.
but just to summarize: i am going to haiti with an organization called LESPWA, which means “hope” in creole. i went on a short term trip to Haiti in may with my good friend jay, who started LESPWA. at the time, he and his wife were considering moving there i began to feel a desire to go with them. i told jay that i would pray with them about going with them if they went. well, in early july, we agreed that we believed God is leading us together to go there. so we will be going to live and work at the Presbyterian Mission of Haiti, located about 30 miles north of Port au Prince.
as we go, our primary purpose is to help open an orphanage that has already been built at the mission where we will live. we expect to spend much of our first year learning the language and getting acclimated to the culture. we believe that it is important to get to know the place and the people we will be living with, to become neighbors, in order that we might have a solid understanding of the ways in which we can help there, but more importantly, to build a foundation for living out and testifying to the Gospel. pastor charles, the Haitian pastor who started the mission and has started several churches in that part of Haiti, has a wonderful ministry there, and we eagerly desire to be a part of it. they need support in caring for the children, maintaining the facilities, growing food, teaching the children life skills, and expanding the ministries there and elsewhere in Haiti.
in my own small way, I feel paul’s words: "i eagerly expect and hope that i will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage, so that now as always, Christ may be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. for me to live is Christ, to die is gain." [philippians 1:20-21]
when it comes to the Gospel, i sort of feel like it is best shared through actions, and then explained through words. if I know my own heart, i cannot emphasize enough, for me, to live is Christ. for me, to live is to live the Gospel. if i am to speak, it is to speak the Gospel. and i believe that if i am to live in haiti, and if i am to seek to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ who is my only Hope, who is my only Joy, who is my only Peace, i will have the opportunity to give the reason for the Hope that i have. the Gospel will be shared.
lastly, i need your support. i cannot tell you how much i need prayer. i feel completely incapable. i am a fool. but by God's grace i am who i am, and by God's grace i am going to haiti to testify to that grace. so please, pray for me. pray that i will follow Christ with every part of my being. pray that i will love Him, and that i will accept His love. pray also that i will accept the love of those who love me. pray that i will be humble. pray the kinds of things that paul prays.
also, i need your financial support. i have really struggled with this, but God has recently shown me that it is okay to ask, that i must ask. and so i ask. i am supposed to leave in two weeks, and i do not have the money to go. i hope that God provides $500 per month, $6,000 for the first year. right now, i can't tell you exactly what all of that is for. but i ask you to pray, to ask God to lead you, and to give as much as you are able. i ask you to trust Him for me and pray that i follow Him. and i promise to use this money for His Kingdom. other than travel expenses, we hope to use the money God provides directly for the work we will be doing there. i also promise to disclose as much financial information as possible. that's kind of an awkward thing to say, i know, but that's the best i have right now.
so please spend a few minutes praying for me. and then spend a few minutes seeking God and asking Him if He would have you support me. and then if you feel Him leading, send me some money, because i am starting soon.
i want you to know that i love you, that even as i write this and think of your love and your partnership, my soul rises. i am filled with joy at the thought of our unity in Christ, that we are one through Him, and that we will share eternally in His blessings.
i would really love to talk to you. i don't know if my approach to all of this is the best, but if you would like to talk, please call me or email me or come knock on my door. it would truly be a delight.
thank you,
grace and peace through Christ, our Hope, and our Joy!
zack
727-543-6290
philonetwenty@gmail.com
your tax deductible check can be made payable to: LESPWA Worldwide
and mailed to: zack kee
4542 juniper drive
palm harbor, fl 34685
also, we are still trying to figure out how to handle monthly support. for now, you can either mail a check each month, or you can go online to the LESPWA website and donate there. you can make a one-time donation online as well. here is a link for online donations: http://www.lespwaworldwide.com/lespwaworldwide/pickstaff. aspx
you will receive a receipt for all financial support i receive.
thanks again.
thanks again.
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