Raising Funds for Haiti - Being Foolish Enough to Believe I Can Make a Difference

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships - so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people - so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war - so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world - so that you can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.
Amen.
(Franciscan Benediction)

While reading I came across this Franciscan Benediction and I was completely, utterly, owned by it.(To quote today's younger generation) It is the attitude that God has been using to compel me into action for many years - and lately through nights of weeping and wrestling with Him. 


I can't say I have seen a more accurate description of how I feel as God breaks my heart for others.


I  (Dave and I) am known for transparency, much to the chagrin of my family at times, so I have never been inclined to desire superficial relationships. As a matter of fact, though people perceive me as outgoing and confident, I lack confidence with people I do not know, and long for deep, one one one, REAL relationships. Without that, I feel awkward - like a ship out of water. I think that is why I am suited for grief and trauma work - I want to know and feel the persons pain -  not just hear it. 

I have tried to, "live deep within my heart" and my family will tell you that I have wept many tears, and sworn off transparency (literally on the swearing part), only to be encouraged by them, and by God, to be real at all costs. Now, after years of brokenness, I am rarely hurt by others as a result of my transparency, but have helped many others to have the freedom to be who there are in my presence, and sometimes among the very ones who previously threatened them. 


Do Justly, Love Mercy- Micah 6:8 - has been our ministry quote for 10 years now (even before we were official) When I learned of the plight of orphans and widows worldwide, and saw the repeated biblical theme of caring for the poor, the orphan and the widow - of social justice and freedom from oppression, a fire was lit within me and an, "anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people - so that [we worked]  for justice, freedom, and peace."

The result was Samuel,  pictured her in the orphanage before we brought him home; as well as aid to hundreds of orphans and widows in several countries.


Tears - well, all I do is cry. I was SELFISH and generally only cried over MY OWN pain, (and we did have plenty) so God had to keep breaking me- again - and again - and again- and again. He used our pain in my thick head, to give me "tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war - so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy." 

 And, the end  result of that brokenness, is our ministry in grief and trauma work. My cry before God, always before Him, is that in my work, I will be a comfort to them and through the love of Jesus Christ, their pain can turn to joy. 

I do not yet have a PhD, or years of experience in the field, any money for missions work, or a base of supporters; nor do I  know if more than just a few people read these blogs or are moved by them....(so if you are, and you want to comment or become a follower it would bless me)

But I am just "foolish enough to believe that [I] can make a difference in the world and do what others claim cannot be done." That I can bring some healing and hope to Haiti first, and to all nations by bringing the ministry of Jesus Christ to others in times of great turmoil and distress. 

And Dave is foolish enough to believe with me, and has learned to shed enough tears for others as well. 


So, we step out in faith. Please friends, support us in this ministry. 100% of funds goes directly into meeting the emotional and spiritual needs of  the broken, hurting, people of God's heart. 

 In His Service,

David and Jamie

Dates Are Set - Haiti January 4th, 2011

The dates are set.

We will be traveling to Haiti on January 4, 2011 and staying for 12 days. We will be training pastors and other lay helpers in critical incident stress management techniques (CISM), to enable them to more effectively help the hurting and broken. Depending on how many they want us to train - still to be determined but there are 220 churches - we may bring another team with us.

We will also be ministering personally to those who are struggling in their faith over the destruction of their lives, to aid in their restoration to He who loves them. 

Pray for Haiti - pray for us.


We are in need of financial resources to take donations, printed materials, cost of travel for us, and many other things to minister effectively. Dave's vacation time will be unpaid as well, and our family and bills need to be cared for in our absence.

In His Service, 

 David and Jamie

The Dislocation of Our Soul

Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord and dislocated his hip; sometimes in wrestling with God, we dislocate our souls. 

We see through a glass dimly - a dirty, marred, and cracked, mirror reflects back at us, blurring and distorting our own images. Yet, through that reflection we try to see God - often judging Him for the things going on in our lives by that reflection. Sometimes we try to pray it away -  some even  try to claim it away. We command and rebuke, or we weep, wail, and beg, but the distorted image of God still remains.

We all have distorted images.

If you think you don't, then sadly my friend, yours is the most distorted of all.

Remember Job?

Read about Job in Chapter 29

      1      And Job again took up his discourse and said,
      2      “Oh that I were as in months gone by,
As in the days when God watched over me;
      3      When His lamp shone over my head,
And by His light I walked through darkness;
      4      As I was in the prime of my days,
When the friendship of God was over my tent;
      5      When the Almighty was yet with me,
And my children were around me;
      6      When my steps were bathed in butter,
And the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
      7      “When I went out to the gate of the city,
When I took my seat in the square,
      8      The young men saw me and hid themselves,
And the old men arose and stood.
      9      “The princes stopped talking
And put their hands on their mouths;
      10      The voice of the nobles was hushed,
And their tongue stuck to their palate.
      11      “For when the ear heard, it called me blessed,
And when the eye saw, it gave witness of me,                                               [emphasis mine]

Job had long been soul wrestling, and all he could see at this point, was his former blessings. God had watched over him - His lamp had shone over his head - He was a friend of God - the Almighty was with him. People admired him as someone who was protected and blessed by the Almighty. He was a man given great honor and respect.
He then expounds upon on his care for others, which now in his distress, he can no longer do.

Chapter 30 present Job in his humiliation, "But now those younger than I mock me, Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock." (v 1)...."and now my soul is poured out within me, days of affliction have seized me (v16)...I have become like dust and ashes(v19b)...

I cry out to you for help, but you do not answer me; I stand up, and you turn your attention against me. You have become cruel to me..." 

Job was still wrestling with God - and His soul was dislocated. He had seen through a dimly lit and cracked mirror, and his perspective of God was blurred by a mirror of blessings. His health, prosperity, even his family had been taken from him, so obviously God has removed himself as well. Many of us have been in places where God has felt cruel to us - where we questioned our years of faithfulness and integrity before God, only to be left feeling abandoned, or confused.

I have heard the emphasis of Job's story too many times -   the latter fortunes of Job were greater than the former - his wealth was restored double - and they were; but from Job's new, clearer perspective, he tells us what the end the experience of  his suffering produced. I am sure the double fold blessing of wealth, was filthy rags in comparison to the infinite, developing knowledge of God.  Chapter 42:

      1      Then Job answered the LORD and said,
      2      “I know that You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
      3      ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
“Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”
      4      ‘Hear, now, and I will speak;
I will ask You, and You instruct me.’
      5      “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But now my eye sees You;
      6      Therefore I retract,
And I repent in dust and ashes.”

The purposes of God could not be "thwarted." God wanted to draw Job into a deeper understanding and intimacy with Himself. What does Jesus want for us? A deeper intimacy with Himself and the Father.

Job says he, "declared that which he did not understand." All the prosperity in the world did not give him a clear vision of God, nor did perfect health; only suffering brought Job to the place where he could see God. His dirty, marred and cracked mirror could reflect a little more clearly the heart, and purposes of God.  He had wrestled with God, and had a dislocation of the soul.  His permanent limp would forever remind him, "I will ask you, and You instruct me."

Our Plans in God's Hands Haiti 2011

We spoke at our home church on Sunday, August 15th, and I was privileged to preach God's Word, and share our hearts to our church family. It is always a honor for me to teach God's Word, I love to teach. Luke 14 was the topic - what we must comparatively hate, for a full heart commitment to God's Word.

Our church family heard the cry of our hearts - God's heart - that we are in a world of pain. One that is in need of love - in action.

There was an enthusiastic response by many - our pastor blessed us with kind words we don't deserve - and we are pressing on to call He has burdened our hearts with.

The very next day I received an email from the Superintendent of the Assemblies of God in Haiti, interested in our program of training and equipping his pastors, and others, to minister in emotional and spiritual.

We have tentative plans for December. As of now we will be gone over Christmas - serving others in the name of the One who was born, to die.

We are in much need of funds for travel, training materials, and donations, and all of Dave's time off work is unpaid. God always makes a way.

In the Service of the King,
David and Jamie Grubb

Launching World Missions

Stay tuned for our August 15th announcement.