College Connection 2013

An amazing group of participants

I was so excited to be invited as the keynote speaker for the College Connection Conference at Mo Ranch.

The theme this year was "Major in God" based on Romans 12. I took a lot of guidance from Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman, and I thought I would include the outlines for my speeches here. First, take a look at God's Word here:

Romans 12 (The Message)

12 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

3 I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

4-6 In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.

6-8 If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

11-13 Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

14-16 Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.

17-19 Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.”

20-21 Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

Haiti Video, March 2013

This video is from our trip to Village De Vie Orphanage in Philadelphia, Haiti!

Haiti Movie 2nd Half - Water Celebration DVD from Ashley Broadhurst on Vimeo.

One Solitary Life

This poem, One Solitary Life, makes me think, what am I doing with my one solitary life? You?

Happy Easter, Friends!

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in still another village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was 30. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a house. He didn't go to college. He never traveled more than 200 miles from the place He was born. He did none of the things one usually associates with greatness. He had no credentials but Himself. He was only 33 when public opinion turned against Him. His friends deserted Him. He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. When He was dying, His executioners gambled for His clothing, the only property He had.. . . on earth. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race, the leader of mankind's progress. All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on earth as much as that One Solitary Life.

Haiti Trip, Saturday, March 30

Prayer Partner of the Day: Tim Myrick

Well, the electricity never did come on, which meant...BUCKET SHOWERS! WOO! Who doesn't love bathing out of a bucket?! Okay, maybe I'm the only one that gets excited about that.
Navigating the Port Au Prince is much like playing a video game. One must pass this level to go to this level to then go to this level, and if you happen to hit anything out of sequence, you must start all over. And such was today! Though the agent had my passport in front of him, he checked me into the wrong flight under the wrong name. My mistake was trying to go standby for the earlier flight to Miami, and this caused a ruckus. After going through immigration and the two security points, I discovered the flight was sold out, and there was no way I'd be getting on standby. This normally isn't a big problem...but I had to go back to the ticket counter where I started, have them find my checked bags, and start all over again. My tiredness for the week left me in a virtual meltdown. However, all's well that ends well, and it was clearly in God's plan to not be on the earlier flight. After we hugged the team and said goodbye, I met another team from Louisiana. They had been working at "Big House" in Les Cayes, where one of our teams from Kansas had installed a solar-powered clean water system! Only God can make connections like this, and we shared stories and talked until our flight left.

Since the craziness had occured with trying to check in, the airline gods had mercy on me and bumped me to first class. Not only was it first class, but the seats layed flat! Talk about being spoiled! I was in Heaven.

And so this trip comes to a close. The GVUMC team is having their burgers and brownie sundaes at TGIFridays, and the hotel shuttle should be by anytime now to take me to my vacation spot for a few days. R&R, here I come! Praise to God for another safe and productive adventure in spreading Living Water to the body and souls of Haiti.

Haiti Trip, Friday, March 29

Prayer Partner of the Day: Everludis Lopez

Though I thought I would wake up and find myself in the Dominican Republic, alas the tent stayed put and the wind did not carry us away! Everyone was quick to pack up this morning and leave Pere Max's house, and we were anxious and excited to get to Philadelphia for the dedication. The kids were excited again as we pulled up, and no matter how many times we had watched Justin Beiber's "Baby" video, we sat down and watched another five times. Remember little Adley, the current love of my life? Little Adley, it turns out, is not an orphan at Village De Vie. He lives in the surrounding community with his mother, father, and several brothers and sisters. He walked us through the community, down to the main road, and through an alley way to show us his house. His oldest brother met us there, and since we had not idea what each other was saying, we asked the brother to come back with us for Ronald to translate. I couldn't tell if the brother thought we were trying to kidnap Adley or just plain crazy for following a six-year-old around, but he took Adley back to his house after a short conversation!

The dedication was beautiful. Pastor Pudens and Tom signed the convenants, gave perfect speeches, and the children sang "Sevi Ak Dlo Sa-a" with gusto! Tom and Pastor Pudens cut the ribbon at the water building, and they were officially opened for business! A crowd formed outside the water building for the first tastes of clean water, and sure enough, people were already bringing their bottles to fill. With any luck, this system will take off.

We stopped by Pastor Pudens' church on the way out of town, and three pastors from Missouri were leading an evangelism/church planting workshop for all of the pastors and leaders in Gonaives. It was an impressive turn out, and it amazes me how so many great people are doing so many great things in Haiti. Each person has their own niche and gift to share.

The ride to Port Au Prince was not as bad as I had thought it would be. We hit a few "Rah Rah's" on the way, as it is Good Friday, and many came out to march and play. The team pampered me, and did not make me take a shift in the back of the truck. Several of the team have been hit with the "Haitian Happiness" bug, and with any luck, we'll be home before anyone else falls victim. We arrived in Port Au Prince at a guest house none of us had stayed at previously. Walls Guest House, my usual stop, is undergoing construction, and they recommended this. Ancy and Lucson stopped by, and it was nice to drop off tools and supplies until the next time, and to visit with my brother for awhile. They left as soon as it got dark, as the Rah Rah's were kicking back into high gear!

We were impressed with our host, Jude, and all was well until the first two went in for showers and discovered no water. There was no water for the rest of the night, as the electricity had gone out and the pump was clearly not working. So...wireless internet from a generator, but no water for a shower. Kind of sums up Haiti in a nutshell. However, not sleeping in a tent tonight makes me very happy! This long, extended trip is coming to an end, and while I am so pleased with the teams, and have loved every single bit of time together, I am ready to be back in the USA!

Haiti Trip, Thursday, March 28

Prayer Partner of the Day: Chuck Arnold

The wind has picked up immensely tonight! Bill's tent continues to fly through the air and attack my and Meredith and Ben's tents! It's becoming rather humorous. Today, I was able to make it farther through the day than the day before. The team has continued work wonders at "Village De Vie" orphanage. Their loving hearts and servant attitudes has kept them going for long hours, and not once has there been complaint or sadness! Even in the slow moments, the team will find games to play, hair to braid, and odd projects to complete. They really are the "A-Team!"

Jake Sangster, from Coreluv (our favorite orphan project out of Houston, TX), picked us up around 11:00am. I was happy for the diversion, as I had been washing clothes with some of the women and older kids for an hour! My dish pan hands were raisins... I know, I know, I'm a silly weakling compared to the amazing Haitian culture! Jake has been invaluable to us this week. He not only provided transportation from Port Au Prince on Sunday, he not only hauled our luggage, he not only brought us 500 million more water samples from his well, but he also found a guy with a tool to get the pipe out of the well so we could drop the submersible pump. He has been our savior in many regards this week. Today, he took us out to the Myan Orphanage project. The last time I was there was last October, when it was just a piece of empty, barren land. Now, foundations are built, trenches are dug, more ground is being broken, and a reservoir was built! Soon, the foundations will be two dormitories, a feeding center, and the wall for the orphanage. It is truly amazing to see the faith of Jake and his Coreluv associates. In such a short time, they have come such a long way, and their building campaign back at home doesn't even kick off until next week!

My strength doesn't seem up to par yet, as I went back to Max's while the team continued work into the afternoon. It is always a joy-filled evening when they arrive back at the "ranch," and tonight, I broke out the big guns... LEGOS! To celebrate our week of work, we created Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and Star Wars scenes! Yes, transported back to childhood, with Prestige, we had a great night. It's the last night in the tent! On to PAP tomorrrow...!

Haiti Trip, Wednesday, March 27

Prayer Partner of the Day: Kathy Hogan & Fam

The church next door held a prayer vigil last night...until 3:15am. Complete with singing and shouting, they praised and pleaded to God throughout the night.

Today was the first day I was able to make out to the site, and what a glorious day it was! The children are beautiful and full of love. Of course, as is the case with most all sites, I fall in love with "that one kid..." This was no different and his name is Adley. He must have felt my lack of energy, and as the education class went on, and he had finished his assignment, he crawled into my lap and gave me a good cuddle for quite some time. So add Adley to the ever-growing list of Richard from Cherette, Lucy from Palmiste A Vin, Keegan from Dufort and the endless others who I would really like to bring home with me!

The tech team started the wiring today to give lights to the dormitories and kitchen. Valdes began training the operators, and the education team hit out of the park with the story of the woman at the well. Has there ever been a more natural team?

A pastor from a site nearby visited to see the system and understand the process of obtaining a clean water system. Tom and Bill went with him to visit his church and well, and they came back with a positive report. Another partnership in the making, perhaps! God has a way of working wonders!

After lunch, Tom, Leslie and Ronald sat down with Pastor Pudens to run through the final draft of the covenant and business plan. I was so impressed with both partners, and both are so willing to make the system sustainable! Surely God will bless this system and those involved with years of good service.

The wind has picked and the tents are blowing around! What a beautiful day in Haiti, and what a beautiful group of people to spend a day at home with!