Haiti Devotional Series

Sixes UMC Haiti Mission 2017

Beginning tomorrow, Thursday, September 21, 2017, 'The Standard Chronicles" will begin a weeklong series, uh, well, chronicling the experience of  a group of Christian Missionaries in Haiti. The daily posts will be in the form of a Devotion. Each Devotion will be based on a submitted Holy Bible scripture reference. The submitters are folks who have sponsored myself and my dear friend Patti in our participation with the Sixes team. Patti, a Nurse, has been doing this medical mission trip for five years and encouraged me to join in.

Port -au- Prince, Haiti

In gratitude for their support, I will write for these friends a daily devotion from their submitted scripture. I trust that, as is already the case, the Holy Spirit will be active in my inspiration to relate the Word to what is happening on the ground, so to speak.

If the reader desires to incorporate the devotions into their daily practice of prayer and meditation here are a few suggestions: Have a Holy Bible or Bible app (i.e.: "Bible Gateway") available for you to research, for the Devotion reference will be book/chapter/verse only. The devotion will be missing context without the reader absorbing the written Word. Carve out of your day some quiet time listening to what our Creator speaks that only You can hear!

If you are inspired to see what each day has to offer, here is a brief description of our loving support group:

Five Finger Friends Reprised


Over the course of a lifetime one learns that true friends do not pepper life’s path nor can they be plucked from trees and vines as if low hanging fruit. Instead we often discover them when we stray from the well-worn path or in climbing to great heights. My faith has convinced me that these friends are indeed Angels that our heavenly Father has placed along our path at just the right time with the right lesson to teach us, just when we are most teachable. I also am certain teach ability is a required characteristic of humility. For most of my life I have believed that if one could count these true friends with one hand they would be considered highly blessed. I am here today to say my true friend philosophy is changing and it looks like I need two hands now, particularly with beautiful Patti in my life! These Haiti Mission Sponsors are considered five finger friends of Patti and I:

John McCorkle, Ed Hogg, Brenda and Warren Taylor, John Fleming, Joyce and Michael Newsom, Randy Pettit, Jeanette and Ryan Karstensen, Chuck Whiteside

Here is a story that when I stop and consider it, I stand amazed. My first job out of college in Daytona Beach was in 1975. There at the local NBC TV affiliate a seasoned photographer and Viet Nam Vet took interest in me and showed me “the ropes”.  He and his marvelous wife welcomed me in their home. They have witnessed with me weddings, funerals and graduations over the years. Then there are two men who I worked together with in the financial services industry and as three recently divorced bachelors in 1982 became roommates.  We would reunite after 30 years in large part through Walk to Emmaus. There is a man who I first met at the 1984 Great Miller High Life Chili Cook Off. Five years later he would hire me and become my boss at a major Alcohol Beverage Wholesaler. Two decades later I would sponsor him on Walk to Emmaus. Then there is the man, a licensed Pastor in the Christian Church Disciples of Christ and certified addiction counselor who helped me get sober in 2008. He and his wife are wonderful friends. There are also two men who have graced my life since 2010 in the important recovery fellowship to which we belong and are also my Emmaus Brothers.  Then there is a couple who have been in Patti’s life for years and are her closest friends now becoming mine. A little over a year ago and through Walk to Emmaus, they played a big part in the coming together of Patti and me.  Can anyone say Angels in our path? How marvelous, how wonderful is my savior’s love for me. *       Amen

* Lyrics from:"I Stand Amazed" Chris Tomlin. Music and worship is one way to get one in a prayerfully meditative mood. Check it out.

I hope to see you here again soon.

Love Always and In All Ways,

Bradford Bosworth
September, 2017