Teaching Men to Fight with Swords

The Haiti Bible Institute has officially launched. Sixteen students are eating, sleeping and studying here at Wall’s Guest House for eight days. During this time they will get four classes (Elements of Bible study, Introduction to Biblical Counseling, Bibliology and James). Fifteen men have been scholarshipped for four years (commitments of $3200 per pastor) and number sixteen showed up because of a communication problem. Jim didn’t have the heart to turn him away. Any takers on another scholarship? Jim is hoping for a total of twenty men by the time he comes back for the September modules.

During the first four days Jim is teaching Elements of Bible Study and I am teaching Introduction to Biblical Counseling. My material is aimed at helping these men see that God’s word is our sufficient source of Truth to address the deepest non-physical problems people face. When someone has an organic problem the counselor’s task is not to make it go away but to help the sufferer manage the pain “Christianly.” The blessing about the other three classes the men are getting in this term is that they are getting instruction on how to carefully handle that powerful weapon.

It is exciting to see students animated and considering how they can use our material in their own ministries. I was already getting questions about demon possession, adultery, forgiveness, divorce and addictions after my first hour.

Adventure report: It rained all night last night. I am told the weather here is very predictable (hot and sunny during the day and rain at night with an occasional hurricane).

Local roosters began crowing at 3:55 a.m. today. I’m thinking that kind of early morning behavior is part of the reason chicken is frequently on the menu here.

Anecdote: While I was teaching this afternoon some very loud electronic American Santa Claus music was playing outside the walls of the guest house. We were all distracted and I asked my translator what that was. He said, “water truck.” Evidently the local trucks carrying that valuable commodity are equipped with an American horn so the people come running and buy their jugs of water. I told him we do that with ice cream. He laughed.