Pastor Jeremy Stephens

Author: Jeremy Stephens

  • Two Very Different Mornings

    Two Very Different Mornings

    For many years I served at a church that hosted an Easter sunrise service on the beach. I would dutifully wake up far earlier than I was accustomed to, layer up since a warm Easter Sunday is more of an ideal than a reality here in the Northeast, and make my way to the seaside…

  • Broken Jars, Broken Bread

    Broken Jars, Broken Bread

    This week we approach two of the darkest chapters of Scripture: the betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion of Jesus. Mark, our guide on this narrative, has raised the tension higher and higher each week. Chapter by chapter we’ve learned that while Jesus is controversial and confrontational, he’s also approachable, pure, on an uncompromising mission, and in…

  • God likes to poke at things while you’re on a mission trip.

    God likes to poke at things while you’re on a mission trip.

    One of the more exciting parts of the trip is our re-introduction day at Zanglas, the retreat center on the ocean that belongs to RMI. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.   After hours of travel we finally made it there (after a brief stop at the guest home…

  • Haiti is mountainous—this is important to remember.

    Haiti is mountainous—this is important to remember.

    There is an old man who seems to be the church handyman. He is a tiny guy-0maybe 110 pounds of muscle, skin and bones.  Today we really got into a rhythm with the water filters. Each is a blue cylindrical container about 4ft. high and 12 inches in diameter. We prepare the filters before we…

  • The first day of the “real work”

    After an early breakfast, we split into 4 teams. One team taught the leaders of 9 other churches in the district health practices and how to disperse the medication for intestinal parasites. We learned this week that there is a saying in Haiti that everyone has worms. The work those two teams in our group…

  • They Turned the Music Down

    This trip has been a bit different than the last. Many of the things that always happen (like a big greeting at the entrance to town, food from the airport to Las Cayes, some of the food we were able to eat) have changed. I can sense a level of frustration in the team. Today…

  • The Road is Better

    At least the road is better between Las Cayes and Jeramie. What had taken us three hours of travel last year only took us an hour and fifteen minutes. We made it to Jeramie in record time.  The road was funded by the United States and a Brazilian company did the construction. When the construction…

  • Embracing the Process

    Haiti Day 1  We are a results-riven culture.  This afternoon we wound our way out of Port-Au-Prince, and I found myself wondering what it would take to “improve Haiti.” Not much has changed since I was here a little over a year ago (save the airport—that was vastly improved!). The same tent cities are here,…

  • Haiti- final day

    Haiti- Day 6/7 6:20am I’m on the road again. I can’t believe the amount of travel this trip has required. Because Dame-Marie is so remote, travel has been one of the biggest features of this week. Thankfully, our road today is relatively smooth. Instead of cramming into several pickup trucks, we are all in a…

  • Haiti- Day 5

    Haiti- Day 5 I am currently sitting in one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, but getting here was miserable. We needed to leave Dame-Marie at 6 in the morning. The road across southern Haiti is under quite a bit of construction, and one section near our destination was going to be closed…