Book Review for Mark Batterson’s, “Primal”

Blog Tour Book Review for, Primal

By Jeremy Willet

I was very excited to receive my copy of Primal from Multnomah Books to participate in the blog tour, and started reading it the day it arrived. I was immediately hooked when Mark asked the question, “…what is the primal essence of Christianity?” I love how he went on to share his conviction over the question, “Does your heart break for the things that break the heart of God?” I could relate to Mark as he talked about the launch of Beza International Church in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as I have spent several weeks over the past few years in Ethiopia visiting the villages I have helped adopt through the band, Willet.

On page 6, Mark asks the question, “…what’s wrong with the church?”  On page 119, Mark unintentionally provides one possible answer to that question. I was literally sick to my stomach as I read this paragraph,

“At our most recent staff planning retreat, our team was discussing our missions strategy over a meal at the Cheesecake Factory. I was somewhere between spicy cashew chicken and banana cream cheesecake with raspberry puree when…we were brainstorming how we could give more money to missions…”

I immediately stopped reading, grabbed a pen, and circled the following words:

Missions strategy. Cheesecake Factory. Spicy cashew chicken. Banana cream cheesecake. Money to missions.

Most people would simply blow through this paragraph and continue reading about the great things that Batterson, and his church have contributed to, but not me. Maybe its because Jesus was homeless and spent time with the poor. Maybe its because Jesus was found not only teaching, but also living out what he preached. Maybe its because I am trying to follow what the Bible really says about how we are supposed to respond to the poor.

Regardless, I am very thankful for what Mark and NCC are doing through their missions department, and I respect their goals of wanting to give millions of dollars away to the poor. That is very admirable! But, on Page 18, he states,  ”Every year, fifteen million children die of starvation” and on Page 20 he reminds us that “A child dies from drinking contaminated water every twenty-one seconds.”

He then asks this question, ” Are you okay with this?”

I’m not.

Do you see the discomfort created in the paragraph on page 119 discussing poverty over a fancy dinner using money that was intended to go towards those poor people?

This paragraph bothered me so much that I actually emailed Mark personally before I posted my review publicly. What bothered me the most was how Mark went into great detail about the food he ate at an expensive restaurant while talking about people that will literally die for not having any food at all!

To Mark’s credit, he personally responded within a few minutes and was willing to discuss this with me. Here is part of his response as I asked him : “Mark, Do you experience the same daily battle that I do trying to justify spending money on items such as food, clothes, etc when you know that millions will go without?”  :

“Thanks Jeremy.  I do battle it every day  Grateful for a very frugal wife with a huge heart for missions.  I can see how you’d interpret that description [cheesecake factory meal] the way you did.  For the record, cheesecake [factory] is one of my favorite restaurants (eat there maybe 3 times a year) and it’s usually with a gift certificate.  And that is probably why I got a little carried away in my description  But it wasn’t an expensive meal…it was lunch…Thanks again for emailing me directly about this…I respect that - Mark”

Mark’s willingness to remain approachable before the release of his book was very admirable and I respect that a lot.

Mark stated in Primal that  ”If you really want to know how I’m doing spiritually, all you need to do is look at my checkbook.” Mark has been faithful in giving thousands of dollars to missions, and even in his life goals, he mentions a desire to give over 1 million dollars away. After reading this book, I was challenged personally with a question; Do we really desire to KNOW the poor, or is it more comfortable for us to stay at a safe distance behind our desks and fancy dinners? Maybe the “Quest for the lost soul of Christianity” involves us evaluating our lifestyles as a whole, rather then the size of the checks we write.

Go read the book for yourselves. Mark will stir up many questions within your heart that will require some alone time with Jesus to truly reveal your purpose in this life.

www.randomhouse.com

- Jeremy Willet (author of carried., lead singer of Willet)

Coconut, Scorpions, and Apple Sauce

I guess I should explain my blog title. When Fern is here she enjoys drinking and eating lots of coconut, so the guys who help here decided to climb the tree and cut down lots of coconut for me and the kids. I would have been fine with none, but they handed me two whole coconuts! I love coconut back in the states, but here…no thank you. I felt bad not drinking and eating them, but I just treated the kids to my share as well:) Then the other night I was sleeping and I heard, “Kathleen PeePee” so I jumped up and there on the floor was a little scorpion. I ran in the kitchen and grabbed the bug spray and just held the trigger. He eventually died and I layed in bed all night thinking things were crawling on me:) Finally, I know what happens when you open a bottle of Apple Sauce and leave it sit out a couple days and then open it again. It explodes!!!!! I thought I lost my hand as the lid shot at me and people came running in the kitchen. I just stood there in awe and stared at my hand making sure it was still attached:)

I wanted to thank everyone for your prayers as we all fought colds, skin rashes, and lack of sleep these past couple weeks. Everyone is starting to feel better as am I and I give the praise to God! It was a hard week being sick and dealing with the kids as they were as well. I was up many nights and dragging to get through the day, but I am feeling a lot better. On top of my cold I also developed a skin rash that I had no idea where it came from. I then remembered being told to do my own laundry because the lady who does it will not get all of the soap out. She had washed my bedding, due to one of the kids peeing in my bed, and the next morning I woke up covered in a rash. So I took care of that problem and I am doing good:)

Last week God brought me to a place I have never been before. I was literally helpless and had nowhere to turn. Our little guy Neet woke up from a nap very sick. He was fine before his nap, but something drastic changed. I was sitting with him in bed and had no idea what to do.  The clinic was closed and the only answer I got from a friend was to wait till tomorrow for the doctor to be in. I just sat there and prayed so hard because I didn’t know what was going on. I was at a point of having no help and being told to wait. I held him and cried and prayed till he fell back asleep. I was so scared and felt like I really failed this child by not keeping him healthy. Satan was trying to use this to get me down and frighten me, but I kept telling him that my God is so Great and in control!  When we are in those moments of helplessness, satan’s voice seems to scream out over anyone elses, but we have to wait on the Lord.Everytime I feel too tired to go on God seems to give me that little boost of energy and peace. Before I know it I have made it through the day and can lay me head down for a little.  Neet is feeling a little better now, but is still suffering from stomach issues so I ask for your continued prayer for him.

That is all for now, but again thank you all for your prayers and thoughts. God is doing mighty things here and in your lives, you just have to wait on him and listen for the still quiet voice.

Watch part of Kathleen’s Commissioning Service

Watch the WILLET MISSIONS/QUEST COMMUNITY CHURCH commissioning service for Kathleen on WTV: Click Here to Watch

Happy Late Thanksgiving:)

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Late Thanksgiving. Things have been very busy around here but I found sometime before my eyes give out to write. So everyone has wanted to know what I did for Thanksgiving. I actually thought I would just be having rice and beans with the kids and doing the usual evening with them, but I was wrong. The night before Adrien, a doctor here who has been to the states, called and invited me and Pam over for a Thanksgiving meal. The day was busy with the kids, but we managed to leave and head over where the table was full of food. IT was just like home except different people and types of food:) We had fresh turkey Adrien had bought that morning, corn, scalloped potatoes, rice and beans, plantains:), beet salad, brownies and ice-cold sprite! It was such a blessing that Adrien would think of us and have this all prepared. I also had received an envelope filled with letters from my church back home. I found a couple minutes while the little ones were napping to pull them out and read them. I am so thankful to have people in my life who would do something like that. The letters were filled with words of encouragement and prayers. Jeremy even made me my own Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade:).

These past couples weeks have been busy with school visits, mountain hikes, trying to get 7 kids and me back to feeling healthy again, and trying to focus on what I am doing here. God has a great plan for me here and I think I know what it is I just have to work on getting everything together. I want to start Bible programs on Sunday at the orphanage and on Saturdays up in the mountains for the kids there. I will be sharing Bible stories and doing activities for the kids with the help of some youth here. I will start in December getting my feet wet with the kids at the orphanage to see what will work and what I should stay away from. These kids need an opportunity to hear the Word and see that someone loves them and they are special. I do need to work on my Creole, but my good friend Antion said he will tutor me and in return I will tutor his students with English. So I will keep everyone updated with how that goes:). I am excited to be apart of helping at Antion’s school because these kids are not well-behaved and don’t take the time to learn but I pray one on one will make a big difference.

I would be lying if I said I go through the day always positive and having a smile on my face because sometimes it just gets so overwhelming with 8 kids. I will be happy to see Fern return to help me with all of them and so I can start my tutoring and Bible programs:). She is such a great lady and has a very big heart for these kids as do I.  I do end the day being convicted of the way I acted at times and let my mood not reflect my heart. I know I have been sick these past few days, but so have the kids so no real excuse. There is such a need here for people to be loved and shown they are worth so much! Being up at the mountain school I saw families who were not united, children who were not loved and given a chance, but also a yearning for someone to come along and help them. That is what we are here for. To be a light in a dark place and show them that no matter what they have done in their lives or what others have done to them that God loves them and they can change. I am excited about the road ahead but tired already so I ask for you all to pray for strength for me as I continue moving forward and up:). I also ask for prayer for the bondage here that Satan has over Haiti. These people have a long road ahead of them as they seek change but together as a group of believers we can win this battle! The same goes for areas like Baltimore and Taneytown where satan is creeping in and trying to take residence. We need to stand strong in prayer and fasting for change to come. While going to the mountain school I learned there were areas you could just walking through, but there was one point that was dirt and was a long slope down. The only way to make it was to run and focus on each step or you would tumble and fall. The same goes with our prayer life. We can’t juts walk around issues or not take things seriously. Now is the time we need to run and focus on the change we want to see take place being proactive as we pray.  So together let us run the race God has layed out for us.

I miss you all and thank you for your prayers and support. Our God is a Mighty God with NO limits!!!!

Thanksgiving in Haiti

I was able to talk to Kat tonight and pass around the phone to my family who was eager to hear her voice. Someone in the community cooked them a turkey and hosted them to make it a special day since they were in Haiti over Thanksgiving. My mom had organized “Thanksgiving in a bag” for her by asking people from our church to make cards for her, and write notes of encouragement. I also drew my hand on the front of the bag and made it look like a turkey   Inside, I attempted to sketch a mock Macy’s Day Parade for her as she missed one of her favorite Thanksgiving traditions. Kat was very happy though and has been staying extremely busy with the children. She regularly gets up at 4:30am with the rooster and immediately begins caring for 8 orphans.

Even over the phone, Kat seems far away as there is a heavy delay on the phone relay – however, we know that God is watching over her. I am so thankful for the sacrifice of my beautiful wife to be willing to give up the comfort of home and annual traditions of a holiday to care for children that are greatly in need.

Thank you for your prayers for her! Tomorrow night, we are planning to call again so she can talk to her family.

Below I have included a link to a short video from Food for the Hungry of an area in Haiti that Kathleen just recently spent some time at.

A Slum Called Jealousy [HAITI] from FH Global on Vimeo.

Willet featured in 6:8 Magazine

After walking to my mailbox today, I was slammed with a reason to praise God for something. Yesterday, I returned from a trip to Haiti and the DR, and the faces of poverty were still very fresh on my mind. Back home in Maryland, I opened my mailbox to find an article featuring WILLET in a magazine called, 6:8 Magazine. The article was a summary of our trip to Ethiopia earlier this year, where we were introducing everyone to our goal of seeing an additional 500 children sponsored in 2009. As I skimmed through the article, I was reminded of our sense of urgency that we felt when we returned back from Africa.

In one week, we are about to start another 20 city Christmas tour to close out the year. We are currently sitting at 594 children sponsored for the year! This is a reason to give praise to God. The glory is His alone.

Thank you friends for changing the world this year.

May we not stop now.

www.fh.org/willet

-Jeremy Willet

 

 

Haiti / DR trip – November 2009

11.19.09
Willet Missions / Food for the Hungry
Haiti/DR Visit for Hunger Strike

This past week, I had the opportunity to travel to Haiti and the Dominican Republic for Willet Missions to join Food for the Hungry staff from Haiti and the DR, as well as meet up with Kathleen, coming from Ti Riviere. Initially, we ran into some logistical complications which potentially would have made us drive through the night back from the DR border (not advised for safety reasons), however, the staff was very flexible and we were able to arrange our return before dark.

We started by meeting up in Port-au-Prince and driving to the DR border. After meeting up with FH DR staff, we began to learn about the development taking place in many of the communities. The purpose of our trip was to evaluate potential sites in which The Hunger Strike program would end up supporting through child sponsorship, short term mission teams, and community-to-community (C2C). Because the DR and Haiti are on the same island, they end up sharing many of the same poverty-related problems (poor sanitation, malaria, HIV/AIDS, lack of clean water access, lack of education resources). FH DR has had the Child Development Program (CDP) active for many years, so we traveled there to learn from the tremendous team. We were able to visit a community where FH’s C2C program allowed a church from Indiana to provide resources for the building of a school, kitchen, and latrines. FH then supplied the medical clinic with monthly check-ups, and the DR government pays the teachers and food supplies.

On the last day, we traveled across the border back into Haiti to visit a town with 2 communities where Hunger Strike will begin to impact in the spring of 2010. It appears that close to 400 children will immediately be enrolled in CDP, and our prayer is for a fast response to their needs. We had the opportunity to meet with many community leaders, staff, teachers, and children to learn the vision for these areas. We were all unified under the fact that we wanted to see Jesus glorified through our actions, and are praying for many to come to know Jesus as their Savior.

Kathleen is currently serving at an orphanage in Ti Riviere, Haiti, however, was asked to join the FH staff in Haiti near the DR border as a volunteer Community Development Coordinator. Please join us in prayer for this decision. Our original vision for The Hunger Strike was to have Kathleen working alongside the children that we were presenting at concerts in the U.S. That vision is becoming closer to reality, however, includes many more details, cost, commitment, language training, missionary training, and residence in Haiti. Pray for wisdom in this decision.

Information about The Hunger Strike will be available soon onwww.thehungerstrike.org

View over 100 photos from this trip here:http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=344368&id=621495362&l=68fd2ae52d

First Week In Haiti

It has been a week since I have left the states and I have had a great week! It was nice having my mother come down with me and watch her help out in the clinics and experience her first missionary trip. The children at the orphanage are just wonderful and the people around the area have been so great to meet. The children have been teaching me Creole so that has been fun and they get excited when I speak it to them☺.

I have enjoyed the city areas and the mountain areas here in Haiti and learning the different needs in these places. Driving throughout the mountains yesterday it was overwhelming with the help these people need but we serve a Great God amen! We visited one of the many slum areas called Jealousy were people live who have no other option. We then went to a place called Bosier and helped plant bamboo so it would help prevent the many mudslides during the rainy season. It was nice to get out in a new area and see the people and homes because for the most part of the week I stayed in the orphanage getting the routine down. For the most part I think I have everything down with the kids in the orphanage but I know they are going to test me so we shall see. ☺

I have learned this week how great it is to be able to sit down because with 8 kids that doesn’t happen much. One big thing spiritually I have learned is how crucial it is to give my day over to God. Honestly, the first two days I was so busy I didn’t have time for me and God to connect and those days were very trying for me. I woke up the 3rd day and started it off in prayer and humbling myself to the plan God had for me that day and let me tell you there was a big difference in how I approached situations and was able to keep going despite the heat and being tired. God is our strength when we are weak, our hope when there is none around, and our joy with desperation around.

There is a lot of work to do here in Haiti and most of the people are willing but some are tired of fighting and have lost hope. Please pray with me for a renewed strength and hope for these people. They want change and know they can’t go on like this, but they need to be shown the correct path or they will continue down a destructive one.

I am having an amazing experience and God is showing me so much about his grace and peace. I saw again as in an earlier letter, what is good, and again I saw that God is a great God who cares for his creation great or small. God is stretching me already and I am enjoying it but at the same time nervous about what is next. I know God is in control and I find my peace in that.

I know this is a long letter, but a lot has gone on and I just want to share with you all the love of God here and the love God has for you all back home. Find your hope and strength in Him.

John 16:33 “In the world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Skype chat with Kathleen…

This morning at 2am, Kathleen and the team drove from the orphanage in Ti Riviere back to Port-au-prince. Kathleen’s mom will be flying back to the U.S. today (pray for a safe trip), and Kathleen will be working out of the Food for the Hungry Haiti office until Monday when I fly into meet her. Then we will travel to the Dominican Republic together to assess a site there.

I was able to catch Kathleen on skype this morning and she is doing great! Her comment this morning was,  ”They have a real shower and toilet here at the office…its a treat!”

Its amazing what brings you joy when pretty much all luxuries of life have been stripped away.

Kathleen and team arrives safely in Haiti!

Today is an exciting day! We sent our first missionary (Jeremy’s wife, Kathleen) to Haiti and we just received a text that she arrived safely this morning. In addition to Kathleen going, Kathleen’s mom is a nurse and is also accompanying her as part of a medical team that is traveling to the orphanage where she will be living. Jeremy will be flying over next Monday to travel to the Dominican Republic with Kathleen and some Food for the Hungry staff for a short vision trip to assess some areas for development.

For more information, please visit www.willetonline.com/missions & www.fh.org/willet.

- Jeremy Willet