living the gospel

Traveling down to Haiti in March of 2009 was met with much excitement and anticipation. I did not know what to expect but I was open to all the possibilities. One of my biggest surprises was one we arrived all the people asked us if we were Christian. This seemed very odd to me and they even asked us sometimes several times in different ways. I was not used to this but tried to keep an open mind, quite honestly there are many definitions out there on what a ‘christian’ is and I didn’t know fully what that might mean in Haiti. But we spent the week learning all about and working with the Solar Oven Partners alongside of the Haitian people. We worked, laughed, and worshiped together. One of our many evenings staying up late in the church talking, the pastors eldest son Dylo sat down to share with me. He wanted me to understand something. He started, “You know when you first came here we were not sure of your group.” The community was told that this group of Americans was coming into do something for the community, not preach the gospel as other missionaries had done in the past. I thought back to when we first arrived and everyone asked us if we were Christian and thought this had made sense in the way we were received (especially because since then this has not been my experience in Haiti). Dylo continued full of heart and said, “So we knew you were not here to preach the gospel and many people did not know what to think of that, but you know… you are living the gospel. You came in to truly help the people. You came to teach us something and give us a way that the people can help their families.” My heart swelled with joy at these words and still two years later bring tears to my eyes. We need to be living the gospel. “Actions speak louder than words.” So what are you doing in the world? In your neighborhood? You don’t have to be a preacher, you don’t have to be a bible beater, you don’t even have to be a Christian (with a capital C). Jesus was blessing the people and teaching them how to help their neighbor and the stranger. Jesus reached out to those that were being marginalized by society. The outsider, the unclean, the misfits of society, that is who Jesus was with and loved. So act in love and see what happens, challenge yourself to step outside of your comfort zone a bit.

Amos - a friend and hard worker

I wanted to tell you about my dear friend Amos. I worked with Amos a lot in Mizak, Haiti. He was one of the construction bosses for HAPI. He learned the trade from his father John and worked along side him and their friend Silas. Amos was the main guy to go to for estimates on the houses that HAPI was repairing. When I volunteered with HAPI we would go out and inspect homes and Amos and his father would make estimates. He was an extraordinarily hard worker. He was very diligent on working on the projects and was always willing to help out in other areas too. He enjoyed very much working with the teams that came down to work on construction. He fixed many a thing around my house also. One day on the motorcycle, he drove around for taxi he asked me when I was going to visit him, his wife and two kids. I told him we needed to figure out a day and I would come over - I would love to meet his family. I never got that opportunity. But I will visit his wife and children when I return and tell the how much I loved Amos and how much I enjoyed knowing him.
You see Amos was killed 2 weeks ago when he was doing taxi on his motorcycle. A couple of men from PaP were riding with Amos leaving Jacmel. They took his bike and left him by a bridge. There have been reports of this happening other places and it is possibly gang activity.
This is terribly sad of course for Amos's family and friends; but also for the country. There is desperate situations going on in Haiti. People don't have roofs over their head, food on their plates, or clean water to drink. This causes people to lash out in desperate ways. Open your hearts to the people on the island just south of our bountiful country. Lift up prayers and look for ways that you might be able to get involved to help make a difference in the lives of the Haitian people.
Amos was a dear man and will be missed.

Dancing

This morning thinking about life and working out details of returning to Haiti. It has been an overwhelming few days. So I sat down this morning to write and look at some pictures of Haiti for inspiration. And what is the first video I open Majena and Kensie were just having some fun in my living room, dancing. But I couldn't get that to upload. But I searched more and thanks to Christy I found this video.

Note Majena not getting too distracted from her dance. She pauses some to watch her sisters, but she just keeps on dancing. It's a great reminder that sometimes you just need to dance, for no reason other than there is music. So if you are having a rough day, turn on the music and just DancE!

Live free, Dance hard
Dance when no ones looking,
Dance harder when they are
Dance to heal a wound,
Dance to heal a scar
Dance under the rain
Dance under the sun
And when you think you cant dance,
Just get outside and run
Dance to the sound of the leaves,
Dance to the song in your heart ....
~Meagan Slack

Its amazing the things we go through that somehow bring us closer together. I was down in Haiti during one of the hurricanes last year. It was pretty minor but still an experience. Lots and lots of Wind and Rain! We were indoors for 3 days and had to find ways to entertain ourselves. The kids got creative playing taxi with the buck beds. We also played with Gadson in the laundry basket and played a game of hot potato my brother gave me. Never thought that some wind and rain could cause this much fun indoors. Make me think sometimes we need to just take time to have fun.

A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless us with discomfort …
At easy answers, half truths,
And superficial relationships,
So that we may live deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with anger …
At injustice, oppression, and
Exploitation of people,
So that we may work
For justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless us with tears …
To shed for those who suffer from
Pain, rejection, starvation, and war.
So that we may reach out our hands

To comfort them
And to turn their pain into JOY.
And may God bless us with enough
Foolishness …
To believe that
We can make a difference in this world,
So that we can DO
What others claim cannot be done.
Amen.

Learning from our Brothers and Sisters

This morning I teared up just a little bit in church. It was because the two women coming down for the offertory were holding hands. Now some of you may think that is odd. But it reminded me of Haiti. When I first experienced this connection of hand holding in Haiti; I was walking to the market with the pastor's teenage daughter. She grabbed my hand as we were walking; I thought this was strange, but also felt connected, accepted, and loved by her.

I see people holding hands everywhere in Haiti. But the next time I remember two friends of mine, 2 guys were holding hands as the group of us walked. One of the Americans asked me if they were gay. I laughed a little and said "No, they are just good friends, many Haitians hold hands as they walk just to have that connection to one another."
That is what I saw this morning with those two ladies holding hands. It brought joy to my heart because I could see their love for each other. I think we can learn from this. Have that connection with the people you love. Reach out and grab that hand of your friend, show your love for them. Don't be afraid to look silly or have someone question you. You should always show love its what we are connected on this earth to do. Love is always something to be joyous about and never feel ashamed or embarrassed.

Being One

This ritual is One
The food is One
We who offer the food are One
The fire of hunger is also One
All action is One
We who understand this are One
~Hindu blessing