today I went to Haiti...

As you may already know, I just got back from a trip to Haiti. I was one of a ten person team that went and installed two water purification systems and did health teaching. As I said in a previous blog posting, I didn’t think I was ready for what I would see and feel…I wasn’t…not even close to being prepared. I am sure that is what God wanted and how He would prefer it, actually. Only several days later am I even able to write or verbalize anything about this trip. One thing I can tell you is that Haiti is a beautiful place chock full of more paradoxes than I could count. It is absolutely true there is extreme poverty yet there is a vast richness that is both subtle and obvious. However to understand this paradox one must redefine richness and how we measure it. In the US, we define richness by the amount of things and material goods we own and the nebulous idea of status based on those things. We have a "biggest pile-king of the mountain" mentality. Jesus spoke to this a lot and was very clear about the problem of selfishness of the rich, even in that time. People desperately clung to things…things that gave them comfort, security, and status. They allowed their things and position define who they were...just as we do now. Jesus knew this and He also knew how it interfered with serving others because of being bound to those things. In Matthew 19:21, it says,

  “Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 

Jesus knew. Detach from your possessions…give to the poor…and follow…just in that order. The people of Haiti have such meager possessions…some have none. All they have is the day and an amazing faith in God that, for the most part, dwarfs mine. Minute by minute…hour by hour…day by day is how the majority of Haitians live. This is why the “prosperity gospel” is false and does not play in Haiti. There is a depth of richness in the people of Haiti that is often missed with the casual interaction. They are hungry for sustained relationships...they fear abandonment. So many asked me, "when are you coming back?". This broke my heart more every time i heard it. As I told several pastors I met there, “the Haiti I have experienced this week is not the Haiti we see on TV in the US…” Indeed, people are hungry in Haiti but they are not hungry for false promises from politicians or misinformed "so called Christian" opportunist looking to take advantage of their misfortune. Many see Haiti as a project or a social science experiment and watch and wait for only the strong to survive. I read once a comment that someone made that said “put a fence around Haiti…and let Darwinism take its toll…” Obviously an uninformed comment that is neither constructive nor representative of many people. I never planned to go to Haiti but there are many places I have gone and things I have done that I did not plan. I cannot begin to unravel all that has happened in the last number of years that resulted in me being here this week. Suffice it to say, Gods’ plan and vision for my life far supersedes mine and He is continuing to write this incredible story. Away from the distractions and clutter of our lives here in the US it is easy to see and redefine what is richness and poverty. In a place of scarcity and struggle where hope strives to take root in rocky soil, God is at work. In fact, He is really… really busy.