Learning to Love

God continues to humble me on a regular basis.  There are so many stories of faith in the midst of suffering- faith that makes me realize how small my own faith is.  I wish I had time to write them all here, but I will choose one.  On a daily basis, I work alongside young Haitian men and women translators.  We depend on them to bridge the language and cultural barriers when we are working in the villages, but they are so much more than just translators.  They are men and women committed to serving God, serving their people, and bringing real hope and change to this nation.  I am continually learning so much from them, and I am amazed by their stories because God writes such beautiful stories of redemption and providence in the poorest of places.

I had a conversation with one of our translators, Marcial this week.  He is 29 years old and lives with his wife in a one room home in Source Matelas.  Marcial is passionate about sharing his faith especially with people who do not know Christ.  In fact, he is disappointed to go through a day without doing so.  He often shares the story of the Gospel- that because we were sinners, God loves us so much that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us so that we might spend eternity with Him if we have faith.  When someone responds to this and decides to live for Christ, he is sure to write down their names and where they live so that he can continue to encourage them and support them.  He also makes note of people in need in the different communities we visit and sacrifices whatever he can to take care of them.  Americans like me look at Marcial and his life and see that he had nothing, yet he is rich in the selfless love and faith rooted in the relationship he has with Jesus Christ.

This week, he told me the story of a teenage girl he met in a tent city who just had a baby.  Tent cities are communities of people who have been living in temporary shelters since the earthquake two and a half years ago.  Not only are these people living in poor conditions, they have the stories of tragedy and loss that brought them there.   The girl that Marcial described has an abusive boyfriend who continues to beat her, and Marcial continues to speak to this girl to offer her the hope that only Christ gives.  He is saving his money and praying so that he and his wife will be able to rent a bigger house, one with two rooms so that he can offer this girl an escape from the destructive and hearbreaking life she is living.  He almost has enough saved.  Someday he hopes he can build his own house, but for right now, he will rent one so that he can rescue this girl.  Two rooms is all he needs.

Stories like that force me to search my own heart and realize how much needs to change, and I pray I allow God to change it.  Oftentimes, I am asked what I am doing in Haiti by both Americans and Haitians.  The true answer is learning how to love.  Jesus Christ is teaching me everyday to learn how to love, not as the human heart loves but as he loves.

"...When pain is to be borne, a little courage helps more than much knowledge, a little human sympathy more than much courage, and the least tincture of the love of God more than all." -C.S. Lewis

Life Transformation

Life Transformation is a phrase we use often at Mission of Hope.  It is in fact written right into the vision statement: "As an organization following Jesus Christ, we seek to bring life transformation to every man, woman, and child in Haiti."  One of the greatest blessings in my life is being able to see the changes and transformation that God is accomplishing in Haiti not just weekly but also from one year to the next.  Those of us who are called to work on the ground day in and day out are sustained by the presence of God and the encouragement that He is doing great works here in Haiti.

One of my favorite stories of life transformation that God is writing here is in the community of Leveque.  Leveque is a village formed from hundreds of families displaced by the earthquake.  Last summer, it was one of the most difficult places for me to visit.  Families crammed in temporary shelters we referred to as blue tarp houses on a dusty stretch of land devoid of trees and without clean water.  It had been a year and a half, and there were many hungry babies and many sad stories.  Kids always seemed rough, dirty, naked, and sick.  Many had the red-tinged hair from malnutrition.  Parents seemed exhausted and crushed, tired of waiting for promises to be broken.

But there was still HOPE.

Rows of empty houses, colorful as candy buttons, dotted the landscape.  We worked day after day to get the houses ready- painting, clearing land with machetes, putting on roofs, planting cactus hedges.  We prayed for clean water while a drill was stuck, broken in the earth.  And everyday, as we worked, we loved the people of Leveque and shared the ultimate story of hope- that God so loved us all that He suffered our fate in order to be with us for eternity.

This summer, I love climbing the hill overlooking Leveque to see the green landscape of gardens and plantain trees that surround the colorful homes.  Families wave to us from their front porches.  Now, there is clean and affordable water in the village.  Every Tuesday afternoon, the community gathers for a soccer game.  The children play first.  Then, the adults from the deaf community play adults from the hearing community with some Americans mixed in.  The players wear real jerseys donated from a middle school basketball team in the States.  Music blares from speakers and people sing and dance along.  Americans and Haitians mingle on the sidelines, cheering on the players, hugging babies, meeting families.  At the end of the game, we all gather in a circle and sing praises and pray to the God who loves us all- we pray in English and Kreyol and Sign Language- a beautiful dance of words and hands.  The Lord hears all of our hearts gathered there on the dust of the soccer field.

There are still many people in Leveque living in blue tarp houses, hoping for a home that they can raise their families in and grow their own food, but transformation has begun.  I pray that God will continue to transform this community and bring hope to the poor.  After all, Christ came so that we might have life and life abundantly (John 10:10) and that promise is meant for the dirty baby living in a tent in Haiti just as much as it is meant for you and me.  Keep praying.