1. A lizard runs over your foot and you don't flinch.
2. It starts raining and you run OUTSIDE of the house instead of inside it (and bring your shampoo).
3. You can't fall asleep without the aide of VooDoo drums.
4. When you look at the fly (a.k.a. "Flying Raisin" here in Haiti) floating in your drink and down it anyways, thankful for the protein.
5. When the absence of the smell of trash makes you feel uncomfortable.
6.You praise God for one week without the runs.
7. The trip to the air conditioned grocery store feels like a day at an amusement park.
8. You see a man with a shotgun in the cookie aisle and wonder if he is getting chocolate chip or sugar.
9. Before buying any item of food you check to make sure there are no more than five ants crawling inside.
10. You see tarantulas, snakes, and rats more often than birds and you still don't want to leave :(
Please remember to pray for us as we are home these next few weeks. We have fallen in love with the people here and are going to need prayer readjusting. We will try and post one more after we are home and get settled in!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Hope for Haiti? Week 6
“Hope for Haiti” is probably the most common slogan for the country since the earthquake. Being here for almost two months though, we have to ask ourselves…is there really any hope? After spending a week in a community, “Light on a Hill”, and holding VBS for over a 100 children, this question often came to mind. Do these children, half dressed with bloated bellies, have any hope? What is “Hope for Haiti”? Is it rebuilding a home the size of an average bathroom with a tarp for a roof? Is it having filthy water within walking distance? Is it being able to send one of your children to school? Sadly, these three situations are some of the biggest hopes many families have. A small house is much preferred to a tent or house made of sticks. Having clean water is a joke to many Haitians, and being able to send just one of seven children to school is a blessing. So what is “Hope for Haiti”?
Observing a few communities over the past weeks has made us realize that we might have more hope for these people than they do for themselves. You probably don’t know that in the school curriculum children here are taught there is a hierarchy of people. Whites are at the top with skin colors becoming darker and darker until blacks are at the bottom. Yes, this is in an actual textbook. Haitian children are often taught they are cursed, unable to make much more of themselves. When Kristi and I asked one of our translators what he would like to do with his life after school his response was, “Make enough money to send my children to school.” With no dreams of a job this Haitian, a minority as he has an education, is being schooled only to hopefully be able to send his children to school. Why? An education just to supply another education is putting the hope in the process of receiving and not using. The country will never prosper or even have a stable economy if the people don’t believe they can do anything to help their situations. Most Haitians we have met are living only to survive another day. CNN can show the “Hope for Haiti” so many organizations are giving, but at the core Haiti didn’t have hope prior to the earthquake. Other
countries can only go so far in providing temporary aid to these people. While the aid is needed, more of our focus really should be teaching them to provide for themselves. Haitians have a hard time developing pride in themselves or their work when we are developing everything for them. As Americans who have watched the news and consistently seen the money being poured into the country along with incredible stories, we would like to think big changes are taking place each day. Still, after driving these streets for two months, from Port-au-Prince to the Dominican border, we can’t help but wonder where all the money has gone. Please don’t misunderstand us. So much good is being done here and can be done through various organizations aimed at meeting medical, housing, and spiritual needs- only the spiritual is often the last need we think of as Americans.
So will this country ever have real hope? I think the answer can only be found one place- in Christ. It is Christ who said he came for the poor, for they are rich in His eyes. This past week we spent some time with the leaders of a local church, along with 12 young men being discipled by our friend Junior. Seeing their eagerness to study God’s word, and hearing their countless questions on how to meet the needs in their own community, gave us the first view of where hope begins for this country. My dad, Nathan, was here with my college group from the week. He said he struggled early on when he was deciding how to teach these leaders about church administration. He realized that just maybe these men shouldn’t do church like Americans. Their ministry is characterized by equipping their congregation to live out the Gospel in a much different way than is our aim back in the States. We are often more concerned with spending money to build a bigger gym and a nicer sanctuary to attract people to the church. This
community of believers is more concerned with bringing the church and the gospel to the people, not waiting for them to come looking for it. This is displayed in service such as carrying a woman’s load of water up the 700 foot hill or praying every day with the brother next door with Malaria. Sounds a lot more like the Gospel we read in the Bible doesn’t it? When more of Haiti grasps this and finds Christ, they will find hope. Hope for eternity yes, but hope for today also.
While at “Light on a Hill” we saw a family finishing up their dinner next to the church. They had a pot full of leftover rice and beans- enough to feed their starving neighbors. We watched in astonishment though as the mother put the pot outside her house for the strays to eat. Stray animals took priority over the people living a foot away. With a heart of Christ it would be only natural to share with their neighbors. Although they may not have material needs to supply for many, service is part of the call and can be performed at any level of income. The Christian life brings service, stewardship, and hope. Three things Haiti lacks…three things Christ can solve.
Towards the end of our week on “Light on a Hill” we realized that these half-dressed bloated-belly kids do have hope. Their bright-eyed faces with smiles ear to ear don’t scream hopelessness like that of their elders. Kids have dreams. The only difference between the dreams of an American child and the dreams of a Haitian child is we are told it is possible, and our dreams continue to live. Somewhere along the road, these children learn to stop dreaming. But with the joy and hope a relationship with Christ brings, and the comfort offered through fellowship with a local body of believers, these children will not just survive, they will learn to live these dreams.
Observing a few communities over the past weeks has made us realize that we might have more hope for these people than they do for themselves. You probably don’t know that in the school curriculum children here are taught there is a hierarchy of people. Whites are at the top with skin colors becoming darker and darker until blacks are at the bottom. Yes, this is in an actual textbook. Haitian children are often taught they are cursed, unable to make much more of themselves. When Kristi and I asked one of our translators what he would like to do with his life after school his response was, “Make enough money to send my children to school.” With no dreams of a job this Haitian, a minority as he has an education, is being schooled only to hopefully be able to send his children to school. Why? An education just to supply another education is putting the hope in the process of receiving and not using. The country will never prosper or even have a stable economy if the people don’t believe they can do anything to help their situations. Most Haitians we have met are living only to survive another day. CNN can show the “Hope for Haiti” so many organizations are giving, but at the core Haiti didn’t have hope prior to the earthquake. Other
countries can only go so far in providing temporary aid to these people. While the aid is needed, more of our focus really should be teaching them to provide for themselves. Haitians have a hard time developing pride in themselves or their work when we are developing everything for them. As Americans who have watched the news and consistently seen the money being poured into the country along with incredible stories, we would like to think big changes are taking place each day. Still, after driving these streets for two months, from Port-au-Prince to the Dominican border, we can’t help but wonder where all the money has gone. Please don’t misunderstand us. So much good is being done here and can be done through various organizations aimed at meeting medical, housing, and spiritual needs- only the spiritual is often the last need we think of as Americans.So will this country ever have real hope? I think the answer can only be found one place- in Christ. It is Christ who said he came for the poor, for they are rich in His eyes. This past week we spent some time with the leaders of a local church, along with 12 young men being discipled by our friend Junior. Seeing their eagerness to study God’s word, and hearing their countless questions on how to meet the needs in their own community, gave us the first view of where hope begins for this country. My dad, Nathan, was here with my college group from the week. He said he struggled early on when he was deciding how to teach these leaders about church administration. He realized that just maybe these men shouldn’t do church like Americans. Their ministry is characterized by equipping their congregation to live out the Gospel in a much different way than is our aim back in the States. We are often more concerned with spending money to build a bigger gym and a nicer sanctuary to attract people to the church. This
community of believers is more concerned with bringing the church and the gospel to the people, not waiting for them to come looking for it. This is displayed in service such as carrying a woman’s load of water up the 700 foot hill or praying every day with the brother next door with Malaria. Sounds a lot more like the Gospel we read in the Bible doesn’t it? When more of Haiti grasps this and finds Christ, they will find hope. Hope for eternity yes, but hope for today also.While at “Light on a Hill” we saw a family finishing up their dinner next to the church. They had a pot full of leftover rice and beans- enough to feed their starving neighbors. We watched in astonishment though as the mother put the pot outside her house for the strays to eat. Stray animals took priority over the people living a foot away. With a heart of Christ it would be only natural to share with their neighbors. Although they may not have material needs to supply for many, service is part of the call and can be performed at any level of income. The Christian life brings service, stewardship, and hope. Three things Haiti lacks…three things Christ can solve.
Towards the end of our week on “Light on a Hill” we realized that these half-dressed bloated-belly kids do have hope. Their bright-eyed faces with smiles ear to ear don’t scream hopelessness like that of their elders. Kids have dreams. The only difference between the dreams of an American child and the dreams of a Haitian child is we are told it is possible, and our dreams continue to live. Somewhere along the road, these children learn to stop dreaming. But with the joy and hope a relationship with Christ brings, and the comfort offered through fellowship with a local body of believers, these children will not just survive, they will learn to live these dreams.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Week 4-5
Hello! Sorry we haven't updated in a while! We have been running around like crazy lately. We got the opportunity to go to Santo Domingo for a few days to pick up a missionary. It was a very nice and unexpected vacation! We got a little bit of American food and a lot of relaxation. We even spent our last night at a resort! (compliments of G-daddy Ensminger...don't worry if you're a supporter, we didn't use your money!) Although it was a blast and we probably spoiled ourselves a little too much, we definitely needed it. We were starting to get slightly emotionally and physically drained the week before, so we were very thankful for the break. BUT, God also used this time in a different way that we did not expect...
Ever since we got to Haiti, we feel like we've been more spiritually focused than ever. Obviously, being on the mission field has made us more mission minded. We see every opportunity to share the Gospel with people we meet, and we rarely miss a chance to show love to the people here or hug on a little one. We've been praying that when we return we would have the same attitude and the same urgency to witness to others and to be used by God wherever we are. This "spiritual high" has allowed us to dream big and get excited about what the future holds for us when we get back to the states, but it has also blinded us to many things that the world is going to throw at us back home, difficulties that just aren't issues here in Haiti. In the Dominican Republic we were smacked in the face...with materialism, all kinds of idolatry, and the depth of our selfishness. While we were there, we didn't look for any ministry opportunities. In our very excited states of mind, we were solely focused on where we could eat, what we could buy, and where we could go for ourselves. Though none of this in itself is a bad thing, it was for us because we put our desires above recognizing the needs of others. We really believe the Lord had different plans for our mini-vacation. He knew we needed rest, but he knew even better that we needed a reminder of the struggles that lie ahead for us. We needed to be warned that coming back from an experience like this is going to be far beyond difficult, and that we're going to need even more prayer when we get back. A Dominican pastor we heard last sunday urged his congregation to "not have the American mindset." At first this kinda shocked us (and embarrassed us, as we were the only white people in the room), but his point had some validity. With evidence of growing materialism in the DR, they should be on guard not to adapt this mindset. Because, as it did to us that week, it becomes all too easy to forget that our ultimate goal as believers is the make much of Christ in the world, not ourselves. We don't want to be too greedy in asking for your prayers :), but please pray that when we get home, we will keep the same heart we have here.
In two days, the Immanuel College Group gets here! We are so pumped! Basically because Nathan is bringing Betty's cookies :) But for real, it's gonna be such a relief to see familiar faces...and what's even better is we will be leading them up in an area an hour from here called "Light on a Hill"...But the name doesn't do it justice..it's literally on top of a mountain overlooking the ocean and the city...probably the most beautiful place we've seen since we've been here..and we will be sleeping in a tent on the roof of an old missionary house! We'll be working with the group doing everything from cooking and cleaning to discipleship, ESL, and Vacation Bible School. Please pray for the community and the group coming, as this is the first project being done in the area. The most incredible part is how God is already moving there. Junior, the local Haitian pastor and leader of the community, is a modern day Paul. His church has been growing and has recently had many men step up to lead. (Church administration is going to be one of the main focuses of this group's task) But the thing that's so special about Junior is that he is so focused on the spiritual needs of his community, he won't even accept offers for physical needs such as medical attention and house building in the area. If you could see the poverty in this area (naked children, trash-filled streets, cardboard roofs, and rampant malnourishment) you would understand just how much faith this man has. He knows that without God is the community, no change will last and no real hope will be given.
As a side note, we had three girls (Casey, Abby, and Kimberly) come in this week. It's been so refreshing to have girls close to our age here to hang out with. (and has given me a break from Jordan :)) This one chick Abby had to one-up us and come here for 6 months, at the age of 19, by herself!!..show off!!! Just kiddin, please pray for her as she begins a VERY long journey...
Thank you so much for your continued prayer and support. We really do pray for you all and thank God for you every day.
Ever since we got to Haiti, we feel like we've been more spiritually focused than ever. Obviously, being on the mission field has made us more mission minded. We see every opportunity to share the Gospel with people we meet, and we rarely miss a chance to show love to the people here or hug on a little one. We've been praying that when we return we would have the same attitude and the same urgency to witness to others and to be used by God wherever we are. This "spiritual high" has allowed us to dream big and get excited about what the future holds for us when we get back to the states, but it has also blinded us to many things that the world is going to throw at us back home, difficulties that just aren't issues here in Haiti. In the Dominican Republic we were smacked in the face...with materialism, all kinds of idolatry, and the depth of our selfishness. While we were there, we didn't look for any ministry opportunities. In our very excited states of mind, we were solely focused on where we could eat, what we could buy, and where we could go for ourselves. Though none of this in itself is a bad thing, it was for us because we put our desires above recognizing the needs of others. We really believe the Lord had different plans for our mini-vacation. He knew we needed rest, but he knew even better that we needed a reminder of the struggles that lie ahead for us. We needed to be warned that coming back from an experience like this is going to be far beyond difficult, and that we're going to need even more prayer when we get back. A Dominican pastor we heard last sunday urged his congregation to "not have the American mindset." At first this kinda shocked us (and embarrassed us, as we were the only white people in the room), but his point had some validity. With evidence of growing materialism in the DR, they should be on guard not to adapt this mindset. Because, as it did to us that week, it becomes all too easy to forget that our ultimate goal as believers is the make much of Christ in the world, not ourselves. We don't want to be too greedy in asking for your prayers :), but please pray that when we get home, we will keep the same heart we have here.
In two days, the Immanuel College Group gets here! We are so pumped! Basically because Nathan is bringing Betty's cookies :) But for real, it's gonna be such a relief to see familiar faces...and what's even better is we will be leading them up in an area an hour from here called "Light on a Hill"...But the name doesn't do it justice..it's literally on top of a mountain overlooking the ocean and the city...probably the most beautiful place we've seen since we've been here..and we will be sleeping in a tent on the roof of an old missionary house! We'll be working with the group doing everything from cooking and cleaning to discipleship, ESL, and Vacation Bible School. Please pray for the community and the group coming, as this is the first project being done in the area. The most incredible part is how God is already moving there. Junior, the local Haitian pastor and leader of the community, is a modern day Paul. His church has been growing and has recently had many men step up to lead. (Church administration is going to be one of the main focuses of this group's task) But the thing that's so special about Junior is that he is so focused on the spiritual needs of his community, he won't even accept offers for physical needs such as medical attention and house building in the area. If you could see the poverty in this area (naked children, trash-filled streets, cardboard roofs, and rampant malnourishment) you would understand just how much faith this man has. He knows that without God is the community, no change will last and no real hope will be given.
As a side note, we had three girls (Casey, Abby, and Kimberly) come in this week. It's been so refreshing to have girls close to our age here to hang out with. (and has given me a break from Jordan :)) This one chick Abby had to one-up us and come here for 6 months, at the age of 19, by herself!!..show off!!! Just kiddin, please pray for her as she begins a VERY long journey...
Thank you so much for your continued prayer and support. We really do pray for you all and thank God for you every day.
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