The Message of Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:18

We've been back now for five days, and it is amazing how quickly things go back to normal. The first day or so, I was amazed by the smallest things: smooth roads, green grass, houses of brick and shingle, new cars and new clothes. I took the kids to the park in Greenville, which was also amazing, and on the way there, we drove down East Parkins Mill Road. I noticed, as if for the first time, the size of the houses and the property there. I guess its the American dream, big house, two car garage (or more), nice yard with green grass, maybe a boat, if you're into that. The thing that struck me was that this is not the Haitian dream. I don't think you're average Haitian wants all of that. I mean, sure they would take it over living in a shack with a leaky roof and starving. But the Haitian dream is probably a little simpler: a job, a two room house with solid roof, food on the table. What I'm struggling with is what is the standard of living that we should expect, not as Americans, but as citizens of the world?

Now, if you live on East Parkins Mill, please don't take this as a condemnation. I'm not trying to say we are evil for having so much when others have so little. What I'm trying to come to grips with is the statement people often make when we get back from Haiti or Salkehatchie. "It makes you thankful for all the blessings we have, doesn't it?" I don't ever say this to anyone, but what I always think is "No, it doesn't." It doesn't make me thankful for what I have. It makes me think I have way too much. It makes me question whether or not our wealth in the US is actually a "blessing from God" or a curse of our sinful greed, nationalism, racism, and casual disregard for the people of the rest of the world. Remember, Jesus says its super-hard for a rich person to find the kingdom of God. Maybe we aren't individually making evil decisions to hoard wealth while others starve. Maybe we are caught in systems of sin, set up long before any of us were born, that perpetuate the status quo while our broken theology gives us peace of mind by making us "thankful for the blessings we have." One way to talk about this is white privilege. Basically, that means that for the last 600 years the dice have been consistently loaded for white people to accumulate wealth at the expense of people of color, from slavery to colonialism to voting laws and property laws to redlining and unfair loan practices to educational opportunities and segregation. I'm not saying people didn't work hard, invent things, and use their God-given gifts to make a good life for themselves and their children. All I'm saying is that it is very questionable to assume that the accumulation of wealth propped up by systemic sin is actually the way God blessed us and intends us to live. Somewhere between Haiti and the American dream lies the truth of God's intent for us as a species.

Now I'm guessing that after you read that paragraph, you either already agreed with me before and are now nodding your head self-righteously, or you sniffed out a "liberal agenda" in what I wrote, already disagreed with me before you started, and are shaking your head at my lack of patriotism and judgmentalism. I didn't write the above to make you feel good or bad about yourself. I wrote it to try to bring you in to this new vision of the world God has given me through my trip to Haiti. I want to give you a glimpse of what our world looks like post-Haiti. All I can give you is a glimpse. If you want to gain clearer vision of the world as God sees it, you have to come with me to Haiti. And you can't go to Haiti just to "do some good" or "help some poor people," although those are noble pursuits. If you want to really do some good, you must go to build relationships with people in Haiti. Relationships take time and effort. And they are the only thing that really matters, that can really change the world.

That's what I understand the Gospel to be. God is saving the world by restoring our relationship with God, through forgiveness of our sins and restoration of our broken nature. God is doing this by restoring our relationships with one another, through peace and love. When this happens, faith replaces fear and hope replaces despair. The power of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, unleashed into the world, the church, and each one of us by the Holy Spirit, is the power of reconciliation. That's the litmus test for everything a Christian says, thinks, or does: does this further the ministry of reconciliation? Does it improve my relationship of love and peace with God and my neighbor? The good news is that God has not abandoned us in our wealth or the people of Haiti in their poverty. God is bringing us together so that we may find a more excellent way to live. Thanks be to God.

For the Sake of Ten

Genesis 18:32

Haiti is beautiful. Palm trees frame the moon rising over the Atlantic. Tropical plants rise from the concrete. The people are beautiful. They smile through the dust and the dirt. The kids sing and laugh and play soccer. Their moms watch over them, keeping them in check. The men work and sweat and talk and laugh. Many people here have asked me, "Do you like Haiti?" I say yes. Then they ask, "Why?"  "Because Haiti is beautiful, and the people are beautiful."
Today was a rough day. We went to the prison to visit the people there. I confess I have never visited the prison in Pickens County, but I plan to remedy that when I return. Here, men are kept in cages about the size of our hotel room, with 15-20 men crammed inside. We also saw a cell for young boys that was the same, the youngest being 14. The warden said some of them murdered people and are in for life. Our interpreter said that men will put the kids up to the murder because people don't expect children to be a threat. The women were out doing the wash. Here's the real kicker; they all have to buy their own food with whatever people bring them. So we gave the boys some money for food, and we bought purses from the men. The misery was overwhelming, because here was something we could truly do nothing about, and people had brought it upon themselves, to some extent. It was humbling.
We had two Bible schools. Here is hope; children who have not been discarded and locked away, whose lives have promise. I have been telling the story of Jonah through an interpreter with a lot of physical animation. I finally got a laugh today for Jonah riding his camel, indicating that these children had more to eat than some of the others we had visited, and therefore more energy. I've had fun playing soccer with the boys. We went to the souvenir market for more depressingness. The people say, "Come, look, buy my stuff, because I'm hungry and I want to eat!" It's a very fine line to avoid getting ripped off, while not negotiating away all of their profit.
Anna took mattresses to the children in the orphanage who had 30 kids on a concrete floor. They were happy, but mostly they wanted food. She also went to the site where the church is almost complete. We will worship with the congregation there before we leave.
Haiti is beautiful; Haiti is hard.

There is a Great Divide Between Us

Luke 16:26

"Though we are from different nations, we are joined together by you, the one God." Pastor Davide prayed these words today with Tenny, Ernest, and me. Can you hear these words, in the midst of all the flag waving, wall-building, cheering and jeering that is blasting out of Cleveland this week? Those noises are muted for us in Haiti. The sounds here are precious children laughing, pastors praying together, people singing. The language is different, the children have no shoes, the songs have a different rhythm. But I am constantly struck by our sameness, our unity as children of God in Christ Jesus.
Haiti is so hard. The problems are so deep. But the people are people. When I brought out a soccer ball for the children who were helping load concrete blocks on our work site, suddenly laborers were children again. They hugged me and cheered like I was a combination of Superman and Santa Claus. Which is not really a good feeling, because it puts me over them in a weird way. One minute, we are loading block together, the next they worship me, the next we are all playing and having fun together. It's like that feeling when your kids open presents from you on Christmas, times 100 and with added dehumanization. They have become objects to make me feel good about myself, and I have become a dispensary of arbitrary gifts to those I deem worthy. It is hard.
People are always trying to get something from you, because you have something and they have nothing. It is dehumanizing, but understandable. That's what I thought was happening when Pastor Davide called the American ("blan", yes even my African American brother Ernest is called "white" here) pastors together. I thought he would ask us for something. He did. It was our prayers. He wanted to pray together. He wanted to pray for his people to get a place for worship; for our people to come alongside them in their need; for the Gospel to spread in Haiti; for the Gospel to spread in SC. We prayed and we committed to continue praying for one another.
The last two days we have been on the worksite for the church, shoveling dirt and rocks to make concrete, twisting and fastening steel tie bars, and hauling blocks. The work is hard, hot, and sweaty. The Haitian unskilled workers are volunteers building their own church. It reminds me of Genesis 2:7 " the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being." We are literally forming this building from dust, sand, rocks, and cement, bound together and shaped with precision by master masons into a building for worship and community activity.  So we construct a building, and God will breathe into it the breath of life to be a living being in this community. The churches we have visited so far double as orphanages, feeding centers, and recreation centers. There will be a living, breathing body of Christ in this building, seeking to love God, love their neighbors, and thereby spread the Gospel to all those around. Let us all be in prayer for the churches of Haiti.

All Things Are Possible Through Christ

"I have nothing in my pockets, but I am a rich man. God preserves my life." These are the words of Pastor Louis of Christ Church. He pastors a congregation of 150 in a tin roof, tin walled hut. He also attends the care of about 6 orphans who live in one room and sleep on the bare concrete floor. We talk about sacrifices pastors in the US make; this man was well-off enough to attend 7 years of seminary, and now he cares for the poorest of the poor. He loves Jesus so deeply; it shines out of his eyes when he talked. He said his congregation would pray for us to get more resources so we could come back again and continue to build our relationship and help his community. People in the neighborhood bring food by for the orphans and church members help care for them. Some had no shoes; all were tiny for their ages. We played soccer, sang songs, did crafts, and gave them some food and drinks.
If you helped fund this mission, I hope you feel blessed by the prayers of the Haitian people for you. Your money is going towards food and toys for orphans, cement and block to build a church, and pay the Haitians who are working so hard with us.
We also met with 25 or 30 local pastors. Good men who have given their lives to serve God leading congregations of the poorest of the poor. We discovered something interesting in our conversation. The are leading big congregations, but need buildings to meet and worship in. We have big buildings, but our congregations are dwindling. I wish we could come together with our buildings and people. One observation we have made. To be considered poor in Haiti means that your children are starving. It is normal for adults to not eat everyday, and for children to eat only once.

Blessed Are the Poor

Tragic. Sorrowful. Painful. Joyful. Funny. Vibrant. Haiti is an assault on the senses and the heart. The first thing that hit me is the garbage everywhere. Then it's the shabby state of everyone's clothing. The children with no shoes. The babies with no clothes at all. But when we hiked up the side of the hill through the Bel Aire neighborhood, I was struck by the life everywhere. Kids are playing with toy cars they made themselves. Others are laughing hysterically at us, shouting "blan, blan!" Which in Creole for whitey. They call Ernest that too, even though his skin is browner than mine. Moms are making supper and washing clothes. Dads are talking and playing checkers. The Haitian people are no different than the rest of us. Moms will be moms, kids will be kids. God is present bringing life and grace in the midst of soul-crushing poverty.

Off to Haiti

Tomorrow morning at4:45 we get up to head to Haiti. Anna and I are so excited to meet our SC team at the airport, Tenny and Ernest, and the rest of the Empowering Haitians team in Cap Haitian. Thank you again to everyone who made this trip possible with your financial support. Please keep us in your prayers. We will be working on a church in the mornings and playing with and teaching kids in the Bible school in the afternoons. We will also be meeting with 25 local pastors while we are their to learn from their experiences. Most of all we look forward to learning from Patrick and the rest of the Haitian team how to build a community empowering mission.