The Hard Way

On the way to work, I often see an old man standing by the side of the road. He carries a cane and stares with a vacant look, often waving to the car as I drive past as if he remembers me in a blurry, half-forgotten way. The road has a hill and blind curve, and I'd become concerned about the prospect of him being hit by a car. Recently, I have seen him walking IN the road instead of standing beside it, so I decided to take action. I called the police and reported him. They said they would send a car by and get him out of the road. But, I didn't think that would be enough, because he would probably just be back in the road again tomorrow. So I called the Department of Social Services to see if they could get him some help. The computer gave me several options, none of which seemed adequate, so I chose "report neglect of an adult." But, when I began talking to the operator, it became clear that I had made a mistake.

"What is the neglected adult's name?"
"I don't know, I just see him walking in the road."
"Ok, what is his address?"
"I don't know."
"Sir, it will be very hard for us to go evaluate the situation if we do not have a name or address."

And it hit me; I didn't know anything about this man. I had driven by him hundreds of times, been concerned about his safety, tried to act as a "Good Samaritan." But, I had never actually stopped to talk to him, to learn his name and his situation, to help him get out of the road. I didn't ever stop because I was always busy going somewhere. I had an appointment to make, kids to pick up, a sermon to write. So, he tickled the back of my mind with concern until today I decided to DO SOMETHING. But, rather than the obvious Samaritan thing to do, to stop, find out what the situation is, and help from there, I did the American thing, call the professionals and let them handle it. When I drove back, he was gone, but luck would have that the neighbor was pulling into his driveway. I pulled over and asked if he knew the man I'd seen in the road. He said yes, that was his father. The man in the road was 85, senile, and ornery. His son was doing his best to take care of him, get him where he needed to go, make sure he had heat and food. But he couldn't keep him out of the road. He had tried to get him into a living facility, but a judge had blocked it, declaring the man to be fit to handle his own affairs.

What I had almost done was report this man, who was trying his best to take care of his father, to DSS. Who knows what the implications of that may have been. He said, "Hey, next time you see my dad, why don't you stop and talk to him? He'd like that; he'll rattle on about 1944 cars." Good question, why don't I? Too much in a hurry, too many other things to do, too many important priorities. There is a huge problem with our society and our Christianity. We don't have enough time for relationships, when Jesus tells us that relationships are what it is all about. We don't want to stop and talk to a man on the side of the road; the easy way is to call the police. We don't want to stop and talk to the lady asking us for money on the street; the easy way is to pretend we don't hear. We don't want to learn about the problems people face in other parts of the world by actually getting to know some of them; the easy way is to click the next article in our news feed. And we miss the human face of all the problems that we face. We want the professionals, the government and the police and the social service agencies, to solve the world's problems while we lock our doors and go about our business.

Here's the way of God. God didn't fix our problems from afar. God came as a baby in a manger. God initiated relationship with us, stopped to help us. In our broken world with our screwed up priorities, this way of living, to stop and talk to people, to initiate relationship, has become the hard way to live. But I think it's the only way to help each other and help ourselves, to really understand the problems that each person faces and find real solutions out of them. God convicted me today of my sin, and showed me another way, the way of Jesus, the way of relationship.

True Faith is not in a Hurry

Saw this on the side of a kiosk. They must have deeply true faith in Haiti, because no one is in a hurry! Seriously, it's good to think about, because we prize efficiency and hustle so much in the US. Here we have a different pace of life. Relationships take time. 

We have been building a church this week. First, we laid the concrete floor In the church we built last July. Since then, we have been in a very poor neighborhood near the airport, Fort Saint Michele. We started pouring the foundation, then laid a band of concrete, then laying concrete block 12 high. Through it all, I've learned all of the uses of a 5 gallon bucket. First, 5 gallon buckets are used to move water to a cistern. The water is mixed with sand, which is sifted from the rock, and cement to form either concrete or mortar, depending on the ratios. Then 5 gallon buckets move the concrete  from the place it is made to the place it is poured poured. When a new load of sand comes in on a truck, 5 gallon buckets move it to the concrete-making place. Need rocks from one place moved to another? 5 gallon buckets. Move them back again because we moved too many? Pass the 5 gallon buckets. Mortar is brought to lay the block walls in, you guessed it, 5 gallon buckets. I can't imagine how the Egyptians built the pyramids without 5 gallon buckets. 

It's amazing to build a church for the community. At first, I was conflicted, because I felt like the Doctors and the feeding ministries were much more useful. But Patrick said our feeding ministry and our church building ministry are one and the same. We are providing for the feeding of their bodies, minds and spirits. It is a wholistic feeding, helping Haitians bring shalom to their own community. We provide a place for worship, for people to be strengthened in their faith, hope, and love. When you have very little and when we as a group can do very little,  the people can hold on to God as their courage and refuge. God acts in and through us to bring hope. 

A little girl at the Bible school came to hug me and would not let go. It was a weird feeling until I realized that it was not me, but Jesus in me she was clinging to. May we all have that true faith, to cling to Jesus like a lifeline in the flood. 

Jesus to the Rescue

I saw that saying on a tshirt someone was wearing. I don't know if the guy knew what it said, but it struck me profoundly. I believe Jesus is coming to the rescue here in Haiti. But do there have to be so many malnourished kids first? 

I do believe in God's preferential option for the poor, and I think Jesus will be coming here pretty close to first when he comes again, because Jesus says the last shall be first. And almost never do a yearn for that day to come sooner than I do here. There are great, wonderful people, sweet, fun children here and they are suffering. Kids are hungry, people have no work. Both kids and there parents have nothing to do, and idleness is mentally crushing for people who want to work and play. 

We do what we can. We are building a church. People need a place to worship, to hear words of hope. We can give some hope, too, give a few toys and a little candy. But even that has its limits. Someone let extra kids into Toulouse's house when we were doing the vacation Bible school, and we ran out of lollipops. It stinks to turn away delighted children because you run out. It's so easy to focus on the physical needs of people. Everyone is hungry, everyone needs clothes, everyone needs a buck. I gave away six pairs of shoes today, which means I encountered six children in eight hours who had no shoes. But just as we help a few, there will be dozens more who need it. 

Everything we do here has limits, which is why I long for the day when Jesus brings abundant life without limits. A place like Haiti needs Jesus to come to the rescue. We cannot do it on our own. The whole Body of Christ acting together could do it. Jesus will do it. For now, he has sent us to give just a little taste. Our driver has Psalm 34:8 on his windshield. "O taste and see that the Lord is good;

happy are those who take refuge in him." It's true. The Haitians we meet are all suffering, but for a short time at least, they are happy to see us coming and spend time with us