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