We Do What We Can

We wrapped up the seminar today. I engaged the Pastors on topics that they told me they wanted to discuss. The big one that has been a theme throughout the week is the interplay between faith and grace. We particularly discussed the status of Israel. I led them through Romans 9-11 with the conclusion that God’s promises will not fail. Some of the pastors liked the emphasis on grace and some did not. We then worshipped together. The pastors are great singers, and we sang a few tunes I knew, “Blessed Assurance,” and “I’ve Got the Joy Down in my Heart.” I played “Amazing Grace” and a Crowder tune for them. Then pairs of pastors prayed out loud for us while the others sang. It was very spiritual. We shared testimony next. One pastor testified about God saving him from from a grave illness. Another testified about God calling him to ministry. I also told my call story. Then the final pastor took the cake with his tale of being attacked and God saving him by draining his attackers energy to strike or stab him. After that we took communion together with bread and wine I brought. I was surprised that they all didn’t mind the wine. It was a great ending. 

Anna felt much better today. She pulled 32 teeth. People have serious infections in their mouths and nothing to do about it. It causes pain, sleep loss, and at worst, the infection can get in their blood and kill them. Anna works in the hot, cramped conditions, bent over her patients sitting in a reclining lawn chair for 7 hour days. She is a rock star. Since she works with the local dentist, who mostly does cleanings using her ultrasonic scaler that she taught him to use, he tells us that the people wouldn’t get treatment otherwise. They cannot afford his services. 

Overall I realize I’ve become comfortable with the scene in Haiti, almost too much so. It takes some mindfulness to open my eyes to the poverty and difficult living conditions. There is so much need and so much difficulty. We deal with impossible situations, a child who needs an x-Ray, a man who needs a computer for college, another who wants to build a church, every day. I get tired of saying no. We can’t help everyone. Do we help enough? Do we bring hope? I don’t know. 

Today in Haiti

I’ve been busy writing this longer theological piece on Haiti and I’m missing the chance to simply write about our day to day, so I’ll get to it. I’ll work backwards. Today was rough, certainly the roughest we’ve had in Haiti. We both woke up with upset stomachs. That’s a first for us. Usually we always go to the same place for lunch, but it was closed so we tried something different. We all said the hamburgers tasted a little funny, some kind of seasoning. Apparently, the special seasoning was bacteria. I had diarrhea, but got it stopped. Anna felt nauseated but powered on. Eventually she puked and rallied to see more patients. Hertz felt pretty terrible all day, too. We weren’t sure Anna would make it through the second half, but after some Gatorade and a lunch of white rice, she got back in the saddle. She’s so tough!

She’s helping a ton of people. Dr. Benoit is cleaning teeth and she’s mostly pulling them, 23 yesterday. Dr. Benoit is the local dentist. Normally he sees 50 people in a year he said. He will see 50 people this week. He seems very happy. The clinic is in our office in the Bon Aire community of Cap Haitien. 

I am teaching a class in the morning for pastors. They requested that I teach. We are discussing Acts 20:28-32, “What does it mean to be a Pastor?” Today we talked about taking care of ourselves. They seemed very excited about that, and my translator Sainty agreed. We broke into pairs and prayed together. Afterwards, they talked about trying to meet together on a regular basis to support each other. It was pretty cool. We also talked about the Shepherd image from the passage. We agreed that we must love our people, and that can be hard sometimes. Tomorrow I’m going to try to answer some of their questions, which may be pretty hard. Please pray for us. 

It’s going well. We are building steps to help the community access the mountain, plus the clinic and the seminar. Not bad for 4 people! Of course it’s not just 4, but our whole Haitian team that works very hard to see all the work done. It’s great to work with friends. 

Body, Mind, and Soul

It’s hard to relay everything that happens in a week in a few short blog entries. I hit the highlights in my sermon on Sunday, which if you are interested, is in my podcast, sermons. But someone asked me if we saved a lot of souls in Haiti. I understand where that question is coming from, and it wouldn’t have served any purpose at the moment to say, “no, that’s not really what we are doing,” so I’ll use it as a spring board to a larger question, and the one I think this person really wanted to ask, which is, “Did your trip really make any difference?”

This is a very fair question, and one every mission should ask itself if you are going to spend $1000s traveling to a foreign country and working there. I’ve done enough reading to be convinced that trying to help people is not as simple as, “we did something and got something out of it, so it must be good.” Steps wash away, rooves get blown away, teeth get rotten again. In fact, if you take away the opportunities for locals to take care of themselves, you can actually hurt more than help. And the old, “I got more out of it than they did,” may be true, but hardly validates all the time, money, and effort in my opinion. Nothing we did this week physically will improve the lives of people in Haiti beyond a few weeks or years. 

I am convinced that what matters the most is the relationships you build. The world tells people in poverty that they live in a shithole, that their lives don’t matter, that their future is hopeless. We go to empower, a little with our resources, but more with relationships. Over his 12 years, Hertz has discerned and Patrick agrees that the Haitian culture is largely individualistic, with people unwilling to help each other. Hertz and Patrick’s Work together, their relationship, Hertz describes as brotherhood, empowers people to work together for the common good. Yes, people work for money; they deserve to get paid. But they come together while we are not around and decide to build stairs for their community. 

I’m pretty sure I didn’t save any souls last week. I do think I reflected Jesus to people in poverty by reaching out with love. I do think I strengthened relationships with friends I’ve met over the last two years, and I got to know some new friends. I think I told some kids that they mattered in the world and they mattered to God with my actions, not just words. I think Anna returned a measure of God given dignity to people by treating them like she would any patient paying thousands of dollars, with respect and care. I think her relationship with Dr. Benoit, over time, could lead to improved dental Care for the whole community. In the end, I think God is concerned with the whole package, body, mind, and soul. And I think God worked through us to build up bodies, minds, and souls for the kingdom, both for the good of my own soul and for those whom I served. Thanks be to God for this indescribable gift!

Game Changer

My wife is a game changer. Most dentists would come to Haiti and say I’m gonna pull teeth because I think that’s what people need. But Anna listens to the local dentist, Dr. Benoit, and decided to do cleanings. In the morning, they pull teeth, and in the afternoon they do cleanings. And the people love it. It’s great service because it’s what they people want, not what we Americans think they need. 

Anna is beginning the process of expanding dental care in the community. She wants to work with and educate local dentists to improve their craft. If she can help them be more gentle, then more people will seek their care. They get more business and the community gets more care. Dr. Benoit improved his ability in just the four days they were working together. The goal is for people to have overall better health year round, not just acute care once a year. But acute care is good, too. Anna pulled 12 teeth on one lady. We met with the team last night and they shared their favorite parts of the week. One of our drivers, Owe Owe, shared that the woman had been seeking dental care all over the city, and could find no one who would pull her teeth for less than $800, money she did not have. His favorite part of the week was seeing her get the care she needed. I think that tells you about the impact we make, and also about the people we work with. They love their community, and they want to see it improve. 

We think that community thinking is a rare quality in Haiti. We have experienced a very individualistic culture, where people don’t volunteer and won’t work without direct benefits to themselves. The people we work with say that they love their country and their people, and they want to see life improve for everyone. Pierre expressed that he loves having work, and I am certain that he meant more than just making money. He loves having a mission, a purpose. In a life where most of the year he is simply trying to survive, he has a purpose that is bigger than himself when we come. He is part of an organization that is making a difference in his community, not just a part but a leader. Pierre, Jean, Santi, and the others are rare human beings. Their hard work, determination, and resilience show me Jesus in a way that I don’t experience much in the US. 

I went to Pierre’s house up on the side of the mountain. He doesn’t have a toilet, and when it rains, water runs through his house. He built a chicken coop, but has no chickens. I gave him $11 to buy 2 chickens. The stairs we are building will make the walk home shorter and safer for him, especially when it rains. It will really be a game changer, too. 

Fighting Demons and Pulling Teeth

The last two days have been great. Yesterday, we went to the Free Methodist church of Pastor Costume (kos-tu-ma). Cynthia and I were both offered the chance to preach, but she had a migraine and hadn’t slept. So I preached on Luke 15, the lost sheep. It is the passage we are focusing on for the Bible school for the children. Pastor translated, and I got into a pretty good rhythm of call and response with the church. I told them, “No matter what you have done, no matter how lost you are, Bondye benu (God loves you)!” Then I played guitar and we sang “Amazing Grace” us in English, the congregation in Creole. After worship, we had a fantastic afternoon on the beach. We sat on the sand and played and sang songs with Patrick, the Hertzes, and Anna. 

Today, Anna stole the show, rocking out her clinic. Everyone was impressed with her system, her skills, her bedside manner, and her leadership. Heather and Janice worked in with her, cleaning instruments and moving patients around like a well-oiled machine. Archibald kept things flowing and Dr. Benoit and Dr. Goldston saw 50 patients. In the morning they pulled teeth and in the afternoon they did cleanings. Cleanings are not Anna’s plan or desire, but all the Haitians she has talked to are sure that people want cleanings. People were lined up to get their teeth cleaned, so it must be so. 

In the meantime, I had possibly the best experience I’ve had in Haiti. Cynthia and I gathered with five Haitian pastors to study scriptures and talk pastoring together. We began with the easy stuff, Christ died for us and all that, and then it got really interesting. We bounced all around reading scriptures and talking about progressive salvation and sanctification. I would have thought that they would have been more about baptizing people and being done with it, and I couldn’t have been more wrong. They were very concerned about creating deep spiritual lives for their people, and building them into communities of love and care. Pastor Louisnar read Acts 2:41 about the early church and said he was teaching his people to give to the needy. Pastor Joshue agreed and told this story. One of his members starved to death. He brought the news to the church and they were horrified. They decided to do something about it, so everyone who can brings $1 Haitian (about 8 cents) every week. When they have enough, they give the money to the neediest member to use to buy some goods, sell them, and begin a business. Since this initiative began several years ago, no one has starved to death. That is an effective stewardship campaign. 

After this, several pastors asked me theological questions about once saved, always saved and about communion. At first, I thought they were evaluating my theology, but upon further reflection, I think they were using me as a resource to help them respond to difficult questions. The younger pastors were asking the questions, who likely had very little theological education or reading. Not a ton of books are translated into Creole. So, I was able to offer some theology for them. I say me because Cynthia sensed that they were uncomfortable with her as a female pastor, so she did not reply much. 

Finally, we shared testimony of God’s power. It was incredible to hear the miracles God was working in their communities. Just to share one, Pastor Costume testified that God sent him to serve in a neighborhood with a very small church. The church was weak because a voodoo priest set up shop next door and a demon had possessed her. Pastor led his church in a community prayer ministry to fight the demon. Long story short, the prayer ministry drove the demon out of the community, and the church is now thriving. Every story was that incredible. 

Not a Shithole

We made it to Haiti and had a good first day. It’s so good to see our friends and catch up with everyone. Patrick is very sick. He will be getting a new kidney soon, which will hopefully save his life. Everyone else seemed about the same. They all look skinnier, but I’m not sure if that is just my memory failure. They are all good men, trying hard to feed their families and to improve their community. 

Pastor Comeye invited me and Cynthia to preach at his church tomorrow, a Free Methodist church. I’m looking forward to sharing the Gospel with people who are hungry for good news. The next day, we will meet to discuss the scriptures together with the pastors that work with Empowering Haitians. I’m eager to learn from them. 

Anna got the clinic all set up and ready to go. Dr. Benoit, the local dentist, is great, ready to help people in his community who need dentist treatment. He helped us to know that people want deep cleaning as much as getting teeth pulled, so we adapted our plan. 

Tomorrow is worship and beach. This is a beautiful country with wonderful people that needs a lot of help. It is not a shithole. 

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.