Right now there is no water at the guest house because the well pump is broken.  And the generator at Heartline’s new Haitian Creation property bit the dust today too.  And tomorrow is the grand opening for their new property!

Guess it’s all par for the course.  Each day brings some new logistical challenge. 

This past week has been a busy one for me because Heartline is hosting a work team of 22 people for projects here.  The way it shakes up I’m essentially one of the leaders on the Haitian side helping host the group.  Many had never been to Haiti before (or overseas).  So this week I’ve been driving them around, working with them throughout the day, and interacting from sunup to sundown.  Today was the last day and some have already flown home.

This morning I took a large group to an orphanage to visit.  No doubt several blog posts could be written about that one event. 

What was supposed to be a 30 minute drive (6 miles) to the orphanage turned into an hour and a half as we kept hitting detours of construction road blocks.  Ended up navigating through a bunch of rough backstreets of Port-au Prince in our box truck (think U-Haul) which can be difficult to fit into small places. 

At one point in a back section of town we came to this steep hill made of rough dirt and potholes.  My heart sank.  I stopped to see if the Toyota pickup in front of me would make it up. 

The pickup got a running start and then… was stuck, his tires spinning out in the loose gravel.  So then he reversed back down and tried again, and in a spectacular demonstration of driving prowess began churning up the hill, shooting huge chunks of rocks backwards and fishtailing all over.  The steep part was only some 100 yards long, but by the time he made it to the top you could hardly see his vehicle with all the dust he’d created.  

I thought to myself, “There is absolutely NO way we can make it up that.”  But there wasn’t much choice, the road was too narrow to turn around and too steep behind us to back up.  We were literally stuck.  Did I mention our truck was loaded down with most the work team and a few Haitians besides?

Taking a breath I stuck it in first and gunned it.  Like I thought, we got stuck about halfway up, our tires spinning out.  We reversed back down the super steep section.  A Haitian guy come over and assured me we could make it.  So with another grinding of gears we pointed the nose of our truck straight into the air and hit the hill again… with the same result.  Again we reversed down.  The Haitian guy came over and once more assured us we could make it, if only we got a bigger head start. 

This was all quite nerve-wracking and I still had no confidence we could actually make it up no matter how big of a head start we had.  But, on the other hand, I figured this Haitian guy had probably been sitting there all day long observing who could make it up and who couldn’t.  There wasn’t any other option anyways. 

So once more I revved the engine and this time, in a mushroom cloud of road dust, and nearly coming to a stop at one point, we somehow crested the hill!  Everyone in the back started cheering like crazy!  They were probably just glad to still be alive. 

As I’m writing this now I’m listening to the group talk about their week and the conversation just shifted to the interesting ride this morning.  Listening, I’m surprised they didn’t mention the harrowing event I relayed above.  Instead, I guess what really freaked them out was the time we did a U-Turn beside a 40’ drop off cliff in a tent-city village (there were no guard rails).  I wasn’t concerned about that one though, we had plenty of room.

So it’s been a long week.  Many things happened, including getting my first driving ticket.  It was for driving with people outside the vehicle.  To wit, some of our team was riding on top of our box truck because not everyone could comfortably fit inside. Not to mention the view is pretty good up there.  Why he gave me a ticket and not every other vehicle on the road with passengers on top and hanging off the sides is a mystery.  The bad thing is they took my license away too, which the police do here for leverage against the offender for paying their ticket. 

Since then I’ve paid the ticket and now have my license back, though it was a bit of a process involving several days, as you might imagine.

That’s the long and short of things here. 

Thanks to everyone back home praying for me, I appreciate it much!

They say nothing we learn goes to waste.  In relation to language progress in Creole, I’d say that is true.  Every time I learn a new word I quickly find a use for it.

In the process of memorizing John 3:16 in Creole I learned the word for “eternal” (p’ap janm fini).  At the bank today I needed that word to describe the speed of the tellers: eternally slow. 

Then today I learned the word for daughter (pitit fi).  This evening a neighbor came to our gate asking for help with his sick teenage daughter who needed an operation, something wrong with her stomach.  The cost of the operation was US $70 and could I please help?  He had a stamped paper from the Dr’s office dated from yesterday with both diagnosis and cost listed.  I couldn’t tell, but wondered if the problem was perhaps a ruptured appendix.

People here often make reference to the popular book, “When Helping Hurts”  which lays out the basic premise that handing away free stuff creates unhealthy dependency and should be avoided.  It says our best intentions usually hurt people more than help people, especially when we try solving local problems through doling out cash.

In general, I agree. Nevertheless, each situation is unique, and requires wisdom.

As I listened to the father describe his situation, some advice came to mind I’d recently heard at a seminar here in Haiti.  A long-term missionary said when you move into a new neighborhood, undoubtedly a situation will arise where you are asked to give emergency medical aid to someone in the community.  He added that the manner in which you first respond will set the tone and precedent for all future dealings.  He laid out three options.

The first was to do nothing and turn the person away.  This is arguably the least compassionate response, though does certainly avoid the pitfall of creating unhealthy dependency. Some would argue this option is best for helping in the long run.  The result in reputation is having the neighborhood perceive you as seperate from the local community.  Not to mention a miser, because it’s no secret “white people” are loaded down with money.  I may not perceive myself as rich, but considering I have enough money to fly to and from Haiti at will, I’m far and away richer than the majority of people here.

The second option is to simply give the full amount of cash required.  At face value, this response seems most compassionate and even most Biblical as well.  After all, didn’t Jesus say, “Give to him who asks”?  Nevertheless, this does most certainly set up a patronage relationship.  The result in neighborhood perception is to be viewed as a pushover, a money bags, and worse yet, perhaps even a sucker (if the story wasn’t even legitimate). 

This leaves the third option of helping pay some of the costs.  The long-term missionary I was listening to implied this option is perhaps the best balance between compassionate and culturally appropriate.  It both helps the immediate need while at the same time defusing patronage dynamics.  The reputation hopefully garnered in taking this option is to be seen as one who stands in solidarity with the community, as a part of it.

As you might guess, I decided on option 3, but not before first discussing the situation in private with our Haitian yardman, getting his input into what he thought the validity of the actual need was. 

Giving the man some money, I also told him I felt quite bad about the situation and would be praying for his daughter.  His response was a thankful one and he implied he would ask others for the remainder, telling me that while he had some money of his own he had used it all on the doctors examination and tests. 

Anyways, maybe I did the right thing, hard to say, but I did feel bad because the entire bill was such a small sum ($70) it hurt to not just pay it all. What if he can’t raise the rest of the funds? What if, while he’s out collecting donations from neighbors and friends, his daughter dies of internal bleeding? All because I was following an idealistic principal of what would truly help more? Following a principal that is based, at least in part, on maintaining my own reputation in a certain light within the community?

I wrote this post to help process my own rationale for what’s best, and to get wise input from them what has more experience than myself (them what wants to share it).  I tend to over-analyze everything in life. Both a strength and a weakness. Feel free to comment.

Hard to believe I’ve been here 3 months.  My Visa officially expires tomorrow.  But I’m working on becoming a resident so it’s Ok.

Part of the process of becoming a Haitian resident is getting a physical. 

To that end I went to a local clinic and, without filling any forms whatsoever, received an official physical.  It was eye-opening.  They checked little more than that I had a pulse, then after taking my name and some money, presented an official looking form that said I had a clear bill of heath.  Voila.

Opening a bank checking account, another part of the process, was more challenging.  I had to wait at the bank forever, and they weren’t overly helpful.

So I’ve decided I’m going to try to blog more often, but shorter posts.

Learning a New Language

Today I started Creole lessons officially.  Like with a tutor.  I have lessons three times a week.  I already know a little Creole.  Like this evening I went out and bought some street food by myself.  I can ask basic questions about the food and count out money and stuff and make it sound like I speak Creole, but then they ask me some question or make some comment I don’t know and I’m completely lost.  Maybe it was about the weather, or maybe they’re telling me I have a booger in my nose for all I know.

It was brought to my attention there is a guy online with a blog titled, “Fluent in 3 months.”  He is a long-time solo traveler and tries picking up languages quickly.  The main trick he espouses to use if one wants to learn a language quickly is to force oneself into situations requiring you use it, as uncomfortable as that may be when you’re not very good.

I can relate with feeling uncomfortable.  Today alone I had a group of people laugh at me for getting off a tap-tap and start walking the wrong way.  Luckily most Haitians are quite friendly, at least if you are friendly to them.  And they can be protective too.  For example, today a guy came up to me while I was walking across the parking lot of our nearby gas station who was obviously of the obnoxious variety – trying to get money out of me.  Then another Haitian came up to him and, from I could tell, basically told him to leave me alone.  That was nice. 

Of course, not everyone is nice.  Earlier today I was at a Haitian lady’s house helping her with an electrical problem (a lady with Heartline) and a group of neighbors were sitting outside, including both kids and adults.  None of them looked happy, and as I left they all gave me dirty looks and one of the young schoolgirls (perhaps 12 years old?) gave me the finger.  Not sure what I did to deserve such condemnation.  But, when you’re in a foreign culture, there is a lot one doesn’t understand.  I’m pretty clueless in America too, so it’s no surprise I don’t know what’s going on here either.

So this “fluent-in-3-months” guy is a big traveller, like I said, and currently he is traveling in Egypt and, of all places, his latest blog post was from the Siwa Oasis!  Wow, I’ve written about good ol’ Siwa myself back in the Egypt archives.  His blog makes travelling sound pretty exciting.  But, having travelled a little myself, and to some of the same locations, I can say that, “Wherever you are, there you are” and there is a lot to be said for sticking put in one place longer.  The way he writes about experiencing the wild Sahara makes it sound pretty great, and in a way it was, but not in the way perhaps one would imagine from an armchair. In actuality, the overnight bus ride was miserable, our accommodations were primitive, the food was barely palatable. On the other hand, the thrill of adventure and discovery did make up for it all, but perhaps not to the extend I’d ever want to do it again. You can get most the effect just by reading someone else’s blog post.

Beggars

So Ryan and I have an ongoing discussion on what our stance should be toward beggars.  Both from the standpoint of having material means ourselves, and as Christians.  Being accosted by destitute (and often handicapped) beggars is pretty common here, though thankfully nowhere as bad as Ethiopia or other places I’ve been.  I remember last March writing a few thoughts about the beggar issue in Addis.

The sad thing is that after awhile one becomes somewhat desensitized.  I’ve caught myself even being flippant.  The other day I was driving and someone in the car asked me, “What are you doing?” as I fumbled with the drawer I keep change in and I just laughed and said something like, “Oh, there’s this guy behind you with a glass eye who’s missing his other one and I’m just trying to give him a few cents because he’s asking.”  It sounded pretty demeaning after I’d said it, making a halfway joke of a beggar, and I felt like soldiers I’ve read about who joke about the dead after seeing so much death.

Ryan and I have decided maybe it would be better to hand out food instead of small change.  We’re thinking of stocking the cars with bags of chips.  But then we might eat them ourselves accidentally?

It can be easy to get into a mindset of, “Us versus Them.”  And to compartmentalize how needy many of these folks really are.  From the comfort of an air conditioned vehicle I give 10 US cents to a beggar and when he seems happy enough to receive it I feel justified that I’ve done my good deed for the day.  But then later I may treat myself to a meal that costs $15 US, or 150 times the amount I just gave to someone who may be living with hunger pains for weeks on end, and have no home or comfortable place to stay either.

Recently this disparity in wealth has been underscored for me as I’ve been e-mailing a kid from Ethiopia I met while there.  The last 3 weeks he has been out of school because he couldn’t afford the school fees, and he wanted to know if I could help him.  I e-mailed him back how much it would cost, and he wrote me back that his school fees cost $4 US per month. Wow. Sometimes a little bit could really help someone.

There’s been this big push in recent years against handing out money to the materially poor because it can create unhealthy dependency and has the potential to hurt people more than help people.  Yet at the same time, there are people in this world who have no good way of providing for themselves (like young kids or handicapped beggars) that could sure use a few bucks.

Today I was in a tap-tap and a boy and man (perhaps the boys father) came up to the back of the tap-tap asking for money.  The kid had a walking stick so I think perhaps was blind.  In any extent, after the man gave a short spiel, I was surprised to see a collection being taken up in the tap-tap.  It’s safe to say everyone in there was poor, and yet they were taking this man’s word at face value and were spontaneously offering a donation to help one even needier than themselves.  It was touching.

There is a lot to learn here in Haiti.  And this blog post ended up longer than I meant it to be.

Think I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating, one never knows what they will see next in Haiti.

Case in point, while I was typing the above sentence the guest house plunged into darkness as our electricity shut off.  Luckily the battery on my laptop still works. Unlike the battery on my DeWalt drill, which has bitten the Haitian dust.

Earlier today I was talking with the Heartline guest house secretary, a young Haitian woman, and I told her in my entire life back in the US I have only gone a few days without electric power.  She was like, “In your entire life??”  Yes, life growing up for her was different than life growing up for me.  Not to mention I didn’t go through an earthquake 3 years ago.  She told me her earthquake story.  Walking into college on a sidewalk when the rumbling began.  A wall started falling toward her so she jumped out of the way, but into the street.  The last thing she remembers is a green vehicle coming right at her.  The shaking threw her to the ground and she was hit by both falling wall and what ended up being a green Toyota Rav4.  The Rav4 ran over her and concrete chunks cut her in several places.  Besides some scars which have healed nicely, she is remarkably recovered with little outward evidence of the traumatic event.  Three other people on the sidewalk directly around her were all killed.  One of them was her English professor. 

The earthquake was a terrible episode in the history of Haiti.

I’ve tried keeping a mental list of odd things I’ve seen recently.  Like five people on a moto.  Or equally impressive, two guys on a moto with a gigantic TV balanced between them (a box-like one – old school).

Or one night while out driving seeing a guy beside me walking discreetly, then jump onto the rear bumper of the pickup in front of me, crouching low so his head barely stuck over the rear tailgate, getting a free ride.  Looked like a movie stunt.  The truck in front of me sped up to probably close to 40mph, none the wiser that a stowaway passenger was clinging on back.

One time I was making an airport run in the morning and a small truck loaded with sugar cane was beside me, four guys perched atop. A haggard man came up and demanded a stick of sugarcane, but they wouldn’t give him one. So he held them up with a rock, believe it or not. They still wouldn’t give him one so he threw the rock at them. This annoyed the men, and one of them in the truck stood up, carefully balanced, and began brandishing a sugarcane stick. About this time one of the guests in the car I was driving asked me (of all questions) if the UN would intervene to stop the type of aggression we were witnessing outside our car window. Well, as luck would have it, some UN soldiers happened to walk up at just this moment. Meanwhile, the haggard man ran up and was trying to pull a piece of sugarcane from the back of the truck while dodging the angry man who was swinging a sugarcane stick towards his head as hard as he could, missing, but splitting his cane in half for his efforts. The haggard man yanked out a piece and went on his merry way, seemingly happy. The UN soldiers watched, doing nothing, so I told our guest, “Apparently not.”

While no one knows what the UN does, I learned one thing the Hatian police do. Arrest people for taking out their trash! Yep, one of our Haitian workers (Pierre) was arrested yesterday while putting trash in a dumpster. Apparently you can only do that at night between 6pm and 6am. They tried making him pay a fine to the tune of $600 US, but after a gangster acquantince of his came in to help bail him from this sticky situation, they accepted $12 US and let him free.

On a lighter note, one day I was out in the yard and Ryan was getting ready to take our blue car someplace, but first needed to add water to the radiator because it leaks.  Ryan opened the hood and a rat jumped out!  It had been making a nest under there.  Our yardman chased it with a stick, and with all of us cheering him on, dispatched it promptly, impressing me with his skills.

Speaking of cars having issues, they always do.  Yesterday I had a large team to pickup at the airport and was cutting time close.  Was planning on taking our big truck, but when I jumped in it wouldn’t start.  Surprise, surprise.  So I took the van and Barry came with the 4Runner for carrying luggage. 

The 4Runner is still running fairly well.  Only thing is I have to put a bottle of power steering fluid in it once a week.  Each bottle is $2.50.  They want $3.00, but will negotiate down to $2.50 when you’re friendly.  That’s only $10/month, which isn’t bad.  I suggested we put a small bowl underneath the leak to capture and re-use fluid so we don’t have to keep buying more.  Maybe I’ll do that.

When driving around town it’s super common to see people working on vehicles on the side of the road (or in the middle of the road) and it finally hit me why I never see cars in this bad of shape back in the States: cars this bad of shape are in junkyards back in the States.

The other day I was stuck in the middle of several projects, none of them going so well, when our yardman (the guy who killed the rat) walked by muttering, “problems on problems.”  Guess that’s a Haitian saying.  I was like, “You can say that again.”

Case in point: I call my co-worker Ryan to see what he is doing.

Me: “Where are you?”
Ryan: “Over at Haitian Creations.”
Me: “Oh, you working on the website?”
Ryan: “Well, I was.  Then the power went off and the generator won’t start so now I’m working on the generator.”

This reminds me of a scary project we’ve been working on: The shower in one of the guesthouse bathrooms has a leaky knob that won’t turn off correctly.  In fact, sometimes it stays on fully no matter how you spin the knob and water gushes out everywhere.  When I visited the guesthouse a year and a half ago I remember this particular knob not working right…  Finally, this past week it was decided we would fix it and now I understand why the project has been put off so long.

First, the water handles and plumbing were encased in the wall in solid cement.  So there was a day and a half of chipping concrete just to access the problem.  All in all it has taken four people working on the project (part-time) SEVEN days to complete (we started Monday and should finish tomorrow).  Good grief.  Next time I’m going to see if there is some way to repair the handle first.

Then there are the usual frustrations.  Like trying to buy some computer cabling at a department store and it taking an hour and a half to purchase that one item.  I was given the royal runaround and by the time I left was at the point of feeling a need to punch something or someone.

Shopping can be a trial.  For instance, we needed tile so I went to a materials store.  They had a display rack of various colord tile so  I pointed to one that was about the color I needed and asked if they had any in stock.  No.  I pointed to another.  No.  Then I pointed to every one on the display rack and the answer was No for every one!  So I asked what they did have?  They took me around to a backroom and pointed in a dark, musty corner.  After climbing around boxes and such I found they had one size of tile, of one color, all piled up in boxes.  Whattadeal.  I bought a few.

Today I helped a Haitian lady setup some batteries in her home.  Batteries are necessary so when power goes off you can still run things.  The only electricity she had was one lightbulb and two wires dangling in through her kitchen ceiling.  I added a power outlet to the back of her armoire and plugged an inverter into that.  Then ran an extension cord to her other room to a newly installed light fixture that is hanging on a nail.  It’s all pretty degaje. 

Recently I’ve been tired.  Not just tired, but fatigued.  Sometimes I can sleep and sleep and sleep and still feel tired.  And I’m not sick or anything, it’s sorta weird, but I think it must have something to do with trying to adjust to a new culture.  Time should iron it out.

Everyone here at Heartline is great though in being kind and encouraging and forcing me to take a day of rest sometimes.  Perhaps the best was when Melissa (Ryan’s wife) said, “I know you’ve been a little low recently so we’re having pizza tonight in your honor!”  That was pretty great, she makes the best pizza ever.

Working as a driver and handyman I’m experiencing the frustrations of the mechanical side of Haiti.  But as my creole improves, I’m hoping to work more with the Haitian people.  And I wouldn’t be surprised if that will be more taxing yet!

The last several weeks have been nonstop.  So busy I’m dizzy.

Therefore I requested today (Monday) off – and it was granted.  Last night I slept 14 hours!  Holy smokes.  Then late this morning I was happily munching cereal whilst watching others work.

After getting caught up on a mess of e-mails, making a relaxing airport run (stopping by Deli-Mart for a chocolate Bongu drink enroute), and playing the piano at Ryan and Melissa’s house (thanks!) I now feel composed enough to write a blog post relating pertinent happenings.

***   Three days later…   ***

It’s hard to find time to write (and finish) blog posts.  Now it is Thursday.  Without further ado, and with my thinking cap firmly affixed, I’m attempting another noble stab at publishing this.

Barry & Run for Life

Let’s see, my friend Barry McDonald ran across Haiti as a fundraiser for Heartline.  My part was to drive one of the support vehicles.  In short, this was an epic adventure.  Who else gets to go road-tripping across a beautiful third world Caribbean country? 

Despite the fact we lodged in a few nice places, mostly we stayed at hole-in-the-wall hotels and local ministries widely differing in quality (though great hospitality all around). 

I now have a much better grasp of the geography of Haiti, seeing I logged about 50 hours behind the wheel.  And some 50 miles laced up on the road chugging along with Barry.  Perhaps no better way to see the country than on foot, eh?

On the run we had occasional excitement what with roadblocks, protests, Barry about keeling over from injury, our truck getting stuck in the mud, team drama, and an auto accident witnessed before my eyes. 

The day after we got back home, excitement continued with Ryan and Melissa’s house getting broken into while they were home sleeping.  Ryan wrote about that here.  And in the photo below Ryan is getting the Canter unstuck.  He gets around.

Other Happenings

So what else is happening?  Time is flying by.  It seems like I’ve only been with Heartline a few days and it’s coming up on two months.  They keep me hopping.  This week Ryan and I are spending coaxing our ministry 4Runner back to life.  We’re making progress, its’ heart is beating again.

I’ve read a few books recently: African Friends and Money Matters, The Copper Scroll (Rosenberg), Monster (Peretti) and The Forgotten Children (about terrible conditions in Northern Uganda).  Wish I could read more, but don’t have much reading material, nor time.

Since coming to Haiti I haven’t watched a single movie or hardly any YouTube.  Internet is slow.  Oftentimes my entertainment during an evening is visiting with guests.  I’ve met many interesting people. It’s sad saying “goodbye” so often.

Another great form of entertainment (and one of my favorite things to do) is driving around town with music cranked up, singing along.  Few people in Haiti own a car or know how to drive.  It’s a shame, because they’re missing out on a real pleasure.

Somewhere in the world it is cold outside.  That place is not here.  Somewhere in the world all mosquitoes are deceased, happily tucked into their graves.  That place is not here.  The other night I woke up because my fan had gone off (which means city power had gone off, the backup batteries had died, and the generator was out of gas).  Consequently, mosquitoes were chewing me up with their fang thingies, particularly my head and arms.  In my drowsy stupor I got up and took from my shelf what I thought was the all-natural ingredients variety of insect spray and squirted it right at my face and all over my head.  Then I looked at the bottle and saw I had picked up 100% DEET spray instead of Lemon Eucalyptus.  Oh well, no more bug bites that night.  Perhaps cancer next week though.

Health Stats

I was surprised to notice I’m losing weight.  For the longest time I always tipped the scales at a comfortable 165 pounds.  But at the clinic last week I measured myself on a spiffy scale (with balancing weights) and it reported I was down to a middling 154.  Hmm, 11 pounds under normal.  On the bright side, maybe now my previously non-existent gut is gone.

At one of the hotels we visited there was a floor length mirror (not attached to the wall, but in the room) and upon witnessing my scarecrow self made a mental note to begin working out.

It’s not that I don’t eat, I eat like a horse.  But it’s healthier food than I’m used to.  I don’t know… my body might not do healthy.  Leastways, it’s not used to it, and healthy doesn’t stick to my ribs like Taco Bell, apparently.

Here is a picture of my Daily Bread (rice and beans with chicken):

Discussion on Poverty Relief vs. Teaching God’s Word

So I’ve been thinking a lot about the entire “alleviating poverty vs Gospel work” debate.  Over the last few weeks I’ve seen and visited with a number of people in various ministries.  And worldwide I’ve interviewed many ministries and seen firsthand this struggle Christian organizations have between meeting pressing physical needs with less apparent spiritual ones.

I’ve heard it said we don’t need to share God’s Word because showing love is enough.  Others claim our focus should be on long term development, creating jobs, alleviating misery.  Here in Haiti there is certainly plenty of physical misery.  Read Dying in Haiti – No Urgency for the Poor, if you want to be depressed about misery here.

I’m thinking the deeper issues are deeper than meets the eye.  Jesus said, “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.  But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” (Luke 12:4-5)

I recently saw a motorcycle accident happen.  When I came up to the thrown cyclist his obvious visible injury was a broken leg.  But I remembered from my EMT class being taught it’s not uncommon for the more serious injuries to be internal so not to get hung up on something that looks bad on the outside.  Forgetting this can result in someone dying from hidden injuries while the responder is busy treating serious, but not life-threatening, external problems. 

In the same way, I think there is room for caution in thinking we only need to treat physical need and neglect spiritual need.  I think saying all we need to do is “share God’s love” is misguided.

No doubt poverty and destitution kill people.  It has, it does, and will continue, despite interventions of well meaning people.  Poverty will never be eradicated.  Even Jesus said so, “The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want.” (Mark 14:7). 

Feeding programs, home construction projects, medical clinics, schools: all efforts at helping that can be accomplished by both Christians and non-Christians.  What I ask myself is, “What can a believer do that a non-believer can’t?” 

Well, they can give hope to others for the next life.  They can share their faith.  They can tell about their personal relationship with God.  They can teach God’s Word, the Bible.  In short, they can treat “internal injuries.”

I have more to say on this topic, but am too tired to write it. 

On Enjoying Life

I’ve never met someone who wasn’t going through something challenging in their life.  Even those who look like all is together are still invariably hurting about something or being stretched in some way.  That’s just the way life works.

Despite this fact, I find it good to step back and thank the Lord for everything that is going well.  To thank the Lord for the glimmers of beauty he shines through into this sin-cursed world. 

Sometimes the beauty in life hits me over the head, like last week when I enjoyed the stunning sunset pictured below.  Other times it’s more subtle, like sharing laughter with a good friend.  But life is a beautiful thing, and it’s imortant not to take it for granted, I think. 

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.”
~Reinhold Niebuhr