Detaching

This post is off the subject a little, but I thought it might encourage some...

I was thinking about our business today, wondering if its inception and success were ideas/dreams/visions/promises from God or if it was conceived in the hearts and minds of my husband and me. I’m sure Abraham and Joseph wondered the same things about their dreams of sons and greatness (even though the scriptures seem to communicate that there was no doubt they were promises from God, and they believed that all the way from promise to fulfillment.)

But in the pondering, and the praying I have been forced to somehow marry the idea of great faith – believing that we will succeed and overcome the obstacles before us – and submission to failure, if that is what God really wants. The goal should be to please God with our faith AND our submission, regardless of the outcome.

So this leads me to believe that I must disentangle myself from the clutches of the object of our hopes. I cannot let the dream of a successful business of my own become the goal. Same with other types of dreams. Abraham couldn’t hang on to the hope of having a son; he had to cling to God Himself. I cannot hang on to the hope of a promise fulfilled; I must cling to God, and let Him take me wherever He desires.

So do we not ever hope for anything, or work toward a goal, or set plans? No. This is one of those mysterious unions of faith and works, of submission to the will of God and forging ahead with what we believe is promised; of free will and pre-ordination. I believe God wants both in us. He wants us to press in and pray and then find that which we believe He is birthing in us. But He also wants us to lay those dreams down on an altar of sacrifice, to see if we are attached to the dream or to Him.

That is exactly what took place with Abraham. I’m sure Abraham felt like he laid his dream down over and over again in the long, long wait for a promised son. And then, Isaac was born. The beloved son. The long-awaited promised one. And then, God required Abraham to kill that dream. It doesn’t seem to make any sense. But this is what God wants of all of us. To be attached to Him, to cling to Him…not to the promises He makes to us, or the dreams He gives us. Yet He still wants us to trust Him for them.

Where is our affection today?

Construction and Micro-lending

I just returned from another short visit to see my friends in Haiti and see how we can best encourage and help them in their efforts to bring recovery and improvement to this beautiful land. It was encouraging to see continued progress on Pastor Val's site in Bongnotte. A new church is almost complete. Temporary housing and school buildings are in place. Children are healthy and well-fed. There is still a long way to go, but each time I hike up the hills behind the orphanage, I look out over the beautiful countryside and think that this is the future of Haiti, out here, where the quality of life is so much better than in the city. I hugged some kids I have seen for years at the orphanage, and saw some new faces. Two little boys (brothers?) clung together, the older one who was maybe 4, taking care of the little two-year old, sharing his candy and holding his hand everywhere they went.

I have wondered for a long time, why it is a relatively accepted practice in some places to give up your children, if you cannot afford to feed them. It is an affront to our middle-class American sensitivities to even imagine such a thing. It is a rare instance here in the US that a precious son or daughter is given to a relative to raise, due to death, incarceration or abuse. But very seldom do we hear of a child being given over to a local pastor with little explanation other than, "I just can't afford to have another mouth to feed."

This is not unusual in places that suffer from such a deplorable lack of income producing activities. So many heads-of-households lack jobs. Some may possess a decent amount of education, and even some skills, but nationwide, Haiti and other countries like it, doesn't have a healthy economy to create and sustain jobs.

The problems in Haiti are numerous, and I would not pretend to understand the all the causes, or the solutions. It is overwhelming to think about, and to look into the faces of happy children, and wonder what the future holds for each of them.

But, there are some glimmers of hope, and I believe some doors of opportunity are opening in the little village of Bongnotte, in Leogane Province. And we have the privilege to partner with some forward thinking locals. Perhaps Bongnotte will be a model for other rural towns to grow, coax people out of filthy, overcrowded Port au Prince, and back to their respective home towns.

Bongnotte is where our friend, Pastor Franklin Val has been pastoring a church for over 40 years and where he established Val Children's Home Care some 24 years ago. After visiting him and the children several times, I learned that not all the kids there are orphans. They almost all have some family, and some even have parents. So I started to ask why. Why do families give up their beloved children? The answer is simply that they cannot afford to take care of them. And why not? Because there is no work.

So what is the answer? Well, one answer is to help grow the economy and give people the tools needed to provide for their families. This can be done through a micro-lending program.

Pastor Val has been thinking on this. He selected 5 trustworthy men in his church that needed work, to partner with him in a motorcycle taxi business. This is the most efficient method of travel on the rutted and muddy rural roads. The idea is this: five motorcycles are funded from donations. The bike is then lease/purchased over a one year period, with the owner working off his low-interest loan for the bike. As the owner begins to make money as a taxi service, each month, he makes a payment, some of which goes to pay off the bike, and some of which goes into another account to finance other small businesses. At the end of the payment period, the man owns the bike outright and can keep all of his profits. The money can then be re-invested into another bike or small business venture, a service is provided to the community, and a family is provided for!

Another idea that is brewing, is the construction of a solar bakery. Bongnotte sits three miles from the main road, and is the gateway to many more mountain villages even more remote. Access to bread is non-existent, but is something that everyone wants. By building a bakery (using donated funds to kick-start the project), jobs and skills training can be provided. Everyone from the manager to the bakers to the sales force can benefit, as well as the community having some coveted bread. And it will potentially run on power/heat from the sun. Research is commencing on how this can be accomplished.

Further still, another friend is starting a business that will benefit farmers, produce better crops and provide income for himself. Again, it is being launched in the rural agricultural areas in and around places like Bongnotte, where there is vast verdant farmland.

What I especially like about this, is that the ideas were birthed by people to whom the culture belongs. It is not my idea, but the brain-child of a man who has labored in this community for the better part of his adult life. He knows what would work. He knows what is needed. We are just his friends who can help kick-start it.

My favorite quote of the trip embodies the feisty spirit of Pastor Val, who is 70 years old. While talking about his replacement, he said, "I am getting old. And I might only have 50 years left..."

I love that. May he live to be 120!

Progress!

Ahhh...5 am and my head is finally hitting the pillow after 24 hours. What a way to wrap up an incredible week in Haiti. My friend, Stacey and I covered quite a few square miles on this trip, and in typical fashion, there was never a dull moment. Visiting Pastor Val and the children at Val Children's Home Care, ended up being just a small part of the trip. There are many people sitting up and taking notice of Haiti right now, and we were in the midst of it. Every day was full of interesting and diverse experiences:

• Monday - travel day, awesome reunion with our hosts, with some Japanese curry for dinner. The children both gave up their rooms for us, so we each had our own bed; such a blessing.
• Tuesday - Met Jean Marc Zamor, Regent University PhD candidate and Haitian pastor. He took us to a beautiful spot near the Dominican border to see the 200 acres where he is building Haiti Providence University. The first building is well under way. It is very exciting to see such great faith; such a huge undertaking and funded largely by Haitian churches!
• Wednesday - I spoke at the chapel service at Quisqueya Christian School, telling them my story about the earthquake, and encouraging the teens to seek out their own relationship with Christ. There are many students there now that are not necessarily from Christian families. After, I took Stacey up to a lovely spot called Boutellier on a mountain overlooking Port au Prince, and then up to the Baptist Haiti Mission for lunch and some shopping. We met a two-month old whose mama was in the hospital with TB, and the missionary that brought them in from the mountains. Had dinner with Junior and Joyce and mapped out the rest of our week.
• Thursday - Off to the beach for a day. It's important to me to show people this wonderful side of Haiti. Stacey's commentary: "This would be a great place for a vacation!"
• Friday - We met with Anne, Miselene's aunt, in St. Marc and she led us to Hatte in the Artibonite Valley to see her village and meet her family. Miselene is the little girl that came to the US for treatment at a local hospital for cancer...she has recently passed away after a real battle for her life but we wanted to stay in contact with her family. This is the area where the heaviest concentration of cholera was. After a dusty hour-long ride through rice fields, we arrived at the most impoverished village I have ever seen: no one had shoes, filthy and sick children, no livestock, not even a chicken, etc. We gathered in a room with the patriarch, Anne's father, and his 11 children and grandchildren - about 60 people in all. As the day went on, we learned that some men had come and stolen their land and livestock last year, ran the local pastor and school headmaster out of town, and they are really vulnerable. We also discovered that the patriarch was the local witch doctor and our meeting was held in a voodoo temple! There was demon-possessed woman in our midst who became a little violent with a stick and a rock while we were praying for the children. They call her "Cholera." We gave some money to Anne to buy some food and to give them some ability to get started again. Junior will follow-up with them.
  
• Saturday - We met with Pastor Val and went to his orphanage outside of Leogane. The kids had a little program prepared and sang for us, and one of the songs was about preventing cholera! We hung out there for a few hours, painted fingernails again, played with matchbox cars and bubbles and then went back to the guest house. The little houses we bought are up and occupied, and life is returning to a new normal there. Everyone is happy and healthy...such a different atmosphere from the day before. Construction on a new dormitory and church are underway, and plans for a new school, a food depot, a bakery and other development work are moving along as well.
  

• Sunday - We attended the 4.5 hour church service at the orphanage, with about 75 people in attendance. All of us preached. We were encouraged to see people of all ages, both men and women and their children there. There were several young men in their twenties that Pastor Val is mentoring. They have even planted a church even farther up in the mountains, about a one-hour walk from Pastor Val's place. There was a man in the church who is 109 years old and has been with Pastor Val for over 40 years. His name is Constant (appropriate!) and when I asked him what the secret to a long life is, he said, "Keep God in your heart!" We hiked up the hills behind the site, and had a lovely day, heading back to PAP in the evening.

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• Monday - Before heading to the airport, we hooked up with a missionary that is working with a coop of coffee growers and got some unroasted beans to bring back. We are hoping to partner with these people to begin some coffee exportation, supporting the farmers of Haiti and creating much needed jobs. We also had an interesting conversation with a little boy who has been kidnapped twice! Very interesting story...We departed PAP at noon on Monday.
  

We also were able to talk with Pastor Val about some other plans for growing the local economy. We discussed a plan to provide grants for a motorcycle taxi business for the men in his church. (This is the most practical mode of transport in the rural areas, and is a growing opportunity for men who need to provide for their families.) We also discussed plans for a school building. He has 350 children attending school on his compound, but they are meeting under trees in makeshift tents and areas. He could take many more kids, if there was space. We saw a building that could be put together very quickly, very inexpensively that would accommodate so many, and he really liked it. So fundraising will begin for those two projects immediately. We need about $5K for the motorcycle endeavor (which will be reinvested in motorcycles over and over again) and approximately $60K for the school.

To top off the week, almost as if God wanted to show off, I struck up a conversation with a man in the PAP airport Monday morning who is a pastor in the US, but is part of the church on Delmas 9 that took care of us the night of the earthquake! He recognized people in my photos, and knows Pastor Val! It was amazing. God is amazing.

So thank you, thank you for your prayers and support. Stacey had a great time, we stayed safe and healthy, made some great connections, and serious progress on the things God has put on our plate. It is so exciting to see God at work; I feel like I'm sitting on the front row!

One Year

It's been one year today. You'll see it all over the news. That is a bit comforting, to know that it's not just me and those others that were in Haiti on January 12 last year that are still remembering. I remember thinking at the moment of the earthquake that it wouldn't even make the evening news in America. But I was wrong. The whole world turned its attention to this little Caribbean nation, and the whole world watched their remarkable response to tragedy: they lifted their hands and their voices to God, in worship and prayer. I spent a sleepless night on a soccer field with 2000 of them as they led us in a stunning symphony of prayer, praise, worship, scripture quotation and tears. One lady standing nearby must have been their worship leader, because her voice was so pure, so strong, so tireless. She sang for hours. When one group's praying quieted, another group picked up with a song. When they grew silent, someone started to quote Psalms. We heard Psalm 121 repeatedly. "I will lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth."

The lap of the Father.

One year later, what are my thoughts? It's only 8 in the morning, so I have yet to get through much of the day, but so far mostly tears, sadness, grief for the losses. Tears of thankfulness for my own safety of the safety of those I know. Tears of gratitude to be home with my loved ones. Lots of tears. These tears have made their appearance many times over the past year. At first, I was waking up in the night sobbing uncontrollably, and finding myself in the middle of my day having to stop and go be alone to cry for a while. And I found I couldn't get through a single worship service at church, when everyone was singing of the goodness of God, worshiping Him...it was too tender of a spot in my heart. I had truly tasted a mere sip of the glories of the presence of God and it overwhelmed me. As the year went on, I found I had to restrain my heart from going too close. I didn't like that feeling of having to hold back from experiencing God.

So this morning, I let it flow. Listening to music written by anointed songwriters and sung by golden voices, I wept. I weep for the great loss. I weep for the hopelessness. I weep for pain and suffering of so many. I weep for the children who have no parents. I weep for the lack of order. I weep for the magnitude of the recovery. I weep for the burdens my friends bear. I weep for the lack of restoration even one year later. I weep for the confusion.

But I also cry because of the example set before me of choosing to worship when all is lost. This has been a life altering lesson for me and every time I think about those people with their hands in the air walking through the rubble, I feel challenged.

Since we are at the beginning of a new year, I have been thinking a lot about goals, resolutions. I had some, but today I am thinking my Number One goal should be to train my heart and mind to worship in every circumstance. The immediate response. So if a rock hits my windshield, "thank you Lord." If I get sick, "praise you Jesus." If we lose our business, "God, you are good."

Lord, turn your eye toward Haiti today. Let your lovingkindness flow in that place in 2011. May the power of your Holy Spirit enable strong and good leadership to rise up and transform this small nation. May it be a testimony of your faithfulness, as your people join together and humble themselves and pray and repent for the sins of their nation - may you then restore their land to a shining example of your goodness. I pray that we will look back, many years from now, and see the hand of the Lord at work to build a nation of people that is a bright light in the world. And may I learn to turn to you with thanksgiving in every circumstance, in every blessing and in every trial. Thank you, oh God, and may your name be glorified throughout the earth.