Friday, July 16, 2010

Hawaii to Haiti - DAY 5

Haiti - Day five - early Friday morning

Haiti is an amazing place that is difficult to describe. The Base Camp director thinks that the January 2010 earthquake will mark history for Haiti like Pearl Harbor, or 9/11 did for America. But trying to explain what we see around us is tough. "vibrant life in the midst of devastation" or "glimmers of hope in near total darkness". Hundreds of local Haitians talking, laughing and selling their goods in sidewalk markets right next to collapsed buildings that haven't been touched since the earthquake. Two dozen young children standing in rows, singing beautiful Haitian songs to us as we arrive at the orphanage - and then an hour later we see those same 6 to 8 year olds preparing and cooking the lunch meal for the entire orphanage over an open wood fire in the "Kitchen", using pots and pans we normally wouldn't use to feed our own dogs. And yet they are laughing, playing and wanting to show us their surroundings with excitement in their eyes. We painted the boy's bedroom walls at the orphanage yesterday and I taught a tall 16 year old girl how to use a paint brush to dab paint in the rough concrete blocks. She was so excited and I left her to enjoy her new found talent. Later she came out to grab me by the hand, walk me back into the painted room, and then turned and smiled with gestures like Vanna White showing me the next letter in Wheel of Fortune, she pointed to her handy work of paint on the wall. It bought tears to my eyes realizing this may be the most exciting thing she does all year and sharing it with an "old guy" from Hawaii made her happy.

What is God doing in us as we experience Haiti ? Why does He call us out of our comfort zone to go to places and do things that seem so insignificant in the big scheme of life - like painting a wall in a tiny orphanage in the devastated land of Haiti ? I believe it's mostly to cultivate the soil of our hearts so he can plant new seeds. Sometimes it takes places like Haiti to wake us from our isolated lives and give God access to change us, mold us, redirect us in our service for Him. He "turns the soil" and plants new seeds in our hearts. Like the comment Sarah made when we came back from the orphanage after holding a half dozen children in her arms - "that's it, I'm unpacking - permanently". Or last night when Pastor Gee (the local pastor of the Foursquare church) said he wanted to build a bakery to provide jobs for his congregation and help them raise money for his Bible institute - I saw the look on Jara's face as she almost bounced off her chair. Jara's dream has been to open a bakery somewhere in the world for God - is this the place ? Or when Josh realized that we had to use pick and shovel to flatten a huge pile of gravel and wondered why we didn't get a bulldozer and just pay someone to do it. But as he worked along side the crew of Haitian and they began to communicate in Creole mixed with English, Josh commented - "it's not about the task, it's about the relationships". These are seeds being planted in the hearts of the team - and we must water and nurture that seed so God can produce fruit in our team members. Maybe that "harvest of fruit" in our team members will be in Haiti, maybe not. But as all of us stay open to God's move in our hearts, watering and nurturing the seed God plants there, there will be a harvest in our lives. Our job is to give God access to turn the soil and plant the seed. Now it's up to us to water that seed with prayer - searching and listening for God to speak the details of how He wants to fulfill His call in our lives. Does God want Sarah to work with children in an orphanage or Jara to start a bakery with the local church in Haiti ? Only God knows and He will show us - as we water and nurture that seed - to see what the fruit will be and where He will harvest it in our lives.

Lord - help us to water and nurture the seeds you plant in our lives. Keep us from allowing those tender plants to dry up and die in our hearts. Produce the crop of fruit that you desire in our lives. In Jesus name, Amen.

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