Matthew

We seldom consider names anymore. We pick our baby names with great care, establish parental value, and then our children slip into mainstream life, and meaning is lost. How many of us can quickly state what our name means? Some perhaps even have a name they despise. Some names pass the test of time, seeming timeless, they don’t wear out, they don’t suffer the plight of antiquity, they stay current, desired, and even cherished by every culture. Take for instance the name Matthew. This is a name that time has carried well. I know several Matthew’s myself, and they all seem to be of good repute… except one… one named Hurricane Matthew. This Matthew has taken an awful swipe at a nation already distressed, left its hand print all over the face of this seemingly forsaken Island. In just a few hours we will land to absorb firsthand the recoil from this daunting storm. We will attempt to hold the afflicted and console the hungry, the lost, the faint hearted. But we also go to be among a resilient people. A people who in the midst of struggle, refuse to break. The vehicle of time turned us down this winding path and loaded us into this surreal moment. This time was chosen months ago, and we did not plan on landing in the midst of further devastation for Haiti, but we are not in charge. We flex with the force of the one who sends us, we bend to the will of Him who writes the path of such a force of nature. We perhaps have more questions than answers in these circumstances, but have walked this journey long enough to know grace abounds where turmoil has struck with savagery. We go to bring grace, hope, and help to the hurting, the fallen, the broken. To sow love, to show Christ, and help bind up the wounds of the sorrowing. I don’t know who named this monster Matthew, if it was meant to be a powerful name, they got it right. It’s power crippled millions, ruined cities, destroyed crops, washed away livestock, and polluted water sources in ways too big to comprehend. And yet in its wake it cannot destroy the will of a people to survive. So as we descend into depravity tomorrow, we go with the confidence that we are at the right place at the right time. We go with helping hands extended because of the support of so many here at home. A special note of thanks to all who make this endeavor possible, who cast prayers and financial aid to the thousands we now aid via schooling, orphanage, church, water distribution, food, clothing, housing, but mostly and more simply love. Thank you for sending us, thank you for helping us serve. May God bless you all tonight.