Risk Factor

This afternoon Ray and Rob were in a little motorcycle accident; Ray’s shoulder was used as a motorcycle mirror removal tool! Fortunately, nothing worse happened. He is pretty sore but it looks like he is okay. We always know these trips are not without risk, but we are cautious about doing off the wall things just because everyone else in the country may be doing it. However, necessity drives some circumstances. Such was the trip that they were making from the church to the parsonage via motorcycle. It seems Americans aren’t the only folks who have a problem with texting and driving, it seems Haitian share the same propensity. The silver lining was that he received some extra attention from the team! Ray, Rick, and Noah blazed away with the paint this afternoon, the back office, inside and out has a first coat of paint on it. They were going to try to get the inside of the office painted, and ended up getting it covered on the outside as well. They are getting up to finish it in the morning. It looks great! I was so pleased. The interaction with the people has been incredible, although we are surrounded with some difficult circumstances. My heart breaks for the suffering of this people. I know from a theological standpoint that God provides, that His mercy though not evident to me still flows. I know that weeping endures for the night; I have heard it here. Joy they say comes in the morning, well… what morning, what day, what year. Who will be alive to experience it? I know joy is not what we have, nor what we eat, it’s not houses and land; it’s not tied to things. But the physical suffering is tough to stomach, especially when there is no evident break. But the Haitians have taught me there is a break, it’s just not the break I think they deserve. Herein lies the complexity of it all. My perception of joy is often warped by my materialistic indulgence. True joy exists outside of that. I practice this at certain levels, but on others I still fall short. Each trip broadens my understanding a little more, erases with confident strokes my alien aspirations, my stingy understanding of real joy. The Haitians are not an outwardly smiley lot of people, but they are radiant! Speaking a kind word and hearing the gratitude in the response back is inspirational to say the least. Every trip here revs up my understanding that we are partly the joy in morning, not all the wonderful things we bring, but we the people are the joy! The joy is in Jesus, and the connection of love He fosters between us, by knitting our hearts with these people brings them great joy, and it brings me great joy as well! Sometimes I feel my posting turns a bit rambling, I apologize, but invite you to our journey with us. You spend part of your time here wrestling with psychological questions. The culture and the suffering and the struggle shift you in ways you cannot fathom. The mind bending is often very difficult to do, especially when you are not practicing mental flexibility! You look for resolutions, but it seems they defy you at every turn. What at one moment makes good clear sense; the next is obliterated by some other part of the equation. There are no easy, quick answers to the rebirth question of a culture, of its deliverance from tragedy, of its restoration to some former glory if ever there was one. We need to be grateful each of us today for what we have. In a moment it can be shattered except for the grace of God. We need only glance away from our shoreline but a short distance to realize what miracles and potential exist in our own country. We need to be cautious with what we take for granted! Rejoice and be glad today! Blessings in the moment!