Hey guys, sorry for the delay in getting this blog posted. I’ve been having a few problems as the title of this blog would suggest. Last Tuesday, we had a break in at the house we are staying at. Some people were able to sneak in and make off with about seven laptops, and several iPods and cameras while we were sleeping. And as you might guess, one of the laptops that disappeared was mine. The crazy thing was that it was lying about two feet from me while I slept. Talk about some bold thieves. Thankfully, no one was hurt and we all praised God for that. Anyways, we woke up the next morning to discover the loss and needless to say, it was emotional for many of us. We had to especially deal with anger. First of all, we had some expensive items stolen from right under our noses. Secondly, the act was committed while we slept and we had people enter into what we considered a safe environment. It was hard not to feel violated in a sense. So we took the day off and spent time in prayer as we processed what had happened and how we should respond to it.
One of the speakers at Launch mentioned that when something happens to us, we can either react or respond. A reaction is simply a knee-jerk response whereas a response is thought out and guided by reason and love. It was easy to react to this theft and hold onto anger. It was easy to just look at all Haitians with suspicion because of this. But that is just a reaction to this crime against us. A response is much harder – but that’s what Jesus calls us to do. In Matthew 5:43-47 Jesus tells us what our response should be to injustice done against us. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only you brothers, what more are you doing than others?”
Jesus calls us to radically love those who have not done anything to deserve our love. So later that night, our teams went outside our house and worshipped God in the street. We thanked God for His protection and love. And we prayed for those who had taken from us. This is not our natural response but it is one that comes from a heart that has been loved as Christ loved us. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) This is love that is radical. And we are called to show this love in response to God’s radical love for us.
Anyways, now that that’s been dealt with, I’ll give a quick recap of my life over the past 2 weeks.
We left the Dominican Republic and took a 7 hour bus ride to Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. From there, we took a 30 minute bus ride to Carrefour, one of the towns surrounding Port-au-Prince. This month we’re staying with another team from our squad, Team Tharseo and we’re both helping two local pastors. Our work includes preaching, house visits, and construction.
Like most places outside the States, Haiti runs on its own time schedule. That means that it is not uncommon for things to start half hour to an hour after it is scheduled. This requires a decent amount of patience. I’ve heard that this is a common facet of missionary life from many former World Racers so I’m glad that God is teaching it to me now.
I’m really enjoying the construction because I love working with my hands to build stuff and I’ve done it most of my life (thanks to my loving father who liked to keep me busy). It’s also a great way to bond with the men on my team and there’s nothing like sweating (and a little bleeding) together to build camaraderie.
Thanks again for all your support! I’m so blessed to have you all following my blog and giving financially. You guys rock! Keep praying for our team that God would give us peace amidst the chaos and confusion and that we would be able to love the people here wholeheartedly.
P.S. Because my laptop is now gone I probably won’t be able to post blogs as often – just to let you know. Thankfully all my photos and documents were backed up so I didn’t lose files permanently. We’ve also taken some new security measures to prevent future break-ins so please don’t worry about me – I’ll be fine.
