Dis-unified Unity:
Hey all, this comes as a praise report/prayer request.
There comes a point when the first impression/façade that we
all put on must end. There comes a time when truth must pour out and the
secrets be shouted. For team Reckless, that was 2 nights ago…
Team Reckless seems to have hit a bump in the road. A lot of
dis-unity and tension had been built up. We finally a few nights were able to
talk a few things out, which led to a second follow up conversation last night.
The team all opened up, and it turns out that we are all feeling the same
thing, but nobody had said anything. The cat is out of the bag, and now that
the weight has been lifted, I fully believe we are on an uphill battle to get
out of this rut that we are in.
Today, the day after the conversation, was probably one of
the best days of the trip for me. I felt as though there were a new found
freedom in the air. God paved a way for us to get the space we needed, and be
in a bit smaller of a group today.
Blake, Michelle, and I took the day to do some off campus
ministry while Krystel, Allison, and Sarah stayed behind to plan for next weeks
VBS and play with the kids at the orphanage.
My journey was a blast! We crossed a river in a hollowed out
tree, landed on the beach and walked a dirt trail through a corn field to a small
tin roofed, wooden church. The building had no electricity, no fans, no
windows, just two doors and 60 people.
The people had come from all around because today was a hand
out day, bags of rice and about 30 pairs of shoes. The hand outs started well,
but soon erupted into chaos as adults and children began to realize that there
were not enough shoes for them all. Greed and hostility erupted into their once
happy moods a stampede pushed forward crowding the 4 men handing out shoes.
Blake, 2 other men, and myself formed a line about 5 foot in front of Wilfred,
the man handing out shoes, holding hands forming a blockade. A small fight
broke out between 2 Haitian men, and chaos began..
After about 10 minutes of not passing out shoes and holding
the blockade, the mood began to settle slightly. We were able to push people
out of the small church to form some sort of order in passing out what was left
of the shoes. After a bit of child-like behavior the shoes were gone, and
people calmed down.
We ended the afternoon by crossing back over the river and
headed for a small restaurant where we were able to bless Wilfred with a good
cold beer, an empanada, a hot dog, and some cheesy puffs. Today was a good day,
a fun day.
Thank you God for
lifting the weight of dis-unity off of my shoulders. Thank you for the
opportunities we had today, and for the adventures you give. Thank you Lord for
the friends we have made and for the people we meet. Thank you Lord for the
safe place to share hard truths and for my team that will work through our
problems. Thank you Lord for all that you have done, are doing, and will do. Thank
you…
