Waking up here is so refreshing to me. I love the Haitian style. They get up and go to bed with the sun. It's just refreshing not to use artificial light to stay up late and then be woken up by the sound of a beeping alarm clock the next morning. Here, we go to bed by candlelight under a blanket of starts and wake up to the sun and sounds of the community stirring around us. To me, this goes along with one of the quotes from Mother Theresa that Roy shared last night:
"In the developed countries, there is a poverty of intimacy, a poverty or spirit, of loneliness, a lack of love. There is no greater sickness in the world than that one."
While there are so many things we can do to help the Haitian people due to our societal advancements, there are many was in which I see our moving forward as taking a step back. In these ways, I hope the Haitian people never become like the Americans. For example, I hear Emily talk so much about technology & online social networking. On multiple occasions I've heard her say she spends 90% of her time in front of a computer screen. I think this can only be exactly what Mother Theresa is talking about. We have created a world where people can be successful without ever leaving their houses. They can have thousands of friends on Facebook and never meet any of them face-to-face. And the sad thing is that this system seems to work. But it is missing something. Of course it makes life "easier", but I was always told that life's not supposed to be easy. Our online world makes communicating and shopping faster and more efficient than ever, but with that comes an easier way to put people down and steal. Life is not supposed to be easy. By struggling together and problem-solving, we form stronger bonds and gain wisdom from one another. Multiple times in the Bible, God speaks of suffering and how through suffering we are restored by Him and made stronger. While I do not desire to suffer like the Haitian people, I do think that there is so much to learn from their suffering. They share in each other's suffering in a very real way. In this one week, we get only a taste of that life. In a way, I'm envious. I wish we knew that kind of faith & community...that kind of love for others and for our communities. Something else to take back to the States, I guess...
Lord, send strength through suffering...
(evening)
I notice a different in spirit between the church in Gros Morne and the church here in Barasa. Perhaps it's the difference between Sunday and Thursday; perhaps it's something more, but as the drums pound out a beat & the people sing out, I couldn't help but think, "This is what it's like to make a joyful noise to the Lord." How marvelous!
I can just see God smiling down on this place, pleased with what He hears. I wish I had a tape recorder so that I could capture this moment and remember it always. Although I don't understand the words, the songs of this little church strike a cord deep in my heart - they awaken something inside of me to make more of a change here. Now Monsieur DonDon challenges us to do what we can with what God has given to us. It is our responsibility to do so. Though I am one person who can make only a small change, the Lord will use my small change to make a big impact. When what we do does not seem like a lot, we must remember that God works with our efforts to make a big change.
"We are not called to be successful, only to be faithful."
Lord, use my efforts to spark big change...
No comments:
Post a Comment