Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Broken

Today was like turning on the light and walking into a room that you are somewhat familiar with.  You know where the furniture is but you have never sat down on it.  You know what color the carpet is but you have never walked on it.  You can even describe the pictures on the wall.  Today God turned on a light to extreme poverty and need that we all know is out there but few have stood in the middle of and experienced.

Today our team delivered water the poorest slums in Haiti.  We could roughly describe what we thought we were going to experience.  However, today God turned on the light to this room and we entered a space that we thought we could appreciate.  Today we found out that we had very little true appreciation for the need of these very faithful and grateful people. 

All day long we filled buckets and helped carry water to the most basic shacks.  Shacks that no one in America would ever consider livable but shacks that these people call home.  They are made of scraps and pieces of other things that were never meant to be made into a home.  Some were made from disassembled plastic portable outhouses - now the walls of their very small home.  The children were thirsty for both the water we delivered and the caring smile and attention of an adult.  So many of these children are "on their own" to survive every day.  Our presence was simply a hug, a smile and a focus that they just do not get enough of.  We walked along the coastline where garbage was everywhere.  The smell of trash and disease was all around us.

God turned on the light.

Tonight we all shared what this experience meant to us.  We shared how this landed on our hearts.  Some were angry with its sheer existence (me) and some were still processing the emotions of the day.  What was clear was that God intentionally and deliberately broke each and every one of our hearts today.  He put the needs of this country squarely in front of a team that comes from many comforts and blessings that are out of reach for most in Cite Soleil.

God turned on a light.  What we each do with this new perspective is a defining thing in our family's lives.

Rick Jones

1 comment:

  1. Spot on, Rick! I appreciate your analogy. It's there, but we've never seen it right in front of our faces like this before. Poverty like no man (or child!) should endure. It made me angry too. SO MAD! For me, that anger was the beginning of what drove me harder to serve and love 'the least of these.' God bless you all! You have so many people here praying for you.

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