Ayiti Cheri!

In Haiti safely! Pretty easy travels! I am into Cite Soleil today to meet with the staff. Excited to see everyone. I had a chance to sit with Louvenet last night! A sweet blessing to see him. We were talking about how we have know each other for over a decade, so neat! Been neat to watch him grow up, share stories, and listen and learn from each other. Last night he talked about, “being Haitian is hard.” I just listened, knowing that I will never understand. It’s frustrating to hear the stories of injustice and challenges. I often feel pressed against a wall because I do not know. I come from a middle class home, educated, can turn on water whenever I need it, cooking is easy, I have a savings, parents to depend on, a car that runs, health insurance, a safety net, a 401k, more than one pair of shoes….I just started reading a book called, Jesus and the Disinherited, by Howard Thurman. He writes of how God is on the side of the oppressed. He writes, “A profound piece of surgery has to take place in the very psyche of the disinherited before the great claim of the religion of Jesus can be presented. The great stretches of barren places in the soul much be revitalized, brought to life before they can be challenged.” I think of this as I head into Cite Soleil, a place where the disinherited reside. I think of the barren places in the soul that we might be encountering and it slows my gate in being quick to speak. Today, we sat with the staff; it was great being the only foreigner in the group. I love when the greater mass is Haitians, it feels right. As I sit there I pray that we would reflect Jesus, I pray that we would be a piece to the reconciliation and the “surgery” that needs to take place. I pray that if souls would be barren that through community and relationships God would start the work to revitalize souls and the streets. The book is humbling and hard to read because it confirms that I am privileged and the majority and deep within its hard and it hurts. I know God gave me that lot and I plan to use my gifts, but as I walk in the streets of Cite Soleil I work hard to be equal with the population and I know that our souls can be the same, but our situations will never be the same, so I wait, listen, learn, and let them take the lead.