God's Plumbline Ministries

Help Needed - Maternity Center (Haiti)

2012-01-22T20:55:00.000-05:00

I am always in awe of what happens at the birthing center.

This program runs like a well oiled machine because of the love and support of women helping women.

The Women's Program is in need of some supplies.

If you have or would like to donate any of these things please let me know and I will be happy to bring them on my next trip. Below is a note from Beth McHoul in Haiti.

If you are going to be traveling to Haiti soon, and would be willing to pack extra stuff in your bags for us, please let us know. Heartline's Maternity Center is in need of the following supplies ASAP. Thanks in advance!

1. Pregnancy tests
2. Prenatal vitamins
3. Urine (UA) test strips (in bottles of 100 test strips)
4. New women's underwear: sizes 5, 6, 7, and 8
5. Extra large maxi pads (we especially need the extra-large size Depends-type pads that are approximately 6x10 inches)
6. Large maxi pads
7. New cloth diapers and new plastic diaper covers
8. Newborn size disposable diapers
9. New, basic (rubber/plastic) flip-flops (women's size 7-10), any colors
10. New toiletry supplies: small bottles of baby powder, large women's deodorant, large combs, medium size bottles of hand/bottle lotion
11. New washcloths and hand towels
12. Individual Gatorade packets and large canisters of Gatorade or Power-Ade powder
13. IV catheters: 18, 20, 22, and 24 gauge
14. 3M Durapore brand tape
15. New, durable metal or plastic water bottles (such as Nalgene)
16. New baby socks (size 0-6 months)

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-26T11:07:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you love, goodness and the knowledge of His grace to us!

The Lynch Family

Haiti - Birthing Center

2011-12-24T13:07:00.000-05:00

There are so many things in Haiti that don't speak of goodness and joy.

Yet, in the middle of so many things that seem hard for us to understand there is one thing that still remains wonderful, bringing hope and life.

Part of the women's program is to care for the whole woman.

We have cooking, literacy and business on one street and one block away there is the birthing center that speaks to the other part of a women - the mother.

This part is truly at the heart of helping women and children in the third world.

Bringing healthy life to a helpless child.

Creating a healthy pregnancy and a safe clean place for a child to takes it's first breath.

It is amazing what extra protein and iron can do to bring up the birth weight in a baby.

The mothers are allowed to labor with love and support around them.

Getting full medical care and monitoring before, during and after they have their baby.

After all my trips to Haiti I was finally able to be there for the birth of a baby (or two).

It has been a running joke that no babies have been born while I am in Haiti so the midwives will have a break for a few days. But not this time - yay!

Hours are spent caring for these ladies and their babies to make sure everything is good.

They are given help with breast feeding as well.

You would think that for women living in such poverty bottle feeding wouldn't even be a thought but it is a major issue that needs to be addressed with every birth.

Dirty water, incorrect amounts of formula and unsanitary conditions for washing bottles are cause for great concern that can take the life of a baby with in days and yet it is a battle for many reasons.

In this high-tech, quick paced life we live in babies are still such a gift!

Haiti - Cooking Exams

2011-12-20T18:25:00.000-05:00

The container of fabric was almost sorted, we would soon be finished.

The first phase of the sewing exams had been taken.

Now it was time for the very first cooking exams and I was going to be there to participate.

These ladies started cooking classes in September and now it was time to see what they had learned.

They would be responsible to bring in dishes, clean them, clean their cooking area and make sure they knew all the ingredients and directions by memory.

Aprons and chef hats all in place, every one was busy and working hard.

So worked with great confidence others not so much.

I was happy to see how neatly they worked.

Fresh coconut, peanuts, limes, and sweet potatoes.

Things began to smell really good.

Overall they progressed quickly.

As I walked through I took notes and tasted batters.

Before I knew it they had finished.

Now for the fun part - tasting everything.

I have to say, I think it was a great success.

A few minor adjustments needed to be made but all in all they did great!

Yet another phase of the women's program up and running and doing great!!

Haiti - 7000 lbs

2011-12-19T20:54:00.000-05:00

After you have worked in Haiti you will hear yourself and others saying - "This is Haiti (TIH)".

It isn't that you don't know that you are in Haiti it has more to do with how things work in Haiti.

For example: we shipped a container in February of 2010 and it finally got out of customs so we could unpack it in December of 2010.

Why?

There is a never ending battle in the saga of containers coming into Haiti.

Most of the saga is because of what we will call "fees".

Hidden fee's, not so hidden fee's and just more...TIH type things.

When we left for India I said to Dan I promise you the fabric will finally be out of customs just about the time we finally get back from our trip after I have been waiting for it for months.

Sure enough we got home on a Thursday and on Tuesday I got an email saying, yes, come the container was out.

Yet, with all of that I have to say, I love it when a plan finally falls into place and we can get tons of hard work done and work we did.

Lots of us for a week.

It took a lot of sorting, re-sorting, packing and un-packing but it is finally done. We have fabric for sewing school, the sewing ladies who sew outside of the program and the ladies that sew inside of the program plus some.

We should be set for several months.

The great thing about this fabric is that it is very different and will allow us to come up with some new and creative things we haven't been able to make in the past.

consider gifts that give

2011-11-28T20:54:00.001-05:00

It is almost that time of year again

I have been getting stacks of catalogues in the mail

Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone

This year I am trying to give gifts that have meaning

Not just meaning to me but gifts that empower the artisan to have a better life

This year I hope that you will consider doing the same thing

Here are two very real and trust worthy organizations

These organizations both help women and children have better lives in Haiti

Below you will find the link needed to make purchases

Happy Shopping...

Haitian Creations

www.haitiancreations.com

Apparent Project - Corrigan and Shelley Clay

www.apparentproject.org

Can I Tell You Something...

2011-11-28T16:42:00.000-05:00

Since our return from India I have been in a funny place.
Not funny Ha-Ha, funny like I don't fit in my skin.
Uncomfortable funny.

Half of me thinks I should have a plan, "Phase 2" all laid out and ready to submit for approval.
To who, I don't know.
The other half of me is still numb.

I often think about what I want to say when asked "what we would like to do next".
There is the heart part, the business part and unfortunately the "in-style"part.
More importantly...there is the God part.

Here is some of what has been rolling around in my head.
Ever since I was a kid I have loved this one kind of fabric from India.
There have been hints of it in my clothes, my kitchen towels, place mats, table cloths and my bags.
I was surprised to see this fabric on every working man either as a farmer or a shepherd.
I guess I never really thought about what it was used for.
Don't get me wrong I love all kinds of fabric, but there is this one that I am drawn to for some reason. Without fail I have to stop, look at it, price it and feel it.

It just so happens that on this trip to India, with out me knowing it ahead of time, we went to one of the only two places that is known for making this fabric.
I can either believe that God is up to something or I can blow it off thinking that was weird.
If I believe the God part, I could say He just wanted to bless me with the desires of my heart or I could say, the things in my heart have been put there by God and He is trusting me with something bigger than myself and this crazy love for hand stamped fabric has a greater purpose.

I had a dream.
(No pun on MLK)
Not the dream of my childhood, but a recent one.
My dream was about "Fishers of Men" and "The Message".
Both a play on words.
Get it, fishers of men (people working in created jobs) taking the message (the gospel) via the messenger bag (created from the fabric I love) to people in India by selling messenger bags to create sustainable business.
Dreams however are not always "bankable" or something people are willing to invest in.
They are not generally things you submit in grant proposals expecting funding either.
However, they are lessons in God's character.
Lessons in trusting that there has to be a bigger plan than what I know right now.
I have to believe that God is good, He loves me, I have had these dreams since childhood for a reason and He is working to bring them from heaven to earth.
Not just for me, but for many.

It isn't the fabrics that are outlined with a cotton-tipped bamboo stick and dyed in vegetable or mineral colours. Nor, is it the process that involves washing, rinsing, soaking and bleaching muslin, and applying mordants and dyes using natural substances like indigo for blue, madder for red, mango bark and dried myrobalan fruit for yellow, palm sugar and rusted iron for black.
No, it is for the love He has for people, the ones he died for 5000 years ago.

Our pastor says, pay attention to the things that make you cry, because they are the things most dear to the Lords heart.

Raju's Vision

2011-11-08T09:09:00.010-05:00

Pastor Raju and Santhoshamma

(Children: Thompson, Merb Divya and Samuel)

Their vision for India:

1. To preach the gospel to unknown people groups
2. To build churches where there is no church
3. To build church buildings for others
4. To feed orpahn children
5. To help disabled children
6. To help women who are in poverty
7. To help widows
8. To conduct gospel meetings and seminars
9. To help victims of floods and tsunamis

Raju works with a network of 30 plus pastors to help accomplish his vision.
The churches have any where from 10 to 50 people.
There are only a handful of larger churches.

India - 330 Million "gods"

2011-11-05T08:48:00.012-05:00

Sai Baba Temple at Machilipatnam

Here is the break down of religion in India:
Hindu - 81%
Muslim - 14%
Christian - 2%

They are big, they are small, they are everywhere - even on the beach.
So much so that you kind of forget what they are and what they are saying.
I know this seems simple, but if you think about the poverty in India, it seems to me a major part of that comes from trying to make 330 million gods happy by bringing offerings and building them temples that require constant up-keep.

According to the "Asset Mapping" we did with the pastors, each church sees only two salivations per year.
Many who may choose to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior do not do so publicly because of the harsh consequences.
Being a "Christian" is considered one of the lowest levels in the caste system of India.
Therefore very few own property, farms, stores or business.

While talking to Raju I asked him if it was really true that India had 330 million gods and a temple every 100 feet.
Yes, he said but, we have the only God who has risen from the dead.
I explained that I had a hard enough time with just one God let alone 330 million of them.
Later as I processed this conversation I also remembered we have a "Savior" not a god and what He gives us is a gift and we get this gift with out works, it is free.

The book of Romans seems to be speaking right to the heart of the matter.
Not to mention Paul's point - that what I don't want to do I do and what I do I don't want to do.
Jesus gave us salvation and it isn't by our works - it is a gift.
Period.
End of story.

To See or Not To See

2011-11-03T13:30:00.020-05:00

I don't know his name or his age
Nor do I know if he had a family
He wasn't outside of his comfort zone, I was
He knew exactly what he was doing, checking the trash piece by piece
He was working, intent, with purpose
He never looked my way, never distracted by the white girl with the camera
Would I have looked away if he noticed me, maybe
I wondered how much he would get for his efforts
I asked if he went to school, no, I guess not
Poverty
A child without a childhood
Getting a few coins
Coins for...
So much for the argument for basic human rights.
I am guessing he didn't have someone to argue his case, he just needed to eat.

India - Fabric

2011-10-31T06:47:00.008-05:00

The Kalamkari fabrics of Machilipatnam, with their intricate designs, are used in clothing and wall hangings.
Kalamkari refers to dye-painted cloths and the technique used to create them.

Their name derives from kalam, for a pen-like tool used to draw outlines on the cloth, and kari (work).
Fabrics are outlined with a cotton-tipped bamboo stick and dyed in vegetable or mineral colours.
The process involves washing, rinsing, soaking and bleaching muslin, and applying mordants and dyes using natural substances like indigo for blue, madder for red, mango bark and dried myrobalan fruit for yellow, palm sugar and rusted iron for black.
The dyeing process is very elaborate and can take several days to complete.

While some pieces are hand-drawn, large canvas and sheets are block-printed.
The work done in Machilipatnam, often using block printing in conjunction with hand painting, features decorative floral and vegetable designs that appealed to local kingdoms and to export trade.
This culminated in European demand for Machilipatnam chintz, which derives its name from the Hindi word chint (spotted).

We spent one whole afternoon looking at fabric creation and production.
This process can only be done when they are not in rainy season - leaving them jobless for four months out of the year.
We talked with many workers about the wage they made and on average most worked twelve hour days making only one dollar per day.

India - New Beginnings

2011-10-29T05:17:00.015-05:00

Isaiah 43:18-19
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

Monday, October 18 we went from Atlanta to Chicago to Abu Daubi to Hyderabad to Vijayawada to Machillpatnam arriving at about 2:30 on Wednesday.

We had most definitely crossed over into a new land.
The pastors and children lined both sides of the road as we walked into the compound.
And the huge 15 x 15 sign, yikes, can you say akward?
I guess they had been waiting for us.
So much for being behind the scenes in my comfort zone.

The name of the town close to the Mighty Shepard Ministires is called Machilipatnam.
It is a town of about 500,000 people in a district called Krishna .
Outside the town, there are many villages and towns fairly close by. There are many farmers and field workers in the local area. The town, Machilipatnam, is in a state called Andrea Pradesh. There are 28 states in India . Andrea Pradesh (A.P.) has 26 districts and a population of about 100 million.
Machilipatnam is about 10 miles inland from the Bay of Bengal.

As in all of India , Hindu is the majority religion there with great amounts of idols and idol worship in that area.

What Taking Possession Really Looks Like

2011-10-16T10:01:00.013-05:00

Deuteronomy 2: 24
“Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge. See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle.

The big day was finally here!
We had prayed, packed, planned, shopped and said our good-bye's.
And then, Thursday we got bumped four times with our buddy passes.
Missing all possible flights and connections.
Let's just say I was sobbing more than once in the airport.
We waited and waited for the Lord to pull some last minute magic.
After nine hours at Concourse E in the Atlanta Airport, we returned home with the information that Air France would do nothing for us and not even let us pay change fee's.
They told us we lost our money and that was just the way it was.
Sorry! $2800 worth of sorry left a deep sick feeling in my stomach.
We had hit a brick wall.

Even as we sat out side in the cool night breeze, I said, I still think something is going to happen.
My mom finally drove up and we left with out our suitcase holding our gifts for the children in India.
As we drove home I tried to process, how could we have missed God like that?
I was making a mental list of the things that had to happen for all of this to work.
What about all the extra side jobs Dan got at work, his parents coming to stay with the kids and all people who sent support.
What would I tell everyone. Thinking about that was worse than missing our planes.

After the emotional roller coaster ride, we finally arrived home with no fight left.
We fell into bed asking the Lord to work on our behalf.
Through the night it was like was being jolted wake up thinking of one more thing we should have tried, only to realize that we did try everything while dozing off again.

When morning came I was numb.
So many questions with no answers.
While checking my email and drinking my coffee I watched David Copeland's video email that just happened to be on extreme warfare, bizarre and unusual circumstances and a unique new anointing coming from the Lord.
Well, that fit, we had all of those things happen.
Honestly, His words felt like being thrown a new life line.
It was confirmation to what we had heard before we left - this was a new season.
So didn't we miss God?
So many things fallen into place for us to go there was still hope.
We just had to keep pushing.

Friday morning I said to myself, OK - IF this was going to work it's gonna be CRAZY....and crazy it was.

While I was drinking my coffee trying to figure out just exactly how God was going to show up there was a knock at the front door.
It was the meter man and he was at the house to install a new power source for the new digital meter.
My thought was - for all I care buddy you can take the bricks off the house if you really want to.
I really wasn't in the best mood.

We would leave and go to our favorite breakfast place and talk about what to do next.
While we talked we got a few phone calls and a few text messages.
Things began to shift!

Later in the day, as all of the God things started happening, I could hear the meter man's words, "you will drop power for a few seconds, but, it will come back more accurate with the new digital meter."

Indeed it did!
Who knew the Lord made house calls.

We ended up getting in $2200 on Friday in various ways from our supporters.
We went to the bank to file a "claim for no services rendered" with our credit card.
To our surprise, the bank put the $2800 back in our account for the first tickets that we couldn't use while we dispute this claim.
Plus, the new tickets we booked that evening actually ended up being $800 less than our first tickets.

So, with all of that we will try this again Monday!
Now we just need our bag back from the airline before we leave on Monday!
It seems it went to Paris with out us.

When the Lord said, begin to possess the Land, I had no idea it would begin in the Atlanta Airport with several "open book tests".

Haiti - The Funny Stuff

2011-09-16T09:31:00.016-05:00

There are just as many funny things about Haiti as there are sad things.
Well, almost.
It takes time to see them however.
Some days none of it is funny.
It can be madding depending on the day you may have had.
Some days it can be the fact that a man is wearing a pink t-shirt that says "baby on board" with a big arrow on his stomach.
Maybe it is the words on a sign or picture on a tap-tap.
On this day is was the words on a "take-out" food place.
"Howdy, Now Git"
It was something I would see in Georgia at a BBQ place in the middle of no where.
Git? Was that really a word?

On this day, I was looking over the new cooking school text book and saw these words:
Lesson One: Spam
Really!
What do I say about Spam, after all, some people like the stuff.

Humor!

Thoughts on Friday

2011-09-14T11:18:00.023-05:00

Friday was going to be a very busy day.
I would need to talk to the current sewing ladies, all of the staff at the school and finally the bead ladies.
So many thoughts, what to say?
There would be some changes coming, no one likes change.
I really don't like breaking the news that change is coming.
How to make this a good thing.
For me, I could see so much good, finally, good things are happening again in Haiti.
But, in transition, things are not easy.
Growing pains are exactly that, pains.
The goal, going to the next level.
Increase sales, develop a bigger market place, get wholesale contracts....
It takes time.
Time is kind of like "wait". No one likes to wait.
Again, it is a time of transition.
How do you talk about transition, the need to increase sales and develop products.
Wisdom.
Lord, I need wisdom.

I would meet with the sewing ladies first.
The ladies that started this whole thing.
I would start with telling them, again, just how this whole thing started.
How all the sewing machines got there and how the program started.
It started for me on my very first trip to Haiti, being held at gun point and with the death of a little boy.
These very women represented my dream and desire to bring hope to children, to keep families in tact.
My dream was real and sitting on folding chairs in front of me.
They all had money in their business accounts to help them in the lean times and all of them would be fine.
This wasn't about money, it was about hope and dreams, believing for the future.

Meeting number two, lunch planned for the all the workers and the teachers.
For me, to me, they are what I would call "Life Givers".
They are, the women who impart the vision I have for these ladies.
They are imparting new skills, new knowledge and the chance for a new beginning.
Yes, it is a lot work and takes courage.
But, when they graduate, they will have been taught more than just sewing.
They are teaching team work, community, discipline - all things they will need to be business women.
While I talked and Marjorie interpreted for me she lost her train of thought when I said,
"there are one hundred fifty-nine ladies in the sewing school".
What?
She stopped repeating my words.
We started laughing.
I counted out for her all the classes, the number of women in each class and she said, "wow, I had no idea".
Funny, right!
In four years, we went from John telling me,"if I had one graduate, I would be doing good", to this.

Last, but not least, the bead ladies.
These ladies are near and dear to my heart.
I believe they have the ability to achieve greatness.
I shared with them just how I came up with the idea for the bead program.
Day after day I would watch women struggle with their struggle in mastering the skill of sewing.
I prayed, Lord please give me an idea so that ALL these women can be successful.
It was my hearts desire to have every single women be successful.
Remnants!
Everyday we had tons of them, not being used.
Even the Lord used remnants, he often called them his "chosen" people remnants.
We would take the remnants from the purses to create something beautiful.
This is exactly what they are doing, creating something out of nothing.
Beauty from ashes.

Craft Artisan's

2011-09-13T12:40:00.011-05:00

Artisan's...
Last, but not least, we have a group of ladies working on many different hand crafts.
They will learn how to work with what we call "sisal" as in sisal rugs.
You may also know it from seeing bales of hay tied up with it.

Next they will work on embroidery and finally flower making and design.
These are often the classes the ladies who have just graduated from our literacy class start with in continuing their education.

Please pray for our ladies as they begin a new year in school, learning new skills that will make their lives better.
Not having to live on credit, paying for food, clean water, and their children's education.

Beads and Jewelry

2011-09-11T08:26:00.006-05:00

This class was birthed out of my desire for every woman to be successful.
After two years of watching ladies come to sewing school and not being able to figure out the skills needed for sewing, I began to pray for new ideas. Ideas for the ladies to make a living doing something different.
Let's face it, even in the States you could have a PHD and still not figure out how to work a treadle sewing machine.
Those things are really hard work.
Everyday I would watch our yard guy, Billy, come in a sweep up all this fabric that wasn't being used.
I began thinking there should be something I can do with the fabric.
The sewing ladies wanted it all for making pillows at home and at times I would agree to give it to them.
It was on a visit with some adoptive parents that this whole idea was birthed.
Today we have seven ladies making jewelry full time and another ten in class.

Cooking School - New Beginnings

2011-09-10T11:07:00.007-05:00

Just before I was leaving for Haiti Marjorie emailed me and said she needed a Kitchen Aid and stuff for cooking school.
I wasn't really thrilled about yet another trip to Wal-Mart, but I knew it would be good and I would be happy once I saw the ladies in class. Getting all my bags there would be interesting and costly, but again, so worth it.

In Haiti we call the man in charge "chef".
This is Heartline's Chef (John) really being a chef or trouble maker for those in class.
He was being good at taking hats and messing up stuff.

All the students did there own hand work on their aprons.
They have learned embroidery in the Craft classes.
Some have learned this skill much better than others.
This is "Tata".
She used to be a nanny at the baby's house before the earthquake, now she takes care of the kitchen at the women's house and is a student in the new cooking classes.
Gotta love how happy she is...

This year Esther is the "professor" for cooking school.
Last year she was teaching literacy, a very important class in my opinion.

Look what they did on their first day - pretty impressive!
Plus, in tasted good!
The big chef didn't have any because he doesn't like onions.
I think they are off to a great start.
I told them next time I want cake.
We will be looking into creative ways to sell cake and other goodies at different programs and guest houses.

Sewing Classes Begin - Again

2011-09-09T18:22:00.004-05:00

Monday, September 5, marked the beginning of another new school year on Claircine 21 in Tabarre.
The house is packed full of ladies.
They have found their name on the printed list put on the chalk board and packed in the classrooms.
We have Literacy, Cooking, Sewing, Beading and Crafts...
This is one busy house!!

There are now two sewing classes with twenty-five ladies in each class, one upstairs and one downstairs.
Fifty ladies in sewing school, this isn't counting all of the other classes.
In total one hundred and fifty-nine ladies will pass through this house each day.
I will share those later...

It was so awesome to see them all in class ready to begin a new chapter in their lives.
This was indeed a dream of my heart to see the house full of ladies willing to take the first step.

There are now thirty-four ladies sewing for Haitian Creations full-time.
Each of them has money saved in her business account, that will allow their children to start school in October.
It is amazing to see how these ladies lives have changed.
Yes, they are better, yet still harder than what I can imagine.
They are all my heros.

Punjabi's and Sari's

2011-03-25T15:50:00.008-05:00

Back in the late 70’s you could buy clothes at Pier One Imports. I had purchased a couple of outfits from my favorite store planning for the day I would go to India. My favorite one was white linen pants with a white embroidered shirt with white flowers. I remember my father asking my mother, why I had to wear such wrinkled clothes. I am sure she said something like, the same reason she has big holes in her jeans, she likes them.

I have thought back to those days wondering how we ended up in Africa, South America and Haiti. It has been one of those unanswered questions we all have. Well, that was until my last trip to Haiti when I was pulled out of customs and told I needed a “textile broker” or they would confiscate all of the purses I was bringing back for the ladies to sell at Haitian Creations. In all my years of travel back and forth to Haiti nothing like this has ever happened to me. I considered crying to see if that would help as I just spent the past two weeks in Haiti with an “almost” hurricane, the outbreak of cholera and after shocks still happening from the earth quake. Instead, I was the deer caught in headlights. I can honestly say, I think that God used the poor people who didn't speak English, who had not filled out their customs forms and needed a pen, who stood next to me, as my ticket out of the “you are in BIG trouble” line. I got a good yelling at and I was finally free to go.

What does any of this have to do with India? When I got home I made a phone call to a friend of a friend who has been doing import and export in India and other countries for the last seventeen years to ask him (Jim) what I needed to do to make sure this never happened to me again. At the end of this conversation, he asked me if he could ask me some questions about our work in Haiti.

As it turns out, he and his wife (Leslie) have been praying for the past fifteen years for a way the members of their churches in Andhra Pradesh, India could be in business allowing the pastors to be self-sufficient doing what they are called to do, supporting the church. Jim loved what we have been doing in Haiti and wondered if we could have a meeting to talk more in depth about working together.

It is now 2011, I have never owned a Punjabi or a Sari, but I have read tons of books about Mother Theresa and am teaching myself to cook my favorite curry dishes. I still love to wear blue jeans with holes and white linen shirts. It seems, in a around about way, the door is opening for God’s Plumbline to go to India.

We will be making a trip to meet pastors and potential students, while looking for creative new ideas to start another successful business. India is a country rich in textiles. We will build on our experience in Haiti working to create another self-sustaining business for the people of India. While we are there we will spend time at the Mighty Shepard Ministries orphanage Jim and Leslie run in Machilipatnam, while looking for a central location to work from.

• Machilipatnam known as Masulipatam under British rule is a city and a special grade municipality in the Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located 347 kilometres (216 mi) south east of state capital, Hyderabad. Hindu is the majority religion in India.

What is happening with Haiti? We are still deeply committed to our work in Haiti. We shipped 5000 lbs of fabric to Haiti that arrived February 28th and is now waiting to be cleared from customs. The sewing school and beading program continue to grow and thrive under the direction of our partners at Heartline Ministries. While we continue to make trips to Haiti supporting and praying for the program we are also aware that we have been called to build upon the knowledge we gained in Haiti allowing others in developing countries to work in a self-sustaining business.

Our goal will be to create a network within the 1400 churches Jim and Leslie work with in A.P. India, creating businesses for the church members. We will be looking into many different ideas including textiles and agriculture. As in Haiti, there is a huge need among the young people in this area to have a trade school once they finish primary school.

We ask that you would prayerfully consider helping us as we go and spy out the land, looking to the Lord for what He would have us do to help the people of India. What do we need to begin a new program in India? For now we need: • 2 round trip tickets ($1500 - $1800 each) • Rental car/driver ($750) • Room and board ($500) • Supplies for the orphanage • Travel visas ($275 each) • Prayer support (Priceless) as we go and discern what our roles will be in the short and long term – we are looking to leave the last week of April and will be gone for two weeks.

If You Hit Bone

2011-02-02T22:03:00.014-05:00

With all the garage sales finished, it was time to get serious.
This was going to be my first medical trip.
I am not a nurse, but I could be if it wasn't for this sickness of laughing when people get hurt.
Not really a great combination, in my opinion, for those in need and in pain.
It was decided that it was time for lessons on giving shots.

To this day, I can still hear my friend Maryann saying, "if you hit bone you will need to pull back".
What!!
Bone?
Wait, hold on just a minute!
I didn't sign up for this, I couldn't imagine!
I still can't!
Those words still haunt me to this day.
There would be no laughing coming out of me on this trip.

Never in a million years was I remotely prepared for what we would see.
Thinking back, it wasn't the "bone part" that was hard to deal with it was the whole picture.
There was a disconnect happening for me.
These words wouldn't just apply one person, there where hundreds of them.
They walked for hours to come to clinic, desperate for medical care.
A zone with 50,000 people and no medical care.
At some point medical training didn't seem to be all that important.
No text book or training prepares you for the things you see.
There would be no time to process what was happening.
That would have to wait.
In my journal I wrote...
This was the closest thing to hell I have ever seen - I don't know how here and have any hope for life.
Row after row of tin shacks, person after person going to the bathroom on the street.
The smell, so much trash piled in the streets.
It is a picture that will never leave my mind.
It was like a dream and I can't imagine that there is a place anything like it on earth.

It was Wednesday, October 18, 2000, my life would never be the same.

From that point on I ended up in wound care.
I guess my first "hitting bone" experience was enough.
It can not be a rational thought because wound care was so much worse.
Elephantitus, burns, Leprosy, cysts, scabies, ring room....

Little Did I Know

2011-01-26T20:07:00.011-05:00

October 16, 2000
Looking back over the well worn pages in my journal I have to laugh.
I am cringing a bit at what I have written.
I have only one redeeming thought in knowing we didn't all have on those matching t-shirts that scream newbie.
My redemption fades quickly however as I am reminded of our thrift store broom stick skirts and fanny packs.
Oh, and let's not forget to mention I had a a huge cold sore right in the middle of my top lip.
I looked like I had a disease.

Having not read the words on these pages for years, I find it interesting that I had the ability "to see" a few striking things.
Now knowing and being the first person to admit, I had no clue, none!

The faces of the Haitian people are first on the list of things that stood out to me.
Each it's own story.
It is an uncomfortable story.
Yet, there is a beauty I have never seen in a white persons face.
Is it the beauty in the blackness and deeply chiseled cheek bones?
Or is it all the deep lines that cause you to get stuck?
These lines are different then the lines of their cheek bones.
They have been worn deeply on their face year after year.
Maybe it's the lifeless eyes that are asking for help.
No matter what it is they are all now talking so loudly you can't hear yourself think.
Well, think rationally anyway.
It is your own nervousness and discomfort that cause you to look away.
You are arguing with yourself and God all at the same time, thinking now might be a good time to get back on the plane and go home before too much more damage has been done to your emotional well being.
There is, at this point, some well being left, or so you think.

It was now clear that by the end of two weeks I would not be the same person.
Little did I know what that was really going to look like.
I often think, if I would have know then what I know now would I have really gone on this trip.
With out a doubt, the answer is...yes.

The Jumping Off Place

2011-01-22T21:16:00.023-05:00

Several years ago we had the opportunity to hear John Wimber speak.
He talked about a swimming pool and the Lord telling him to jump.
The argument began in his mind about needing to see the water first and the Lord saying, no, jump and it will be there.

I have lost track of the number of times this has been true in my life.
But, this is the very place I am at again, the jumping off place.

For ten years I have been collecting stories in the back of my head thinking, some day I will have time to write them down.
I don't know if the day will ever really come that I have a ton of extra time on my hands, but I think I am finally at a place to collect the stories floating around and make room for other things.
Some stories are really crazy, some sad and some life changing.
Yet, each one is mine and has been shared with some pretty amazing people along the way.

I am pretty sure when Ruth's husband died she wasn't thinking, hey, this falls right in place with my destiny.
After all this was a forced transition in her life.
I know she loved her mother-in-la but she was picking up every one's left overs in order to have provision for her daily needs.
But, it was working, she was finding all that she needed.

I get her life.
Truthfully, I love her story and have spent a great deal of time in her little book.
Her destiny showed up in the most unconventional way.
A foreigner collecting remnants in a field.
A covenant made with a sandal.
Sleeping at the feet of a guy in order to seal her fate and learn her identity.
I am sure it never crossed her mind that she would some day be in the lineage of a Savior.

For the first few years, getting to Haiti was tricky, the only way I got there was to have a garage sale.
A garages sale with other peoples stuff that they would donate to us.
We would fill the garage, sort it, fold it and sell it.
None of it ever seemed as spiritual as gleaning the fields but it was the exact same thing.
God was proving for us to walk out the steps he had ordered for us.
Without fail it worked every single time.
I never come home with money in my pocket but everything we needed was taken care of.

Was there a Boaz asking, who are you?
Sure, it was a time of learning who I was and what I was called to do.
Was there a baby? Lots of them.
A Naomi, yes and no depending on how you look at her role in the story.
Did it make any sense to me? No, none of it.

Looking back over those years of sorting (gleaning) I never had to buy much in the way of clothes for my children or myself because so many things came through donations for garage sales.
Another provision.
We were a young family, three children, one income and the Lord was making a way for us to take baby steps toward the bigger picture.
We had no clue there was a sewing school to come or that we would be living in Haiti full time someday.
I just knew I had a deep passion for what I had seen, yet it took several years for us to figure out exactly what we really wanted to do.
What was God saying?
Let's just say we were not one of those families that makes one trip, sells everything so they can return to their calling a month later.
No, much like Ruth and John Wimber we have made many steps in life at that jumping off place hoping for water, relieved to find it there.
In no way have we got it all figured out.
Jumping at times now feels more like an adventure and we don't have to hold our breath as much.

So, I hope that you will enjoy some of my short stories as I begin to move them from one file to antoher.
I hope that you will see the common thread of the Lord's faithfullness and His great humor.

Jumping....

Thankfulness

2010-11-25T12:39:00.009-05:00

Thanksgiving.
I always think it's good to be after Halloween.
In my mind it seems to get rid of the confusion we have over just what the heck is going on with Halloween.
It's purpose is clear, we are to be thankful.
Christmas gets twisted with spending too much money and the birth of Jesus.
The whole point gets lost.
Not so with Thanksgiving, it's simple and straight forward.
We look at our lives, acknowledging what we are thankful and spend time with our family.
The down fall is too much thankfulness when it comes to all the food we eat.

So, it seems to me, thanksgiving and thankfulness are a condition of the heart.
We finally get it, understanding we are blessed beyond measure.
Lacking in nothing.

We are thankful for family, friends and the goodness of God that we have seen, felt, heard and experienced this year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday Parker

2010-11-24T10:13:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday Parker Hughes Lynch - Number 11

Eleven years ago today, I was laying in Northside Hospital.
I was in labor, Dan was in North Carolina, trying to get a flight back to Atlanta.
I was hopeful, yet unsure with all of the holiday travel.
When he finally did get to the hospital, the room was empty, so he thought.
I was sitting in tub dealing with the pains of labor.

Not to worry, he had plenty of time, he even took a nap.
Parker would be born that day and we would spend Thanksgiving in the hospital.

Sunday

2010-11-07T18:29:00.036-05:00

He was a contemporary of Smith Wigglesworth, he was from another era.
His words were a gift.
They were powerful, sometimes light hearted, yet relevant for today and life changing.
At the time, I was thinking, he was a neat old guy and I loved his stories.

He said,"...every time you walk away from the bar the price goes up".
I have pictured a high jumper in the Olympics giving it his all only to go higher at his next attempt, an alcoholic sneaking into a bar thinking he would just have one drink, never thinking about the consequences.
I even imagined a play for a youth group, it is simple enough, an old fashioned ice cream shop transforms into a seedy biker bar as a young, hopeful, teenager turns into an old, lost, biker guy with no family to speak of, starting a fight every time someone confronts him with the truth and the choices he made for his life.

For many, it seems, they do "just" walk away without consequence.
Yet, I have watched different situations play out in my life, the church, in politics and when the price goes up, it goes way up and is very painful.
But, pricey for who, those playing or those never knowing they are part of a game.
It isn't always clear to me that those in charge really ever care or are held accountable.
However, the Lord clearly says we will all give an account for our actions.

In Haiti's case, the price has gotten pretty high these days.
The game is being played harder and those on the sidelines are paying the price with their lives.

It was a Sunday afternoon, we had gone to church, finished lunch and would take a visiting team to "see" Haiti before the work week began.
I have been downtown hundreds of times and still go every chance I can when it comes to taking pictures.
It amazes me that after ten years, I still see something new every time I go.
At a certain point in the drive you leave what you know to be real and drive into a time wrap in a really bad dream.
The atmosphere changes, the people change and soon a weight is strapped to you.
You become numb, you are unaware of the changes in your emotions, nothing fits in your mind.
Pretty soon you are watching and not reacting.
Even the smell that took your breath away in the beginning has tamed itself.
You think you are processing what you see, but there is a level of poverty that you have only read about or seen on television.
A battle with God begins in your mind that you are not aware of.
Everything you believe, find value in and think you need is being challenged.
You shut down, you can't take any more in, your done.

As you drive out of the Port, you become aware something insidious has happened.
You are wondering what just happened.
How could that have been real?
You didn't give your permission, but you lost something while you went sight seeing.
You being to wonder if it was a good trip? You are not sure?
You are emotionally, spiritually and physically exhausted.

In my reflection, something stuck out for me.
The mentally ill.
It felt like a line had finally been crossed for the fragile, those who walked a fine line.
The price had become to high.
Never had I seen so many clearly mentally ill people in Haiti.
Life had become so hard that those who normally would be living in one of Haiti's tight knit family communities, had fallen through the cracks.

For me, it was Sunday, a day of rest.
Now, in yet another way, the price had become too high for me as well.
Again, understanding doing nothing was not an option, needing to rest in Him and what I was called to do in Haiti.

Running

2010-11-06T09:47:00.012-05:00

He was running.
He may have been the Papa.
Maybe she was maybe two, dressed in fuchsia.
Her body lifeless.
He was running.
His arms full.
She was a rag doll.
Beth could see him in the rear view mirror.
He would pass us soon as we sat in traffic.
We pulled over on the side of the road to offer help.
As he got closer we could see he kept looking for signs of life.
He turned, running in the opposite direction before he got to us.
We could say nothing, offer nothing.
Where was he going, there was no hospital that way?
Just like that, in your mind, no way to process what was happening.
Gone from our sight, not from our minds.

Haiti and Hurricanes

2010-11-05T18:31:00.017-05:00

Before I left for Haiti I heard a report on the news stating, "everyone in tent cities should move".
I wondered just where they wanted them to go.
It is true that many who live in the tent cities have houses, but are fearful to sleep in them.
They return during the day, but sleep in the tents at night.

Another article I read said, "They're very entrenched here," and many worry about losing their possessions.

For days the tension built, fear was spreading on the streets as everyone listened to the radio.
Prayer requests went out from everywhere asking God to intervene.
The rain came, the wind came.
It was not good for anyone living in a tent.
Late Thursday, we did a medical transport for a young mom needing a c-section, knowing that if she had any kind of complications during the storm it could be a life and death situation.
When we finally got home we thought about an emergency grocery store run, too late.
It did take me awhile to fall asleep, feeling the guilt of laying in a bed with four pillows and a fan.
The ceiling did leak, I rolled over onto the other side of bed, thanking the Lord for a bed and a roof.
One report said, 100 miles one way or the other could have made this situation horrible for Haiti.
He said, in the terms of the space we are talking about, one hundred miles is really like a hair.
It reminded me that the hairs of my head are numbered.
For this I am thankful.
The next morning, as I drank my coffee, rain still pouring down.
I heard these words singing on my computer...
"He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricane, I am tree bending bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy."
The words, they seemed different to me.
My life and time here felt different to me.

Something Old - Something New

2010-10-27T09:39:00.011-05:00

I am getting ready to head out again.
I will be back in one of my favorite places doing something I love.
Women helping women.
I have had this idea in my head for two years.
We are going to take something old and create something new.
What is the idea?
Making cloth beads out of scrap fabric.
We will start creating jewelry from the beads.
Marjorie has six new ladies that will be joining the program.
We will also hire one lady to make "gift" bags for the jewelry.
Seven women will start the process of changing their lives, making beauty from ashes...

to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor
Isaiah 61:3

Whatever happened to....Couple still helping Haitians long after earthquake

2010-10-25T17:39:00.004-05:00

Whatever happened to....Couple still helping Haitians long after earthquake

By David Wickert
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

When an earthquake killed more than 230,000 Haitians in January, many in this country wondered how they could help.

Dan and Sheila Lynch of Marietta didn’t have to wonder. They’d already spent nearly a decade helping Haitian families escape crushing poverty. So with a borrowed plane and other assistance, they flew medical supplies to the Caribbean nation.

But it’s what they tried to bring out of Haiti that made headlines. In a land where thousands had suddenly become orphans, they targeted 22 children whose adoptions already were pending when the earthquake struck Jan. 12.

Today, 20 of those children are with their new parents in the U.S. The Lynches are still keeping track of the other two.

It’s that kind of focus – concentrate on helping a few people – that has guided the couple since they founded God’s Plumbline Ministries 11 years ago. The organization gets its name from the Bible, from the book of Amos, chapter seven: “Then the Lord said, `Look, I am setting a plumbline among my people.’”

Builders used plumb lines to show vertical direction. Dan and Sheila Lynch try to give direction to Haitian families by teaching skills that translate into income.

The ministry consists of Dan and Sheila and their three children. Working with other groups, they provide health education and vocational training to Haitians. In February 2008, they started a sewing school that helps women earn a living. It’s grown from 15 women to 57.

“We wanted to be part of a solution,” Sheila said. “Our solution was to help children. The best way to help a child was to help his mother and to keep a family intact.”

The ministry grew out of a church mission trip to Haiti in 2000. Sheila saw a child die on that trip and saw many others who were severely malnourished.

“I realized I was less than two hours from the United States,” she said.

When the earthquake struck, they used a corporate jet donated by Duluth-based Kids ‘R’ Kids child care centers to fly $75,000 worth of medical and other supplies to Haiti.

They twice tried to bring those 22 children to their adoptive parents. But they were turned away as Haitian authorities became concerned about child trafficking in the wake of the disaster. Authorities later arrested 10 Americans for trying to smuggle 33 children out of the county.

Eventually most of the children Dan and Sheila Lynch tried to transport made it out of Haiti by other means.

“Many children are doing well,” Sheila said. “Many children, however, are struggling with a lot of trauma issues.”

The same can be said for Haiti, where hundreds of thousands remain homeless. Sheila has visited six times since the earthquake.

“It’s almost criminal to me that there are still people sleeping in tents,” she said. “It seems so cruel to me that the whole world has donated so much and it’s still so broken.”

New Season

2010-10-12T08:25:00.010-05:00

The smell of rotten fish had gone, my heart was swelling.
I sat and counted.
The women's program has grown from fifteen in our first class two years ago to fifty-seven.
Fifty-seven women come to the women's program every day.

Today was a special class, they would hear about family planning.
The message was loud and clear
"Yes, children are a gift, but have the number you can care for on your own.
Have the number you can clothe, feed, and send to school while taking care of yourself."
Spacing children out and planning for your future - all new thinking.
Not easy concepts, here.
There was laughter, questions and lots of resistance.
Nevertheless, this was a new season.
They would be given information, an education and a chance to learn new skills.
There will be new courage, new thinking, new self-confidence and yes, a new season.

Lessons From Psalm 23 and a Comma

2010-10-10T14:02:00.013-05:00

Psalm 23

1 The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.

2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.

3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.

6 Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever.

I have know these words since I was a little girl.
Even non-Christian types know this scripture, maybe the whole world.
As I listened to a sermon on these familiar words they became so alive for me when the speaker paused after the word surely.
It was as if he added a comma and it changed the meaning of the whole thing for me.

Sheila, surely you know goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life.

It was no longer a lyric in a song from my childhood, it was now truth.
I owned it.
Goodness and mercy are mine for the rest of my life.

Funerals and Rain

2010-10-09T08:32:00.012-05:00

"If it rains on a funeral, it means the person was cheap"
- Haitian Proverb

Well, that puts a whole new spin on it now doesn't it.
Third world country, worst earthquake in history, rainy season, tent cities and to top it all off, people think you are cheap because it's raining on the day you are being buried.

I wonder what it means to be cheap in a third world?
Is it the fact that a guy on the street, working in a tent made your casket?
Even when you are the poorest of the poor, you can still be cheap?

I wonder how?

Jonah In Miami

2010-10-07T16:46:00.057-05:00

I wasn't running away from God because I didn't want to preach against great wickedness.
I was, in fact, headed to a strange land that would lead to what one could call a crazy "fish story".
A "fish story" being a tale that continues to grow with greater and unbelievable details each time it is told.

My tale started in Atlanta.
I told myself that I would put the past behind me, not thinking about my trip in April that landed me in the Bahamas, sitting on the tarmac for five hours with no food or beverage service. I wasn't going to dwell on the fact that my plane was struck by lightning putting me in the middle of a plane full of screaming, swearing, praying, truly ticked-off people or the fact that I was stranded in Miami spending the night with friends, arriving in PAP the following day.

I really should have noticed a faint fish smell in the air as I made my way just East of nowhere in the newly remodeled Miami airport to hook up with a friend to collect tuition money for kids and a large zip-lock bag of cell phones to be given to the kids as well.

Truth be told, I didn't really get that over powering fish smell until much later.

I was also meeting up with a friend from high school who would travel to Haiti with me.
Once on deck, so to speak, we sat on the tarmac talking, catching up on life, exchanging books, filling in the blanks about what happened to our old high school friends never moving off the tarmac, unaware of the storm brewing around us.
The crew didn't start throwing cargo off the plane or ask us to pray to our gods, they just kept repeating they would try to fix the mechanical problem.
American Airlines flight 575 was beginning to look, smell and sound a whole lot like the ship Jonah boarded headed for Tarshish.
After two and half hours of trying to fix the mechanical problems and some FAA guidelines now kicking in we got tossed.
We debarked the ship sitting for yet another hour, while the murmuring, complaining, texting and phoning began only to hear the dreaded words...flight cancelled.

We had now been tossed into the sea of mass chaos, mad dashes, swearing and the surrealness of a happy faced first time missions team. Bags in hand, all in matching t-shirts calmly declaring God had a plan and it was just part of the adventure.
I however, did not have on a happy face or the matching t-shirt and was not part of that crowd.
My t-shirt said, been there, done that.
I began to wonder about the ten pounds of frozen cheese now thawing in my carry-on, sweating all over my clothing.

I am pretty sure the voice over the loud speaker said, "welcome to Nineveh, the land you so desperately tried to avoid".
It was decided that said friend would leave me in Nineveh, not to make the rest of the journey with me due to the failures of traveling to Haiti on a "bubby-pass", always risky.
There were no casting of lots to find out who was responsible for this calamity, only food and hotel vouchers given to those of us who stood in the cattle line at the American Airlines counter in Concourse "D".

I would be spending the night in Miami, alone, eating a $16.00 cheeseburger.
I was happy I didn't have to collect my one hundred pounds of cargo.
I made a few phone calls, some to vent, others to a hand full of travel buddies who would find great humor in this journey.
Two calls to see if I had really lost my mind, now doubting that I should be making this journey.
I found the ice machine, unpacked my thawed and sweating cheese, poured ice over it in the sink to keep it cold for the night and went to bed.
It says, Jonah was in a deep sleep during the storm, this is where he and I differ.
I am not a fan of getting up at 4:00 a.m. two days in a row and don't sleep well when I have to fly.

The seas seemed rougher in the land I had desperately tried to avoid.
I wanted to be in a place that didn't always move so much, a place I could control.
I was praying a pray that sounded much like the one Jonah prayed.
He said: "In my distress I called to the Lord and he answered me.
From the depths of the grave, I called for help.
I needed help, I knew it and I was asking.
Part of the asking and attitude adjustment would hopefully come after I used my five dollar breakfast voucher for a triple shot, two pump vanilla latte at Starbucks.

By the time I made it to the gate, it smelled like an open air fish market all around me.
I didn't want to admit it was just the rotten smell of my attitude.
Not even strong coffee could fix that.
I should try to read.
Then I noticed the happy faced matching t-shirt people talking happily.
I still wasn't wearing the t-shirt and wondered if I had forgotten deodorant.
Maybe I should check.
It was once again, time to board.
It got worse when the gate attendant took my personal carry-on with the now sort of cold ten pounds of cheese, the zip-lock bag of cell phones, the new lap top away from me.
My protests went unheard.

I found my seat.
Thankfully, it was not next to a happy t-shirt person.
I was sitting next to my kind of traveler, quite and reading.
I sent a few text messages to say it looked like I would be leaving soon.
After thirty minutes the door should have closed, but it didn't.
No messages played about breathing devices falling from heaven to save us.
We had, you guessed it, mechanical problems.
All signs were now clear, I was Jonah.
I was sure of it.
Maybe if they tossed me off the storm would become calm.
I texted friends who I told I was leaving to say, I was not leaving.
I was trying to make lemonade.
I looked at the quite, book reader next to me and said, "can you say, Jonah?"
He didn't get it.

I wondered why after ten years of doing this I didn't find the humor in the darkness of traveling in a whale to a strange land.
How it was that the words, "we have to manually close the electronic door and fill out paper work" felt as repulsive to me as God telling Jonah to go confront wickedness.
I am not a big throw a fleece before the Lord kind of person.
But, I had determined if they couldn't close the cargo door, I was done.
I was torn, half of me wanted off, the other half wanted to get on with things.
I had things to do and people to see.
A miracle happened and we left for Haiti an hour and a half late.

Jonah's journey was three days and three nights, mine only two.
We landed in Haiti and as I walked off the jet way I could hear men singing to greet us.
I would fight the crowd to see if my hundred plus pounds of cargo actually caught up with me.
To my surprise, they didn't end up tossed over board in the Bahama's because of the defective cargo door issue.

Bags on cart, happy to be the ground, I searched for a familiar face to pick me up.
After all the confusion I wasn't to surprised I didn't see my ride.
I made a few phone calls on a borrowed phone since my phone was saying "invalid Sim card".
I did try the taxi route, but refused to pay twenty-five dollars for a three mile ride.
I argued about the cost of fuel and time it would take, finally telling them to take my bags out and forget the whole thing.
I would wait.
All the happy t-shirt people had loaded their bags into several vans.
I was now the only white face in a sea of black faces surrounded by cargo guys wanting to know if I liked the sun and why did I keep standing in the sun looking for a ride?
Finally, another white face and a ride.

This, however, is not the end of my fish tale.
I learned a long time ago never to say, "what else can go wrong"?
Especially when it comes to Haiti.

Ringing wet from my new love of the sun, happy to be in the comfort of friends, I had to get the ten pounds of cheese of out my suitcase.
I opened up my carry on to find that I had been robbed.
Half of the cell phones had been taken out of the large zip-lock bag along with the envelopes of money.
My heart sank, $1200 was gone.
Never mind Jonah confronting wickedness, I wanted to swear.
Instead, I put my face in my still cool suitcase, trying not to cry and throw up all at the same time.
Didn't they understand, they didn't steal from me, they stole from their own people.
My mind started to race, how could this happen, I was never away from my bags.
I replayed the trip in my head over and over again.
I would have to send an email and try to explain what happened.
You know the part when Jonah says, he would rather die, me too.

The next morning was like salt on a wound.
As Marjorie unpacked the supplies and fabric, she found the empty money envelopes in a completely different suitcase.
Even though I had placed two fifty pound bags on top of "the" suitcase, they still found the money and cell phones under the ten pounds of sweating cheese.
They even picked the phones they wanted leaving me the ones that they didn't want.
My conclusion, it had to have happened while I used a cell phone.

It was good it stormed that night, reminding me of those in the tent cities and choices made for survival.
My heart softened for this country that made me want to swear.
There would be no word from the Lord allowing me to go to the airport, proclaiming a great message leading to repentance, sackcloth, ashes.
It was done and over.

OK, so I don't know what the inside of a whale technically looks like.
I do know what it is like to stink.
I don't really like the end of my story.
I do however like the way Jonah's story ends.
So, I will end with his and not mine.

Jonah 4:11 - The Lord said,"But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well, Should I not be concerned about that great city?"

Fair Trade

2010-10-07T16:46:00.008-05:00

* 1.4 billion - estimated number of people in the world existing on less than $1.25 per day, according to Bread for the World

* 2.7 billion - estimated number of people in the world existing on less than $2 per day, according to the World Bank

* 30% - women in non-agricultural conventional production in developing countries in 2004, according to the United Nations

* 76% - women engaged in non-agricultural fair trade production in 2008, according to the Fair Trade Federation's 2009

* 284,000 - number of children in the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon working in hazardous tasks on conventional cocoa farms, according to a 2002 International Institute of Tropical Agriculture study directly involving 4,500+ producers.

* 15,000 - number of children aged 9 to 12 in the Ivory Coast alone who have been sold into forced labor on conventional cotton, coffee, and cocoa plantations, according to a 2000 US State Department report

* 7.5 million - individuals in 2008 that directly benefit from Fair Trade Certified production, according to the Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International

September Newsletter

2010-10-02T16:52:00.006-05:00

September 2010

Dear Friends and Family:

10 is said to be one of the perfect numbers and signifies the perfection of Divine order. Noah was the tenth generation from God. There are Ten Commandments, ten Lords a leaping, October is the tenth month and hopefully we all have 10 fingers and toes. This October will also mark 10 years that we have been working in Haiti.
In ways too many to count, it is both hard and easy to believe we lived in Haiti for two years and have worked there for 10. In preparing to write this “anniversary” letter, I got out my first travel journal. I saw names of places we traveled to, clinics we held, adventures we will never forget, hand prints of children I had traced as we sat waiting and waiting for our rides to come, supply lists of things needed, names of doctors, some crazy ideas that really worked, carrying a child, who should be walking, in a basket that now sits in my house, laughed at some of our made up songs, cried over people who have died and cherished the people who have become life long friends. I think about the boy who died on the boat with us on that first trip, the little girl who looked like a walking skeleton who came to clinic with her grandmother in funny, black high top tennis shoes that were meant for a boy and about they boy who stole my heart 10 years ago on that fourteen hour boat ride back from a place called Pestel, who is now a grown up and calls me “Mom” and my children call “brother”. He changed the way I see God, gave me the courage to believe in healing and showed me that the scripture about having the faith of a mustard seed that can move mountains is really true.
Yet, in all of these memories, it was the journal entry a month after I had been home from my trip that stopped me.
“I have come home a different person, I now understand men who have been at war coming home. No one from your everyday life comes with you to this place you visited or to the place you went spiritually. You think to yourself, ”what is wrong with everyone” and then it clicks, they can’t come with me and I have to give them grace. I will never be the same, and for good or for bad it feels strange to be in this body. There aren’t words to connect these two experiences and trying to put them together is culture shock that causes me to cry often. You really feel like you left part of your soul there and now something is missing. Is this a soul tie or burden for the groaning of those held captive? Somehow the saying, “the carpets been pulled out from under me” comes to me and I have to reevaluate a lot of my beliefs.”

In this place of the perfect number and divine order, we continue to believe that the Lord has ordered our steps and is calling us to work in the Nations. We are putting everything we have done down on paper creating a business model for a “purpose business” that we can put into action in other countries, we have applied for grants seeking the funding we need to move forward into the next 10 years. I (Sheila) will be in Haiti the first few weeks in October preparing to ship 5000 pounds of fabric, working with different ministries, while accompanied by an old friend from high school, who will be helping me put “the corporation” (his words) I have in my head on paper so we can present it to different resources. We have been approached by other organizations with the opportunity of expanding our work in Haiti, while taking what we have already done and putting it into action in Africa. It is a new season in our lives!

EMPOWER – REBUILD – RESTORE!
His Grace, Dan and Sheila Lynch

Daughter of The King

2010-09-06T12:56:00.018-05:00

(Pictures by: Bobby Halliday)

A huge part of growing up for children is to have their father's blessing, his approval, his affection, his guidance and love.
For several weeks over the summer Maddie, with Alyssa's help, met every Sunday with a group of girls at Bethel Worship Center led by Lori Johnson.
They did all kinds of "girl" stuff and talked about really important issues.
At the end of the summer we had a "blessing" ceremony.
The ceremony is to publicly allow the daddy figure in their lives to speak a blessing over her.
He speaks of all the things he loves about her, tells her why he loves her and that he will always be there and support her.
Each girls is presented with flowers, a crown, hugs and kisses.
For now, it was an awkward and embarrassing moment in time for Maddie.
She was very nervous and embarrassed.
But in the years to come, she look back on it having the confidence in knowing that she is always loved and affirmed by her father, setting the course for her life to be built on security and trust.
It was a powerful and symbolic ceremony and spoke of the way our heavenly Father feels about her and each of us.
Not everyone gets a Father's blessings from their earthly father.
Not all of us find it from our heavenly father.
Many of us don't have a good relationship with our father and so our perspective of God isn't based on the goodness of God.
It is said, that we run from the goodness of God.
Here is what I do know, when we finally grasp the goodness of God and can see him as a loving father, everything within us changes.
Everything!

Dali

2010-09-05T16:52:00.011-05:00

If you ever get a chance to visit the Dali museum in St. Pete/Tampa, I highly recommend you take the time to see his work.
Many are not fans, think he was crazy, a narcissist and twisted.
Maybe.
Having been an art major, I love all kinds of art and feel it is important to expose my children to as much of it as I can.
I can still remember the day my mother took me to the Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit, it was an amazing experience.
Some art I love, some I don't, but we always have the greatest conversations.
My question at the end of the exhibit is always, "what was your favorite piece and whyy".
I love to hear what they see and what they liked and didn't like.
So, when the new Dali exhibit came to Atlanta we had to go and see it to experience the later years of his work.
It was a great time.
Some of his work hasn't been seen here in the States since the early 50's.
Some of it we loved, some of it is sad, some we didn't get, but all of it tells a story.

Almost Beaned

2010-09-01T14:35:00.007-05:00

This is a new season of baseball in the life of Parker Lynch.
It means we are at the ball park three nights a week.
We have gone from T-ball, coach pitch, machine pitch to player pitch.
This last week Parker proved he was ready for anything including a pitch to the head.
Yep, there was a lot of drama.
I told him I liked the idea of Grandpa Jerry teaching him golf way more than I like the idea of him getting beaned in the head.
To this he said, he wanted to play football.
This is not good news for me.
I am sure the name Parker Hughes Lynch sounds like the name of a famous golfer.

Congrats James and Ashley!

2010-08-29T13:25:00.007-05:00

There is a perfect time and a not perfect time to be in Minnesota.
In case you don't know that would be summer = perfect and winter = not so perfect!
I got to be in Minnesota with my family for the wedding of James and Ashley.
I loved this wedding.
Simple - Unique - Sweet!
There wasn't one thing that didn't have part of their personalities in it, from the decorations, the vows and the cake.
It was so fun to sit and talk with family I haven't seen in years.
Someday, I hope James and Ashley can work with us.

One of My Favorite People

2010-08-13T09:15:00.009-05:00

Port is crazy crowded.
Houses, cars and people overlap.
Long before the earthquake I said, Haiti has no room for weakness.
Everyone is in survival mode.
While living in survival mode, there is no room for a handicapped child.
They are often left to die in the trash.
Sad to say, I have met many children who have been thrown away.
Haitians are very superstitious causing them to be fearful of children like this.
I have watched many Americans so overwhelmed with emotion they can not play with these children.
I am not sure why?
It seems to me they are just trapped in a broken body.
They are one of my favorite stops when I have time to visit.
Over the years, I have learned many things about myself on these visits.
I too have found myself in tears, knowing that a child in a broken body can remember my name and can say, I love you.

Way Too Much Fabric

2010-08-11T19:58:00.012-05:00

We continue to collect fabric for the sewing school in Haiti.
Thank you to everyone who has contacted us.
We are working with Agape Flights to get the fabric to Haiti.
Soon, we will be making a trip to Venice Florida with a load of fabric.

Bob and Carol used to own a fabric store.
They had tons of fabric that they didn't need any longer and it needed a home.
Carol has had several strokes and physically can't work any longer.
It is now part of what we are shipping to Haiti.

"The Madster"

2010-08-09T06:20:00.011-05:00

Here are a few facts about Maddie......

1. Her Daddy calls her "The Madster".

2. We almost named her Madison Rose vs Madisen Grace.

3. She is often heard saying "why, why the third child, mother"?

4. She is major crabby in the morning and we call her "Jim Lynch" after her uncle Jim who isn't know for talking or smiling too much.

5. Today is "officially" a teenager!!

6. We happen to think she is pretty awesome!

Happy 13th Birthday Madisen Grace

Pushing Part II

2010-08-06T11:46:00.011-05:00

The previous post is the closest thing I know to the truth about working in Haiti.

The burn out rate among missionaries in Haiti is three years.

Why?

It's not all that complicated, really.
The needs are suffocating and can paralyze you if you take your eyes off of being obedient, doing only what you are called to do. There is a reason Haitians say "Mountain beyond Mountain".

Here is one thought, mine, for what it's worth......

Haiti is like living life on the devils door step, wondering why you can't seem to break down the gate. When, truth be told, you are only called to NOT let others in the gate. Meeting them before the gate.

We all have our mountain, our rocks, that thing that stands in our way.
This is what I know, it will be important to speak "grace to your mountain....." or your rock in this case.

Pushing vs Moving

2010-08-03T08:31:00.004-05:00

A man was sleeping one night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and God appeared.
The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin.
The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.
So, this the man did, day after day.
For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all of his might.
Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.
Since the man was showing discouragement, the Adversary (Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into his weary mind: “You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn’t moved.”
Thus, he gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure.
These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man.
Satan said, “Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough.” That’s what the weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of prayer and to take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. “
Lord,” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked.
Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter.
What is wrong?
Why am I failing?”
The Lord responded compassionately,”My friend, when I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done.
Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it.
Your task was to push.
And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed.
But, is that really so?
Look at yourself.
Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown; your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard.
Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have.
True, you haven’t moved the rock.
But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom.
That you have done.
Now I, my friend, will move the rock.
At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him.
By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves the mountains.
God calls us to obedience.

Happy.......

2010-08-01T18:37:00.005-05:00

I saw more clearly than ever that the first great primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord . . . not how much I might serve the Lord, . . . but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. For I might seek to set the truth before the unconverted, I might seek to benefit believers . . . and yet, not being happy in the Lord, and not being nourished and strengthened in my inner man day by day, all this might not be attended to in a right spirit. Before this time my practice had been . . . to give myself to prayer after having dressed myself in the morning.
Now, I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God, and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed; and that thus, by means of the Word of God, whilst meditating on it, my heart might be brought into experimental communion with the Lord.

- George Muller

aesthetics

2010-07-07T09:20:00.005-05:00

Guest Blog: Alyssa Hallaway

"Sometimes we fall down and can't get back up

Were hiding behind a skin that's too tough"

Haiti is a beautiful place if you know how to look at it.
You have to be able to see past the the trash and the rubble.
Smell past the garbage and the rot.
Feel past the rocks in your shoes and your own discomfort.
You need to able to feel the music and the voices.
Smell the food and the trees in the air.
You have to be able to see the colors and the people.
All of these things are wholly Haiti.
Even the garbage.
Yet to get caught up in the way it smells and your discomfort, would be a mistake.
You would miss a rich and colorful people with a rich and colorful culture and history.
You would miss a people who are stronger than any that you have ever met.
You wouldn't see those things about them.
You wouldn't be able to talk to them.
Understand them.
Understand that they feel very deeply and how you can hear that in their loud and boisterous conversations that sound like arguments.
You would not see the blue of the sky or the white of the moon.
Yes, it would be a mistake to get caught up in aesthetics when this place has so much more to offer than a look.

Fabric

2010-06-21T09:24:00.005-05:00

Last week, Sam Simpson, with Global Outreach Missions drove all the way to Boston to pick up fabric being donated to us.
He transported it all the way back here to Georgia.
It is now safe and sound in our donated warehouse space.
I have had to pinch myself thinking about all 4000 pounds of fabric that Kathy and Tyler Kangas from Homebound Missions
donated to us for sewing school.
Kathy and Tyler have such a heart for Haiti and helping those in need.
What a gift!

Thank you Sam, Kathy and Tyler!!

We are also working on getting more treadle sewing machines.
If you, or anyone you know would like to donate one to us, please contact us.

Bumper Sticker Conversation

2010-06-20T11:51:00.011-05:00

Bumper sticker reads as follows:
"Sorry I have missed church:
I have been practicing witchcraft and becoming a lesbiann"

I found it to be humor poking fun at "religion".
He said, it was more literal, finding NO humor at all.

I said we almost crashed into the back of the mini-van.
He said, "he was just making sure this is what it really said".
It was, in fact what it said.

I said, he was embarrassing me.
He said, he had to know what they looked like.
We pulled up along side of them and he slowed down to make his observation.
Turns out to be a normal looking man and wife, mid-forties with a few kids.

As far as we could tell there was no witch, no lesbian, just a family making a statement.
It seems the church has made some assumptions that have not been accurate.
I am guessing causing some hurt.

Give Me Any Four Words

2010-06-19T21:34:00.032-05:00

Little Five Points is home to colorful, edgy people to say the least.
This can be translated in many different ways.
You will find The Flying Biscuit, The Junkman's Daughter and The Vortex.
No matter what or who you find, you are guaranteed to leave with something to talk about.
It is, by design, not traditional or normal - ever!
If there is one "rule" that applies in Little Five Points, and I am not sure there is one, it is that you must enjoying being out of the box, always taking what you see at face value, reading between the lines after you leave, unless however, you are willing to take a risk.
I am always game for taking a risk when it comes to interesting people.
Not the kind that you know are looking for attention, I am talking about the kind that have something to say by just "being".

We heard The Vortex won an award for one of their crazy hamburgers, we had to go and see.
It was my birthday weekend, we had no children and two days to do some fun things together.
Yes, we consider Little Five Points - fun!
After we finished lunch at The Vortex, Dan eating something called a "Coronary By-Pass" (1/2 lb meat, four slices of cheese, two fired eggs, four slices of bacon, lettuce, toms, onions and mayo) we did some window shopping and people watching.
People watching happens to be a gift in itself for me.
We rounded the corner, when a guy who was pan handling approached us and said, "give me four words, any four words and I will give you something amazing"!!
We kept walking.
Something about him seemed legit and I wanted to know what he had to say.
I dug in my purse, found a piece of paper, pen and a couple of bucks for him.
I wanted him to write down this amazing stuff.
What four words to give him?
EMPOWER - REBUILD - RESTORE - PLUMBLINE

Passion of life to rebuild.
The youth erected by teachings from elders
Love restores the scars of humanity.
Without the plumbline, life would not be balanced.
Thus empowering the community, opening eyes, allowing the world to realize peace can't exist without love.

Ask For Help Fool

2010-06-17T09:44:00.005-05:00

The modern translation of John 14:14:

What does John 14:14 say....
"You may ask me for ANYTHING in my name, and I will do it!

Toxic Vacation

2010-05-26T16:57:00.020-05:00

The whole thing felt a little like the stand up comedy routine where Whoopie Goldberg is talking about being on a flight and the flight attendant serves her a meal with these huge oven mitts, only to find the center of her dinner is still frozen.
We had gone to Florida a few days after school dismissed to kick off summer vacation.
Reward: One day at a Disney water park.
I had forgotten the strap to my swim suit top and was NOT willing to chance being topless on a water slide.
I was sitting in the sun, people watching and reading.
I admit, I was not heart broken.
I love to sit in the sun and read.
This was MY reward.

Off to my right, I could see a "team" walking toward me.
Tropical Hawaiian shirts, white shorts, chacko's, rubber gloves and masks, all armed with plastic bags of different colors.
Looking around, I wondered what on earth they would be putting in those bags?
I questioned if it was safe for us to really be here?
Why all the gear?
Did Disney have toxic waste?

They stopped five feet short of my reward.
This was disturbing in itself.
A fury of conversations started on the walkie-talkies about what color bag should be used?
Used for what? I wondered
Everyone was bent over looking at something horrible, so it seemed.
Leaving my reward, I had to get up and go see.
I was cautioned to go back to my "reward".
I did however get a glimpse of THE problem.
Said problem, as per the toxic waste experts, a pea sized piece of "ka-ka".
I am not sure "ka-ka" is a scientific word, but this was the word chosen.
It seems the "ka-ka" (or poop) escaped from a "pull-up", making it's way up to the lounge area of the wave pool.
It was decided that the red plastic bag was to be used for this toxic waste so it would be properly disposed of after being placed in an even larger clear plastic bag, so not to infect the other workers or guests.

I went back to my reward, wondering just how many people went "pee-pee" in the wave pool and how long the "ka-ka" would last in the plastic bags in one of our landfills now that it had been hermetically sealed for years to come.

I was happy they didn't shut the whole park down for the day.
The entertainment factor was good, I would be using the shower for the rest of my reward.
There is at least one member in our family who we call "Adrian Monk", so somethings are better left unsaid.
This would be one of those things, until now that is.

Happy Birthday Alyssa Rae

2010-05-20T09:44:00.007-05:00

She wanted to eat at Chow Baby - check
Choice of cake "Iron Man" - check
Friends and Family - check
Twenty one ? That's gonna take some time!
Happy Birthday Alyssa......

Haiti - Gross Bathroom Stories

2010-05-15T17:47:00.014-05:00

Public speaking is not one of my favorite things.
Well, that is until I went to the First Montessori School to talk with Bryce's class about Haiti.
He and his friend Grant did something so amazing for their birthday.
Instead of getting presents for their big day, they collected supplies for us to ship to Haiti for earthquake relief.
His whole class also made awesome blankets.

I wasn't sure what to say to a classroom full of ten year olds.
Churches, business men, mission teams - I have done.
This was a first.
I collected all kinds of fun stuff from around our house like baskets, paintings, tin art, wood carvings and cooking tools.
I also created a Power Point presentation with tons of pictures.

The more I got thinking about what I would say, I started to think about the age of the kids.
I don't know about your house, but our house has tons of body function noises every single time we are all together around the dinner table from our ten year old, Parker.
My strategy was now clear.
I would talk about everything gross, including the street butcher, mud pies and bathroom stories.
It worked!
I had a great time!
They had lots of questions and the time went way too quickly.

From now on, whenever I have to speak about Haiti, I am just going to pretend I am telling gross bathroom stories to a bunch of ten year olds.
I will sleep well the night before and never again feel like I am going to throw up before I speak.

Thank you - Chris Cone, Laura Jones and all the other parents who helped us with supplies for the people of Haiti.

What in the world is "pepe"?

2010-05-12T07:32:00.005-05:00

What in the world is "pepe"?

Here we say, "gently used, recycled or green". Our thrift stores are packed full of things we don't want or need.
What do the thrift stores do with all the stuff they can't sell?
They send it to third world countries.
The streets of Haiti are full of "pepe" (used merchandise). Leading you to think you live in one big flea market. If you are Haitian, it is a way of life. There are very few stores, but most people shop for what they need on the street.

Since the earthquake the fabric supply has been very limited, both on the street and from visitors. Food and medications are priority and rightfully so.

I am always looking for ways to make the sewing program better. Having to depend on a "middle man" for fabric could be a weak link as far as I am concerned.

Question: Could the ladies be successful without my help on the fabric end of the deal. What would they do in a pinch?

Assignment: She would shop on the street for "pepe". I would give each woman five dollars, she would get as much as she could. After I approved the fabric, she would have to make a bag from "pepe" that same day.

Goal: Create a bag that was creative WITHOUT anyone knowing it was "pepe" they got on the street.

Risk: I had no idea what to expect. I could be blowing fifty bucks....it was time for some new thinking (for both of us)!

I am pleased to report the ladies out did themselves and created great bags! Greater than what I had hoped for.
I wanted them to see that they could be successful even if they didn't have fabric coming in every week from the States. They could still continue to make bags and support their families until things got a little more "normal".

Truthfully, we don't know what "normal" will look like for awhile. But, they learned they do have what it takes to think outside of the box and be creative.

Too Small and Too Busy

2010-04-19T09:39:00.029-05:00

I have learned that if I am giving directions to our house I can't say "it's across the street from the cemetery".
Not only is it not helpful, I do not want to use the word "cemetery", it creeps me out.
I would much rather say, park, we live across the street from the park.
Fact: Creepy or not, it is the closest landmark.

I can see the wheels start turning and the blank stare.
I quickly start to add other landmarks like the tiny church right next door, hoping not too lose them.
Still, nothing registers.
I start throwing out things that I hope will hook them like, if you get to the stop light you have gone too far and there is a white car and white pick-up truck parked in the car port.

Alas, no one ever notices the church or the cemetery and have no idea what I am talking about.
I often wonder, why don't people see them, they drive past them all of the time?
Are people really that busy?
Are they really too small?

Every once and awhile, I glance out the front window and notice a random car sitting in the tiny church parking lot.
Without fail, I wonder, why is that car there today, it isn't Sunday.
Next thought, is today Wednesday?
Then I remember, oh, the cemetery.
My heart sinks.
It stops me every time.
They are there because someone died.

When we moved in our house it seemed creepy living across the street from a cemetery.
I hate to admit it but, unless I see a car parked there, I don't even notice it anymore either.
I don't even find it creepy.
It is now a good reminder that we need to stop.
Stop, even if it isn't Sunday or Wednesday and spend some time thinking, honoring and reflecting.
Our lives are short and go by quickly.
Hopefully, we make choices that allow our lives to matter so that the only reminder of our lives isn't a tiny little cemetery that no one notices.
It is my hope that my life will be a "place of direction for those who are looking" while I am alive.

Tithe and Popcorn

2010-04-17T18:51:00.017-05:00

We have a rule at our house about going to the movies.
This rule came about after the first time we wanted to "treat" everyone to a movie and the total bill was over a hundred dollars.

We now "wait" for movies to come to the dollar theater or Redbox.
Even at the dollar theater, we tend to break the rules because we"bring-in" all of the "goodies" to save a few bucks.
Well, more than a few, it is more like fifty bucks for drinks, popcorn and candy.
We do tend to buy popcorn so we don't look obvious.

It is a pretty rare occasion that we go to a "special" movie with the kids and really go over the top with popcorn and drinks.

Have you been at the movies, gotten everybody everything they wanted, gotten everyone seated and think to yourself, "Well, maybe I would like some popcorn after all".
You ask one of your kids for some of their popcorn.
You made the choice not to get any because it was too expensive, only to have them give you a dirty look and say, NO, it's mine!

Really!
You hold your tongue (hopefully), get an inch away from their face so the whole place won't hear the lecture.
This is when you say to your kid, "Look, if I wouldn't have wanted to bless you, you wouldn't be sitting here in this movie, with your very own popcorn, your very own candy and your very own drink!!
I didn't ask you for all of it, I asked you for a few handfuls!
Are we on the same page!!
Now fork over the popcorn!

To me, this is the perfect picture of how we can look at tithe or the lack of tithe.
I don't think the Lord has the whole attitude thing goin' on, but maybe this is how the Lord feels when we don't tithe.
Yet, when we do tithe we can't begin to figure out how the economy of God really works.
We always end up getting way more back in return.
I always look at it like a farmer planting seed.
Yes, I know that there is a whole group of people in the church today who don't believe in "tithe".
It's legalistic, it's old Testament...yada, yada, yada.
I know, I have heard it all.
You can give "offerings" when you feel like it because God is such a nice guy that he is good with it all because that's just how nice of a guy he really is.
Maybe.
He did say, prove me in this.

So here is my example of tithe...

Last week, we needed to pay twelve dollars tithe on a plumbing job Dan did.
I made our check out for an even twenty dollars and put it in the offering.
The very next day, I went to a garage sale at an interior decorator's house and she sold me all of this fabric for twenty dollars.
Maybe it was coincidence that I just happened to stop, she just happened to have all this fabric and she didn't have any of it priced and sold it to me for a fraction of what it was worth.

Maybe, but, over the years things like this have happened to me time and time again.

I think He enjoys a couple of handfuls of popcorn as well, not to mention the acknowledgement of the blessing.

Where Are We At Now?

2010-04-15T20:54:00.018-05:00

One of the greatest lessons we are been learning since we moved back from Haiti is...to live WELL where we are at.
By "well", I don't mean "well-off", I mean embracing this time and the people in front of us, without regret or wishing to "be" some place different. I mean learning to just "be" and know that this is the right thing for now.
To rest, to have fun, to take a deep breath and know that this is a good time in our lives.

Truthfully, it has been hard to not feel displaced or in limbo.
On many levels we don't feel like this is home, yet, it is, because this is where we are from and where we are at for now.

Everything has changed, we have changed, church has changed and all the "stuff" still seems overwhelming and pointless at times.

If someone asked "what is the theme in your life right now?"
What would you say?
I would say, God's Faithfulness.
It seems like over and over again, He keeps showing up in such amazing ways.
I feel like it should be obvious by now.
I admit, it still leaves me speechless at times.
How all of this "just happened"!

We are a family who proclaims to be Christians and have served full-time on the mission field and plan to return some day.
Shouldn't we be full of faith by now?
We do know and have seen many of these great acts of faith, yet, there is still a sweetness to God that makes us so aware that He is really on our side, that he has a plan and hasn't forgotten us or the desires of our hearts.

For instance, over a year ago I was in Minnesota speaking at a fundraiser.
While in Minnesota, Dan and I went with his brother Mike to visit some of his friends who happen to be Hutterite's.
We went to see what they had been up to and learn more about them and spend time with Mike.
Turns out they have had a heart for Haiti for a long time and wanted to help us.
They had tons of fabric that they had wanted to give us for the sewing school, but we didn't really have a way to get it all to Haiti.
All 3000 pounds that is.
All this time, the fabric has been sitting in a warehouse in Minnesota waiting for a ride to Haiti.

Last week we got an email from John in Haiti, it seems Big Zach (Real Hope For Haiti) had a container in Minnesota that wasn't full and they needed to fill it.
Could we help?
Dan made a few phone calls, Mike made a few phone calls and guess what!
With the help of Mike, Joel and a few other people the container was full with furniture, kitchen cabinets, fabric and rice.

Again, I am reminded that it is a "living" hope that we have.

Tents

2010-04-13T20:48:00.020-05:00

Even before the earthquake I often thought how similar the Haitian people are to the children of Israel.

A displaced people...
A chosen people...
A people given provision they are not happy with...
A people always looking for a new leader...
A people who never seems to get to the "Promise Land" and now...

A people who live in tents.

Tent cities are not a new part of what is happening in Haiti today.
There have always been the very, very poor who lived in tents.
In many cultures people live in tents and it doesn't speak of a displaced people.
We use tents on vacation when we go camping.
And yet, I can't imagine a life in a tent.
At the risk of sounding unkind, some of the tents people are living in today are better then the houses they used to live in before the quake.
It isn't a judgement thing, it is just the truth about how poor Haiti really is.

Haitians have an ability to adapt to things like I have never seen.
In truth, it will be a trick in getting people to move out of the tents on their own.
What we would only consider to be temporary, will do just fine for many years for some.
This is not a Haitian thing, it is a people thing, it is called...

com·pla·cen·cy: a feeling of security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect, or the like; self-satisfaction or smug satisfaction with an existing situation.

This is my prayer for Haiti...
Lord,
I pray we will help them find their voice.
A voice that will cry out for justice and that some day, just like it says in Isaiah 33:20, they will live in a tent that will not be moved; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes broken.
I pray for restoration and hope.
I pray that the world will not become complacent.
Not for Haiti, nor any of the other nations needing to find their voice.

Happy Birthday Aaron!

2010-04-05T11:15:00.003-05:00

It's crazy to have a kid who is twenty-eight today considering that I am only twenty-nine!
He will always be that little blonde headed boy who loved "Kermit" and never wanted to get his hands dirty.
He is a grown up, living in Austin with dreams of L.A. and an acting career.
May all your dreams come true!
Happy Birthday Aaron!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T13:30:00.004-05:00

Sunrise from Boutilier in Haiti.
I am not a big fan of getting up before the sun - ever!
However, this is one thing I am willing to get up for and enjoy!
Easter Sunrise Service....I missed having Easter in Haiti this year.
We would get up before the sun, make our way up the mountain to be with others from our church family.
It was one of the few times we would be "cold" in Haiti.
We would sing, have a simple service and pray for Haiti.
After our service we would have a simple breakfast of coffee, hard boiled eggs and bananas.
This year would be different for us and for Haiti.
The meaning of Easter seems even more important now and my heart was so very thankful for what Easter really means.

We wish you a very Happy Easter filled with the HOPE that we have in the cross and the life of Jesus.

Dan, Sheila, Alyssa, Madisen and Parker

Offerings, Both Big and Small.....

2010-04-03T15:10:00.010-05:00

There has been so much given to help Haiti over the last few months it is hard to comprehend.
So many giving, helping, praying and believing for a better Haiti.
There seems to be a debte about what to do with all of it.
I keep thinking, rainy season is quickly approaching and you are still "talking"!
I find myself saying, that's normal for Haiti!
Yet, it shouldn't be "normal" for anyone - ever!
I heard, one out of every two households in America has given money to help Haiti.
That is amazing!
We have been blessed by so many acts of kindness.....both big and small.
Thank you!

p.s.
I loved getting this...

Easter....Plastic Bread

2010-04-02T16:43:00.011-05:00

Easter Sunday morning at Boutilier, Haiti 2009

As I drove Maddie home from school on Friday she asked if we would be going to church.
Yes, we always go on Friday night, this was Good Friday, it's part of Easter.
Are they going to have Communion?
I guess they will.
Ugh! I am not doing it!
Why?
They are going to have plastic bread!
I can do plastic gum and candy, but NOT bread!

We had a good laugh -

I explained it was only symbolic.
She said, they should get another symbol.
Mom, even in Haiti we had real bread.

So much can be said about what our children see and learn about what we do and don't ever really think about.

a few more thoughts on Hope...

2010-03-23T10:49:00.027-05:00

I've asked a few people about Peter's stinging words.
Wondering what they would say if asked to explain the reason for their hope.
The answers have been mixed.
It's neither good, nor bad.
Some gave very "spiritual"answers, others "pat" answers, never giving it another thought.
Maybe it was too overwhelming or unfair.

Maybe...

Honestly, that wasn't what I was looking for.
I wanted to know what their heart was saying.
Have they ever really thought about it?
It wasn't a test.
Maybe it felt like one.
I was just wondering.

For me, I can still feel the sting of the words.
I have done some soul searching.
Lots of praying.

It was while I was having lunch with a friend that I made some progress on this whole matter of hope.
I always take something of value with me when we spend time together.
She suggested that maybe I was beating myself up.
I was only called to do my part.
She reminded me about being a voice for the poor, even if it is just one and that I was able to sit down with each woman and talk about what options she now had because of the sewing school.
Each woman had saved enough money to help her family and had taken the steps to have a better life for her and her children.
It took courage and it paid off.
She now had money in her bank account and was going to work everyday.

We have a living HOPE in Jesus, He and he alone gives us eternal life...yet, we must not forget to be a part of that hope.

Notes From Cliff

2010-03-22T19:42:00.004-05:00

I talked to Cliff today.
He is home in Oregon yet still touched by his trip to Haiti wanting to know as many details as I could give him.
I returned his call from a week ago, he was sitting on a boat, fishing with his buddies.

Enjoy!

Since I’ve been back, I have had to do a lot of processing of what happened to me, and how the pieces of the puzzle fit together, as I was literally thrown into service when I walked through the field hospital door. Right up until I caught the plane home the needs were nonstop. These were the longest seven days of my life, and the shortest seven days of my life. They were the most impacting, the most defining and rewarding days of my life - not only from a medical point of view, but also from a humanitarian point of view.

In the face of this catastrophic event I was blessed to be able to work with other practitioners from all over the United States. They had hearts and dedication like I have never seen for the simple love of others. Our bond is incredible. We will all be friends forever.

I witnessed the hand of God guiding us in all that we saw, experienced, and did. He prepared each of us to go and He got us there together – miraculously. It was clearly Him working in us and through each of us. In Him we were able to endure the magnitude of devastation that happened to these people on January 12. That devastation is beyond description and comprehension. I know that others with whom I served agree with me that coming home was very, very hard to do. Regretting deeply having to leave so much undone is inexpressible, not knowing the end result of our work on the people.

All those trips out into the rubble of the slum areas, every touch we made, in most cases was the only touch of help that these people would have. Every wound was infected. I saw every type of known orthopedic injury known lying out in the street, or brought to us with help, even in wheelbarrows. Again, beyond scripting. It was and is hard to realize that thousands and thousands more were still suffering from all the crush injuries associated with the earthquake. In the field hospital with minimal supplies and no tools, it was Civil War medicine requiring a lot of improvisation. Believe me when I say that I used all 44 years of my ortho training there.

It has been well recognized that even at this level of care, we were saving lives. It was a very humbling experience. The Heartline website tells me that they are still finding these people with major, major injuries - again, a demonstration of the level of this disaster. Think about this: in under a minute, over 250,000 people were injured or crushed to death. Those numbers continue to rise. It was hard for us to wrap our brains around, even seeing it.

Very soon I realized that we saw and treated the outside of people, the physical injuries, but the inside of them, and the scope of their losses then or in their futures, I could not begin to understand or treat. At some point I will return to Heartline’s ongoing ministry there to do what I can.

I did and do realize that it was through the prayer support of my family, my church family, and my friends that I was able to be there for the people of Haiti in a time of catastrophic chaos, and human pain and suffering – and all that continues there.
It is disheartening, appalling for me to see that this human event has fallen off the media radar.

Through your prayers, donations, or supplies people were and are helped. Our results were in positive medical outcomes, and literally saving lives. But all of it means something more when you realize that they had nothing to start with, not even hope. Because I now have a greater understanding of the power of prayer, my request is that above everything else, you pray for the people of Haiti.

With love,
Cliff ~ and Adrienne
“But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Cor. 13:13

My Advantage

2010-03-21T10:03:00.007-05:00

Anderson Cooper was doing an interview with Father Boyle and asked...

"Do you ever feel taken advantage of?

He simply said, I give my advantage away.

Dan's Haiti Trip

2010-03-10T19:24:00.006-05:00

I would like Dan to write a blog about his trip rather than me telling you about it.
Maybe he will.
He says, I am the writer.
So, if I am the writer, I guess I have permission to say what I want.

One of the things that sticks out for me after listening to him tell about his trip was, he feels like his heart changed on this trip toward the people of Haiti.
He now sees things very differently, it was all so hard to take in and comprehend.

When you work at something for a long time, it can become your "job" and not your passion.
You often forget about the people that you are working with (and for) because you are so busy trying to "do your job".
This rule applies to both the corporate world and the ever so crazy world of missions and humanitarian work.
I think we have all seen the news reports with all the supplies sitting around waiting and waiting until everyone gets done making all the "rules".
Meanwhile the whole country be eating three meals a day.
Sean Penn called it an apocalypse.

I keep thinking about the words of Jesus - "don't despise small beginnings".....
It seems to me, it is small beginnings that make the big picture happen.

Living Hope...

2010-03-07T15:38:00.022-05:00

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

But, do this with gentleness and respect..."

The thought of this mother asking me why she should have hope has haunted me since I read Peter's words.
I keep thinking, "God in heaven I hope she never asks me a question like that".
I am having a hard time with these words.
It isn't that I don't believe them, because I personally have hung on to the fact that we have hope in Jesus for dear life over the past few months while learning to live out this season of my life.
If this is what I am thinking...can you imagine what she must be thinking.
Me, a white woman, who can get on a plane and leave at any time, telling her to have hope!
I feel very unqualified to say these words when I am in Haiti.
My heart races just thinking about it.
I liked Peter so much better when I pictured him as the guy who really messed up and denied Jesus.
On some level, I can relate to Peter way more than what I want to.
He and I know the "right" answers when life is good, but do I have what it takes on every level to do the right thing?
It is terrifying to me to think about having the guts to do the right thing no matter what, coming face to face with the bottom line - Do you love me and will you feed my sheep?
I can't imagine what Peter was thinking when Jesus said, dude, your gonna deny me, end of story.
Peters words have been rolling around in my heart....we have a LIVING HOPE.
How exactly would I tell this woman she has a living hope?
Me, what would I tell her?
Not what I have heard from the platform, what do I personally know about hope.
I have cried about this many times, telling the Lord my words seem empty.
I have a home.
I have my husband and children.
I have food and water.
In my confession, maybe I was trying to get off the hook.
I said, it was wrong of me to say these things when I can just get on a plane and leave.
It was in my tears and frustration, I heard the Lord say, these are NOT your words they are mine.
I am the only living hope for the world today.
I am the one who speaks these things into existence, not you.

I did find comfort in these words.
I will continue to battle with this question, knowing that I have to come to peace with it.
I thought this statement spoke well of how I am feeling....

"There is a lethal absence of hope - it is that simple and that complicated."
Father Boyle, CNN Interview with Anderson Cooper

Agape Shipment

2010-03-06T16:03:00.007-05:00

We want to say THANK YOU for all the donations given to God's Plumbline for Haiti. Dan took everything down to Agape flights in Venice, Florida before he left for Haiti. With your help we filled four pallets full of supplies.

Ti Pa Pa

2010-03-02T19:38:00.006-05:00

We had just finished with dinner and walked over to check on things at the hospital.
Ti Pa Pa was coloring, working out the details of what happened to him during the earth quake on paper.
Everyone in Haiti has a story about the earth quake.
Much like we have our stories about 9/11.
We will never forget the exact time and place, when the world as we knew it changed in a minute.
Forever different!
I was at home with Maddie and Parker, Eileen, Dan's mom was visiting.
Dan was on the road, working.
I went to get Alyssa early from school that day and wished Dan was home.
Ti Pa Pa was at school.
His picture got my attention because it said, "Emergency Exit".
Where on earth did he learn that?
Must have been in the book he was reading, I couldn't imagine his school had a sign like that.
He pointed to the chair, showing me that he had fallen off the chair during the shaking.
I told him, I loved his picture!
I asked him if he wanted to sell it?
Yes, he said without thinking for a second.
He held up one finger and said, one gourde.
I was caught off guard that he didn't say the first English phrase every kid in Haiti yells when they see a white person, "hey you, give me one dollar"
No way! I teased.
I told him I would give him one dollar!
His eyes grew large, he smiled even bigger.
I took a few pictures and showed him what he looked like on the camera.
We exchanged art work for money and a hand shake.
I hoped he would keep drawing.
I hoped he would find healing in his expression.

Book Covers

2010-02-28T17:29:00.028-05:00

I like books and admit I pick up books based on the cover!
Catchy title, great picture, I'll bite.
A good cover should peak your interest and pull you in.
If it passes the "this looks good test", sometimes I save it to my "wish list" on Amazon.
I won't tell you how many books I have on my "wish list".
How about the book that pulls you in, only to end up sitting on a shelf titled "need to read".
People are like books and it is best to take heed to the old saying, "don't judge a book by it's cover".
I believe this to be a true statement, yet I am not sure I (we) follow this rule.
Take Sean Penn, what if he was a book.
Would you even think twice about his cover?
I just heard he wished his critics would get cancer!
What makes people say stuff like that?
Not sure if you like him?
Personally, I neither love nor hate the guy.
Yet, there seems to be no middle on the subject.
Maybe you think he is a great actor and hate his politics or vice versa.
I can think of a few things I would like to ask him about, this I know for sure.
My first thought when I look at his cover falls under misguided passion.
Did you see the poor guy on "Larry King Live"?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr2cfXwxmyo
I laughed out loud when I watched the interview Dan taped for me while I was in Haiti.
Haiti kicked his butt big time.
Maybe he is in it for the fame.
I don't know.
I hope he isn't that kind of guy.
Larry King threw the bait at him, time and time again to get him to talk about something different but he stuck to his guns and said everything he wanted to say about Haiti.

See the little girl looking at you?
Her name is Rosemerline.
Cute cover, huh!
For a month the folks at Heartline Ministries have been working on getting the last of the remaining five children left in their program out of Haiti to their "forever families".
Well, it just so happened Little Miss got to leave Haiti with her "forever mom", Juanita, a friend of ours here in Atlanta on Sean Penn's plane.
I wonder how this random act of kindness changed her cover?
His book cover now has my attention and is now sitting on my "need to read" shelf.
If only I could read the last chapter in his book to see just what happened to Sean Penn's heart while he was in Haiti.
Haiti is a whole different animal.
You think you are going to help "them" and you come back so messed up you have no idea what happened, sometimes for weeks.
In a good way of course.
It is the funny thing about books and relationships, you never know what God is doing in the journey.
He never uses the ones the world thinks are perfect and right for the job, never, not once.
Not with Moses, David, Peter, Rahab or the long list of others.
He is funny that way.
Yet, He is the author and the finisher, that we know for sure.
I pray Sean Penn will see the powerful writing of God on the pages of his life, that his chapter will be one that makes me and the rest of the world say,
see, you really can't judge a book by it's cover.

2010-02-27T22:25:00.003-05:00

"For me, an area of moral clarity is: you're in front of someone who's suffering and you have the tools at your disposal to alleviate that suffering or even eradicate it, and you act."

--Paul Farmer

Edison

2010-02-26T11:40:00.013-05:00

My first night home from Haiti I dreamt about being in an earthquake.
Go figure!
I couldn't find Maddie and I woke up crying.
I went back to sleep, only to wake up in a cold sweat because the dream started again.
Only this time, Rosemine, one of our friends that works at the palace died and I still couldn't find Maddie.
For many in Haiti, it wasn't a dream, there really was an earthquake and many mothers would never find their family.

Edison was a little boy who just happened to steal Lisa's heart.
He's wasn't the first, nor will he be the last, this I am sure of.
After talking to him she found out he didn't know what happened to his parents.
He had two brothers, he went to school, but wasn't sure about his parents.
The Comfort ship had treated him because they couldn't help him at General hospital.
When it was time to leave, he was taken off the ship and transported to the Heartline hospital.
I still am not sure how it worked out this way.
Lisa was now on a mission, she was going to come up with a way to find his family.
She loaded him up in the car with her as she ran a few errands to see if he could point her in the right direction.
Nope, he was too little.
Finally, someone said, "what about the television station".
So off we went to find the television station, well, what was left of the television station.
This kid was so stinkin' cute and kept looking at Lisa while we drove up and down Delma.
I finally busted out laughing, I had seen that look before.
We made a few stops asking people if they knew Edison, asked for directions, finally found the station right in the middle of a tent city on the grounds of a large Catholic school.
We drove in, parked and walked up like we knew what we were doing.
I had my huge green bag and camera so I guess I could have passed for a reporter.
They never asked and we didn't offer.
This was one of the only times it payed to be white in this country.
We explained the story, asked if they could help and the next thing we knew he was on live television.
Just like that!
We thanked them again and again!
God, please let this work, was all I could think.

Sure enough the very next morning we got a phone call that Edison's dad was at the hospital.
Don't let them leave, we will be right there!
It worked!
The father explained he had no idea what had happened to Edison, it was a huge mix-up.
This was one happy little guy and Papa!
We all stood around taking pictures, crying.
It was so good to see families being brought back together.
Who says, "you can't find a needle in a hay stack?"
Nine million people, one boy and one dad together again.
Some dreams do come true!

Whole Lotta Love

2010-02-25T10:50:00.029-05:00

Led Zeppelin is not a band I would consider putting on my "favorites list".
For the life of me I can't begin to come up with a good reason why "Whole Lotta Love" was stuck in my head while I was in Haiti.
I can make the leap to connect a war zone atmosphere, an inability to process what happened to Haiti in forty-five seconds and the possibility of what could be a really bad acid trip, but why was this song stuck in my head?
Over and over again for hours on end.
If you take the title of the song, it is a true statement, there really is a "Whole Lotta Love" going on in what feels, looks and acts like a war zone.
The country is full of airplanes that don't look like they could get off the ground, not to mention they shake the earth as they come in, U.S. troops drive the streets in Hummers, there are tons more U.N. troops and Heuy's moving in and out of the airport all the time.
On my first trip in I remember thinking to myself, "what the heck are all these dogs doing at the airport"?
It wasn't until I was getting ready to leave that I made the connection, these dogs are trained to look for bodies.
Haiti was never going to be the same.
I was wrestling with this idea.
Was it going to be better?
Dear God, How could it be worse?
So many things just seemed normal.
That in itself was disturbing.
As we drove the streets Sunday afternoon, I could hear some of the first timers talking.
Was there always this much garbage?
I wondered, how is it that this country had such tenacity?
Did they feel like the whole world was trying to help?
I hoped so.
Maybe they didn't even have time to think about it?

I'm gonna give you my love...I'm gonna give you my love...Wanna Whole Lotta Love...Whole Lotta Love...Whole Lotta Love...Whole Lotta Love

Did It Smell Bad?

2010-02-23T15:50:00.026-05:00

Several people have asked, "did it smell bad"?
If they are asking, did I walk around with tooth paste under my nose because it smelled like dead bodies, the answer is no.
No, it didn't smell like dead bodies and no, I didn't walk around with tooth paste under my nose like the Haitians.
This is Haiti, yes, it smelled bad, it always smells bad.
The earthquake didn't make it smell bad, it smelled bad before the earthquake.
We are talking open sewers, rotten fruit and garbage, burning trash and no place to put the garbage that is collected.
There are dumpsters and garbage trucks in Haiti, but you have to actually pick up the garbage and put is some place for it to be a good thing.
Maybe they should try and be sneaky by hiding it all under grass like they do it South Florida.
In Haiti, they just happened to build a city on top of it.
It's true, eight miles of trash, as a matter a fact.
No one is saying it's a good thing, yet it is reported that 300,000 living, breathing human beings live there.
Think about how low the baseline must be for the health of the children who live in Cité Soleil.

But, in an area regarded as one of the poorest and most dangerous areas of the Western Hemisphere's poorest country and one of the biggest slums in the Northern Hemisphere with little police presence, no sewers, no stores, and little to no electricity, two men and a handful of people made a stand to renounce voodoo and ask Jesus to come and be in this place.

After three days of prayer and fasting the country was busy again, we would make a run on the medical truck into Cité Soleil. With clinic in progress, two guys walked up not far behind our truck, threw a voodoo bag down on the ground, started a fire on the bag, burning an exposed bottle of rum and it's other contents as a coconut rolled out of the bag into the street. They took out bibles from the pants pockets and everyone started to pray.
Let me just say, I didn't break out in song declaring how good God was, nor did I give Him a clap offering!
Don't get me wrong, I think God is one great guy!
He has his act together, he has a wicked funny scenes of humor and I am pretty sure he has a plan.
No, I know he has a plan, I read the last chapter of the book.
However, my first thought was... great, just great, I am in Cité Soleil with a truck full of white people and we are going to be in the middle of a frickin' riot!
I very quickly tucked my camera inside my baseball cap and didn't move.
Priorities, I have them!
I wanted to keep my camera and I wasn't gonna be a happy camper if I didn't.
Reynold and Oriole, our security guys both looked at me.
Why would they looked at me? Well, I know why they looked at me.
They both stood up, told me to get up and walked me over so I could take pictures!
I had been by myself all day and now they wanted to be my security, or maybe I was theirs, I'm not sure.
The funny part is they wanted to look at my pictures as soon as I took them, they really think the camera can capture stuff.
Needless to say when they started praying with the voodoo guys I punched them.
"What on earth do you think you are doing!"
I grilled them!
I needed to really understand what was happening.
I have been working in Haiti long enough to know a few things, but there are lots of secrets and lots of things I don't understand. You learn to ask questions twenty-five different ways.
And I did!
Again and again until I understood.

At this point, I had forgotten about the smell, I felt like I was the one that smelled bad!
Everything about me smelled bad, all my good American ideas, my bad attitude because someone took my water bottle out of my bag, my lame excuses about a hundred different things.
I was embarrassed that my country, for all the good that is here, would never shut down the whole entire place for three days to pray and fast, asking God to come and help.
With all Haiti's faults, bad government, crummy adoption rules, I wished someone could bottle what these people had and give it to the rest of the world. The world would be a much different place, a better place.
Would it smell better?
Not right away, change takes time,
The Lord says, if my people are willing to repent and turn from their ways, he is willing to come and heal their land.

How Are The Sewing Ladies?

2010-02-22T18:30:00.010-05:00

As we drove from the airport to the women's program house a.k.a the hospital, I saw the sewing ladies walking down the road.
They had just finished sewing for the day.
I couldn't help myself from yelling out to them.
Never did I think they would all start screaming and run after the truck!
It was by far more than my heart ever could have dreamed of for a reunion with them.
I missed them so very much!
We hugged and cried together!
It was late but I promised we would spend time together talking about all that had happened to them over the next few days.
I had 100 pounds of fabric for them and lots of new thread.
My trips had many sweet reunions and they did my heart so much good.
How could anyone not love this place and these people.

Everyone has been asking, "how are the sewing ladies"?
Physically they are fine!
My goal was to make sure that each lady was physically fine and to see what happened with her family.
Did they have food, water and medication that they may need.
Housing, well, that would be a whole different story.
They all had moved out of their house no matter what the story or condition was.
It didn't matter if they had a few cracks or if the wall could have been pushed over with one strong push, they all had made the choice to sleep outside in groups because of what "might" or "could" happen.
Many have been given tents or tarps to live in or under and that was the end of the story.

Over the next few days I would sit down with each of them and ask about their house.
I would go and visit a few of them so that I could see first hand what the condition of the house was.
I was pleased that for most of them their houses only had minor work needed.
The work that needed to be done would need to be done without cement and block.
Fear had taken over their hearts and minds.
Rightfully so, from where I was sitting.
How was I going to tell them everything was going to be fine, I was getting on a plane in a few days.
It wasn't sitting well with me that I was just going to drop off fabric and leave again.
The things we fear are not always rational, no matter who we are or where we live.
I had a headache, I had no answers, I would need time to pray about just what I would say.
Tomorrow I would try again.

Getting To Haiti

2010-02-20T13:43:00.016-05:00

Many asked, " why I didn't write while I was in Haiti".
I would like to say, I had planned to do something really spiritual like a computer fast, but truth be told, I plain forgot the dumb thing.
When I got to the security check point at the airport and went to unzip my suitcase so I could put my computer in one of those little gray box things, my heart sank, I had forgotten the stupid thing.
I have nightmares about stuff like this.
In trying to make sure my battery had a full charge, I left it sitting on the couch over night.
As I stood barefoot in line, I tried to convince myself that it was just as well because the Internet is never all that great.
The next question, "how was my trip"?
Such a hard question.
Over the next few days I will try to answer that question.
My short answer - It is layers of complicated.

Cliff

2010-02-07T11:54:00.004-05:00

This picture of Cliff speaks volumes to me.
Cliff is an Orthopedic PA from Oregon who went to Haiti on one of the Kids R Kids flights with us.
He had tons of reservations about going to Haiti and rightly so.
We talked on the phone about these reservations.
He said he needed to pray with his wife and he would call me back.
I love that he didn't just say, yeah, sure, what the heck.

I have been in the place Cliff is sitting - physically, emotionally and spiritually.
No answers, hundreds of questions.
My body needing to sleep, wondering why I couldn't just shut my mind off.
I needed Jesus to be bigger then this whole thing, I needed Him to be real, really real, not just the talk I had been talking, the stupid version of Christianity I used to think was real, until now.
What was I thinking!
Why on earth did I think I could do this.

Maybe I should tell people who are thinking about coming to Haiti is that it is a little like playing "Clue" everyday, but it starts over every single morning, so if you didn't like to play it as a kid, you will like it even less now.
Especially when it is about your life and the life of nine million others.
I have also said, "it is also like Schizophrenia making perfect sense".

In the past few weeks, I have been asked hundreds of questions like...
What do I think about Pat Robertson and Laura Silsby?
Was he right to say that? Should she be in jail?
Did God do this to Haiti because of Voodoo and sin?
Why isn't there a government in place.
Is Bill Clinton going to do a good job?
Can you help me find my family?
Why can't you get me a child to adopt right now?

Here is what I do know...
Haiti still leaves me speechless.
At times I still feel like I am playing "Clue".
Haiti was broken from the worlds point of view way before Pat Robertson or Laura Silsby came on the scene.
Bill Clinton, the U.N., the Red Cross, and UNICEF are going to be viewed as part of the problem and/or the solution depending on what you believe to be truth.
Over the past ten years of working in Haiti I have had to learn to guard my heart and close my mouth.
I know that the quick simple answers don't work in Haiti, never have and never will.
I also don't think Jesus is sitting in heaven ringing His hands wondering what to do.
He didn't play "Clue" not even once and neither can I.
I can only do what I have a passion to do, but before I can do anything, I have to know that I know that Jesus loves me.
Doing this kind of work will make you question all that you know to be true, all that you know to be right and good.
You will need to know Jesus has a clue, He is the clue.
And yes, there will be days you wonder if you have a clue!

Ernest and Ronel Back Home!

2010-02-05T16:54:00.002-05:00

Debra Parker and three of her four children stood facing the baggage claim escalator at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. A semicircle of friends and family fanned out behind them. As step by rolling step flattened at the bottom, empty, the circle grew restless. Debra turned to look back at them.
“This is how I felt for two weeks,” she said.
Debra's husband, Ernest Parker, has spent the last two weeks sleeping on the waiting room floor of the American Embassy in Port-au-Prince, where he was picking up the family's long-awaited fourth child: 9-year-old Ronel. The Parkers have been trying to adopt the boy, an orphan who nearly starved to death, for two years.
Ronel was freed to immigrate to the U.S. after the recent earthquake, but a bureaucratic breakdown delayed his exit while Ernest haggled endlessly with Haitian and American officials.
Finally, just after 8 p.m. Thursday, Debra recognized their feet on the top stair. A cheer erupted from the crowd of more than three dozen, many holding signs reading “Welcome Ronel” in English and Creole.
Debra clutched her youngest son, 6-week-old Jude, in one arm, and hugged her newest son with the other. A cousin thrust a Teddy bear into Ronel's hands, wearing a T-shirt that said “Welcome to the family.”
The last few weeks were harrowing even for a child inured to hardship. Ronel weathered the earthquake and the ensuing chaos, then was given the news he'd been waiting years to hear: He could finally go to America, to the Parkers. But the plane came and went without him. Haitian officials said he was missing some paperwork.
As chaos gripped the country, Ernest went to get the boy himself. But just after he arrived in Haiti, a group of Americans was arrested for trying to bring 33 undocumented children across the border.
“Everything shut down,” said Ernest's mother, Sue Parker. “Even as of Tuesday night, they told us it would be indefinite. Then we really started to get scared.”
Ernest battled on, but each day brought new frustrations and miscommunications. He submitted four sets of fingerprints, and each set was lost. Immigration officials told him he and Ronel were cleared to leave, then rescinded their permission.
Finally, Ernest said, the head of the American Embassy grew tired of the constant calls and e-mails from the family's friends and supporters, including Congressman Ted Poe, and let them leave.
Adoption not yet complete
On Thursday, Ernest wore a scruffy beard and an exhausted smile. He said he hadn't slept since 6:30 Wednesday morning.
Ronel smiled dazedly, his arms crossed over his new Teddy bear.
His new sister, 12-year-old Carly Parker, flipped through a Creole phrase book.
“Can you read this?” she asked, pointing to the words for “Are you OK?”
Ten-year-old Colton Parker reached for the book.
“I need to find ‘I love you,' ” he said.
As frustrating as the past few weeks have been, Ernest said they gave him valuable time to bond with his son. Thursday was Ronel's first time meeting his new siblings.
“All the fighting's over,” Ernest said. “It's just time to love, to be a family.”
Ronel's adoption isn't complete yet: The terms of the American “humanitarian parole” policy allowed Haitian children already in the process of adoption to finish that process here. Because the policy is so new, the Parkers don't exactly know what hoops they will still have to jump through. But, they said, that can wait. On Thursday night, they just wanted to go home.
“I think we're going to go inside, lock the door, and become a family,” Debra said.

Things I Have Come Know

2010-02-02T08:25:00.006-05:00

I haven't really had time to catch my breath.
The needs seems to come at me in waves.
When my phone isn't ringing, I am wondering what is wrong.
I was going over my notes, yes, I walk around these days with the contents of my brain neatly kept in one place. It is not that I am a really organized person, it is because I couldn't manage any more thing and it was keeping me awake at night.

Today as I was checking the contents of my new brain, I found a few notes I had written as we flew out of Port a week ago Friday.

1. I have come to know that people who talk the most know the least, they are just trying to convince you they know something.

2. I have also come to know that I love the sunshine in my face, it is healing.

3. I have come to know that until you live someplace with the people, it is never what the world says it is.

4. I have also come to know that it takes courage to change, to want a better life and these ladies have set an example for me that gives me the strength to keep pushing for what is right, what is fair and for their destiny as well as mine.

Notes From Elizabeth

2010-02-01T07:45:00.006-05:00

These are the "Notes From Elizabeth". She is one of those who came in with us and I thought it would be nice for you to hear what she did on her trip to Haiti. Enjoy - Sheila

I stepped off the plane Friday into what I thought was a war zone. I had never seen anything like it in my life. The airport in Port au Prince has been converted into a military only fly zone and there were military aircraft flying all over. Once we hit the ground, I could see military in every direction. There were tanks, trucks, personnel, guns, and anything else you could think of. I was immediately blown away by the help that was here, for the people here, and by the overwhelming presence of everyone here.

I had left Richmond alone and had met up with 3 other people who would be coming down with me in Ft Lauderdale. So, the team that came in on Friday consisted of 4. We loaded up our truck with supplies that we had brought with us, and two of us sat on top of the truck to hold everything on. We left the airport and set out for this clinic that I’m at. I immediately understood the desperate needs of the people. They saw us coming up the road with boxes of labeled food and water and began screaming for food. When we got caught up in traffic, I was worried they might loot the truck, but they just stared at us with sad eyes and let us be.

We arrived at the clinic and instantly got to work. Let me explain a little about this set up. There is an organization that started out as an orphanage, here in Haiti. They had been running it for awhile and then realized that there is a strong need for women’s health care here in the city, so they started a women’s health clinic. They were giving women prenatal care, delivering babies, and doing post-natal teaching (breastfeeding, baby care, mother care, etc). They also teach them life skills so they can work and be self sufficient. When the earthquake hit, they started taking people in to help them from around the community. This particular neighborhood was not hit as hard as the downtown area, so they didn’t have a great need in the neighborhood. Apparently people started hearing about the clinic and started coming in. They needed more help, and they needed it fast, so they started gathering supplies and staff, and on January 18th, opened a fully operational hospital in the women’s clinic. We have one room that is our “OR”. It consist of two tables. Then we have a “med/surg” room that has three tables on one side for all non-operating patients, and on the other side there area a bunch of blankets on the floor for the recovery room for the OR. There is an area outside with chairs set up for our “fast-track” patients, which are those who really don’t have to be in the building. There is an ambulance team that runs out into the tent city and the slums several times a day and ask, “Who needs medical care?” They bring the patients back to us, and we treat them.

These people are so thankful for what we are doing for them. They do not whine, they do not complain, and they do not ask for pain medication. All they want is treatment and to know that everything is going to be ok. We offer them food and the scarf it down like they have never eaten before, but they will not ask for it. We give them water, and they drink like they never have, but they will not ask for it. We have given some kids clothes that came in naked. We have given them toys too, like the miniature military figures. Not ONE single patient has complained about anything, not one.

When patients are cleared, they either are driven back to the tent city and dropped off, or we “admit them” and send them to the orphanage to be cared for overnight. Sometimes we have patients that need more care than we can give and they will be taken to the navy ship to receive care we can’t give them. We had one lady today that we took over to the ship that had a crush injury to her pelvis the day of the quake. We were able to make note that her urinary track and vaginal track are no longer in place and are pretty much one big hole. She has not urinated since the day of the quake. She will need major reconstructive surgery on her pelvic area to live. So, she is the type of patient that we take to the ship. Those that are not in need of major surgery, are held at the site of the orphanage. We have a large front yard where the patients are sleeping on mattresses that came out of the cribs for the children. They are released when they no longer need iv antibiotics. We send these people with amputations, crush injuries and broken bones home with Advil, and they are so thankful!

The spririt of the people here is something I will never forget. They have been through so much, and sometimes it’s hard for me to remember what it was that happened. I see the destruction and the devastation, but since I’ve never been here, I don’t know what life was like for these people before. I am blown away by their ability to pick up, move on and to do what needs to be done without thinking about it. I’m starting to hear more and more of their stories, about what they went through, and I am just humbled. I do not think there is any one here, including our baby born today, that has not been severely traumatized by this event. I am not sure how they are going to move on from here, but I know, because I see it in their eyes, that they will!

January 30, 2010
12:56

I arrived home from Haiti on the morning of January 29th, shortly after midnight. I’ve been home for around 36 hours now, and I’ve been asked by many people for further updates and to talk about all of the things that I saw and did while down there. I’ve decided to pick up from Sunday night’s post and add to it. I’ll cover some of the major events we had happen, and then talk about the new dynamics that are occurring there. The shift in what’s going on is amazing.

Injuries we’ve see…..

Burns, lots of them. I didn’t realize there would be so many of these, and I wasn’t expecting them to be so prevalent. But, with the quake occurring at 5pm, many people were starting to make dinner. We had children who were near the stove and had large pots of water fall on them, covering them from the top of their head, down in burns. We had people like Manushka who had propane explosions. I just never imagined that we would see so many of them.

Crush injuries galore! Feet, arms, hands, heads, you name it, they were crushed. We saw a man with a large indention in his skull with a gaping hole, over two weeks after the earthquake and no one had seen him before us. We saw a young boy who had a large cinder block fall on his hand, crushing it, and as he was pulling it out from under the block, the skin covering his hand came right off. He has no skin from his wrist to his fingers and there is no way any type of skin grafting can ever be done on it, making it impossible to heal.

Amputations, or at least, the need for them. Many people were “seen” by medical people immediately after the quake and had a simple 4X4 piece of gauze slapped on with tape and left. As we found them, many of them had become so necrotic from the infection that they required amputation. We also have a lot that are occurring because of the crush injuries. They were not seen afterwards, developed compartment syndrome and have become necrotic, or the injury itself was so bad that nothing else could be done. Many amputations were being done with little or no anesthesia on our foldable tables using unsterile procedure and with Motrin given for pain medication. We have children being amputated, all the way up to adults. It’s sad, but the next generation of Haitians will be known for their amputations. Some of them will never be able to function again, because prosthetics just don’t seem feasible.

Maggots. We have one little boy infested with them in his ear. They are all the way down in the ear canal feasting away. We keep trying to pull them out, but they are laying more eggs and they are hatching. Not sure at this point whether he’ll even be able to keep the ear anymore.

Leprosy. I didn’t think this was around anymore, but apparently it is. We saw two people with it actually. Not exciting, ok, maybe it was just to glance at it, but not to get near!

Malnutrition. These were not well-fed people to begin with. But now that there is no food left, it’s getting even worse. I saw this one kid the other day that was so malnourished that he was nothing more than bone. He was probably 3 or 4 but didn’t look older than 18 months old. People are looking everywhere they can for food. But the wild thing about it is, they aren’t really getting violent about it. You hear stories on the news about people looting and such, but what else can they do for food. It’s not mass hysteria; people are actually standing in lines to wait for food. They aren’t trampling each other down to get to it. They are waiting. With the malnutrition comes dehydration. There is no good clean water. And this also effects the babies, Haitians don’t like to breastfeed because they believe that formula MUST be better because it comes from the “richer” United States. How can you mix formula when you don’t have water? If you can even find it to begin with.

Fractures. Like the crush injuries, you name it, it’s been broken. Legs, feet, arms, skulls, pelvic bones, ribs, etc. There are so many people in cast right now.

The Shift….

Things are changing so much in Haiti right now. I don’t want to get into politics, I just want to talk about what I’m seeing in our clinic and in the people that we are interacting with. On Friday, the 22nd when I arrived, things were so chaotic. There were only enough supplies to give people the most basic of all treatments. We didn’t have anesthesia, we didn’t have morphine, we didn’t have casting materials, and we didn’t have most antibiotics. There was a person to be in charge, and a medical director. We had a podiatry doc, an ob-gyn doc, an ER doc, an orthopedic PA, a PA, an anesthesia doc, a midwife, and two nurses. The types of injuries that we were seeing were people that had never been seen by anyone, and they were very sick. The shift started to occur on Tuesday of this week when we started receiving more supplies. We received a casting saw and casting material so we could set fractures and put them in cast. We were also seeing that people we were picking up, were people that were coming back for re-checks of their injuries. We were seeing less and less of people that had never been seen and began to see more and more follow-up care. We also saw that the medicine was going from primitive third world practices, to more of an organized care. We went from just doing whatever we could, to having time to think about what the best option was and choosing from several different scenarios. At first there were no choices to be made, we just did what we could, which wasn’t much. The organization is improving. Nurses are starting to worry about how things are charted, and the organization of daily task. Doctors are starting to think of alternatives, and correct medication dosing for their patients. The clinic is looking at changing their dynamics too. They need more long term, “inpatient”, care and less critical ER/OR care. Instead of putting all of the resources into fast assessment and treatment, they are starting to look at how to care for these people in the long run. This was an orphanage just over a year ago, and look at where they are now. How long are they going to be able to keep this up without making a decision to turn this into an official clinic. Should they consider opening clinic. Is this the direction that they are going to be headed? What comes next for them?

How am I doing now…..

This would have been a rough question to answer yesterday. At first, I couldn’t do much, other than lay in bed and cry. The things that I saw and the things that I participated in were nothing short of horrific. I didn’t want to come home. I didn’t want to leave the people of Haiti there with no food, no water, and no medical care. I wanted to stay and rough it out with them. I didn’t want to sleep in my bed. I didn’t want to eat food. I didn’t want to drink clean water. I didn’t want to take a shower. I didn’t want to do anything that the people of Haiti couldn’t do. It didn’t seem fair for me to have all of those things so easily accessible and to leave them with none of it. I still can’t turn on the TV or the radio. I’m afraid I will see the people of Haiti, there without me, suffering while I sit at home and watch. I feel helpless, like I could never do enough for them. I want to go back, but I also don’t feel like right now is the right time for it. I feel like I’m supposed to wait for another time and then go, and I’m sitting here waiting for that to happen. I am on anti-malaria drugs, as Malaria is very bad down there and I am covered in bites. I am not able to sleep. I’m having nightmares. I can’t close my eyes without seeing children being amputated. I have visions of downtown Port-au-Prince and the devastation there. I feel ill, and I think it is from the sheer exhaustion of working 12-18 hour days, and even 24 hour days with no rest and very little food. And we are talking HARD work, unlike anything anyone in America would ever have to do at work. I’m clinging to my family and trying to pull comfort off of them. And, it definitely doesn’t help that it was 90 when I left Port-au-Prince on Thursday and it is now snowing like crazy outside!

What’s next…..

I have no idea what is next. I’m waiting to see. I have been taking each hour at a time, and trying to get through them. I have to return to work on Tuesday night, and I know that is going to be difficult. Taking care of Americans with modern medical equipment and treatments, I just don’t know how I’m going to do it. And, as I said earlier, I’m waiting, for the time that I’m supposed to go back. I have no idea when it will be. It could be next week, it could be a year from now, or it could sadly be never. Now, I just wait to see what I am to do next.

Ernest and Ronel

2010-01-30T10:47:00.009-05:00

Years ago John McHoul said to me, "adoptions are like a chain link fence, we must work to connect all the links".
This has proven to be true time and time again, not only in adoptions, but in everything we do.
In all the years I have been working in Haiti, I don't think we have ever been able to do something from start to finish without the help of many people.
It is much more common to be a link in this work than it is to be the whole fence.
I think the Lord does it this way so we check our ego's at the door.
Last week, we we played the role of a link once again in getting Ernest to Haiti to help his son Ronel.
After Dan left Atlanta they stopped in Fort Lauderdale to refuel and pick up passengers.
One of those passengers was Ernest.
Here is his story written by Kristen Howerton, an adoptive parent, who is another link in the bigger picture.

Kristen writes -
My heart is heavy tonight for the adoptive parents who are still waiting to get their children home from Haiti, and for the children who wait in the balance. Since we got Kembert out last week, things have changed dramatically. On January 18th, the US government announced it was granting humanitarian parole for orphans already in the process of adoption. This made perfect sense: these children were shown to be eligible for adoption prior to the earthquake. The Haitian and US government go through extensive searches when a child enters the system to show this to be true, including the procurement of death certificates, DNA testing, and birth parent interviews. I was so proud that our country saw the value of evacuating these children into the care of waiting families in the US, not only to remove them from a precarious situation, but also to free up room in orphanages to take care of children who are orphaned or displaced as a result of the earthquake.

This all seemed to make sense for a couple days. The US agreed, Haiti agreed, and we saw lots of personal interest news stories of happy families united with their children. That is, until UNICEF stepped in. UNICEF, with their seemingly charitable gestures towards children worldwide, happens to be an organization that is staunchly, and often illogically, anti-adoption. It is also an organization that wields a great amount of power (and money), and when they put the pressure on, Haiti complies. There is a lot to be said about UNICEF's views. There is an essay brewing there - but for now, the short version is that UNICEF would prefer children without parents to be raised in an institution within their culture of origin rather than by a loving family of a different culture. In other words, race/culture trumps family/nurture/security. (It doesn't take a psychologist to see the faulty logic there).

Over the last week, the effort to get previously-matched children out of Haiti has slowed considerably. Extra steps have been added, redundant steps, steps that pose no added measure of safety since these children HAVE ALREADY BEEN CLASSIFIED AS ADOPTABLE BY THE HAITIAN GOVERNMENT, and since these parents HAVE ALREADY SUBMITTED AN EXTENSIVE HOMESTUDY/DOSSIER/BACKGROUND CHECK. This is effecting hundreds of waiting children. One such child is Ronel. I want to tell Ronel's story, because I think it is a compelling example of the need for international adoption, and a tragic (hopefully only temporarily tragic) example of how UNICEF's corruption affects orphaned children.

Ronel was abandoned at the Rescue Center of Real Hope for Haiti, which is an amazing medical mission that takes in malnourished children and nurses them back to health. I am constantly amazed by the life-saving work these sisters do. When he was brought in, he weight 28 pounds (less than my daughter India). They were unsure of his age, but guessed him to be about 7 or 8 years old. Over a few months at the Rescue Center, his weight nearly doubled. Because his parents had died and no other family came to claim him, they searched for an adoptive family.

(photo from RHFH blog, before treatment)

Debra answered that call. I've never met Debra in person, but I feel like we're friends through this crazy blogging world. She is friends (the real-life kind) with Jamie, who posted a photo of Ronel on her blog. Debra saw the picture and knew. THIS WAS HER SON. She and her husband Ernest started the process to adopt Ronel. This was well over a year ago. Like many of us, they were in the wait to get him home when the earthquake happened. Like many of us, they moved into action to try to get their son home.

Ronel was supposed to come home the night Kembert did. He was one of the kids who did not get approval, and got left behind. My heart was so heavy for Debra that night, as she rejoiced for those of us getting our kids home. But even worse was reading this visiting missionary's account of what that night was like for Ronel:

Tara told me today that the boys were flying to the US. One was going to his adoptive family in Houston Texas, the other to a family in Dallas. When I got back from my days work, the boys were all dressed in their very best to meet their new families. They were so excited. I was so excited for them. It was hard to watch them go. Later in the evening after dinner, the truck returned from the airport where 27 children were flying to meet their new parents. In the front seat of the truck was Ronel, the 6-7 year old that was staying in my room. I asked why he was still here and Tara told me it was because they needed one more paper for him. The other children got to go. She said she hoped they could get the needed paperwork tomorrow. I would never wish for you to see the disappointment on Ronel's face because it would crush your heart... it did mine. It was dark and the power was off. He went into our room, laid down on the bed, pulled the sheets up and sobbed. It was so sad. Tara came in and talked to him in Kreole... I'm not sure what she said but I know she was trying to comfort him. After a time she got up and left as I sat across the room. I could not leave him by himself. I went over and motioned for him to move over and I laid down next to him. The tears were pouring out of him. He was still in his new clothes as he fell asleep.

The embassy wanted one more paper to send Ronel home. He was supposed to go home the next day. That was a week ago.

Three days ago, Debra's husband flew down to try to get him out. From Debra:

I did not know I would literally have to fight for him.

He [Ernest] just got word that the US is deciding to comply with a request from the Haitian government. That request is to approve of all children who leave the country after they have been cleared by the United States. France and Canada have not complied and are getting their waiting children home. Our US Ambassador has not cleared children and will not see the parents waiting/pleading. They were just told that the Ambassador has left for the day.

There are sick children and pregnant women sleeping on the floor in hopes to bring children home all the while nothing is being signed out. All documents are ready to go except for that approval.

...
E has said that every time they call him to the window Ronel runs up to his side and says a phrase in kreyol with an expectant look on his face CAN WE GO? As in can we go home. As in can we go to THIS home. His home.

I will not lie and say that I am not fighting fear. I am. I am fearful of Ronel being hurt again. Being left again. It would break Ernest. I cannot imagine what it would do to Ronel. Would he understand that we would still fight for him? To think of it makes my stomach sick.

That was written yesterday. They spent all day at the embassy again today. They still don't know if or when the ambassador will sign them out.

Ronel's story is just one story of hundreds. Hundreds of orphaned children with waiting families, and nothing separating them but political manoeuvrings and power plays that put children at risk. I hope that you will read this and consider educating yourself on UNICEF's history in thwarting international adoption, and register your voice of dissent.

Raymond Joseph
Haitian Ambassador to US
embassy@haiti.org
p 202-332-4090
f 202-745-7215

Kenneth H Merten
US Ambassador to Haiti
Tabarre 41, Blvd 15 Octobre
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Haiti-earthquake@state.gov
P 509 22 29 8000
F 509 22 29 8028

Hilary Clinton/Dept of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Main Switchboard:
202-647-4000

Emails From The Sewing Ladies

2010-01-28T07:54:00.011-05:00

The ladies have just today started to sew again for the first time since the January 12th earthquake.
They refuse to sew inside as they are afraid of aftershocks, so we have set up the sewing machines in the neighbors yard and we have set up a tarp to keep the ladies out of the sun. - John

Hi! Sheila
Thanks for thinking about us.
If you find some donation for the ladies please send it to them by put an initail with their names on as you did for me.
I don't have any information about Marie Charles and Chrismene but their are alive
I will let you know more on Monday.
- Marjorie

Myrielle:

The apartment that I had rented is broken. I have lost all that I have home. Now I’m sleeping in the road with my daughter Christy without tent. I have 23 members of my family are dead in the earthquake.

Myrlène:

The house has fallen on me with my baby but God has saved me. But we have lost everything in the house even clothe.

Carmelle:

The apartment that I had rent is broken I’m sleeping in the yard with my daughter who was lightly injured. 3 members in my family are dead. I don’t get any help; I’m in God’s hands. Thank you because you think about us. God bless you.

Sara:

Hi, I’ m glad that you think about us. I’m sleeping in the road. I don’t have medicine for my high blood pressure. I don’t earn a lot of money in the bag sales is most of the times just $ 12 or $ 15 each month. So it is not easy for us.

Vedette:

The apartment that I had rent is broken. I’m sleeping in the yard now so we catch cold and we are sick.. Send some tent for us. It will be helpful. We have lost everything. Thank you because you think about us.

Roseline:

The apartment that I had rent is broken; I’m sleeping in the yard with my four children. My baby Florence is sick. Send tents for us. We are getting sick in this situation.

Igemene:

Everybody is fine. But we are hungry and thirsty. I can’t go to Jacmel because it is almost the same than Port-au-Prince. Everybody in my home have diarrhea because of the bad water. My husband is not working now because the school were he was the manager has fallen. We thank you because you think about us.

Venette:

Thank you because you think about us. The house I was building is broken down. I have lost all of my efforts. My husband and one of my sons were injured. Say hi to Dan and to your children.

God bless you all....
The Sewing Ladies

Hi Sheila -
As you already know about what was happened so i don't need to talk to much so God took us far from death sorry I even forget my words I'm weak I feel disconect.

You said something right we're talking about how to live but not about what we need cause i don't know how am i going to get throught some problems.like we took years to build our walls to secure the house agaings rubbers you know it had to be higher than the house cause of that our house has not be done now they're falling down and we can't live in it like this so I think some people not dye from earthquake but some is going to dy from problems and we had that case already a mother of my brother in law and one of our neighbers crazy and others so please keep helping us in prayer so that God will keep taking care us as as he already has done.

Thank you so much for helping us in our problems still.
Say hi to everyone

May God bless you, Suzanne

Note From Marjorie:
""Do what you can for the sewing ladies,send to them some words of encoragement, their are without hope.
Please pray for them because God will give them strendght to keep on"

Thoughts and Questions...

2010-01-26T03:04:00.014-05:00

Thoughts From A Doc...
"The unsatisfying part of trip is I didn't know a single word of French, which is what creole is based on. Learning to say basic greetings. Just smiling and pointing and motioning a lot. Was pulled out of bed late last night for a pregnant lady bleeding bad vaginally. She was losing her baby. The Ob doc had fortunately done work in Kenya, and he was an army ranger. Not much phases him. No spinal or general anesthesia, just a painkiller called ketamine, and some local anesthesia for the skin. Baby lived and mom lived. Unbelievable. We did all this in basically a garage on a picnic table. IV hanging from a coat hanger attached to ceiling fan above. Miracle baby".

On a much needed lighter side of things here is the funniest (or the sadest) question I have been asked (this week) about Haiti...

As we loaded up supplies someone said to me "Is the dog food for the people or dogs...?"
My mind was racing for a really good come back....
(I am the kind of person that comes up with good answers about a week after I have been asked a question like this.)
I realized that many people don't understand many of us in the missionary community have dogs for security, lots of dogs.
Most of us have Mastiff's.
They are really big and eat a ton.
With the earthquake there have been no shipments coming and going out of Port.
This is not good when you have six or more 150 lb. dogs walking around for security.
Hence, the reason we shipped over a couple of 50 lbs. of dog food.

Picture taken by Jes with one "S" Mayhew.
Harley Boy as a puppy with his dad Marley.

What Exactly Is A Miracle?

2010-01-25T06:13:00.017-05:00

Over the past few days I have been thinking about how we (me) define miracles.
"What exactly is a miracle?"
My definition has changed over the past week.

Wickapedia says "A miracle is a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature, such that can be attempted to be explained by divine intervention, and is sometimes associated with a miracle worker. Some suggest that God may work with the laws of nature to perform what we perceive as miracles.
A miracle is often considered a fortuitous event: compare with an Act of God.
In casual usage, "miracle" may also refer to any statistically unlikely but beneficial event, (such as the survival of a natural disaster) or even which regarded as "wonderful" regardless of its likelihood, such as birth.
Other miracles might be: survival of a terminal illness, escaping a life threatening situation or 'beating the odds."

Maybe it depends on how you look at life - is the glass half full or half empty?

I am also wondering was the miracle the "bigness" of the use of the Kids R Kids airplane or the hundreds of things that snowballed because of the use of the airplane for so many hurting people?

All of the above examples seem to apply, interruption of the laws of nature, divine intervention, and statistically unlikely but beneficial events so they both, big and small, seem like miracles to me.

Miracle Number One:
All the sewing ladies are fine!! Woot!!
Marjorie is fine, but living with her family in a friends yard because she can't go back to her house.

Miracle Number Two:
I was given three huge duffel bags full of purses to ship out for the ladies in Haiti to sell via the web-site.
www.haitiancreations.com
It leaves me speechless to know that out of all that has happened, God still knew that these ladies would need a way to continue to take care of themselves and their families.

I LOVE that miracles come in all shapes and sizes!
I LOVE that they happen suddenly!

Bottom line - I LOVE that they happen to me, to the sewing ladies and to you!

Update on the Team

2010-01-24T11:43:00.015-05:00

When things in life happen that we can't grasp, we often say, God's ways are not our ways."
This is said in both "the good and the bad", mostly the bad I would guess.
We tend to need someone to vent on when we feel out of control.
In this case, I want to talk about the timing of God.
Today in the middle of the pain and suffering going on in Haiti, the life of a brand new baby was saved who would have died if all the right people and all the right stuff wouldn't of just happened to have been in the right place at the right time.
An emergency c-section was done last night at Heartline with the help of some of the doctors that went in on our flight!
The team on the ground is doing awesome things!
(John, Beth, Dr. Jen, Tara, Troy, Don, Cliff, Morgan, Elizabeth, Nick, Steve, Ty and the others)

You may not be on the ground in Haiti but everyone has a skill and a gift that is much needed.
Thank you again for helping make this all happen!
Thank you to the families who sent loved ones, to the ones who picked up and dropped off medical supplies, to those who prayed (PLEASE keep praying), to those who make phone calls, to those who go shopping and pack (and re-pack), to those who have given money and food, to those who have given computers.
This list is endless!
My heart is full with the out pouring of support this morning as I sit and have a cup (or three) of coffee getting ready for the next trip this Tuesday morning.

Haiti Relief Effort

2010-01-23T20:54:00.030-05:00

Last Sunday as Maddie and I made our way home from Costco my radiator started pouring white smoke.
All I could think was Lord, please don't let me brake down on Barrett Parkway, please!
Next, I prayed, God, please let us make all the lights so we can get home.
I had taken out my phone to call Dan and tell him he may need to come and get us when I noticed I had a missed call.
It was my friend Laura and her husband Burt calling to tell me about someone who wanted to help us with our work in Haiti.
They had been at church, talking to someone who had come to a benefit I spoke at last October at their house.
She had been giving them an update, when another friend said he had been praying during church, asking the Lord what he should do to help the people of Haiti.
After overhearing Laura's conversation, He had his answer, they wanted to donate their plane to us.
These are wonderful words, words you dream of hearing, but not the kind you should hear while driving.
I was stunned, I am still stunned to tell you the truth.
I started to cry, Maddie said, Mom, stop, I need to get home in one piece.

Going to Haiti and back all in one day just doesn't seem possible to me.
Haiti isn't called the land of endless impossibles for nothing.
The goodness and kindness of people has been overwhelming!
We left out of Briscoe Field in Lawrenceville, Georgia on Friday morning.
Mr. and Mrs. Vinson, the owners of Kids are Kids, so very graciously donated the plane, the pilots (Rash and Don), and the fuel.
It all still blows me away that the plane was filled with medical supplies and doctors in only a few days.
Here is our first team:
Cliff, the Ortho Doc
Ty, the ER Doc
Elizabeth, the ER nurse
Nick, the jack of all trades, pilot and water guy
Steve, the Anaesthesiologist
They all made their way to Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale to go and help the people of Haiti without even really knowing all the details. Most of them didn't sleep for two days to get to us.
I gave them as many details as I could think of after we left Fort Lauderdale.

This whole experience has been surreal.
I kept thinking, I need to be praying more and doing something more to make sure this all works.
I was reminded that this trip is really about years of praying for Haiti coming together suddenly.
It wasn't like I hadn't been bugging the Lord about stuff like this for the past ten years and now here it all was in my lap.
I would like to say I walked it all out in great peace and slept like a baby!
Ha!
I was sick to my stomach for days, not sleeping at night and sending emails at all hours of the night when my mind would start to race.
But, as is the case in everything that happens with God, when we step out of the way and let the Lord work, it all falls into place.
Many countless people made this happen.
Many that we don't know, many that we are proud to know, all who we are thankful for.
In so many ways it feels like they just happened to pick me to go on the plane with them.
But we know the Lord has plans that we don't know about as of yet. This I love!
There are thousands of people working to make the lives of the Haitian people better all around the world and it is heart warming to see.
I am at a loss for words right now, I am not sure they can be expressed, I don't think there are words for this level of thankfulness.
Yet, it would be wrong not to say, THANK YOU a million times over.
My heart is broken and full all at the same time.
It is with His grace and peace that we can do this work!

.....and people like you!

Thank you!!

Crutch

2010-01-19T03:11:00.006-05:00

It is has been said that "religion" is a crutch.
If we are purely talking religion and not relationship, I wouldn't disagree.
Yet, many things in our lives serve in this function and capacity.
Some we are aware of and some we are not, some we choose and some we don't.
Limps are good.
They remind us we can't do things in our own strength.
I think this may have been why Jacob walked with a limp after he wrestled with God.
He would always be reminded of his need for God.
It had nothing to do with Gods ability to heal.

In the past week, I have not seen anyone with a crutch.
Many have limps, yet operate out of love and compassion.
They know what it is to be in need of love and kindness in the unmerited form that Christ gives to us.
Call it what you will, a limp, a crutch or a weakness, maybe you could consider calling it a relationship.
I am calling it the hands and feet of Jesus in action in one of the biggest ways I have ever seen it in action.
I will take this kind of crutch any day!

God's Plumbline Ministries - PAP, Haiti

2010-01-17T23:09:00.001-05:00

God's Plumbline from Corrigan Clay on Vimeo.

Through It All

2010-01-16T09:08:00.011-05:00

"Through It All"
By: Kenneth Gatewood

"Through it All" was originally a photograph taken by Lisa Hojara.
We had been on a medical trip up in the mountains of Haiti near Pestel.
It was May of 2000, our team ended up being divided up into to clinics because of the number of people needing care in different places. During all of the commotion of clinic this curious little boy couldn't stand it anymore and peaked his head in through the walls made of palm fronds to see just what was going on.

This signed and numbered limited edition piece comes with a beautiful custom frame.

Image Size: 29" x 22" LE/AP, 27" x 31" RM
Edition Size: 500 LE, 50 AP, 20 RM

We are thrilled that John and Candy at The King's Gallery will be holding a silent auction to benefit Haiti.
Bids will be accepted until January 23rd.

It you are interested in this piece please contact The King's Gallery.

The King's Gallery
1110 Main Street
The Villages, Florida 32159

Phone: (352) 259-6998 Fax Number: (352) 259-6948

Email: thekingsgallery@embarqmail.com

About The Artist Kenneth Gatewood:

Positive images, a return to the past, and the spirit of innocence are the trademarks of watercolor artist Kenneth Gatewood. Gatewood's delicate focus on the innocence and spontaneity of children provides him with his greatest satisfaction and acclaim. "I want to capture the special moments, the innocent expressions, and the impulsiveness of children", said Gatewood. His art reflects a continuous evolution of personal growth.

Born and raised in South Central Los Angeles Gatewood graduated from Dorsey High School. Upon graduation, Gatewood received a summer school scholarship to the Otis Parson Art Institute at Los Angeles Trade Tech College where he studied life drawing, oil painting and still life painting. He later studied watercolor painting under a private tutor.

Gatewood's artwork has been commissioned by major motion picture studios, television and music production companies, and various corporations, as well as by individual collectors.

As the original creator of "baby sports" artwork, Gatewood took the sports licensing world by storm. At one point, Gatewood became the only artist in the world to be officially licensed with the National Basketball Association, National Football League, National Hockey League and Major League Baseball. The world embraced images of such greats as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Shaquille O'Neal, Joe Montana, Wayne Gretsky, Larry Bird, John Elway, Jack Nicholas, Cal Ripken and others. Classic originals like "Baby Dream Team" and "Let's Play commanded sales prices of $50,000 and $25,000 respectively.

Gatewood boasts an incredible collection of autographed fine art sports paintings including Jordan, Ali, Stockton, Malone and many others. In addition, Gatewood's artwork has been featured in SPORT Magazine, Sports Collectors Digest, Trading Cards Magazine, the Encyclopedia of Sports Memorabilia, KABC Channel 7 News and on the hit show "My Wife and Kids", "Boomtown" and the nationally syndicated television show, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". Commissions include Naismith Foundation, Black Enterprise Magazine, Keyshawn Johnson Foundation, UCLA, University of Michigan, and others.

Gatewood possesses an unyielding commitment to the inner city and frequently reaches out to the community to nurture the talents and aspirations of others. His volunteer work with schools across the country offers guidance and hope to children. "I want children to know the importance of education, respect and self-expression." Gatewood works with battered women and children and is currently a volunteer with the Naismith Foundation helping disadvantaged children in the Caribbean. He has also garnered recognition for his volunteer work with a large AIDS organization (NAESM) in Atlanta, Georgia.

With each delicate stroke, Gatewood empowers the viewer with a visual slice of the human spirit.
In doing so, Gatewood captures the spirit within all of us.

No One Sleeps In Peace

2010-01-15T09:05:00.005-05:00

Madisen Lynch
January 13, 2010

No One Sleeps In Peace

No one sleeps in peace tonight in Haiti.

Why?

Because of the screaming cries of death in the air.

Dead bodies lay under debris of buildings that have
fallen down on top of them.

No one sleeps in peace tonight because of the darkness
and death that has fallen on top of this land.

Some prayers have been answered but some have not.

No one sleeps in peace tonight.

Hospital beds are full, and some the bodies lay dead,
or half alive or crying for their loved ones to come and join
them back in this hard and cruel life.

No one will sleep in peace tonight in Port Au Prince, Haiti.

Let's Get Personal

2010-01-14T12:20:00.022-05:00

The days and hours of watching CNN have taken a toll on me emotionally and I can't watch anymore.
Seeing Haiti on it's best day can be hard enough, now it seems like my mind just can't wrap itself around all that has happened.
So many questions for God.
I am not understanding, but I am praying for something good to come from this.
It will be the kind of good that only God could find.
Nevertheless, this is personal and painful!
People I consider family, who I love deeply are there and still have not heard from.
Haiti is home for us in many ways.
In order to stay connected and make this real, I wanted to share with you the faces of the sewing ladies in our program, that as of yet, we have not heard from and are praying that each of them and their families are OK.

Carmel

Sara

Mary Charles

Vanette

Suzanne

Igemene

Roseline

Myrielle

Marjorie
Note: 1/14/10 - Marjorie has been located!!

Vadette

Forget Sleeping

2010-01-13T03:21:00.015-05:00

Wednesday, January 13, 2010, it is 3:22 AM
Who knew that Harley Boy snores just as much as Dan.
I am on the couch trying to escape the thunder coming from the left side of my bed by sleeping on the couch and it seems that Harley Boy snores just as much as Dan.
Oh well, I guess it really doesn't matter, I can't sleep anyway.
An earthquake registering 7.0 hit Haiti on Tuesday.
Even on Haiti's best day things didn't look good for the people.
I can't imagine what things must be like there.
I have been running every scenario known to man in my mind of what must be going on right now.
Wondering what will be happening when it is day light, how long it will take to get Aid in and how long it will take to get this mess cleaned up.
All of this has been replaying in my mind blocking the process of sleep.
It is much like a yo-yo.
So many things seem like they should be private and yet this is Haiti's chance for the world to step up and help.
As Maddie said, "why did this have to happen so the news would ask the world for help"?
Good question, Sweetheart.
I feel guilty that I am even thinking I should be sleeping.
Earlier in the day I had posted a link from PBS about all the new possibilities coming to Haiti with the hope that the garment industry will start to bring in businesses and jobs for the people of Haiti.
I have been glued to the television, on the telephone and checking Facebook for updates every few minutes.
When the news of the earthquake finally made it's way to our house around 5:30 p.m. my kids grabbed Sharpies and paper to make signs to hang from our mailbox asking people to be praying for the children of Haiti.
This still makes me cry!

I can't help but think of all the people that I know wondering if they are all OK.
I am thinking about all the kids from the creches sleeping in the Buxman's driveway because it isn't safe to go back inside.
What about all my sewing ladies?
Dear God in Heaven, please take care of them.
I was just talking with Marjorie today about coming to visit.
They need fabric and thread.
Dear God, please let her be safe.
Surreal is the word I would use.
Yet I am lost for words.
Lord, please let the world get it.

God

2010-01-03T20:09:00.011-05:00

(One of my most favorite pictures of Maddie)

God is like the best thing that ever happened to me.
It was like sparkles fly every time I say His name;

God....
God....
God....see the sparkles fly!

He is the one who I go to when I'm alone and when my family is gone.

Madisen Lynch

Invictus

2009-12-29T12:50:00.023-05:00

INVICTUS
English poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903)

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

To this day one of the most painful, yet most powerful memories I have is our trip to Robben Island.
(Afrikaans Robbeneiland)
As the bus tour of the island ended we stopped in front of the prison.
It was time to tour the prison itself.
There was no way I was to go in.
I don't know where all of the emotions came from.
It was unexpected and landed like a punch in the stomach.
I was physically sick to my stomach and in tears.
If Dan wouldn't have been with me I don't really know that I would have gone in.

Looking back, I feel like a wimp for being so emotional about the whole thing, yet here I was, sitting in a freezing cold movie theater, reliving it all again as Matt Damon and the team head off to the island.
I remembered the dock very well and didn't know if I could make the trip again.
I gasped, and said out loud, "oh no, they are going to Robben Island".
To this, my two oldest children just looked at me with that, shhh, we are in a movie look.

Morgan Freeman, who I have loved since the days of watching "The Electric Company" at Horace Man Elementary school with my best, and only friend Maxine, who I secretly envied because of her ability to clean our pink pencil erasers with the oil from her black scalp, was now portraying President Nelson Mandela. His words, "than we will be exactly what they thought we would be" still ring in my head.

As they toured the cell that Mandela lived in for so many years, I thought about the words to Invictus.
He had now taken the words of another to move "beyond this place of wrath and tears" knowing full well that there "looms but the horror of the shade, and yet the menace of the years finds and shall find me unafraid because he made the choice to embrace his own personal ability to change and forgive by putting into action these words....
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Before I went to the movie I had to Google Invictus to see what it was.
I was clueless.
As I finished reading these powerful words, I feared that some would miss the bigger message and get caught up on the words, "I am the captain of my soul", taking it literally, rather than thinking about the fact that before Mandela took one step off the island he would have to make a choice. I am guessing he made it long before he took the ferry boat back to the bay and long before the elections had been held.
He had many years to think about, and make personal choices.

I so wanted the world to "get it".
If they missed this point, what about apartheid?
Could there really be people who didn't know about apartheid?
I'm sure.
What about the people who don't think it is (was) real or better yet what about the people who didn't have a problem with it.

I have to believe that the lessons learned are each one of us on a personal level.
For some the light will just be coming on and for others it will be life changing as it was for me that day on Robben Island.

This I do know.
Now that we know, we can never not do something about what we know to be true.

This Guy Paul

2009-12-28T11:33:00.025-05:00

Reading the book of Acts was, well, a good reminder.
I needed a good reminder.
This guy Paul was multi-cultural way before it was cool.
I think with his education, his family, his religion and political views, it was hard for him to grasp the whole concept.
I don't think anything God asked him to do was easy.
Yet, being the bull-headed man he was, he was just the guy for the job.
God himself knocked him on his ass, having to teach him a few things about who was really in charge and how the whole thing was gonna go down.
Talk about a paradigm shift.

On the lighter side of things reminded, I have always thought "Blinded By The Light" should have been his theme song.

He was a pretty smart guy and learned the lessons quickly.
God was the creator of all things, he didn't really need our help because creation speaks for itself whether or not you are actually watching or listening.

He didn't need to be politically correct and wasn't afraid to say what needed to be said.
He taught that this guy, God, He's real and He isn't messin' around, and just because you don't like what is happening doesn't mean He isn't God and isn't in control. And by the way, be happy this stuff is happening to you because you are becoming a better person by getting over yourself and learning to love others more than yourself.
Paul means business when he talks about giving away all the stuff you have, because it is pretty likely someone else needs it more than you do.

Without the need for political correctness, he found himself, time and time again, in front of high ranking officials, another crazy God kind of thing, who had a bone to pick with him but could never find anything to charge him with.
He had this uncanny knack for making people so mad they had to look at the truth and admit it.
Hence the title "Apostle".
He was required to "plant things" out of the need for people to see the truth about themselves, but more importantly who God was.
His job was to bring the truth, allowing people to see who God really is and change, or they would have to reap the consequence.
The only way he could get away with saying all this stuff was because he lived his life as an example of what he believed in, and what he was willing to die for.
It was pretty clear via the whole circumcision deal that what is in your heart is what you believe God to be like.
Therefore you may need to go back and check out somethings you have swallowed hook line and sinker because it isn't in the book.

I loved that he was willing to stop all the normal stuff and have church outside with some really successful ladies.
I wonder about his personal relationships.
He was willing to love deeply and through example showed us that it is still really cool to love people more than yourself and it is really important to tell them this as well.
I don't think he had an issue with being co-dependant since he parted ways with people on a regular basis when they made bad choices and remained hard hearted towards the things of God.
Not for one second do I think this was easy for him.
I wonder if he lost sleep over Barnabas? I do.

I liked this guy Paul more than I remembered liking him, but found him to be terrifying at the same time.
I loved that just when you think it was the end of the line, God was still in control, opening door after door after door.

I had to ask myself some pretty hard questions, I guess that was what he wanted from his life.
To leave a legacy that people couldn't deny.
I don't think it bugged him to make people squirm.

I wonder if he had to work out his issues in therapy sessions before he got comfortable with the idea of living his life as a bond servant. I am not making light of inner healing and the need to process what happens to us, but at some point, myself included, we have choices to make about forgiveness, the condition of our heart and our own personal convictions.
In walking this stuff out, we are gonna make mistakes, we are gonna do things wrong, we are never going to be perfect and we just may air some of our laundry in public.
It is humiliating, or it should be, to say the least.
Yes, you may get stoned, tossed out the door, or thrown in prison.
None of it is warm and fuzzy.

Let's talk about this prison thing.
What if you did have to go to prison for what you believed in.
Better yet, what if you lived in shackles so someone would find their own personal freedom.
Could you deny yourself your personal rights and freedom?
Most of us today aren't willing to stay in a friendship, a marriage or a church if it doesn't meet our needs in the obligatory ninety day trial period never mind the needs of the other person.
We are pretty quick to say, "that wasn't God", walking away and never thinking twice or asking, was that really you, God?
Thus leading to another generation of "fatherless/motherless" families, spiritual relationship and churches.

It is painful, this stuff.
If I was honest, I would admit, I have asked God to knock a few people off their donkey and do us all a favor.
And yet, after reading about Paul, I feel like I have been knocked off my own donkey.
Here I am, sitting on the ground, needing someone to help me find my way with "Blinded by the Light" echoing in my head.

Saul, was now Paul.
His heart was changed, he couldn't see a thing, he didn't know what happened to him and he found it to be a good thing.
His life didn't belong to him and he was cool with it.
He found something he believed in more than being right and proving it on paper.
More importantly, he knew it needed to be proven in his heart.

So when all is said in done, it seems that his words "take courage" are the first step in this process.
Courage to look deeply into our hearts.
Courage to believe that the creator of this universe is looking for a relationship with us.
Courage to believe it must start with me first , there is no finger pointing, if need be, he will use a donkey to get my attention.

This is an easy one......

2009-12-27T11:24:00.022-05:00

I think part of my "writing" problem is being overwhelmed with the idea that I would have to think of something "new" every day.
It freaks me out.
This hour will be easy, not an easy topic mind you, just one I am familiar.

I really don't have a clue why I stopped to talk to her, but I am aware I broke some rules.
Unspoken ones of course.
It wasn't until I lived in Haiti that I came to really pay attention to those who are homeless.
I don't know that I thought Haiti had any homeless people.
When I was visiting, I was so overwhelmed and everyone seemed poor and homeless as far as I was concerned.
If I had my way, I was going to take every single kid out of that God forsaken country for one big do over.
(For this, and many other ways of thinking, I would find myself having to repent.)
Who knew working people on the streets tended to dress in nothing more than rags.

It took me awhile to really learn the rhythm and flow of the streets.
It has a language all it's own.
There are layers and layers.
There is a wrong way and a right way.
Some are easy, others will NEVER make sense.
The common denominator seems to be survival, survival comes in many different packages.
It seems to me the only way you can really hear is to say anything.

Not everyone dresses in rags.
As a matter a fact, if not working, most people take great pride in their clothes and in looking nice, wearing perfectly pressed, and sometimes, dry cleaned clothing.
In a world where you can't control anything, it makes perfect sense to me.

As for mental illness, there just isn't a place for such a thing.
So, when in fact, you really do see it, it tends to be really sad.
There is no question that mental illness played a powerful role in the choices made, or not made, by the Deli Mart Lady.
Medication, another language.
AIDS and mental illness have their own scarlet letter.
No words needed.
These are things the world can't fix with a band-aid.

There is another another unspoken language on the streets of Haiti.
Everyone knows everyone, yet no one knows anything.
No one sees "them", but everyone knows what "they" are doing or where "they" are.
This is the rule I broke.
I stopped and talked to her.
Looking back, it seems to me that everyone was taking care of her, but no one was.
She was homeless woman who had hundreds of children to keep an eye on her everyday.
God is funny that way.
She was considered "forbidden and unclean" but she was theirs.
I crossed the line, I was feeding her and talking to her in the middle of the day and I was taking her picture.
I am sure it was the later that was the real problem.
It was the picture.
The shame.
For this I am sorry, I meant no harm.

As I scanned the "Live Feed" on Facebook to see what was up.
I got to Beth's status update....
The homeless lady who camped out in front of our gate died. Makes me incredibly sad - like she was part of our Haiti family. We would often hear her singing hymns in Creole - she refused shelter but took food. She liked Sheila and liked Jesus - that's a win, win!

I was sick.
Honestly, I couldn't move.
My heart was sick.
I loved her!
Why? I am not sure why?
I had so many questions.
I wished I could pick up the phone to call Beth.
Think, what was her number?

Soon after we left Haiti the Deli Mart Lady moved to John and Beth's gate.
Beth said, it was my fault, but I think she knew Beth would be kind to her.
I loved seeing the little updates from Beth every once and awhile.
I asked her to give her cookies for me.

I would be lying if I didn't tell you that I wanted to fix her and make her come to sewing school and stop all this nonsense.
Stop collecting bags of stuff carrying them back and forth, even tying them to her small frame unable to stand with the weight.
Stop sitting in piles of trash.
She needed to take a bath.
Yet, I often noticed someone had cared enough to do her hair, sometimes she was beautiful.
She was cooking with tiny bits of charcoal next to the car catcher full of trash.
I worried that she would be sick or sicker.
I wanted her to sleep in clean white sheets, sit at a table with flowers and be loved by a family.

I learned an unspoken language from her.
I pray she learned something from me, maybe she thought I was the crazy one!

Just Give Yourself One Hour A Day

2009-12-26T10:38:00.019-05:00

I have lost track of the number of times different people have said, "you should write a book".
I am not really sure I have that much to say.
Yet, I admit, it is one of those things I keep tucked away in the back of my mind.
At this point, it is just like going on a diet... someday I am gonna do it.
Really I am! I tell myself every few days, I am gonna do it!

I remember taking a writing class in summer school when I was in junior high.
I was really intimidated, terrified actually.
Some how I found myself sitting in a classroom at the worst public high school in north Minneapolis.
I still wonder how I got there?
My mother must have threatened me.
My brother and I had been going to Forth Baptist Christian school after my parents took us out of public school when I was in fifth grade. That was the same year I told her my brain was full and I couldn't learn any more math.
She didn't budge on the homework deal even when I laid on the dining room floor and cried.
This was also around the time that all well informed Christians started breaking their records into little pieces or better yet burning them because of the subliminal messages the rock bands put in their music.
In one afternoon, Chicago, Elton John, Neil Diamond, Carole King - gone, just like that.

I vaguely remember walking down the hallway, I was in culture shock.
Even then I was different.
I remember because the teacher wrote a note to my mom telling her I was.
He said something about "refreshing".
I just figured it was because I wasn't pregnant and didn't swear.
I was just happy to be done with summer school.

I have been thinking about the words of my oldest child, Aaron.
He had been following me around the house as I put a few things away while getting ready for Christmas Eve dinner.
He was an early Christmas present that I picked up at the airport.
I love the kind of presents you can't wrap!

He is twenty seven, graduated from college with a degree in theater, living in Austin to pursue his dream of being an actor.
I tease him that he is really following Sandra Bullock around because he had a crush on her when he was younger.
That was after he had a crush on Cindi Lauper.
He isn't' talking about crushes anymore, although he did mention this girl that he dates off and on that he described as strange.
This isn't really a great thing to say, I tell him.
The first time you bring a girl here for us to meet we are all going to be wondering if she is the "strange one".
When we see each other we talk about our favorite books, movies and our passions.
He talked about the new screen play he had finished and just happened to mention he was moving to LA as part of the next step in becoming an actor.
This prompted him to show me his new black journal with his perfect hand writing.
So, I showed him my twenty-five cent spiral bound note book I got in the clearance section of school supplies last summer.
It is crammed full of random papers, e-mails, dreams and colored pictures from Parker, all stapled in so I wouldn't keep dropping them.
I admitted I have always really wanted one of those leather journals with the ties that go around it, I also admit that I didn't really think I would ever use it.
They are way too nice.

Next he said the thing I have been thinking about - you should give yourself one hour a day.

It sounds easy enough - right.
Out of the clear blue this thought comes to me about cows having four stomachs.
They chew on something over and over again.
Americans tend to be the fast food, get 'er done type.
For me, for now, I am thinking about writing one hour a day, and the dreaded diet idea...over and over again.

I sat down this morning, still chewing, with my cup of coffee to start writing for an hour, I am torn.
I could be reading, I would much rather be reading.
I love the book I am reading and I never seem to have enough time to read.

The hour has gone much faster than I expected.
Maybe Aaron was right - I should give myself one hour a day.
By continuing my blog I won't be messing up a really nice journal or dropping any pages.

We'll see.......I am still chewing on it.