Saturday, July 24, 2010

Day 1

As a preface to day 1... 

I spent the afternoon of Monday the 21st traveling. I arrived in Miami and met Cory ( a long time friend and missionary with http://mission-haiti.org/ ) and Fritz ( a friend who traveled with me to Cambodia to do a documentary on a survivor of sex trafficking... See his work at www.fritzphoto.com ). We had about an hour to catch up before we greeted a youth group from Washington (they put together a cool video from the trip.. found here 

While I was traveling I was listening to an audio book called "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell. There was a part of the book that rang really loud with me. He was saying that the Bible says that Christ is in all things... So, he was asking the question... What does that mean to you? Is he really in ALL things? And after processing that he said, maybe we need to rethink the idea of missions... As an interjection here... I was not on a missions trip per se. I was there to help my friend interview different groups to find out what is being done in the area, and I was there to learn about the Restavek system. However, I apply the whole idea of "American Missions" to a lot of other behaviors that Americans tend to take with them while in other countries. 

So, Rob was saying that we tend to have this idea that we need to "take" Jesus to these other lands.... But what if we are supposed to just simply identify where Christ is, in the midst of the land that you are in? This became an over riding question for me... I don't want to claim to have it all figured out... I want to always be seeking... I want to ask, Where is Christ or truth, or nobleness, rightness, purity, loveliness, admiralty, or excellence in this place? 

I have since carried this question with me in every area of life. I think that people who claim Christianity miss out on so much of what God has, because we won't entertain things that don't fit in our religious or cultural boxes.... But that is a whole other blog :-) 

OK... So, I arrive in Miami, meet Cory and Fritz, meet the crew from Washington, one last meal at IHOP, a night of partial sleep on a hotel room floor and then onto Haiti... All while wondering what it was I was going to actually accomplish, and trying to find Christ in the midst of it all. 

DAY 1 

For each day I will post my notes that I took on that day and then expound... The notes are basic, simple and raw. In some ways I get more from them than in editing my expansions. 

NOTES 
Find Christ in Haiti
The lady with the breakdown and my numbness 
Haiti is a Hell Hole... How has the world forgotten it? 
Pam asks me to interview two families on possible Restavek situations 
Demon possessed girl at 3 

As I flew into the Island, I was blown away. From an arial view it was gorgeous! But then you hit the ground. I thought to myself, this place is a hell hole. I have been to multiple parts of the globe and seen a lot of the worlds poverty and injustices, but this was ridiculous. Maybe part of the reason was because I, unbeknownst to myself, really went in kind of cocky, thinking, this is gonna be no big deal, but I was wrong. It was definitely the hardest trip, emotionally and physically, that I have been on. But it was also one of the most rewarding. 

As we got off the airplane we were herded through what I think was customs, into a warehouse to pick up baggage and then out onto the street. We lucked out because the orphanage we were going to had a bus, for the 6 hour ride that lay ahead. 

As we were getting on to the bus one of the ladies from the Washington group just broke down sobbing. I assume it was because of the abject poverty and disaster that lay all around us. As I watched her sobbing, I was struck at my numbness and wondered why I wasn't also affected similarly. I still don't really have an answer, but it was one of those questions which I don't think necessarily need an answer... Maybe it is just supposed to sit there. 

The bus ride was pretty uneventful... More amazing scenery mixed with intense poverty, wreckage from the earthquake, people living in tents or houses with tarps for roofs, naked babies, people getting drinking water out of the ditches, etc... 

Finally after a long ride we arrived in Petit Rivier were the orphanage was... There were enough beds for the people already there and the crew from Washington but Cory, Fritz and I set up tents outside and quickly set up what was to be our "space" for the week. 

After a tour of the orphanage, finding where to pump our water, where to get rid of it (the outhouse) and where the showers were... I settled into a conversation with Pam ( Mission Haiti's director). She asked me if I would, while I was there, hike into the mountains to interview two families with possible Restavek situations. A Restavek is a child who is sold into slavery. The primary reason a family sells a child is because the family is not able to care for them. The usual transaction that takes place comes with a promise that if the child works (meaning is up before the family, goes to bed last, and does ALL the chores) then they will be provided food and allowed to go to school. There are some cases which this takes place, but mostly the child is neglected beyond belief. 

She also told me that there is a girl who has been reported to be demon possessed and asked if Cory, Fritz and I would be willing to go and pray for her.... This request sort of through me. I agreed but I had no idea how that was supposed to go down. Fortunately or unfortunately this particular meeting never panned out. 

At the end of day 1 my head was swimming. I laid down in my cot, meditated a bit, and then I was out....  

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Intro

O.K. So, I am finally sitting down to process my recent trip to Haiti through blogging. To all of those (probably 2 of you) who have waited, thank you for your patience! 

As soon as I got off the plane I hit the ground running. I got home on a Sunday night around 11pm and had to be at work first thing in the morning. To make it more fun, I had some sort of rash all over and a pretty bad cold. I guess it is all part of the game. :-) 

So, this trip was by far the most intense trip I have been on so far. I was intending on writing a summary blog to sort of catch everyone up, but I am going to do a day by day summary, instead. This is probably more for me than the reader. A sort of catharsis, if you will. 

So.. This is the Intro... Of my Journey to Haiti, to learn, to spread justice and to learn about the down fall of making sweeping moral judgements. 

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Photos From Haiti.. Courtesy of FritzPhoto.com

Sunday, June 20, 2010

The Eve

Hey all,

Thank you to all of you who have made this upcoming trip possible! You guys are all amazing! 

I just got back into town after spending the weekend with my ladies and some friends at an amazing beach house! It was time away that was much needed! 

Tomorrow I will get some work done with my day job, come home grab my stuff, and then off to the airport. 

I will be meeting the team in Miami and then we will head to Haiti on Tuesday morning. 

I am still unclear as to whether or not I will have wi-fi, so in case I do not... Just know that no news is good news. :-) 

After I get back I will take the next week to log pics and stories from the journey. 

In the mean time... If you guys would take a sec to click on the icon in this post and vote for Transitions Global... That would be awesome! Chase has an awesome contest to recognize non-profits and we have a chance to win $250k!!! 

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Thursday, June 3, 2010

New Stuff!

So... Today had some great news! 

Cory (my contact and traveling buddy) just got back from Haiti with his wife. On this trip Cory was able to shore up our itinerary plans... Instead of traveling in and around Port-au Prince, we will be working to the South West of the Island. This will be good because the orphanage/home base is there. This will give us a good starting point in the mornings and an easy place to return to before dark. It will also eliminate the hassle of getting around in Port-au Prince. 

There is a city about 30 minutes from Ti-Riviere (where the orphanage is) which is made up of mostly tents. This city has a population which numbers in the hundreds of thousands. I am still trying to wrap my brain around that. 

There are ten organizations in that area who are doing work, and we will be meeting with them as we develop a game plan for the discipleship/outreach program that Cory will be putting together. 

There is also some news of a potential human trafficking intervention that we might be a part of... I don't want to go into to many details right now... But I will update if things develop. 

ALSO... This is great!!! For some reason I totally felt that I should call my Cambodia traveling buddy, Fritz Liedtke, today and pitch the idea of going to Haiti... AND... He said yes! So, besides the great company, we are going to have some awesome photos and possibly video of the trip. 

Check out Fritz's work at http://www.fritzphotographic.com/ 

That is all for now. Good night! 

Posted via email from Join The Journey to... Seek Justice!

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Weekend Update


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