Perspective

One of the gifts in life I value the most are those moments when the Lord gives you a perspective of the world totally unlike your own.  I had one of those moments this weekend.

After a very fun day at the zoo (we're members now!) with my wife and lots of friends, I was pretty exhausted and not too excited about going to a wedding (yes, I'm a guy.)  The bride is from Sudan, so many of our African friends were there.  A Sudanese family that Jessica knows came to sit with us at the reception, and we had a great time goofing off with their kids (OK, so goofing off describes me much more than Jess, but we both had fun!)  During my conversation with their dad, several things widened my worldview in a profound way.

A refugee from fighting in Sudan over 12 years ago, he first fled to Egypt, then made it to the States.  This story I've heard before --  it's the sad yet triumphant story of so many of my new friends here in Memphis who have seen wars and fighting unlike anything most of us can fathom.  After returning once to Egypt to help his wife make it to the States, he's been here since, working hard to establish his family in Memphis.  Thinking myself culturally saavy, I asked about his family, knowing family is very important to our friends.  "Most of them died in the fighting" was his simple reply, with a slight air of sadness even so many years later.  I stood speechless trying to comprehend that fact. 

It's a lesson I began to learn in Haiti -- what is CNN Headline News (or page 2 newspaper footnotes) to us here in America is daily life for many people around the world. 

As he told me his immigration story, this big 6-foot something man looked at me, smiled, and said, "there's no other country in the world with 'a dream.'  Only in America do people coming to pursue dreams - the 'American Dream.'"  While maybe not true to every degree, his point is very clear - America is the land where people come, or want to come, for a better life.  Despite our very real needs for more healthcare reform and social justice and better racial reconciliation and better education, and on and on - we still live in a great country.  We should all strive daily to make it a better place to live, but we should also cherish this gift of American citizenship that the Lord has given us.

My Sudanese friend works day and night at his job, usually sleeping less than 3 hours a day.  His wife also works when she can.  His greatest dream is to see his children educated - an opportunity he never had.  He beams as his 7 year old talks about how much he loves school.  Of course, the two older ones want to be doctors (they're good at flattering guests!) and the youngest a firefighter (also a young man after my heart!)

I gained a new perspective on life this weekend thanks to my friends from Sudan.

Thanks Dad and Mom, for giving us the opportunities you did.

Pray for our refugee friends here in Memphis, that they would find a good life here, and that they would see how the Lord has pursued them and desires to know them.  For those who do, pray that they will walk closely with the Lord.  Pray for our friendships, that they would grow, that we would be a blessing to each other.

Pray for their families and friends still in harms way around the world.

Pray for opportunities for all our refugee friends' children as they grow old.  Jessica and I having been asking the Lord to provide funding for college for them as they reach that age. We have lots of friends nearing that time.

Thanks friends!

Team 2 made it safely to DR! We saw them through the glass as they got
off the plane. We've just landed in ATL.

Tag

View from our room

Room with a view

We just got up after our last night here in DR. We are very grateful
for the guest house here and our gracious hosts. It continues to be a
huge challenge to move dozens of people in and out of here every week.
Last weekend, we had nearly 80 people staying here. Last night there
were only about 15 or 20, but then another team of that size arrived
in the middle of the night.

The dorms are adequate, but small and a bit warm at night. So, several
of us have been sleeping on the unfinished roof of the larger dorm.
With a great breeze all night, t's much cooler - in fact, I got cold
each night with my simple sleeping bag liner. It's been great - and
the view is nice also. However, we missed one detail. Less than a
mile away is a sugar cane plant. The incredibly loud whistle every few
hours was easy to get used to. But the wind decided to shift and blow
the smoke from the plant right over our dorms. There's clearly no EPA
in the DR - I woke up covered in ash. But, we have great showers here,
which are much appreciated!

About to eat breakfast and pack up to head home. The other team is
about to take off in Memphis.

Thanks for all the prayers!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Saturday

Today was a welcomed day of rest for us all. The five of us were able to spend the day simply relaxing at the beach outside La Romana, DR. Tonight was certainly the best night we've had here. We went to get pizza with Kristy, the missionary down here, Jeremy, a PA who was on our team, and a friend of Kristy's. It was a great time of conversation, lots of laughing and sharing stories. We're really going to miss them.

Friday, our last day in clinic, we saw over 200 patients in the morning before loading the bus and driving back. I think we saw over 1200 for the week. We had no issues on the way back home.

God likes to show us how He is working behind thr scenes in our lives all the time. The Hatian government is starting to respond to criticism that it hasn't done much to aid the relief efforts. So, increased scrutiny is expected from the government for groups going into Haiti. When we passed through the border on Tuesday morning, they wanted some type of paperwork that we didn't have. There was some concern for a while that we would have trouble getting across, but the Lord opened the gates and let us through. But, more of those troubles are expected.

However, when we came back across the border, our leaders went into the customs office to see if they could expedite any paperwork for the next week's team. The head of customs was there, and immediately recognized them. "You had a clinic right next to my house and even treated my son when you had already closed down for the day. Thank you very much for what you are doing in my country. You will never have any trouble crossing again." And be gave us his cell phone number to call if there are ever any problems.

We have a God who is faithful and will see His work done. He promises to be with us, go before us, and guide us in all we do for Him. Opening borders is easy for Him. He is trustworthy - do we trust Him?

Tragedy will always be with us on this earth. When I got up this morning, I saw that there was another huge earthquake in Chile. And then a tsunami. This world is full of pain, and toil, and despair. Where is there hope? What good can we really do? Thank God, there is a hope that it won't always be this way. The Bible says there will be a new heaven and new earth - one where there are no earthquakes, no pain, suffering, despair. It is a real place, and we can have real hope.

Please pray:
-team 2 leaves at 6am
-we fly home in the afternoon
-for Kristy as she takes a few weeks off to travel and speak for support raising. Pray that she will have rest - she works really hard!
-for our team - that all may know the Lord and trust in Him.
-for Haiti - that spiritual renewal will accompany the physical rebuilding.
-for Haiti - that true Hope would be found there. That the people would hope and trust in that which is unable to be touched by earthquakes and destruction.
-for us - that we will never be the same, but that instead we would love the Lord more and more daily, finding our hope and trust in Him.

Soli Deo Gloria!