A Different Kind of Poverty

Today we went to a much more sedate church service in Gressier, near where we are staying.  It was much more traditional and subdued, but beautiful in its own way.

I haven't mentioned the weather yet, but now's the time to rub it in!  January is the BEST time to come here; it's so much better than August.  Low humidity and dry and hot but not too hot.  Sleeping is very comfortable and I didn't need my personal fan and actually covered up with a sheet!  So I guess it is a "Haitian vacation"just like my daughter Maddy said!

We took a tour of the town and went into the "neighborhoods"where people live.  Many are still living in the TouchGlobal (crisis response of the Free church) and Samaritan's Purse shelters built after the earthquake where hundreds were put up in this area.  Unfortunately, they were only supposed to be temporary and last about 3 years....That is the next challenge:  what should be done next and where are the resources?  So please be praying that a solution can be found.

Most folks don't have running water, refrigeration or indoor plumbing.  But the amazing thing is they are so neatly and well-dressed with clean and pressed clothes.  For someone like me who hasn't picked up an iron in the last decade, that is truly impressive!

Later in the day, all of us ladies all went to an English class run by Maxo, one of our community partners.  Kelsey actually got to give one of the students his exam, which he passed!  Then Maxo took us to his home (which is still only half-built since the earthquake), his school and the land that was purchased in a more suitable location to build a new school.  Maxo's stories is one of so many people I have met in Haiti that astounds me:
Maxo is a Haitian man who grew up in this community.  He and a childhood buddy began to have a passion for all of the kids on the streets and at home that had never had an opportunity to attend school. School in Haiti costs money which is in short supply for so many families and they may be able to afford to send their kids to school for short periods of time but not long-term.  Maxo, a teacher and translator and UN worker, and his friend set out to change this.  He is a charismatic man with endless energy who raised funds to start a school, charging next to nothing but something since "charging something creates value, instead of giving it away for free".  Reach Global has come alongside Maxo for support but he uses 40% of his salary every month to pay teachers and run the school which continues to have more students.  As he puts it, "ëvery month God provides"and he simply trusts in God for the details.

Wow!  What if we trusted God like that?  We who have so much material wealth have a different kind of povery, a poverty of trust in God's providence.  We have much to give but also much to learn about our own povery of spirit.