Good morning, and welcome to another Fasting Friday. If you are in my timezone, you’re probably starting to feel the hunger pangs of the missed breakfast. Hang in there, and let’s take some time to focus on something outside of ourselves.
This week, I wanted to focus on the brotherhood, our shared connections. I’m just as guilty as the next person of thinking of the world in terms of me and mine and they and theirs. It’s what is variously called “othering” or “dehumanizing”. This is insidious, because by doing so, we remove empathy from the equation. If we dehumanize another person, we can justify a lot, and we can ignore their suffering because they are “they” rather than “we”.
In this context, I read about the instability in Haiti. It’s easy for us to read, raise eyebrows, make a comment and browse on. But let’s pause and consider the human realities that this news presents. The president was assassinated. How, where and why, I leave to the news sources. I’m just encouraging us to consider the human impact of this sort of situation. Watch the video below to understand the context of the current political situation in Haiti.
Too many times leadership is not concerned for the pain and suffering felt by the people under their leadership and seem to get away with it. Wicked men propagate wickedness, wicked men crave power and enforce their tyranny on the weak. Whether individual leaders are wicked or not is not for us to discuss.
What is of concern to us is the many that are suffering in Haiti. Haiti has had a long and difficult history. After being one of the only slave led rebellions to achieve freedom and nationhood, Haiti has long been mired in political unrest with one dictator after another, endemic corruption, subject to natural disasters and rife with poverty. It is truly a remarkable contrast when you realize that Haiti is one side of the island and the Dominican Republic on the other side of the island. The economic and political differences could not be more stark. The DR is generally stable and relatively prosperous.
But the people of Haiti suffer. I had the blessing of being part of a mission trip to Haiti (which resulted in me naming my first child Evangeline). It was an incredible experience and I appreciate the philosophy behind the organization I went with. They believed that the “outsider” was not there to “rescue” the Haitians, rather that their role was to empower the Haitian people to effect change on their own. They would have us go out to a village and build buildings, paint houses and run medical and humanitarian clinics, but these were delivered through local leaders, so as to establish the local leaders. The intent was to eliminate Instagram missionaries and to encourage real change.
We had the good fortune to meet an amazing group of Haitians as we volunteered at the orphanage and at the local communities. In spite of their difficulties and circumstances, they remained joyful and musical. In a real way, it helped us to connect to them and realize that at the core, we are all the same. A Haitian child suffering is as painful to the heart of God as an American child suffering. We are all made in His image.
Every time you read of another natural disaster impacting Haiti, remember that this is affecting a brother and a sister. Every time you read another glib or breathless news headline, dig deeper and pray over the people that will be impacted by those news.
In terms of what can we do, allow me to introduce the team that I joined on my trip to Haiti. The organization is called Mission of Hope, Haiti. They are a genuine group of people that are looking to effect change through empowering the people of Haiti rather than just throwing money or resources at the problem (which frankly, in a place like Haiti with endemic corruption would never get to the people in need). They believe in engaging with people with a heart of service around the world to come and serve, not to be seen or to take pictures.
Pray over Haiti and the Haitian people today. May God move your heart to have an impact in this world!
I would also ask you to consider supporting Mission of Hope today. Financial support is always a great way to start making an impact (you can give at https://missionofhope.com/). But also please consider how we can physically “put our hands to good work”, and plan a trip for you and your community to Haiti once things calm down to help build something that will have eternal value.
Thank you, and God Bless!