Taking Chances

Love Thy Foreigner!

2012-01-30T08:19:00.000-08:00

Lev. 19:33-34
33 When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.”

Over the years I’ve come to understand the need for this command more and more. I’ve been a foreigner in this land, America, for close to 25 years. I came to the realization a while back that I’ve lived in this country longer than I’ve lived in my own native land. So today, In honor of my 25th year in America, I want to make a public confession: year one and year 25 are as equally difficult. Of course some changes have made year 25 easier, like fluency in English and a basic understanding of the American culture but I tell you there continues to be this profound desire to be “home”! I think the theme song of Cheers captures a smidgen of that longing:

Sometimes you wanna go,
Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.

In other words, you want to be known at a deep, core level; no need to explain your history, no need to explain your past, no need to explain why you’re in a foreign land; you just want to be known.

I often walk around fragmented, misunderstood, frustrated that I can’t fully assimilate and be like everyone else. And honestly my soul would not allow me to assimilate and simply forget. I often want to wear a sign that reads: “I'm a Haitian woman living in America, please, please don't ask me to apologize for this in necessitating that I become mainstream, If I ever do I will stop being! Love me, teach me, bear with me but please don't ask me to cease from being”! ~sincerely Dieula~

Maybe the plight of the foreigners explains why God had such a huge heart for them; in the bible, God would often speak of them. Maybe he understood the challenges of being a stranger in a foreign land more than we think. Maybe he knew, since the creation of the world that He would use a foreigner, His son Jesus Christ, to live in a foreign land to save the world and if we disregarded and mistreated this foreigner, we would miss the God in flesh. And like every other foreigner living in a foreign land, Jesus would face feeling fragmented, misunderstood and frustrated of not being able to assimilate.

I was reminded today that perhaps the even deeper longing is not simply to be “Home”; maybe it’s for a place our restless souls can rest and be known and fully accepted. Is there such a place where the homeless can find a home, the drunks can stand strong, the gays can be loved beyond their sexual orientation, the prostitutes can find meaning beyond the physical, the slaves can be free and the foreigners can finally come home and find rest? If Jesus were to come down from heaven and decided to live amongst us, would he find a place to rest?

I believe Jesus offers a place where all of our restless souls can find rest and finally come Home. HEAVEN! Until then Let us do as Leviticus 19:33-34 commands “Love them as yourself”!!!!

Because of your Tragedy Haiti...

2012-01-11T12:31:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been 2 years since I received that distressing phone call from my sister in Nj that our country had been devastated by a massive earthquake. Like everyone else we thought it was no big deal, “the poor people of the world are always going through some kind of crisis” I thought. Forgive me, my beloved Haitian brothers and sisters, for not ever taking your pain and suffering to be a serious matter. You have taught me to look at all God's children with dignity and a sense of worthiness. So I thank you!

But it has been 2 years and it seems to me you have given us more than we have given you.

Because of your tragedy, you have helped us to be grateful for what we have and we have given you groups and groups of on-lookers to pay homage and feel sorry for your misfortune.

Because of your tragedy, we have gotten in touch with some of our true human emotions; sadness, compassion and righteous anger over the injustice done to you and we have given you some of the best and brightest thinkers locked up in board rooms deciding your future.

Because of your tragedy you have given us hours upon hours of speeches, classroom lesson plans and new content for us to be even more educated and we have given you perhaps $40 a month to help a child receive an education.

Because of your tragedy, we have thousands of pictures of you, our non-profits are flourishing and you’ve made us look like Mother Teresa and we have given you perhaps a promise that we will be back.

Because of your tragedy, our eyes are even more open that this world operates on a value system that continues to demand a category where the "have nots" must remain and in return we have exposed the nakedness of your children, wives and the shame of your husbands.

Because of your tragedy, we saw a modern day example of believers persevering in the face of tragedy as you walked down the streets of PAP singing songs of praise to our God and king. And we gave you bibles and our version of Christianity thinking we have the answers to your problems, when in fact the presence of the Lord is more felt in your mud constructed prayer rooms than in our multi-million dollar sanctuaries.

Because of your tragedy, we have an opportunity to do as Isaiah 58 commands, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to loosen the chains of oppression and to be repairers of broken walls.

So it seems to me that you have given us more than we have given you. It seems to me that you have helped us more than we have helped you. It seems to me that you have poured into us more than we have poured into you. Your lessons are priceless and precious.

So I thank you! I thank you for helping us realize that God, the creator, loves all of his children equally, rich and poor; literate and illiterate; blacks and whites. I thank you for helping us see that what we see here on earth isn’t all God is capable of doing and to not make too big of a deal on the temporary. I thank you for teaching us how to have faith especially when things have gone awry. I humbly salute you and am proud of you for persevering through the darkest times. Just Remember, “after you have suffered a little while, God will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” 1 Pet. 5:10.

The Perfect Christmas Gift

2011-12-05T07:20:00.000-08:00

As Christmas is rapidly approaching, many of us are on a quest for the perfect Christmas gift. For Christians, gift giving is symbolic, modeled after the most perfect gift we were given by God; his one and only baby, Christ, whose mission was to save and breathe new life to humanity from death and entrapment by the evil one. Imagine a life warped with addictions, depressions, death and defeat after defeat with no hope of a better tomorrow. Well God saw it necessary to give a gift that would bring joy, hope and love, that if one so choose they may find eternal hope and peace. It was a sacrificial gift no money could ever buy, a gift that met our most pressing need.

So our gift giving, in a sense, is to try to be "little gods" to each other and give a sacrificial gift that offer hope as our Father's did. Sorry to my fellow evangelicals if my term "little gods" make you cringe but I'm using this term in the same way we all do when we sing "I want to be like God" on Sunday mornings. How many fathers don't want their children to follow their examples?

So, in search of the perfect gift, might I give some suggestions? Make a list of all the gifts you can give with no monetary tag. Next, make a list of those you would normally offer a Christmas gift to and identify their most pressing non-monetary need. It's harder to give sacrificially isn't it? Do you feel like you've duped in believing that Christmas was mostly about giving monetary gifts. We buy gifts for people we don’t like and are at war with, instead of making peace with them; the parents who have hurt us deeply, the estranged sister or brother, the fallen out between friends etc. etc. Monetary gifts cannot simply mend those broken relationships; it requires the sacrificial giving of something you cannot buy. We get our children gifts that pull them farther away from us when what they deeply need are parents who can be fully present (no pun intended). We get our wives flawless diamonds, when they're desperately trying to tell you they're dying inside and need you to love them and understand them. We get our husbands things we think they need when there is a weak man inside, slowly dying and desperately needing a wife who cares more about him than the list of how he can improve and make life better for her. We get friends the most perfect and thoughtful gifts when their deep desire is to be known and understood without judgment. We get our parents beautiful robes to keep them warm, when what they truly need is the warmth of our touch, to visit them and spend time with them.

Now I'm not against monetary gifts; hey, I have my eyes on a beautiful fossil bag (the one with suede flowers and leather), I have a thing for hand bags. My point is: let not monetary gifts replace gifts that give life, let not monetary gifts be used to appease deeper needs. On this Christmas, let us do as our Father and give gifts that offer hope, gifts that offer reconciliation and gifts that offer Shalom. And let our sacrificial gifts point to the greatest gift giver of all, our Father God!! Merry Christmas and Shalom to all!!!

I am FOR LIFE!!!

2011-09-28T22:07:00.000-07:00

So about the title of this blog…One of the things I absolutely abhor is politics. I despise how they make simple things very complicated to the point of feeling like you side with a party out of loyalty and commitment rather than true belief and conviction in the rightness, fairness and reasonableness of their policies. This past week as I anticipated my oldest son’s 13th birthday, I started thinking about LIFE. The life of a human being. Especially the miraculous life of my oldest son and how he came to be and that’s when this thought washed over me; clearer than any thought I’ve ever had in my entire life: I AM FOR LIFE! Notice I did not say I am Pro-life, a political statement fueled with hurt, pain, shame, regret, condemnation, blame and un-forgiveness instead I am FOR LIFE. Yeah you can say it’s a matter of semantics but I say it’s a renaming that I pray will percolate into a reclaiming of LIFE.

Your next question might be: what exactly is your reasoning for this renaming and reclaiming LIFE. Maybe a small piece of my story might help. Fourteen years ago, I was on my last semester of college, ready and excited to be the first college graduate of my family when I found myself pregnant. Word to the wise: it is bad news to be Haitian, unmarried, not finished with college and pregnant. My first thought and “action plan” was to get rid of it before anyone finding out as I once did before. I could not bear looking my emigrated parents in the eyes to tell them their plan to give us a better life in the US had failed. So I started walking the path of ending the life that was daily growing inside. I set up the appointment at the health center, pretty sure that this was the way to go. But something happened and I can’t really tell you what it was but it was over a conversation I had with a friend whom I was hoping would side with my decision instead she talked me off the cliff. She said something like: “Dieula, look at my life if I can have a baby as a teenager then surely you can have a child at 21” (Side Note: a couple years ago this friend passed away with colon cancer, her daughter started college this fall. RIP V). I think part of what I needed was someone to give me hope that I could have this child, that I was FOR LIFE.

So this week I celebrate the gift of LIFE of my oldest son. I celebrate and rejoice with the angels over his life that was preserved. I rejoice over seeing his smile, his energy, him in football gear, his very LIFE which was reclaimed. I rejoice because I cannot picture my life without him. I rejoice because his life has made me FOR LIFE.

I said earlier that I couldn’t really tell you what happened when I made the decision FOR LIFE but I know exactly what happened: God happened!

God I thank you for the preservation of LIFE. I thank you for the gift of LIFE. I thank you for being the God of second chance. I pray for hope and healing for women all over the world who have to walk this journey alone and without hope. And I pray for all of the little souls to rest in peace in your care. In Jesus name! Amen!

Happy Birthday Reynel!

The Help: Inspiration or Repulsion

2011-09-01T14:39:00.000-07:00

Many of us have read the book and seen the movie "the help"! If you're anything like me, you probably walked away feeling inspired and repulsed simultaneously. “How could people be so ignorant and evil?” you might have said to yourself. And if you’re truly anything like me, your thinking doesn’t only stop there; you would take it step further and wonder “Is any of that ignorance or evil in me?” Or better yet “what are we doing in our generation that would make our children’s children repulsed?”

Really think deeply through this question before you answer “Nothing!” What injustice in our generation are we perpetuating? Start in your neighborhood and expand it globally.

Let’s start at home with the guys that cut our grass and the women that clean our homes, would you live in the same neighborhood with them? Would you send your children in the same schools? I know, we don’t know those immigrants and we did hear in the news of this “one” immigrant that committed a crime and for some reason that “one” has automatically put our children in danger. They have no jobs, no morals, and no values for sacred things. I’m just asking questions.

How about that beautiful house you had in the south side and all of the sudden “those” people moved in and what did you and your family do? Again, the question is: What are we doing in our generation that our children’s children will be repulsed by?

How about globally? It is estimated that at least one out of every three women in the world has been raped, beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise violently abused in her lifetime. No this is not a statistic from 1965, this is from 2011. After drug dealing, human trafficking (both sex and forced labor trafficking) is the second largest criminal industry today, a $32 billion enterprise. In other words there are more slaves today then there were in the 15th century. What is going on in our generation that our children’s children would find repulsive and we did absolutely nothing about?

I can go on and on about the things in our society that have gone on under our noses without us saying a peep. The genocide in Rawanda, where a million people died in just 100 days. How about the genocide in Darfur killing hundreds of thousands? How could we live in a world of abundance and in the same world for people to be dying of hunger? Does the current famine in the Horn of Africa ring a bell?

And to bring it back home, what about our views against our President Obama? Is it really about his policies or is there more to it that would cause us to quote Psalms 109:8 against him “May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership”. His policies are so horrible that you would wish death on his life? Have we forgotten the part of the Bible that says, “…he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted…”.

What are we doing in this generation that would cause our children’s children to ask “where were you? What did you do to speak against that?”

Before we damn Miss Hilly to hell, we need to realize that we all have a little Miss Hilly in us. Whether we actively participate or we stand to the sideline and do nothing. Martin Luther King once said: “We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people”. And I ask again what are we doing in our generation that would cause our children to be ashamed of us?

God, have mercy on us! Have mercy on us for we are sinful men and women who struggle to love like you though we profess to want to be just like you. Forgive us for we sometimes actively participate in doing evil things. Forgive us for we sometimes hear of evil and see evil and because of our apathy we do absolutely nothing. Oh God, search our hearts and reveal those dark places that I’ve kept hidden even from me, only your light can drive out that kind of darkness. And God let us leave a legacy for our children’s children; one that challenge them to live beyond the status quo. In Jesus name I pray for our generation.

When Helping Hurts

2011-08-29T13:45:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tried to help someone and in the end the help that you tried to offer not only hurt them but you in the process? Well that’s the premise of this book I recently read, "When Helping Hurts". However the main subjects are the materially poor and Us, the haves.

The book forces one to ask the question: How can I serve the materially poor without further exacerbating their struggles?

It is a must read if you’re in the least bit interested in figuring out how to alleviate poverty and want, like the pageant contestants’ most infamous answer, “world peace”. The book starts off by asking a simple yet profound question: “why did Jesus come to earth?” The authors answer the question by saying “Jesus came to preach the good news of the kingdom and to show the good news of the Kingdom!” This question and answer was a great set up that would be weaved throughout the entire book as we are called to do as Christ and preach the message of healing and restoration but to not only stop with the words but also in deeds, just as Christ did! You can't have one without the other!

The second part of the book redefines poverty. The authors say: "Poverty is the result of relationships that do not work, that are not just, that are not for life, that are not harmonious or enjoyable. Poverty is the absence of shalom in all its meanings." In other words, poverty is rooted in broken relationships with God, self, others and creation. Here's the added kick, if poverty is rooted in brokenness then "who are the poor?" the book asks. The answer is simple: we all are!

Here's the main point of the book: we must all embrace our mutual brokenness or poverty and Repent of our own brokenness. "One of the biggest problems in many poverty-alleviation efforts is that their design and implementation exacerbates the poverty of being of the economically rich-their god complexes and the poverty of being of the economically poor-their feelings of inferiority and shame". Our work amongst the materially poor often communicates we are superior and they are inferior. We must realize that we are not God ready to save a dying world but we are conduits that God has chosen to use to bless each other. The more involved I become in Mission's work, the more I come to realize outside of God there is no restoration for the materially poor.

The book then led us to what our focus ought to be when fighting poverty; it says Poverty alleviation is the ministry of reconciliation, where we are moving people closer to glorifying God by living in right relationship with God, with self, with others and with the rest of creation. Moreover, material poverty Alleviation is working to reconcile the four foundational relationships (God, self, others and creation) so that people can fulfill their callings of glorifying God by working and supporting themselves and their families with the fruit of that work! Yes!!! When we are able to use our God given skills and talents, it brings glory to God.
The book does a great job looking at the issues with humanitarian efforts from the global and local point of views. It not only looked at the problems but also proposed some answers and examples. One of the challenges you will have when you read the book is that answers will not be sufficient and you will be frustrated trying to apply a one size fits all method for the magnitude of the issue of helping the materially poor.

The main take away for me is learning to breathe dignity into every soul that we come in contact with as we’re trying to help them. The most common thread in everyone who finds themselves materially poor is shame. They carry a tremendous amount of shame and worthlessness. As we are looking to help feed the poor and provide clean water to drink, let’s start by giving them the most precious gift of all DIGNITY and a sense of WORTHINESS. These souls are not helpless, filthy, inept or unaware; they are souls in need of someone seeing them beyond the shell and to pour life back into them.

Finally, a book about the materially poor that speaks the language of moving people from being dependent on foreign aid to dependence on God and their God given skills, talents and assets. It has put into words a number of uncomfortable issues that I’ve been grappling with for a number of years. It has confirmed many strategies I’ve believed were bad practices when working with the materially poor, some of which I have committed. Now this book has given me language to continue to fight for the dignity and empowerment of the materially poor.

It's My Birthday and I RULE!!!!

2011-08-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

I know the title might force you to make a couple of assumptions. Maybe you're thinking “uh oh this is one of those blogs where this woman is using positive self talk to make herself feel good about her messed up life”. Or perhaps you may also be thinking “she drank too many cups of the pride cool-aid”. Well it’s neither one of those assumptions. But it is my birthday and I want to reflect on my being.

I want to draw your attention on a bible verse that I've found fascinating, Genesis 1:26 "Then God said “Let us make mankind in our image in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals and over all the creatures that move along the ground". My fascination over this verse is partly because I don't fully understand it but I also find it captivating over its potential meaning for my life.

My misunderstanding comes from the fact that God is spirit and I'm a physical being and I can't fathom what of God is in me that makes me his image bearer or like him. Simple.

Now let's move on to the intriguing excitement over this phrase: of all of the things that God has created, humans were the only ones he said was created in His image, His likeness. He looked at the tree, nope not so much...he looked at water, unh unh...He looked at the dinosaurs, absolutely not!

But when he came to me, yes me and you too, he stopped and said I will make them like Me. So let's dream a little; what exactly about me is like God? Do I laugh like God? Do I cry like God? Do I create like God? Do I speak like God? Do I love like him? Do I walk and run like him? Do I think like him? Am I free to roam the earth like he?

I really don’t know but the verse above alludes to how we are like God. I, like God, was made to RULE!!!!! What an honor to possess the ability to rule like God, like my Father. I don’t know about you but on this birthday of mine, it makes a girl pretty darn proud to know that I was commissioned by God before the world began to RULE! This isn’t a theory I came up with to make myself feel good but this is something that God has given me permission to do; to stand beside him and RULE. Chew on this for a minute!

I know you may have a many questions about this Rule-ship thing and I do too; the imperfection of man, the irresponsible rulers etc. But those questions don’t negate our standing position to RULE like God.

So on this birthday, I reflect on my being and the honor it is to RULE! I don’t think we were only called to rule over plants and animals but alongside God over our lives, over our circumstances, over our attitudes, over how well we love, over our response to life’s tragedies and even over our destinies. It’s my birthday and I’m proud to shout “I RULE”!!!!

The prayers of Haiti Children

2011-08-07T14:52:00.000-07:00

If I were to look into your life of prayer, what would be the gist of your prayers? Think about it…when you pray, what do you most frequently ask about?

During this past trip to Haiti, one of the many lessons we taught the children was that God listened to them. The group leading this activity suggested for the children to write down their prayer requests on sticky notes and our team would pray for every last one of them.

Upon returning home, I translated these requests and was immediately struck by a number of things. For one thing, these children understood the lesson and took the activity very seriously. Their prayer requests were not of trivial things, well most of them. We did have a couple silly boys asking God for a cute young girl they saw in camp.

However, the majority of them had serious needs they wanted God to act on. Their prayers fittingly reflected their living conditions. An overwhelming number of them asked God for intelligence to finish school. “God I ask you for strength, courage, health and intelligence to learn in school”.

The other group of requests were about their performance in school. There seem to be a stigma with staying back in school, many of them asked: “God help me to never repeat a grade…”. I wondered why the stigma exists but I think there may be a number of things at play. The first issue is: the majority of the schools in Haiti are private. Many parents have a very difficult time making school payments and they want to make sure their children make the best of their education and that means you cannot afford to repeat a grade. The other issue is: students in Haiti find their self worth and confidence through education. In school they can prove themselves to be worthy. And lastly, education is seen as a way to get out of poverty. Many of the students would say in their prayer requests: God help me get an education to be a doctor or engineer to help my family and my country.

The last big need on these children’s prayer requests were for health. Again this request makes complete sense; these children see sickness and death everyday of their lives. The life expectancy in Haiti is 61 compared to the US 78. There is an overwhelming need for proper medical care, doctors and hospitals to care for the needs that exist in Haiti. And the children’s prayer requests reflect that.
I was shocked to learn so much about the condition these children are currently living in through their prayer requests.

Most gracious God I pray you specifically for these groups of children in Haiti who made their prayers known to us and most importantly to you. God I pray for their well being; spiritually, physically and emotionally. I pray for their education that you may provide for them, not only for them to be smart and get out of poverty but that everything they learn may point them to you. I pray to you for their health and the health of their loved ones. Would you please provide healing where it’s needed? We know that you can do all things and all things are possible through you. In Jesus name I pray for your precious children. Amen!

Not Diamonds or Gold But an Education!

2011-08-02T15:33:00.000-07:00

If you've been keeping up with my Haiti journey for the past 2 years or so, you've probably already picked up on my heart and passion for my beloved people. Through my eyes you have probably seen the children I've met and the women and men that continue to inspire me daily. This past journey was no different.

On every trip, I become acquainted with a number of new faces; men, women and children and I always take one with me. Not literally of course but the face, eyes and smile or sadness of one always stand out. And again this trip was no different.

He told me his name was Ary J. I was instantly drawn to him because he had the same name as my best friend's twin brother, who was right next to me when we met. We both looked at each other in disbelief realizing the coincidence that first and last name would be the same outside of the spelling. Ary was not a part of our activities for the week of camp but he showed up to the camp with a buddy of his. Ary began to tell us a little bit about his story, he's one of four children and out of the four his parents were only able to send two of them to school. He was very articulate, he shared with us snippets of all the courses he has taken over the years; French literature, Haitian literature, chemistry, biology etc...I was in awe by how smart this young man was. Ary is 20 years old and he's in the process of completing his comprehensive exams for what is considered the end of senior year in high school. In Haiti, these exams are a big deal, they pretty much determine your future. Much like the SATs but more intense especially for a country with limited opportunities like Haiti.

Towards the end of our conversation, there was sadness and frustration in Ary's voice. The sadness and frustration came from the reality that that’s where the road stopped for him. No really, this is where the road stops for him.

In Haiti without the sufficient financial resources, the highest level of education one can aspire to is 6 grade and if you’re truly lucky a high school degree. A university degree is out of the question for most. Ary was telling me a university degree in Haiti cost approximately $3,000 USD a year.

The other emotion I heard in Ary's voice was desperation. There was an urgency in his voice to tell his story hoping that someone would take him seriously and do something to meet his needs. As he talked to several of us in our group, he did not ask about food, clothes or money for his pockets but help to continue his education. He was not a hustler like his friend John who had a craft to make necklaces and bracelets and sell them. He was very new to this new lifestyle of having nothing to hope for. He was a novice at making life work in the midst of extreme poverty. I tried to exhort Ary by telling him to hold on and pray and I'm often good at inspiring people to hold on and lift their eyes to God but my message to Ary was not penetrating. His need for an education was too dire.

He came back to the camp two other times. When he realized that his dream of receiving help from these American saviors was not attainable, the stonewall look of hopelessness seemed to have covered him immediately. As he spoke still pleading his case, his hands shook and voice quivered. I’ve only seen this look only a handful of times and it breaks my heart every time. That was the look of true poverty; there was no fight for dignity left.

I tell you Ary’s story for two reasons: one is to try to alleviate my own guilt. Guilt for not being able to do something. And guilt for being afraid to do something wondering if that’s the best strategy to help this young man or if he was a fraud. Either way I did not help.

The other reason I tell you this story is in the hopes that you will become more aware of the millions of Ary’s out there and you will be inspired to join the mission and do something!

All week long we had been grappling with the question “what does God expect of us?” We were sitting with that question as if we didn’t know what God was calling us to: to loose the chains of injustice, set the oppressed free…to share our food with the hungry, to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-when you see the naked, to clothe them… Isaiah 58:6-7
Well Friends, our Mission is Clear!

Learning to Breathe in Haiti

2011-07-25T12:48:00.000-07:00

After every trip, I usually find myself overwhelmed by a number of things; the experience, the stark difference between how we live in America and how they live and the daunting falling back into the rhythm of normal life when nothing feels normal. There’s usually this part of you that longs to hold on to the experience no matter how difficult it was. Worse yet, you feel this pressure of having to report of how your trip was in five minutes or less when words can’t even describe the depth of the experience. This is my attempt at sharing with you some of what we experienced.

We served a group of children in a camp called Camp de la Grace in Pignon Haiti, these children came from a neighboring town. We paid for their feeding and their lodging for the week of camp. We taught them that God loves them so much that He is WILD and CRAZY about them. We taught them these lessons through games, arts and crafts, times of reflection, snacks and bible stories. For these groups of children, I suspect this was a message they desperately needed to hear. Especially when the highest level of education is maybe 6th grade and if they’re lucky high school. When poverty is something they are quite familiar with. When all of what they own can fit into one small backpack. When many of them have never had their pictures taken. When death is something they see every day. And in the midst of all of that to hear a message that God is WILD and CRAZY about you, how does one respond? These children went wild and crazy! They sang the songs we taught them from sun up to sun down. They laughed, played and danced.

I know what many of you are thinking, if God is WILD and CRAZY about these children why doesn’t He do something to get them out of these deplorable conditions?

I have also asked this question of God and the more I ask it, the more I sense God telling me not only are we a part of the problem, we are also a part of the solution.

Here’s a quote about the income of churchgoers alone, if you’re not a churchgoer multiply these numbers by three because the world consist of only 30% Christians: “The total income of American churchgoers is $5.2 trillion. (That’s more than $5,000 billion.) It would take just a little over 1 percent of the income of American Christians to lift the poorest 1 billion people out of extreme poverty. Said another way, American Christians, who make up about 5 percent of the church worldwide, control about half of global Christian wealth; a lack of money is not our problem”. (The Hole in our Gospel, p. 216 Rich Stearns)

I was convicted by that as well; a lack of money is not our problem! If money is not our problem then what is it?

I really don’t know but I suspect it has something to do with: selfishness, lack of compassion, envy, greed, laziness, fight for control, wanting to be the best, the richest, discontentment and not wanting to see ourselves as equals. The truth is every time I go on these trips, these things seem to surface to the top because I’m always struggling with how impractical it is to do more and I feel my grip on my things get a little tighter. I sometimes feel like the 2-year old screaming “mine, mine, mine!”

I am even more convinced now than before that part of the solution lies when we are able to say: “yours, yours, yours!” and surrender it ALL! I know it scares me too!
When we are able to do this only then will we be able to have impact on those we serve. Only then will we be able to see them as equals and breathe dignity and messages of worthiness into their souls. We won’t measure our work by how much we did for them but the time we spent laughing, dancing, playing with them and working alongside them as brothers and sisters. We will no longer look at them as these poor defenseless people in desperate need of American saviors but we will look at all of our own levels of brokenness and we will repent. You will no longer look at them as unclean, filthy and without hope but as brothers and sisters in the human race.

A short term mission trip’s success cannot be measured by how many homes one builds or how many bowls of food you served or the numbers of medical patients you saw but only when you see those you serve as an equal and you breathe dignity into the lives you serve.

This week’s message for me was dignity and worthiness. Are these people worth your treasures; time and money? Are they worth interacting with your children? Are they worth the effort to fight alongside them?

You can learn a lot by observing children. This week I observed how my children interacted with the children in the camp. They played alongside them. It was a reciprocal relationship. Our children taught them arts and crafts, dodge ball and they even lent a hand in serving meals and in return the children in camp taught them techniques in soccer and helped sharpen their kreol skills. They were running around camp together as if they’d know each other for ages, they became friends! There was something healing and human about watching that interaction throughout the week. This is the kind of interaction that’s needed to end poverty and to fight for justice. You must first see those you serve as worthy, you must be willing to breathe dignity into their souls and only then are you ready to join the fight.

Bob Pierce said "Don't fail to do something just because you can't do everything." How about we start with sharpening our breathing techniques!

Haiti Day 2: Where are God's Image bearers?

2011-07-16T04:15:00.000-07:00

Day 2: Reflections!

Entered Haiti once again under dark and gloomy skies, kind of strange but the skies seems to mirror what I felt and sensed my Haitian people also felt: we’re tired! Why hasn’t change come already? Where are my people? Where is the world to help make our dreams come true? Where is humanity to help me use my God given talents? Where is humanity to help my children receive an education? Where are my brothers and sisters to help me find dignity? Where are the ones God said were born of his image? Can I look in your eyes and see God? Can I look in your eyes and see me? My potential? My depth? My worth?

My people, my brothers, my sisters, humanity, God’s image bearers, will you join us in the fight for our freedom! Freedom to be all God intended for us! That’s what it means to bare the image of God, to join the fight for one another, for our hearts to break like God’s over the injustices done to another human being, to keep our eyes open and take interest over the degradation of another. That’s what it means to bare the image of God.

Haiti Day 1: Lost Bags-No problem

2011-07-16T04:12:00.000-07:00

For everyone keeping up with our trip, you should know by now we were not able to find our children's bag carrying the twins entire wardrobe for the week. At first the thought to panic came to mind; I'm a mom! Naturally I'm thinking "what will they wear for the week?" You do realize that there's no Walmart anywhere in Haiti. I can't just run to the store and replace their clothes as I would if I were back home.

The first plan failed: My optimistic plan of going to a clothing store once we get off the plane. I wasn't anticipating traffic and not being able to sit down for dinner until 8pm.

Our second plan: go through the bag of clothes you brought for your family, let's see how many of our children's "worn out" clothes we can score. Yes we "stole" from our own family. I know you don't see it as stealing but that's exactly what we did.

Here's God's plan: Open your eyes! I want you and your children to see and experience what my children in Haiti go through everyday. Ouch!! Heart Break!! Repent!! If you were one of these families and your children simply had the clothes on their backs, what would you do?

I knew what I was getting into when I decided to take our children to Haiti but I didn't think the lessons would begin so soon.

I don't know if I'll be able to blog again for the rest of the week but It's going to be an Amazing, God moving week!

See you all back home!

Haiti, Limitless God, My Insignificance

2011-07-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, I must admit, when God placed on my heart to take our entire family to Haiti for the very first time, I wasn't fully convinced it would happen. I had two concerns; the first one was: how would we pay for this trip? It's kind of funny how God works; he tells you to do something but rarely showing you the how. By now you all should know that I'm a Christian and Christians read the Bible (Duh) and in the bible God makes some pretty bold promises. One of the most prominent promises is found in Matthew when Jesus says don't worry about what you will eat or drink because if I can take care of birds how much more will I take care of you as my children? That’s bold but we rarely believe this to be true.

Well in these past few months of planning to enter Haiti with the entire family, I saw the hands of the God of limitless resources provide for our family and our team. He used the hands of our family and friends to meet our needs. When we would try talking ourselves out of going, these gifts encouraged us to keep going. From our first gift by our Puerto Rican friends to the most exotic gift, a marimba sold in support of the trip; our children's school principal and friends whom we knew were financially struggling were all givers. We received big gifts and small ones; all of which were blessings to remind me that God is a God of limitless resources. Psalms 50:10 Says “For every beast in the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills”. Whenever I read this verse I secretly wish I was a cattle herder to fully understand this analogy of God’s character, power and limitlessness but I’m learning through different experiences like this one that this verse means everything in heaven and earth is his and we should not worry.

The other apprehension I always have about going is: what good is it going to do to bring a team for a week when the problems in Haiti are so big and so many? I mean really, you go for a week and do a VBS (vacation bible school-church language) for some 400 students and come back home to our well manicured homes and they go back to living in deplorable conditions? I can't tell you how often I've had this conversation with Jesus and the more I have it, the more I seem drawn to going back. Whenever discouragement of this sort overwhelms me the famous words of Mahatma Ghandi always puts things in perspective: "whatever you do will be insignificant but it's important that you do it".

Yup in 50 years, what I do in this world will be forgotten…But when I look at the state of Haiti, I can't get stuck in philosophical debates. When I look at children going hungry, I have no time to wonder whether one week's worth of help is significant enough. When I look at women being abused and dying emotional and spiritual deaths, there's no time to ask what good is it? When I look at men who were created to work and feed their family with no meaningful work losing their joy for living, there is no time to sit in board rooms looking for best strategies. What we will do in Haiti may be of little significance but it is imperative that we do it! I may not change the world but I pray my presence alone may bring hope. I pray that another Haitian girl can look at me as a Haitian woman and dream of better tomorrows.

When I look at people who have had great influence and significance in this world, they never did think about the great significance they were making. In fact when you look at their "production" numbers, they're not very impressive; they simply saw a need and allowed God to use their talents to meet them, one person at a time. Many know of the famous Harriet Tubman but did you know her mission to free slaves was over a 10 year span, taking around 20 trips freeing only about 300 slaves. That's only 15 slaves per year! You mean out of millions she only freed 300? But she was known as "Moses"!

So we're going to Haiti to contribute our insignificant efforts. We're going to sing, dance and play. Hopefully we'll laugh a lot and cry a lot! While we look at their poverty may we look at our own poverty and grieve not just for their living conditions but for us as well.

Keep us in your prayers! Send Blessings our way! I'll keep you posted!

The Muslim School in our Neighborhood

2011-07-06T08:13:00.000-07:00

Before I start this blog, I want to put a disclaimer out there. I love Jesus with all my heart and soul; I believe the bible to be the inerrant words of God even the parts I don’t fully understand.

Now that we all know where I stand, let’s talk for a minute. A few years ago a new charter school came into our neighborhood, charter schools are the new trends for many communities. It’s another option from public school especially for parents who are dissatisfied with the level of education their children are receiving from public schools. Charter schools are publicly funded and many are of private school quality. Their emphasis is on academic. This particular charter school has an emphasis on Math and science.

A couple of years ago when my oldest was ready for middle school, I did some research and was contemplating sending him to that very charter school. The application was done, he was accepted, I met the principal, fees were paid but he begged us to go to the school his friends were going to. As a parent who chose my battles carefully, I decided to send him to the public middle school. Two years later, my son who never cared about what he was learning in school came up to me and said “I want to go to the charter now”, “why?” “I’m not learning enough…” This is the moment moms pray about, the day their children can take ownership and responsibility to discern the good, the bad and the ugly…ok I’m getting ahead of myself he’s only 12.

Don’t worry I’m getting to the title of the blog. During my initial meeting with the principal, I noticed he was Middle Eastern. We shared a few pleasant words in conversation, when he found out I was from Haiti, he showed a genuine concern and asked about my family. He asked a few questions about my child's interest in the school and so on. The meeting went as well as expected for a parent/administrative meeting. We never got into his religion or mine.

That's why I was surprised when I heard of several parents' objection to the school, "the principal's Muslim"! The most recent critique I heard was on Sunday when a parent said the entire school was a Muslim school. If I’m not mistaken all of the critique came from well intended Christian parents. It's funny but I have never heard a parent threaten to not send their children to a school run by liars, thieves or adulterers. One of the parents even said "morally I don't know what they'll be teaching my children!" I wonder if its morals we're really concerned about. Just to be clear on something, these critics are coming from white and black Christian parents alike. I wonder if the Muslims living amongst us are as concern about sending their children to schools where they know the predominant culture is Christian. I think they are but they seem to do a pretty good job teaching their children about their religion. When I taught in NJ, some of my Muslim students would often share with me about observing Ramadan and all that it entails.

I'm sorry if my questions offend you or stir up anger in you but I'm a Haitian woman. When I moved to NJ from Haiti in 1987, we were spat on, mocked, ridiculed, my sister was suspended from school, I was beat up on; my mother would have to come out with a baseball bat to protect us. So my perspective is more of grace for this Muslim principal. We haven’t even taken the time to know his name, whether he’s married or if he has any children; we know nothing about him but we do know he’s a Muslim. Isn’t it odd that we would know that piece of information about him and not his arrest record or if he’s on the child sexual offender’s list?

I think Jesus was aware that we would be living amongst those of different cultures and religions. He knew that our children would come in contact with them, after all he told us to go and be witnesses (Acts 1:8). How are we supposed to be witnesses if we create communities where there are no interactions? No opportunities for this principal to meet Christian parents?
C.S. Lewis says “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else”. That’s also my affirmation. I believe that Christ was and is truly divine not just a prophet; I’m willing to put everything on that belief. I think several other Christians would say the same. If as Christians we believe that to be true, shouldn’t we be trying to engage instead of disengaging?

Where do we begin? How about a good slice of American Christian apple pie?! I'm serious! Don't run from these children of God! Be kind and strike a conversation over apple pie. Try to discern whether they want peace or war, I’ve found that most want to live in peace like the rest of us. They don’t want to convert our children; they simply want their children and our children to play together on the playground. By the way, many of them are as afraid of us as we are of them.

As far as our children, what are doing to teach them to enter the world? Are we exposing them to the message of Christ? To love God with all their hearts, mind and soul; and to love others as themselves? When our children learn to truly love, and learn that Christ was the God/Man and we are to live, love and serve like he did, they will then be ready to engage those of different cultures and religions. I know in this blog I'm omitting the "how". How to love? Should we or should we not send our children to a school where the principal or a teacher's of a different background or religion? Those questions are for you to discuss with Jesus in your own time of prayer. And as for prayer, let’s teach our children to pray for the lost and how to love.

I don’t have answers, I’m still in process but let’s not run. Let’s stop and love the Muslim or the “others” in our neighborhoods.

Send me your thoughts, concerns or questions!

David in our Midst-Happy Father's Day!!!!

2011-06-17T13:34:00.000-07:00

This weekend is Father’s day and for some reason Father’s day is not as celebrated or commercialized as Mother’s day. Yes I know, I’ve heard it all. All of the reasons why mothers ought to be more celebrated than fathers. Women seem to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders; working full time while nurturing their family. The Haitian culture has this saying my mother often repeats to us “a father can always deny his child but a mother will never.” Not to mention all of the “men are stupid, absent minded and oblivious commercials; all of which seems to have a compelling case for not celebrating fathers or is it?

The bible has a narrative about a man very much like our modern day husbands and fathers. His name was David. Acts 13:22 refers to David as a man after God’s heart. We need to rewind a little bit, to try to understand the complete picture of the man God refers to “after my heart”. This man David was an adulterer, he committed adultery with Bathsheba (a married woman), she becomes pregnant and to cover his sin, he sends her husband, Uriah to battle so that he would be killed in order to have her as his wife. To make matters worst David didn’t seem like he was a very good father, his children were quite rebellious. Those seem to be the two sins we regard the most deplorable in our society; an unfaithful husband and a negligent father. And this is the man God named a man after My heart.

I’ve always pondered about this narrative regarding men, their relationship to God and how we celebrate them in society. What was it that seemed to have made the difference in David’s relationship with God?

Three things seemed to have made a difference in David’s relationship with God in spite of his sin:

1) David seemed to have been open to correction When David was confronted about his sins by Nathan, he repented psalms 51
2) God is intolerant of sin David’s sin was not without consequences 2 Samuel 12-14
3) God is a highly forgiving God God allowed David to enter back into community and a relationship with him.

So back to the beginning…I wonder if the reason we don’t celebrate fathers as much as mothers is because we as a society has Davids in our midst and we have become tolerant of their sins. We have made excuses for bad behavior with no consequences. We let them off the hook. We allow them to simply “pay child support”. We allow them to get “out” of their relationships. And the question I want to ask is where are the strong role models, older male leaders, like Nathan, to confront them about their sins? We have simply become tolerant of their sins.

And on the flip side of things, we have harden and unforgiving hearts. Psalms 103 describe God as forgiving and does not stay angry forever. But we are unforgiving and we tend to stay bitter and angry for a very long time. How many of you still recount Bill Clinton’s sins? You still remember his infamous line in the press conference which starts with “I did not have…”. My point exactly! You just finished the line. We are unforgiving. I have to admit forgiveness is HARD work and apart from Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, I don’t know how it’s possible.

So on this father’s day, I want to honor all of the Davids in our midst. I want to honor all of the fathers; those who have done a great job and those who have made a mess of their lives. I pray that you all may become men after God’s heart! I dedicate the book of Psalms to you all as an inspiration that your best is yet to come!

Now go and kill something, grill it, eat it and have a blast this weekend!

My Dress Size is a Value

2011-06-16T15:50:00.000-07:00

I’m going to start this blog by asking a rhetorical and perhaps embarrassing question to all of us women: When did we allow our dress size to become a priority in our value system? I know many of you are jumping to answer this question by blurting out: “but it’s not a value to me!” But oh contraire it is! And it’s a big one!

I was driving to work today expecting to enjoy an all staff event and in this particular event some kind of meal would be served. Let me back track for a minute, this morning I reluctantly woke up from bed and drugged myself to the gym. My body was already sore from yesterday’s workout. But this particular morning, I had to get out of bed and workout because in the past month I have gained 5 extra pounds, ok 7 lbs. So I had every reason to wake my sore body out of bed to the gym to shed those extra 5, I mean 7 lbs gained. I worked out for about an hour. Showered and started on my way to work. After such a big work out, I was hungry. But the first thought that came to mind was to devise a plan of what I would eat when the meal was served. I subconsciously started on the plan and I became frustrated with myself and sad at the same time. And then I asked myself that same rhetorical question: “when did my dress size become such an important value?”

Women in the west, if we’re going to tell the truth, our dress size is a part of our value system. The word value means something we use as a guide in order to help us make decisions. And the truth is our dress size, our weight, our BMI (Body Mass Index) are a part of our value system. They help us plan out our day, what activities to engage in, where or what to eat and how we feel about ourself.
The reality is we are spending over $60 Billion for the right dress size. And $3.5 Billion of that accounts for weight loss surgeries. While in 1992 we were “only” spending $30 Billion, yes only $30. In less than 20 years we are willing to pay double for the right dress size. Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about being healthy. Yes an overly heavy person should lose the weight because there are health risks involved. A person who enjoy a good workout and loves physical activity should continue. Counselors sometime prescribe for their clients to participate in some form of physical activity; believe it or not working out it can help with depression. We all should eat better and participate in some form of physical activity. But there is a majority of us that has taking it to the next level: it has become a guide that helps us make decisions. Yes I’m talking to you.

You statisticians out there please don’t manipulate the statistics by referring me to the “right” way to use statistics. I’m not a statistician, I know about variables and taking into account globalization, inflation and yaddi, yaddi, yadda but my point is: it seems that a shift has taken place in society and inadvertently our value system.

Here’s another shocking statistic, Americans are spending over 110 Billion dollars a year on fast food. If you love numbers like I do, you are already making several correlations.

But I want to ask some questions to help steer us in the direction of coming up with an explanation.

When did the shift in our value system occur?

Was it during the women’s liberation movement? Women were now free to enter the work force and fight back against the violence that has been done to them but not without a price. We were now working not one but two jobs; taking care of our family and bringing home a paycheck.

Was it because of industrialization? Maybe the progress in our nation occurred too quickly. The average income increased over 10 times; again not without a price.

Was it the media? Although the media allowed us to be exposed to more and be entertained but it was not without a price. Watch this woman’s story: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/01/eveningnews/main2222867.shtml. Was the media’s plan for selling us the thin woman theory work?

Was it the increase on the divorce rate? The higher the divorced rate, the more depressed, the more we ate and the more weight we gained and the more we searched for significance by controlling our weight through several forms of dieting. And over time we are here wondering how our dress size became our value system.
And do we come up with our value systems based on our community’s value system? For example, if our community value a certain dress size, do we also value that same thing?

I don’t know the cause for where we are but one of the many lessons I learned in graduate school was that correlation does not define causation. Meaning because two things correlate does not mean one caused the other. I can’t answer why our dress size is a value. That seems to be an individual issue that you must grapple with. It is for you to look through your history, your situation and have some explanations and possibly some recommendations.

So…I am still here on the computer as I continue to ponder, how my dress size became a part of my value system?

Before I sign off, I want to leave you with these words of affirmation:
You are beautiful! Whether you’re a size 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18…You’re beautiful!
You are worth loving! Whether you’re a size 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18…You’re worth it!
You are precious! Whether you’re a size 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18…You’re precious!
You are gorgeous! Whether you’re a size 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18…Just gorgeous!
You are created by the One who knows exactly what He was doing when he chose to make you, value that more than anything else.

You are not God, You're a Mom!

2011-05-27T06:11:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I posted this thought on facebook: In the toughest season of my life, when I thought I had ruined my children forever in neglect, with no extra money for tutoring or child care...God showed up!!!!They passed their standard exams with some of the highest scores in their class! That's the power of God through Jesus! Whoosh! Do I have a testimony! I'll take that testimony to the old school days! Moms don't fret; God can show up when you can't! This post received thirty likes and twelve comments, most of which were written by other moms whom I believe stand with me in agreement in celebrating my children’s success in spite of the hardships I experienced throughout the year.

But I suspect there are more moms like myself who have experienced many hard, gut wrenching life experiences while at the same time trying to nurture their children. Can we possibly do both? Nurture our children while living through whatever life has to offer.

Our children doing well in school and in life seem to signify many things to us moms. Often times their success seem to have a direct correlation with how good a mom we are. And on the other hand, our children’s failures seem to also expose the most dreaded insult, that we’re terrible moms. What a burden to bear? So let me get this straight, God has given us children so we can gauge how good or bad of a human being we are. Yeah I know, it sounds ridiculous when I phrase it in such a way. But it doesn’t matter how I phrase it, it’s a ridiculous thought process that mostly operate in the subconscious. How about the women who have no children, are they any gooder or badder (yeah I know those aren’t words but you get my drift)? How are they supposed to gauge their significance as a human being?

Side Note, I do believe there are psychopathic moms who either harm their children, or put them in harm’s way and have committed terrible crimes to their children, I’m not referring to those moms. I’m talking about the 98% of moms in the mainstream population.

You see the reality is every human being, under this side of heaven, has a need that can only be fulfilled by One. But we start off not fully knowing that, so what we do is to try to be fulfilled by these other things; a job, a husband and the less fearful, more natural relationship, our children. If truth be told, children seem to fulfill that void. They love you unconditionally, they make you laugh and they seem to have the ability to say the most perfect thing at the right time.

But moms, I want to help free you up and hopefully you can start moving towards taking the load and pressure off of developing the perfect child. The fact is: YOU ARE NOT GOD! Let me say it again, YOU ARE NOT GOD! Our children already have a God watching over them, they don’t need another one. Whether they turn out to be the president of the US, a successful businessman, drunks, abuse drugs and God forbid fall into same sex relationships, YOU DO NOT control those outcomes. You are raising children not robots. Only with robots you can insert a specific type of information and wait for the desired outcome. With children, you can do everything “perfectly”, perfect school, perfect neighborhood, perfect home, healthy two family home environment and they may still end up in rehab. While others may make all of the "wrong" parenting choices; wrong neighborhoods, wrong schools, single parent home, works many hours, moves around a lot and they may end the president of the United States. That makes no sense whatsoever right? How does that happen? Why does that happen? I really don’t know. However the reality is you cannot predict how your children will turn out. You cannot start programming them for a specific career or way of life because in the end you may be disappointed. If you can’t control or manipulate your children into being what you want them to be. If all of that is true, then what exactly is our job as moms?

Over the years I’ve realized my job as an effective mom has had a lot to do with three things:
1) Pray for your children daily! Over and over again, the Bible instructs us to ask for wisdom if we lack it, James 1. I have prayed psalms 121, 91, 23 over them as they leave my presence and into the world.
2) Encourage them daily! My children have had great influences around them, aunts who would often tell them that they were geniuses. And for the past year God has placed in my heart to constantly remind our boys that they were created for greatness. If there’s nothing to encourage them about, make something up. Just encourage them daily and do it often.
3) Tell them you love them daily! I can’t tell you how important it is for your children to hear that you love them daily. Even when they don’t respond back, say it anyway.

Now these things again won’t guarantee you great and perfect children. The outcome, you will never know but in the present just love them and love them well by taking your hands of control off of them and hand them over to God. You are not responsible for how they turn out; you are responsible for how well you love them. Now I’m not perfect at any of this but I am in process. I am in the process of finding freedom as a mom and for my children.

Ex-Patriot Haitians-It is time to Go Back!

2011-05-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

This Blog is written in honor of the Haitian Flag day on May 18. This year marks the 207th year of independence. I am proud of the Haitian slaves who revolted and won independence. I just realized that Haiti slaves won their freedom 60 years before Abraham Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation, 60 years! No wonder so many nations feared and shunned Haiti, they were afraid their slaves might also revolt. Revolted slaves are never good for business, right? Ok I’m going off a tangent; I’ll continue that blog some other time.

Last night I had an opportunity to speak briefly at a Haitian Flag day gala and I could not help but to make the connection between Nehemiah from the Bible and our modern day situation. Nehemiah was an ex-patriot in exile in Babylon; many say he was probably born while in exile. The Jews were in captivity for about 70 years; I’ve always wondered what does one do for 70 years in a foreign land? Do you wait to be rescued? Do you fight back? Or do you live according to the rules of your oppressors and live life to the best of your abilities? Nehemiah chose to live life to the fullest; so much so that he worked his way up to a position of influence in government. When Nehemiah heard of the condition of his people upon their return from exile back to Jerusalem, a great grief came over him and he felt the call, the urgency to go back home and serve his people and that’s exactly what he did.

Haitians living abroad could be the modern day example of Nehemiah. Though we are not in exile, we are living in a foreign land. My family has been living in the US for over 35 years. At that time they felt that the only way to provide their 4 daughters with a better future was to leave Haiti and sacrifice everything and be a part of this foreign land. During these 35 years, their now 6 children have received a quality education, and are all working in meaningful ways to contribute to the world and provide for their family’s well being. My family’s story is not unique; there are millions like myself living abroad with that same purpose and that same success rate. Many are doctors, lawyers, judges, politicians, business men and women, teachers, professors, pastors and the list goes on and on. And my question for these successful ex-patriots is: are you just about successful enough? Have you achieved the dreams your parents sacrificed so much for you to attain? Like Nehemiah, are we ready to go back and help rebuild our beloved country Haiti?

My challenge is not for the foreign community because they are already in Haiti investing their time and money. When I went back to Haiti after the earthquake, I was shocked by what I saw, I noticed people from all different countries. I met a woman from Brazil. I saw a group from Japan. People from India, Europe, even groups from the Middle East were there. I was even more stunned to hear the Muslim call to prayer at noon as I came off the plane because Haiti has always had a strong catholic and voodoo influence for hundreds of years.

My challenge is to the ex-patriots living abroad. It is time for you to go back; our people are in desperate need of your presence. I understand how difficult it is to go back, heck; it took me 22 years before going back. There was always something going on, something competing for my time. College, getting married, having children, lack of funds (plane tickets are expensive), and if you have a two-week vacation all year, do you really want to spend it taking care of the poor? I get it, I understand, I really do. But listen you ex-patriot doctors, lawyers, judges, politicians, business men and women, teachers, professors, pastors and more, you must never forget “home”. You must never forget the land of your ancestors. You must never forget the slaves who fought for your freedom. The pride and dignity that you have that has made you successful come from those same slaves who were appalled by the living condition of their people. The reason you are able to hold your head up and not look at yourself as an inferior is because of your rich history. The reason you are able to walk proudly into a room is because you are from a unique ancestry, the first black republic; the first successful slave insurgence to win. Because of our ancestors’ example of revolting, many others followed. You are the fruit of their labor. We are the reasons they fought such a bloody battle. It is time to go back and continue the fight for freedom of our people. It is time to go back; to enjoy this beautiful land once called the pearl of the Antilles; to invest in the people; to create jobs; to give dignity back to those that gave you dignity.

In honor of our 207th year of independence, let us join the Nehemiah movement and go back to our homeland Haiti. In the 1920s, Marcus Garvey was a strong proponent to the going back to Africa movement. In the spirit of Marcus Garvey and many others who believe in ex-patriots and their value to their homeland, join me and let’s go back!

PS. This is not written as a criticism to my ex-pat brothers and sisters, I hope we can all link arms to the fight of our people. I believe if you know better, you do better.

We're All Going To Haiti!

2011-03-20T07:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends,

I am excited to inform you that this year the entire Previlon family is finally joining forces on a family mission’s trip to Haiti July 15-23. How did this happen? The simple answer is: Jesus! But the more complicated answer is: over the past couple of years God started developing a passion in my heart for my native people in Haiti. Interest arose when God broke the silence and fear by allowing me to go. A year later, he allowed Fresnel and me to join forces to be a part of a dynamic group of medical students. It was great to watch Fresnel fall in love with his people. After two years of telling my children countless stories of children I met during those two years; stories of Rood, Finet, Pouchie just to name a few, they will have the opportunity to be a part of what God’s calling all of us to do: To feed the poor, to clothe the naked, to loose the chains of injustice…Isaiah 58:6-7. I know they may be too young to do these things but imagine if our hearts were broken for those who were oppressed at an early age, what would our focuses be as adults?

Our trip this year will be July 15-23. We will travel with a wonderful group from our home church Irving Bible Church. We will fly into Port-Au-Prince and drive 85 miles north to our destination, Pignon. The purpose for this trip is simple: to conduct a vacation Bible School at Camp De La Grace for 300 and more students. We will give these students an opportunity to be children and have fun through bible stories, games, arts and crafts and not to mention to enjoy delicious meals cooked by the camp staff. The students will live on the camp with the rest of us. As God has blessed our family tremendously, I want to allow God to use us to be a blessing to others.

You can help to make this trip a tremendous experience for our family as well as for the students in Haiti. The first way you can help is through prayer. Your prayers and encouragement are needed for the spiritual battles ahead. Pray that my family will become lifetime partners to God’s mission, to make Him known to every part of the earth and to set the oppressed free. The second way you can partner with us is through financial assistance. Your help is needed to cover portions of the cost for this trip. The total cost is approximately $7,000. Any contributions will be greatly appreciated. You can make your checks payable to “Irving Bible Church” at 2435 Kinwest Parkway, Irving TX 75063 with Haiti-Previlon in the memo. Or you can give online at: give.irvingbible.org and in the memo line write Haiti-Previlon and remember all financial gifts are tax exempt.

Thank you in advance for joining us in this incredible journey.

In His Service,

Dieula Previlon

God in India

2011-03-05T12:06:00.000-08:00

Off to India

Sunday February 20th, a group from Irving Bible Church joined a dynamic team in Kutch India to help celebrate the dedication of the NT to the Kutchi people in their own language, Kutch. It’s hard for me to understand that a people group in 2011 would not have a written language or the words of God in their own native language. The reality is there are still over 2,500 people groups without any scriptures in their primary native language. For that reason this celebration is even more meaningful as the Lord has used the IBC community to make His name known to the unreached.

This work did not happen overnight, it was the hard work of many key individuals over a period of 10 years. Many of the staff who were heavily involved in the work of the Kutch are no longer on staff; Kathy Appleton, Debbie Atteberry and Steve Roese. Reminds me of Paul’s words 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow”. This dedication is as much about celebrating the faithfulness of God through whom all things grow.
As you serve in your respective ministries continue to plant seeds or water seeds even when you don’t get to see the fruit of your effort, for all glory belongs to God and not us. Please join us in spirit as we celebrate Jesus in Kutch this upcoming week. Your prayers are desperately needed, for the evil one is angry that one more people group is coming to know of the mighty hands of the Messiah.

We've Made it...

Good Morning/Night,

We've made it to Kutch, sleep deprived, tired and in desperate need of chick-fil-a. The lack of internet access has reminded us of how addicted we were to our phones, computers and all types of social media; when you have none of those mediums to communicate what else is there to do? Well it's forced us to fully be present with one another and look deep into each other's eyes and deep into our hearts.

Today (thursday) is the first day of the conference/celebration, during the conference we will meet hundreds of Indian missions ministering amongst the Kutch. There's this energy amongst these people that G*d is getting ready to reveal Himself in a mighty way amongst them and they're ready. It almost feels like being in the NT when Jesus ascended leaving His disciples with a mission; Acts 1:8 "when the HS comes upon you...you will be my witnesses".

Well brothers and sisters, the HS is here, it's mind blowing and these disciples are witnessing and they are excited. I've always wanted to be a part of the NT church and experience the HS in that same way, well I'm in it! I wish you all can be here with us, I hope you can experience it in Spirit. As exciting as the NT church was, they were also heavily persecuted! Can you please commit yourself to praying for us? I can't tell you how much we need your prayers.

I love you, Thank you all for sending me! Thank you for reaching out to the unreached, your willingness to serve is why we're here and this people group is able to receive the Gospel.

Blessings Friends!

The Big Day

Today's the big day! The dedication ceremony! For the past two days I've sat listening to story after story from many of the national workers in Kutch telling of their journey of reaching out to the Kutchi people for the past ten years. I have to admit, it was not an easy task sitting on those plastic picnic chairs listening to heavy indian accented English from 9-5 wearing a punjabi and anyone that knows me knows that I'm a jeans and t-shirt girl, I have definitely taken one for the team. As gruesome as those two days were, I've walked away with more knowledge about this people group that we (Ibc) have adopted. IBC was the catalyst for God's movement amongst this people group.

One of the stories that stood out for me was Hanson, the translator. He told the group of how persecuted he was during the process of translation, to the point of almost giving up. He admitted that this was the most difficult project in his entire life. I don't know if you realize this but the Kutchi language is not a written language, no alphabets, no pronunciations; just a verbally spoken language. Hanson had to use the Gujarat script in order to form alphabets before even beginning translating "this is the genealogy of Jesus the son of David". How many hundreds of years back does that put this people group? This process is too intricate for me to speak on.

In addition to experiencing the struggles with translating an unwritten language, Hanson has experienced many personal struggles. Financially he has struggled tremendously. He did not have a job, translating the bible was his job. If you do a search on salary.com, bible translation does not pay. IBC has financially supported him but for the 12 hour days that he has worked pouring his life into this work for the past ten years, no income is sufficient enough. He lost his father a few years ago and he walks with a heavy limp which looks like the affects of polio.

Folks the meaning of the NT bible in the language of the people is huge. It is the gift of life. Jesus said "I have come to give you life..." the Kutchi people now have a chance at living abundant lives through the receiving of God's words in their own language.

Join us in spirit as we celebrate! It is because you gave that this group is able to celebrate today.

Love you all can't wait to share more with you in person.

A Heavenly Ceremony

The ceremony was heavenly! When 500 plus attendees started singing "hallelujah" in Kutchi in celebration of our king, I could no longer hold back the tears. Might I mention I was sitting on stage facing the 500, weeping like a baby. But in that moment I had a taste of the Grand ceremony when Jesus returns when every nation will sing praises in their own native tongues. My only regret is that you were not with us to be blessed by this amazing experience but don't worry I have pictures and video clips.

Friends I hope you are willing to join me and the mission's department to continue to minister to the Kutchi people. Our work amongst this people group is not yet over, it is just now beginning. We are experiencing the birthing of a new Christian community and the ministry opportunities are immense. The needs are great but the release of the New Testament amongst a people group that had no written language is proof that nothing is impossible through Christ. IBC family you have done well in being faithful with your resources amongst the Kutchi people for the past 10 years. All glory, honor, power is to Jesus! Amen

Home Sweet Home

The team made it home safe yesterday after a 2 day journey. When the plane landed at the DFW airport, we cheered and clapped because 12 days in India felt like 2 months and we were more than ready to be home in our own bed. Please continue to pray for the team because we have seen a lot and there’s a lot to process.

Over the past 12 days we have experienced what it feels like to be in a non-Christian nation, where the closing at every conversation is not “God Bless you” or “I’ll pray for you”. In this nation, it is acceptable to have a god in the lobby at the hotel where guests and staff can burn incense and pray. In this nation pictures of elephants and other gods replace our cross. Beautiful and elaborate temples are built not to Jesus the King but to some other god. Tatoos on the face and dark makeup around the eyes of children to keep away the spirits, so the spirits won’t be jealous of their beauty. In this nation the country USA is synonymous to Christianity. We have seen the bondage and the spiritual oppression.

It is in that context that a growing Christian community is developing. In the Kutchi community, there are over 950 villages and there are only 22 churches, most are home churches. The Christian community is a faithful group who continue to follow God no matter what. They tend to be quite legalistic in fear of the culture around them. In that same community, although women are oppressed and are not offered too many opportunities in the church, there is a group of women that meets once a month. And once a week via telephone, they share prayer requests and pray for each other and the church. What you don’t know is: this group of women is the glue that binds 13 churches together. Paul’s letters to the different churches, especially Corinthians, make more sense now than before.

Family, let us continue to pray for this growing Christian community. Let us come alongside them and provide them the support and help needed to strengthen and bring growth to the church in Kutch.

Blessings to you all!

Racial Diversity in Heaven

2011-01-17T12:41:00.001-08:00

Diversity in the church gives us a glimpse of what heaven will be like. –Enrichment magazine

I read the above quote some time back and I’ve been pondering on those words ever since. The quote reveals a declaration to a secret I’m almost embarrassed to admit: when it comes to heaven — aside from the imagery of streets of gold, the harp music playing and Jesus’ glory as our main source of light — I never pictured heaven to include racial diversity. “Racial diversity in heaven” … that concept took me years to accept and wrap my mind around. My journey started in Haiti, where I was born and spent my childhood. Haiti has a diverse history with the British, Hispanics and French. In fact, when you visit Haiti you do not simply see a black country, but rather a mix of all different shades representing the groups from Haiti’s rich history.

I grew up one of six siblings. My older sister Angie is the only “fair” skinned sibling along with my father and his side of the family. The fair-skinned phenomenon in Haiti is sometimes titled “mulatos,” which simply means someone with a biracial background usually white and black. I grew up knowing about different races, but I simply did not realize how many there were or how we were equally brothers and sisters in the kingdom. Our church in Haiti, from what I remember, never mentioned racial diversity. We were an exclusive group of Haitian believers so there was no reason to emphasize or teach about diversity in heaven. Heaven, for me, at that point was simply angels, beauty and, of course, the presence of Jesus.

We then moved to the States in the late 80s where being an exclusive Haitian community was no longer the norm. We moved into a neighborhood at a time where the town seemed to be becoming predominantly black. The community seemed to resist having us around and we resisted being a part of the community. I think this was the very first time we, as a family, experienced “racism.” I hated being Haitian and “different.” Church was the only place I was “fully” accepted and was able to share life with other Haitians. If it was not for that Haitian church, our transition into the U.S. would have been detrimental.

Within a couple of years our English improved and the community seemed to be more accepting of us. Church, however, was still an exclusive Haitian church and we were becoming more Americanized with needs the church was not addressing. It was no longer “us vs. them.” My views on life were changing, my concepts of the church were changing and my concept of people was also changing. I wanted to reach across the aisle to get to know these different people with different lifestyles and ways of life. The purpose of being a part of the Haitian church had run its course and it was time for a change.

My change came in college. I went to college about an hour away from home and, for the first time in my entire life, I was alone. I had my own room, my own bed and I made my own decisions (can you hear the Janet Jackson song “Control” playing in the background?). It was like I stepped into the United Nations; I must have made friends with someone from every country. It was great! Some of my best friends were from different countries; Ngozi from Nigeria, Afia from Ghana, Nancy from Egypt, Kimmany from Jamaica, Tinaya was biracial, Nancy from El Salvador, Simone from the U.S. and Anide and Ludy from Haiti.

For some reason college felt more like heaven than church ever did. These friends of mine from all different backgrounds and lifestyles taught me more about heaven than any Bible study ever did. They accepted me and loved me deeply. The great thing about these friendships was that everyone became more of themselves around each other. We loved each other so much that Ngozi would never want me to become Nigerian to continue our friendship nor would I want her to be Haitian for our friendship to flourish. In fact, we became more ethnocentric around each other. When they became more of themselves, I became more of myself. If that isn’t a picture of heaven, I don’t know what is.

As the old saying goes, every good thing must come to an end, and so did college. I graduated, got married, had children and moved back to my all exclusive Haitian church. Again, this community was no longer fulfilling the needs of my family. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with all exclusive churches; the immigrant communities need them as a way to find community and survive. But for me it had run its course. To help us with our little situation, God moved us out here to Dallas to experience a part of diversity I have never experienced before: worshipping for the first time with American believers in “American” run churches. I visited a predominantly black church and although our skins were the same color, there were vast differences and I hesitated and questioned the community. My family and I then visited predominantly white churches and in addition to the blue-jean-attire and coffee-in-the-worship-center was the visible difference of our race.

As a result, the past five years have been a struggle as we were handed only two options for church, the black church or the white church; and unfortunately we felt we belonged to neither. We often prayed for a multicultural church or for the Lord to bring us back home to New Jersey. God has not answered the latter prayer, but we’ve had glimpses of the former here at IBC. It all started with a “crazy” idea two members on staff envisioned: a Pentecost/cultural festival. The day of Pentecost is the day in our church history where the Holy Spirit was actualized and unleashed, and people from all different cultures and races were able to hear the gospel in their own native tongues. The IBC leaders for the Pentecost/cultural festival wanted to recreate that cultural essence, and I desperately wanted to be a part of it.

In my own naivety, I had no clue what I was signing up for. The first clue of the scope of this day came in our very first planning meeting, in that small room in West C. As we took our seats, I began to notice that everyone in that room was from a different race and culture; the only thing we had in common was Jesus. The climax of this five year journey occurred on the day of Pentecost on stage reading Acts chapter two with my brothers and sisters in our native tongues. It was as if Jesus had his arms around us saying, “These are my children of whom I am well pleased.”

Diversity in heaven is not our idea; it was and is Jesus’ ingenious plan from the beginning. I can’t wait until we get to heaven to experience true diversity where every last one of us feels completely at home to worship our Savior all day long, uninhibited. Until then we have the earth as our practice field as we get a daily glimpse of eternity.

Global Family Let's Pray for Haiti

2011-01-11T13:29:00.000-08:00

As I sit at my desk reminiscing on Haiti’s 200 year history since independence and specifically those 200,000 that lost their lives in last year’s devastating earthquake, the prophet Habakkuk’s words resonated at the core of my soul for my beloved country Haiti “Lord, how long must I ask for help and you ignore me? I cry out to you about violence, but you do not save us!” If I were not a believer in the maker of heaven and earth, a merciful God with the ability to show mercy, a faithful God who promises to never leave us or forsake us, a loving God who is able to see the depth of our hearts and still love us deeply, my thoughts on Haiti would conclude in God turning His back on Haiti. However I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good; all good, the highest good. I believe there is still hope for Haiti. I believe God when He says that “that time is coming soon; the message will come true it may seem like a long time, but be patient and wait for it, because it will surely come; it will not be delayed.” I believe that God has a plan to restore the country of Haiti.

So as we sit and wait, we don’t simply sit and watch the country turn upside down with one struggle after another, we pray and we plead that the Lord may act quickly on behalf of the precious people of Haiti. It is time for the global community to come together in agreement and cry out to God as He is Haiti’s only answer. As we all wait on God and join in unity in prayer on behalf of Haiti, we feed those that need to be fed, we clothe those that need to be clothed, we provide shelter for those that need shelter and we fight for those that can’t fight for themselves. It is a transformative dream; as we are seeking God to transform the country of Haiti, He transforms us in the process.

Let us remember those that lost their lives on January 12, 2010. Let us continue to stand for Haiti and with Haiti in prayer.

Christmas in Haiti

2010-12-17T17:10:00.000-08:00

Petit papa Noel
Quand tu descendras du ciel
Avec des jouets par milliers
N’oublie pas mon petit soulier
Mais avant de partir
Il faudra bien te couvrir
Dehors tu vas avoir si froid
C’est un peu a cause de moi

Little Santa Claus
When you come down from the sky With
thousands of toys
Don't forget my little stocking.
But before you leave
You should dress well
Outside you will be so cold
And it's kind of my fault.

I remember singing this French Christ-mas carol in Haiti as it was taught to us in school. I believe this was the school’s way of helping us join the rest of the world in this grand Christmas celebra-tion. I never quite understood what the words meant, but looking back now this song was clearly not written for a little girl who lived in a one room apartment with her three siblings and three other cousins. No, not for a girl in rural Haiti, for there was no Santa, no thousands of toys, no stockings and no winter.

The memory of this song jolted my thinking to ponder the question, “If we did not have all of the necessities that make Christmas, Christmas, how did we celebrate the birth of Jesus?” I have vivid memories: lots of fried everything to eat, pork, goat, chicken, plantains, rice and beans and, of course, lots of Haitian rum. Haitians make a drink called “Cremas”, a mixture of Haitian rum and lots of condensed milk and even the children were given a serving. Our Christmas gift would more than likely be a dress to wear for church or some other practical gift. It was a celebration that even non-believers joined.

I wonder if all of the “stuff” that makes us feel good about the Christmas season was removed, would our celebration of Christ’s birth be any different? I wonder, if receiving toys was not the focus of Christmas, would our children sing a new song for Christmas? There are millions of people all around the world, including many here in the US, celebrating Christmas this year with very little and yet, their celebration of Christ’s birth is just as meaningful. I recently listened to a song by Joy Williams “Hallelujah,” and in the song she describes the birth of Christ as a mystery. A mystery that God could be so small and his decrease in size was his way of reaching down to save the world.

I wonder if we can all join that symphony with the rest of the world whether you have much or very little and sing in celebration: Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Heaven’s love has reached down to save me through the birth of Jesus! So this Christmas, whichever way you celebrate, make sure it’s a celebration that shouts: Hallelujah, Praise the Lord, there’s hope! Jesus is here with us!

Black Women: Start with "Hello"

2010-10-04T06:59:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago in conversation with a good friend of mines, we identified a great problem in the black community: when black women are in the company of black men, they tend to avoid contact and not even acknowledge their presence. We laughed and joked about our theory. We even presented several reasons why this phenomenon may be occurring but we never thought there was any truth behind our laughter.

Walking away from our conversation, I was determined to a) find out if this theory of ours was in fact a reality and b) to shatter it if there’s any truth to it.

My “field research” began in the gym, 24Hour fitness, a place you will find a plethora of black men…single ladies please take note. I started out by making eye contact and saying hello, good morning and waved to all black men within my vicinity. Men that I’ve ignored for the past three months were all of the sudden subjects to my research.

Guess what their responses were black women? Usually a simple reciprocal hello or good morning! However this one morning the response was different. A good looking black man was walking toward me, our eyes met and continuing with my research I did as times before and said “good morning” and he responded with a typical reply: “good morning”. Two minutes later that same man approached me and said “in the two years I’ve attended this gym and in addition to two other locations, you are the only sistah that has ever spoken to me”. Ouch! Those were his exact words.

We talked and laughed a bit about the ridiculousness of this occurrence but once again I can’t mind my own business and leave well enough alone. Is this issue only specific to the black community or does it occur among all groups? The other question I’ve been grappling with is why? Why are black women apprehensive about approaching black men?

My girlfriend and I came to a number of conclusions of this phenomenon one is black women are apprehensive about approaching the black men they feel might have a chance at “sealing the deal”. That’s right, there’s a fear of rejection; a fear of not being fully accepted by black men. There’s also a fear of being disappointed once and if a relationship strikes. We’ve heard all the jokes about men being dogs and the Maury Povich baby mama drama and many of us have already been hurt by them; either by our own fathers or by an ex. Let’s face it; we have low expectations for the black man. The other reason that we’re not willing to admit is the sexual tension that seems to present itself as the eyes of these two individual strangers meet; there’s an instant attraction, like physics’ potential energy waiting to be explored. That attraction forces us to look away and not even attempt a conversation.

I think it’s time black women; it’s time for us to put down our guards and look at these beautiful black men as created beings. They are created beings that have the same needs as every other human being; to be loved, cherished, respected and acknowledged. And, no they were not created to replace the father that could not love us as we needed to be loved or to compensate for the ex-boyfriend, fiancé or husband that left a gaping hole in our hearts. They cannot carry the burdens of this world, there’s only one Man of which I know can do such a thing. So black women, I challenge you today: look deep into the eyes of these beautiful black men and pour dignity back into their souls; they are waiting for us and they do take notice.

Today my son was called an 'African booty scratcher'...

2010-08-31T16:24:00.000-07:00

And my first reaction was: "they're still using that one?" because I remember vividly the day a kid from my predominantly black neighborhood called me the same name. And back then as a middle schooler with only a couple of years in the US, I had no clue what it meant and I still don't. But I think the goal of the kid who called my son that name as was in my case was to demean and make us feel less than and in both cases they succeeded. Self hatred sets in and immediately you start questioning whether the skin that clothes what we call the self is not good enough, as my son blurts out "but mom I'm the darkest one in the family".

Moments like these always force me to ask myself what I truly believe about race, color, diversity and of course God's view in all of this color confusion. Let's face it; we in America have issues with race, color and diversity. Every single day I have to remind myself "you are perfect just the way you are". There are often times when I wonder if my reality, my view of self and others around me would be different if I were a few shades lighter. I've wondered if my Children would be liked just a little bit more if they had that "perfect" caramel complexion that Americans pay millions of dollars to achieve in tanning salons or bi-racial children seem to have naturally.

Let's admit it, tell the truth and shame the devil, we have racial preferences. As CNN revealed over and over again as they repeated a study conducted over fifty years ago, blacks and whites alike seem to favor the white and lighter complexion. Yes I know the study was done amongst children but let's do a study of the heart; right now, right where you're sitting answer this question for me, your answers are of course anonymous: which do you prefer if education, knowledge and skills were the same across the board: the white or black doll; the white or black supermodel; the white or black music video dancer; the white or black doctor; the white or black surgeon, the white or black pilot, the white or black president? The children on CNN were not lying were they?

You're not in this alone even the people sitting on the pews at church answered like the children on CNN; of course according to your anonymous answers.

There's a perfect solution to this: Repent! Yes, repent! I'm black and I had to repent. You see we were all created in the image of God and God called his image good! That's great news! My dark skin is good! My nappy hair is good! My Children's dark skin is good! My nephew's bi-racial skin is good! My co-workers white skin is all good! I love diversity because God loves diversity! We need to repent and agree with God and call the races and diversity Good!

Six years ago when I repented and claimed that God created me in his image and that my dark skin was good, I did something radical, I cut the perm off my hair and claimed my natural beauty. Today you can't tell me I'm an African booty scratcher' hoping for me to feel belittled...remember I repented and very often I hum the line in the voice of Tupac "the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice". As for my son, he will be ok; this is his painful journey and I don't want to rob him of the joy of coming on the other side victorious, realizing, as I have, that God loves his dark skin. Until then I’ll keep singing to him “the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice”.

The Motherless Boys of Haiti

2010-08-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

As the evening sun began to set in Camp de la Grace in pignon, Haiti I parked a chair on the side of the courtyard to watch the group of students get ready for night fall. They were on a break from school which means: time to relax and have some fun. This group of students is fortunate to have a generator in this rural Pignon community that stays on until 9 at night; most of Haiti is covered by darkness when the sun sets.

Under the gazebo, the students started setting up for the evening's activities. First came a set of speakers and followed was the radio. You then saw the group of students, one by one, started to gather as if they were following orders. That night's entertainment seemed to be a variety of my favorite music; kompa (Haitian dance music), I had never heard Haitian rap music until that night and my all time favorites are the Haitian love songs sung in French. The entertainment continued with R&B, I could not believe they were listening to Beyonce, Chris Brown and Neyo; just a reminder that the world is becoming more of a global community. They played many reggae hits especially Bob Marley, they loved his music, they sang along as they listened to the sobering “redemption song”. Once the music started I could no longer sit on the sidelines observing, I stood up and made my way by the gazebo.

I was instantly surrounded by none other than a group of boys. There seemed to be an abundance of boys in this particular community in pignon. As a mom of boys I know far too well how to handle myself around boys. If they want to dance, dance with them, and I gladly did as “Pouchy” taught me some new reggae dance steps. If they want to have silly conversations about bugs and slimy things join them and pretend you can handle it, which I did. They had many questions about life in the US, my children and Christianity. They could not believe I was Haitian. They would often laugh at my English accented kreol. They were proud of me that I came back to serve.

My interaction with the boys disturbed my thinking about boys all over Haiti growing up without mothers. Drawing from my relationship with my own boys, boys tend to have this intimate relationship with their mothers; no matter how badly they can behave, they know their mothers loved them deeply and unconditionally. Boys tend to look to their mothers for confidence; always asking non-verbally “can I make it? Can I do it? Will I be ok?” Boys seem to know that their mothers know their intentions; which sometimes does not work in their favor.

Looking at Haiti in its current state there are thousands of boys growing up on the streets, alone without a mother’s touch and love. Most of the crimes committed in Haiti are by young boys who grew up on the streets, again without mothers. Boys are abused just as frequently, if not more than girls, why, because boys have more freedom to roam about than girls and drug and human traffickers’ prey on them. I know with the many problems the children in Haiti are faced with, not having a mother may not be on our top five lists but my challenge is for us to not forget about the motherless boys in Haiti.

In the words of Bob Marley and in the spirit of those students who strive and struggle to move forward even in the midst of such chaos, we shall continue to sing songs of freedom, redemption song.

Haiti Six Months Later…

2010-07-12T14:26:00.001-07:00

Ou saint ou saint ou saint ou saint
Se tou patout sou la te map di jan ou saint...

You’re Holy, You’re Holy, You’re Holy, You’re Holy
It is all over the world that I will tell of your Holiness…

A couple weeks ago I stood in a fairly large church in Haiti listening to a group worshipping Jesus with these words and while I sang along I couldn’t help but thinking “this was one of the purest worships I have ever been a part of”. You see these people singing “you’re holy” all had been affected by the earthquake and other atrocities; many of which were probably going home to live in a tent; some had lost children, church members, classmates and so on but this was the same group singing “you’re holy”.

It has been six months since the devastating earthquake ravaged through Haiti. And many people call the Haitians strong with the ability to persevere but I propose a different theory. Strength and perseverance could not have been possible if the Holy Spirit was not amongst these sufferers. You see suffering is common to everyone on this side of heaven; however suffering while still having the ability to call God Holy, like these Haitian sufferers, is unique. This is where pure worship happens! When one have the ability to say: “I may have lost everything dear to me, my home, children, family members and close friends but I will sing your praises anyhow”. It is not contingent material wealth or lack thereof. It is looking life in the face and realizing that this place is not home and our full confidence is in Christ Jesus, the maker of heaven and earth. This is where true joy in the midst of devastation happens.

So on this six month anniversary of the earthquake, I want to remember those who have passed. For those who are left behind, I want to thank them for teaching me the meaning of true worship. Let us not forget the people of Haiti; they will continue to need our help and us theirs.

Green, Yellow and Red-Hope in Haiti

2010-07-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

Green, Yellow and Red -- Hope in Haiti

To the average person, these colors might not mean much. But in Port au Prince, Haiti, these colors are signs of improvement. If you drive around PAP, you will notice one of these three colors stamped with some letters on all of the buildings. A structure with a green stamp means the building is structurally sound and is livable. Yellow means repairs need to be made before a family can move back in. Red means these buildings will eventually come down and be rebuilt.

After spending a week in Haiti, you become desperate for any signs of hope because some of what you see can leave you thinking, “Things will never get better for this country.” When you walk around the tent cities, you get a sense that these families have resolved themselves to the fact that living in tents is their new permanent reality. You can find everything from a hot plate of food in a tent “restaurant”, to a barbershop, a movie theater, and vendors selling goods. We call them resilient fighters, but I could not help thinking, “No! These tents were not supposed to be permanent. Families should not have to live under the constant threat of rain, not to mention the hot sun with no trees for shade. Children should not be abused due to a lack of security in these tent cities. Women should not give birth in a tent without any medical assistance.” But this is the new reality of the people of Haiti. So we look for hope in a place that seems hopeless.

Signs of hope came in a two-day conference teaching women leaders about trauma and how to run small groups for trauma victims in their communities. What I thought was a trauma conference for earthquake victims, ended up being a healing experience for many women who have not allowed themselves to recover from a number of other horrors. We laughed, we cried, and hope was restored among this group.

“God please let me never come back to Haiti,” is what Fresnel said after his first night in Haiti. I must admit, the airport scene in PAP alone will have you wishing you had never entered Haiti. But God heard Fresnel and instantly started changing his heart towards Haiti. That same evening, Fresnel and the medical team we were with walked through the community setting up mosquito nets for several families. When he came back, Fresnel had several stories about families in the community. One was of the mother who had just given birth that same day and flies were making the baby’s face their landing spot. The mosquito net was very timely, and Fresnel knew he was at the right place at the right time.

If Fresnel was not yet convinced that he was needed in Haiti, maybe meeting his biological sister for the second time in his life sealed the deal. The big reunion took place at 7a.m. Be mindful that 7a.m. Haiti time is like 10 a.m. US time. He was finally reunited with his sister whose name is “Renese.” I don’t think he realized until that moment that she and our oldest son shared the same root name after their father’s name. When she told Fresnel, “We are the only ones left, you’re my only sibling, and you’re all I have,” I knew God had definitely changed Fresnel’s mind about Haiti.

My favorite moment was while visiting an orphanage outside of PAP. That place reeked of urine, and I secretly told myself not to touch any of those beautiful babies because I wanted to go back home healthy. I guess Fresnel did not have that same concern, because before I knew it, I found him holding and rocking a little baby girl whose nose was covered with mucus. I think God has given Fresnel several irrefutable reasons to go back to Haiti.

Haiti is still in desperate need of our attention and help. The needs continue to be great. But it was encouraging to see the people holding on to hope as they celebrated over the World Cup. Streets were decorated in either Brazilian or Argentinean colors. Conversations about “football” went on from morning to night. The World Cup gave the people a distraction; it gave them hope. There are many reasons to hope for a better Haiti. Sometimes it may come in something as simple as colors stamped on buildings, or a group of women healing from trauma right before your eyes. It could be watching a man getting connected to his roots and realizing it wasn’t as bad as he thought. Or it might be a woman connecting to her only sibling and big brother. We call them glimpses of hope. I call them God’s grace in helping us cope with whatever life may bring.

On the Road Again to Haiti...

2010-06-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

If you had told me two years ago that God would take me on such a journey back to Haiti I would have said "no way" because I had serious trusting issues with God. And God, knowing all things, knew if we were going to have any relationship at all, I needed to trust Him. I don't think my journey has as much to do with me ministering to Haitians in Haiti as it does with me learning to trust God. I haven't gotten it all figured out yet, I don't know if I ever will but I'm on the journey.

So I am on the road again to Haiti, this time my mission is two-fold. The first part of my trip will be focused on bringing healing to women leaders who were affected by the earthquake. I and a group of other Haitian professionals with backgrounds in counseling will teach these leaders about trauma and how to overcome the wounds of trauma.

The second part of my trip is to help lead a medical team mostly from UT southwestern. This team is made up of medical students, doctors, nurses and a woman trained in PT.

Please pray for traveling mercies, endurance and patience. Pray that as we serve, we may learn to trust Jesus just a little bit more. Because as we see the multi-levels of need in Haiti, we may see that apart from Jesus we can do nothing to help the Haitian people. And that is exactly the perspective Jesus wants from us.

Our help comes from the Lord...Psalms 121

Update on Rood

2010-06-06T14:52:00.000-07:00

My journey back to Haiti began last year and since then I’ve made some very special friends mostly children. Like Wendy Williams would say these friendships are mostly in my mind but I often think of them, pray for them and wonder if things are well for them. When I become overwhelmed by these thoughts I would picture myself handing them over one by one to Jesus. Like the little girl I met last year in Pignon whose parents had migrated north after a devastating hurricane hit their hometown, Gonaives, destroying thousands of homes and lives, I wonder if they’ve recovered. I can’t forget the wedding ceremony I witnessed by a group of little girls, they even had a veil; I wonder if they’re dreaming of a beautiful wedding where someday they will be the honored bride. Earlier this year I met another little girl. After describing her to many of my friends, they’ve named her my “hell no” friend. And there’s a reason for that name, she takes no mess from anyone including her uncle’s wife who wanted to make her a child slave of their home. Did I mention she was only nine?

And then there’s Rood Lapointe Junior, my hero. I met Rood after the earthquake and during the earthquake Rood lost everyone in his household and his left arm. It’s always interesting when you meet people who fall on the receiving end of service; they always end up blessing you far more than you bless them. It’s almost as if the encounter was more for our own good than their well being. They change your relationship with God, your perspective on life and the way you look at your role in this world. Since meeting Rood, my faith has been more grounded on eternal things than earthly things. I’ve asked God some really hard questions and I’m learning to be ok not receiving all the answers and having little understanding to comprehend his ways of reigning on the Earth. Now don’t get me wrong I still like a starbuck’s coffee and I would love own a pair of Milano Blahnic shoes (if I can bring myself to buying a $600 pair of shoes). But since meeting Rood I’ve grappled with Job’s statement in Job 1:21 “The Lord gives, the Lord takes blessed be the name of the Lord.” I want to be able to say “God everything I own belongs to you, if you take any of it away; your name is still blessed”. I don’t want to hold on to anything Jesus wants me to give to him. That’s exactly what Rood has learned to say.

A few weeks after meeting Rood, I learned that he would be adopted by a family in TX, I promised him to come and visit him if the adoption went through. Well, Rood was not granted humanitarian parole, the adoption fell through. Months went by and I hadn’t heard anything. I sent emails, attempted phone calls and nothing. Finally, I facebooked one of the interpreters from the team I traveled with asking him to go back to the orphanage and let me know if Rood is still there and how he was doing. Two weeks later, I received a phone call from him telling me Rood was still at the orphanage. He went on to say, Rood was laughing and playing with the rest of the children, he has found a community of people who love him and friends he can play with.

I am on my way back to Haiti to make more friends; the countdown begins, 17 days until I enter Haiti once again. Blessed Be the name of the Lord!

A Perspective on Immigration

2010-05-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I jumped on the bandwagon and I'm blogging about immigration. In light of everything that's happened with Arizona taking a strong stance on enforcing immigration laws which by the way is in desperate need of reforming nationally, I thought I'd take my opportunity to give a perspective. To preface this blog, I think it's fair to warn you that I am a child of immigratted parents. If you haven't read my previous blogs, I was born and raised in Haiti; English is my second language.

I remember growing up in Haiti without parents but with the knowledge that I had parents who loved me so much that they would leave me and my three older sisters in search of a better future for our immediate family and generations to come. The funny thing is everyone in our community understood that, they got it and it's interesting that many people living in America don't understand why is that a worthy sacrifice. Many foreign families risk their own lives and sacrifice their own happiness and well being to break what seems to be a generational curse. Many survive but countless others don't.

When I tell people about our family, in their ignorance they would ask "why did your parents leave Haiti?" And my answer, sometimes in frustration that they don't understand is "Most foreigners living in places like Haiti live for the day when they might have a chance at a better life". A better life means a quality education, healthcare, enough food for everyone to eat, clean water; in other words an opportunity at living to the highest potential that God has created every last one of us with.

As a foreigner, I can't understand why a nation which was built by the hands of immigrants would be so against modern day immigrants? I can't understand a nation which is predominantly christian cannot understand the plight of immigrants when the Bible is plagued with examples of God Himself commissioning groups of people out of their land and into another, whether the reason was due to famine, religious persecution or war?

Yes I do understand that we have to keep the murderers and the strange and questionable looking people out of "our" country. I do understand we need to keep the drug dealers and all the craziness out of "our" country, I get it, I really do. I do understand we need laws, borders and boundaries in order to protect the hard working people of this country. I get it, I really do! However there has to be a better way to talk about these people. There has to be a better way to treat them. There has to be a better model for grace. There has to be a better model for love. You mean to tell me I can go to jail if I feed an illegal immigrant? I can't even show kindness and mercy to an illegal immigrant? Where's the 80% Christian of this nation?

Ok, I'm off my soapbox, last thought: Jesus was born in a stable and guess what he was at birth: an immigrant! Shocking! What do we do with that? Embrace the tension!!!! This issue is very gray, not as black and white as many think. That's just my perspective.

May 18th Haiti Independence

2010-05-18T16:33:00.000-07:00

Growing up in Haiti, we were always taught the rich history of Haiti. From Kindergarden to higher grades, we were taught to be proud of our rich heritage. To learn the big history textbook, we would sometimes memorize our lessons in songs. I can still remember some of the lines of those lessons starting with Christopher Columbus descovering Haiti to the Haitian Revolution and Beyond. Those history lessons have given my life depth and meaning because I am the descendant of hard working slaves who survived the middle passage during the transatlantic slave trade and who stood up for equality for all. For their sacrifices, I will be eternally grateful and pray that I can live out their legacy.

In honor of Haitian Flag Day on this day of May 18th, I wanted to share with you all some quotes from a book I've been reading "Avengers of the New World: The story of the Haitian Revolution". "In 1791 the colony's slaves began a massive uprising. It became the largest slave revolt in the history of the world and the only one that succeeded." After hundreds of years of being enslaved, hundreds of failed attempts of a revolution, these African slaves finally gained their freedom. "Through years of struggle, brutal violence, and imperial war, slaves became citizens in the empire that had enslaved them."

I'm not sure if you understand the significance of this revolution not just for Haiti but globally so let me give you some perspective. The only big event in our day I can compare the successful Haiti slave revolution to is a black man being the president of the United States. "The revolution began as a challenge to French imperial authority by colonial whites, but it soon became a battle over racial inequality, and then over the existence of slavery itself." In other words, the civil rights movement was only possible because of the Haitian Revolution. The end of Apartheid in South Africa was only possible because of the Haitian Revolution. "If we live in a world in which democracy is meant to exclude no one, it is in no small part because of the actions of those slaves in Saint-Domingue (Haiti) who insisted that human rights were theirs too."

The slave revolution lasted 12 years and on May 18th 1804, Haiti was declared a free nation!

So, to all of my Haitian, black and white friends, take some time and ponder the democracy that we are now enjoying in the USA and elsewhere, think of the sacrifices that were made and the millions of lives slaughtered for what we now take for granted. I'm not just proud to be Haitian on this day but I'm proud to be a human being who like my ancestors must stand for justice and equality for all. That's our God given right!

Happy Haitian Independence Day

Taking Chances

2010-05-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

After months of contemplating and years of writing in my journal, I've taken the plunge to start a new blog. I don't know if you all are ready for me to share my deep and innermost thoughts as I freely write in my journal but you'll get a synopsis of it. I was born and raised in Haiti up until the fifth grade and since then I've been living a complicated life as a foreigner, sometimes American but all of the time Haitian. You probably can pick it up from my accent or maybe not; some say I don't but it's here especially when I'm upset.

Why taking chances? It's simple, life is not worth living outside of taking chances. Don't you get tired of playing it safe and always wondering what's on the other side of the door? Plunging is hard and sometimes debilitating but it is very important that you take that chance, go through the open door that God has opened for you.

Update on Haiti-February Visit

2010-05-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

This blog was written over two months ago right when I came back from Haiti in February.

Someone asked me in the airport on my way back from Haiti “What is the greatest need in Haiti right now?” I wanted to say, “They’re all great”. But I went through a litany of needs and their importance; she probably regretted ever asking me what seems to be a simple question. Nothing in Haiti is simple right now. Before I discuss the needs of Haiti, I want to describe, or attempt to describe, the extent of the damages in Haiti.

Let’s put it this way, from my assessment, every area within a 30 mile radius of Port Au Prince was affected by the earthquake in some shape or form. Tremors w ere felt by neighboring countries like DR, Jamaica and Cuba. Some areas were affected more than others. In some areas every other home seemed to be destroyed as if the tenth plague was upon those communities. In some areas it was the entire block or the entire town that seemed to have been heavily destroyed. It almost seems as if the earth regurgitated Haiti from its belly. At first I was very doubtful that 250 thousand people might have died in the quake. But as we drove around PAP and the surrounding towns we started to understand how that number might be accurate or heartbreakingly, higher.

We drove through PAP visiting some of the places that were most affected; the palace, the cathedral, town hall, businesses, schools, residential properties and churches. The earthquake did not discriminate. Whether you were rich, poor, government officials or the lowest in society, there was nowhere to run from the wrath of the earthquake. My first thought after noticing the huge blocks of concrete on the streets of PAP was, “These people had no chance of survival.” It’s ironic, but homes in the Caribbean are designed with huge concrete to be able to withstand hurricanes and it was these same structures that devastated the country during another natural disaster. Homes were flattened and the people on the streets would report to us how many dead bodies still remained inside the different properties. The stronger the smell on certain streets, the more bodies remained dead in the buildings. I wish I could fully describe to you what I saw and experienced in Haiti; but time and space only allow me to give you snapshots.

The stories that moved me the most were the stories of the survivors. They all had one testimony, “God saved me.” I made the mistake of asking one survivor how he got out; he corrected me and said, “No, No, No; it’s how God brought me out.” I wonder if God wants us to walk around telling our testimony of how He saved us from whatever. These people will have that testimony for the rest of their lives. It is mind boggling that God is glorified in such devastation. The most moving testimony came from a young man named Rood Junior Lapointe. Rood is 13 years old and if you saw his smile, you would never think that out of a family of 11 he was the only survivor. He speaks French and Kreol fluently, and a little bit of English and Spanish. He was not too confident telling his story in English, he said he would only tell his story if I translated for him. I gladly agreed. Before we started the interview, Rood told us he wanted to be a doctor and a pastor. “Why?” I asked. So he can testify to what God has done for him. Rood watched his entire family die in the earthquake, but he insists that God deserves to be glorified and praised. All week long, my prayer was that God would remove the veil between Him and me; that I might worship Him like those survivors; that my testimony of His saving grace in my life would bring glory to His name. He’s still working on me.

The needs in Haiti are tremendous on every level. Many people are living in tents; some out of necessity and some out of fear that another earthquake is imminent and I don’t blame them as they have experienced over fifty aftershocks since Jan 12th. The problem with tents is that they are a temporary fix until permanent housing is in place and there is no sign of permanent housing. Hurricane season has arrived and tents will not be able to withstand the strong winds and heavy rains that come with hurricanes. Even worse, people who were not able to receive tents built their own tents out of sheets. This could be a big problem in terms of diseases if the government does not act soon.

Secondly, aid is being distributed, but only the fittest are able to stand in line for 8 hours a day and fight for a voucher and then turn around to stand in another line to redeem the vouchers. So that leaves out the elderly, the sick and children (especially orphans), the people who are most in need of aid.

Medical needs are still great, there are thousands of amputees, and thousands more injured. All of the survivors have some kind of injury. Many were seen by a medical team once and have not seen any other medical professional. Wounds are becoming infected and some people are self medicating due to a lack of resources; my aunt became one of them. Now you all know I’m far from being a medical professional, I can’t even stand around my children when they’re getting their yearly shots but after this week you can call me nurse Dieula as I was able to change the dressing on my aunt’s wound. Yes, I know it’s only one procedure, but if I had stayed longer I would be well qualified. A medical team was setting up the day I was leaving and the line was in the hundreds. I am not even sure they were able to see all the people lined up.

Although the psychological needs in Haiti are enormous, they are not the most pressing. People are afraid to go back to work in tall buildings. Children are afraid to go back to school. Schools are still closed mostly due to fear. Churches are not meeting in their usual locations. All of this is due to the trauma. Many buildings are cracked from the earthquake and the government is not allowing certain buildings to reopen. People are trying to hold on to the life they had prior to the earthquake, but this is the new normal and many don’t know how to move on. Many have pitched their tents right next to their destroyed homes. Some are still living on the fragile mountains that can crumble in the gust of heavy hurricane winds. All because they don’t know where else to go; they can’t go back to the villages where many are from because there’s nothing there– no schools, no hospitals, no work and no technology. So, many decide to remain in PAP in tents with the illusion that things will change soon. But if you drive around PAP, you know that things will not change overnight.

My purpose for going to Haiti was to join a team called Haiti Orphan Relief Team (HORT), a team initiated by World Orphan leaders in addition to leaders from Watermark, Bent Tree and other organization leaders around the US to assess the needs of the orphans. The vision for this team was to visit churches in Haiti as they would be the key people that can help manage Orphan care. We visited churches and orphanages that were already involved with orphan care prior to the earthquake to see if the churches in the US can partner with a church in Haiti to bring relief to orphans. What we found is that orphan care in Haiti is a very complicated issue. If you need more information of its complexity, let’s talk in person. We have not yet debriefed about the trip as a team to discuss next steps, I will keep you updated.

As for me I’m doing ok, and slowly recovering. I spent many nights in tears crying out to God trying to understand how this happened and how he was going to make it right again. But then in the morning I would see a group of believers congregating in the open air praising and worshipping; their faith in God kept me strengthened.

Mahatma Ghandi once said “whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it”. It has been very difficult trying to figure out how to help my people knowing that whatever help I can bring will be like a drop in a bucket but I am reminded that filling up a bucket requires the first drop and the drop of many others.

The question now is, “what can we do?”

Stay engaged and pray If you have even a little bit of medical training, there are several medical teams going each week, find out how you can go. And if you can’t go, give towards those who are going.
Vaccinations and medical supplies are in highly demand. If you know of a company providing medical supplies please let me know.
There are thousands of amputees with no one to visit them because their families have died. Consider going to be of encouragement to them.
Orphan care is a major problem right now, adoptions are closed and these children are on the streets, parents are willingly giving up their children because they cannot take care of them; find an organization providing orphan care and ask them their strategy.Don’t feel helpless and whatever you do, don’t be apathetic. We can’t do anything for those who have died, so let’s help take care of the survivors.
Our drivers and translators are all students and all of them have dropped everything to provide relief. One was studying in the DR and he speaks Spanish, English, French and kreol, he’s doing his degree in management. The other is a linguist who speaks English, Spanish, French, kreol and is now studying Portuguese. Since the earthquake, he says he’s translated for so many doctors that now he can perform many medical procedures. The third is in university and wants to be a cardiologist. There are only two cardiologists in Haiti, she would be the third. These students all need laptops to further their studies. If you would like to contribute towards that need please let me know.
Lastly, we are continuing our partnership with HIM (Hosean International Ministries) through Caleb Lucien and with his guidance we will help rebuild Haiti.  And finally, I am reminded of the words of Job in 42:2-3 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted…But I have declared without understanding things too wonderful for me to know”.

May we all remember that the Lord in whom we trust is always faithful, always loving, and always at his good work even in the midst of the earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis.

With a hopeful and grateful heart,

Dieula