Iron Sharpens Iron

Proverbs 27:17

17 As iron sharpens iron,

    so one person sharpens another.

     There are so many things about this trip that I will remember. So many things that will shape and change my future.  However, let it be said that one of the best elements of this trip had nothing to do with Haiti, or the Haitian people.  This trip wasn't just 8 days.  It was several months of planning and meeting with our team.  There are some real rocks on this team.  Folks who stand strong on the word of the Lord.  These people don't just talk about God as this mysterious person on the other side of the clouds.  He is someone they know well because they know him through his word. 

     Everyone on this trip taught me something, but I will be especially  grateful for two particular people.  Every father with daughters should be so blessed as I have been.  My two daughters got to spend a week talking to, working with, eating with, and praying with Pat Wiseman Jones.  This lady has a heart for God, and my daughters got to watch that up close and personal for 8 days.  Talk about an accelerated course in faith!

     Then there is the little giant!  Gene Hartman.  Gene was our leader on this trip.  He wore this responsibility on his sleeve, and it was a heavy weight on his shoulders.  Leading an international mission trip would never be an easy task, but it wasn't just 17 people.  It was 12 adults, and 5 teenagers.  Not an easy task. 

     I realized one thing very early with Gene.  You don't have to be the center of attention to lead.  You don't have to speak much to lead.  Just have integrity, and make your words count.  Gene can quickly cut through the unimportant stuff.  What does God want us to be focusing on right now?  Follow Gene, and you will be pointed in the right direction. 

     Gene is a great leader because no decision is made on his own wisdom.  Gene does everything through prayer and petition.  I learned by watching him every day.  I only hope Gene knows how much I grew to love him during this trip.  At the end of the day, everyone on this team was important to me.  I love each and every one of them.

Ah ha!

Matthew 6:31-33 

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

     

     I want to tell you about the biggest "Ah Ha" moment of my trip.  It came at the end of the first day building the homes.  We had just spent a very grueling first day building.  We did not realize prior to that day that we would have to carry all the building materials down the side of very steep hill, which had no good footing, and plenty of treacherous places where one could be hurt badly.  It was 90 plus degrees, and we were very satisfied that we had finished our first home.  Before we left the village to go back to our mission house and eat dinner, we were to scout the site of the next home to be built.  You see, each day we had to tear down the existing home (tent) before we built the new one.  

    It didn't really dawn on me until much later how trusting these folks were with us.  Into their village comes 17 strange white people from another country, and they let us tear down their home.  It wasn't much, but it is what they had.  What if we left, and didn't finish their home?  We would never have done that, but they certainly didn't know that.   It took a great amount of trust, but they knew up front that we came in the name of Christ, and so they put their trust in that.  

     So back to my story.  Madam Ville was the owner of the tent that we were going to rebuild the next day.  We went to her site to see how much work it would take to tear it down, and how hard it would be to level the spot.  She was a very nice woman, with a beautiful smile.  She invited us to come in her home.  Her tent was made of large tree branches that had been fastened together with nails and rope.  It was covered with a dark brown tarp, and a few strategically placed pieces of tin.    It was approximately 10x10.  She held the door open and we went inside.  

     It was dark inside even in the middle of the afternoon. There were some blankets on the floor where her family of seven would sleep at night.  Also there were a few makeshift chairs, and some utensils that she would use to prepare food.  That was it.  The air was heavy, so thick you could hardly breathe.  She hugged us, and thanked us for what we were about to do for her the following day.  Then, I spotted it.  Hanging in the middle of the tent was a piece of paper protected by some plastic.  My heart began to pound, and the tears began to fill my eyes.  Hanging in the middle of her tent was a copy of  "The Ten Commandments".  I was so humbled by this.  I felt dirty and unworthy of even being in her home.  Shortly after we walked back outside and assured her we would be back in the morning.  As we shut the door I noticed something else, another copy of  The Commandments hung on the front door.  I hadn't seen it on the way in because she was holding the door open.   It was like she had hung the second copy inside as if to say, "If you come in this home, make sure you know we serve God".  

    Here were these people who live in conditions that we just shake our head at, and they are grateful for what they have.  They trust that HE will provide them with what they need.  Not what they want, but what they need.  Madam Ville smiled and waived as we headed up the side of the mountain.  She knew we would return.  I was so tired and worn out, sticky with sweat and dirt, and yet I didn't even want to go back to the house at that point.  I couldn't wait to build her that new home and show her that we loved her, that God loved her.    I will never forget that moment when I saw the commandments hanging in that tent.  I will never forget, ever.  

Bel Timoun

   

Bel Timoun in Haiti

     The primary language in Haiti is Creole.  Bel Timoun means "Beautiful Children.  Haiti may be poor.  That is an understatement.  When it comes to beautiful children, they are rich.  While in Haiti my daughters worked with several other ladies teaching a Bible School. I am certain that they will never forget it!   During our stay, we were working in a village called Montreal.  It was a tent city.  just outside of Port Au Prince.  Our goal while we were there was to build at least 4 homes for the Haitians, and share God's love with the children in the village!  We went hoping to be a blessing to the Haitians, but while we were there, we got blessed!

Let me tell you just a little bit about how they lived in this village.
      Our fist day working in the village we drove in our truck up the side of a mountain.  There were several large homes that belonged to wealthy people in the area.  We got out of the truck and walked to the edge of a cliff.  Below us were about 1200 people living in squalor.  The terrain was treacherous. It was very steep walking down through the village, but in addition, the footing was very unstable.  It seemed like you never had a solid footing.  All of the homes were small.  A few lucky ones had homes made of block with dirt floors.  The rest, what you might call a tent.  The tent however was just whatever they could piece together to make a shelter.   Branches covered with tarps, or pieces of tin nailed to a

Taylor, Peyton, Paige, and Tawna with their new friends, Kiki, Stevi, Wilson, LaVincent and Je Jon Pey.

wooden frame.  All with dirt floors.  No running water, and of course no electricity, and by the way it was over 90 degrees.  It was so dry. There was one toilet in the village.  Actually it was a whole in the ground with a block surrounding.  There were rats, tarantulas (not the poisonous kind, but they were big, and they could still bite), and many other kids of bugs and pests roaming around.  Many of these kids were in need of medical care.  Malnourished, open wounds that had not been cared for.  Things you and I take for granted.  They were none the wiser.  It is just what they know.

The Bible School
The ladies went to a flat area, and began to lay down tarps so children could sit on them.  Within minutes there were young children beginning to appear.  Some of them with mothers, but many just checking out what was going on.  I wasn't fortunate enough to be working with these kids throughout the day every day, but I did get to interact on many occasions, and got to know some of the children personally.  The first day there were almost 100 kids that took part in the activities. The ladies had a translator with them, so they were able to communicate with the kids, sing with the kids, and share bible stories with them as well.  The kids had so much fun, and there smiles were priceless. Here are just a few things that you should know about these kids.

• Most of them didn't get to eat anything of substance until dinner time each night.
• There clothes were really clean, but most wore the same clothes each day. 
• There smiles were beautiful. Many of them had teeth that were perfect.  (Still a mystery to me).  
• Most of them had not seen themselves in a mirror before.  
• They already knew Bible songs.  And they could sing them with passion.
• Making a sock puppet, or coloring on paper was like going on a summer vacation for most kids.  It was a level of entertainment that they were not used to.  These were activities that were enjoyed by even the teenagers of the village.  In truth, one day five grown men approached the ladies and asked for paper and crayons.  They colored the pictures they were given like it was there homework assignment.  Truly a blessing to watch them.  
• They were so innocent.  They were so grateful.  They were so loving.

I wanted to share a few specific stories.  First off, I have always been drawn to kids.  When it comes to teaching golf, I have always enjoyed kids the most.  Any chance to watch the innocence of kids is amazing.  It reminds of this scripture:

Matthew 18:3-  And he said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

As I tell you this next story, please remember that these people have no possessions. They are blessed if they have the clothes they need, and food to eat.  They don't have things, and if they did, they would have no place to keep them.  So, on the first day of bible school, the ladies made bracelets with the children to go along with the lesson.  When I finished building the first day, I got a few minutes to talk to my daughters about their day, and interact with the children.  They introduced me to some of the children, and told me their names.  They had beautiful names to go with their beautiful smiles.  Names like Je Jaun Pe, Lavincent, Kiki, Lovely, Tisa, and Jeri.  However, I had the pleasure of meeting a little guy named Wilson.  Yes, Wilson.  When I met Wilson he smiled at me and he shook my hand.  My daughter Peyton prompted him to show me the bracelet he had made that day.  I made a big deal out of how nice it was and Wilson immediately took it off and tried to give it to me.  I felt terrible.  This little man had nothing, and he wanted to give me something.  I tried to convince him that it wouldn't fit my arm, that it was too small.  So, what did Wilson do?  He stretched it out and put it on my arm.  I was truly humbled.  Tears filled my eyes as he smiled up at me.  My heart was warm.  But that is not the end of the story. 

We returned to the house, had a great dinner, devotions, and then a nights sleep before getting ready to do it all over again.  The next morning as I was getting dressed, the bracelet that Wilson had given me was irritating my wrist.  Without thinking I grabbed it between my fingers and was going to pull it off.  I paused, and decided to wear it anyway.  As we arrived at the village we began to get to work.  While working at the village I was wearing a big floppy white hat to keep the sun off of my face and neck. I suppose that made me easily recognizable.  Anyway, two hundred yards up a hill, I saw a young boy running my direction.  He was running so fast that he looked like his arms were going to fly off.  I recognized him.  It was Wilson.  I met many young kids the day before, and I was impressed that I remembered his name.  When he reached me I said, "Wilson right?"  He looked at me but he suddenly lost his smile.  He was looking at my arm.  I was wearing gloves because of the work we were doing.  I held out my arm, and Wilson pulled the glove back revealing the bracelet.  His smile returned.  He beamed with pride.  He patted his chest as if to say, "I gave you that".  We will be friends for life, even if I never see him again. Lord I pray that I will see him again, and that he will be well.

My daughter Peyton with my friend Wilson.

Matthew 23:12

  "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

     As Americans, we cling to our stuff.  We have so much, and yet we struggle letting it go.  This little boy showed me how much stuff meant to him.  It was more important to him to show me how he felt about me, than it was to have a new possession.  Who would think that you would have to travel 1600 miles to learn a lesson like that from a seven year old boy?  So as I said in the beginning, we went to be a blessing, and we got blessed. 

     There are so many stories to share, but not enough time.  One of the days at the bible school, the group made sock puppets.  The kids got to design them, decorate them, and keep them.  They certainly had a great time doing all of this.  However, the next day was a reminder of how little they had.  We started to notice that many of the children were wearing there sock puppets again the next day, only this time on their feet.  It was funny to look around and see several of the kids wearing one sock.  These children could touch your heart in the simplest of ways.  They were truly a blessing.