A HEARTBREAKING EYE OPENER....

I've heard so many times we are a blessed nation.  And I've always believed that to a certain extent.  But last weekend opened my eyes to really see just how blessed we are.  Karen, Brent ( the semester program director), the semester students from Bethel University and myself jumped in a SI van and took a road trip to the border of Haiti last weekend.

Brent, who has made this journey multiple times gave us directions from our town Jarabacoa to the Haitian border, about a 3 hour trip one way.  It was a great time of fellowship together as we headed up to the border.  The purpose of this trip was to go to the marketplace at the border and observe the interaction between the two cultures.  Little did I know how much I would observe.

Twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays, Haitians are allowed to cross the border into the DR to sell whatever they have, and then they turn around and use that money to buy food.   Most of the things they sell come from relief organizations and a lot of the things they get they won't/can't use (clothes, toys, foods, shampoo, etc.) so they sell those things and as I said buy food that is critical. 

There is a river that separates the 2 countries and as you walk across a bridge you cross into the DR.  As soon as you come off the bridge there is a huge building with booths inside and booths outside.  This is where all the trading/selling is done.  It is literally wall to wall people, so much so you can barely walk.  Everyone trying to sell their things.  It is loud, busy, smelly, desperate.

As you try to walk through you are constantly moved to the side by Haitians with old broken wheel barrels loaded to their max hurrying back and forth with goods and food.  It is really hot so the air is filled with the smell of body odor and fish.  Not a good combination of smells.

As we walked through the outdoor booths and the marketplace inside I could not help but look into the vendors eyes to see if I could somehow get a glimpse into their lives.  I really had no desire to look at all the stuff they were selling.  I was more interested in the condition of their hearts.  What I saw will impact me for the rest of my life.

Mind you this is only my interpretation, what I saw with my eyes.  

I saw pain, frustration, desperation, bitterness, anger, hopelessness all wrapped into one.  Some of the vendors lay on the concrete floor waiting for someone to walk by and buy their things.  The Haitians we saw outside at the back of the building were incredibly hard-working. This is where the "behind the scenes action" was and where my heart was truly broken for them.

From what I could tell the system appears to be:  On the Haitian side of the border they have a staging area, where trucks carry all merchandise to be sold.  Haitians then use wheel barrels and old style carts (wooden carts that much resemble the carts in movies like Gladiator) to transport everything across the bridge, then into the booths outside and inside the marketplace.  Then as they get the money needed for food they reload these big carts full of food and 8-12 Haitian men then push the carts back up hill to the Haitian side of the border to be loaded on the trucks to deliver food to their families in need.  

The cart line behind the building is long and single file so if someone breaks down or needs to rest everyone has to stop.  Did I mention the temperature is really hot, or that so many of the men pushing the carts are barefoot in the mud, or that I saw the look in their eyes of sheer exhaustion but knowing they have to keep moving or they could lose valuable relief for their families?  

The pictures you see here are from someone else's camera.  At the time I observed all this I could not bring myself to take one picture.  It was so sad.  

In a sense I never want to return there.  It was just too sad.  As I processed this I began to question God, "Why do I/we have it so good?, Why do you show me/us favor?, This is too big, how can I/we help in any way?, What would you have me/us do?"

I seriously don't know the answer to these questions.  I also understand God is God and He can shape and mold however He wants.  He is the great Potter.  But I do know this......

I WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.  When someone speaks of me/us being a blessed people I truly can understand that concept in ways only a short time ago I really didn't.  In the back of my mind are forever burned these images of men and women dirty, tired, hungry desperately trying to survive.  

I think of the song "Open the Eyes of My Heart" and I know it has new meaning to me.  
"Lord, how can you use us as a nation "to see You high and lifted up?  How can our actions reveal Your glory?"

Your brother in Christ Jesus,
Kenny

Noviembre 2012

Our third team was the Lift team out of New York! An incredible team that showered Students International DR with blessings beyond measure!

Kenny was sick at home with an amoeba the first 

5 days the Lift team was with us. During that time, they climbed Mogote, a mountain near Jarabacoa. The team 

just about ran up the mountain but I didn't even 

make it half way up! I guess I am going to 

have to get in shape if I want to keep this job!

God is always surprising us with insights into life here.

The team in downtown Jarabacoa. The store to the left is called La Concha. It has a little bit of this and that and a lot of flip-flops!

Rides in these trucks are one of Karen's highlights when teams are here!

We have discovered that the Dominican Republic is the land of keys and locks. 

These are the locks on our back door. Notice the dead bolt that only works with a key (on both sides) and the bottom latch that only opens from the inside. 

Now for the rest of my story....

    Kenny had been trying to mow our lawn for about 3 weeks. Teams, his amoeba and many other distractions prevented him from achieving his goal. Finally, the day came when he had some time and ran home to get his mowing in! I was at the base taking a quick nap at Mary Ellen's house before the team came back for our night time activity. 

     Our lawn mower is stored outside our back door, inside our back porch "caged" in area. Due to some recent robberies in the neighborhood everyone is extra careful about not leaving the house unlocked. So, Kenny, while outside in our enclosed porch area, took his keys and pulled the deadbolt closed (forgetting about the one latch that only opens from the inside). Soon he realized that he was locked out of the house. And then a moment later realized that the keys to the padlocks that would open the gates around the porch he was standing in were in the house on the table, along with his cell phone!

    This was not a good day! Kenny began to yell, and yell some more. Hans and Jamie Miller, SI missionaries that we serve with, live across the street from us. Our yard is walled in with a big gate across the driveway and so is their yard. "Jamie!" Jamie!" He yelled and yelled for about 10 minutes. After realizing that she probably wasn't home, he gave up yelling. 

Now comes Kenny's version... "What was I going to do? As I was sitting on a ledge inside the cage pondering this question, I heard the voice of 4 year old Wyatt, Hans and Jamie's son. So I began to yell, "Wyatt!" Wyatt!" Soon I heard a very nervous, "Yeahhhhhh?" I yelled for him to go get his mom. "It was really important!" Pretty soon I saw Jamie standing outside our locked driveway gate holding her baby yelling, "Where are you? I don't see you?" I explained that if she came to the gate and looked around the side of the house she would see me locked in the cage toward the back of the house. 

Jamie saved the day by going home, calling the base so they could find Karen and wake her up to come rescue me! Upon arriving Karen did her best to realize the serious of the situation. But it was difficult to keep a straight face. 
It was a very bad day for Kenny......but he did get the lawn mowed in spite of the rain pouring down and the thunder roaring!

  

"I want to go home!"

Wyatt Miller, the young man who ultimately led to the release of Kenny!

Kenny is always fascinated by the utilities!
And praising God that he is not putting in gas lines in Jarabacoa.

Kenny gathered together a bunch of our friends 
to celebrate my birthday!
I was overwhelmed by their kindness and love but I kept control and didn't cry even though I really wanted to!

So grateful for our dear friends here!

The restaurant is called Pizza and Pepperoni.
Kenny brought a bunch of bowls of popcorn so I could have my favorite food!

Friday night sleep over at the Miller's with semester students!

These students have been so patient and gracious with us as we figure out our roles with SI.

We gathered together to watch the movie "In the Time of the Butterflies" which is about the Mirabal sisters who played apart in Dominican History.

Kenny cooked us all French toast and we began to glimpse God's purpose in having us prepare our home for ministry.

We went to support Ron and Carol Lanier's daughter, Sarah as she participated in a Dominican kind of American Idol at the Catholic Church. Sarah moved on to the next level!!!

Two of our favorite people, Milly and Mary Ellen!

We went to the Mirabel Sister Museum and had the most incredible surprise! The sister who raised all the children after her three sisters died was there and we got to sit and visit with her!!! We felt as though we were experiencing a part of history. It was unbelievable!

Dede Mirabel.
What a beautiful smile!

I will express the memory of Your abundant goodness
And joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
O Lord, You are gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
You are good to all,
and Your tender mercies are over all Your works.
From Psalm 145

Karen's favorita!

How do you say "Ooops" in espanol?

We just finished our first 2 groups  and it was an amazing experience.  We are so humbled that God has called us here and we can see how He has shaped us for so long to be tool in His shed.

While we had our 2nd group here,  from Virginia and New York, we have a night where we take the groups for a walk through the town to shop and then eat in a restaurant.  One of my jobs is to make the reservations and set every thing up.  Sure that I had completed my task well I continued on with my week doing all my other duties.

When the night came for shopping and dinner in the community we finished our shopping and headed by foot to the restaurant.  You can imagine my surprise, and pit in my stomach, when we arrived and the restaurant was completely closed for the night.  Did I mention I had a total of 30 people with me?

God's mighty hand was at work in all this though.  Our boss, Brian was meeting us to drop off something to me and upon seeing our dilemma he called a restaurant called Pizza and Pepperoni that was about 4 blocks away and immediately ordered lots of pizza.  By the time we walked up there we only had about 15 minutes left to wait so fortunately no one starved on my watch.

As Karen and I talked it became clear where the problem was.  I scheduled the restaurant for Jueves (which is Thursday in espanol) when actually dinner out was on Martes (which is Tuesday in espanol).   I actually do know the days of the week in espanol but simply had a brain fade.  As I said though, God was at work. Not only did God provide with our boss being in the area at just the right time, He also blessed us with such a great, gracious group of people.  This could have turned out so bad but actually God used it to draw our group closer, and we definitely made a memory.


All I can say is I can't wait to one day sit around a big dinner feast in heaven with that group and have a laugh as we relive it.  And I am sure God will say to each person in that group for their gracious spirit, "Well done"

So......  does anyone know how to say "Oooops" in espanol?

Love,
Kenny

Betty from our second team with a sweet little girl at our social work site in El Callejon.

A birthday party at one of the preschools!

She definitely got her fill of cake!

One of the gracious women who shared pizza with us that evening!

One of the communities SI is actively bringing the hope of Christ to.

Preparing invitations to a wedding where seven couples who are now following Jesus have decided to marry!

Does my wife look like she belongs here?

Talk about cute! Our special education site is filled with love!

A cheerful SI preschool, bringing hope to the community.

On our way to Los Higos up in the hills! 

"Not another picture, Kenny!"

Sandlot baseball at our Boys' Club Social Work site.

Boys will be boys! Joe, a team member with the guys.

Christmas is a really big deal in the DR. Already preparing...

A home in the community of El Callejon.

Clothes dry so quickly here. New construction in El Callejon.