Justice
I want to be a minister of light, of Justice.
I desire justice.
I crave justice.
I want to see God's justice every day in Haiti.
There's a common question I get asked: What's been the hardest thing about living in Haiti?
I've answered that question in so many different ways. It's always hard to summarize an experience that is wrought with paradox - joy and pain, tears and laughter, beauty and tragedy- often in the same day or even in the same experience.
But the answer I gave once that I think was the most honest and nearly brought me to tears (probably why I don't give that answer very often) is "seeing injustice up close and personal every single day."
At times it feels like injustice reigns in Haiti. I hate injustice. I hate injustice against me and I think I hate it even more for Haitians.
Injustice happens in so many different forms:
- the woman who has no access to maternal healthcare and delivers her premature baby at the only government maternity hospital which delivers horrific care and sends her and her baby home to die (preventable)
- the child who gets sent to an orphanage because the child's parents are so hopeless and disempowered that they feel its the only option
- or worse, a Haitian mother is convinced by a Haitian "pastor" that her kids are better off in the orphanage run by white people because they will have clothes, food, and an education.
- the expatriate 'missionary' that comes to Haiti only to feed his/her own depravity and abuse Haitian children for decades
- the corruption that pervades society and makes it nearly impossible to get ahead for the hard working and honest Haitian because of jealousy, greed, stealing and, well, sin
- the Haitian child that wanders the streets of the neighborhood gathering water, selling items, or searching for food with no hope for an education or a future because of societal norms, poverty, or the Restavek system (https://restavekfreedom.org/).
- the teenager that has minimal chance of effectively managing type I diabetes because of lack of electricity, refrigeration, regular access to medication, and parents that live many miles away.
- the four year old that is expected to raise himself because his dad is an alcoholic and has had no example of a family in his life; the women in the community are only hard on the young boy rather than helping him due to sin and brokenness.
- the well-intentioned, honest, Christian Haitian nurse that gets denied a non-immigrant visa on the shear basis that she is Haitian, regardless of the fact that she has an invitation to an international nursing conference and a poster presentation to make. The interviewer at the US embassy didn't even look at her supporting paperwork... oh, and did I mention, each application costs $165 USD-- whether you get the visa or not?!
- the young, beautiful Haitian woman that is kidnapped, gang-raped, beaten for 5 days, and barely escapes with her life only to live in a country with minimal to know mental health resources and no justice (via systems and government -- God is always just) for her perpetrators.
Injustice is hard. Injustice is ugly. Injustice makes God mad. It hurts His heart too.
It's a good thing I'm not God because I would make a very imperfect judge. Sometimes I wish I could unleash wrath on people. People whose intentions are impure.
What is even more heartbreaking to me is those (expat or local) that have God-given vision but through the trauma and the daily injustices, the lack of self-care, start to disconnect from heart and soul, stop connecting to people, and stop being effective in ministry.... and start to hurt rather than help. I wish I could beg every missionary in this country to care for their soul because it is only through knowing how God sees us and encounters us that we are capable of going out into the world and changing it- one interaction, one relationship at a time.
Lord, I want to be a Repairer of Broken Walls
I desire justice.
I crave justice.
I want to see God's justice every day in Haiti.
There's a common question I get asked: What's been the hardest thing about living in Haiti?
I've answered that question in so many different ways. It's always hard to summarize an experience that is wrought with paradox - joy and pain, tears and laughter, beauty and tragedy- often in the same day or even in the same experience.
But the answer I gave once that I think was the most honest and nearly brought me to tears (probably why I don't give that answer very often) is "seeing injustice up close and personal every single day."
At times it feels like injustice reigns in Haiti. I hate injustice. I hate injustice against me and I think I hate it even more for Haitians.
Injustice happens in so many different forms:
- the woman who has no access to maternal healthcare and delivers her premature baby at the only government maternity hospital which delivers horrific care and sends her and her baby home to die (preventable)
- the child who gets sent to an orphanage because the child's parents are so hopeless and disempowered that they feel its the only option
- or worse, a Haitian mother is convinced by a Haitian "pastor" that her kids are better off in the orphanage run by white people because they will have clothes, food, and an education.
- the expatriate 'missionary' that comes to Haiti only to feed his/her own depravity and abuse Haitian children for decades
- the corruption that pervades society and makes it nearly impossible to get ahead for the hard working and honest Haitian because of jealousy, greed, stealing and, well, sin
- the Haitian child that wanders the streets of the neighborhood gathering water, selling items, or searching for food with no hope for an education or a future because of societal norms, poverty, or the Restavek system (https://restavekfreedom.org/).
- the teenager that has minimal chance of effectively managing type I diabetes because of lack of electricity, refrigeration, regular access to medication, and parents that live many miles away.
- the four year old that is expected to raise himself because his dad is an alcoholic and has had no example of a family in his life; the women in the community are only hard on the young boy rather than helping him due to sin and brokenness.
- the well-intentioned, honest, Christian Haitian nurse that gets denied a non-immigrant visa on the shear basis that she is Haitian, regardless of the fact that she has an invitation to an international nursing conference and a poster presentation to make. The interviewer at the US embassy didn't even look at her supporting paperwork... oh, and did I mention, each application costs $165 USD-- whether you get the visa or not?!
- the young, beautiful Haitian woman that is kidnapped, gang-raped, beaten for 5 days, and barely escapes with her life only to live in a country with minimal to know mental health resources and no justice (via systems and government -- God is always just) for her perpetrators.
Injustice is hard. Injustice is ugly. Injustice makes God mad. It hurts His heart too.
It's a good thing I'm not God because I would make a very imperfect judge. Sometimes I wish I could unleash wrath on people. People whose intentions are impure.
What is even more heartbreaking to me is those (expat or local) that have God-given vision but through the trauma and the daily injustices, the lack of self-care, start to disconnect from heart and soul, stop connecting to people, and stop being effective in ministry.... and start to hurt rather than help. I wish I could beg every missionary in this country to care for their soul because it is only through knowing how God sees us and encounters us that we are capable of going out into the world and changing it- one interaction, one relationship at a time.
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
Isaiah 58:6-12 NIV
I hate all of that two though I'm not convinced about 2 and 3. I know that we as expat can make a difference with the help of the Holy Spirit but the country won't change until hearts change. It's hard to see all that injustice and still keep giving your entire heart to the work.
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