Blown Away

It’s been a little over a week since the post I wrote asking for support for the school in Haiti and I’ve been totally blown away by the response ever since.  In that short time we’ve received over 150 pounds of paper, pencils, crayons, medicine and monetary donations totaling over $1700!  And we are still getting supplies in and people are still asking how they can help. Amazing.

Americans are a generous people – and I think it’s not that they feel they need to help but that they really want to.  Take for example any disaster that wreaks havoc in our homeland or abroad. Americans always step up to such a need with huge donations for assistance. The thing is though, there is always a huge need somewhere. There is always a suffering mother or a starving child. There is always an out of work father desperate to provide for his family. There are always fires, diseases and accidents that shatter lives in horrific ways but that don’t happen to make the news.  There are always victims left without assistance while at the same time a great many people who want to help.  The question is, how do we best connect those two realities – the desire to assist with those needing the assistance?

I suppose some would suggest that that’s what the government is for – to provide assistance to those in the shadows – those that can’t get help elsewhere. But I believe that government assistance is essentially mandating generosity, and while it does provide real, necessary physical assistance, it loses much of the emotional and spiritual benefit for both the “giver” (now just a taxpayer) and the receiver. Intellectually I know my tax money helps feed a hungry child.  But if the two of us never get to know one another – never get to love one another if only for a moment – it just seems hollow. I guess Paul made allusions to this in 1 Cor 13:1-3.

I don’t really know where to go with this line of thought right now. I’ll have to consider and pray about it more and maybe I’ll be able to articulate it better at a later time.  For now I’ll simply close by saying how incredibly grateful I am to the many people who have offered their love through money, goods, wellwishes and prayers – all of which we will bring on our journey and pour out on those we meet in Haiti.  And I hope to convey the smiles, the gratitude and the love we receive in Haiti back to all of you via this blog.  Please keep the prayers coming as we prepare to depart in just a few short weeks.  Peace.