Why Run?

Take one look at me, and I am not the stereotypical person who would run & manage a 5K event.  Certainly, it is not ideal for business when a man who looks like an offensive lineman for a Louisiana semipro football is leading the public relations for an event that encourages its participants to just run.

So why run?  Simply put, it is the right thing to do.  In my experience, there are two types of service.   First is to give your money.   You could send a million dollar check every day to small desert tribe in the the Middle East struggling with hunger and for awhile they won't be hungry , but eventually you'll create another situation.  The tribe doesn't know what to do with the money.  Maybe they buy a thousand boats.  Maybe they cure poverty across the region with new super cities.  Maybe they build weapons for newly engaged wars to wipe out neighboring tribes.   Or maybe, they just get fat & lazy.   Do we serve people well just writing a blank check and disappearing into the sunset?  Absolutely not.

Another type of service you can give is with your time.   You could go to a poor tribe in Nigeria to teach English, support building projects, and play games with kids.  You would leave a positive impact in the community.  Maybe people remember your kindness forever.  Maybe they forget you.  Maybe the family you serves dies of hunger or disease the next year.  Maybe you come back yearly to reunite with hugs & laughter.   When you return, you would be motivated by the one or two weeks of service.  You would populate your social media pages with photos & postings about how you constantly think about where you served, yet when you go home, in Nigeria hunger still exists, houses are still falling down, clothes of young children are still torn & undersized.  Sure, we leave a part of our heart there, but is that enough?  Not likely.

So service isn't just money and it isn't just time.  We need to combine our efforts to together with our talents & treasures.  Consider what Jesus said in Matthew 25:31-40:

31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

The words of Christ are both those of talents & treasures.  We give our talents (time) by stopping to visit sick people or preparing a place for them to stay.  We give our treasures by sharing our surplus or what we own in clothes, food, and drinks.

It is why I cannot allow myself to go back to Haiti next year without the completion of Pastor Marc's home.   He (including his community) has invited us into home for several years, me personally for three years, by preparing us food, drinks, a place to stay, and even with my shoe story finding me something to wear.   I went to serve him as he served me like Christ so desired above.

Sometimes, we say we want to be back in Haiti, because life is simpler there, but even in Haiti, we aren't truly in Haiti.   Food & drinks were provided for us when we needed it.   We always had clothes & medicine quickly ready for us.  Our tents were, in most cases, operable throughout the week.   In a lot of ways, we were living like kings in the poorest country in the world.

From this year's trip, I have posted hundreds of photos of smiling American volunteers & Haitian children enjoying each other's company.   I've contributed to the team by bringing smiles & spreading the message of Christ through trip projects including Hut to Hut prayers, music, games, crafts, hanging out, and even my own missteps into the mud.   I am proud of these moments and I will never allow these accomplishments to be minimized.   Nevertheless, I want for him to invite me into his finished house, not a torn UNICEF tarp as a lean-to next to a ripped & torn tent.   

Yes, of course, I will return to Haiti.  Probably even this next year to see his finished house.   We will finish that house.  Many people have seen my posts advertising our race over and over and over again.  Yet I'm motivated to complete a task that my talents are perfectly assigned to.  Motivated to serve someone in need who has offered me so much more.  They welcomed me into their house with very little making sure I had everything I ever needed.   It is my time to return that favor...  It is my turn to show them Christ's love one more time.

Leaving you with some pictures:

1) Pastor Marc's "House" Today:

2) The Site of Pastor Marc's New House?

3) Pastor Marc's Family (pictured below are his two sons)

Mud Pies and Blue Strapped Sandals

One of the first things you notice in third world countries with poverty are the shoes.   If you are lucky enough to find a Haitian with shoes on, especially the children, they are bound to be torn & shredded into pieces and barely fit on the person's feet.  When you look a little deeper, you'll notice cuts & bruises that would cause us pain keeping us off our feet for hours at a time.  If a mother in the US saw her child with these same cuts there would be loads of bandaids, rubbing alcohol, etc dispersed as the cure.  In Haiti, unfortunately, life moves on.   There really isn't too much more you can do.  You cannot go to Kohl's & pick out a new pair of Nikes.  You cannot go to Walgreens and get bandaids & creams.  You have to live with what you have & just try to move on.

Once a week, in the town we stay in called La Coma, there is a market.   Our group is attracted to the unique items Toro (Haitian Red Bull), homemade chairs, whips, machetes, and although not for our purchase but the just slaughtered meat.  Yet there are items, we don't think too much about like toothpaste and shoes.   I've always wondered, why are there so many booths at market with these odd items?
___________________________________________________________________

I came to Haiti with two pairs of shoes.  The first pair Nike Tennis shoes: I had them for about 2 years.  I knew they were on the end of their life.   One thing in particular the base had started to break through, so if you push too hard the base will push away from the shoe with your foot requiring you to push the shoe back together.   Before I left, I meant to get duct tape to fix them, but honestly I thought they would work just fine on the trip, so I didn't worry about duct tape.  The other pair of shoes were brown sandals, humorously, referred to by my small group as "Jerusalem Sevens".  They were simply a pair of leather sandals with the base starting to break & the cloth almost torn apart.

Early on in my travel to Haiti, I knew fixing those tennis shoes would have been a good idea.  I had to stop many times just to push the shoes back together.   Yet I still thought I could make it through.
As we arrived in La Coma, something happened that typically doesn't happen out there.  It rained, rained, and rained some more.  And of course, when a town like La Coma is made up of cactus, palm trees, and dirt, the walking surface becomes unbearably muddy.  Within that first day's storm both my shoes and sandals were covered in mud.  Entering and leaving the church, we had take off our shoes to avoid tracking the mud all over the concrete.  Those sandals were gone very quickly.  One shoe I couldn't find, but the one looked so bad & covered in so much mud, I just felt it wasn't worth finding the other anyway.

So I was down to the shoes and it was Tuesday the aforementioned market day.  In Haiti, the children are very demanding of the attention of the Americans.  Since life is tough for their parents, the kids cannot expect many piggy back rides, hugs, hand holding, etc.   Thus, I was walking with one the Haitian children on my back as common practice.  As my journey through the mud got immediately tougher, I learned quickly my mistake.  As I maneuvered through the mud with extra weight on my shoulders, I quickly lost my footing and slowly fell into the mud knees first.  The first reaction is the Haitian boy screaming and sliding away, this sounds dramatic and it really wasn't, like any kid who's on his way to becoming a teenager or already one, there reaction to everything is dramatic.  The second reaction is the laughter of my group as they noted my shorts, legs, and hands were covered in mud.  There's pictures out there, but luckily they haven't been posted yet, so dang it, I cannot share it you (sarcasm).

We quickly made a beeline to the market.  Sitting in the middle of the market were 30+ pairs of shoes.   I quickly took my muddy & destroyed shoes off and handed them to translator to never be seen again.  (I honestly don't know where those shoes went were they trashed or reused?  I'll never know).   The first pair of shoes I tried on were pair of blue sandals.   They probably look more like woman's shoes as pictured below.  The Haitian woman, this poor woman, slid plastic bags on my feet to help guide the sandals.  As she struggled to complete this task, I easily knocked her in the head a complete of times.  The shoes were tight, they weren't comfortable, but I desperately needed a pair, so I decided to deal with it.  I found out the cost was $3.00, the lady pointed out the mud on her shirt from my foot, but I quickly paid in disappeared.  Honestly, I wanted to hand her a $20 bill, but I have learned long before that overpaying in Haiti, although honorable, only causes more issues later.

Another interesting storyline, as I walked through the market, I also regrettably became a main attraction Haitians were laughing & pointing at the big white man with the muddy legs and shorts.  I knew at this stage I could do one of two things:  hide my head in shame or embrace the moment.  When in Haiti and miles away from anyone you know, I embraced the moment by waving & smiling at any laughing Haitian.  For someone who takes life so seriously, I was shocked how much relief and joy comes by being able to laugh at yourself and just move on.

Anyway, it was those shoes I wore home.   It was those shoes were the back broke the second time I tried them on (to the amusement of the others, but to me it was more comfortable).  It was those shoes that started to form 10 to 15 blisters.   It was those shoes that I decided not to wear on the soccer field, in the church, on cement, etc, because I couldn't stand the pain of the shoes on the blisters.   And those shoes will be the pair I where to church this coming Sunday night.

It was those shoes that changed my perspective.  It is one thing to feel sympathetic for the plight of the Haitians.   It is another thing to respect their plight of surviving and carrying on without quality shoes when their American guests are better equipped.  However, for me, I learned something different.   This challenge was literally the teaching "you cannot understand another person until you walk a mile in his shoes."   I can sympathize or respect the Haitians all I want from my own sight, but it is a totally different experience to live through it.  And so, Tavis, you ask, "What did you learn?"  Don't take life so seriously.  Don't get wrapped up in who has what and who doesn't have that.  And just keep living and moving on, because God provides you with everything you need.

Philippians 4
12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

"Third Time's a Charm"

This March, I will be returning to Haiti for the third consecutive year.   In my first trip to Haiti, I was taken aback by how happy & grateful every person I met was despite struggling to have the most basic necessities I have taken for granted like education, air conditioning, and hot showers.  During the second trip, I was able to see the progress we've made from previous trip finishing the church, offering solutions to transporting water for the kids, etc, but in this trip I felt by the experience, because even when we accomplished so much, there was still a lot of needs in Haiti.   Thus, I've decided to return to Haiti this year, because I feel I have unfinished business that I am called to complete during this year's trip as outlined below:

<Planner> For this trip, I've taken on co-leadership responsibilities in supporting the planning.  After many years of internal debates & struggling with self confidence, I've finally realized where my skills lie.   I've been gifted & trained in abilities to plan every detail to the point of having a clear schedule, R&R, and budget.  These tasks would certainly bore the average person as I know this to be true, because when I talk friends about schedules, deadlines, and R&R from work or other projects, they look like they'd rather be in the dentist chair.  Yet, I can argue no more, I have embraced the skills afford to me in this life and I've realized I have no business going on this trip without putting these talents to good use.

<Relationships> As I've grown, I've gained a greater understanding that its not where we live or what we do that defines who we are, but it is how we impact those around us.   I've appreciated the experiences in Haiti, because I've been able to impact the same people in my first two trips.  This year, I want to continue to build that relationship.  Just today, I received a Facebook message from the pastor in La Coma asking me how I was doing, but exclaiming how happy he was himself.  These relationships are those that I want to support, because sometimes in the States it is all too common to hear a person complaining about how tough life is as they drink Starbucks while watching television in an air conditioned house.

<Growth>  In one regard, I've grown as a person through this experience.  I truly believe I have become a better example of Christian through these mission trips.  I am not a perfect role model, but I believe that on my way to displaying a life where my values match how I live my life.  However, I also see growth in the community we serve.  I am working hard to develop "The La Coma Neighborhood Project".  I've used funding we've gained from 5K fundraisers to slowly address the needs of the community.  Last year the church, this year the pastor's house, and future years the school or medical center or whatever the next great challenge is.

<Once a Year> Also, I've decided on a personal goal that I need be a leader or participant in a mission trip each and every year.  I've been gifted with a great job, house, car, and family, I believe it is my obligation to give back to others less fortunate than me.  I believe everyone should give back a week a year to the greater good.  It doesn't have to be Haiti, it could be in your own hometown.

It is this year, I am doing something different.  In the past two years, I have funded my own trip.  I believed that I was given so many wonderful opportunities that I should be able to support myself.  However, I have also learned that I am missing out on an incredible opportunity to share my experience with those I am connected.  Today, I gave a level summary on what the trip means to me and what I offer the Haitian community.  Throughout my preparation, third mission trip, and return home, I hope to expand on my experiences with my donors.  I want you to be part of my experience, so that I could be influence or guidance to the challenges that you want to help overcome.

How can you donate:
1) Online - Basically you set up an account online, select the Haiti trip, and type my name as the person you want to support.  From there, you select your donation amount & complete payment.
https://thriva.activenetwork.com/Reg4/(S(xz5dk5yeyf1f3yeykvt1jb55))/Form.aspx?regkey=RpYOYPxE378wNjTYCkFkMw%3d%3d&qid=2434

2) Mail - You could mail check (with my name & mission trip in the memo) to First Church of Christ in Burlington, Kentucky or to my home address (9163 Hawksridge Drive, Covington, KY).  Although, I would think paying online would be the easiest way to donate.

I hope to have more to share through this experience, please don't hesitate to ask me any questions!!!