#FreeHaiti - Troops are Coming

 This past week, troops from Kenya were scheduled to leave for Haiti to help the Haitian police in establishing some discipline in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas that are controlled by gangs. However, it was set back once again, apparently because things are just not ready. One factor is that arrangements are not yet in order to receive and house the troops. Concerns have also been raised that the troops do not speak Haitian Creole and do not have a good plan as to how to work together with the local police. UN officers were in the country from 2004 to 2017. I don't believe they spoke the language or knew the terrain either initially. You can read more in this Responsible Statescraft article where the situation is referred to as a logistical nightmare. 

I, like many proud Haitians, (I am not Haitian), didn't really want there to be any foreign intervention. I wanted the Haitian people to step up and take care of the situation. However, at this point, I do feel hopeful that troops will come and make positive change. I still feel very frustrated by the whole situation, as does everyone, I'm sure. I don't mean to sound too opinionated or to place blame on anyone in particular (except for France who kidnapped, enslaved, and tortured the original Haitians for profit, as well as some leaders they've had along the way who have also acted horrificly in selfish greed). I don't meant to sound too opinionated, but it rubs me hard the wrong way when I hear of such aid going to Haiti and the large sums of money being dedicated toward it. 

I'm a quite independent person and I have been since early childhood. I don't like to ask for help, personally, and I don't like to owe money. I feel proud and relieved when I pay back something I owe. Haitians in general have a strong sense of pride. They are proud of the independence their country gained and proud of their heritage. I believe they should be. I believe the independence they fought for is more compelling and heroic than the independence the United States fought for. We went to war over taxation without representation. I'm not saying we shouldn't, but compare that to fighting for your actual freedom from brutal slavery. The persecution Haitians faced was much more severe and therefore their liberation that much more substantial. 

I suppose something that pops into my mind when I think of foreign intervention are some things I observed when I was in Port-au-Prince after the 2010 earthquake. There were American troops outside and around a hospital. They did not speak Creole and were very young. I spoke with one about what they were doing and he felt that they were making sure that folks going through the hospital did not steal and sell meds for drugs. I told him I had not observed that happening with the different medical clinics we had done. I have seen American volunteers misassume that people were doing this, and I even misassumed similar things when I first came to live in the Dominican Republic, but quickly saw that I was applying my American lens in a new place and it was misguiding me. He replied to my doubt that it's more so the little things they take like pens. I agreed whole heartedly to that. But had the U.S. government sent troops to keep people from stealing pens? They obviously wanted to help, but you can't help but to ponder who is in the best position to help. 

My thoughts bounced around as to why humanitarian workers and missionaries in the country were not called upon, along with their teams. They would've had the language skills and cultural skills, or at least much more than the young men in uniforms. A portion of the funds used to fly these young men, house, and feed them could've been perhaps used to pay humanitarian workers and their teams to help out. 

I suppose I also feel frustrated that the good Haitian men have not been able to organize themselves yet as the bad ones have and put discipline in place. A Haitian militia would be in a much better position to fight off gangs than foreigners speaking a foreign language who are new to the country. Equipping Haitian militias would be much less expensive of an operation than sending troops from across the Atlantic Ocean. Why do these young men have to risk their lives and Haitian young men are not called upon? 

We had a group home member back in 2009 and the surrounding years. I don't remember exactly how long he spent in the home but I believe he had come to the Dominican Republic from Cap Haitian with a group of street kids. However, he was originally from Port-au-Prince if I recall. He was being raised by his grandmother before he ran off. His mom had died. I did not know at the time that his father was in the U.S. At some point he returned to his grandmother's house and found that his father had been working on his residency. Later I learned that he had moved to the U.S. He recently wrote to me as another previous group home member gave him my number. We caught up. He is now in his 20s and is joining the U.S. military. 

This is a very rare story. Most of our previous group home members still live in this area. Some have started families. Some are in Haiti. Sadly, some have passed away from sickness or violence. Two twins have gone abroad in their adulthood and I think have also now made their way into the U.S. But this man had the opportunity to do some of his growing up in Florida and was reunited with his father. That is a rare case. As a member of the military, he would be a perfect candidate to join such a team to be sent to Haiti. 

The Haitian diaspora in the U.S. is huge. A quick Google search says, "In 2021, the U.S. Census estimated that 1,138,855 people of full or partial Haitian descent lived in the United States. The Dominican Republic also has a Haitian diaspora of over 1 million. Especially here in the Dominican Republic there is a plethora of young, healthy men looking for work. The Dominican government and people I have spoken to do not want to set up any sort of refugee camp here. President Luis Abidaner was just re-elected on Sunday and a lot of his platform has been his relentless deportations despite the crisis in Haiti. You can read more about that in this New York Times article. 

However, the Dominican government does want the violence in Haiti to stop and I do think would be cooperative, under certain conditions, with a military training base for the purpose of building an army among Haitians in the DR to combat gangs and put order in Haiti. In the U.S., and I'm sure many other countries, soldiers are celebrated. There is pride and honor around defending your country. I do not see that amongst Haitians for varying reasons, but it could and should be fostered. 

I recently watched a movie with my son called The Tomorrow War. It is a pretty awesome movie but the main point I want to bring up is there were alien monsters ravaging the earth. They had to act quickly and equip civilians to fight in order to save humanity. They did a quick training, got weapons in their hands, and stuck them in there to fight the good fight; the fight that wasn't going away unless they fought it and fought it hard. Ironically, when the main character, after his first big battle, ends up unconscious on a military base, waking up in the army clinic, the subtitles show that he was nowhere else other than our home and Project Esperanza's base of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic! We cheered at that part. 

As I write this, there is news circulating about three people who were killed in a gang attack in Port-au-Prince aboug 35 hours ago. They were a young American missionary couple, (the man had grown up in Haiti as his parents started the mission before his birth), and the mission's local pastor and director. The young woman killed was the daughter of Ben Baker, a representative for the state of Missouri. More details can be found in this New York Times article. Therefore, this is more big, horrible news Haiti is making. We pray for their families' broken hearts and all the broken hearts that have been aching due to this nonsense. 

We continue to receive students who left Haiti, not for economic reasons as most of our students have in previous years, but to flee gang violence. I met a father of our students last weekend who was a successful accountant in Port-au-Prince but gangs destroyed their vehicle and ransacked their house, leaving just the structure. They're not used to the struggle they are facing here in the Dominican Republic as they were higher class in Haiti. 

Since I last wrote in March, I've been interviewed a few times as well. Here is a radio interview at BBC. Here is a TV interview with BBC: 

Here is a Breakfast with Barry podcast interview from my hometown, Winchester, Virginia. 

Well, those are my thoughts on the matter. I hope they are helpful in some way. Hopefully my next #FreeHaiti post will have some visible progress to reflect on! 

#FreeHaiti - To Destroy and to Overthrow, To Build and Plant

Well, Haiti finally got the world's attention. Over the past few years it has been strange to see so much suffering and sadness while the international community, in general, didn't seem to really know or care much. Sure, there was a lot going on in other places of the world too, but if you read my last post, the story I shared about one young man murdered for doing the right thing was just a small drop in the bucket. However, gangs have now forced the resignation of the Prime Minister by releasing thousands of prisoners and attacking airports, now reaching a level that seems to have gained international attention. 

I was even interviewed by BBC twice this past week.  They asked me about Haitians fleeing to the Dominican Republic during this time. Here is the radio interview: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0hkqk09?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile&fbclid=IwAR23oOeQJrscFoeZlrchZh07eYCKKE20JDqLy6FIw3USqMT2I7SLWmaz-Vw

If you want a good summary of what's going on, here is a video someone shared this week. This reporter's pronunciation of names is off and I'll put some notes at the bottom of some points that seem a bit incorrect to me, but other than that, it's full of enlightening information for anyone who is a bit ignorant on the subject but would like to learn the details. 

1. The reporter, whose name is Simon Whistler, says gangs united for the first time this past month and also that Barbeque formed a gang called G9. I understood that G9 was the union of 9 different gangs, not necessarily started by Barbeque, but joined by him years ago. So the joining of gangs is not necessarily as new as he says. 

2. Whistler says G9 was funded in half by President Jovenel Moise. This is the first I've heard this. Barbeque was trying to get Jovenel out of power when he was assassinated and once he was assassinated, held him up as a martyr and realized he was working for the people, which is why he was assassinated. I don't know for sure, of course, but I do get lots of updates through a Facebook group run by Yvonne Trimble, a missionary of close to 50 years in Haiti. She and her husband had a personal relationship with Moise and vouch for his character. 

3. This isn't really sharing a difference with anything the reporter said, but in addition to what he said. I have heard a lot of current support for Guy Phillippe, who was mentioned in this video, after Ariel's resignation. People want him to lead. I found it really strange that when the Colombian merceneries went to assassinate Jovenel Moise in 2021, they were pretending to be DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), and found it even more weird that the average Haitian in the area seemed to know what the DEA was. 

I just recently found out that DEA arrested Guy Phillippe in Haiti years ago and put him in prison in the US for around 6 years. I found this so strange and would like to learn more, mostly because I have never heard of such a thing happening here in the DR. You hear of and see Dominicans who immigrated to the US or Canada and got deported after criminal activity, but for a US agency to go to Haiti and bring a Haitian to the US and put him in jail for crimes they accused him of on Haitian soil... that sounds so off to me. It sounds like it's not their jurisdiction, but that is what Haitians always complain of and dislike - foreign intervention. Again, I need to learn more. 

So it seems that a lot of Haitians do not believe that Guy Phillippe was a criminal but that that was an abusive political move. They feel that Guy Phillippe was sort of used by a foreign led effort to get Aristide out of power and then treated badly afterwards. 

4. The last thing that just is a bit off in this video is that Whistler talks about an upcoming refugee crisis at the DR border and Haitians taking boats to go to the US as if that's a new thing. Both situations have surged over the past 3 years, they just didn't get the world's attention until now. And yes, the DR has not seemed to have had a problem turning up the deportations more and in very inhumane ways, as the US has not had a problem shipping Haitians back to their misery after they risked their lives, and some lost theirs, to make the boat trip. But we'll see what the future holds. 

If I had any say, I would recommend Commissioner Muscadin in Miragoane for higher leadership, since he seemed to lead his town in taking a stand in keeping gangs out, as I shared in my last post. Additionally, this might sound crazy, but when I heard about the prison outbreaks, I wondered if it was Satan gaining ground or God's grace being extended. I've honestly been waiting for many years for someone in my life to get the punishment I think he has deserved. I pondered this same thing over and over as he seemed to get out of situation after situation with favor. I came to determine it was God's grace being extended, and that grace seemed to create change in the right direction. 

Are we about to see a huge refugee crisis like this reporter predicts, or have we already seen that? Should the international community have intervened with military to keep things from getting to this point, or was this the point it needed to get to? 

In the book of Jeremiah, God appoints his prophet "to uproot and tear down, to destroy and demolish, to build and plant." (Jeremiah 1:10) If this is what is going on in Haiti, we can have hope, because it means the building and planting stage is next. 

Am I blaming God for what is happening or giving him responsibility? No. He doesn't make decisions for us or always intervene in the natural consequences of our decisions and actions. However, did this happen despite the earnest prayers of his faithful servants? I mentioned before that while staying in Grisongarde, Haiti the church bell rang well before sunrise each morning (in an area with no electricity), calling the faithful to come join and pray. God hears and he cares. I do believe we will see his plan unfold still. 

It seems that the biggest contributor to Haiti's dysfunction, despite the fact that public education is unavailable to the majority, is the fact that the elite fund gangs, which Simon Whistler does a good job of explaining. This seems so atrocious, of course, and hopefully they will express some ounce of love for their country and stop such activity. However, where did this practice come from? The video says this practice started with President Aristide, and maybe that's true, but who was in leadership before Aristide? Francois Duvalier and then his son Jean Claude Duvalier were ruthless dictators for decades. 

I've also mentioned this before, but something very disturbing while reading a biography about Papa Doc (Francois) was the support he got from the US despite their knowledge of him being a ruthless murder. I honestly had to stop reading, but one account was that he assassinated his daughter's husband and his groomsmen right after their wedding because he didn't approve of him for his daughter. Despite the knowledge of such things, the US gave him money to be their ally against Cuba. So really, the entirety of Haiti was the United States' gang. 

I'll end with a post I recently saw from a Haiti mission group. Please keep up the prayers. He is working amidst all of this. 

#FreeHaiti: This is How We Know What Love is...

A little over a year ago, I wrote on the topic of #FreeHaiti, a post called There is no Fear in Love, which discussed something that had come up in the Christian Haitian community in response to kidnappings in Port-au-Prince, specifically in churches. It was my third reflection on the #FreeHaitiMovement, making this my fourth. Should a Christian come armed to church and prepare to fight? I leaned toward yes, and argued that this is the way to stop such ridiculousness - to stand up to it. Kidnappings, for example, can only take place if people who have knowledge about such things keep quiet. 

I also argued that there is a literal, ongoing war, both spiritual and physical in Haiti. Although I'm a Christian, I don't believe that evangelizing in the traditional sense is what I am called to do. The evangelization I believe most strongly in is:

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." - John 13:35

"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." - 1 Peter 3:15

In summary, love actively and gently share your faith when questioned. The biggest way I have felt compelled to love Haitians is to live in solidarity and dedicate myself, through Project Esperanza, to providing education and opportunity. More on the faith that drives Project Esperanza here: https://esperanzameanshope.org/our-faith-2/ 

Adventures of Son Son - Part 2

A lot has happened in the past year and unfortunately, the situation in Haiti has deteriorated even more. I get a lump in my throat every time I read about the soaring numbers of Haitians being intercepted by U.S. Coast Guard and sent back to Haiti. Can you imagine how desperate someone must be to get in one of those crowded boats and take to the sea, often being unable to swim?! Schools have not even opened for the 2022-2023 school year due to gang violence and chaos. 

I am encouraged by news such as a mayor in the town of Miragoane who led the people to take to the streets and refuse the entry of gangs, attempting to spread their territory (https://www.facebook.com/groups/199558963717/permalink/10159892632793718/). I wish I had a way to empower such leaders and I hope they continue to hold strong. 

If you aren't aware, gang activity in Haiti is apparently funded by powerful elites who equip vulnerable young men to carry out their dirty work and bring them big bucks. Kidnapping is a large business and gang members are highly armed. The average citizen's best bet for defense is a machete. Meanwhile, here in the Dominican Republic, the easiest refuge for Haitians as the two countries share an island, deportations have drastically increased as well. 

There was one story shared earlier this month that exemplifies Jesus Christ in a powerful way. It shows the depth of the war at hand and the privilege that all of us who have not had to be in such a war have. I hope that sharing the account inspires action. 

Stories emerged of a gang burning people and houses in a town called Cabaret. I didn't dwell on them as such stories of terrorism, murders and displacements are unfortunately common. However, one American woman named Kimberly who works in this area shared some insight. 

This young man named Jefté used to serve people who were displaced by gang activity. Here is a picture she sent of him preparing a pot of food for a group of victims of gang violence in his area. 

She reports that one gang came to believe that he had snitched on them, telling the police of their whearabouts. As a result, this picture shows what they did to him. 

You may not be used to seeing gasoline in a jug like that, but it's often hauled around that way here, and that is what that is. The gang members burnt him alive, then went after others. 

I apologize if sharing this causes you prolonged emotional distress. It did to me. I thought of trying to remove myself from such news. But can his wife and baby remove themselves? Can the mothers whose sons' throats were cut in front of them for not joining gangs remove themselves? 

What struck me most about this photo, after I got over my initial sorrow, was that he is not in a state of panic. If I had to describe his expression, I would say stern and defiant. Did he not know what these gangs were capable of? Of course he did. Why didn't he lie low? It reminds me of this verse: 

"When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly." - 1 Peter 2:23

Of course Jesus had the power to retaliate, whereas this man did not, but I do believe that the Holy Spirit that moved him to serve the victims of gang violence and perhaps speak up about their whereabouts removed his fear and called him to entrust himself to God, who judges justly. It also reminds me of Stephen, a disciple who was stoned to death for speaking the truth, not long after Jesus' death. He too did not fear or panic, but entrusted himself to God. 

And so I come to one of my favorite verses in the Bible. We're told to love. In fact, Jesus says it's the Greatest Commandment. But the world has many definitions of love. What exactly is love? 

In 1st Corinthians we learn that love is patient, kind, does not boast, etc. In 1st John 3:16, it specifically says, "This is how we know what love is". Probably every churched person and even many of the unchurched know the verse John 3:16 which teaches us about our salvation, our ticket to heaven. But who knows 1st John 3:16, which teaches us the key to doing what we are called to do? 

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." 

Verse 17 and beyond goes on to say more wonderful things, but I don't want to go on too long. Love is sacrifice. Jesus exemplified it for us. Disney movies have reiterated it time and time again throughout the decades. Every successful social movement has been rooted in the same concept of people putting their lives on the line in order to show society that something isn't right. This was embodied by Jesus. This is how we know what love is.

So as we search for the solution for the problems that face Haiti and other parts of the world or our own households, the answer isn't actually a secret. Should I buy something I don't need at all or should I use a little money to help someone who is desperate? Should I ignore my child's cry for help or should I make a little more effort to listen and connect? Should I spend hours watching a dirty movie or should I spend that time educating myself on really important things? Love calls us to sacrifice our desires and possessions for the good of our brothers and sisters. 

"Well, it probably won't work anyway," you might be thinking. 

Let's go back to 1st Corinthians' definition of love. 1st Corinthians 13:8 says, "Love never fails." 

Is that just cliche? Something people say to feel good? 

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."-2 Timothy: 16, 17

As the rain and the snow

come down from heaven,

and do not return to it

without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish,

so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

-Isaiah 55:10, 11

Happy New Year. May we learn to love more than ever in 2023. And if you want to learn more about Jesus in a super personal way, go to Angel.com and watch The Chosen! Season 3 is out!!! 

Gun Violence & God: Let's Make a Deal

 On Monday, we learned that Tuesday would be the last day for two students in the afternoon English program at my kids' school. Their paperwork is ready and their Dominican mom is taking them to live in the U.S., where their stepfather is from. I asked where in the U.S. they were headed and they told me Texas. Another student says he'll be moving to Queens this summer and not returning for the next school year. 

My kids felt a bit sad at this news and pondered about how so many want to move to the U.S., unlike us. Yenilove said, "Sure, there's lots of pollution here and lots of things are better there, but there's also lots of po po po over there." She held her hand like a gun when she said po po po. I told her that was a good point. 

On Tuesday, after English, we sat waiting for our van's tire to be fixed before we could go home from school. My friend Crystal sent me a whatsapp message, asking if I had seen the news of the shooting in Texas. I had not. I quickly did a search and learned that 14 students and a teacher had been killed at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. We were shocked to see that so quickly following Yenilove's comment, there was such an event in the very state the boys are moving to. As I read up, unable to sleep in the middle of the night, I see news sources now report 19 children and two adults have passed. 

I realize that sleep won't be possible for me tonight until I pour my thoughts out here. I've written about this topic many times in different posts and shared that I was on the Virginia Tech campus in 2007 when it made history in that horrible way. There's an idea I've been pondering quite a bit over the past year or year and a half that I'd like to share. 

Observing U.S. politics from afar, it's obvious how polarized things are. As a Christian, I strongly believe that there are issues that the right supports that best align with the Christian faith and there are issues that the left supports that best align with the Christian faith. I feel the same is true in many ways for those who don't identify as Christian, but simply hold the Christian value that we should love one another. 

And therefore, I think it's way past time that everyone gives in a little. I think it's time to make a political compromise. My suggestion is that the right submits to tighter gun laws, whereas the left submits to some public school curriculum changes concerning God. I truly believe that U.S. public schools currently represent an atheistic worldview and to truly comply with the First Amendment, should take an agnostic worldview. 

I truly believe that executing such a compromise would be an active attempt to change the climate that breeds these tragedies. As far as gun laws are concerned, I don't know what to say about it, other than it's just flat out sick that people would be so unwilling to give in. Many good people defend this stubborrness and excuse it because it's coming from the political party they identify with. I think it's a prime example of groupthink and everyone who has ever found themselves justifying the unwillingness to make changes in gun laws in any way should do some deep reflection. We should take an honest and thorough look at policies in other countries around the world and take serious action, for Pete sake. 

About God in schools, I'll try to be concise as I've written some long-winded posts on this topic already. However, I think it demands more attention than gun laws as it's a more complicated topic. 

I believe if you really, objectively examine the theory of macroevolution as an explanation for the origin of man, you will see that it does not have enough value to justify the controversy it causes. We teach kids the scientific method, which requires observation, altering variables, and running an experiment several times before the experimenter's eyes before drawing conclusions. Yet in the same class we call science, we find it necessary to teach about a theory that can only rely on observations such as fossil records and radiocarbon dating, that are undubitably unreliable and unconclusive, to explain something as important as the origin of man, which no one can actually observe. I didn't used to feel so strongly about it, but the more I look into it, the more I am convincted that it's flat out wrong. 

If you really ponder the actual scientific benefits that the theory of macroevolution has brought us, you have to ask why it is deemed necessary to teach in K-12 science class. Has it saved any lives? Weren't people breeding animals for select traits long before Darwin observed those bird beaks and started making racist theories that black people were creatures evolving between apes and white people? Yes, if you read his original work, it's quite racist. Such issues should not be brushed under the rug when you look at ongoing white supremacy as portrayed in the Buffalo, NY shooting that was just 10 days before this one. 

Now look at the risks of teaching the theory of macroevolution in K-12. It flat out negates the existence of God, opposes the religious texts of the world's two largest religions, which make up over half of the world's population, and untruthfully claims to have scientific proof to do so. Maybe that would be something necessary for people to reckon with if it had more scientific basis itself, but the truth is, it doesn't. Do you see anyone arguing about gravity? About how reproduction works? About photosythesis? Cell structures? No. Why can't we stick to such certain and non-controversial things in science class?  

I'll share a little story that causes our students and teachers to gasp when they hear it. In this country, most public and private school days are typically opened with prayer. God is referred to in a reverent way in everyday, common language. It's not considered church language, but it's society's language. 

"See you tomorrow, God willing."

"I'm fine, thanks to God." 

"Go with God."

"Stay with God."

The last two are ways of saying good-bye. Of course it's a much more homogenous country than the US, and I understand why there are certain practices in the US to protect everyone's freedom of religion, but again, I think the best way to protect everyone's freedom of religion is for public schools to take an agnostic approach, rather than an atheistic one. Agnosticism says, "we don't know". Atheism says, "we can prove that God does not exist, we have done this on our own, and we can do this on our own". In reality, as everyone who has gone through a 12 step program to fight addiction knows, we can't do this on our own. I don't think it's the best mental health strategy to suggest anything otherwise. 

So here is my story. When I was in first grade, my teacher was calling on each student to share a word that had to do with Christmas. She wrote each word on the board. I listened to my classmates who talked about presents and Santa Claus, surprised that no one had mentioned that it was Jesus' birthday yet. I looked forward to sharing my thought, knowing it was the correct answer! 

When it was my turn, I said, "Jesus' birthday". She stopped, paused for a moment, said nothing, wrote nothing on the board, and called on the next student. I remember my heart sunk as I knew I had the right answer, but the teacher didn't seem to like it. She didn't like it so much that she didn't include it on the board with the thoughts of all my classmates. 

That was my first lesson in, "We don't talk about Jesus or God at school." Again, I understand the reason behind it. My teacher was a government agent doing her job as she was instructed to. But I think it's an irrational approach and we can do better. Christmas literally is to celebrate Jesus' birthday. If we can't talk about that at all in school, then we better exclude Christmas altogether. Do you know the history behind Valentine's Day? St. Patrick's Day? They have such beautiful stories, rooted in strong faith. The most academic thing we could do is to learn about them in school when we celebrate them. 

Why do we say we are in the year 2022? Why did time start 2022 years ago? Is that not an important topic to learn about? I don't think it goes much further in public school than explaining what the acronyms B.C. and A.D. stand for. We just exclude that whole topic that was important enough to mark the start of time as we know it, and find it important to put a picture of Charles Darwin and drawings of macroevolution in textbooks? That just doesn't make sense. 

Perhaps I'm going on too long with this. Check out Michael Denton. He's an agnostic biochemist and Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture. He's a proponent of intelligent design and has been writing about the topic for decades. I think his work is a great start for anyone looking for an objective, non-religious, scientific discussion on the matter, should you think that macroevolution is accepted among all scientists, only challenged by those who feel it debunks their religion. 

Shouldn't we teach that in science, we admit what we don't know? I think presumptuous science is a dangerous thing. 

For a little gun humor, I'll close with something that happened tonight that had our whole family rolling in laughter. Let me preface by saying that we have a neighbor who shoots his gun into the air most nights to keep away thieves, he says. 

Six of us sat on one bed. It's a queen sized bed and we all were squooshed in, hanging out and talking. Gabriel, who is five, raised his hands, lifted his head slightly, and called, "Everyone! Everyone!" Somehow he got us all to be quiet and attentive. He then commanded, "Hear my fart." 

We all waited to see what he would produce. No sound came from him, but a gunshot sounded in the distance. We couldn't contain ourselves. Wevli, who has special needs, came running in from the other room to join in on the fun, laughing and hooting, but he didn't actually know what had happened. This made us laugh even harder. 

It'll be interesting to see what happens after this second case of elementary school children have been killed at the hands of a gunman, 10 years after the first incident. Are we ready to make sacrifices? We can all probably give in a little.  

Out of the Mouth of Babes

One morning during Christmas break, my 10-year-old Maraya went with me on a sea glass experience. We have two experiences on AirBnB and a sea glass hunt and jewelry making is one of them. I meet guests at the giant Puerto Plata sign on the Malecon (boardwalk) and we go to a secluded spot that has lots of sea glass. After they have found what they want, we go to the art shop and make jewelry. We stop on the way for some juice. When the art shop is fully set up, we’ll serve the juice there and have other treats for sale, but that’s still in the works.

It was a special occasion that Maraya and I went together. Normally going on outings with me includes watching her brother Gabriel, who is 4 years old, and she prefers to stay home if she has the option. But today, it was just Maraya and I.

She knew that she had $50 of Christmas money from her grandmother, (Gabby), and as we drove to the shop to get the baskets and clean up a bit before meeting the guests, she pondered how she would spend it. She had previously talked about buying clothes, but the first thing she said on the topic that morning was, “How much does it cost to do one of those things for your students?”

“Sponsor a student?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she replied.

I told her it cost $150. Did she want to sponsor a student?

“Yeah, but I don’t have enough money.”

My heart melted. I exclaimed, letting her know how nice that was of her and how proud I was of her. We then continued chatting as I drove.

I couldn’t contain the tears.

“Are you crying?” she asked.

“No!” I replied as if I didn’t know what she was talking about and turned my head toward the window a bit. But I just couldn’t get it together and hide the tears by the time we got to the shop. She caught me in my blubbering. I’m a bit of a sap! I couldn’t get over the fact that this was the largest amount of money she has ever had control over, and that was what she thought to do with it.

I spent years of frustration, not understanding why people make the decisions they do, regarding how they manage their finances. I don’t wish to toot my own horn, but I am highly convicted to live without much of what others live with and invest my time and resources in service, benefitting those less fortunate than myself. It’s not something that I do once a month, on Sundays, or what have you, but it’s my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I see that this confuses and perhaps frightens some people. At the least, it seems to make many uncomfortable. When I say people, I am mostly referring to folks from the U.S. and the developed world. Many appreciate the work of Project Esperanza and my dedication to it, but when they see how deeply it is ingrained into my life and how I live in what they would consider poverty, they often draw back.

It took me years to let go of that frustration and perhaps judgment and just accept that everyone has their own choice. My frustration will not necessarily affect the choices of others. While there is extreme value in sharing resources and I wish everyone had a generous attitude and could know the joy of investing in the inherent untapped potential that is human beings that are withheld opportunity, there is also value in building an organization from the ground up with limited resources, and God’s hand has been over Project Esperanza in that way since its beginning.

In conclusion, I’ll quote myself from February 2011 when Maraya was in my tummy. I wrote a blog post called Consumerism vs.Practicality and ended by saying,

“While our future plans are not set in stone, I conclude that I can bring better formal education to my kids here in the Dominican Republic, but the consumerism… in the U.S. seems to pose a serious threat to practical education, which, I think, holds just as much value as formal education. So, while I am ever so grateful for the opportunities I have received and continue to receive as a U.S. citizen and I tear up at the pledge of allegiance and the singing of the national anthem, at this point, I have little desire to go back to live full time in the U.S. I would rather use my blessed life to bless others where blessings are much scarcer.”

I was using blessings and wealth interchangeably there, but those are very dangerous waters, as wealth can bring about distractions that keep us from enjoying the sweetest of blessings in life. However, I do think that the power that comes from wealth is a huge blessing, and one that should be managed with much consideration. As someone from Arizona who recently came on an experience here with us said, “We [Americans] were all born on second base. We need to give back.”

“I assure you,” he said, unless you become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

-          Matthew 18:3

To learn more about sponsoring a student, read here.

Maraya's sea glass earrings she made that day.

 

 

 

#FreeHaiti Movement - There is no Fear in Love

From Adventures of SonSon - Part 2

I’ve been planning to write more about the idea of #FreeHaiti for months. My last post was in May. Around that time I started caring for a baby during the nights, started a new remote job, and in September, school went back to normal. That ended my blogging spree. But it’s time to post this. 

So much has happened in Haiti since I last posted. The president was assassinated in July, there was an earthquake in August which we felt all the way here, there was a heartbreaking immigration crisis with Haitians at the U.S.-Mexico border, and now the kidnapping crisis in Haiti has been brought to the world’s attention as 16 Americans and one Canadian are being held hostage after being kidnapped weeks ago. (Update: I have had this in draft for a bit and two hostages have now been released.)

I want to address the current state of Haiti while touching on the remaining topics discussed in the #FreeHaiti group, which are believed to be holding Haiti down. I mentioned before that I appreciate many of the group members’ thoughts, but there does seem to be a pro-voodoo, anti-Christianity sentiment that I definitely don’t agree with. However, it has brought some things to my attention and I have entered into some good dialogue about it. 

The remaining topics from what I outlined in the original post include foreign interference in Haitian government, US/UN occupation, and corruption. Again, religion is also a topic that I have since observed mentioned a lot in the group. Let me start with religion. 

The basic sentiment regarding religion that I’ve heard from the Free Haiti Movement Facebook group is that Christianity is the religion of Haiti’s oppressors. Ezili Danto is the person who coined the #FreeHaiti Movement and I think she’s actually a mambo, which is a voodoo priestess. I asked my friend and one of our employees about her thoughts on the notion that Christianity is the religion of Haiti’s oppressors, or their God is the God of their oppressors, and here is what she said:

When I first moved here, I thought it would be cool to interview a voodoo priest. I was interested in learning more about it. The youth in our program warned strongly against that. They expressed unanimous fear and made it clear that they had a history of knowledge about the harm these people could inflict. I shared this in another post, but Willy’s interview provides a strong example. 

I’ve had lots of experiences throughout my 15 years here and have many stories I could share. But my thoughts were even more solidified when I recently read a book about the infamous dictator of Haiti, Francois Duvalier. From what the book says, he seemed to start out as a smart young man and doctor who grew up witnessing rapid changes in government leadership, a U.S. occupation, and was a patriot who truly wanted the best for his country. 

However, voodoo was peppered throughout the story. Duvalier was committed to it. When he entered the presidential election, the book says that he sacrificed his good friend and driver in a voodoo ceremony in an attempt to secure the presidency!!! 

Before Duvalier was a candidate in a presidential election, he was highly involved in politics. He spent time in hiding as he was hunted by Magloire, the president before him in the 1950s. A neighboring family helped him while he was hiding. The man was a fellow politician named Clement Jumelle. After Duvalier became president, Jumelle went into hiding because Duvalier became suspicious of him, despite all Jumelle had done for Duvalier, believing that all other politicians would try to take him out. Jumelle eventually came out of hiding to seek medical treatment as he was very sick. He died shortly after. The book describes the funeral preceding and how it was interrupted by Duvalier’s men. As they led the casket down the street, his men intervened, took the body, and apparently went on to take Jumelle's heart for a voodoo ceremony!

Let it be known that the author seemed quite objective and was a Haitian resident, originally from New Zealand. He was the great uncle of one of my Creole students, whom I read the book with in Creole. Reading the book reminded me of the Star Wars movie where you painfully watch young Annikan Skywalker, with all the potential in the world, make decisions out of fear and follow evil influences until he turns into the horrible Darth Vader. Observing the transformation is difficult. You just want to take the young man aside and put him on the right track. It's truly a tragic transformation.

It was understandable that Duvalier was paranoid. He grew up in Port-au-Prince watching president after president overthrown. I even know some Haitians who think he was a good leader. There was much more order when he was president. But on the other hand, I have a friend whose father was an educated man and involved in politics. He was forced to flee Haiti during Duvalier’s regime. Unfortunately, rather than being able to work together with fellow leaders as he seemed to intend early on, he saw them all as enemies, which depleted the country of leadership.  The key word is fear. The result is extreme self preservation and upliftment at the expense of others without any disregard.

Another part of the book I found disturbing was the fact that the U.S. supported Duvalier with huge sums of money even after they knew of the atrocities he was committing. I shared a few atrocities above, but the book became hard to stomach with all of the horrible stories. The U.S. supported him because he agreed to be their ally against Cuba and communism. I believe a key word here as well is fear. 

True Christianity, the teachings of Jesus Christ, replaces fear with love, even when it means sacrificing one’s self. The Bible commands us not to fear hundreds of times throughout it. 

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” - 1 John 4:18

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." -1 John 3:16

I now arrive at a current situation some have been talking about, regarding how Christians in Port-au-Prince should react to the kidnappings that have plagued the capital of Haiti more than ever before, from what I understand. I wrote about some experiences I’ve had this past year with the matter here. If you aren’t aware, churches and church leaders have been targeted by kidnappers. Kidnappings have taken place during church services, on camera, etc. This has gotten to the point that some churches have decided not to open. Others have told their congregation to bring weapons to church and to prepare to fight, should they be attacked. 

I recently had a conversation with a Haitian Christian friend about the news that some churches in Port-au-Prince were instructing their church members to come to church with machetes, teaching them to not fear death, but to be ready to fight, and have faith in eternal life that is promised to them in the Bible. She seemed to think that that mindset was one of outliers and radicals. They were not her denomination of Christianity. 

I felt strongly that in this situation, that is exactly how a Christian should behave. She shied away from the conversation when I started getting zealous so I let it go. But when I heard that some churches were preparing in this way, my first thoughts were, “Amen! Men and women of God stand up!” 

In my last post, I wrote about the recent U.S. court decision about Kyle Rittenhouse, the now 18-year-old who shot and killed two protestors a year ago, who was just found not guilty on November 19th. I also mention the death of Ahmaud Arbery who was killed by neighborhood men who decided to take the law into their own hands. Both are examples of arrogant vigilantism mingled with racism, where the killers were highly out of line and should be held accountable. I’m about to suggest the opposite in Haiti. 

In Haiti, unlike the United States which is an extremely organized and controlled country in comparison, the government has been getting its butt kicked by criminals, some from within. At this point, the elected president has been assassinated and who knows when a fair election will be held. Kidnappings are all the norm and families of kidnapping victims scramble to find funds to pay ransoms, thus encouraging the business even more. 

But I know that there are many, many Haitians living in Haiti who are committed to doing the right thing. There are many families that raise their children with a necessary strictness that may be considered abusive in the U.S. but keeps children from falling into the wrong path in Haiti. Whenever we have stayed with my husband’s family in Grisongade, Haiti, I have been amazed by the church bell ringing at 5am in an area with no electricity. As it’s pitch black, people get up out of their beds to go to the church and pray. It’s a dedication that is hard to find in places of more comfort...which is everywhere else I’ve ever been. 

In the same community, the practice of voodoo is near and widespread. It's true that voodoo is not all negative, as many will object, wanting to stay religiously neutral. It does involve healings, but also involves a very large amount of killings, stealing, and trickery. It's hard to celebrate the small percentage of positives when the same person believed to be in charge of the healings is also in charge of inflicting sicknesses.

Some, or perhaps many Haitians, have their feet in both doors. If there’s one thing I have come away with from those visits to Haiti is a tangible feeling of spiritual warfare with very committed warriors on both sides.  

I can’t help but to think that when a kidnapping occurs, others know where the person is being held hostage. Men and women of God stay crippled in fear, wanting to keep themselves and their families out of the line of fire. But by doing so, they've allowed the fire to linger and grow. Or they take their families and flee to the Dominican Republic which is not to blame either. 

I’m certainly a fan of stricter gun control laws in the U.S. I am a fan of the Civil Rights Movement and non-violence. However, I do believe there are times to fight. I do believe there are times to put your life on the line, take a stance against people destroying the lives of others, and the only practical way to do that is to be armed and organized in some way. 

Over and over I’ve seen things done in upside down ways because of fear amongst Haitians. Someone gets fired from their job for very good reasons, yet no one else wants to take the job, although they greatly need the opportunity, because they fear that the person who lost their job will inflict harm on them via voodoo out of jealousy. Grown men throw fits like children, only their fits are much more dangerous than those of children, and everyone decides that the best course of action is to give this man what he wants so that he calms down. These are just a few examples that often shape things in the wrong direction. 

Some people hope and pray that the U.S. sends troops to Haiti. The #FreeHaitiMovement takes the stance that that would not be a good thing, and that Haitians can do this on their own. With that, I completely agree. Although it might not look like it right now, I know they can do it. This country has a history of heroism and victims overthrowing their abusers. Its story of independence dignifies humans of color and ancestors of slaves like no other true story that I know of. I strongly believe that if the infrastructure is put in place and the right people are empowered in the right way, the country will thrive. It will thrive and it will astound the world in the same way it has astounded those of us foreigners who have been captivated by it. 

With that being said, I think the only way for this to happen is for those warriors that have been on the battlefield for so long to practice a fearless love, based on faith, and stand up against criminals in whatever way necessary. I don’t know exactly what that looks like and it’s something that is led by the Holy Spirit, but preparing to fight back when under attack certainly makes sense to me! 

I pray that the spirit of fear is driven away from the country. I pray that a fearless love embeds itself deep in the minds and hearts of righteous men and women. I pray that when the time comes to act out of a fearless love, that there is no hesitation, but it’s automatic. May the Holy Spirit go before them. I know that deep down inside, those practicing evil through such things as kidnappings have an underlying need for a good whooping. They need someone to be stronger and more fearless than they are and to show them the way. They are fatherless and completely lost. 

I don’t pray this as someone on the sidelines. I have practiced it. I have physically stepped into dangerous situations and stood my ground and fought on many occasions. I’ll admit I have no proximity with guns, nor have I had to, thankfully, but have experienced fists flying, rocks flying, machetes flying, etc. I do have such experience and a scar on my head to prove it. I don’t come across this mayhem often anymore, but it was quite the norm when things got started with a group of youth straight off the streets, young leadership trying to do what we can, and a pecking order not yet well established. I touch on this a bit here in this post from 11 years ago. 

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. May your kingdom come. 

Lock Up Kyle for A While

 

I haven't written in several months. Life got busy again. My writing spree was allowed due to kids being home with virtual school, no volunteer groups coming, and not having steady remote work. All of that changed, and more, thankfully, although it was fun learning about current events and developing thoughts during that time. 

Last night I learned about the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict. I was quite surprised to hear that he was found not guilty on all charges. Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised anymore, just continually disturbed. Last February, I wrote a post (here) comparing Rittenhouse (the armed 17-year-old who killed two people at a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin in August 2020), to Brandon Bernard. Brandon Bernard was an African American man who was executed almost a year ago for being affiliated with a killing over 30 years ago when he was 18 years old, despite jurors who convicted him pleading that the decision be reversed. At that point, Rittenhouse had merely been released on bond. Now that he has been acquitted altogether, the contradiction just looks that much bigger. 

Today was one of those days where I couldn't shake my disturbance. The only way to quench it was to read up, and now to write my thoughts. I read many articles on the verdict, watched some videos from the trials, and conversed online with some folks. Perhaps what struck me the hardest was a statement by Anthony Huber's parents. This statement can be found in this article.  

Huber was the second man shot and killed that night. He was unarmed, like the first. He reacted to Rittenhouse shooting the first man, Joseph Rosenbaum, and likely sought to apprehend him and disarm him. I specifically remember my criminal law instructor telling us that self-defense is a very hard defense to establish to justify a killing. We read several cases that proved what he said, with situations like pregnant woman going to jail for killing their abusive husbands while under attack. I see that in Wisconsin it's a bit easier to establish self defense because the burden lies on the prosecution to prove that the killer did not act in self defense, rather than the burden lying on the defense, which is the norm. But even so, the key word is reasonable. The jury has to believe that the defendant acted reasonably both in believing he was in imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury, and that the amount of force he used was what a reasonable person would use. 

So the jury was instructed to view the situation as a 17-year-old boy like Rittenhouse would. They were asked to view the situation where he was approached and pulled the trigger from that point of view, but they must not have been instructed to view the reasonableness of the creation of the situation itself. Was it reasonable that a 17-year-old be walking around a town he does not live in during emotional protests with a large deadly weapon like that, basically with the intention of protecting property? The situation in itself is extremely unreasonable. 

Perhaps they should've aimed for a lower charge with the killings. It's not that I want the young man locked up for his whole life, but the message this complete acquittal sends is disturbing. 

I also read that the verdict for the Ahmaud Arbery case should be decided and announced this upcoming week. I have investigated that case too. Arbery was not jogging in jogging clothes as some make it seem, (he had cargo shorts on), but was walking and jogging around the neighborhood where his family says he often jogs. He was seen on camera looking briefly into a house under construction. The cameras showed several others peeking in throughout the weeks and months prior. There was no theft, other than some little neighbor boys who took some plywood. The property owner said on the witness stand that he never asked the defendants to protect his home and he barely knows them. Both of these cases are not even in the realm of police brutality, which is trickier because of qualified immunity. The defendants are civilians practicing vigilantism. 

I don't have anything else to say and there's nothing I can do. When that is the case, the only option is to pray, (not that prayer should be a last resort, by any means). 

Lord, God, Jehovah, Yahweh, the Alpha and the Omega, the Begining and the End, please don't let them acquit those men, or at least the one that pulled the trigger. It pains me and I feel the pain of those who suffer from these injustices, this hate, this discrimination and devalution. I feel the pain of the Rittenhouse verdict and I fear the pain of an acquittal in the Arbery case. Please, may justice be served. May the jury's decision reflect your will. May there be healing. May the scales be balanced. May your kingdom come.

Amen. Below is my 4-year-old Gabriel's depiction of God. I guess he sees God as a sun-shaped house-like creature with a smile.