#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.