Haiti - Cries of the Oppressed

My friend Shane visited Haiti and edited a video of the footage he captured there. You can view the video here.
I was pretty affected by the power of the words and images in the video. I took the time to transcribe the dialog from the video. I suggest reading it then watching the video.

"Six weeks after the earthquake
I walked the streets in Port Au Prince
Collapse buildings everywhere
And I couldn’t escape the haunting reality of the estimated two hundred thousand plus lives lost here
Many Haitians say even that figure that is much too low
Which wasn’t hard to believe because finding a house that was still standing and in livable condition was a rare exception
It’s estimated that at least a million people were displaced from their homes and even those with homes have no electricity or running water
In the clinics and food distribution centers there was seemingly endless lines of people waiting sometimes a whole day to receive some of the aid that was available
Thousands of bodies still lie under the concrete rubble
Painfully difficult to move without the help of heavy machinery
Legal documents and records blew through the streets outside the national courthouse
And even now tons of food water and medicine lie waiting at the airport and docks as the government tries to tax the incoming aid to profit from the disaster and the suffering of the people
Its easy for anyone to look at the situation and be overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness because of the magnitude of need
I spent just three weeks in Haiti, I don’t assume to be an expert or that I can adequate access the gravity of the situation
But I know one of the simplest and practical examples of love is to clothe the naked and feed the hungry
And there is ample opportunity here for that
And though the problems the Haitian people are facing aren’t going away anytime soon
Many remain hopeful and encouraged that their nation can change
The earthquake in Haiti was one of the deadliest in history
But much of the problems here are nothing new
And they are as complex as they are desperate
But I believe that now there is more need then ever for those that are willing to dedicate themselves to the rebuilding of this nation
That Haiti would be a nation built on the foundations of love
An opponent of political and social injustices
And a blessing to the world
These unique and beautiful people are not defeated easily
And as you walk through the streets the smiles on their faces testify of their endurance
If its not our priority to spend ourselves on the needy
And loose the chains of injustice in our world
What are we left with?
In my opinion, just a shell of an existence
A pretense of compassion
The cries of the oppressed cannot go unheard
From child sex slaves in Cambodia
To the poverty and corruption in Haiti
Love must be tangible
It cannot be a concept
It can only be demonstrated in action
And unless we understand this
We will never see the change we always talk about
In a world where information and communication is more readily available then ever before
We no longer have an excuse of ignorance
And now that we know about the issues
We are faced with the decisions
Of how we will react."

-Shane Prescott

Finding a book

Just wanted to follow up on my last blog entry.

Wanting intimacy with Christ isn't wrong. But we have to be careful to seek Him according to who He is and not who we want Him to be. God can be found in many things, afterall He is the author and perfecter of our fate, everything we are and have is by Him.

More importantly though, for me,

~He is the word of God - the bible, His character is woven into those pages.
~He is the people you invest spiritually in, your community your church your family
~He is the quiet peace, the voice of gentle wisdom that reminds me, even in the worst of times. That he is near.

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That being said, I found the book. The taxi driver brought it back to the hotel he picked us up at. Very rare as I am told.

Funny how something seemingly important to you leaves, you grieve its loss, finally let it go, then allowed to see the error of your way, then it returns to you, yet now you no longer see it in the same light, indeed a better light.

God works in fascinating ways

Loosing a book

So a year ago I was dealing with a difficult situation in life. At this time I ended up going to China for work and the time away gave me incredible perspective on the situation. I drew closer to Christ during that trip and ultimately began to understand what he was putting me through. One of the ways I got closer to Him was through the book The Shack. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it, it will redefine the way you look at the trinity and your own walk with Christ (naturally in a good way :)

Well anyways, its a year later. I'm sitting in a Hong Kong hotel room in the middle of a trip that for all intensive purposes is the same as last years. While life is a tad bit different, I'm needing that same time away from the states for time closer to Christ.

Here's the funny part. I brought with me The Shack on this trip too. It was my intention to re-read it and to use it in much the same way i did last year. Here is the funny part.

While I finished reading the book in heartfelt tears on a Chinese Taxi ride. This time around at about page 90 I left the book on a Chinese Taxi ride. Totally spaced my mind and realized the book is gone for good. I can't help but romanticize this, imagining the book as a powerful tool in my life. It entered into my life in a taxi ride, and it left in one too. Like a person whose God given purpose in your life is to be apart of it for only a season, teaching you an invaluable lesson. The Shack is gone now.

When I take a step back though, and reflect on this. I think of it this way. I can't box God, pull him out of a book, even as good a book as The Shack. I think He removed that from this trip so I could focus on Him during this time.

Whether its a place, or a person, or even a thing. God isn't there. He's inside. A part of us, we have been given the Holy Spirit, a powerful tool to experience the love and presence of Christ at any time. While other things help us connect with Christ, ultimately they are just things. We may feel the presence and intimacy of Christ in a relationship, worship, in nature, in service to the poor, and these things are all God given and beautiful, but I'm learning that I can't use them. Even for as good a purpose as to be closer to God, because I inevitably start to rely on them and not God. While I can appreciate their place in my life, they come and go. And I have to be okay with that. Which only happens when I am not relying on them, but God. Who doesn't leave.

I don't think I will buy The Shack again. I'll let it go, as I'm finding I must with some of the concerns in my life right now. Who knows, maybe as it floats away into Chinese Taxi land, it will touch someone else's life as it did mine. I think that's a good prayer to pray.

Seasons in Life - Learning to Trust God

"You can't take what God wants to freely give you"

My Pastor said that yesterday as I sat in the pew jotting away the notes on his sermon. I couldn't help but hold my pen for a moment, struck by the sentence. At first glance I'm almost offended by the nature of the statement, God wants to FREELY give it, why would I ever wish to take it. As a boy, if the neighborhood baker wants to give me a doughnut, I wait patiently for him to place the wonderful bismarck into my cup'd hands. But what is patience, indeed a 12 year olds grasp of patience doesn't extend beyond a few minutes. Here at 24 years of age, have I managed to add onto that mark?

Sometimes I wonder, as I did yesterday staring at my pen as it hovered over my notes. God is indeed my baker, among other things, but am I trying to steal his promises? The word of God says He has promised me a life abundant, full of hope and joy. While I acknowledge my life isn't meant to be easy, I can only examine the desires of my heart. Love, intimacy, a family, a wife, travel, missions, videography, home. Whatever it may be, how insignificant or great the desire, how powerful and passionate, or how careless and indifferent. They are subject to, not my will, but God's.

That's where patience comes in. Speaking from more experience then I would care for, how often have I tried to understand His will. Why didn't this work out? Why have things changed? Why didn't you give me that opportunity? Why can't I do this or that? Rather then wait for God to reveal His work. I push, I say if only I figure it out I will be at peace with it. No. That isn't peace, that is living in fear. Living in the fear of the unknown, and attempting some small minuscule self serving act to figure it out. Even with the answer, we are left still searching for a reason, an answer to quell the underlying concern of our heart. Will this work out?

Unfortunately our life isn't a book we are reading. We can't skim ahead. There is no earthly person, place, thing, or answer that can satisfy our fear of the unknown, of the direction our lives are going. We can never know where we will be tomorrow, who we will love, what we will be doing, and ultimately IF we will be happy.

I used the word 'unfortunately' earlier. Forgive me that this was a poor choice in words. It is with the utmost excitement that I say we aren't reading the pages of our life, we are living them! To use the words of Donald Miller, we are the characters, we are not the author. God is our author and we simply cannot write the story of our life with a fraction of the care love and joy that He can.

If you believe in the God of the bible, in His promises, and above all that he loves you and wants the best for you. Then if you ever feel scared of what is to come, if you are ever trying to figure it out yourself, to attempt to satisfy that deeply woven desire to know you will be happy. Let it go. Surrender your fear, don't live in it. Give it up to a God that has told us that His love is sufficient. Cause then you'll be free. Free to live in a story that you have complete faith that the author is writing the most exciting, powerful, brilliant, beautiful story, one filled with a happiness that is more satisfying that anything we could have discovered on our own.

And the cool part. If you live in a story where you have complete faith in its author AND you don't know what's going to happen. Well that fear of the unknown will change into anticipation and excitement of the unknown. That is the promise of God.

Don't live in fear, enter into the Joy of the Lord. A life of beauty and excitement.

Philippians 4:6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus



Remember -
A peace that surpasses all understanding. You cannot understand it.