The real day one....

(Written on July 18, 2011)

Seriously....is that thing even on? I can remember that when I woke up this morning in a pool of sweat on my pillow. I could see there were two lights on the air conditioner that said what seemed to be a lie. There had been a bit of an argument  (A friendly "christian" version) the day before between us and the other group - they seemed to think that using a fan to funnel the cool air onto their side of the sleeping room was a good idea and saw no problem with the issue. OK - it can't be that bad, right? heh heh.....

We were awakened by Barak (pronounced "bear-ick"), one of the Nextstep leaders, playing guitar. I can't remember the song now, as I was too focused on the heat. I figured I'd just get dressed and hit the mess hall for some breakfast.

Wow, what is it, like, 85 degrees in here?

Is that a cockroach? I think I actually said hello to the cockroach.

I am also pretty sure that he responded.

I put on my work clothes for the day and opened the door.

Have you ever pre-heated an oven for 500 degrees in preparation to cook a pizza, or heated the barbecue grill on HI until the thermometer was pegged....and then opened it? Yeah, this was like that. The air conditioner was definitely working in the dorm. It was so hot that when you opened the door you had to step back and resist the urge to use profanity. You actually put your arm in front of your face instinctively to protect yourself from some unseen enemy. Instant sweat. I didnt think I could produce sweat like that so quickly.

We migrated slowly to the mess hall and sat there, staring at the empty table. After a couple of uncomfortable minutes we made lunch - peanut butter and jelly - and we ate our breakfast. Pancakes? Hmm...not bad at all...

Then we took our devotional (hereafter called "devo") and found a corner. The devo was about God the Craftsman. About how He created everything. I remember thinking "including this heat".

Three stray dogs lay nearby in the shade, watching us with mild curiosity. Waverly named one "Dale" because she insisted it had "racing stripes". Fleas maybe, but not racing stripes. The bus arrived and we climbed aboard. Let's see....25 people and 22 seats. Mr. Smith, the bus driver from the day before, yelled at the men to let the ladies sit down, which we did, then we sat wherever we could.

The bus ride was eye opening. The houses we saw on the way were either tiny or huge or a pile of rubble. Local reggae style music on the radio proclaimed "I Love Jesus!". Outside proclaimed a world of misery and poverty or filthy rich. If you think that the US has no middle class any more you are sorely mistaken...there are two classes on New Providence Island - High Class and No Class.

Garbage was everywhere. You can't describe the smell, but you can imagine how garbage left day after day in the sweltering heat would smell. Yes, Cleveland was experiencing a heat wave right now, but this was no heat wave here - it is like this day after day, everyday.

Mr. Smith took a left on to "Straight St.". The road disappeared into what appeared to be a jungle. We all noticed the houses disappear. We also noticed the bus was heading toward a hill and noticeably speeding up then at the crest of the hill it felt like the road dropped out from under us and the entire bus screamed, followed immediately by an uproar of laughter. Being an adult with 10 kids in my care and no seatbelts, I'm pretty sure I wasn't laughing. I do admit I was smiling.

We headed through broken gates and a once grand entrance to "All Saints Camp". Straight street ended in a round about. AT the end of the street was a barn-like chapel, weather beaten and empty. Once beautiful ponds now filled partially with stagnant water and mosquito larvae sat under a huge banyan tree. The tree offered shade from the sweltering heat, but the humidity mocked that very shade. I felt like I needed a snorkel just to breathe.

There was no beauty here.

We staggered out of the bus, looking a bit like a gaggle of tourists who stepped out into times square. A little bit of awe and a lot of trepidation.

Oh the smell.... I remember Brigitte commenting that that was the "smell of sick people". We split into our work groups, each individual had a different task, mine was the "devo masta"...I had to lead the lunch devotional time. Not a problem.

In the midst of the dilapidated shacks was a small home, no bigger than perhaps 350 square feet under construction. That is where I would be working along with Waverly, Elizabeth and several people from North Carolina. I remember looking at the shacks that were falling apart and thinking "OK - these must be the shacks condemned to be torn don because they are unlivable".

Until I saw Dawn and her 10 month old daughter Winnie walk out of the left hand door and watched us get ready to work. People live in those? Then Lillian walked out of the other side. I was later informed that the house was a duplex, with someone living on either side. There is no running water, no air conditioning.
Suddenly my morning complaints seemed a little ridiculous. The 350 square feet home we were building would more than double the square footage they were currently used to.

Power lines ran on poles down the center of the camp, but hung just a few feet over our heads. The power and water in the camp often didn't work, relegating our use of power tools to only occasional use.

Waverly and I were given instructions and got to work right away hanging the ceiling on the porch area of the new home. The learning curve was evident for all the workers as we learned how to deal with the tools and new construction terms, as well as the surroundings. It seemed like we got almost nothing done when they called out that lunch was ready.

We ate and laughed, drenched in sweat and seemingly famished. A local resident named Vincent who was HIV positive and now blind sat with us and told his story. The thick accent made understanding him difficult though not impossible. He told of hope, happiness and the truth that is God's love.

God is Love according to the book of 1 John. If God is Love, then what is this camp? THIS is love?

I led the afternoon devotional and we got back to work. Sometime in the afternoon I walked across the sidewalk to visit with Dawn and Winnie. I wished I had brought my camera, but we were told to leave them at home the first day out of respect. (The picture below was taken at a later time) I introduced myself and Dawn said "hello". She had an open bible on her lap that she began to explain she was reading "back to front", starting with Revelations. Wow....way to start with the good news...

The she said to me "I am HIV positive....that's okay, right?"
"What?" I asked, unsure if I heard the question.
"I am HIV positive....that is okay with God, right?"

Dawn has this way of not actually looking at you when she asks you a question.
I stood up from my crouched position next to Winnie and said "Of course it is. God loves you with or whether you are HIV positive or not"

Satisfied with the answer she went on to explain the bible, but I was still trying to wrap my head around the question.

Did she doubt that God loved her? Was this a test....a question she asked only the new shipment of workers? Or was this God putting the question right there in front of my face to answer.

Of course it is okay. Of course He loves you.

Of course He loves me.

Of course He loves all of us.

Suddenly, my work had new meaning, new vigor. The heat seemed to be no more than a buzzing mosquito in my ear, the sore shoulders just an annoying side effect of God's work.

Of course God Loves you....he sent us to help you.

He sent us.

We have so much work to do.

 Dawn and Winnie

Family

(This blog was written on Sunday, July 17th )

Well, we are here.

We flew through the night and arrived in the Bahamas at around 9:30.

We were met at the airport by a short, rather gruff bus driver, driving an old weather beaten school bus. He drove on the right side of the bus, but the wrong side of the road, as is custom here.

When we arrived at the Bahamas Retreat Center, we were not met with the facility that they show in their web page ( www.bahamasretreatcenter.com ) but rather, a run down, beaten facility.

We do have beds, and cold, salt-water showers that make you never feel quite clean. But we are not here on vacation....we are here to work.

The days have been long, and hot. The humidity here makes your body react in interesting ways, like how you instantly form a "protective layer" of sweat as soon as you walk out a door. Your clothes stick to your body. Your actions slow to a crawl, almost as though you are walking through water.

It is miserable.

But is it? We went to the beach for a short time on the first day...the local beach, not the tourist beach. We were the only white people there, but we were not pointed at or harassed by the locals. To the contrary, they wanted to play frisbee with us in the water. The young children wanted to talk to us and learn our names. It was almost like we walked into some 100 member family reunion and they accepted us. It was difficult to tell who belonged with who, and what family was actually that. There is a different mentality here - one of union and family.

Everything moves slower - a lot slower. No "sense of urgency" as they say. It is okay, you fall into it pretty quick - it's a bit like trying to get a teenager to do anything before noon - it can be a struggle and nothing is guaranteed.

The bus ride back to the center was through a route that opened our eyes. If you have been to the Bahamas before, then you are familiar with a lot of the constant construction (Or rather, lack thereof), but once you get off the beaten tourist path you are met with poverty. Garbage is everywhere. Stray dogs run about between houses, digging through the garbage. People sit outside in the 90 degree heat because they cannot afford A/C.

But we can ignore it for now. We don't need to face it.....yet. Tomorrow we will be thrust headlong into the poverty. The young adults I have brought are a good group, but they are staying in their little  sub-groups of two or three. That will change.

Tomorrow we put our faith to action. Tonight, we sleep....if we can get the A/C in the dorms working....

VIP Passes

Two days left! I need to head off to Harbor Freight to get some safety glasses and gloves! I spoke with Sydnie (the site director in Nassau) - lovely conversation once you get over the awkward delay from international cell phone calls that makes you talkwithoutpausingbecauseotherwisetheotherpersonwilltalktoosoon......kind of thing. It looks like we can be of service by bringing some other basic tools, which is always good. We, being the "haves" should do what we can to give to the "have nots", in this case, the ministry. Being on an island, everything is more expensive, down to the peanut butter that we will eat.


I am in hopes that we will be able to visit at least one orphanage while we are there. There has always been a place in my heart for the little children who are in need....something about how they have so little control over their situation. They can't provide for themselves, they can't simply "get up and move", and while I understand that many of the adults can't either, the children can just seem so helpless. Anyway, it seemed Jesus felt in a similar way about children.


We often see this verse:

Mark 10:13-15

New International Version (NIV)

The Little Children and Jesus

 ¹³ People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Which is one of my favorites - and it tells a lot about Jesus and how he felt. But so many people leave out the next verse, which tells us so much more:

Mark 10:16

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ And he took the children in his arms [one by one], placed his hands on them and blessed them.


How can we ignore that last bit? Mark tells us he "took the children in his arms" and in some translations "one by one".


One by one he picked them up and hugged them....in a busy crowd where adults were waiting to speak to the messiah, Jesus stopped what he was doing, because nothing was as important as the blessing of those children in that moment. He let them know they were loved, and He made sure, in no uncertain terms that his disciples knew that the children could always come to Him. They got the VIP passes to see Jesus.


Perhaps we as adults have a lot to learn. Perhaps we need to pause and bless the little children when we can.


And so that is what I hope to do...to pause, as Jesus did, and take the time to be with the children, to hug them and listen to them, just as I do with adults who need it.


So, go out and hug a kid.






Please, though, make sure you know the kid, otherwise you might be arrested.




'til I write again, and even after that - God Bless!


- B

No Zip Lines Needed

So here I am, sitting on the couch trying to wrap my head around the task we are scheduled to perform next week. On July 17 at 2:30 a.m. my wife and I with 9 young adults will travel to Akron Canton Airport to board a plane. Our final destination is Nassau, Bahamas where we will spend a week working in an AIDS camp. 


What is an AIDS camp? Well, essentially it is a camp where those affected with HIV/AIDS will go to die. Just a couple decades ago it was a Leper Colony - yes, seriously. 


So why are we going? To do good. To help people. Want me to spout off some bible verses to make this official? I can do that, but I don't have the time to list them all - the bible is chock full of 'em, both in the Old Testament and New Testament. We are going not just to help, but to love. More on this later... 


As a Youth Director I try and plan mission work that has a focus on the "work" portion. It has gotten difficult in recent years, especially in our area where we compete with "Christian" social groups that have parties and go to camps where they learn the love of Christ while travelling on zip lines and swimming all day. All well and good, of course - I'm sure Jesus would zip line if they existed in His day. But it can be a difficult sell convincing someone, even parents, that there is more to being a Christian. And so, when choosing between a work camp and a party camp, most youth and parents choose the party camp (parents just choose whatever the youth wants - I mean, hey, they're both "christian", right?). 
Maybe that's why I am so tremendously proud of the 9 young adults - Brigitte, Elizabeth, Sam, Logan, Veronica, Alissa, Kelsey, Waverly and Ashley - who have chosen to go somewhere that they know will be hot and miserable. They all signed up knowing they would have to earn their way onto the trip - the work trip. They knew only that they didn't exactly know what they were in for, if that makes any sense at all. No fancy full color brochures here - just a simple "trust me - it's gonna be awesome. We get to work all day in the heat miles from the nearest beach. Then we get to go to church - every night". 


Sounds like some people's version of a nightmare. 


No zip lines to be seen. Just a bunch of incredibly poor people who have been marginalized by society and left to die. 


Left to die. Ouch. 


The book of James has thrust itself onto the very top of my Bible book list because of it's length and content combined. Not a lot of filler here. Its about being a Christian and how we need to actually DO what we say. 
Check this out: James 2:14-18 (The Message) 


14-17"Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup
where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? 18I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department." Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove." 


Yep, I can hear James talking to his kids now: "No zip lining until you've finished your homework, young man!" 
I'm sure Jesus would have finished his vegetables, fed the poor, maybe healed a guy or two, and then hit the lines - or whatever term we use.


 We are supposed to work. The reason, or one of them, is that the work changes us. Yes, it does good and it helps people, but it changes US as well. The hard work and the sweat, the tears and the smiles, all produce a spiritual and emotional high that cannot be duplicated. 


That, my friends, if love in it's purest form. Too powerful for even us to contain. That spiritual high explodes from us and infects the people around us. Yes, love spreads like wildfire when we let it. 


And so, we will be working hard, and we will experience love, and we will give love. Through giving we will receive all we need. 


And though the week will begin with complaints of the heat, the long day and the minimal food portions, I have been on enough of these to know that the last day there will be no complaints. There will be feelings of gratitude for the wealth that these poor and downtrodden people have given us. An appreciation for our lives, for our country and for God. We will be satisfied with the peanut butter and jelly. No - we will love the peanut butter and jelly. We will love each other. We will love God and rejoice in the love He gives us, because we will see that God is love. 


And we will bond with each other and we will bond with Christ. 






No zip line needed. 


-B