A Lesson From Coke...

It was Sunday morning, after our 1st Haitian church experience. Actually, it was probably approaching afternoon - they do church from 7 to 11...in an open-air tent-church...

After the church service, one of the pastors brought out the stash of good stuff to share w/ us Americans...some cold 1-liter bottles Coca-Cola Classic and 7-Up (sweetened w/ sugar cane). In Haiti, they don't bring a Starbucks or bottles of water to church. A cold Coke right then, seemed like a reward from Heaven. BUT I had this 6-7 yr old'ish boy on my shoulders...

...and this super-nice 11-year-old'ish, Jean, at my side...

I had bonded w/ Jean the day before, and after church on this day. He is a super-polite and kind kid. Both Saturday and Sunday he just wanted to be by me, as long as I had my arm around him or he was holding my hand.

I'm sure Jean, or the little guy on my shoulders, didn't drink many sips of soda, let alone a liter of it. I asked the pastor if I could share it w/ the kids. He said yes, but that I'd get mobbed if the kids saw me sharing it.

So I grabbed a plastic cup and took the 2 boys outside the church, on the other side of the wall (eh-hem, sorry, other side of the tarp, I mean). I filled the cup with Coke and handed it to my buddy, Jean. Without hesitation, he immediately reached up to the boy on my shoulders and handed him the cup-full of Coke. That boy drank a sip and handed it back to Jean. Another boy must have seen us, and walked up at that moment. Again, WITHOUT HESITATION, Jean, took the cup back, turned and gave it to the boy who had just walked up. That kid drank a sip, and handed it back to Jean, who finished the rest. They all said "mesi" (thank you). It was a perfect display of sharing, each respectfully only drinking their 1/3 of the Coke, caring for each other even with just a cup of soda. It speaks loudly, as to the character they are developing from the few adults they have in their lives.

They are living the "community" that was lived-out in Acts 2:42-47. Stop and read that link, it is how life was meant to be. We're usually too busy to realize it...so take a second, right now.

That Coke-sharing moment embodies the spirit of these kids. In their world of having nothing, "stuff"-wise, they really have everything, spirit-wise. The importance of stuff can really be deceptive.

Isn't it interesting who, and what, can change our perspective, when we're paying enough attention?

An Unknown Child

Some of these thoughts are big-picture ones. Some are individual stories of the kids or situations. Some may be a little uncomfortable, even bothersome. Maybe that is a good thing. Ok, let's go.

Look into the eyes of a child in an impoverished country...

I met this girl at All In One orphanage, which we help financially support through our church. It was probably around 2:00 on Saturday afternoon. I don't know her name, or her story. I was told she was just dropped off here, probably just for the day. The pastor at All In One, Joseph Kesnel, keeps the front gate open during the day for "neighborhood" kids to come play inside.

I had just wiped a thick, green, slime-like, duel-nostril snot that had consumed her upper-lip (I don't think she was well). And I'm not sure why her face was so dirty. I'd guess she was between 3-5 years old (Haitian kids are smaller in size, typically). I flashed her a smile and gave her a little hug, but she just stared at me like she was someplace else. I don't want to imagine what her world is like, outside that orphanage gate. These are the children being rescued, though, by Kesnel, and through the support of Global Orphan and its partners.

Inside this orphanage is like a suburban-American master-planned community (by Haitian standards, at least). More than just amenities, it's places like this where:

• their hopeless eyes see love & hope, often for the first time
• their frail little bodies find nourishment, health and safety
• then, over time, their souls are renewed as they find community, faith and joy.

Scroll back up to that picture and look again.

Just living in America, we are among the world's most wealthy. But it's what we do with it, that really matters. It makes you think...

My "How was it?" answer...

Thank you for checking this out. By now, you know that in January, I went on a mission trip to Haiti w/ 9 other people from my local church. Our "mission" was simple: share our love, hope & time with orphans.

It is not easy answering the question, "How was it?" that friends have asked me since returning. Yes, it was life-changing, accomplishing such a seemingly small & insignificant mission. Somehow though, I was able to realize, in the moment even, how significant it all actually was.

But returning to our real world here, I'm realizing it is unlikely that you and I are going to find the time to sit down over a hot Starbucks (or a cold beer) so I can share a few of these stories. And, really, I'd be all over the map, anyway. So instead, I'm going to share those stories here.

Before I start, please know this...

1. I'll keep these thoughts short.

2. I'm not a "blogger"...please excuse my grammatical errors.

3. I am not a "missionary" as you already know. I do not make my own cloths or churn my own butter (though I'd probably love that butter). I am a hard-charging, high-octane 100% commission guy who likes making money and closing deals. I love my 2 kids, and cherish the responsibility of being their dad. I'm madly in love w/ my wife of 11 years. I'm a suburban Tampa guy who is about the last person you'd peg to do any mission trip anywhere, let alone to a 3rd world country like Haiti...to hang out with someone else's kids.

4. I am not politically correct. So please don't take any of my raw thoughts & comments here as offensive. But, surely as iron sharpens iron, I'm encouraged that you can challenge me to become a better human being, and vice versa.

5. I am not religious. I'm just simply trusting & following Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. There is a difference. My faith is the root of why I went to Haiti. Lets remember, orphan children are orphan children, regardless of what you or I do, or do not believe about God. Their lives, and these stories, are super-food for the soul.

Now, 3 steps from here:

1) put your email in the box at the top of this page, right below "FOLLOW BY EMAIL" (just below the pictures at the top of this page).

2) type in the spam-buster word & click "submit"

3) check your email & click the link to confirm you really did subscribe to this

From there, you'll be emailed when I share...I hope to do so about once a week. (I won't spam you, I don't even know how.)