God did amazing things in Haiti. I’m supposed to talk about them on Sunday evening at church. 6:30 p.m. at the E-Free Church in Central City. You’re welcome to come.
I saw the sweetest smiles on the sweetest faces of the dearest, naughtiest little children in the world. I saw the hands and feet and voice of Jesus moving in the streets and houses of Haiti. I saw walls getting built. I saw souls being saved. I saw real, honest-to-goodness miracles. I saw a team of nine odd, slightly eccentric, scattered strangers come together in a foreign country. And I saw Jesus meld us together and make us one.
It’s one of my favorite things about Haiti. One of the things I haven’t mentioned yet: Community. We’re not strangers anymore. We haven’t killed anyone. We haven’t left anyone behind. We had a few close calls, but where we’d entered as strangers, we left as friends. Good friends. Friends who have eaten and prayed and cried and worked and crashed and danced together. (Yeah, you missed out on the dancing party...) Friends who have been irritated, broken, moved, starved, delighted, and crammed together.
Jesus brought together an amazing team in Haiti this summer. He brought Leeza, the mother of the group, to be always kind and encouraging and give a listening ear. He brought Jenny to dance and sing and laugh and make us dance and sing and laugh with her. He brought Marcio to burn a bright, enthusiastic fire into the dark, unspoken places. He brought Mark to give us age-old wisdom and patience that we were too young to know. He brought Josh to breathe His Spirit deep into our souls and show us things about ourselves and each other that we’d never seen before. He bought Steve to get us all moving the same direction and make sure we didn’t kill each other (or him!) in the process. Later on in the summer, he brought Jordan to be a light and peace and bring us joy again. He brought Tifany to strengthen us, to fortify us with truth when we were weak and ready to give in.
Jesus brought together a group of strangers and fashioned a body. The Body of Christ. And I watched that Body go out and hold hands with a little naked boy who lives in a tent. I watched that Body step with feet radiating light to a suicidal girl’s bedside. I watched that Body speak truthful, prophetic words to a drunk man and sober him up. I watched that Body move rocks, wash dishes, color pictures, and dance with children.
I saw Jesus in that Body . . . I saw Jesus in His Body.
So, thanks, team. Because of you, I now have a very clear vision - a very real vision - of how beautiful the Body of Christ can be. Because of you, I am more able to love, more willing to love. Because of you, I have a picture to go with this verse: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
Here’s my picture. It’s you.
