I suppose it’s possible to go to Haiti and then get on a plane for the two-hour flight back to the U.S. and not be phased. I mean, I guess it could happen.
I guess it’s possible to look at poverty and hear it and smell it, and then take a shower and let the whole thing wash down the drain without a second thought.
It’s possible I could go to Haiti and see Jesus walking right through the bowels of Tent City, and then decide that we’ll always have the poor among us, because — after all — Jesus said so, right?* I guess I could tell myself God meant it to be this way and then close my bible, turn off my light, say my prayers, and go to sleep under a roof, in a bed, with a pillow under my head and a choice of eggs or oatmeal for breakfast when I wake up.
There is a chance I could completely miss the fact that there are people who live in poverty. Living, breathing, real people. And I could choose to ignore the fact that a life of poverty makes a child more vulnerable to the perverted and twisted thoughts of those who would exploit them. I could decide it’s not my calling, presuming that protecting children is a calling.
Honestly? I was afraid I’d miss it. I was afraid I’d go to Haiti and then fly back home and find that nothing at all had changed. And then, at the same time, I was afraid I’d come home devastated and absent of hope. But, you were praying for me. And you probably knew that, in praying for me, you were praying for you. You probably already knew that no one really needs a calling to help a child with the odds stacked against them. We simply need to see it. Even if it’s only through someone else’s blog post.
These children were meant to change the world. God’s got His eye on them, and He’s inviting us to help Him make this dream come true. The Legacy Project launches tomorrow — please pray for the last-minute detail work behind the scenes. (Do you have your PC account ready?)
The Legacy Project is big. The challenge is great. But God is WAY bigger. And greater.
We’ve got this.
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*Thank you to Sarah Tummey, who pointed me to this video. Please watch it if you wonder what to do with that part in the bible where Jesus said, “…the poor you will always have with you…” (Matthew 26:11)
Images by Scott Wade and Mollie Donovan Burpo.
the pictures makes me cry :'(