A Drop in the Ocean

You don’t have to be a grown-up to have your sense of social justice kick in pretty quickly in a place like Haiti. Within a few hours, you’re desperate to do whatever you can to make some smidgen of difference in your world.

Even if you’re four-feet-tall and shop at Children’s Place.

In a country like Haiti, there erupts a longing to do anything worthwhile for your fellow man, and it will happen in the first 12 hours.

And it doesn’t take much longer for your “anything” to seem puny, almost inconsequential, in comparison to the mountain before you.

Tonight, I am trying to snag a bit of a wireless connection on the front porch of the Haitian home where we are staying. I can hear the ocean waves drumming against the shore, drumbeats of nature’s praise. Above me, the inky pitch of sky rolls out into forever.

And I feel so small. The girls feel small. We all feel so small, like our anything might be rather pointless — a bit like siphoning a few drops of water out of the vast ocean, making drumbeats here in the darkness.

But it was Mother Teresa who said it —

“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”

So we went about our day, making a drop of difference here and there, praying that the good Lord would multiply it, and watching with great delight over what is being done already — one beautiful drop at a time.

Sharing photos with you tonight….

Our day began with devotions at the ViBella workshop in Simonette village. At ViBella, the women “up-cycle” plastic bottles, turning them into beautiful beads, and eventually, gorgeous necklaces.

Meet Anoise, a dear friend and ViBella artist who I met on a previous visit. We can’t speak more than a few words to each other because of the language barrier. But love and laughter more than make up for it.

We are staying with Del and Renae Grooters, family friends who live part-time in Haiti. Their daughter, Kayla is a beautiful young woman who moved down here full-time after graduating from University of Northern Iowa. She is 23 years old, and is mama to two Haitian boys, Loveson and Jeffte. Kayla oversees operation of the ViBella workshop, and also helps operate the school where the the playground was installed.

(The girls are enjoying their sunset swims in the ocean with Loveson and Jeffte.)

Anna has been taking good notes. 🙂

We spent part of our afternoon at One Vision orphanage, where the children get good care and lots of love from the “mommies” who work hard there.

This is our special friend, Job, who we pray for often at our house. He lives at One Vision.

And tonight … a sweet, sweet surprise. Our Haitian “son,” whom we sponsor in his last two years of high school, dropped by for a visit! This is our first ever “family photograph.”

The local pastor has just now come by with a guitar, so I’m going to sign off. I have a feeling I won’t want to miss this. The oceans will beat out their praise on the shore, and we’ll join in the song for Jesus…