“Would you mind responding to me and including your personal email address? I have a very exciting opportunity I would love to share with you.” I stare at the email that came through this blog. It’s not spam. My heart thuds a little. Okay, it thumps hard. What? An exciting opportunity? Who’s not interested in […]
How to fix the brokenness
We’re sitting on the guesthouse steps under a half moon and a thousand stars that glint like glass shattered across ebony. Light and singing and laughter pour from the open door. A few team members wander up and down the drive in an attempt to snag a sliver of WiFi. Another’s having some quiet time […]
carry Christmas
My husband and I will celebrate our 42nd wedding anniversary on Wednesday. On Friday, I’ll remove my diamond rings. Not to worry, though. It’s only temporary. I’ve had my flu shot, popped my first malaria pills, and packed last year’s Cipro just in case. I’m making a list and checking it twice, three times, […]
haiti, a party, and a beautiful life
I saw her the other night. She looked older, but I recognized her immediately. “Chilanchi!” It’d been a whole year, but she knew me, too. “SIN-dee!” It was a dream, of course. But it’ll become a reality, I hope, in another four months. Because I’m going back to Haiti, and I want to take you […]
haiti: when not everyone needs to be rescued
The children talk about it Friday morning. About the four who left in the wee hours. “They go on plane with you?” Sophonie asks. “No.” I shake my head. “They drive.” I clench my fists around an imaginary steering wheel. “New kay. New house.” They’re on their way to an orphanage of transition where, if I […]
Haiti: Is it Enough?
Sophonie, she scratches words on peach-colored concrete with a sliver of yellow chalk. She points to them and then to herself. “God. Me. Father. Mother.” I brim and pull her close. “Yes. God. He’s your father and your mother.” And He’s enough. Jeffrey’s fifteen, he says. He speaks English. I ask how long he’s been […]
Scripture Sunday: Salvation Right on Time
Pay attention, my people. Listen to me, nations. Revelation flows from me. My decisions light up the world. My deliverance arrives on the run, my salvation right on time.
Still Saturday: Unpredictable
“Lord, you’re the most unpredictable person I know. Just when I think I’ve finally begun to figure you out, you do something so fantastic, so completely, wildly unexpected that I’m knocked for a loop. “I think I know where to find you and then suddenly I find you in the most unlikely places at […]
Haiti: Just Let Me Be Jesus
He’s standing in the back, watching. I brush my hand across the black nubbiness of his head. I bend over and reach down. “Would you like up?” He raises his arms, and I pick him up, balance him on my right hip. I sway to the music and sing in the dark night of […]
Ready or Not
I’ve had months to get ready. But I’m not ready. I google “animals in Haiti,” “birds in Haiti,” “snakes in Haiti.” and “Haitian culture.” I immerse myself inFlickr‘ed blue and red and green and pink gingerbread architecture and cough from dust rising in YouTubevideos. I wonder if I’ll have to eat goat.
