Pride and Joy

Hello February - when did you get here!?

The time certainly flies when you're having fun and what could be more fun than spending a week digging fence post holes in the sun and scooping up sewagey mud with your gloved hands?

It may sound like complaining but I am being 100% honest! This week was absolutely full of JOY! I cannot tell you how many times each day I found myself bursting into laughter; whether it be at one of the numerous Chris Farley references, at an impression of a football player by a football player, the security guard Bob whining at getting a zit popped by a passing female friend, or the overall contagious joy that seeing my church in Haiti brought to me. I went to bed every night with a smile on my face, praising God for another day of laughter and another night sleeping under his stars (and once under his rain!)

Despite the energizing joy and leaving the team today feeling SO filled with peace and faith and passion, this week did present me with a new struggle. The struggle isn't necessarily what is new, but my recognition of it in my life has been of fairly recent origin: Pride.

C.S. Lewis calls it "The Great Sin...the essential vice." He says that "it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began" (Mere Christianity, 108). Being in Haiti and reading this means quite a bit more than reading it in the comfort of our U.S. democracy. Is this sin in me the same thing that has historically brought Haiti to its violence and corruption?

Before this week I was proud of my comprehension of the conversations I had and the success and maneuvering through a Haitian marketplace, it's true. But this week, I felt needed. I was translating for people other than myself and it was actually working! I was able to help explain parts of the culture and situation here for the team and answer questions for the strangers who watched us work. I wish that I could say I handled this all with the grace and humility Jesus would have had, but I did not. I let it get to my head and found myself losing touch with the servant's heart I hoped I would always pursue. But as confession is a rather humbling experience, I knew I had to tell all of you what really impacted me most this week, not simply about the wonderful people and activities that have certainly touched my life.

So there you have it, my Pride and Joy. Both stemming from my God-given ability to learn Kreyol - something I will always praise Him for - so long as I don't get caught up again in my own praise.

Glwa a Dye (Glory to God)