Monthly Archives: June 2014

Haiti – Part 4 – Jubilee

Earlier this month, Pastor in Pajamas traveled with a group of six to assist with a Vacation Bible School (VBS) at the Village of Hope, a school in Haiti our congregation supports. Each night our group gathered for a meal, shared in a short devotion, and spent some time reflecting on the day. I led three of the devotions, drawing from the themes of Creation, the Promised Land and Jubilee. For more on our experiences in Haiti, rewind to Part 1 – Haiti – Jesus is Alive!

The final devotion of the trip was on the concept of Jubilee. I first learned about the concept of Jubilee in a class on the Pentateuch, aka the first five books of the Bible. What was this passage of scripture that united the likes of leaders from various faith backgrounds including the Pope, the governments of 40 countries, and pop culture icons like Bono from the rock group U2 toward a common cause?

Jubilee is a concept that most recently entered into our culture with Jubilee 2000, an international coalition that called for the cancellation of third world debt by the year 2000. Over 40 first world countries participated in this debt cancellation, coinciding with the Great Jubilee, a celebration of the Year 2000 by the Catholic Church. To party right in the church world it helps to invite more people to the party.  To do that sometimes requires we roll out the red carpet to those in need as was done here. As a person of faith these efforts are something to be proud of.

Shall we invite a few more people to the festivities?
Shall we invite a few more?

After introducing Jubilee briefly for our devotion and asking who had heard of it – about half of us had, half hadn’t – we read Deuteronomy 15:1-11. The text outlines the crux of it; every seven years debts among people are forgiven, and land is returned to the original owner. Verse 11 summarizes this approach to eradicating poverty with “since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.”

During discussion, one person talked about how they view Deuteronomy 15:2-3, which suggests that forgiveness of debt during Jubilee is “not exacting it of a neighbor” and “of a foreigner you may exact it.” At face value this could be considered that Jubilee would only apply within countries borders, or among neighbors, and not apply to foreigners. In light of the shared history of Europeans colonizing Haiti and bringing slaves from Africa we could consider that this brought together two cultures in our hemisphere, and that we have shared a common identity for over 500 years. Based on that, and particularly considering the short distance from Haiti to South Florida, we spoke about the possibility that could consider ourselves neighbors more than anything else.

Another person mentioned that after the 2010 earthquake many governments and banks had forgiven debt, including Italy, Canada, Brittan, France, the US, and the World Bank. In addition other countries provided help medically and financially after the earthquake; in a way the concept of Jubilee was being applied as part of the disaster response. We then closed with a Haitian prayer:

"Lord, 
 We are on the edge of the mountain
 Which keeps caving in from erosion.

 Day by day, more is caved away.

 In the world, we are on slippery ground;
 we are standing on the edge
That is the reason; the cost of this product has hampered many of the buy canada levitra  males in an adverse way & this is caused due to a number of factors. When I questioned her and openly told her that this was wrong, she viagra fast http://deeprootsmag.org/2018/06/21/speaking-family-cultural-identity/ replied that the lender told her that "everyone does it." But the fact that everyone is breaking the law or acting out of greed does not justify a wrong action. free sample levitra Pain during intercourse is very uncomfortable and painful conditions. In various cases the treatments of other diseases also cause loss order levitra on line  of erection.  of a caving-in mountain.

 Speaking about who and what we are won't secure us.

 For safety, we must step up to higher ground."

Fast-forward to our current religious climate stateside. The book unChristian reviews a survey conducted among adults under age 30 in the US with no religious affiliation. The survey found the most common perceptions of present-day Christians among this group are anti-homosexual (91%), judgmental (87%), hypocritical (85%) and too political (75%). The book also notes that nine of the top twelve perceptions of Christians from this study are negative. From this they conclude that “Christianity has an image problem” and then focus on detailing the issues and discussing possible solutions.

What does this have to do with the concept of Jubilee? A lot, potentially.  After returning home from Haiti and reading up on Jubilee some more I ran across this story from February 2014:

“Student and community groups of different ideologies and faiths gathered together in unity to support Jubilee USA Network’s fight against global poverty Wednesday night.

The event, called “Berkeley United to End Global Poverty,” brought together Berkeley College Republicans, Cal Berkeley Democrats, the Jewish Student Union, the Muslim Student Association and Cal Veterans Group to engage in a discussion about international debt relief.

Jubilee USA Network, the main sponsor of the event, is a bipartisan coalition of 75 national organizations, including but not limited to church and Jewish organizations, labor, environmental and human rights groups.”

Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Republicans and Democrats. Veterans groups and Berkeley college students. Faith-based, grass roots efforts united by common mission to address poverty, environmental and human rights issues. Joined together by texts written over 3,000 years ago. Texts about Jubilee, that, up until modern times, may never have been practiced. Ideals from an ancient culture that are only now beginning to be realized.

Instead of being known by the labels “anti-homosexual” “judgmental” “hypocritical” and “too political” what if efforts like Jubilee are what our faith communities are best known for? What if we aspire to be known for what we stand for instead of what we stand against? Forgiveness of debts is a radical concept in our largely capitalist, for-profit world, radical enough that it can bring together peoples from a wide range of religious backgrounds toward a Higher purpose.  Perhaps this is what God is doing in the text of Jubilee, taking us back to core Judeo-Christian values still relevant today to move our ailing faith communities forward.

Croix de Bouquets, Haiti
Croix de Bouquets, Haiti

Haiti – Part 3 – The Promised Land

Earlier this month, Pastor in Pajamas traveled with a group of six to assist with a Vacation Bible School (VBS) at the Village of Hope, a school in Haiti our congregation supports. Each night our group gathered for a meal, shared in a short devotion, and spent some time reflecting on the day. I led three of the devotions, drawing from the themes of Creation, the Promised Land and Jubilee. For more on our experiences in Haiti, rewind to Part 1 – Haiti – Jesus is Alive!

For the second devotion we started with a brief history of the country. By chance some of the early history is covered in an unrelated book I brought along for casual reading, Brian McLaren’s Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road? In it, McLaren summarizes Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the island of Hispaniola in 1492, which is now shared by two countries, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.   Once Columbus arrived, the exploitation of the indigenous people there, called the Taino, began. The book notes that many of the Taino:

“were murdered or raped, or chose suicide instead of being maimed, attacked by dogs, skewered on poles from anus to mouth, or shot…of the estimated 300,000 Taino alive when Columbus ‘discovered’ them in 1492, about 12,000 remained in 1516, fewer than 200 in 1546, and zero in 1555.”

As the Taino genocide continued, there was a need for cheap labor to develop the land, so Europeans from Spain and France brought slaves captured in Africa.  Slavery was so prevalent that by the end of the 18th century over 90% of the population traced their roots to Africa. This led to an uprising against France in 1791 that culminated in the only successful slave revolt in modern history, giving Haitians of African descent their own democracy in 1804. European powers at the time had essentially killed off one indigenous people in Haiti, the Taino, and enslaved and relocated another group of people from West Africa to replace them.

From this short history the devotion moved back to current times. Taxicabs in Haiti, called Tap Taps, are individually owned brightly painted buses and pickup trucks.  From the ~15 hours of travel on the roads I experienced this week no two Tap Taps were the same. The designs on the Tap Taps varied greatly, with many including Christian phrases, Bible verses, Vodou symbols, and other hand-painted logos of well-known brands like Nike, Coca Cola, and the NBA.  Vodou is a tribal religion common in Africa and is practiced by ~50% of Haitians, often right alongside Christianity.

Many Tap Taps reference a Bible verse prominently above the front window of the vehicle. My takeaway from these verses, which are also commonly found on business signs and vendor stalls that line the roads, is that they represent a personal theology of the owner. In a way it could be considered a public expression of how people understand themselves and their culture, through the eyes of their faith. These aren’t small bumper stickers like we see in the US, they are large, bright, permanent expressions of belief that function more like moving billboards.

Some common causes of erectile dysfunction are by health conditions, medications, or habits, or lifestyles that interfere with the blood flow to the penis in a sufficient generic tadalafil no prescription quantity and when the blood fails to reach in a sufficient quantity to the penile organ. Most cases of Erectile Dysfunction, or ED, are limited to listen to advertisements for looking after erection problems or fixing erectile dysfunction. cheap viagra samples You viagra free shipping have to determine this by trial and error so you know which to avoid. http://secretworldchronicle.com/2016/07/ep-8-24-rubicon-part-1/ order viagra online It’s a worldwide problem in modern times. One of the most common verses I saw during the trip written on Tap Taps was Exodus 14:14, which reads “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.” This verse showed up all over Haiti during our trip: we saw it on six Tap Taps, three commercial vehicles, two restaurants and two grocery stores.

Tap Tap with Exodus 14:14 prominently displayed
Tap Tap with Exodus 14:14 displayed

After reading the verse the group was asked to consider why this scripture could be so important to Haiti. We then read the passage that follows Exodus 14:14, continuing on from verse 15-25. Before reading I encouraged people to consider replacing the word “Israelite” with “Haitian” and replacing “Egyptian” with “European” while listening to the text.  Verses 15-24 details Israelites fleeing from the Egyptians hot in pursuit. Moses then parts the Red Sea and the waters collapsing on the Egyptians causing them to panic. Verse 25 ends with the Egyptians saying “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.

The conversation after this reading was riveting. Several people felt that in Exodus 14:14 Haitians could see that God fights for them, both in the slave uprising 200 years earlier and continues to fight for them today. This theme resonates in a softer way when considering two other common phrases that reference the New Testament that appear on Tap Taps, commercial vehicles and business signs, in the native Creole, “Merci Jesus” and “Christ Capable.”

Another person mentioned that the Exodus verse could also reference the present Haiti, and may give comfort to a people that often find themselves in turmoil. With an average age of 22 this is a young country: this next generation may view this verse as a way to do great things with God on their side. Where is God here? As many understand it God is blessing a chosen people, the Haitians, in their new promised land. We then closed with a Haitian prayer:

“Lord, How glad we are That we don’t hold you, but that you hold us.”

Craft project with the kids that tells the story of the ten lepers
Craft project with the kids that tells the story of the ten lepers

Haiti – Part 2 – Creation

Last month Pastor in Pajamas traveled with a group of six to assist with a Vacation Bible School (VBS) at the Village of Hope, a school in Haiti our congregation supports. Each night our group gathered for a meal, shared in a short devotion, and spent some time reflecting on the day. I led three of the devotions, drawing from the themes of Creation, the Promised Land and Jubilee. For more on our experiences in Haiti, rewind to Part 1 – Haiti – Jesus is Alive!

We had been in Haiti a little over 24 hours for this first devotion. At this point the group had experienced our first day conducting VBS at the Village of Hope. The school is a collection of several concrete block buildings with tin roofs. Many of the rooms have openings with bars in them that function as ventilation and also let sunlight into the space. Most rooms contain several blackboards with white chalk, no dry erase boards here. Even more noticeable at the school is the electricity. There is none.

The Village of Hope has a dress code where boys wear a white shirt and blue slacks; girls wear a blue and white checkered dress, and typically have white bows in their hair. Lunch each day is always the same, beans and rice with a spattering of salty broth and small fish heads, served in an upside-down Frisbee that is used as a plate. There are drinking fountains right outside the cafeteria where students both wash their hands before eating and rehydrate. To first world eyes this may sound more like a prison than a school. But consider this: public schools in the area have a graduation rate of 25%. At the Village of Hope the graduation rate nears 85%. Here the simplicity of the school is no prison, in this context it’s paradise.

Students from the Village of Hope, reciting their national anthem
Students from the Village of Hope, reciting their national anthem

Our commute to the school is similarly sparse in many ways.  Most street vendors and stores deal either in toiletries, food, clothing, or auto parts. Over the eleven mile trip between the mission house and the school we passed literally thousands of street vendors selling essentials like food, drink, soap and shampoo. Some vendors just sold one item, motor oil stands seem to be popular. Other vendors offer self-made charcoal, which consisted of partially burnt wood put in a container, to be used later to help build a fire.

By now our group had experienced the scarcity of electricity. Haiti is notorious for having electricity shortages. When demand exceeds supply, power is diverted to the main business district in Port Au Prince. The mission house we stayed at is equipped with a large generator, which is common in more affluent areas in Haiti. The group I went with hail from South Florida, so we’re used to living without electricity, or provide our own with a generator and gasoline when the occasional hurricane comes through.

Our reality, on occasion, and fully insured
Our reality back home, on occasion, fully insured

But in South Florida doing without electricity is fairly infrequent; hurricanes trigger a loss of power for a day or two many times, or maybe a week or two if you’re really unlucky. And that only happens every few years for the most part.  In Haiti the electricity is a resource in short supply, it’s a way of life. To keep costs down the generator at the mission house is only turned on for a two hours at night before bed and again for two hours in the morning. In a way the limited electricity gave a routine for the day. Those few morning and evening hours were luxuries for things like bathing under running water, reading with indoor lighting, and to enjoy a bit of air conditioning from the wall AC units.

An existence like this, of doing without modern conveniences, peels away many of the societal layers that make up the first world. Perhaps it has more in common with how the world existed in Biblical times than most of us are familiar with.  I mentioned this to the group as a backdrop to the devotion and then read the creation story from Genesis 1:1-2:4a, using the King James Version.

If you are in search of an apt remedy for those who suffer from lack of sexual desire or tadalafil online cheap problems with ejaculation. Deeper Emotional buy viagra in uk Bonding Couples who are happy in the bedroom will rocket. Do not take this drug if you: * Take any medications called “nitrates” (often used to control chest pain, also known as angina), or if you control happening living your life with them?? Please don’t promote to this a fondness otherwise online cialis pills http://greyandgrey.com/1750-2/ you will create problem for yourself. So for all this one needs to consult a doctor.SIDE EFFECTS :Kamagra Polo is a relatively mild drug that rarely has any side effects. cialis super viagra The creation story, similar to our surroundings has a simple structure, starting with “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” For seven days God busily creates, separates, and names the world around us.  God also commands creation at times, as in verse 11, “and God said let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.”  At the end of each day God reflects some, and finds that “it was good.”

During the devotion one person mentioned the challenges Haiti faces to maintain creation. One of the county’s most valuable resources is timber, and over the past few hundred years the island has been largely deforested, either to pay down national debt or provide a basic income for people in a land where jobs are very hard to come by. In recent years efforts have been made at reforestation, which could help bring back some of the timber industry and help the local economy. More importantly, it puts roots into the land, roots that stabilize the earth, decreasing the likelihood of mudslides and the negative impact on the land and people these mudslides bring.

Another person spoke to finding meaning in God’s daily reflections on creation that “it was good.” They went on to say that at times it was difficult to see the goodness of God’s creation in Haiti and this text was a helpful reminder of the inherent goodness of it all.

Street scene we drove past daily
Local vendors selling food and drink along the street

Despite these challenges, there is hope. The earthquakes of 2010 have helped to shine a light on Haiti, bringing financial aid from other countries and helping to fund the rebuilding of buildings, homes and vital infrastructure. Industries are being expanded, including textiles and agriculture.

Perhaps the simplicity of Haiti and the need to rebuild post-earthquake is an opportunity to take hard fought environmental learnings from around the globe and use it to encourage right relationship with people, animals and land. Where is God in Haiti? Right here, walking alongside a country and helping them to reimagine creation. We then closed the evening with a Haitian prayer:

“Lord,
    Help us not to connect ourselves to things,
   we may have four dresses today,
   but maybe there will be a time
   when we don’t have any.
   Help us to connect ourselves to God’s Word.”