2012/07/29 ...and there will be Left-Overs.

#Starting today, the last Sunday of the month will be ‘Haiti Sunday’ at both parishes. Part of the reason for this is to keep us all aware that we are all part of a universal church –like Paul talked about in the second reading. You may know that several people from our parish have visited Haiti...in fact, Gary Boice in in Jeremie as we speak. We have camaraderie with our brothers and sisters at the Catholic Church in Dupity, Haiti – the parish is Notre Dame de Pepetyal Sekur – or in English: Our Lady of Perpetual Help. We will remember them with a special petition this Sunday, and hopefully with our prayers the rest of the month. I will try to put an update from Dupity in the bulletin...although I didn’t think of that in time this month. Also – we will have a box for anybody wishing to donate to Haiti - it looks like this. It will be at the main entrance of church. Just one box – and only on the last Sunday of the month. We are NOT going to have a second collection – I don’t want this to be a high-pressure appeal. You all already give so much every time there is an appeal, but this is just an opportunity for those who feel called to help the folks in Haiti.

You may ask, "what will we do with that money?" Glad you asked! We have these brochures at the doors, which explain the many of the ways we are helping and would like to help the people of Dupity. Some of my favorites are: sponsoring students so they can afford to go to school – sponsoring a teacher so and entire CLASS can go to school – and maybe my favorite: the Micro-Lending project where we give capital dollars to women to start and run a small business. This is an awesome project because we’re not GIVING them anything – they have to pay it back with interest. So – we are not only helping them to feed their family, but it builds their own self-esteem by earning their own money for themselves – AND it builds commerce, which is so necessary to start pulling their economy out of the ruin it is in. Enough said – please check out the brochures – and prayerfully consider including Haiti in your monthly giving in the box at the door.

Turning to the Gospel - notice what Jesus told the boy with the loaves and fishes – “bring them to me”. I wonder - what would have happened if he had refused to put his dinner into the hands of Jesus? Obviously - No miracle. Jesus COULD work miracles out of thin air, but he chooses to work through His people. He looks at you and me – at the talents and gifts that HE gave us and he says – “bring them to me.”

Now, many of us would answer like the Apostles did… “What? This little bit? I can’t put THIS in front of so many people! I don’t have enough! I’m not good enough!” And Jesus would say – “it will be more than enough – and there will be left-overs…. Bring it to me.” Only by giving it to Jesus can we experience the miracle. More than that though – only by giving it to Jesus can the people AROUND us experience the miracle.

Let’s put this into more concrete terms. Exactly what ARE we supposed to put into the hands of Jesus?

Most obviously: Our food – just like the boy in the Gospel. Now, many of us would have been tempted to say – I worked for this food, go get your own! If I share mine, there won’t be enough for me! What does Jesus say? “Iit will be more than enough and there will be left-overs– bring it to me.” So we share our food – with the food pantry, with the community meals, with families who are grieving, and with our sick and elderly, and visitors at our door.

We also put our money into the hands of Jesus. Many people still follow the wisdom of the Bible by tithing, where they give 10% of their earnings to God. God and his Church can work miracles with that money, but only if we put it into the hands of Jesus. You might think about that as you put your money in the collection or in the Haiti box at the door...you're putting it into Jesus' hands…. And there will be left-overs.

What about our talents? God has given every one of us a talent that was meant to build up the church. Do we give our talent to Jesus? One example...We’re always in great need of musicians and other ministers for our Liturgy… but where are all the musicians? Many of us sitting here today HAVE THAT KIND OF TALENT – maybe you can sing – maybe you can play an instrument… but most of us would say– I’m not good enough. I can’t put THAT little bit in front of so many people. Jesus says – “it will be more than enough and there will be left-overs… bring it to me.”

What else can we put into Jesus’ hands? This gets tougher: Do we really believe that Jesus can make our families the perfect size? We’ll never know unless we give him our family planning. Jesus say, “bring it to me”.

What about our country? Do we trust God enough to vote for candidates who will uphold HIS principles? Jesus says, “bring it to me”.

What about our most precious commodity: TIME… The most common mantra of today is ‘I’m just too busy’. God gave every one of us 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week. Do we give him more than 40 minutes on Sunday? Can we spare an hour for Eucharistic adoration? 15 minutes for reading the bible every day? An hour visiting the sick or elderly? We shake our heads and say… ‘I just don’t have time.’ Jesus says, “it will be more than enough and there will be left-overs – bring it to me.”

Now you’re probably thinking, Mike - Do you really believe that? Do you really believe that Jesus can multiply our time? Yes! I know from experience and am usually amazed at how much we can get done if we set our mind to it. Here's a quote to remember: (if you have your little notebook, this might be the one thing to write!)

If we try to do something, we just might fail...but if we never try, we will SURELY fail. Can Jesus multiply our time?...We’ll never know unless we put it into his hands. Every minute we give to him will come back to us 10-fold…. Every talent we put at the service of the Church will bless the people around us.
“And there will be left-overs.”

My Mom this was talking this week about some memories from her childhood, and I came to the conclusion that Grandma, was Jesus. Ok – not exactly Jesus – but close.

Every Sunday they had a huge Sunday lunch as a family – and for supper they’d usually just have left-overs. But with 12 kids in the family, Sunday afternoons were the perfect time for boy friends and girl friends to come over – and as any good German-blooded person would do – she invited them to eat… or more likely she INSISTED that they eat supper with them. Even though Grandma had no idea how many people would be there for supper, there always was enough. She worked her own miracle of the loaves and fishes every Sunday evening.

…and there were always left-overs.

2012/06/24 - Feast of John the Baptist - "The making of a prophet"

Can God speak for himself?  I suppose so...but throughout the bible, he chose to deliver his message to the world through the Prophets.  He formed them himself to be his mouthpiece.

Read that first reading again – “The Lord called me from birth – from my mother’s womb .. he made me a sharpened sword…"  God said, "Through you I will show my glory.”

That reading was actually written by Isaiah, but it fits with many of the prophets – and certainly it fits John the Baptist to a T.  He was conceived in a specific place and time to fulfill a specific purpose: like the reading says – “that God's salvation may reach to the ends of the earth”.

Now – you may not have thought of yourself when you read this reading… most of us don’t see ourselves as prophets.  But we are.  Every one of us from the time we were conceived were given a mission.  God doesn’t create humans for no purpose at all – we ALL have a job to do:  to give glory to God.  We are all called to be prophets:  to stand up for the truth, but more than that, we are called to spread the Love of God.  Do we recognize when we’re supposed to be prophets?  Well.. all the time, I’m sure… but especially when we see injustice.  We have to stand up for the truth and for the rights of those who cannot defend themselves.  We hear that time and time again throughout the scriptures – and that’s what the prophets did.  Unfortunately  people usually didn’t want to hear what they had to say.  There was a lot of opposition to God's word in the world back then, ….but it might be even worse today….

…Especially this year, with the election coming up.  Unfortunately there’s going to be a whole lot of conversation that mixes politics and religion.  Nothing is more certain to get people fired up than that.  Have you ever been on-line and read an article or editorial – or went to a chat room?  For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, there are places on-line where stories and opinions are posted, and anybody can reply with their opinions.  It’s amazing some of the things that are said on-line. You know, if you and I are having a face to face conversation, we're more likely to stay somewhat civil – to weigh our words before we speak.. but not on the computer... it's so easy to let my feelings just fly.  It’s kinda scary how quickly most of those conversations get nasty – especially the ones that touch on religion and politics….  I’m serious – it seems anytime someone tries to stand up for the Truth, all the people with a bone to pick show up and start airing their grievances against the church.  It’s to the point that it’s almost predictable that somebody will bring up the Priest scandals, somebody will rant about how we “worship Mary” (which we don’t), somebody will bring up their disagreements on the Church’s teachings about Confession and Divorce and Abortion and it seems everybody knows a priest or a deacon who gave an awful piece of advice once – and they use that as their excuse to leave the church.  And now they feel like they have to justify their decision by bashing the Church….well, the replies keep flying on and on until EVERYbody is ticked off or hurt. 

I rarely read those kind of posts, because I always come away sad…  sad for the people who got slammed by somebody else’s opinion and sad for the people who are obviously hurting from some past experience, because they lash out just trying to hurt and tear down.  They obviously care or at least feel guilty or they wouldn’t even bother opening their mouths.  I think in some ways it’s really a cry for help… but Unfortunately, because THEY have such a nasty reply – people reading it get all worked up and they come back with an even nastier reply. 

When you or I get pulled into a conversation like that, what should we do?  Honestly, I don’t know – but I’ve been praying about that and I have a few guidelines to suggest we follow.  First – we cannot compromise the Truth.  As prophets, No matter how much we want to be somebody’s friend, we cannot condone a false statement.  However – Second – we should try to see it their way before we respond.    Maybe we misunderstood their point?  Ask them questions about why they think that way. We cannot condemn them… we must have empathy for the person, helping to guide them to think of it another way – and then let God reach them through that seed you planted.  We don’t have to have the last word....let God have the last word.  The third thing to remember is that as prophets, our job is not to win arguments – but it is to win the hearts of people for God.  If I let my humanness and pride get in the way and start arguing and judging, people will lose respect for me and won’t hear another word I say.  I would effectively lose my voice like Zechariah…. Nobody will listen to me anymore.  All of us can be more effective in standing up for  the truth if we taste our own words before we spit them out... In other words, think about what response we WANT from the person and consider whether our answer will achieve that – or just make them more angry.  Sometimes silence is the best answer.

Finally, don’t push their buttons... in other words, if you KNOW something will make them angry, don’t go there.  Once they’re angry, they’ve lost the will and patience to hear the rest of what you have to say.  For example, if you know somebody is a vegetarian, don’t start making fun of or condemning vegetarians.  If someone is an athiest, don’t say something like "how can you be such an ignoramous?  If someone leans toward the right or toward the left politically, don’t be making comments about their favorite politicians... stick with the issue at hand...

Yes, there may be times we need to get angry and risk making people angry -- and you could argue that Jesus did that when he cleared the temple.... but... he only cleared the temple once. Most of the time, he was non-condemning and compassionate... and because of the Love that poured from every fiber of his being, people listened, learned, and changed their lives.

You and I are prophets... we are the voice of God in the world and the world NEEDS to hear the Truth from us.  God formed every one of us from the time we were conceived to be his prophets.  Remember what our purpose is?  From the first reading:  “that God's salvation may reach to the ends of the earth”.  Yes, we need to speak out against the injustices... but we need to do it in a way that brings back the lost sheep... not chase them away.  We are not out to win arguments, but to win hearts.

2012/05/27 Pentecost - The Solution

Did you ever ask yourself – why am I here?  I mean – why do I come to church?  Why is it that ANYbody would give up a beautiful Saturday evening – or worse yet, why would anybody get out of bed on a Sunday morning when you could sleep late?

What is it that makes our youth go to the Catholic Heart Work Camp – or to TEC – or to sleep in cardboard boxes like we did at Shantytown last week?  Most teens I know would rather stay at home and play with the X-box or playstation or whatever the latest gadget is.  Why would they give that up?

What is it that makes our adults volunteer to teach religious ed, to be lectors and singers and ministers of holy communion?  And greeters, ushers, gift bearers, church cleaners and decorators, parish council, cemetery board, buildings and grounds.... People are INVOLVED!  But why? 

We visit the sick, make meals for funerals, …and why in the world would anybody go to a funeral?  That’s no fun…. But in fact, some of our parishioners went to TWO funerals Saturday morning.  Why? 

This being Memorial weekend – we also ask - why would any man or woman leave their home and family to go to a seemingly god-forsaken corner of the world?   

We can’t solve all the world’s problems… it’s impossible for us.  Yet – we all feel PULLED to be part of the solution – to give whatever we can of our time and talents to make the world a better place.  So - What is it that compells us to do that? 

You can probably offer some very valid answers to all those questions… but I have an analogy I’d like to share which might lead us to one answer which we find in today’s readings. 

I like tea – hot or cold, I don’t care – BUT – My sweet tooth demands that there’s got to be sugar in there. 

So, I have here a jug of tea…and some sugar - I like to use this natural sugar, which is more course than the white sugar most of us are used to –  so we'll pour this sugar in here....there...is that all we gotta do?  No.  It's not enough to just sit in the bottom... The sugar has to dissolve... To become part of the tea. 

What are the two things we could do to get it to dissolve?  First, any sweet tea drinker knows that sugar won't hardly dissolve if there’s any ice in your tea.... It's best if you heat it up.  Second, you gotta move it around.  All that sugar sitting comfortably in the bottom isn't doing a bit of good... You need some turbulence to get it moving. 

Before I go on - there's a technical term You may remember from 5th grade science. When mixing something into a liquid - the liquid is called the 'solution' and the thing being dissolved is called the 'solid'.  That’s an important thing to remember, otherwise what I’m about to say may not make sense – so remember – in this case – the TEA is the solution. 

I usually have a cup of hot tea each morning at work.  And I use a clear mug just like this, so it’s easy to watch the sugar dissolve.  Ever notice as you stir your tea how some of the sugar seems to dissolve quickly and other crystals just seem to keep hanging on?  Eventually, it all dissolves, but some of the sugar tries to maintain its own form and personality rather than giving-in to become part of the tea. 

As Christians, we are like sugar in tea.  When we're baptized, we become part of God's family - it's like be dropped into a huge world-sized glass of tea.  The good news is that unless we remove ourselves from the glass before being dissolved - we WILL be dissolved....eventually.  Most of us try to move to the coolest part of the tea - away from the heat - and away from that spoon called the Holy Spirit which tries and tries to stir up our hearts to Love.  Like the big wind that drove the Apostles out of the upper room in the first reading, the Holy Spirit can stir US up by swishing that spoon in alternating directions - creating turbulence in our lives.  If we avoid the turbulence, we avoid being dissolved. 

Now – like the sugar, In order to be dissolved, we have to give up our own form and personality - give up our self-centeredness and ego - to become part of the 'solution'. That solution is the Love of God... since God is Love... we are being stirred and dissolving into God.  We become Love. 

The more we practice Love and doing 'what Jesus would do', the more we become transparent in the tea until we cannot be distinguished from the tea...just like you can’t SEE the sugar in the tea anymore, we cannot be distinguished from God, because our Love makes us transparent. 

In order to make the world a sweeter place, all of us are compelled by the Holy Spirit to come out of our comfort zones to try to make a difference.  In the end, we MUST become part of the solution.  God is the solution.  Let your hearts be stirred into action.                 

2012 May 6 - Sons of Encouragement

            Let’s have a little test… if I introduced somebody to you as Richard Junior… could you tell me what Richard’s DAD’s name is?  Richard.  And, if I introduced Jeffrey Junior… his dad’s name is:   … Now if I introduce somebody in the Bible named Bartimeus – what is his dad’s name?  Timeus – in the Hebrew culture, it was also normal to call a son by his father’s name, but you add the prefix BAR to it.  So Bar-Timeus is kinda like saying Timeus Junior.            

Well, in today’s First reading, we meet Barnabas.  We might call him Barny for short – but then we could miss the meaning of his name.  Following the rule I just told you, do you know what Barnabas' Dad's name is?  No... :) not in this case, I tricked you.  Barnabas was just a nickname meaning “son of encouragement”.  It was the nickname that the apostles called him because of all the things he did to build up other people.  As with most things in the Bible, that is not a useless piece of trivia.

For example, pay attention to what Barnabas did today.  He took a huge risk by bringing Paul to meet the Apostles.  Let’s put it into context – let’s say somebody showed up at church today and his first name is Osama.  How would we react?  I would think most of us would be more than a little bit apprehensive of staying in the same place as him.  We know what he’s done – we’ve heard all about it – we’ve seen the pictures and watched the TV as the world trade center was falling.  We’re not only scared of him – we are terrified...that’s why they call him a terrorist.  There’s only one reason he would be coming to our church – to plan his next attack – and we are likely his target.

That may sound like an exaggeration – but that is exactly what happened in the first reading.  Paul was the worst of the worst when it came to persecuting the church.  He had been hunting down and killing Christians… and the Apostles knew it… they’d heard all about it… they might have even watched their brothers and sisters being stoned to death.  They were not only scared of him – they were terrified of him.  There’s only one reason he would be coming to THEIR church – to plan his next attack – and they were his likely target.

This is where Barnabas stepped in.  Barnabas had seen with his own eyes what Paul had done and how he had truly changed – so Barnabas stuck his neck out and convinced the Apostles to give Paul a chance.  And you know the rest of the story – Paul became one of them – he became one of US.  And we were invigorated by the fire with which he preached the Gospel.  There was something in the way he talked about Jesus that we could just tell – it was personal – it was meaningful.  Because we let Paul into our church, WE were changed. 

So – maybe Osama isn’t coming to our church – but we often have “outsiders” at our parish.  During the summer especially, people live up at the lake – some people stay for the summer – others just for a weekend.  Are they welcome here?  Friends and family come to visit – they join us for worship on Sunday –  Folks from surrounding parishes often join us because the Mass schedule just happens to fit into their schedule for the weekend.  Are they welcomed here?

I immediately think of the greeters at the door... They are here to make everybody feel welcomed.  They are the Barnabas as our front door.  Like Paul, our visitors have been sent here by the Holy Spirit for a purpose... They are here to change us.  Through our welcoming and encouraging of THEM, we grow.  We come here to be fed… with the Jesus’ words and with His Body and Blood,… but it's more than that.  We come together as a community because we ARE the body of Christ – and we BECOME the Body of Christ.  The purpose of coming together is not just to foster MY relationship with Jesus – but to encourage everyone else… to build up the body!  To foster each other’s relationship with Jesus.  Like Barnabas – we are all son’s of encouragement for one another. 

I know, I know – most of us just want to be left alone.  Just let me go to my pew and don’t bother me.  But when we do that, we’re not just cheating ourselves – we’re cheating those around us – and therefore, we are cheating Jesus.  He wants – no – he NEEDS us to reach out to others.  To encourage them in THEIR walk with the Lord.  And look at what happens when we do that… WE catch fire.  Just like the Apostles who were ignited by Paul’s fire, WE are changed when we reach out to people around us…. And that is what this is all about.  We are here to be changed.  We are the Body, we receive the body, and we become the body.

Without Barnabas, we might never have heard of Paul.  In fact, half of the New Testament would never have been written.  Much of what God needed to tell us through Paul’s letters would not have been said.  God needed Barnabas.  The Church needed Barnabas.   WE needed Barnabas.

I want each of us to do a little homework.  Think this week about who has been your Barnabas.  Think of that person or persons in your life who have encouraged you – somebody who when out of their way a little bit to help you out, and it changed your life.  I’ll share a couple of my own stories as an example.

Some of you have heard this story... Back in 2000 when I first applied to enter the class to become a deacon, I was rejected.  They had so many men apply that they decided to leave us young guys until the next class.  I was a bit bummed, but accepted it as God’s will.  Then, a buddy of mine, Jim...without my knowledge, wrote a letter to the Bishop recommending that the he reconsider and accept me into the class.  A few weeks later, miraculously, a spot opened up in the class… and I got a phone call.  I can honestly say that without that letter, I would not be here today.  Jim was my Barnabas.

Also, you may not know this, but up until a year before I was ordained, I could not read in front of a group.  I can't explain it...I would just hyperventilate.  Fortunately, people at work and here at church encouraged me... They might not have thought they were doing anything noteworthy, but those words of kindness had a deep impact on me.  Those people were Barnabas for me.

I can think of other people... I won’t mention her name, but there is a lady in our parish who I think is a saint.  She always has an encouraging word.  When I first came here, she immediately made me feel welcome – and I hear that from many other people who have come here.  She is a Barnabas. So- think about it:  Who is your Barnabas?  It’s enlightening to actually put your finger on the person or persons who changed your life. 

And then, finally- think about who are YOU a Barnabas for?  Is there anyone who will look back on their life and point to a YOU as their Barnabas?  Is there a young person or co-worker or family member who needs to be built up?  The world around us needs us to be Barnabas.  Is there a young person who needs your encouragement to consider the priesthood or religious life?  The CHURCH needs us to be Barnabas….”sons of encouragement”.

2012/04/15 - 2nd Sunday Easter - "Doubts"

I think poor ole Thomas has gotten a bad rap over the years.  Seems like most of the time, we hear that Gospel reading and think the message is that we shouldn’t doubt… we should just have faith.  Many of us may have grown up thinking that this Church stuff is all about Faith – and we shouldn’t ask questions because that means we’re having doubts…and if we have doubts, then obviously we don’t have enough Faith.  So we never ask the questions.

I think the message of today’s Gospel is just the opposite:  Don’t ignore your doubts.

 If we never doubt, we would never ask questions.  And if we never ask questions, we’ll never look for answers.  And if we never look for answers, then we’ll never find the truth and believe it with all our heart.

This past Wednesday, I got to have dinner with several of our parishioners who are attending USI.  We like to go to Hacienda a couple times each semester just to keep up with each other and have some good food.  Besides – I gave up chips and salsa for Lent, so it was time to break my fast!  This week we got to talking about some questions that their non-Catholic friends have asked them.  Things like why we have to go to Confession to a priest?  Whether it’s OK to marry somebody who’s not Catholic.  Why do we call our Priest ‘Father’, when other churches call their minister ‘Pastor’?

I encouraged them to ask questions.  If they never ask questions and find the answers, then they’ll never know the TRUTH, and when somebody approaches them with some seemingly logical arguments from the Bible, they ‘might’ be pulleed away from the Church. 

If we’re honest with ourselves, probably every person at one time or another has doubts about God – about Jesus – about the Catholic Church.  Some of us are so strong in our doubt that we’re SURE that the Church is wrong about one teaching or another.  I’m here to tell you that it is OK to have doubts – in fact, doubting can be the first step in really understanding something.  Thomas is a great example… – he was the doubter, and he wasn’t afraid to admit it – but after today’s encounter with Jesus, he ended up travelling all the way to southwest India and started a sect of the Catholic Church which still survives today in the midst of an overwhelming Hindu and Muslim population.  This same guy who at first doubted the Resurrection – once he had the proof, he caught fire and wanted to spread that message to the world.  In the end, he was martyred for his faith.  Know the Truth can change our life.

More dangerous is the person who never doubts at all.  This can happen one of two ways – First way is that I just accept everything the church teaches me and never really try to understand it.  What’s the danger here?  Look at all the people leaving the church… my guess is that most of them fall into this category.  They accept all the teachings, but never really try to understand it… so when somebody from another faith approaches them with some logical arguments, they are swept away by the logic of it and they walk away from the Church that Jesus started.  I myself used to fall into this category – I accepted the Catholic teachings until I was in college – then an atheist professor made me question for the first time.  His logic led me to question whether God even exists!  Several years later, anti-catholics came at me with very logical arguments against the Church which the Bible seemed to support.  Thank God I had the wits about me to question what they were saying…. In a way – it was their arguments which made me doubt – and it was that doubt that made me start searching for answers.  It was only through that search that this Catholic faith became ‘mine’.  What I mean by that is – I no longer went to church just because I was told to as a kid… but because I truly believe in our Catholic faith.  In fact, it was only through that doubt that I caught fire enough to want to serve Jesus as a Deacon.  Ever listen to Scott Hahn’s conversion?  Or read Rome Sweet Home?  Powerful stuff – he explains the multi-year story of how he started doubting his non-Catholic tradition and through his research found that all the answers were contained in Catholic Doctrine.  Now he, like Thomas, is spending his life trying to spread that fire and Truth to others.  I personally credit his story with helping to keep me solidly planted here in the Church.

The other danger is for those who have doubts – and are so SURE of themselves that they know the “Real Truth”…. But they never really check out WHY the Church teaches what they do.  For example, maybe you’re POSITIVE that the Church is wrong about confession to a Priest – or maybe you are SURE that the churches stand on contraception is old-fashioned and no longer relevant – or maybe you are Positive that the Eucharist really isn’t the Body and Blood of Jesus, or maybe you think Purgatory is just an old superstition.  If you or I fall into this category where we have doubts that are SO strong that we “KNOW” the Church is wrong  - but we never take the time to really research WHY the church teaches what they do, then we are in a dangerous position.  We may leave the church – or worse yet – we may infect other people with our un-informed opinions and lead THEM away from the truth.  Remember what Jesus said – it is better to tie a millstone around your neck and drop in the sea than to lead someone away from the Truth.

Now – this may surprise you – but did you know that it is OK to disagree with the Church!?  Really!  But listen carefully…there are two conditions.  You are actually morally obligated to go against Church teachings IF 1) you believe it would be morally wrong to FOLLOW that teaching and (and this is important) 2) you have fully formed your conscience – in other words, you have fully researched the REASONING behind the teaching and you have approached God in prayer to seek His wisdom about the teaching.

If you really take that seriously, chances are, you will never find a situation that fits the criteria – and therefore, you’ll never come across a situation where you can morally disregard any one teaching of the Church.

We will only know the truth if we ask the question… and we will only ask the question if we admit that we have a doubt.

Haiti 2012 - Last Day on this planet

It is Monday morning, and it is the first day that has started with no clouds - so it promises to be a hot one.  We will try to finish up the two little projects we started Saturday.  We'll finish using the paint we have left on the school, and Gary will work on the electrical system at the nuns' house.  Already three people have requested meetings with us.  Two are mothers of students who are in the University studying to be a doctor.  We have some tough decisions to make.

God-willing, tonight at 3 am we start the drive to Cap Haitien... the first leg of our journey that will take us out of THIS world and back to the world we're accustomed to.  While many things are the same here and there like the basic needs for shelter, food, love, sleep, etc., how we fill those needs is often a world of difference.

Shelter:  their houses are all open to the air.  They have no problem with it getting cold (although 55 would seem freezing to them), but more often they need that air flow to keep the house from getting too warm.  The house is simply where you sleep and the few possessions you own are stored.  Families sit outside... talking, singing, fixing each other's hair rather than each person having their own room and watching TV or surfing the web or talking on the phone.  Which world is better???

Food:  all the food has been BON! (good).  Rice is served most meals along with a few beans or onions mixed in.  The Poule (chicken) and Cabrit (goat) meat were particularly flavorful - and even the Conch they served us today was delicious (although a bit rubbery).  There are always a selection of veggies and/or fruit available - and it seems that they have a new drink for us to try at LEAST once a day (including an alcoholic beverage they served us this morning for breakfast ;).  We ate soup for breakfast and oatmeal for supper.  We drink bottled water, which we still treat with chlorine drops as an added precaution.  We wash our hands almost to the point of hypochondriacs to prevent spreading germs.  So far, the only sickness we have had has been due to allergies or dehydration, so the precautions have been succesful so far.  (along with all those prayers y'all are sending out on our behalf)

Sleep:  noise is a constant.  Roosters, dogs, goats, birds, people talking and pounding on things, sweeping, singing... and if a silent moment should happen upon them, they'll turn on a radio (when electricity is available).  You either get used to it - or wear ear plugs.  We sleep under mosquito nets to help prevent malaria and dengue fever (plus it helps Maddie to feel more secure that the spiders can't get to her).  On the other hand, we have undoubtedly gotten more sleep here than at home - which shows that we CAN adjust to this slower pace of life.  Which world is better?

One thing that we share is our Catholic liturgy.  Even though we don't understand what is being said, the motions and timing are such that we always know what is going on and where we are in the Mass.  Yesterday was Palm Sunday, and we got to participate in the procession from the other side of town to the church.  I wonder what OUR community would think if we still did that?  Mass lasted almost three hours... and I KNOW what our community would think if we did THAT!

While many things will remain the same when we get home, hopefully some of this place and these people will come home with us.  We are not so different, but we live in two different worlds.  May we continue to help them until our last day on the planet.