Packed carefully inside our suitcases, next to the cameras, and rain gear and mosquito repellant are 200 precious works of art. The children of four West Michigan Conference churches (Trinity Grand Rapids, Lincoln Road UMC in Riverdale, University Church in East Lansing and Kalamazoo Millwood) carefully glued scraps of colorful torn paper to create portraits of themselves. They are to be shared as offerings of peace to the children of Mizak, Haiti. A simple caring expression that says, “We care about you and want to be in community with you.” What makes this art so precious is that peace offerings are a rare commodity for the people of Haiti.
Since Christopher Columbus stumbled upon this large island in the western Atlantic in 1492, its history has been one of pain and cruelty. Haiti suffered under the domination of a host a conquering nations. Sadly, our country has been part of this history. For hundreds of years Haiti’s people were viciously enslaved and its lands robbed of rich natural resources. When the people of Haiti finally rose up they rid themselves of foreign masters, but somehow not the unthinkable cruelty. Our impression of Haiti is mostly comprised of images of dictators, violence, disease and unthinkable natural disasters. Peace is a rare commodity in Haiti.
To quote the Dali Lama, “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” Those traveling with me are convinced of this simple idea. No one is too small to make a big difference. A 6 year old with a glue stick and some construction paper can be the first of many tiny steps needed to find God in a country marred by hundreds of years of pain and suffering. Will this trip change Haiti? Probably not. But the folks waiting for that 3AM wakeup call are pretty certain it will change some lives. I’m at peace with that.
Time to get some shut eye. I’ll check in with you from Miami.
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