LEX

a world of need

i am not god.

yes, i realize this is may appear as an obvious truth. but please notice i used a lower case ‘g.’ of course i am not God. but i also am not god at all. this means i cannot fix every problem in the world. i can only do what is humanly possible – and what God empowers me to do.

i was reminded today (thursday) of my inadequacy. his name is jefry. he’s is the one whose brother died after a machete accident a few weeks ago. jefry is, to put it crudely, the guilty party. now we all know that a young boy playing with a machete in the campo of the DR is no more guilty of murder than the same boys’ mother who failed to take the one to the hospital on time. unfortunately, this is not something that boys understand when they are only 8 years old.

jefry has been coming to camille’s classes, and has been behaving fairly well until this week. Jefry also came to my english class this week, which at first appeared to be a great thing. He then began fighting with one of the other boys, so I had to ask them both to leave. The other boy was difficult to get out of the school house, but once he was out, he was out. He was a nuisance, yes, but he stayed out. Jefry, on the other hand, would not stay out. He also would not quit hitting and fighting with anyone within reach. We were completely unable to have class because of his yelling, taunting, hitting, pushing and even stealing.

My first instinct was to give the kid a swift kick in the rear and go have a talk with his mother. Unfortunately, talking with his mother, if even possible, would do no good. She is an alcoholic and a prostitute, and her concern for her now 7 living children is minimal. After I gave myself a chance to calm down, I did what any good teacher would do and pulled him aside to talk to him about his behavior. I tried to explain to him that Camille and I want him to come to class, but he cannot if he is going to fight with the other kids. My words got me nowhere. He proceeded to cover his ears and stiffin his whole body. He would not listen to anything I had to say.

It was at this point I realized that, as a female, I am not going to make very much progress in this hardened, guilty laden little boy. he needs a man in his life. His dad, well, your guess is as good as mine about how he treats his children. His older brother…only 12. and as for the other Haitian men in pancho mateo…well…let’s just say that Haitians are quite known for their survival of the fittest theory. They all get to fend for themselves almost from birth. And in such poverty, no man is going to notice an 8yr old boy who needs some love.

It broke my heart that I could not change his world right then and there. I was completely powerless. He has nothing in this world but a broken heart. I had nothing to give him, and the only healing power I have – he would not even listen to it.

and then today (monday) we found out that jefry's little brother, angel, broke his leg on a moto accident. though it sounds rediculous to take a 4 year old on a motorcycle, it's more than normal here. we went to check on him, and though he thankfully did have a cast for his leg, there was a square cut out where his leg was cut to the bone. it was open, with no bandages, waiting to be infected with all of the many diseases that float through the air of the bateyes.

cristina, camille's aide, went with us to visit angel. as we were sitting there, she began to tell the mother of her need to accept Christ as her Lord and to change her ways for the sake of her children and her own life. at first i thought my spanish skills were failing me. but the longer i listened i realized that yes, indeed, she was preaching it to this alcoholic prostitute about her need for Christ.

today in class we gave jefry an extra christmas ornament to take to angel, and tomorrow we'll be taking some supplies for cleaning up his open wound. i am thankfully that we are here to be able to provide these things for this family. but christmas ornaments and medical supplies, though necessary, are the least of their needs. cristina presented to them the Truth of their real need. she's definitely a keeper. and we need more people in this world like her. we need more people in the DR like her. we need more MEN in the DR like her. camille and i can only do so much.

if you'd like to help change jefry's life, and angel's, and ninito's, wendy's and all their brothers and sisters and friends, check out the MAKARiOS website. though there are many donations that we would be blessed to receive, what are needed most are changed lives committed to changing other lives. think about it. pray about it. then let me know.

posted by Alexia & Jeffrey @ 7:34 PM