I cried as I made this meal. As I sliced carrots and zucchini and minced garlic, I kept picturing Haitian sisters and mothers and daughters who do not have a nutritious meal to feed their families tonight. I am like these women in so many ways. I have fears and have known failures. I have people I call family and love with intensity. I have experienced simple joys of life - walking in the sunshine, laughing with friends, a hug of comfort in a moment of sadness. But unlike these women, I don't know what it means to go through life uncertain where the next meal will come from. I don't know what it is to look into the eyes of a hungry child and tell them there is nothing.
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| Matthew 28 Feeding Program, 2018 |
Right now in Haiti there are an estimated 2.6 million people who are living with insecurity about where their next meal is coming from. Drought and economic instability and civil unrest are all to blame. There is a long legacy of unsustainable farming practices, corrupt government leadership, and lack of access to education which also complicate the situation in Haiti. Natural disasters help to feed the circumstances which allow so many people to go without food.
This summer I am struggling with food. If I'm being completely honest with myself, food is always a bit of a struggle. In our culture of comfort and ease, there is so much packed into food. It easily can become a source of emotional comfort or a source of guilt and shame. When we have access to so much, it is easy for excess to become the norm. And what's worse, it's excess without any sense of gratitude, any sense of the overwhelming blessing it is to know there will be food to eat the next time we are hungry.
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| All Matthew 28 Feeding Centers are run by local community leaders |
In Ezekiel 16, the prophet is declaring God's judgment on His faithless people. At one point, Ezekiel notes the parallels of sins in Israel and in Sodom, a place that would bring to mind great godlessness and depravity in the minds of the Israelites...
"...your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways. As I live, declares the Lord God, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it." (Ezekiel 16:46-50)
I'm thinking a lot about the families in Haiti who are going hungry. I want to help. I want to find ways to lean in and love well. I want to be Jesus' hands and feet to those in need. And even though I can't be there in person this summer to help, God has opened a door to care for those in need...
The Apparent Project is a nonprofit organization which employs Haitian artisans in the hopes of preserving families by giving parents the dignity of reliable work. I will be hosting an Apparent Project fundraiser this summer. Half of the funds will be returned to the Haitian artisans at the Apparent Project. The other half of the funds raised will go to the Matthew 28 Ministries in Bohoc, Haiti. This ministry is in need of support for their feeding programs. They serve about 25,000 meals a month and the need is increasing. Given the growing food crisis in Haiti, it feels urgent to do what we can now to help... to be Christ's hands and feet and help those who are in need because we have known the great, saving help of God in our most desperate time of need.
If you are interested in buying any of the goods from the fundraiser, you can let me know. You can also stop at the Newport Farmer's Market on Friday 7/12 from 3-6 and connect with me there!
Many thanks for caring, for reading, for praying, for giving. Even though this summer isn't spent in Haiti, I find that my heart is still there and I'm thankful to be able to share it with you.
Love in Christ, Jessie
