The new mission we are building in Grand Bassa

some houses
me and the barber - edwin
all the boys were cutting their hair...so I decided to get my haircut too...so they cut it "sabu"- pele for razorblade haircut.

Jesus said to His disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly father, for He makes His sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers and sisters only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

                                    -Matthew 5:43-48

So our kindergarten class is definitely a kindergarten class….They have trouble paying attention.  They have trouble staying focused.  They like to get up, get off task, tell lies…pretty much everything you can expect from a child that age.  They are learning…. So today, after I was lied to deliberately for like the twentieth time (usually these lies are about not having a pencil so they can get a shiny new one, or that their pencil isn’t sharp so they don’t have to write)…I decided what our vocab words for the day would be… Lie. Truth. Faith. Trust.  I told them that everything is based around trust.  And one of the main reasons that their country is in the shape it’s in is because of the lack of trust – in anything…but who can blame that – they shouldn’t trust anyone – their people were just killing each other for 15 years, definitely an understandable reason as to why they have trust and lying issues…anyway… That was what I decided we would focus on for the day.  We would talk about how the only way to gain respect, was to gain trust – to gain trust, we must be honest, and that every time we lie, we lose trust (One of their favorite phrases is “liars go to hell”…they still haven’t shown that they understand that concept however hahaha)...So we talked about how everything revolved around trust.  These were our “copy sentences” for the day…

 

 

TRUST

 

To get better, we must gain trust. When we lie, we lose trust. When we tell the truth, we gain trust. Having faith comes from having a lot of trust.

 

Lie. Truth. Faith. Trust.

 

 

I finished writing it down, and read it to the children…and then God drilled me in the face with a 2x4… “Look at what you just wrote,” He screamed at me, “It’s a simple things, but it explains a lot.”…. I sat there in awe at what I was just now figuring out… The reason We, as followers of Christ, don’t get the respect we want… WE have not yet obtained trust.  We have not proven that we have faith in the words we preach because we do not put them into action…Why should people listen to us when we preach the gospel of love, but then gossip, judge others, condemn those around us for not agreeing with our views…We need to open our own eyes...And my name is at the top of the list…It’s great if we can understand what we have to do, or listen to the words we’re being told – that’s the first step.  But in order to walk, we have to take plenty of steps.  So we need to move forward.  We need to start putting what we preach into action. I pray that God grant me the ability to move – to start living the gospel instead of reading or speaking it…

 

When we as Christians, or followers of Christ, don’t live what we preach, or what we say what we believe in, WE ARE LYING.  It is as simple as that. WE lose trust.  No one has faith in us - and because of that – neither in the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords we claim to follow.

 

When we lie, we lose trust.  No one listens to, or has faith in a liar (and why should they? I wouldn’t believe someone who lied to me all the time). So why should anyone listen to us when we don’t practice what we preach, or have trust in - or see fruits in - a faith whose followers cannot even follow.  We talk about loving our enemies, yet we send hate towards people who didn’t do anything to us, but simply don’t live the lifestyles we think are right. Maybe we should focus on “I” first.  That is what I figured out today.  So to anyone to whom I have been cold to, or spoken to in anger – I apologize, from the bottom of my heart.  To those to whom I have fought with, I’m sorry for fighting instead of seeking peace.  To those whom I have neglected to aid, please forgive me for stealing from you what should have been yours.  Please forgive me. So from now on, I promise, I will try with all of my heart to be the best I can be, to follow the Gospel of Love, of understanding, of forgiveness, of acceptance, of peace.  I WILL fall. I will stumble along the way, but hopefully by making steps, I will fall forward – going towards my goal, rather than away

 

(by the way….check out what “live” spells when you spell it backwards - or when you live backwards….E-V-I-L. – coincidence?)

 “And, once again, it is inevitable and incontestable that this natural urge for fulfillment and completion is basically self-love. ‘Angels like men by nature strive for their own good and their own perfection; and this means loving themselves.’ Therefore, insofar as we are willing to accept the more or less established usage that defines eros as the quintessence of all desire for fullness of being, for quenching of the thirst for happiness, for satiation by the good things of life, which include not only closeness and community with our fellowmen but also participation in the like of God himself – insofar as we do accept this usage, eros must be regarded as an impulse inherent in our natures, arising directly out of finite man’s existence as a created being, out of his creatureliness….

            The call for an utterly disinterested, unmotivated, sovereign agape love that wishes to receive nothing, that is purged of all selfish desire, simply rests upon a misunderstanding of man as he really is. The error, it must be noted, consists not so much in mistaking man’s empirical imperfection as failing to recognize that the conditio humana is that of a created being…

            What is more, all human happiness (which we instinctively desire, but not necessarily selfishly, and therefore with rightfully clear conscience) is fundamentally the happiness of love.

                                    -Josef Pieper

 

 

God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the far of (Jesus) Christ.

            But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.

            For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

                                    -2 Corinthians 4:6-7, 17

 

…May the earth be filled with the knowledge of the Lord’s glory as water covers the sea…(cf. Hb 2:14)

Now since the children share in blood and flesh, He likewise shared in them, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil…

-       Hebrews 2:14

 

What Christ commands seems impossible to us: “Stop judging. Stop condemning. Forgive.” But if Jesus demands this, then it must be because it is possible for us. Even more: it is our destiny to be this way. Our trouble is that we live by a deficient measure. Jesus Christ is our measure, He who is “compassion and forgiveness” incarnate. To accept him as the measure with which we measure is to be assured that otherwise unimaginable gifts will be given to us.

                                    -Magnificat March 9, 2009

 

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you”

-       Luke 6:36-38

 

“The anxiety and grief you feel from realizing your nothingness is not pleasant; for although the cause is good the effect is not.  No, my dear daughter, this knowledge of our nothingness should not trouble us but should have a soothing, humbling, and chastening effect; it is self-esteem which makes us impatient at seeing ourselves vile and abject. Come now, I entreat you by the love of Him whom we both love, of Jesus Christ, to live consoled and peaceful in your infirmities. I glory in my infirmities, says our great Saint Paul, so that the power of my Savior may dwell in me. Yes, indeed, for our misery is as a throne to make manifest the sovereign goodness of Our Lord.”

-       Saint Francis de Sales

 

TRUST

 

To get better, we must gain trust. When we lie, we lose trust. When we tell the truth, we gain trust. Having faith comes from having a lot of trust.

 

Lie. Truth. Faith. Trust.

 

 

PRAYER FOR CLASS(the prayer we say with our class every morning)

 

I am a child of the Risen God. He created me from His own Hands. I am special. I am unique. There is no one else like me. I shall praise God for making me so special. Since I am God’s child, I will love and not hate – I will help and not hurt – I will work for peace and not war.

I have many brothers and sisters. I have them here at the mission. I have them here in Liberia. I have them here in Africa – and – I have them all over the world. Because I know every person I ever meet or have met is a child of God, I know that they are my brothers and sisters – So I will try to treat them like brothers and sisters.

Jesus has paid a dear price for me and because He gave His own life for me I promise to follow Him and His teachings. I will not listen to Satan. Satan is a liar. Satan is a rogue – and – Satan is not welcome in my life.

Thank you Jesus for loving me.

Thank you Jesus for dying for me.

Thank you Jesus for rising for me – and – Thank you Jesus for giving us an opportunity to find eternal life with you.

I promise with your help and the intercessions of your Blessed Mother Mary and all of the angels and Saints – especially St. Martin and Saint Francis, to love my brothers and sisters more. I promise to forgive them when they hurt me and I promise to love others like you love me.

Bless the poor, bless the children and bless our mission. Forgive us of our sins and failures and help us to be better people with every passing day. We ask these things in Jesus’ most blessed name. Amen

I am not saying this to bash anyone…or to blame anyone…or to make anyone feel bad about themselves...I’m saying this to tell you that I’m right, and you’re wrong and The only way you’ll get to heaven is if you listen to what I’m saying….NNNNOOOOTTTTT..that last part was a joke of course…

I’m simply voicing what I’ve been figuring out in my own life as I’ve been making the turns on this road of the Great Adventure.

 

I hope everyone is well!  You’re always in my prayers, and I am so grateful for all of you who have the people here and myself in yours.

 

Life, Love, and Peace

 

Uncle Matthew