tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56370971012629643522024-03-12T18:49:01.964-07:00we are ONEbodyMatthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-48763772363556048882013-11-24T15:49:00.000-08:002013-11-26T06:29:31.354-08:00From Me to We<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWeWuQxtBImeidALxncJWz-eCo1ygwN4vigSrpdAZ68Lvii652u3Orjoz6FVHqlwCob3W2TAVxBkebjvIqUbQjAR1rBKLUy6OBJmyTku41nYAHAdEWNnLrIDuD3HMl-aW0bijCwT0MOsT/s1600/Dancing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWeWuQxtBImeidALxncJWz-eCo1ygwN4vigSrpdAZ68Lvii652u3Orjoz6FVHqlwCob3W2TAVxBkebjvIqUbQjAR1rBKLUy6OBJmyTku41nYAHAdEWNnLrIDuD3HMl-aW0bijCwT0MOsT/s320/Dancing.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #76a5af;">10.</span><span style="color: #bf9000;">19.</span><span style="color: #d0e0e3;">13.</span></span></b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"> </span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Vows were said. A party was had. And a life-long journey began. Six weeks later, we are living in Juticalpa, Honduras, reflecting on our first short while as a married couple. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Already we have felt the high's and low's that cascades of life often bring, and we're learning how to walk through them together by 1) receiving each other as a gift; 2) living in the present; and 3) letting love be sincere. </span><br />
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We have honeymooned in Costa Rica, worked in a bilingual school in Honduras, spoken a little Spanish, battled a little illness, milked cows, eaten our fair share of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baleada">baleadas</a>, made new friends, ventured to a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roat%C3%A1n">nearby island</a>, and become pretty efficient with a "bucket shower." </span><br />
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In the palm of His hand, God has held us and led - showing us a patch of sunlight where least expected, or a faithful follower in the midst of strangers. We are blessed by the Lord's steady hand and with Him, we journey on in marriage and our mission in this world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #45818e;">10.</span><span style="color: #bf9000;">22.</span><span style="color: #d0e0e3;">13. </span> </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX-oJBRrOOg0LCZBu90rkomWS5Ipa7I2jwgrW0H7V4UVyqf85Su2yrVPdtIbMH6Cb_atncQXFiWD0O3EcBuXbAe-cHvuXQ-KVLnSR7S-0z_J7cceC1W2IdoRyV1vfMxuYtPl4_2gWVluqn/s1600/First+Dinner.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX-oJBRrOOg0LCZBu90rkomWS5Ipa7I2jwgrW0H7V4UVyqf85Su2yrVPdtIbMH6Cb_atncQXFiWD0O3EcBuXbAe-cHvuXQ-KVLnSR7S-0z_J7cceC1W2IdoRyV1vfMxuYtPl4_2gWVluqn/s200/First+Dinner.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We share our first meal in Costa Rica at the Alta Hotel, a cozy historical stay nestled in the hills of San Jose. The next morning we boarded a van and traveled East toward the Pacuare River where we white water rafted to Pacuare EcoLodge. It was a blast! And only the beginning of our trip.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMpKYXzcWZzz3cUzP2-fqZcGnuQ403us8MN2PZVygJVz4iNmKLAt91RQW3TQBbsfpKdXgMBq_AsjB0EP7DUPS-NLhSD3If8TKWMimSiZwduC0O7ybwy99-6Iy00K1f-Bl6fQHpcoBbzAc/s1600/DSCN0091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMpKYXzcWZzz3cUzP2-fqZcGnuQ403us8MN2PZVygJVz4iNmKLAt91RQW3TQBbsfpKdXgMBq_AsjB0EP7DUPS-NLhSD3If8TKWMimSiZwduC0O7ybwy99-6Iy00K1f-Bl6fQHpcoBbzAc/s640/DSCN0091.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #45818e;">10.</span><span style="color: #bf9000;">23.</span><span style="color: #d0e0e3;">13.</span></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLSmaOjN_scyLHlBl6kTE3Le4HICx31VRO3V0ut81vDlbIcPyOxOz16-i-VbAH4S3O4yS4SZCuA3SCic3E5sqifX6ap1KLpcU7dT-AAkX1Z_ELx2f9AV9pbTPAbhMOIY-pb6keWuhBDv6Z/s1600/candle.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLSmaOjN_scyLHlBl6kTE3Le4HICx31VRO3V0ut81vDlbIcPyOxOz16-i-VbAH4S3O4yS4SZCuA3SCic3E5sqifX6ap1KLpcU7dT-AAkX1Z_ELx2f9AV9pbTPAbhMOIY-pb6keWuhBDv6Z/s320/candle.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our second night at the lodge, we enjoyed a nice dinner just for the two of us alongside the river. That morning, we hiked to a waterfall and learned about the rainforest from our guide, Max. At dinner our candles were struggling against the breeze...so naturally, we had to intervene. Speaking of candles, they were our only source of light, other than the stars and sun, that we had at the lodge. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #45818e;">10.</span><span style="color: #bf9000;">26.</span><span style="color: #d0e0e3;">13.</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We arrive in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Our friends, Michael and Oscar, picked us up and drove us to Juticalpa, our final destination, where we have been living in the heart of the city, surrounded by fresh produce stands and only three blocks from the cathedral. </span><br />
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We spent two weeks as teacher and administrative assistants in one of Olancho Aid Foundation's bilingual schools, Santa Clara School. During our time, we attended a community social studies fair put on by Santa Clara, tried many "firsts" as far as traditional Honduran food goes, and fell in love with charamuscas, a delicious popsicle in a bag. </span><br />
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Our new friends and fellow teachers Augustine and Aitsa took us to their family's farm one weekend where we milked cows, hiked a mountain, and made homemade pizza. Our best day yet. After working at the school, we joined the Olancho Aid Foundation administration team where we are currently working on their web site, making a short film for the foundation, and tutoring at the nearby bilingual high school, Santa Clara Institute. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXPaBydrk2kRKEyG3fWx-hpY24uS5jAyOBoV0GmKlSNkeKMyErkRBAYoxSSN90S6L5FXmhgdqDqAxemkI2nRJZrti7BU1V7gjoybjF7D5LiQDEdZeR9SEoRSsvvhcV12su2kcxZq0X8LRn/s1600/Hills+to+Mountains.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXPaBydrk2kRKEyG3fWx-hpY24uS5jAyOBoV0GmKlSNkeKMyErkRBAYoxSSN90S6L5FXmhgdqDqAxemkI2nRJZrti7BU1V7gjoybjF7D5LiQDEdZeR9SEoRSsvvhcV12su2kcxZq0X8LRn/s400/Hills+to+Mountains.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our short time here has revealed a new motto that we can apply to all areas of life. </span><br />
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"Alone, we are small hills; together, we are one mountain." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Inspired by the history and fruition of Olancho Aid Foundation, a past volunteer helped make a mural with children from various school. The mural hangs on the wall in Carlos' office, the Foundation's director. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #45818e;">11.</span><span style="color: #bf9000;">21.</span><span style="color: #d0e0e3;">13.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #45818e;">RO.</span><span style="color: #bf9000;">A.</span><span style="color: #d0e0e3;">TAN.</span> </b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">With Carlos and Michael we rode six hours to La Ceiba, a large city up north. From there, we took a ferry to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roat%C3%A1n">Roatan</a>, one of the largest of Honduras' Bay Islands for a short vacation. We stayed at an eccentric B&B just outside the center of West End, a popular place for visitors. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrIWYToTl2wLu4YhRVq9TFSxJLAfQsRobrmGM1rNW5TpAWnz9faRvPBTZYVjmt5lzNheCYswqINuYSZfwk3Vz85IBLL7c9-60oKEn886NixwHk9Mm_Zy34UAabInUljDiDOkQ-mjfOSA6/s1600/Ferry+Ride.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrIWYToTl2wLu4YhRVq9TFSxJLAfQsRobrmGM1rNW5TpAWnz9faRvPBTZYVjmt5lzNheCYswqINuYSZfwk3Vz85IBLL7c9-60oKEn886NixwHk9Mm_Zy34UAabInUljDiDOkQ-mjfOSA6/s640/Ferry+Ride.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The beaches were great, the water was clear, everything was beautiful...but the highlight of our trip? Taking a hot shower for the first time in four weeks...or eating the best homemade ice cream sandwich at a nearby cafe :).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHCbWYf9i0IsUlnvVb6Ex6wqoLH_Z4UPaD5VorfuZqj4Gjm7i7_EqwSHs5P39XSvAiCDFJRngz6AT1LGaEFfiajdW4IN7TAaP_guvuRovxJ-XdFIBtLLx4RZ2BmCavNSYboVUWFZdn-Wq1/s1600/Hidden+Church.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHCbWYf9i0IsUlnvVb6Ex6wqoLH_Z4UPaD5VorfuZqj4Gjm7i7_EqwSHs5P39XSvAiCDFJRngz6AT1LGaEFfiajdW4IN7TAaP_guvuRovxJ-XdFIBtLLx4RZ2BmCavNSYboVUWFZdn-Wq1/s200/Hidden+Church.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The island was full of little surprises like this old church we spotted down the dirt path from our hotel. We spent most of our time taking walks and capturing moments like these.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #45818e;">11.</span><span style="color: #bf9000;">23.</span><span style="color: #d0e0e3;">13.</span></span></b><br />
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After our second, and last, ice cream sandwich (sigh), we flew back to Tegucigalpa and arrived home in the evening. A short trip, but just what we needed for a break and some quality time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sunday, we went to mass at the cathedral and baked banana bread during an afternoon rain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #45818e;">11.</span><span style="color: #bf9000;">25.</span><span style="color: #d0e0e3;">13.</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Today, the town has been quiet. Everyone is off work because the presidential election took place yesterday. Tomorrow, we go back to work in the office and begin the last stretch of our time here. We look forward to Michael & Carina's wedding Saturday, another patch of sunlight before our trip home Dec. 5th...in God's hands. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #45818e;">M</span><span style="color: #d0e0e3;">&</span><span style="color: #bf9000;">L</span></b></span><br />
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<br />Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-89876589840133860392013-10-10T07:32:00.000-07:002013-10-10T07:32:37.759-07:001+1=1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQFoXrmFcN3EHIIIlh5sR3MGtZNfKYKs4Y6TjmugziL9oznfw99NbAaR76MmqzKz3pJD7dVhiQtDCe5zsI9b21ZlX0qE7qZP0UbvardMmHAlA6wudXJ6nGGD22UuSUZlWM7_fh7Astzd8Q/s1600/1+1=1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQFoXrmFcN3EHIIIlh5sR3MGtZNfKYKs4Y6TjmugziL9oznfw99NbAaR76MmqzKz3pJD7dVhiQtDCe5zsI9b21ZlX0qE7qZP0UbvardMmHAlA6wudXJ6nGGD22UuSUZlWM7_fh7Astzd8Q/s320/1+1=1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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meet LindsAy, my best friend...and in a few days, my wife.</div>
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starting October 19, 2013...it will be "we" not "me" </div>
<br />Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-16241793169247359512010-11-20T07:54:00.000-08:002010-11-20T08:01:46.256-08:00<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/20/1117.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/20/s_1117.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br />indiscriminate acts of kindness :)<br /><br />Love and compassion brew peace<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/20/1139.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/20/s_1139.jpg' border='0' width='525' height='525' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/20/1140.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/20/s_1140.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/20/1120.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/20/s_1120.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br />Life Love and Peace<br /><br />Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-91138224539606801672010-11-14T19:18:00.001-08:002010-11-14T19:18:37.218-08:00Freedom: "Break the Walls Between Building Atrophy(this is the response paper written after reading 'The Miracle of Mindfulness' for an Asian religions course at LSU)<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/3006.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/s_3006.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Seasons come and go; time progresses. The phenomena of life cycles. Potential. Growth. Beauty. Rest. Death. For a moment one feels sorrow seeing an end in death, but if seen through a different shade or lens the understanding arises that it is in death that their is the greatest connection and bond with potential.<br /> <br /><br /><br /> In the world as we know it, our societies are quite unique. We face different environments, come from different backgrounds, and are each comprised with a unique set of ethics, morals and values. In this, just as each student is unique in the way they learn, grow, struggle and excel... so are societies. Each particular one holding its own different ideological make-up, we become victim of a great fall on the proverbial path of life, (self-righteous)pride onsets and so begins the creation of prejudices, hatreds, jealousies and the life of those not ‘falling’ into the same categories. Division accumulates. The atrophy in the human body builds. We Are One Body though, no matter the difference in role of each part or the atrophy ‘falling’ place.<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/3008.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/s_3008.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /> From our limited, ‘fallen’ perception we fail to look beyond the difference in ‘color’ or shade outwards to the understanding of the whole collage. We have failed to see our interdependence, our connectedness. Whether by means of complacency or distraction, we stay in our “self” perspective, falling into the traps of judgements, biases, hatreds and the like. For some reason we have become content with our limited view of the collage, not really seeing the collage at all, but only seeing what is of ourselves and immediately next to us. Instead of stepping back to get a broader, more objective and well-rounded view, we maintain a comfortable, yet unfulfilled existence within a snow globe, never really stepping outside the delusions dream and into the wild and pure.<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/3009.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/s_3009.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /> Just as muscular atrophy slowly and steadily disjoins the muscles from the body, by cutting off the flow of blood... our lack of mindfulness - the peace within brewed from awareness, love and compassion - is building walls, separating us as is the ONE body of humankind.<br /><br /><br /> The agendas we each set are well-planned and thought out, but as a whole, we’ve neglected the understanding of the limitedness of our particular vantage point...and that, is ignorance. We must realize we are ONE. We must realize that we live, breathe, and move together before we die together; ‘with or without a goal, we all move the same direction.’<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/3011.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/s_3011.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /> This type of ignorance is not one that can be picketed, protested or fought outwardly against - it is a shedding from within, a disarming of the self. It far too easy for us to project issues and make them not our own. For some reason, our generations present have a really difficult time taking responsibility of the make up of our selves (our motives, values, characteristics and actions).<br /><br /><br /> Americans are the busiest we have every been. In that sense, it would be very wrong to say we merely “don’t take responsibility.” We have however, neglected a lot of things because of the whirlwind storm created from such busy, demanding and planned out agendas. i would argue that this entrapment is in fact denying responsibility as well, just not in the sense of the immediate-satisfaction -“responsibility” that seems to run our culture these days. Our only means of escape however, like any successful prison break, must start from the inside out. We must learn to find peace within our selves...and that starts with ideas like ‘Mindfulness”.<br />Our world is one of beauty, yet how often do we as the members of today’s societies stop to enjoy it? As time increases, it seems our pace does as well. We somehow and in some facet become fixated in our ever-growing consumer-minded culture and enslaved by a clock, computer or phone. We get caught in the clock, enslaved by time and from thenceforth stuck in the solitary confinement of our minds, delusional of reality. We’ve created our own prisons. Our intentions of “self-betterment” are good, but are they clear? Are our motives pure, or are we polluting them with half-truths? These are the questions we must start asking ourselves in times like these if we ever seek to live together instead of merely dying together.<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/3013.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/s_3013.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /> It’s as if we’ve lost touch. Almost as if we’ve become secluded so subtly and intrinsically that we are not even in touch with our own “true” selves or minds - those that were once pure when we entered the world in the first “Potential” stage of life. In the “potential” stage we find the beauty and innocence of a child: Open and willing, engaged in learning our environments and what it presents to us... we face the world arms wide open. But as we lose this beautiful innocence we also lose track of that beautiful mindset of humbly receiving...the awareness of the gift of your cup and the openness to whatever is poured into it whether sour, salty, bitter or sweet seems to fade.<br /><br /><br /> Although we’ve let go of our openness, we’ve picked up some baggage along the way. We’ve gained experience and knowledge, and ignorantly we go on unaware of the possibilities of what is unknown.<br /><br /><br /> If all walks of life practiced mindfulness, the world would be a completely different place. Instead of bigotry, there would be hope in acceptance. Where we once saw decay, we might see growth. Instead of focusing on feeding our desires and being governed by what we ‘want’, we might work a good deal more at only taking or using what we need.<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/3015.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/s_3015.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /> Mindfulness is not meant for only those who practice Buddhism though. Mindfulness does not impose a ‘correct’ or ‘absolute’ doctrine, and in fact, i would dare to say it applies to all other facets of spirituality. Most religions have a very similar core of “goal characteristics” and actions, and it’s hard for ‘me’ to see how mindfulness would do anything but help boost each and everyone towards being the best they can be.<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/3017.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/s_3017.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /> Any good change comes with sacrifice. A world class gymnast did not spontaneously become flexible, strong and agile enough to be able to tumble the way she does. It took years of stretching, ripping and rebuilding muscles, and it is the same notion of “training” that will be required of us if we seek to live mindfully in the world. The liberation of that kind of freedom comes with the sufferings that go with its practice. The question then becomes, are we willing to deal with pain? Are we willing to be uncomfortable for the greater good? Will we search aimlessly on our own efforts, or will we finally learn the paradox: to live, we must die...in order to gain, we must empty ourselves. We must learn the truth that we ourselves are the issue. And the goal is in trying to turn that ‘self’ off. It is a call for all-embracing and unconditional love and compassion for, with and through all. It is an understanding of the difference between want and need. It is a knowledge of our motivations, wether it be mind, ‘stomach’ or heart - mind, body or spirit. Will we wake up the the fact that we are all self-righteous? Will we look within and turn off our pride, die to self - or will we live by our stomachs?<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/3019.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/s_3019.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/3020.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/s_3020.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/3021.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/s_3021.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /> With hope and tools like The Miracle of Mindfulness, many little people in many little places can start waking up. We can work to empower the people of the world to shed whatever mud the wear and tear of time in the world has clung to us. We can work towards understanding the ripples of understanding, acceptance and indiscriminate acts of kindness. We can open our eyes to the oneness of the universe, our interdependence not only amongst each other but existence as a whole, and the purity within humility, love and service. The question is not of potential or possibility, but one of choice. It starts with the one in the self and ends with the one in ALL. If there is any hope is a wholesome emptying, any goal in shedding sorrow, if there is any truth in the mission of the Boddisattvas - It starts with being aware. We must begin to shed light, decreasing our darkness to let light shine. Awareness begins with consciousness and focus of me, where and who i am, and what are my surroundings and distractions. It is culminated by the awareness of the connection i share with all and they with me. It is culminated in the vantage point of: We... noticing maybe the perspective of just ‘Me’ is upside-down. We Are One Body.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/3022.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/11/14/s_3022.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />in every borrowed breath we take we cause ripples...are we acting as intruments of division, or<br />That of unity?<br /><br /><br />Life Love and Peace<br />Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-19080888860986416572010-09-11T09:05:00.001-07:002010-09-11T09:05:44.635-07:00<br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/09/11/1300.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/09/11/s_1300.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />On the road of life the vehicle in which we travel is not <br />that which is of importance; what matters are our interactions on the path - the way we drive while on the road<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/09/11/1301.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/09/11/s_1301.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/09/11/1302.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/09/11/s_1302.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br />Life Love and Peace<br />Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-78544432189298752652010-06-29T11:59:00.000-07:002010-10-15T22:12:07.229-07:00Ku KA Li. Kukiturnoh<br /> - Kpelle "we are all One" <br /><br /><br /><br />That seems to be the only thing worth living for these days...<br /><br /><br /><br />"times like these" by the foo fighters keeps running through<br />my head and they've never stuck<br />so true...<br /><br />'..it's times like these you learn to live again. It's times like these you learn to give again. It's time like these you learn to love again. It's times like these, time, and time again.'<br /><br /><br /><br />But that's what Life's about...isn't it?<br /><br /><br /><br />life has been different for me the last couple years... Lots of falls And missed steps, but through and through it's been a great adventure of learning, of listening, of growing. <br /><br /><br />For the past two years i've been learning just how futile any efforts towards planning ahead truly are... And how I get stuck in the ruts every time i do<br /><br /><br />That part of the road has taught me not rely on myself - to be slow to talk and quick to listen<br /><br />...'the Truth is natural like the wind that blows, follow it's direction no matter where it goes'<br /><br />..and that has been a huge grace - a huge check on my pride; in teaching me to 'turn it off'<br /><br /><br />It's helped me be humbled... <br />..its helped me to remember how fallible and how small i am - and in the universe, how small we are... <br />Humans to the earth<br />Earth to the sun<br />Sun to the galaxy<br />Galaxy to the universe<br /><br /><br />"there's nothing better than love and service, universally speaking"<br /> - the Red Hot Chili Peppers<br /><br /><br />...throughout all the peoples<br />And cultures i've been able to experience - whether be different continents, islands, countries, states, cities, organizations, schools, or cliques - those words, their meaning and purpose, are the firm commonality that is the bond... <br /><br />..The gene of DNA that is<br />Our life blood as creation, existence, humanity<br /><br /><br /><br />..How much we don't understand... <br /><br /><br />When we whether warring, or fighting - arguing or putting down... Take from or harm another .. to Affirm ourselves<br /><br /><br />What does pride account<br />For when it's all about the relationships - no matter what<br />The religion or beleif<br /><br /><br />How much we can't perceive or comprehend full totality, even though we talk, and therefore walk Around with absolute ideologies from a single limited and enviroemtally-shaped perspective... <br /><br /><br />Whether rich or poor<br />slave or free<br />Muslim, Jewish or Christian<br />Hindu or Buddhist<br />Atheist or Agnostic or believer <br /><br />'With or without a goal, we<br />All move the same direction'<br /><br />Every day is a gift and a lesson.. And that was today's (6/29/2010) for me.<br /><br /><br />Currently back in Liberia with Teach Peace, we are doing all sorts of projects... Today's being a medical clinic with the disabled.<br /><br />One of the boys and i were talking about life and opportunities after his eye examination and he asked me<br />what i wanted to work for in life..<br /><br /><br />Ans Just As a Liberian had said to me before, i responded:<br />"Ku KA Li. Kukiturnoh"<br /><br />"come together"<br /><br />Everything happens for a reason<br />Everything and everyone has a Purpose <br />Love and Unity: One F.A.M.I.L.Y.<br /><br />Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-2725560982956436482010-06-23T10:03:00.001-07:002010-06-23T10:03:59.064-07:00'He told me one time he forgot himself & his heart opened up like a door with a loose latch & he tried for days to put it all back in proper order but finally he gave up & left it all jumbled up there in a pile & loved everything equally.'<br /><br /><br /><br />"Once the soul awakens, the search begins and you can never do back. From then on, you are inflamed with a special longing that will never again let you linger in the lowlands of complacency and partial fulfillment. The eternal makes you urgent. You are loath to let compromise or the threat of danger hold you back from striving toward the summit of fulfillment."<br />- Don O'Donohue<br /><br /><br /><p align='center'><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/LQH9mgVvH4A" width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LQH9mgVvH4A" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><!-- Fallback content --><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQH9mgVvH4A"><img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/LQH9mgVvH4A/0.jpg" width="400" height="300" />YouTube Video</a></object></p>Life Love and Peace<br />Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-87461131128305991912010-04-29T11:53:00.000-07:002010-04-29T13:33:53.211-07:00Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam Inque Hominom Salutem<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 15px; ">All we are: the waves our existance throws in the sea of humanity through the values, actions and characteristics we represent... we can choose to fall victim to the sea, complacently riding the waves left in the wake of past runners; or we can choose to be a self combusting star: rising above the comfortable waves, living life as if a bridge for others - giving as much goodness possible for the greatest Glory and the salvation of humanity... Finding our meaning, and living our purpose: giving away our meaning. We can be the change in history. 'the future started yesterday, and we're already late'</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;">"...The world respects greatness of quantity and strength, the spiritual man must glorify God through humility and poverty. Eternity has descended upon a soul devoted until then to passing time; it has struck it like lightning. The divine storm has laid waste our disorder, and charity has only begun to order within us our different LOVES."</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>- Raissa Maritain</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;">In a world full of culture wars and language games, our humanity is separated by every kind of "differend". </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;">...There will always be some missing understanding lost in translation between the addresser and the addressee of a particular vantage point, ideal, or understanding when just relating through word or visual aid....</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;">selfless, "agape" love is the only communication in which the message or understanding is not lost...in which are found: compassion, humility, patience, charity, gentleness, self-control, joy, and peace...</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;">living ALIVE</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;">Life Love and Peace</span></span></div>Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-79542318467571052652009-06-29T08:35:00.001-07:002009-06-29T12:47:23.647-07:00<div style="text-align: center;">“<i>I have been all things unholy. If God can work through me, he can work through anyone</i><span style="font-style: normal; ">.”</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; "><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>- St. Francis of Assisi</p></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibM3v2ej_zHAFdqEaxPIvbATPBjQNPudhHOb5OFkDjaq4wq0RYdmr6YyzyYDwf8wXf_P6vnz4NHkgBiagb87pWbUeH1XDPu1nFzsiymbXjfc_MAh7wcie3IBD61jZvn4jl2TjW_uffS5Um/s400/P5190594.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352777922067587138" /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">…The only reason i can give as to why i have not already sent you this is plainly i was not ready…</p><p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">From the beginning of February to the end of May, I lived, taught, served, was taught, and was served in the Mission Liberia compound in BlackTom Town, Liberia, West Africa.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">My time is Liberia was totally and completely the most perspective-changing, eye-opening, life-living experience i have ever had the pleasure of having.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Being there - living a life of community with 125 orphans and 10 Liberian staff on our compound and interacting with the people in Redlight and Monrovia was the most fulfilled i have ever been…it was the most alive i have ever felt.</p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFgU0T0T7k7ds-Ru27T90AHyX4F9B4xSxLcJf9nVstaDczit5aF3jzZWiZDNE8NG9EFnf3tVYAaXtkr_PcWOPwhhGRhZXNQ7k4GkHcgnUx5tn3oKyeprmRLOmjBmPkd1IkQqoXEODtJfQ/s1600-h/IMG_8642.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFgU0T0T7k7ds-Ru27T90AHyX4F9B4xSxLcJf9nVstaDczit5aF3jzZWiZDNE8NG9EFnf3tVYAaXtkr_PcWOPwhhGRhZXNQ7k4GkHcgnUx5tn3oKyeprmRLOmjBmPkd1IkQqoXEODtJfQ/s400/IMG_8642.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352777914103200706" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTGDZbyDEdYRndKkAmU_w3DHbJK0SXZajiWmdev8fGRbkx_0ql3t4lq99sbf5BJs7V7DAxhg6oSZQcBX_7v87o3uhfRvBEY1u1OrgNoA_ES6QsrlhGJElQ3jKmI1-StDjuIThEPVNlH0JW/s1600-h/P5190591.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTGDZbyDEdYRndKkAmU_w3DHbJK0SXZajiWmdev8fGRbkx_0ql3t4lq99sbf5BJs7V7DAxhg6oSZQcBX_7v87o3uhfRvBEY1u1OrgNoA_ES6QsrlhGJElQ3jKmI1-StDjuIThEPVNlH0JW/s400/P5190591.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352777189352982658" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf-mGNH0UK7ZIjLNtNmLkinkSt011vbwvHkIZfEF7BTFshQ5HfqgufmXsKd-A12LrpsjYHid6zhOT6mHzPO-IiY2mXYQqUt85UXsQ3j5AGukSZ-Oo2teOo1lsHH_lvf1vyGcfjNE03tpSh/s1600-h/IMG_8737.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf-mGNH0UK7ZIjLNtNmLkinkSt011vbwvHkIZfEF7BTFshQ5HfqgufmXsKd-A12LrpsjYHid6zhOT6mHzPO-IiY2mXYQqUt85UXsQ3j5AGukSZ-Oo2teOo1lsHH_lvf1vyGcfjNE03tpSh/s400/IMG_8737.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352777186472978386" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil-wB_QmOc-0LEqAFaQk1Pm1Tc_-i1DBb7l8htnDXaqU_BngdtEKCR6uvfSEHstm9yKrtt2U4RaeIYyiALmToyWOPmMO_GrX7IoFd7llVy3TXsKIRk7GEOwqCxtUAgAceo0phVwp9YJnN7/s1600-h/IMG_7511.JPG"><br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil-wB_QmOc-0LEqAFaQk1Pm1Tc_-i1DBb7l8htnDXaqU_BngdtEKCR6uvfSEHstm9yKrtt2U4RaeIYyiALmToyWOPmMO_GrX7IoFd7llVy3TXsKIRk7GEOwqCxtUAgAceo0phVwp9YJnN7/s400/IMG_7511.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352777183616009074" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">i was not ready write this until now because since my return, my entire world has been upside down. Before i left, i was blind to the level of poverty and oppression - blind to the quantity and realities of our broken and hurting brothers and sisters throughout the world. But after being placed out side my limited perspective and on the other side of the comforts i lived among… its hard to pretend i am blind to the numbing effect my comfortable life unknowingly placed me under.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">i went into my experience not knowing how to handle what i “was not going to have”…and i’ve come out not knowing how to handle the complete and total excess that “I do have”. Haha my brain is about to be in meltdown mode.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I went from complaining about not having AC to thinking it’s too cold in my house if the AC is on. I went from not knowing what i would do without running water to missing my bucket baths of cold well water.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Everything is relative. Everyone’s opinion is based on a limited environmentally driven experience - Mine name is on the top of the list. But not realizing our own limitations to perceive what “<b><i>is real or important</i></b><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">” as opposed to what “</span><b><i>is not</i></b><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">” is ignorance – haha again my name is at the top of that list as well. That’s the second greatest lesson i learned from my experience, the first being LOVE.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">My transition back into this world that i grew up in was and still has continued to be a challenge. After all the things i saw, it’s difficult to see the things i’m seeing now. It’s hard to walk through the grocery store after seeing kids on the street that haven’t eating in a few days. It’s difficult to see kids so mad at their parents when the kids i was with don’t have any. It’s hard to watch my friends complain about water quality of the pack of bottled water their drinking when i know they wouldn’t even bathe in the water my kids drink.</p></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPijBbPzQn0iZg59vAhyviAd5Eip1LbknkIfiPG6EB7FWMNiuzJwAwfFgMuBepvoek395soDZmtEA51CELvmjhBMq9oUKKImvd4z1pqPZaTdcebqR29JWoqmm5XhFTS9Me66njH3tW0qQy/s1600-h/IMG_8739.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPijBbPzQn0iZg59vAhyviAd5Eip1LbknkIfiPG6EB7FWMNiuzJwAwfFgMuBepvoek395soDZmtEA51CELvmjhBMq9oUKKImvd4z1pqPZaTdcebqR29JWoqmm5XhFTS9Me66njH3tW0qQy/s400/IMG_8739.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352782780940937666" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Fisheads. YUM:)</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Above all, the only thing i can say is this has been and will continue to be a transition.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">The longer i was in Liberia, the less and less I desired to come back to this life (minus visiting the friends and family part of course...and maybe a cheeseburger). I don’t look down, or think negatively of anyone living this life… my interest just isn’t being kept as well as it used to with it…call it ADD haha…</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Friends and Family have definitely been helping the transition. We also took a trip to Honduras, and interacting with other Americans in that type of environment aided my transition process tremendously…it helps when you see God’s face in those you are working with!</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"> </p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3HClyAnCAnDctPdGvs5qEb6wAekmxGjNaBM-WmECVU-Y2f2U282fI_Z7pDbSKZu62kY_ztvvR3uyUdrHIqh5UZBjuXbQ3Ykdwg38p-pOE-h9xCUyalFb18f-9pn2c410jkgBgaLWUpbf/s1600-h/honduras+shot.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3HClyAnCAnDctPdGvs5qEb6wAekmxGjNaBM-WmECVU-Y2f2U282fI_Z7pDbSKZu62kY_ztvvR3uyUdrHIqh5UZBjuXbQ3Ykdwg38p-pOE-h9xCUyalFb18f-9pn2c410jkgBgaLWUpbf/s400/honduras+shot.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352782777414454146" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">But as of now, God’s words are “Wait.” So i’m going to try and wait as best i can - i’m going to be attending MTSU this fall, and i will be majoring in Organizational Communications (working with NGOs, Global studies, etc.). i will be helping coach football at Brentwood High and also helping to lead the lifeteen group at Holy Family, both of which i am pumped about… and who knows what else will come out of this time…</p></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAhHKCfBoxEwIbSHC0F1S_B6iCwr4Gn1CD-GH_vY66OqPGLZ3TjjbR5ZWCNTGBVUZ56HHHWka1Prv0dy2D3hJ4vruzP3Zt__3EGK8nGxePlWZaarToPxTUIU2bxXVVK2PZgNuhyfW7mGEp/s1600-h/IMG_7443.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAhHKCfBoxEwIbSHC0F1S_B6iCwr4Gn1CD-GH_vY66OqPGLZ3TjjbR5ZWCNTGBVUZ56HHHWka1Prv0dy2D3hJ4vruzP3Zt__3EGK8nGxePlWZaarToPxTUIU2bxXVVK2PZgNuhyfW7mGEp/s400/IMG_7443.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352777166877582594" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>i want to thank ALL of you again for your prayers and support while i was in Liberia. It meant the world to me, and i can personally tell you it meant the world to the kids you helped to serve. With the donations we collected, we were able to</i></b><span style="font-weight:normal;font-style:normal">:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">-Purchase a submersible pump (so the kids can have one hose of running water for a couple hours while the generator is on) </p> <p class="MsoNormal">-Take care of the entirety of the organization’s financials – all the food, gas for generator, staff and teacher salaries, and medical needs for 2 weeks (we had a bit of a crisis there at the beginning)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">-Provide medical treatment of Malaria for our Cook Marta and a few of the children</p> <p class="MsoNormal">-Set up a scholarship for 16 kids from the neighboring villages to attend school</p> <p class="MsoNormal">-Set up a scholarship for 4 kids to come and live on the mission</p> <p class="MsoNormal">- And many more miscellaneous Liberia Mission expenditures.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Thank You again…SO MUCH!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Life, Love and Peace</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">uncle matthew</p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-66895318939206855982009-05-20T02:34:00.000-07:002009-05-20T03:44:44.237-07:00<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337839096217963794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLmGxerilTFaPIrXaHL_X-_gB9KClAuhccZ06MvD0nqJ-wUaSGs7-GaKKzMH1sckmlNsgv8A8vO7nrhR_fKmCWB6jUfFmjZ1onaW_cP4CewEhJkinlyd6mcb0O52VBEeerm9C87xeh7-K/s400/p.0520092.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div align="center"><em>“all around you, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip, or dance, just don’t tiptoe.”</em><br /><br /><br /></div><div align="left"><br />For the last couple of weeks Jerome and John have been joking with me a lot about how short my time was getting here…how soon i’ll be back in my "comforts"…<br /><br />For a while i would just cordially smile and laugh a little and say ‘i don’t want to think about it’…but the last couple days – i’ve kinda had to…<br /><br />i didn’t want to deal with the thought of leaving my new family. It’s hard to know how they live every day and to simultaneously know what i’m about to head back in to.<br />i didn’t want to deal with my fears of letting the world of materialism and self-importance numb down the beauty of simplicity and community God has shown me here.<br /><br /></div><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337840270871612610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhatok1TnIKg27Wbk27fR30-tKtYovj_MC4JAfTlV38hqYYB4WPiFuITaUJ0tpYppDklqbUrUqOCuJW1VKXDkcS30hbvBz5mctMWOJL0M2HvP6szCNeTUDnvu0X8ODCMAj1tYrF9kmPa0K4/s400/p.0520096.JPG" border="0" /></p><p align="center">Teddy giving Clarence a razorblade haircut</p><p><br /><br /><em>Beloved, Let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.<br /></em>- 1 John 4:7-10<br /><br /><br />The kids keep telling me they’re going to lay in front of the pickup so we can’t leave the compound…Momma, Marta and Ya keep telling me their going to miss their son…Monsignor Tikpor simply said “Go-come ya”.<br /><br />Monsignor seems to always put me to ease. He always has some advice that really comforts me or at least helps put my doubts to rest. He’s helped me to realize that this adventure is not ending…it truly is merely beginning.<br />During his homily on Sunday that’s what he told the children. “I know we want to cry thinking this is Matthew’s last Sunday with us, but don’t. God has a purpose in his leaving. God is merely preparing him to better serve his kingdom – getting him ready to better serve his people. We will see him again.”<br /><br />With a few words and a smile from Monsignor, my perception turned yet again. My fears of falling into my old routine in the states and anxiety of leaving those i loved turned… it turned straight into gratitude and eagerness.<br /><br />All i could think about was how great our God truly is…How He led me to this place. How He put this love in my life. How he didn’t just bless me with new friends but enlarged my family from 7 to 138…i can’t even fathom what it would be like had i not come to Liberia.<br /></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337840271643673154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLcQrekhAMv4oqerMrkf9DN9c19PqnYkm5UJ2o9jqkO3XmzyaxRo2dU2DDTFaN0IaqenJBiyGSQ4CXy2ATiCOIQSMmhQqhtUjeBWGX_0wlF8td_bv81kHa_Jxgbtv11WEgEr2-nloQbL9q/s400/p.0520097.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337839093954487170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOQMmNGBIk9t2BLOv2aP9S6YFWzQLkfkqIPwxFX91jeAT_veOYM84Q9is8805gxVw7vN2imNMBFrEEessJ89RwWBMFqNECHwJAsg9EC4e6es3dYVe-0S-QN0Gf4p9dilgoy5OJsfGcQde6/s400/p.0520091.JPG" border="0" /></p><p align="center">you know - just sharing a mango</p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337840271551410306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYL8S2L7xkVJcAuHbbR-R9I0FFwlKH2M1qDnhMvr_3bMjfgqsHiy9t07vGZtg4GQ9fC9HpnjIgBqchW0_iAwzK21hUiXf2ToZ6a8Uj8rLpJkGP0rI_SIsDa8Ta6Sbq1dlX-rX-0VupmoeS/s400/p.0520098.jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="center">helping Ya serve lunch</p><p><br />This part of my adventure has been one of learning, of laughing, and a lot of loving. It has taught me that to live simply and in community is the most enjoyable way i can live my life. It’s taught me not only to look beyond the gray skies, but take comfort in knowing God is always right alongside me through them. It’s finally given me conformation in my vocation: to be a lover of Jesus and his people.<br /><br />“<em>Following Jesus is simple, but not easy. Love until it hurts, and then love more.”</em><br />- Momma T<br /><br /><br />i don’t know if i’d say i’ve come away from this experience with a “plan-of-action” for my life and where it's going other than to have no plan. Jesus has wrecked all the “plans” i’ve made anyway…yea…it’s definitely time to let go and let God.<br />i can’t give you a five-year-plan…or even tell you what i’ll be doing a week from now - only God knows, and that’s the way its gonna stay.<br /><br /><br /><em>We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brother. Whoever does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.<br /></em>- 1 John 3:14-18<br /><br /><br />“<em>Love is a harsh and dreadful thing to ask of us, but it is the only answer</em>.”<br />-Robert Ellsberg,ed., Dorothy Day: Selected Writings (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis,1992),339.<br /><br /><br />All i know is now that as i’ve seen more of the 3rd world, and felt what love truly is…all i want to do is work for His people - my people - my brothers, my sisters. i know that i want my life to sing of the Glory of God. i want it to sing of love, my shortcomings, and his grace. i want to be a hand reaching for our brothers and sisters who were born into the 3rd world when we lucked into the 1st. i want to find and bring to light those things that won’t be gone as quickly as a pay check. i want to devote my life to trying to better understand The Way, The Truth, and The Life, as Jesus taught.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337839098488979330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRthPSk8EqnVkN_2a-2kS7I7AGih9jMyxcxvyq3wxLiV0LUcf1X_3dQdcqLQsaxBAE7zZEB5EFJrK1PpYsNsrIdUct0A5vjwXONayKd3vcoiJWRgUCAJ8ruFcTbBlHDBdhLmvmGRwrXS_1/s400/p.0520095.JPG" border="0" /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337839095940066178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCc0N-tIqtrR_YYw5n6YI77BRivLbdilCk1RhMxC-ck_Ip3MtLFncQjHMI9VgA2f4-bZaP1lt30JyiEiQo3ntx4jsS58wYa0RfmyxkPevBInVL8nHaaMTAJhmYfEb-Jv_BGpUddBcBeU9/s400/p.0520093.JPG" border="0" /><br />“<em>Jesus never says to the poor, ‘Come find the church,’ but he says to those of us in the church, ‘Go into the world and find the poor, hungry, homeless, imprisoned,’ Jesus in his disguises</em>.”<br />- Tony Campolo<br /><br /><br />i will stumble, and oh, will i fall… but from now on i want to stumble and fall running full steam. i want to bust on my face, just to get back up with a smile and start running again. i no longer want to just fall into what everyone else does…but i want to run the blind-folded race that God has set it store for me.<br /><br /><br />“<em>Love without courage and wisdom is sentimentality, as with the ordinary church member. Courage without love and wisdom is foolhardiness, as with the ordinary soldier. Wisdom without love and courage is cowardice, as with the ordinary intellectual. But the one who has love, courage, and wisdom moves the world.”</em><br />- Ammon Hennacy (Catholic activist, 1893-1970)<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337840286500959042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnV11kw_PAMrGPDqxQjYjTM38t3ldxTGzMxEkgQsd9bs9_1kvQUBaOk03BABsjAOhyphenhypheneXl3odXfN01JGzxq4HZycgCyxTdFidMRDaSXcRtZyDgArAK-HHK8A4KwLDryJOcRF_OIsAJRrpy/s400/p.05200910.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br />The past three and a half months have been more than life changing. The people and my experiences have instilled in me a sense of being indescribably alive. It's taught me that stepping outside of your comfort zone - struggling a little - brings such a pleasure and reward in a knowledge and reality of what is truly important or petty; many "sacrifices" end up not being sacrifices at all - just enjoyable lack of complication…its taught me that we all fall, but you’ll never know if you can make the leap or not if you don’t find the courage to jump. So my challenge is this…Jump. Find something. Anything. Whatever and wherever your heart pulls you…but give love a chance….let love live. Get dirty. Go past your boundaries. Be uncomfortable. Be vulnerable. Be real. Be yourself. wake up alive.<br /><br />Thank all of you for your support and prayers on my trip to Liberia; it would not have been the same without them… But know this is only the beginning. i don’t know where or what God has in store for me next…but i can promise it will just be another turn on this Great Adventure.<br /><br /><br /><br />“<em>We can do not great things, only small things with great love. It is not how much you do but how much love you put into doing it</em>.”<br />- Momma T<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337839100821142274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgltxQ529DnGbM3VDcE0K3XyJQxWIuJkw5SH2AoLgm5SAm7icDk_H1LHAm754eF7ROPXv1VHTs-ZcP17WCvJ7prOMUpRbMRWwUkeJurBma4yMmUxC1Q7pP4rHV-_3B_FLQOJAwCFOyVzb48/s400/p.0520094.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center"><br /><br /><br />“<em>Between who you are and who you could be<br />Between how it is and how it should be.<br />I dare you to move. I dare you to move<br />I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor<br />I dare you to move like today never happened.<br />Maybe redemption is stories to tell<br />maybe forgiveness is right where you fell<br />where can you run to escape from yourself?<br />Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?<br />Salvation is here.<br />I dare you to move.”</em><br /><br />“Dare You to Move” -Switchfoot</p><p align="center"><br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337840275995501826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5bOrh2CTZiNKnXTJ30wwZ53pEnO-HvaTiEr5QFl9akYMk4pL29DmpbJs6xUlDgQkRJREd86ntt9ZeEfJHxQnKm4erT5yD_TOrP6yHFh_s6iJ0TdCCQ9uVsD8s0gMCWk8-dkO3IjcmYqqr/s400/p.0520099.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br />i pray for courage, for wisdom, for love…patience, generosity, understanding, joy, hope, and peace…for all of us!<br /><br /><br /><br />Life, Love and Peace<br /><div align="left">Slonti </div><br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div> </div></div></div></div></div>Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-57563632337042512452009-05-13T05:06:00.000-07:002009-05-13T05:45:01.182-07:00<div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBmOWqqz-0uWkt8UDYaFv8nRoXSofRVdb9I7QpT9m_xbIHR8dErAh80rJsmPq7jNvsOmWWsaW8SHUxDG6as5NHPivLygQMh4Z_oq8fp8hGDkQ3qKemFvMFdYoIfOQtyPxVaX8GBY6QjsyM/s1600-h/p.0513095.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335279542916145970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBmOWqqz-0uWkt8UDYaFv8nRoXSofRVdb9I7QpT9m_xbIHR8dErAh80rJsmPq7jNvsOmWWsaW8SHUxDG6as5NHPivLygQMh4Z_oq8fp8hGDkQ3qKemFvMFdYoIfOQtyPxVaX8GBY6QjsyM/s400/p.0513095.JPG" border="0" /></a> “<em>The truth is natural like the wind that blows,<br />follow its direction – no matter where it goes</em>”<br /><br />“Wake for Young Souls” –Third Eye Blind<br /><br /><br /><br /><em><br />Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.<br /></em><br />2 Corinthians 4:16-18<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><br />What really is reality?<br />Is it the routine we fall into every day? Or is it what we hold as visible?<br />Maybe it’s what we perceive as logical…<br />Might i dare to say that reality is whatever you want it to be…<br /><br />Yea, that sounds right…Reality is whatever you make it.<br /><br />It definitely could be staying in the present system we have in the states and getting a great job.<br />…It could also definitely be scrapping that completely and doing something off the map.<br /><br /><br />“<em>I want out of the labels. I don’t want my whole life crammed into a single word. A story. I want to find something else, unknowable, some place to be that’s not on the map. A real adventure. A sphinx. A mystery. A blank. Unknown. Undefined</em>.”<br />- Chuck Palahniuk<br /><br /><br /><br />i was really into staying in that system for a while. i loved (and still love) college, and hanging out with my friends, and getting ready to look for a job that would hopefully set me up to be successful. i guess it just seemed like that’s what growing up was about. Everyone i knew went to school, got into the best college they could, then looked for the best job offer they could find. It just seemed like that’s how life went. It was what seemed realistic.<br /><br /><br />Africa has shown me something though…<br />Work is work – nothing more, nothing less.<br />It is a means to support. And anything beyond support will be a waste of time...ha, well at least to me<br /><br />It’s shown me that no matter my occupation, employer, or title i’m just as human – just as small – as the man in slums pushing a wheelbarrow – the crippled, ex-rebel soldier that helps watch our pickup - the guy flipping burgers at Mc-y D’s – the man sleeping on the sidewalk.<br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuoAFizL7hQWA6DFS0z2OFmtZ89Jr38RlWuyVAtriSEklMKCfJmc9jPrg5ZJsl6FN-c96x-TRoDhza1qoTXDHyCSG2uSZMTHGPWqErsRQWswfzgNbKvmOMgTbgW0YngdR8U8on5UMps93r/s1600-h/p.0513094.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335279541098435570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuoAFizL7hQWA6DFS0z2OFmtZ89Jr38RlWuyVAtriSEklMKCfJmc9jPrg5ZJsl6FN-c96x-TRoDhza1qoTXDHyCSG2uSZMTHGPWqErsRQWswfzgNbKvmOMgTbgW0YngdR8U8on5UMps93r/s400/p.0513094.JPG" border="0" /></a> “<em>Commit yourselves wholly to God, come what may</em>.”<br />- Saint Teresa of Avila</div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><div><br /> </div><br /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335284966160426418" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZ02-wnUb2d2aGebOYvMh1xCc1Q2r_3VVPFQ_VhPDlabV57dQvA4YInKxhugUfhyphenhyphensxsK107JKYZ-kdL1AZY7zLg8TSfi5R-pTgk6kvsb9i8iyDG-Y5CC7f1-e2cYBfRoc0pO9yDKiczPf/s400/p.051309rebel.JPG" border="0" /><em>We live in Him, we walk in Him, we are in Him</em>.<br /><br />Acts 17:28<br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBnwHQjpBJ9d23BBtFBgOT16mVWWUD2Kdl6FR7cZFB6K0m1E9yx8QXmS-NZeyiTWMX_iGf9CMo2sC_mwEWFkFT2jtaGj41BanfcyeJVFkWW7cQ4CDdOG6JfoysFz_09hsvWvjaMV-AjO2o/s1600-h/p.0513092.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335279537508898450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBnwHQjpBJ9d23BBtFBgOT16mVWWUD2Kdl6FR7cZFB6K0m1E9yx8QXmS-NZeyiTWMX_iGf9CMo2sC_mwEWFkFT2jtaGj41BanfcyeJVFkWW7cQ4CDdOG6JfoysFz_09hsvWvjaMV-AjO2o/s400/p.0513092.JPG" border="0" /></a> “<em>Christians should be troublemakers, creators of uncertainty, agents of a dimension incompatible with society</em>.”<br />- Jacques Ellul<br /><br /></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="left">It’s shown me that you can provide for a family and take care of them anywhere in the world; its taught me that providing is not excess but merely teaching, loving, and caring for those we love. It doesn’t have to be in the suburbs, or the city, or even in the country you’re familiar with.</div><br /><br /><div align="left"><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_i7s0Uz4ioBwPcw-sk952cCtLYwMzecRyc0-JsLz3EekXvKJxaxh4y8eqp5GSd1ai-bBKA-TASdVEUnQZcmcdGO6fJxFLnwOSYsCOBXDKbTMPKf0TlTjEdImUtHsEiWd0MngGjDhM2BIm/s1600-h/p.0513091.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335279531082722434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_i7s0Uz4ioBwPcw-sk952cCtLYwMzecRyc0-JsLz3EekXvKJxaxh4y8eqp5GSd1ai-bBKA-TASdVEUnQZcmcdGO6fJxFLnwOSYsCOBXDKbTMPKf0TlTjEdImUtHsEiWd0MngGjDhM2BIm/s400/p.0513091.JPG" border="0" /></a> “<em>Joy is the immediate consequence of a certain fullness of life. For the individual this fullness consists above all in knowledge and Love</em>.”<br />- St. Thomas</div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="left">It’s shown me to remember how small we all are – to remember how big the world is, and how big the issues of her people are…to me, something worth fighting for – to me, something that seems to be of real worth.<br /><br />Life is what you make of it. You are the characteristics, values, and actions you represent. Reality is merely the caution tape we put around the endless possibilities of our existence.<br /><br />i pray that we might all realize that reality is only a word to describe the world we want to see as logical; the only person who can set that reality is ourselves. i pray that we might find the courage to be all that we can be – that we might realize the only boundaries in this world are our own self-imposed limitations. i pray we might find the strength to run, the courage to jump, and the grace to fly. </div><br /><br /><div align="left"></div><br /><div align="left"></div><br /><div align="left"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><em>I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.<br /></em><br />Romans 12:1-2<br /></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center"><br /><br /><em>Fan into Flame the gifts God has given you…For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of Power, of Love, and of Strength.<br /></em><br />2 Timothy 1:7</div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="left">Life, Love, and Peace</div><br /><br /><div align="left"></div><br /><br /><div align="left">uncle matthew<br /><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div></div></div></div>Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-52626066869694977732009-05-07T03:57:00.000-07:002009-05-07T12:12:14.488-07:00<div align="center">…so the other day this “bana” went to Redlight by himself…</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZgmkCuwXZaSE4t-hARlLfexGvrpt0NMqC-MtVxZxTDhyphenhyphenv6I2tieCcAvI7sWWmbgEJ4kTWrP3UZVIHQwWxtyj3Omm6l69X3QTf1erfL6dDBigVWb6pTIcq8FxK75UevZhoknlPlOnDcx45/s1600-h/p.0507094.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333035190294432850" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; height: 300px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZgmkCuwXZaSE4t-hARlLfexGvrpt0NMqC-MtVxZxTDhyphenhyphenv6I2tieCcAvI7sWWmbgEJ4kTWrP3UZVIHQwWxtyj3Omm6l69X3QTf1erfL6dDBigVWb6pTIcq8FxK75UevZhoknlPlOnDcx45/s400/p.0507094.JPG" border="0" /></a> in the midst of Redlight<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />since our truck was still in the shop from the incident on the way home from Grand Bassa, i walked to the highway and caught a car into Redlight.<br />I wish I could physically show you Redlight. Someone here described it to me as a more chaotic Manhattan. Haha. Traffic never stops, but there isn’t really a paved road. It is mostly mud and trash and people EVERYWHERE (John swears the density it more than Hong Kong) trying to sell anything and everything…from chickens to fresh produce…soap to rubber bands…used clothes to pirated DVDs, and stands to charge cell (most people don’t have access to electricity) phones or buy scratch cards...it is the underground economy of Africa and there is hardly any architecture in the town; there is absolutely no sense of permanence.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNxB0hJecvnum9cTCs5B2jVF6zIgmoXRhna29faq0qY6jpXb1ZkwcNl8QY6SFE1ZhP2uwmxlJWPjxhEw14Qwz2s4e8h5HNorjFbPw_H6jHaDo6saxPp5eFy6V2jA75Fl04jFFABV5MzweE/s1600-h/p.0507093.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333035187912970162" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; height: 300px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNxB0hJecvnum9cTCs5B2jVF6zIgmoXRhna29faq0qY6jpXb1ZkwcNl8QY6SFE1ZhP2uwmxlJWPjxhEw14Qwz2s4e8h5HNorjFbPw_H6jHaDo6saxPp5eFy6V2jA75Fl04jFFABV5MzweE/s400/p.0507093.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The trip into Redlight was completely fine, and honestly i was really enjoying being on my own.<br />Getting home, however, was not as easy. i tried to wave down a taxi for 30 minutes in the rain and got no bites except one guy who tried to charge me 12 times the normal price because i’m white (let’s just say i wished the man a good afternoon and said i would wait for the next car)…<br />i was struggling trying to find a ride.<br />Haha before i go any further i need to mention that one of the kids had put a green, yellow, and red sweatband on me before I left.<br />A man came up from behind me and asked if i liked reggae. i laughed and said of course. i asked if he liked Bob Marley…he turned around and he was wearing a Marley t-shirt...go figure…<br />He told me he’d seen my failed attempts at catching a taxi and that he could give me a ride if i needed one. He drove groups of people across country in a big 18-wheeler (businesses like this, buses, or helicopters are the only way to get around the country) for a living and was going my way on the highway…So like usual, i made a new friend...<br /><br /><br />We waited around Redlight for the rest of the passengers to show up. Hanging out with my new friend (Ismael) and his crew put me in no way in a sense of discomfort (even though Jerome kept calling me – freaking out and trying to get me to reassure him that he “wouldn’t have to call Steve and tell him his son died alone in Redlight”). i’d even say i felt more and more affluent with the people and culture that i’ve become so fond of. We talked, told jokes, and they even helped me when an ex-rebel hassled me for money… haha he was drunk and threatened to “eat my eyeball”...<br />We jumped in the truck and drove a little bit to get the fuel needed to make the trek to Lofa county and back. (15 hours there….15 hours back… and Ismael said he wasn’t planning on sleeping at all)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGnDz7Oelk-VJhAVFIp5LV0n8cIh7anGzJOrJxIvgbpPkrrutWVB4us7yBmEnjP9d5OKXtQYsogbyocHBxJQulXj2-aWZv1y5DPw-kkFvnTZcPTZ8i4WZ_UiRm0u2EeMt99B9vBuK6Y_bC/s1600-h/p.0507092.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333035183349252290" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; height: 300px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGnDz7Oelk-VJhAVFIp5LV0n8cIh7anGzJOrJxIvgbpPkrrutWVB4us7yBmEnjP9d5OKXtQYsogbyocHBxJQulXj2-aWZv1y5DPw-kkFvnTZcPTZ8i4WZ_UiRm0u2EeMt99B9vBuK6Y_bC/s400/p.0507092.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /> syphoning gas into the drums<br /></div><br /><div align="left"></div><br /><div align="left"><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPLy1_I5UoSVdaF88qFx3orZv2lYiJnd_zxXbFfayZI4WgMCyNGJgJmZaUTXNpKAATHLUrP7ODTrLkPCR7ac7INwl3gc1D4w7uMgoKvaGZS1_WLgnBgHS8reM-kN-RBL_2ZljaJzskXLS/s1600-h/p.0507091.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333035176219311842" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; height: 300px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPLy1_I5UoSVdaF88qFx3orZv2lYiJnd_zxXbFfayZI4WgMCyNGJgJmZaUTXNpKAATHLUrP7ODTrLkPCR7ac7INwl3gc1D4w7uMgoKvaGZS1_WLgnBgHS8reM-kN-RBL_2ZljaJzskXLS/s400/p.0507091.JPG" border="0" /></a> loading the truck<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />i helped him and his crew load up the 16 50-gallon oil drums into the back of the truck, and the bond between me and my new friends grew. They told me they really appreciated that i didn’t mind getting dirty and working with them…haha i told them I appreciated them not letting the ex-rebel eat my eyeball. We all laughed and a man who had been watching us at the gas station walked up and started talking with us. He gave me the best complement i think i’ve ever received…he told me i was a real African. He said my skin may not show it, but my heart did… i cannot express the joy that that man gave me when he said that - And Jerome, John and Clarissa will tell you I’m still smiling...<br /><br /><br />So we were ready to go – i hopped in the front with Ismael and his crew, and they helped me to get home when i otherwise would have probably still been trying to find a taxi…. When they dropped me off at my stop on the highway they all got out and gave me a hug, we all exchanged numbers, i thanked them again and wished them a safe journey.<br /><br />hahaha…whoever said you can’t trust a stanger? None of the other volunteers here say they have yet to figure out my strange affinity for Africa, and honestly, i don’t have a good answer for them except i just feel more fulfilled with every day i spend Her people, Her culture, Her life. God just keeps filling me up:)...<br /><br /><br />The other day was an awesome experience…definitely one i will never forget…"Thank God"<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Life, Love, and Peace,<br /><br /><br /><br />uncle matthew<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />a video clip of when we jumped into the truck to go get the fuel<br /><br /><br /></div></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzYPxDHPrJHIpORwFMRNOVHIGlNHe8oSO5vl8uRhZ5bdKWiHtap_K_JDMU6ifhKoGoY8P9U_lIru15uEXsCIw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-32497662975946485042009-05-05T02:43:00.000-07:002009-05-05T03:21:39.279-07:00Laugh and Love.<em>Happy the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding! For her profit is better than profit in silver, and better than gold is her revenue; She is more precious than corals, and none of your choice possessions can compare with her.<br /></em>- 1 John 3:17-18<br /><br /><br />i remember the way i viewed the world just a few months ago… i remember what made me think i was distressed. i remember what i thought it was to hurt. i remember what i thought one could be justifiably fearful of…let’s just say my perception has found a new path. The best way i can try to describe the last 85 days is simply eye opening.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKdZtkTNrkrnGvN932CWpaRkz6HUxSrfyEx1Y-i242GB8cKWqNKF0xiFaYDx-sNFAas2xFusPzl2bF5IB8-Yb8KhfITYQ9Og7JjYVVtMjiaMHBsrpfqBUWhZyvPp7mMrs635oj9L3Es5OA/s1600-h/p.0505094.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332274127189490898" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKdZtkTNrkrnGvN932CWpaRkz6HUxSrfyEx1Y-i242GB8cKWqNKF0xiFaYDx-sNFAas2xFusPzl2bF5IB8-Yb8KhfITYQ9Og7JjYVVtMjiaMHBsrpfqBUWhZyvPp7mMrs635oj9L3Es5OA/s400/p.0505094.JPG" border="0" /></a> Marta,Me, and Ya with some of the boys</div><br /><br /><br />Meet Ya. She is always smiling:) And whenever you ask her how she is…the only response you will ever receive is “Thank God.”<br />Ya is one of our two wonderful cooks at Mission Liberia. She is a foster mother to ALL of our children, and to me – she’s an inspiration.<br />Ya’s time during the war was not extraordinarily different from many of the Liberians, but to me, hers was a story i could actually touch, something tangible as to how Love really conquers all…even in the face of death, destruction, and to us Americans – unfathomable odds.<br /><br />Ya’s village, like most in Liberia and Sierra Leone, was plagued by rebels.<br />And when the rebels came, they were ruthless… Many of our children here at the mission watched their parent’s deaths… Ya was no exception. The rebels attacked her village at night when everyone was asleep. They tore into her hut, pulled her husband out of bed and cut his head off in front of her…<br />Ya now takes care of not only her 4 children with no father, but also 4 other children from her village who lost both parents that same night.<br /><br /><br />… i don’t share this story to mortify you, or to scare you. i share it not to try and get sympathy for her, because she wouldn’t want it. i’m sharing Ya’s story with you as an example of the type of trust and faith that can get us through anything. The wisdom that God is in control, and everything happens for a reason…and most importantly…He wouldn’t put us in a situation if He was not able to get us through it. That situation may be an inner struggle. It may be an addiction. It may be unemployment. It may be loneliness. It may be the loss of a loved one…<br /><br /><br />i say Ya is an inspiration not because of what she went through, but because of her strength to get back up – through unfathomable odds.<br />i say these kids show me love. They do. They show me that eyes that have seen the violence, destruction, and hurt of losing a parent…can still smile…can still laugh…can still LOVE…can still trust.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMlLTXvae5jbutWVIzVJJ-5zQMS4cqvXKlxNH2Rlh8ysOhIn0QVjIn_3xByFBHFFyY5WJmHBa4LXuuGd7yymWRfnDSaDvEQXvOn7N4vQ9EHAmlDWa1LmuIHizXlIKD1cXpWBtAaVLV9dv/s1600-h/p.0505093.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332274124994393746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMlLTXvae5jbutWVIzVJJ-5zQMS4cqvXKlxNH2Rlh8ysOhIn0QVjIn_3xByFBHFFyY5WJmHBa4LXuuGd7yymWRfnDSaDvEQXvOn7N4vQ9EHAmlDWa1LmuIHizXlIKD1cXpWBtAaVLV9dv/s400/p.0505093.JPG" border="0" /></a> ...so i was laying down on the ground... and the next thing i know i'm being carried away...and told i was going in the well</div><div><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-3ZLXDaQ9zVf4r4jrHdp-YerpWsOBcAUejnbLS76TgKwXroBGmrxCCs8T2e0_Yz4UA2Fl6mEUBVaxfiEn5fUYE87rqzoESjAm9Y_3TyjBWPqvl2ZVErKi5p26BC16iYRvuw-TX_-81XLJ/s1600-h/p.0505092.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332274120530705650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-3ZLXDaQ9zVf4r4jrHdp-YerpWsOBcAUejnbLS76TgKwXroBGmrxCCs8T2e0_Yz4UA2Fl6mEUBVaxfiEn5fUYE87rqzoESjAm9Y_3TyjBWPqvl2ZVErKi5p26BC16iYRvuw-TX_-81XLJ/s400/p.0505092.JPG" border="0" /></a> Ya made them put me down haha<br /></div><div><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJt2dRK7RE-52PrsbwQJX5Zrye5dlLi3mSw7RHHhn4UI70yuQSTyd8az0sUaPjjrHTh57lJ0hxk_7vzEXE-VB2J3SPV7OdSoooJDoocWVsdTFuzTu_XwOBHWmjGGwdWrTnvkWH2xT5oV4/s1600-h/p.0505091.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332274120060160322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJt2dRK7RE-52PrsbwQJX5Zrye5dlLi3mSw7RHHhn4UI70yuQSTyd8az0sUaPjjrHTh57lJ0hxk_7vzEXE-VB2J3SPV7OdSoooJDoocWVsdTFuzTu_XwOBHWmjGGwdWrTnvkWH2xT5oV4/s400/p.0505091.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Roland being his normal goofy self:)</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div></div><div align="center">When i first arrived, it was so hard for me to understand where this unrestrained joy that i was witnessing came from…i knew the history of the country, and i couldn’t fathom what was so wonderful as to let smiles of light shine though such a darkness…Ya’s story emancipated the answer for me…the freedom in letting go and letting God. Trust. Faith.<br /></div><div align="center"><br />“<strong>Emancipate yourselves from inner slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds</strong>.”<br />- “Redemption Song”, Bob Marley<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><br />My time is winding down here. But every single day, my eyes are still being reopened. Every day is a new inspiration. Every day my perception of what is important and what is not shifts just a little more. These people have shown me that this life goes much deeper than the surface i saw back at home. It digs deeper than an F on a test or a bum back - lack of power or ac or running water. They have helped me not only to see the oppression or the effects of war, but to see the people that become the oppressed, the families that are torn apart…and realize that they are no less human than those who watch their “misfortune” on tv thousands of miles away…<br />They’ve shown me that if i want to help, “charity” goes above and beyond putting a few bucks in the collection basket. Everyday a restlessness continues to brew…a rage, if you will…that will no longer enable me to merely watch the infomercials or potential minute-long review on CNN of the poverty and destruction that is haunting our oppressed and marginalized brothers and sisters.<br /><br /><em></em></div><em><div align="center"><br />For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?<br /></em></div>- Matthew 16:25-26<br /><br /><div align="center"><br />“<em>Our Lord has come to bring peace, good news and life to ALL men. Not only the rich, not only to the poor, not only to the wise, not only to the simple, but to EVERYONE, to the brother, for His brothers we are, children of the same father, God. So there is only One race, the race of the children of God. There is only One language which speaks to the heart and to the mind, without the noise of words, making us know God and Love One Another</em>.”<br />- IBID, Christ is Passing By, 106<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><em>Thus says the Lord:<br />Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,<br />Nor the strong man glory in his strength,<br />Nor the rich man glory in his riches;<br />But rather, let him who glories, glory in this,<br />That in his prudence he knows me,<br />Knows that I, the Lord, bring about kindness,<br />Justice and uprightness on the earth;<br />For with such am I pleased, says the Lord</em>.<br />-Jeremiah 9:22-23<br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br />“<em>Cuz it is not a human right<br />To stare, not fight<br />While broken nations dream<br />Open up our eyes so blind<br />That we might find the mercy for the need</em>.”<br />- “Solution”, Hillsong<br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />i pray that we might be filled with compassion. That we would work towards being the hands and the feet of the One Body that we are. i pray that we would run for justice and reach for truth. i pray that we might know that the Saints are not those who never sinned, but are merely those who refused to lay down - those who always got up again. i pray that we might not dwell on what is bad with our situation but be thankful for what is good. i pray that we might Laugh and Love.<br /><br /><br /><em>“She told him she’d rather fix her makeup<br />Than try to fix whats goin on<br />But the problem keeps on calling even with the cell phone gone.<br />She told him she believes in livin<br />Bigger than she’s living now<br />But her world keeps spinning backwards and upside down<br />Don’t say so long and throw your cell phone<br />Don’t spend your day away, cuz today will soon be…<br /><br />Gone.<br />Like yesterday is gone<br />Like history is gone<br />Just try and prove me wrong and pretend like your immortal<br /><br />She said he said live like no tomorrow<br />Every day we borrow brings us one step closer to the edge infinity<br />Where’s your treasure, where’s your hope<br />If you gain the world and you lose your soul<br />She pretends like, she pretends like she’s immortal<br /><br />Don’t say so long you’re not that far gone<br />This could be your big chance to make up…today will soon be gone<br /><br />Gone.<br />Like yesterday is gone<br />Like history is gone<br />The world keeps spinning on<br />Your going, going gone<br />Like summer break is gone<br />Like Saturday is gone<br />Just try and prove me wrong and pretend like your immortal<br /><br />We are not infinite<br />we are not permanent<br />nothing is immediate<br />we’re so confident in our accomplishments<br />look at our decadence<br /><br />gone.<br />Like frank Sinatra. Like elvis and his mom<br />Like al pacino’s cash, nothing lasts in this life<br />My high schools dreams are gone<br />My childhood streets are gone<br />Life is a day that doesn’t last for long<br />Life is more than money<br />Time was never money<br />Time was never cash life is still more than girls<br />Life is more than hundred dollar bills<br /><br />Life is more than fame and rock all roll and thrills<br /><br />We got information in the information age<br />But do we know what life is outside of our convenient lexus cages?<br />She said he said live like tomorrow”</em><br /><br />- “Gone”, Switchfoot<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">Life, Love, and Peace.</div><div align="center">uncle matthew<br /></div><div></div>Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-85463377954479667302009-04-30T08:25:00.000-07:002009-04-30T09:06:46.564-07:00<div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">The crowd said to Jesus: “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><i>He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”</i><span style="font-style:normal"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>So they said to Jesus, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>John 6:30-35</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">How often do we get those signs we ask for?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">How often do we scream out, “God just <i>SHOW</i><span style="font-style:normal"> me you’re there.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">…maybe i’m only speaking for myself, but at least the urge to do so comes quite frequently…<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Tuesday morning Jerome, John, Uncle Harris, and myself set out for the new Mission being built in Grand Bassa. From our compound in BlackTom Town, the new site is roughly 110 miles away….the trip however, is never shorter than 4 hours…The roads are somewhat less than stellar and are made up of more potholes and bumps than you can imagine (we also caught some air a few times haha). Let’s just say John was unable to go 3 minutes without saying “OW CHIGLAGA!”<o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbG1PzbPTYruF0tFjHxCjSAMWEmOlNdTchiYZO9hq9XWHlt6B9fKaOIJUuROYX0EIx9kKgjhyphenhyphen854IAZm0qlOkFYJqmni5QKk8AK17jaQJSh6GOtHJAN3zaz1Q4F7Q2Y0kbUF6jKABatHGh/s1600-h/p.430095.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330506759394511298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbG1PzbPTYruF0tFjHxCjSAMWEmOlNdTchiYZO9hq9XWHlt6B9fKaOIJUuROYX0EIx9kKgjhyphenhyphen854IAZm0qlOkFYJqmni5QKk8AK17jaQJSh6GOtHJAN3zaz1Q4F7Q2Y0kbUF6jKABatHGh/s400/p.430095.JPG" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">buying some bananas on the road</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">The trip is long, but always so worth it. i don’t know what it is about the place, but the times i’ve been there, i’ve felt eerily at home. The land is gorgeous, and the site of the mission under construction is a lot more secluded that the one i’m staying at in BlackTom Town. You really are in the African “Bush”.<o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhViYiFVSz20AK37Dz7166vd5oVRs5uq79HgnYq3B9a8Wu_C_wtwzYFQRpUitchiH-4jCgEFprHLhyphenhyphendiODt8WgOXu3r9SJHwGVx9BseKu16N5QEvdM77fTJSO-Ayu6y_-RPUP6t0V1tutJ5/s1600-h/p.430094.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330506760128940162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhViYiFVSz20AK37Dz7166vd5oVRs5uq79HgnYq3B9a8Wu_C_wtwzYFQRpUitchiH-4jCgEFprHLhyphenhyphendiODt8WgOXu3r9SJHwGVx9BseKu16N5QEvdM77fTJSO-Ayu6y_-RPUP6t0V1tutJ5/s400/p.430094.JPG" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">sitting in the kitchen looking out into the land the new site has</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Well the trip went smoothly. We met with the people we had to meet with. We also got to just walk around and take in the beauty of it all. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">… We embarked on the journey home, and it seemed like we were just in for our normal long, bumpy ride.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>As soon as we got out of Grand Bassa County though, The clutch system on our truck died. We pulled over to the side of the road, turned off the pick-up and prayed it would magically work when we turned it back on…No such luck…<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We were stuck…over 2 hours away from the compound.<o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kvXl9QWgW9nG4trvhEuOKDBqvZHExR-hKgJlZkPrh7aCCBsOa4Ccek-_0DKnBiRieAqVE-se7Paj-fmJ9cSLgqdHdOo5rYrqsvoQ64bNQbH4jTHV8RRiRPar7G4_wQq9V5r22VA2FsWJ/s1600-h/p.430093.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330506754285847442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kvXl9QWgW9nG4trvhEuOKDBqvZHExR-hKgJlZkPrh7aCCBsOa4Ccek-_0DKnBiRieAqVE-se7Paj-fmJ9cSLgqdHdOo5rYrqsvoQ64bNQbH4jTHV8RRiRPar7G4_wQq9V5r22VA2FsWJ/s400/p.430093.JPG" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">haha there we are. Right on the Margibi / Grand Bassa Border...Uncle Harris is still trying to find someone to come get us.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">John and i decided to take advantage of what seemed more and more like our campground for the night – checking out how the river looked for swimming Haha. We were all just hanging around the road…well Jerome and Harris were searching through their phones looking for ANYONE they knew who might have a car or know someone who had a car and could come get us…No such luck again…Jerome called Clarissa, and she called Toyota to see if they could come tow us. Clarissa called back and told us they could, but it would be 6 the next morning before they got there…haha and that was on a Liberian watch, so it was looking like noon before we’d see anyone.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">John and i were making bets on if i could hit different trees with rocks, Harris was pacing the road, and Jerome was saying to Clarissa, “I have no idea what we can do.”…And then one of those signs we always pray for showed up.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">i was a little further down the road than the others, and this UN car passed me - i smiled and waved – he returned the favor…and then some.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He pulled over and asked us what was going on. We told him our truck was dead and we would be here for the night. He asked us where we lived because he was heading to Monrovia (our mission just so happens to be on the way to Monrovia).<o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVrpgPeVFWNrRqgRbwA__IZxvHjqKCoOPxyiKcloAPk3JaslTPvhOJmCuuwEksR0GAvfZDeMKLOYYuGwCnSEd5LmN-Gpj7EfRzL3LiFDI-rU0Orr4qK6YYd5Kw7NvbmQ4j6dCEehk5PI3/s1600-h/p.430092.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330506751381022194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVrpgPeVFWNrRqgRbwA__IZxvHjqKCoOPxyiKcloAPk3JaslTPvhOJmCuuwEksR0GAvfZDeMKLOYYuGwCnSEd5LmN-Gpj7EfRzL3LiFDI-rU0Orr4qK6YYd5Kw7NvbmQ4j6dCEehk5PI3/s400/p.430092.JPG" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">John, our guardian angel and Uncle Harris hooking up the pick-up to be towed.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">So this angel, John, as he called himself, just happened to have some things to tow our car a little way. He towed our car about 5 miles to a gas station (which was coincidently called “It takes two filling station” and motto just happened to be “Never Despair”) where we could leave the car so no one would steal it or strip it for parts.<o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVNxO2YfW6bcS4hT5UwnBPeU8k4JUSA-PF8rn752Yuo6Cf3ak8Sp6JFkx8JkuvFpQSN968mEf0z4DIB9Iz4d-3-f6eWt9H-AOC66Sm0IsvukJKSdg7eCqzkc_1oBLYXXP9eLeBcBvrpfj/s1600-h/p.430091.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330506748481608450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVNxO2YfW6bcS4hT5UwnBPeU8k4JUSA-PF8rn752Yuo6Cf3ak8Sp6JFkx8JkuvFpQSN968mEf0z4DIB9Iz4d-3-f6eWt9H-AOC66Sm0IsvukJKSdg7eCqzkc_1oBLYXXP9eLeBcBvrpfj/s400/p.430091.JPG" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Leaving the pick-up at the "IT Takes Two" filling station..haha motto: Never Despair.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We hopped in the UN truck with John, and headed towards the mission. Jerome and i looked at each other and simultaneously mouthed, “He was a God-send.” The further we got along the ride though, the more coincidences came out. John had just come from right up the road from where our new site was. He just so happened to be going to Monrovia. He and Jerome started talking in Spanish and He also happened to be Nicaraguan, one of the countries that borders Honduras (our mission is under Mission Honduras Inc. and the Mission sites in Honduras have more than a few kids from Nicaragua) when there are relatively hardly any Latin American UN representatives in Liberia right now.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We arrived home and hugged John. We thanked him more than a few times. We tried to get him to stay and hang out for a little while but he had to get ready to catch his flight he had in the morning. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The rest of the night, all we could think about, was how miraculous John’s showing up was and how perfectly it played out - How if we had left Grand Bassa just a little later than we did we would have still been sitting in the truck.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">All we could think about was how Mighty to Save our God is.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Today i have a prayer of thanksgiving for our Nicaraguan Angel, Johnny Mua.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">i pray that we might find the courage to trust in God completely – to trust that He will never abandon us – to trust that He is always by our side – To trust that He always has us right where we need to be.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Please pray for wisdom, courage, guidance, understanding, compassion, generosity, and Love…for all of us!<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Hope all is well!<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Life, Love, and Peace<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">uncle matthew<o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> <br /><div></div></div></div></div></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw_tPTlpYnCWcSb-JGlIOPT6gHV-Y4GPhwvo0t8LgL20dS1-TKPfVl2HE3ykHk-cEIT8Gc3tbiWNpJjFxnwhg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-48235156174921680322009-04-22T07:16:00.000-07:002009-04-22T07:31:07.060-07:00<div style="text-align: center;"><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">“…all us stumblers who believe Love rules.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">Stand up and let it shine.”</p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><br /></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJu14-dCjsZ2xRCOKa_S1GscJCQFmiIrIDguFh736Q6t0fHV3qTXrqSBwPTTOxqYRcE5Tx2L1jQFoPMMBZ8pzmGooAgFEDfqGQMmmnb23GkntFFJs1QdC17j7GAVUhGA_QyDLX3jrfnHbZ/s1600-h/p.42209.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327519677484702962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJu14-dCjsZ2xRCOKa_S1GscJCQFmiIrIDguFh736Q6t0fHV3qTXrqSBwPTTOxqYRcE5Tx2L1jQFoPMMBZ8pzmGooAgFEDfqGQMmmnb23GkntFFJs1QdC17j7GAVUhGA_QyDLX3jrfnHbZ/s400/p.42209.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div><br /></div><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">Monday started off like any other day: children laughing at the well, Malaria pills, and as always, that interesting cup of coffee with John and Jerome. We headed towards class… like normal. We got into our lines…like normal. i guess the only irregular thing at the beginning of the day was the class size. Clarissa had to go into town with Jerome for some things, so her class joined up with mine.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">My first thought of this super-sized class was a little fear. Haha…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but that quickly passed and the beginning of the day ran relatively smooth. We were all still smiling, and more importantly: the kids were paying attention and not bothering one another.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">The kids were being really good. But it’s hard to give that many kids all the attention they need – especially with the now enlarged age gap (6yr-olds to 12-yr-olds). I was helping the kids with the math problems we had on the board, which looked a lot more like 9-12 kids encircling my chair, all trying to simultaneously show me their copy books. i got distracted…and a little overwhelmed…<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">The next thing i know, one of the kids was saying that Joshua and Merci were fighting. This whole concept of fighting isn’t completely foreign in our classroom, and usually revolves around a pencil, or one of the children writing the other’s name on their sheet of paper. It’s never too intense, but it is fighting, and that’s not exactly what we want to be allowing in school.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">i stood up from my chair, parted the sea of children surrounding me, and started walking to break up what i thought was a routine tussle.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">i put myself in-between the two and tried to calm them down. The next thing i know, Joshua is attacking me. He is 6, and i took the rebellion as if it was just a tantrum turned sour. He was scratching, pinching and biting me - whichever one, or all three of the options were available. i didn’t take a fond liking to this new form of affection, and Joshua and i went outside. i carried the 6 yr-old kicking, screaming, and fighting halfway between the school and the house.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">He was freaking out.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">i didn’t want to punish the kid. i mean don’t get me wrong, i didn’t like the fact that my neck was chicken-scratched, nor was i especially fond of the new tooth imprints on my shoulder, but the kid is 6.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">So i plopped him down in the road. “Joshua, it’s ok. Calm down. i love you dude. Calm down.” i kept trying to relax him and ease a little of the screaming but nothing worked. It seemed as if the more I tried to give him a hug or tell him i wasn’t mad or i loved him – the louder he screamed and the more he fought.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">So i tried giving him a little space for a minute. i sat him down, and walked away ten feet or so and sat down myself.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">The screaming continued, but now it was becoming a slight bit fainter.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">i thought the storm had started to die down, so after a couple of minutes i walked back over to him. “Joshua, it’s ok. i love you. Don’t worry. Everything’s ok.” i was trying to carefully coax him to calm down – scratching his back…speaking easy…<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">“Ok. Josh – it’s ok, i understand you’re upset, and that’s ok. i love you – i’m not mad - i don’t want to punish you. I don’t want to take you to Uncle Harris (the boy’s house father and acting disciplinarian). If you calm down, we can just go back to class.”<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">i made an attempt to pick him up and the screaming and fighting became worse than it was at the beginning. i put him back down, and told him i was going to count to 10 and then i wanted him to make a choice on what he wanted to do. If he told me he wanted to go back to class, we would go, but i wanted him to calm down enough to tell me.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">Well i probably took 25 seconds counting…and there was no sign of the screaming ceasing. “Joshua, just tell me you want to go back and we can – but you have to calm down. What’s it going to be?” i waited, but there was no response – just continual screaming. “ok, i guess we’re going to Harris.” i picked him up, and the worst part of the fight was underway. He was flailing biting and scratching worse than before. He was biting me so hard, the gums above his teeth were bleeding. Marta and Ya came running from around the corner screaming. They were yelling at me to beat him. They watched me talk to him on the road, and they told me they didn’t know why i just didn’t punish him from the start. Ya grabbed him from me and started yelling at him for attacking me when i was trying to help him.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">i was just standing there, stuck to that spot on the road, and I started to get the chills.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">i suddenly was overtaken by guilt – “that’s what i do to God.” – was now the thought that had captured the entirety of my spectrum.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">How often do i mess up or get into trouble, but in my independence, resist (kicking, screaming, and biting trying to get out of the mess on my own) the God who’s always right there to help. How often to i get into a bind, start scrambling, and force a throw only to end in an interception instead of just taking the sac. i know for me, its hard to admit when i’m wrong. It’s hard to admit i need help. It’s a hit to my pride for me to not be able to do it on my own - or admit when i’m struggling or need help. God just wants to help us, but we fight him off. He just wants to love us - to help us when we aren’t able to get it completely right. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">The Lord will give you the bread you need<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">And the water for which you thirst.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">No longer will your Teacher hide himself,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">But with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears:<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">“This is the way; walk in it.”<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">when you would turn to the right or to the left.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>- Isaiah 30: 20-21<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Jesus tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Bob, why are you resisting me?’ I said, ‘I’m not resisting you!’ He said, ‘You gonna follow me?’ I said, ‘I’ve never thought about that before!’ He said, ‘When you’re not following me, you’re resisting me.’ ”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Bob Dylan</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">God is love - Love in its total and complete fulfillment. He loves us so much that he gives us free will – the will to do whatever we want. He gives us that choice, “Hey I’m here if you want me, but if you want your space you can have that too, just know I’m always here.” But how often do we actually submit to that Love that He gives us? How often do we take the chance that His way might be better than ours…how often do we remain unloved? i was thinking of all the times i’ve fought God and rejected his help. Kicking, screaming, biting….Hammering the nails into His hands that He spread out of love for us. But when we try to fix everything ourselves… When we rely on our own notions…When we don’t expand into the possibilities that maybe we don’t have the full spectrum of right and wrong, good or bad (we only have our own - in whichever incomplete and environmentally-triggered version we may have) … we are incapable of making the best decisions or judgments. We become incapable of reaching our potential if we are incapable of seeing our limitations on knowledge of “what is” or “is not”…<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">“Most birds are created to fly; for them, being grounded is a limitation within their ability to fly. Living unloved is a limitation; it is as if our wings were clipped, as if we were grounded – as if we lost our ability to fly.”<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:13.0pt;margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-pagination:none;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span><i>The Shack<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“An infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His Children. He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of Himself as fully as if there were no others.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>A. W. Tozer</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;text-indent:.5in;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">“Openness to Christ, who as the Redeemer of the world fully ‘reveals man to himself,’ can only be achieved through an ever more mature reference to the Father and his love. Although God ‘dwells in unapproachable light,’ he speaks to man by means of the whole of the universe: ‘Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.’ This indirect and imperfect knowledge, achieved by the intellect seeking God by means of creatures through the visible world, falls short of ‘vision of the Father.’…This ‘making known’ reveals God in the most profound mystery of his bein, one and three, surrounded by ‘unapproachable light.’ Nevertheless, through this ‘making known’ by Christ we know God above all in his relationship of love for man: in his ‘philanthropy.’ It is precisely here that ‘his invisible nature’ becomes in a special way ‘visible,’ incomparably more visible than through all the other ‘things that have been made’: it becomes visible in Christ and through Christ, through his actions and his words, and finally through his death on the cross and his resurrection.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>In this way, in Christ and through Christ, God also becomes especially visible in his mercy; that is to say, there is emphasized that attribute of the divinity which the Old Testament, using various concepts and terms, already defined as ‘mercy’. Christ congers on the whole of the Old Testament tradition about God’s mercy a definitive meaning. Not only does he speak of it and explain it by the use of comparisons and parables, but above all he himself makes it incarnate and personifies it. He himself, in a certain sense, is mercy. To the person who sees it in him – and finds it in him – God becomes ‘visible’ in a particular way as the father ‘who is rich in mercy.’”<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:13.0pt;margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-pagination:none;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Pope John Paul II<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">Its crazy – i can be standing in the middle of Liberia, midday i might add, and get the chills…<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">Through the incident with Joshua, i learned a lot about my lack of faith. i learned a lot about how hard it is for me to let go and let God. i learned a lot about my stumbling self, and how i need to let go of my independence and keep looking to him to help me find my way home.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">“Well sometimes I miss a step<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">I stumble here and there<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">Well im finding my way home<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">If im lost then ill admit<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">Sometimes I plain forget,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">But im finding my way home<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">And you can try and stand in my way<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">Say what you gonna say<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">But im finding my way home”<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:13.0pt;margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-pagination:none;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Citizen Cope, “My Way Home”<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">i pray that WE may all continue to grow in faith. Faith is not a noun; faith is a verb. It is neither political nor social; Independent nor religion. It is a living, breathing, dialoguing relationship with God in Three persons. From this ongoing conversation, corresponding actions and submissive love are instinctively spurred from the realization of truths and importance.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">Pray for understanding, patience, forgiveness, hope, joy, self-control, generosity, compassion, wisdom and love…for all of us!<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">Life, Love and Peace<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:13.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">uncle matthew<o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-53428966519955059902009-04-17T07:03:00.000-07:002010-10-16T09:08:36.785-07:00<div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Do not worry about your career. Concern yourself with your vocation, and that is to be lovers of Jesus.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Mother Teresa</p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivoR0Ed7yayu_hRjWVUVl0aHN2oV3X20MxgvO4b-TOay8Q3C6ESdSbWWO_M13IAowAj4S1PUG7SeDgwpey8OdEA-rSQEV0fTvLeOc6xGrszXzZde2ERRbfieX0Zy2PHUK42R9St8PVEK5Y/s1600-h/p.teachinout.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325662239114666770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivoR0Ed7yayu_hRjWVUVl0aHN2oV3X20MxgvO4b-TOay8Q3C6ESdSbWWO_M13IAowAj4S1PUG7SeDgwpey8OdEA-rSQEV0fTvLeOc6xGrszXzZde2ERRbfieX0Zy2PHUK42R9St8PVEK5Y/s400/p.teachinout.JPG" border="0" /></a> the war on learning haha</div><br /><br /><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Stern as death is Love, relentless as the nether world is devotion; its flames are a blazing fire. Deep waters cannot quench love, nor floods sweep it away.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Song of Songs 8: 6b-7a</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">You know that common confusion that people go through when trying to figure out “what to do with their lives”? <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Well it hit me really hard. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">i don’t think a day went by that the thought escaped my mind. It was as if the pressure was going to make me explode. i wanted to do something meaningful, and i felt i <i>had</i><span style="font-style:normal"> to do something that would make me “successful” - something that would allow me to have that house in the suburbs with the three kids and potential vacation house. i thought that success was derived from the money you made, the job you had, the car you drove, whether you were smart or athletic or technically savy…<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">i mean why not? That’s what i saw (or i thought i saw around me). When people told me that someone was successful, those were the characteristics that seemed to be coupled with the compliment…But there was something about <i>that</i><span style="font-style:normal"> that just didn’t click with me.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Well its Bitter-sweet symphony, this life.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Trying to make ends meet</p> <p class="MsoNormal">You’re a slave to the money then you die</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down</p> <p class="MsoNormal">You know the one that takes you to the places where all the things begin”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>“Bitter-Sweet Sypmphony” The Verve</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It was something that i can merely compare to hopelessness. It seemed as if that were the road i decided to take that my life would revolve around making money. My job would end up becoming my life. i’m not saying that that is wrong, or that anyone who has those things or that type of job is wrong or misled or searching in the wrong places – but for me, personally, it didn’t sound appealing as to the life i wanted to live. i was starting to want to drift away from the money and put my life into something i thought could be of more value in the end. That’s when everything i was thinking started scaring me.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“You guys are all into that born again thing, which is great. We do need to be born again, since Jesus said that to a guy named Nicodemus. But if you tell me I have to be born again to enter the kingdom of God, I can tell you that you have to sell everything you have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to one guy too…(he paused because of the awkward silence)… But I guess that’s why God invented highlighters, so we can highlight the parts we like and ignore the rest.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Rich Mullins, Speech at Wheaton College</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">i knew i wanted to live a life that was meaningful in different ways. i knew i didn’t want to be a slave to my talents - to a job – to just making a check …but that was scary – because in this world, that’s what seems realistic. It seems silly or foolish or immature just to do what you love. It seems like you’re abandoning your “responsibilities” – like you’re just running away from everything.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So i was scared. i was nervous. i felt lonely. i was starting to get more into this Jesus thing. i was starting to be able to relate to, and understand what He meant when He said it would be harder for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven – and that was definitely far from a comforting realization. i like my SUV. i like my nice clothes. i liked being the high school quarterback or the homecoming king. i liked the thought of going to college and one day hoping to work with my dad in his Executive Recruiting firm. The more i was trying to get into my faith, the more i read more about Jesus – the more He seemed to be wrecking that life i had, or was heading towards.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The more i read, the more i prayed, the more i felt that those sort of “successes” didn’t really hold any value when it came down to my true happiness. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“The doors of normalcy and conformity are dead. The time has come to give up on the doors and find a window to climb through. It’s a little more dangerous and may get you into some trouble, but it is a heck of a lot more fun. And the people who have changed the world have always been the risk-takers who climb through windows while the rest of the world just walks in and out of the doors.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Shane Claiborne, Graduation speech at Eastern University, “Crawl through the Window”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So when i had a conversation with my dad over this past Christmas break about what i wanted to do, and what i needed to do to accomplish that – he helped me to see my window. i decided i was going to forget about college for a while…i decided i really felt that my passion was working with and for people who were oppressed and marginalized – so if that’s what i wanted to do with my life, i needed to learn about it and check it out…just like if i was going to get that degree to go into business with my pops. Ha, the only difference seemed to be i was going to get this “degree” or experience working at a mission in war-stricken Liberia instead of UGA.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">And i was scared because going through that window led to a jump from “reality” or “normalcy” and comfort.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So i’m starting to make my way out of that window. i made the climb up to the window, i got on that plane that led me to this place. This place that is teaching me what truly is meaningful. It’s teaching me the priceless ness of a contagious smile you can’t fake. It’s teaching me how to be grateful for everything instead of bitter for what i lack. It’s been a harsh reality of the truth that someone who makes $1.50 for a 14 hour day laboring in the African heat can be, and in most cases is, happier and more fulfilled that those making 6 figures a year in the states working the 9 – 5.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It’s teaching me a new definition to the word <i>success</i><span style="font-style:normal">. No longer does making money or having those material things come anywhere close to what success means to me anymore. To me – in my heart, my success will be the impact i can have – what i can do for others. i want to be the arm reaching to those around the world who need it. i want to bring light to the importance of things that we, as Americans, take for granted... i no longer want to sit waiting for this world to change, nor do i want to try and predict what will have to happen for it to change…i want to be part of the change – because the change has to start in each and every one of us. The change works from the inside out.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy to find grace for timely help.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Hebrews 4:14-16</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So now i’ve found my window – and i’ve made the climb up, and I’m looking down at the jump. And honestly, i’m a little scared. i’m not scared about the jump – i want nothing more than to run a mission like this one or start my own 501c3 (Non-profit or NGO)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>- but i’m scared about when i go back home. Because i still do miss all the <i>stuff </i><span style="font-style:normal">and it will be just sitting there waiting for me when i return</span><i>.</i><span style="font-style:normal"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">i want to make the jump; i’m going to make the jump. And in many ways, just the change of thought is a jump in itself - but its time to put the rubber to the road. Its time to live in this new found truth and avoid folding to the pressure of conforming back into the numbing normalcy we love to play it safe in. It’s time to look silly to some, foolish to most, and hopefully childlike to all.<o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> <br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGuWWeqDb4dLwL-ijCbEVKhQHY9Sbu57s7oKJ5MMQJysTIPB1n1wYzDflg9SHcZaNKs0JM8FBgVQkWhQNDHVq0utLAYIRJy889piSXvLIxkK33JTlcIUSDIRILIEkkiKo0ooJgi2OWHMIY/s1600-h/p.piczinnahnose.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325662236104637602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGuWWeqDb4dLwL-ijCbEVKhQHY9Sbu57s7oKJ5MMQJysTIPB1n1wYzDflg9SHcZaNKs0JM8FBgVQkWhQNDHVq0utLAYIRJy889piSXvLIxkK33JTlcIUSDIRILIEkkiKo0ooJgi2OWHMIY/s400/p.piczinnahnose.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />zinnah caught in the act<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">“Bound by allegiances and loyalties which are broader and deeper than nationalism…This call for a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one’s tribe, race, class, and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Martin Luther King Jr. “A Time to Break the Silence”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Pray for understanding, peace, patience, generosity, forgiveness, joy, compassion, wisdom, and LOVE… for all of us!<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Life, Love, and Peace<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">uncle matthew<o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-46414238099975681312009-04-13T04:26:00.000-07:002009-04-13T04:56:35.464-07:00Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we must also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.<br />- 1 John 4:7-12<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />“Its times like these you learn to live again<br />Its times like these you give and give again<br />Its times like these you learn to love again<br />Its times like these, time, and time again”<br />- “Times Like These” The Foo Fighters<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />There are mornings like Saturday when i wake up and am completely “vexed” – frustrated, confused, and angry with some situations and issues that are going on here that i don’t need to, nor am i going to talk about but will simply say they are not being handled in the right way…and i need to give my feelings up to God, and know that He has His reasons and He is in control. After all, i should just be thankful that He is there to be with me through them…haha… or that i am able to feel at all…So Thank God:)<br /><br /><br /><br />So yea…everyone has those days like i had on Saturday morning…<br />But then there are also those days that are so beautifully wonderful that problems seem to fade somewhere in-between myth and nonexistence.<br /><br /><br /><br />Sunday, April 12…yesterday…Easter…was probably one of the best days of my life…definitely the best Easter.<br />i honestly can’t explain it, but can only say that everything was beautiful.<br />First of all…haha… i don’t know how, but i managed to sleep in until 8:15.<br />i first woke up at 5:45 and thought I’d drift off for another couple minutes and then - almost as if under anesthesia - i awoke up from a heavy slumber, panicked (because i thought i’d be late for Easter Mass) and honestly confused as to how i managed to sleep that long.<br />Anyways, i guess the sleep did me some good or i was just in an attitude close to ecstasy simply because of gift of life…either way i was set for the day in a joyous mood i could neither fake nor alter.<br /><br /><br /><br />This Easter, there were no chocolate rabbits. There were no flamboyant Polo’s or sun dresses. There were no Easter eggs stuffed with little candies (honestly i have to admit my mind wandered to jellybeans for a moment)…<br />…There was, however, Love, comraderie, joy, and celebration…<br />This Easter, i was fortunate enough to be apart of the baptism of 50 of our children and our wonderful cook, Marta.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvK3RpoHMETHFZsrbIo_32tZNe4kPeKM0tDvLqFZgCd4TYzWOwLese-FrIejs8DMFs06huZ7bPWmK15GwF7xgLG8B9gWennAf4iVrmIdvAtPageqayoWuQmuNmt4zByfz3S5qYI_u-9Ix/s1600-h/p.413095.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324136477552485458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvK3RpoHMETHFZsrbIo_32tZNe4kPeKM0tDvLqFZgCd4TYzWOwLese-FrIejs8DMFs06huZ7bPWmK15GwF7xgLG8B9gWennAf4iVrmIdvAtPageqayoWuQmuNmt4zByfz3S5qYI_u-9Ix/s400/p.413095.JPG" border="0" /></a> The kids walking in for Easter Mass/getting baptized</div><br /><br />Now i’ve been to all sorts of services in the states…beautiful services, dull services, reverent services, joyous services, celebratory services, long services, and short services (haha i just sounded like Dr. Suess)… But none compare to the one i attended this Easter.<br /><br /><br /><br />The celebration was composed of spontaneous, unrestrained joy and a reverence of the truest meaning. The voices of the children were chilling as usual - gloriously triumphant with Christ’s victory over the grave. Their faces were joyous with the new burst of life from the children so eager to take the next step in their spiritual journey. As i stood there, all i could do was smile and thank God for the opportunity to witness such an event…<br />It was a bonfire of Love.<br /><br /><br /><br />"Brothers and Sisters: Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough? Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough, inasmuch as you are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."<br />- 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />“Bartender please<br />Fill my glass for me<br />With the wine you gave Jesus that set him free after 3 days in the ground.<br />I’m on bended knee, I pray. Bartender please<br />When I was young I never thought about it<br />And now I can’t get it out of my mind<br />I’m on bended knee – Father please”<br />- “Bartender” The Dave Matthew’s Band<br /><br /><br /><br />So a little less than half of our kids were baptized, and Jerome, Clarissa, John and I became the proud Godparents of all of them<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZy8G1fGkY2N1mAe4ersUHOwYBX1dsjHEn08I44R4DUlrwsc5D-F6sJA74np9GOlN1CGb6m4tD3emwIjDcJrrglKwsTu9nWyBMfxJ1qxD_E9ZJQehVmt736MB-lCjGr5cLdpl_3sAgLSQA/s1600-h/p.413094.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324136469968825650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZy8G1fGkY2N1mAe4ersUHOwYBX1dsjHEn08I44R4DUlrwsc5D-F6sJA74np9GOlN1CGb6m4tD3emwIjDcJrrglKwsTu9nWyBMfxJ1qxD_E9ZJQehVmt736MB-lCjGr5cLdpl_3sAgLSQA/s400/p.413094.JPG" border="0" /></a> Two proud Godfathers with Zinnah Sackie as he's getting baptized</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6BNLaOdTND0QBJxNDDQntvP1rZfE6ZOT9pNAjuW6CAu9cNHVafx94zepRIjRfd5Mx5cv76WCATUrQH3A7z1lm2CLDXasI7NUnXd8N7yzwbxQDptOfkNASNXus1kzX-AWb7wzz3jz1yPO/s1600-h/p.413093.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324136469304136290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6BNLaOdTND0QBJxNDDQntvP1rZfE6ZOT9pNAjuW6CAu9cNHVafx94zepRIjRfd5Mx5cv76WCATUrQH3A7z1lm2CLDXasI7NUnXd8N7yzwbxQDptOfkNASNXus1kzX-AWb7wzz3jz1yPO/s400/p.413093.JPG" border="0" /></a> John and Clarissa during the ceremony</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrmnmT5SZX07yLoMF0m4xUXUWYJF8EMnSdpETiYDIDrXvhpxuaFWbm6k_Q8YB-q_db5cjBlQHPZQxF5dQZIkZvh7c8zauwp6QYmUx2xOUaWFjMtRJhQWGSqlEguFUBOi4DusBcQfirBGG/s1600-h/p.413092.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324136468279224322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrmnmT5SZX07yLoMF0m4xUXUWYJF8EMnSdpETiYDIDrXvhpxuaFWbm6k_Q8YB-q_db5cjBlQHPZQxF5dQZIkZvh7c8zauwp6QYmUx2xOUaWFjMtRJhQWGSqlEguFUBOi4DusBcQfirBGG/s400/p.413092.JPG" border="0" /></a> Teddy, myself, and one of my favorite new Godsons - Sam Sumo<br /><br /><br />After Mass we went back for our Easter dinner. It was plain, yet unforgettable. The friendship and spirit in that room will stay with me for a long time – we truly felt that we were not alone. It was an Easter to be cherished.<br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">We weren’t celebrating our Easter with the normalcy of our families back at home. We didn’t have a ham or sweet potatoes or a table of deserts – no fine wines or cider.<br />We had bottled water, chicken breasts (a real treat), and rice with a wonderful cup of instant Nescafe Coffee coupled with conversation for desert. This was probably one of the most enjoyable meals i will ever have.<br /></div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">We sat around the table, and all of us were more than overjoyed for what we had. We were all just so happy to be a part of this place – to share this experience – to witness the love that is here.<br />As my grandmother would say… “if only the table could talk”, my would it have a story to tell.<br />Whatever you would think of as a “normal Easter” – we did not have it. We had something better. This Easter there was no need to look in my closest for my brightest shirt. There was no need to give up chocolate for lent so i wouldn’t feel bad stuffing my face Easter morning. There was no need to preheat the oven for the ham (probably because we don’t have an oven).<br />But we had much more than what we needed. We had people we love. We had happiness. We had a celebration of our Savior dying for our sins and then conquering the grave. We had a celebration of the children being baptized. We had a testimony to love.<br /></div><div align="left">Brothers and Sisters: Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.<br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">"For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin. For a dead person has been absolved from sin. If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. As to his death, he died to sin once and for all; as to his life, he lives for God. Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus."<br />- Romans 6:3-11<br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">God is Good – All the time. All the time – God is good.<br />Feelings are temporary. And it seems that i’m always having to remind myself that.<br />Feelings of sadness, anger, frustration, happiness and joy.<br />Feelings change with the wind, but God is fixed. God is Good, All the time.<br />He is our true north, from which all other latitudes and longitudes are determined<br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">Sometimes i get down…for all different kinds of reasons…<br />And i can mope, or stay down, or sulk…but the only thing that ever gets me out of my funk is giving it up to God…And knowing that He is always with me. He is always good, and He always has me right where i need to be - learning the lesson i need to be learning. But i need those little reminders like Saturday and then Sunday - i need to remember to not be distracted or tormented by my feelings. i need to remember that my feelings are like a small piece of grass blowing in the wind – so quickly will they pass. i need to remember that maybe today i’m angry, tomorrow i might be sad, the next day i might be fearful and afterwards rejoiceful – but none of that matters if i can remember and hold on to the thought that God is with me. i know that the monologue of my frustration or depression gets me no where, and the only way for this blind man to move is to open up into dialogue, shut my own yapper and listen for a little bit to whatever God has is say… i just have to be still and know that He is God…and He leads me where i need to be.<br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">"A great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks, bu the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake. Next came a blazing fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. But after the fire came a gentle whisper and thus the Lord spoke. "<br />- 1 Kings 19:11-13<br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">…We hear those whispers in the people and places we least expect it…<br />I want to be a part of the new world that’s whispering. I want to be an instrument of peace in the choir that sings softly the songs of love, compassion and generosity with their lives.<br />I want to be a part of the movement that teaches how to survive blindness. That invokes the spirit to wrestle with its issues - To challenge, to question – to seek the Way, the Truth, and the Life. </div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXPkv82WIYz5CgcgRknEXyRz7KycPozVPHn3bRrNcJPYCj-GIUFBG8gztYFEwqBDFL6RQtXNsyhOjOXPu11gPMiefWr0Pgkttl7eJnAzGFXW4GNBwMxuePn5xLmgVlBqXC4lW17tRQVV-E/s1600-h/p.413091.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324136467557101202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXPkv82WIYz5CgcgRknEXyRz7KycPozVPHn3bRrNcJPYCj-GIUFBG8gztYFEwqBDFL6RQtXNsyhOjOXPu11gPMiefWr0Pgkttl7eJnAzGFXW4GNBwMxuePn5xLmgVlBqXC4lW17tRQVV-E/s400/p.413091.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Musu right after she was baptized...hah you can tell a kid took the picture because of the finger in the way<br /><br /><br />"The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, To announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God, to comfort all who mourn; To place on those who mourn in Zion a diadem instead of ashes, To give them oil of gladness in place of mourning, a glorious mantle instead of listless spirit. They will be called oaks of justice, plated by the Lord to show his glory. "<br />- Isaiah 61:1-3<br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">I’m trying not to think of the kids telling me I’m not allowed to leave on May 20th, or the fact that Momma (the girl’s house mother) told me how much she’s going to miss me last night…haha i’m trying to listen to myself and not let these feelings get too deep…<br /></div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">i’m going to miss the feelings, emotions and truths these children and people give off…there is something special about them…something real…something you can’t fake. But i’m going to be glad i got to experience them at all, and that i still have 37 more days:)<br /></div><div align="left">Thank you for all of you who support and pray for us! You really do make an impact. i hope all of you are doing well as always, and know that you are all in my prayers. Pray for peace, for understanding, patience, compassion, generosity and Love…for all of us!<br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">Life, Love, and Peace<br />uncle matthew<br /></div><div align="left"></div>Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-21805025523824737812009-04-07T06:21:00.000-07:002009-04-07T06:53:00.413-07:00<div><br /></div><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">We are clay in the potter’s hands</p> <p class="MsoNormal">God’s mercy holds us, and we are his own.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">At all moments we are right where we need to be.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sometimes that timing will be of harmony, happiness, or joy…</p> <p class="MsoNormal">But there will also be times where we feel like we are swimming upstream,</p> <p class="MsoNormal">There will be times of suffering, times that are not so pleasant. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>So death is at work in us, but life in you. Since, then, we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we too believe and therefore speak, knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you in his presence. Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>2 Corinthians 4:7-15</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Take nothing for granted – for that is the gravest of temptations - the lack of gratitude for what we have and the perplexity of desires for what we do not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s what led Eve to eat of the tree when she had multitudes of luscious and desirable fruits in the garden. The garden was full of things Eve could have, but she focused on the one fruit she could not have instead of being thankful for the many good fruits she had freely available.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So i’ve surpassed my halfway point of my stay here in BlackTom Town (been here for 56 days– 44 left), and yea, it will be good to see my friends and family again…but i’m really going to miss this place…there’s something about it that’s unexplainably comforting and filing…a different kind of life, a different kind of love than i’ve ever felt.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">i’m going to miss the children.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5vT-Z8FPkWJvos_2VkkduxSUloo9uBYhKNiezcB-bnZJmOc0Z9Y17CdP6Cjxicr6Yi8kzj_mH1BTGA-GL1yui6xBTxVOsBDzTzuUOrpI23IvHhnEgjv3nZl_MTkh5iT3uhql5WnIpGSky/s1600-h/p.407094.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321941643909866386" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5vT-Z8FPkWJvos_2VkkduxSUloo9uBYhKNiezcB-bnZJmOc0Z9Y17CdP6Cjxicr6Yi8kzj_mH1BTGA-GL1yui6xBTxVOsBDzTzuUOrpI23IvHhnEgjv3nZl_MTkh5iT3uhql5WnIpGSky/s400/p.407094.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGPYUFMSM91vNfFJCfU86zBBy2rjTErI0II7yL6YApwmjs2TkDtw8ckoU-UXbO4lJZio0BW6h0dkXV9iMVG8f-xhj5mekcdOeyvTjf3irCHrHezRmmAkHSLPYXFzgWJ595KJID9zttI0K/s1600-h/p.407093.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321941641190504002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGPYUFMSM91vNfFJCfU86zBBy2rjTErI0II7yL6YApwmjs2TkDtw8ckoU-UXbO4lJZio0BW6h0dkXV9iMVG8f-xhj5mekcdOeyvTjf3irCHrHezRmmAkHSLPYXFzgWJ595KJID9zttI0K/s400/p.407093.JPG" border="0" /></a> being silly...drawing water for bath</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">i’m going to miss walking the corridors and hearing that voice of song in the prayer room that goes past the marrow and bites at your soul…</p> <p class="MsoNormal">… “The children love to sing, but then their voices slowly fade away – People always take a step away from what is true, that’s why i like you around.”…</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The voices don’t fade here. The song in the hearts of these children is an eerily beautiful, breathtaking harmony that has a timeless sensation. It flows with passion. The song is chilling, and is something i’d compare to what i imagine might be playing at the gates of heaven.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">i’m going to miss working in the field.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">i’m going to miss the lessons i learn walking through Redlight.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">i’m going to miss listening to the wisdom of our priest, Monsignor Tikpor. If the story of life was for some reason based on the Lion King, Monsignor Tikpor would definitely be Rafiki. He is 82 years old and full of life. He has to be; after all, his audience is a bunch of children. He always has a wonderfully comparative way to get his point across, which usually involves hand movements and dramatic voicing. Haha. I absolutely love the man.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">…i’ve still got plenty of time here so lets get off what i’m going to miss…haha…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This Sunday, Palm Sunday, when Monsignor Tikpor was reading the gospel – i heard something i had never caught before and it struck me. During the gospel (a reading about Jesus’ passion) Jesus said something to Peter, the man he would later tell he’d become the rock on which His church would be built….</p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div align="center"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUgfAyCUifMGyxhNx6DX38Xlyp7yBAQWPQCKZd3j11mLhvixs0LzTroNsmo8r6wxvOLkiGmXf8J4ohSoATO8xb2YYWkfVTmnzk6YJHTXkuei0z2vUO2Of8sstOu0e5YsAAQOKLswn61uFQ/s1600-h/p.407092.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321941636318901778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUgfAyCUifMGyxhNx6DX38Xlyp7yBAQWPQCKZd3j11mLhvixs0LzTroNsmo8r6wxvOLkiGmXf8J4ohSoATO8xb2YYWkfVTmnzk6YJHTXkuei0z2vUO2Of8sstOu0e5YsAAQOKLswn61uFQ/s400/p.407092.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Palm Sunday Mass<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">“Simon! Simon! Be careful…for Satan will try to get you to sift the weeds from the wheat.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">At first i just thought it was interesting i’d never heard anything like that before…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">…Then i started thinking about what got Jesus arrested. i started thinking about the cause of wars. i started thinking about the reasoning behind the actions of those who caused this country detrimental poverty and oppression. i started thinking about the desires behind a lot of hate…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">…Attempts to conform everything to what, in our own perspectives, is right or correct…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We want everyone to think like us, to act like us, to see it OUR way. It’s our way or the high way right?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">He proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ He answered. ‘An enemy has done this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Matthew 13: 24-30</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Hitler was trying to make a world of Aryans (“the perfect race”)...we all know the death and destruction that followed…</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Jews arrested and crucified Jesus for blaspheming their laws.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Gangs kill other Gangs because they aren’t their own.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The KKK, the white race, not wholly – but as a whole, throughout the entirety of the civil rights movements, showed more hate, violence, and intolerance than should have ever been thought.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The war in Iraq is killing ridiculous amounts of innocent Iraqi families…over what?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>- (this is coming from someone, who until a couple months ago – until actually seeing the effects of war on people, was completely pro “the war on terror” or whatever our efforts in Middle East are going by these days… and i still have friends that are in Baghdad fighting this moment)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The majority of our conflicts come from the correcting of what in our own perspective is wrong, or whatever is not in accordance with what we feel is correct…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Now what i’d heard came to make sense… Maybe Jesus was giving us a little insight?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Hey the devil is a sneaky S. O. B. – he might try to trick you against what I’m teaching by trying to get you to weed the garden (take out what YOU feel are the weeds)”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“When questions of decision, reason, or choice of action arise, human science is at a loss.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Noam Chomsky</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It’s natural to want to weed our garden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We want to make it pretty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We want to make it perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The issue is this garden isn’t just ours, <i>It</i><span style="font-style:normal"> belongs to </span><i>everyone</i><span style="font-style:normal"> – and </span><i>everyone</i><span style="font-style:normal"> has a different point of view, a new perspective, a different understanding. So we might feel like we are the wheat, and want to clean up “our” garden, when actually to everyone else we are the weeds…</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We are all weeds and we are all wheat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We all give off good and bad to others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But hopefully, by coexisting and not attempting to “sift” through each other we can gain from one another – learn new perspectives, gain more understanding – instead of trying to eliminate one another.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Man was just elaborating on what He lived…Love one Another, do not hate one another…</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Maybe, just maybe, He was saying “Hey listen, you don’t get everything, nor do you have the capacity to do so with the little wisdom of the universe you have. So just love one another, tolerate those who aren’t exactly like you… and if they are really weeds, I’ll toss them in the fire when the time comes – but that is my job, not yours…All you need is love”</p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div align="center"><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGKA8DT0fb_uK6JdDODTohxmckcihDqhe8kxHM_nbPn1SZXgh-PxLS1jftRKXwyiqhIR6PD6cttTsGZd-0m8-q2aFdHeSJcEwaxdQC3zOl-h2xGXCfbIS90P95UkI5J36sTvWU9KPxt4X/s1600-h/p.407091.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321941634606760594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGKA8DT0fb_uK6JdDODTohxmckcihDqhe8kxHM_nbPn1SZXgh-PxLS1jftRKXwyiqhIR6PD6cttTsGZd-0m8-q2aFdHeSJcEwaxdQC3zOl-h2xGXCfbIS90P95UkI5J36sTvWU9KPxt4X/s400/p.407091.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />just some of the family ... :)<br /><br /><br /><div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">“I warned you </p> <p class="MsoNormal">what could happen if you should decide to live your life from the 9 to 5</p> <p class="MsoNormal">and I mourned you</p> <p class="MsoNormal">for that detail that is left unsaid is a reminder of the time you bled</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">return to days when you knew </p> <p class="MsoNormal">you still felt alive</p> <p class="MsoNormal">reveal the way you felt when you could look inside</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">they sold you</p> <p class="MsoNormal">everything you need to fix you up</p> <p class="MsoNormal">and you feel good now but you can’t wake up</p> <p class="MsoNormal">they found a way to reassure you (that everything would be ok)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">reach out today, now I implore you to remember who you are</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">return to days when you knew </p> <p class="MsoNormal">you still felt alive</p> <p class="MsoNormal">reveal the way you felt when you could look inside</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">so you felt it, but you don’t know</p> <p class="MsoNormal">why you can’t explain at all</p> <p class="MsoNormal">why you felt it</p> <p class="MsoNormal">‘cause you don’t know, no you don’t know</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Break the walls between building atrophy</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Causing all your problems to recede</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Break the walls between…</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Causing all your pain…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">You’ll never learn…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">return to days when you knew </p> <p class="MsoNormal">you still felt alive</p> <p class="MsoNormal">reveal the way you felt when you could look inside</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Take back the beat in your heart (break the walls between building atrophy)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Why fight, when you could be bought(causing all your problems to recede)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Take back the beat in your heart (break the walls between – causing all your pain)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Why fight when you can be bought”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>- “Atrophy” The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So today i pray we can look past our differences. i pray we find hope in the purpose of Christ’s coming to save ALL of us – not just the Aryans, or the Sons of Aaron, or The Crips or the Bloods, or the white supremacists, or the Americans –<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>ALL. i hope we can learn to accept, to tolerate…to learn from our mistakes and stop the repeating of history.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">"An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth leaves everyone blind and toothless."</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>- a saying from Ghandi and MLK</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">i hope all is well for everyone as always! Thank you so much for all the prayers and the support. They mean so much and we definitely feel them. Pray for patience, understanding, hope, generosity, tolerance, joy and Love...for all of us!</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Life, Love, and Peace</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">uncle matthew</p> <!--EndFragment--> </div></div>Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-67220297804639399792009-04-03T07:01:00.000-07:002009-04-03T08:26:22.817-07:00<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal">“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"></span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"></span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"></span>-Arundhati Roy (Indian activist and author)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">“I learned from the lepers that leprosy is a disease of numbness. The contagion numbs the skin, and the nerves can no longer feel as the body wastes away. In fact, the way it was detected was by rubbing a feather across the skin, and if the person could not feel it, they were diagnosed with the illness. To treat it, we would dig out or dissect the scarred tissue until the person could feel again. As I left Calcutta, it occurred to me that I was returning to a land of lepers, a land of people who had forgotten how to feel, to laugh, to cry, a land haunted by numbness.”</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width: 0%">-<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span>Shane Claiborne, <i>The Irresistible Revolution<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal">“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, but we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.”</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width: 0%">-<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span>Dietrich Bonhoeffer</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">“We are called to play the Good Samaritan on life’s roadside…but one day we must come to see that the whole Jericho road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that a system that produces beggars needs to be repaved. We are called to be the Good Samaritan, but after you lift so many people out of the ditch you start to ask, maybe the whole road to Jericho needs to be repaved.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"></span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"></span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"></span>- Martin Luther King Jr., “A Time to Break Silence”(April 4,1967)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">“The best thing to do with the best things in life is to give them away.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">“evil can be opposed without being mirrored…oppressors can be resisted without being emulated…enemies can be neutralized without being destroyed.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width: 0%">-<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span>Ibid., 111<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Every day i wake up and it feels like this is my home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s an eerie feeling that i’ve been here so much longer than nearly two months…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">It’s like for a brief moment, i lose sight of where i came from or what it was like there…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">But when i’m able to reminisce on my previous point of view, i’m able to remember how when i saw those infomercials on fighting poverty or watch scenes from movies like “Slumdog Millionaire”, seeing that type of poverty put me in disbelief. It was like <i>those</i><span style="FONT-STYLE: normal"> people were so far out of </span><i>my</i><span style="FONT-STYLE: normal"> reality that they failed to truly exist or register.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“People don’t actually use or go into that dirty of water, do they?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There’s no way that people really survive off one set of clothes…There’s no way that that type of poverty can exist in the same world…”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Since i’ve been here…my eyes have witnessed what didn’t register in my head.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">i guess I had to see to believe.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">i’ve seen those rivers like in “Slumdog Millionaire”, and people don’t just use them to wash clothes or bathe in them…they drink from them too…even if someone just peed 10 feet away.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Walking through Redlight, you see the tin shantytowns – those 5x7 worn-in-tin “shelters”. And they are no longer just something for Will Smith to roll over in his hummer like in “Bad Boys 2”, but have become a place where i get the opportunity to see the face of Jesus in the little boy who lives there - with red dirt covering the single holy-worn out donated t-shirt he owns, sweaty and smelly…but smiling hear to hear. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">“In the poor we meet Jesus in his most distressing disguises.”</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width: 0%">-<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span>Mother Teresa<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">In Redlight, you can find that type of poverty that had me in disbelief. It opens your mind… this poverty is not just here – it’s everywhere<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><!--EndFragment--></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1qxbpmx07SWITvsZ5hyTj95ThrKYgyTVb4-etXGOZy6B8zKxdvnqiUTWZHwAVKKrxs_m_KFqoMY3Ma5qmCTEe8lsUprwVC5qoX4rROa-iF_IYZaol0xbIeL9v-Z7zqzOEyZkPqtj84QiT/s1600-h/p.403095.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320467188394126274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1qxbpmx07SWITvsZ5hyTj95ThrKYgyTVb4-etXGOZy6B8zKxdvnqiUTWZHwAVKKrxs_m_KFqoMY3Ma5qmCTEe8lsUprwVC5qoX4rROa-iF_IYZaol0xbIeL9v-Z7zqzOEyZkPqtj84QiT/s400/p.403095.JPG" border="0" /></a>in the midst of Redlight </div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">When i first arrived, i was shocked at the differences between the world i had just left and the one i had just arrived in. i couldn’t believe what these kids lived with – what i thought was so little - what seemed to me, with what i had, to be less than nothing.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">But now i understand why they’re always happy – what they are so grateful for…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The longer i’m here, the more i feel like our compound is a 5-star resort for schoolboys rather than a mission for the poor, oppressed, and war-strucken children of Liberia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>To the people from the country, these boys are spoiled rotten.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They have 3 meals a day (which are not always cassava – what most of the country subsists on).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They have a “bed” (a mattress that’s dusty and thinner than your thickest sweatshirt), when most sleep on the ground or on a pallet of palm branches.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They get an education.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They have easy access to not just one but two wells instead of depending on the “not-so-clean” rivers or bodies of water.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The longer i work in the fields, the more i feel as though i’m just passing time in a tropical paradise rather than laboring in the African heat. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The more i see the rest of the country, the more grateful i am for pulling from a well instead of wishing for running water.<o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUwY8rSZYB9Znha3xLrOzWew8FazBulwcFx9QvZ-dH83isGz46J7zvdmqrIwGyQbuLMnJJ5f68RKzFrE5gYN4Nc9FUTEHEjsp2IK6CBl7uXPzKPzfSHj9C8IveDbzX6pXb2dDHHBWd5nlE/s1600-h/p.403094.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320467181958876274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUwY8rSZYB9Znha3xLrOzWew8FazBulwcFx9QvZ-dH83isGz46J7zvdmqrIwGyQbuLMnJJ5f68RKzFrE5gYN4Nc9FUTEHEjsp2IK6CBl7uXPzKPzfSHj9C8IveDbzX6pXb2dDHHBWd5nlE/s400/p.403094.JPG" border="0" /></a>Taking a break in the cassava feilds </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpsVkKmKPTHO-nxVmn3s7RYitfwaiSDYCDyhFcgdkZiVzVbA3oWuVmg7BrMOL9ILS9oXSg58_GnjhpIXNkHfSQ7kXDaGnOxlpYp2TK7y22-HNXGAtk39CP195Y1T_w8bzUKVj_iyeAncA6/s1600-h/p.403093.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320467176925400306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpsVkKmKPTHO-nxVmn3s7RYitfwaiSDYCDyhFcgdkZiVzVbA3oWuVmg7BrMOL9ILS9oXSg58_GnjhpIXNkHfSQ7kXDaGnOxlpYp2TK7y22-HNXGAtk39CP195Y1T_w8bzUKVj_iyeAncA6/s400/p.403093.JPG" border="0" /></a> haha looks like Clarence wants to be superman...digging a whole in the "garden"<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnzzjkc7uIiMFhV0ic0FAFTKhQ9_vKt9XiXX5ZSJ77sYTLixWcooH3z-qN_Z47ozifCS3zl8s_UJwTQfArf5c5SThdHVz6tBNsKHTTIdSu5DAS6c4bSM1yFmTYo_ufJcfgTRF7mzag3pTV/s1600-h/p.403092.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320467171533600706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnzzjkc7uIiMFhV0ic0FAFTKhQ9_vKt9XiXX5ZSJ77sYTLixWcooH3z-qN_Z47ozifCS3zl8s_UJwTQfArf5c5SThdHVz6tBNsKHTTIdSu5DAS6c4bSM1yFmTYo_ufJcfgTRF7mzag3pTV/s400/p.403092.JPG" border="0" /></a>drawing water from the well at dusk...and always smiling:)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The more time i spend with these kids, the more i understand the delicacy of eating bugs.<o:p></o:p></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1x2dWcnUJqQQZXkStrB_3WCgBZxXRXPKrIXD-kWK4rnFbugjtPlRptIjsbfofOHAXKIsLxVX1ZpiFtKS8IXA2t7Hq6RwZvy-nRwuDEzuZrugs0aVa7xhrpPaLkSO-lSUSQpuXRnyAJwu0/s1600-h/p.403091.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320467167066825570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1x2dWcnUJqQQZXkStrB_3WCgBZxXRXPKrIXD-kWK4rnFbugjtPlRptIjsbfofOHAXKIsLxVX1ZpiFtKS8IXA2t7Hq6RwZvy-nRwuDEzuZrugs0aVa7xhrpPaLkSO-lSUSQpuXRnyAJwu0/s400/p.403091.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />YUM. haha Charlie<br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">When i first got here i couldn’t grasp why these kids were so happy and grateful for what appeared to me as NOTHING…but now i get it…to them – they have EVERYTHING.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span><i><o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal">“jump in the mucky mud<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">get your hands filthy love<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">give it up love…everyday<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">all you need is <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">all you want is<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">all you need is love<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">all you need is<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">what you want is<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">all you need is love”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width: 0%">-<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span>“Everyday” Dave Matthew’s Band<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">“Whenever people talk about injustice, usually there is a cloud of guilt looming over them. Joy and celebration don’t usually mark progressive social justice circles, or conservative Christian circles, for that matter. But the Jesus movement is a revolution that dances. Celebration is at the very core of our kingdom, and hopefully that celebration will make its way into the darkest corners of our world – the ghettos and refugee camps, and the palaces and prisons. May the whispers of hope reach the ears of hope-hungry people in the shadows of our world.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width: 0%">-<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span>Shane Claiborne, <i>The Irresistible Revolution<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">“what’s so wrong with being happy?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Kudos to those who see through sickness.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">She woke in the morning, She knew that her life had passed her by,</p><p class="MsoNormal">and she called out a warning,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">‘Don’t ever let life pass you by.’<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I suggest we learn to love ourselves before its made illegal<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">When will we learn? When will we change?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Just in time to see it all come down.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width: 0%">-<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span>“Warning” Incubus<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">i pray that you all might have the faith that i lacked...That you may believe the truth of the poverty in our world...They are here and as real as you and me. i pray that you understand that they share the same feelings, desires, emotions, pains and yearnings as you. But by some "chance" or divine providence, they were born into the 3rd world when we were born into the 1st. Nothing will ever change unless people who are able do something about it. So i pray we may find the Courage, Wisdom, and Faith to be all that we can be, and help a world that is in definite need of it - whether through prayer, time, or talents - giving yourself is a beautiful thing.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">i hope everyone is doing well as always! Pray for patience, understanding, joy, compassion, mercy, generosity and love...for all of us!</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">Life, Love and Peace</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">uncle matthew</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div></div><br /></div>Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-64929703200565229592009-04-01T06:45:00.004-07:002009-04-01T08:49:52.028-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipqxg82fwOHCiEslIW-3hD6S6wB6W_09yuY_FlYs59fp7OYTLHgVI8cv7ZvWd2o1LqkVpzeruQ2x_04hU_pcK6OAgsp7I9yDNZdgRDDlwSrQcF6UauhS6rNrghNhfA8hBU-bXqRKLJ2CYw/s1600-h/p.41095.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319749478464709202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipqxg82fwOHCiEslIW-3hD6S6wB6W_09yuY_FlYs59fp7OYTLHgVI8cv7ZvWd2o1LqkVpzeruQ2x_04hU_pcK6OAgsp7I9yDNZdgRDDlwSrQcF6UauhS6rNrghNhfA8hBU-bXqRKLJ2CYw/s400/p.41095.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibrKyOox-5jLOn3jEva7OnOVXnahAG_kKh9gLmeKH4r-C0TRIW8uML2U8hZT4RQU56rgdzEUW5atbSK0vrZmJ7J1YZnwYheRRQWlCC41ojSD5J4R2l9wcg6T8RLvQwuaD9ORLz7_1zHHkf/s1600-h/p.41094.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319749474328190242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibrKyOox-5jLOn3jEva7OnOVXnahAG_kKh9gLmeKH4r-C0TRIW8uML2U8hZT4RQU56rgdzEUW5atbSK0vrZmJ7J1YZnwYheRRQWlCC41ojSD5J4R2l9wcg6T8RLvQwuaD9ORLz7_1zHHkf/s400/p.41094.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCRIhFE2Hr6QuGH_oPWW4uGPyODI0XEWM5Inleqz12UuqaetN1zW2L-i6_niQByGwAaV374_OdNpQtb1AlF9vhc0w8QLh0me54DiGXX-PBNE5lBYXAyv0Yc7Df8gVGp140hX0DgqITbXH/s1600-h/p.41093.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319749473642541794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCRIhFE2Hr6QuGH_oPWW4uGPyODI0XEWM5Inleqz12UuqaetN1zW2L-i6_niQByGwAaV374_OdNpQtb1AlF9vhc0w8QLh0me54DiGXX-PBNE5lBYXAyv0Yc7Df8gVGp140hX0DgqITbXH/s400/p.41093.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyI44UeGD7nyRVDJZ3wUeRSNkXcEb-F6qtNvJEOuvzkreNkn9NaknB5NMfdOxcopEg05Tbm2zPwCdnSMji1paH5eNAtYGmPtUyUyj8SZ5eQy8LIBJ7FdZpaQ1Vlbfg5dFKA3g1ALVsc6R1/s1600-h/p.41092.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319749465806242706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyI44UeGD7nyRVDJZ3wUeRSNkXcEb-F6qtNvJEOuvzkreNkn9NaknB5NMfdOxcopEg05Tbm2zPwCdnSMji1paH5eNAtYGmPtUyUyj8SZ5eQy8LIBJ7FdZpaQ1Vlbfg5dFKA3g1ALVsc6R1/s400/p.41092.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM1ESYOL-6aAxBpDEAcw8SFdVtn-_RC_QdREhqab0ZwBdg9qDhxO0MCAEaHy8FQF0Ap5VROt9vToav5ELUC8ZwSJe5TBiLUlvNA_THKsA1oAIRXaxa3tlTN_S8cswVM5v7gZ_lTwdGHX6-/s1600-h/p.41091.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319749463170186530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM1ESYOL-6aAxBpDEAcw8SFdVtn-_RC_QdREhqab0ZwBdg9qDhxO0MCAEaHy8FQF0Ap5VROt9vToav5ELUC8ZwSJe5TBiLUlvNA_THKsA1oAIRXaxa3tlTN_S8cswVM5v7gZ_lTwdGHX6-/s400/p.41091.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">We are all spirits on a journey. We are all in the chapter of existence known as human. Human is a chapter of learning - A chapter of listening - A chapter of trial and error, lots and lots of error. But there is hope. Our God is a loving, forgiving and merciful God. But we must not disobey his will… we must live for him. Striving everyday to continuously better our journey. Will we take part in the journey? Will we start RUNNING towards the arms of a father more wise, more compassionate, more loving and merciful than anyone will ever begin to fathom? ...</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">But that being said, our God is serious. He wants his people for himself – he doesn’t want to share us with the false Gods (Money, Power, Materialism). Will we accept him? Will we strive to rise to the challenge? Will we follow his lead on the road of life? Or will we ignore God’s calling – falling deeper and deeper into the sinkholes of this world: stress, fear, anger, lust, greed, jealously, selfishness, hate, etc. until we are lost in complacency -and instead of rising, either float into nothingness, or live backwards. To LIVE backwards is exactly how it is spelled backwards, E-V-I-L, EVIL. We are human in nature, and that nature is one of mistakes, sin – and plenty of it. So will we let our father teach us? Will we pay attention to the signs in this classroom of life? Will we follow the road, the journey he’s laid out for each and every one of us? We all have different paths – will we follow the one he’s laid out for us?</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"></span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"></span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"></span>- entry from my notes… 12:00 am 9/8/2008</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width: 0%">-<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span>Wisdom 3:1-3</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">WE are all fools – all far away from what is real or of real importance</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">That verse is how i feel about this trip…</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">To a lot of people i know, coming to Africa was foolish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“What can you do there anyway? Why now? What will you do with your life? Why won’t you be like everyone and just go to class, stay in college, and get your degree – make some money – get ready for life?What are you gonna do there that you couldn’t do here?”…</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">The honest answer is i felt like “sobering” up… haha…i was tired of living in college…i felt that instead of swimming or sinking, i was floating…</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">i felt like sobering up to life. i wanted that waking up, that realization, that revelation of what was real in this life. i was, am, and will continue to be a fool, but i hope in my foolishness i can try to get closer to reality. Now i know “it could have been just as easy to do that in our own back yard”, and i agree to a certain extent…but i thought that if i stayed at home i’d miss out on getting the real and true view. (“don’t stay home” 311)</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">“Life in one big road with lots of signs. So when you’re riding through the ruts, don’t complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don’t bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake up and live.”</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width: 0%">-<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span>Bob Marley</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">i was learning things from my friends, from the people i met, and the situations i was living in…and i don’t regret a single one of them, i’m thankful for them – especially my friends, after all we’re always right where we need to be, and those things got me to today…</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">i was learning what i wanted to be, and what i didn’t want to be…but something was missing - i was still only taking that inside view - i hadn’t taken that look from the outside in… and that is why i had to make my pilgrimage to the “motherland”. i needed to step out of my own skin of convenience, and take a look at the life i was living from the otherside - the side of the majority of the world - the view of those outside of the convenience most don’t ever get the pleasure of being numbed by. And as i’m continuing on the adventure i embarked on, i’m learning more and more of my desire to take a stand, to no longer live in that convenience i was raised in, but try and dig out the scar tissue left by the leprosy on my soul, the numbness from reality brought about by blindness to what is true. It will be hard, it will be a struggle – i don’t know how many times i’ll fall, but i want to give it a shot. </p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in">“Scar tissue that i wish you saw</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in">Sarcastic mr. know-it-all</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in">Close your eyes and i’ll kiss you ‘cause</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in">With the birds i share….</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in">With the birds i share this lonely view”</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"></span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"></span>- “Scar Tissue”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The Red Hot Chili Peppers</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">So this is just an idea of what a day in the life of a volunteer at Liberia Mission might be….</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">As 6:15 rolls around i start to stir. i usually wake up to laughing from the kids outside drawing water from the well or Jerome walking by our room asking in what should-have-been-whispered- yet-screamed manner “BOSS YOU UP?!” With a smile i roll over, tell my roommate, John good morning and say a quick “Thank you” to the big man and step out of the bed.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Immediately as i open my door, i’m greeted with usually more than 15 “ELLO - GOOD MORNING UNCLE MAC!”s (for some reason when they shorten it from matthew they call me mac? But i think i like it better like that anyways Haha). My morning is automatically started off with a smile. “Good morning! How was the night?!” is my usual response.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And their’s is always the same… “Thank God. Good!”…</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">By this time i’ve gotten to the end of the corridor and am turning into the kitchen to share an always-interesting morning coffee with John and Jerome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>After a second cup, i leave the twosome and get my nourishment for the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>i go and grab my daily book and post shop on the front steps to read the daily readings and a meditation while watching the sunrise…always a wonderfully peaceful way to start off the day.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Around 7:30 you can hear the school bell ring from the campus down the road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>All the boys come running out of the dining hall from their breakfast (cassava) in their uniforms and take off towards campus…usually chasing one another haha…</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">They join up with all the other students and line up in front of the school for the morning assembly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>During the assembly they sing songs of praise, hear the gospel and a little word from Benjamin (who doesn’t attend the school), and then announcements and what not from Mr. Glee, the school principal.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Somewhere in between Ben’s reading and the announcements i usually try to sneak around from behind the students and to the side of the school as to not distract them from what they should be hearing…This 100% of the time never works…I am always noticed by at least fifteen 5-12 year olds who find it much more amusing to make funny faces at me rather than pay attention (this sometimes ends with one of the teachers chasing them with a stick – seriously)…</p><!--StartFragment--><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">So i get to my corner on the school and wait…</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Mr. Glee finishes his announcements and then the gates are released…</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">My class, K-2, sprints at full speed towards me to see who will be the line-leader for the day, almost always Marcus wins this foot race – followed either by Rufus or Merci.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We usually start the day of with their favorite game… “SIMON SAYS HANDS ON SHOULDERS….SIMON SAYS MARCH! LLLEEFFFFTT. LEEFFFTTT. LLLEEFFTTT– RIGHT – LEFT.” i would be lying if i said we looked orderly, and it would be an even further stretch from the truth if I were to say we made a decent line, but hey, it gets us to the classroom (which we are blessed to have in the back of the church).</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">The classroom is a war zone – and in the war, i am losing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Haha. These kids are crazy! Great kids, but crazy… First of all, i’m pretty sure 85% of them have ADHD. Secondly, you have to realize this is a different culture than in the states… </p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">In the states, school is our job, it’s just accepted – its what you do, and everyone does it. Chores are not fun, but they’re something we have to do – work that we think is unnecessary but our parents tell us is a good thing for us…</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">In Liberia, WORKING is your job, even as a child– labor, pulling water, working the field, brick making, selling in the market, whatever – it’s just what you have to do. School is to them what chores are to us (especially since education is not required, and a vass majority of the country is illiterate).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>To them, work is just life. They will NEVER mind - i take that back - they LOVE “chores” like going to pull water so we can wet the rag to erase the chalkboard, or cleaning the room, or taking out the trash…but when it comes time to actually learning numbers or words…that is, the true “chore” for them, my whiners, complainers and mumble-ers come out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is something we tell them will benefit them, but they have no desire in doing it. This factor usually accumulates some behavior issues, but we can get into that later…</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">..We have a much-needed recess break for 45 min, which is almost always spent laying down or trying to get more caffeine into my system. Haha..</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">After recess, i’m usually pretty burnt out from the war on learning, so that is usually when we have story time or arts and crafts…Yesterday we read the Jungle Book and i had the “Bare Necessities” song stuck in my head ALL day.</p><!--EndFragment--><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">The school day comes to an end at 12:15, and everyday i walk out with a greater and greater appreciation for elementary school teachers…</p><!--StartFragment--><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">After school, there is a break and lunch. Lunch starts at 1, and then at 2 we head into the field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In the field we tend the crops, which are a huge supply of the food we eat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We water, harvest, make lines, plant, weed, dig water holes, “hook”, and always sing in the field. Do you remember that song from SpaceJam? You know that “I believe I can fly..” song? Haha well that is one of the kids’ favorite, along with every Bob Marley and Akon song you can think of…</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">We leave the field at 5 sweating and smiling, and a lot of the kids leave laughing at me and saying that they have become like me because of the white complexion they’ve obtained due to jumping in the clay-filled waterholes they’ve just dug in the bush.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">After work comes play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Soccer is played every day on the “field” behind the house for an hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Now when i say field, think of an unleveled gravel parking lot with about only ¼ of the gravel…that is our field…and most of the kids play with either one shoe (sandal) or barefoot (one day i tried to play barefoot with them and my feet were sore for a week). i get the joy of playing with these kids, and let me tell you, they are unbelievable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For some reason i always get picked to play, but i really don’t know why because i’m honestly probably the worst on the field…i think it’s either because i’m the biggest or just plain sympathy…i’m leaning towards sympathy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A quick thank you to Mr. Chip for all the soccer balls, we are using them!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The bush (thorns from the bush) has eaten 7 of soccer balls since I’ve been here and we are currently on number 8 (Daniel we’re using your ball! Thanks man!).</p><!--StartFragment--><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">After soccer everyone takes their bucket bath that i’ve described because we don’t have running water and then goes back to the dining hall to get in line for dinner. </p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Our wonderful cooks, Marta and YA serve dinner around 6:30 and then the boys have time to eat and head to prayer…Prayer is a beautiful 30 minutes of singing, drums, dancing, a liturgy reading, and a little talk…my favorite part of the day<span style="FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-char-type: symbolfont-family:Wingdings;" ><span style="mso-char-type: symbol;font-family:Wingdings;" >J</span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">After prayer we have study hall in the dining room until 9…then most of the kids start heading towards bed, getting much needed rest in order to be up at 5 to start their chores and do it all over again…</p><!--EndFragment--><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">“(God’s) love for us led Christ to Gethsemane and to Calvary. Sin did it, our sin and the sins of the world. Sin still does it…God is not being loved and honored as he should by the race he has elevated to the sublime dignity of adopted sons. There is a gap, and God is looking for someone to stand in the gap before him on behalf of this race and beg that he may not destroy it… We do all that we can do just to make God forget the ingratitude of man in return for his boundless love and to make him remember his mercies. He hangs before us on the cross crying out, “I thirst.” It is to quench the thirst of this divine Lord that Missionaries of Charity do all that seems madness to the world. We are truly blessed in having a little share in the following of the cross.</p><!--StartFragment--><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"></span>See the compassion of Christ toward Judas, the man who received so much love, and yet betrayed his own Master, the Master who kept the sacred silence and would not betray him to his companions. Jesus could have easily spoken in public and told the hidden intentions and deeds of Judas to the others, but he did not do so. He rather showed mercy and charity; instead of condemning him, he called him a friend. If Judas had only looked into the eyes of Jesus as Peter did, today Judas would have been the friend of God’s mercy. Jesus always had compassion”</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width: 0%">-<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span>Momma T … Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (1997)</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection and (the) sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width: 0%">-<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span>Philippians 3:8-11</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width: 0%">-<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span>John 12:26</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">“The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked; the shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot; the money that you keep locked away is the money of the poor; the acts of charity that you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit.”</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"></span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"></span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"></span>- St. Basil</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Did you know that there is more money being spent on boob jobs and Viagra than alzheimer’s…shows what we find important - Haha one’s imagination can only fathom what kind or society we are setting up</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">There are some days where i dread going to teach class – some days where i feel like hiding from the African sun or staying in from the fields – some days when i miss the value menu at Wendy’s – but every day i learn something new about this life, about the world, about myself. Every day is different, and every day brings something new, a new lesson, something good. I learn something new from my kids and their culture. I learn something new from the village across the road. I learn something new from working in the fields. I learn something new from walking the crowded and worn down streets of Redlight and Monrovia. It’s a different world here.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">So yea i am foolish - i left my ac. i left my family, my friends, my girlfriend. i left the cold water from the fridge and started pulling it from a well - i left a hot shower for a bucket and a bowl. i’m foolish to go to a place where i’ve developed ricing sores. i’m foolish to leave a couch to go plow cassava in the African heat. i’m foolish to leave the comforts of fitting in, to being the minority, and to be judged (and rightfully so) when i walk through the crowded markets of Redlight or Monrovia. My life was much easier back home, and yes i am definitely foolish to leave it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>i may be a fool, i may be silly, i may not make sense, but i am in peace, and i am more happy and fulfilled than i have ever been before.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">No words, or pictures or stories will ever begin to give due justice to the experiences i’m having while i’m here – the lives i’m witnessing – the culture these people are showing me – the love and peace i’m feeling</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Like always, i hope all of you are well! i hope the road of life has got you right where you need to be, and i pray that we all have the patience, and understanding to be thankful for whatever we’re going through.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Pray for patience, understanding, mercy, compassion, joy, generosity, love and peace… for all of us!</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Life, Love and Peace</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">uncle matthew</p><!--EndFragment--><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><!--EndFragment--><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><!--EndFragment--></div></div></div></div>Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-48433546211678838762009-03-26T08:04:00.000-07:002009-03-26T08:51:30.050-07:00<div style="text-align: center;"><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">“BE NOT AFRAID.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I GO BEFORE YOU ALWAYS</p> <p class="MsoNormal">COME, FOLLOW ME, AND I WILL LEAD YOU HOME”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTdnkRHC3GZDTNIP44V_ogHqIY_QEtxtphBoNTHo0oqUt78Qo_4-lg7yOThbPaFBzCXD9fS5i3HJl8n6S-ITklDqT8M9rIa51gIamKeoz5H7bmiJEvDUzJIlGZffgQOHpqoMRK0fBtV-TK/s1600-h/liberia-boy2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 379px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTdnkRHC3GZDTNIP44V_ogHqIY_QEtxtphBoNTHo0oqUt78Qo_4-lg7yOThbPaFBzCXD9fS5i3HJl8n6S-ITklDqT8M9rIa51gIamKeoz5H7bmiJEvDUzJIlGZffgQOHpqoMRK0fBtV-TK/s400/liberia-boy2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317516510123103570" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">One of the boys from the Our Lady of Fatima Rehab Center</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Now A crippled man was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his full attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but whatever I have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. He walked into the temple courts, leaping joyously and praising God.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Acts 3:2-9</p> <p class="MsoNormal">+</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Yesterday was a hard day.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>For a minute i felt as thought my life here, or who i want to be at least, was in vain…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">+</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the Catholic Church, yesterday was the Annunciation of the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It heralds the beginning of our salvation… It is the celebration of when Mary, said YES.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqGyQ6oHQ9pYqNbHCycWq3L4bwvwR1wfebDvxfm6rn_XcQrpryLoVLaimnagbkJZZYl_f8vNFKi9IeCZC0KFr-DF_fAC-5E_r2wPfGbxRVBusOSSLjfJ32x9cBCaFLnFp5Jd3I4L4Yf_mj/s1600-h/P3210252.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqGyQ6oHQ9pYqNbHCycWq3L4bwvwR1wfebDvxfm6rn_XcQrpryLoVLaimnagbkJZZYl_f8vNFKi9IeCZC0KFr-DF_fAC-5E_r2wPfGbxRVBusOSSLjfJ32x9cBCaFLnFp5Jd3I4L4Yf_mj/s400/P3210252.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317516505944163426" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Alter cloth of the Queen of Peace and baby Jesus over Africa - from the Virginia Retreat</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">“In Jesus, God has placed, in the midst of barren, despairing mankind, a gift from above.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Pope Benedict XVI</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">THE ANGEL GABRIEL was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “<i>Do not be afraid</i><span style="font-style:normal">, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will give him the throne of David his father, and he will full over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; </span><i>for nothing will be impossible for God</i><span style="font-style:normal">.” Mary said, </span><i>“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”</i><span style="font-style:normal"> Then the angel departed from her.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>- Luke 1:26-38</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">+</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Do not be afraid. Nothing will be impossible for God. May it be done to me according to your word.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When I talked at prayer last night those words were the only words I could focus on from when Benjamin had read the gospel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Blessed be the name of the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He is so good…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And over and over again He shows me that although He gives and takes away, He always provides, and NOTHING is impossible with Him.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So when i first got here one of my biggest fears, was the stigma of the American. And i see it played out every time i go to Redlight or Monrovia but i thought, or at least hoped, i would never see it here at the mission…Well today i did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And it was pretty heavy on my heart…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Today, John (a new volunteer that came from Cape Cod – i also met John last summer when i was in Honduras) and i went to Monrovia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When David Dionisi (founder of the mission – teachpeace.com) was here he asked me to do a favor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He told me that 4 of the boys who had never asked him for anything asked if they could have a few things (3 wanted soccer cleats – which none of them have, and the other wanted art supplies – which also none of them have).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dave felt that the boys had been so good, and the past 5 years they hadn’t asked him for anything, so he wanted to get these things for them - - can you blame him?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The dilemma was that he was about to leave and wouldn’t have time to take the boys on the errand himself – so he asked if i would do it for him. i didn’t think anything of it and quickly agreed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But the more i thought about it, the more i was hesitant…i knew that if i got stuff for 4 boys…there would be 92 others who would be without…and its not like they aren’t going to notice that they have new cleats – most of them play soccer barefoot. So i put off the trip…until yesterday…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This is when the day starts spiraling..</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">John and i left for Monrovia with the Mission driver, Mr. Alfred.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When we got to Waterside Street, which is the big open market in Monrovia, we parked the car and got out to look for a place to exchange the money i had ($US) into Liberian Dollars…</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Out of the corner of my eye, i saw a money counting machine in a store on the side of the market and decided that would be a good place to give it a shot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>i walked in and asked if they could change $US into $Liberians and they said “Yea, of course”. They asked me how much, and i said $200.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>i gave them the money, and as the girl was changing it…she started snorting…like a pig…i heard it and at first and thought she had an itch in her throat…but as it continued there was no mistake that it was an insult…</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We left the store and i looked at Alfred and asked if it meant what i thought it did…He looked at me, turned away, and just nodded…He knew it would hurt me, and he was right… They woman snorted - implicating that i was a white pig with money… </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It was all i could think about, but we had to run the errands so i tried block it out as much as possible. We found a group of men selling cleats on the side of the street and we stopped and bought the cleats…Alfred later informed me that the men told him that if the cleats were for him he would have sold them for $17 US but since i was buying it he would charge me $20… as i’ve been around Honduras and now here, i’m definitely used to having to pay more because i’m american, but because of what had happened earlier, it kinda got to me…i tried to let it go, and we walked towards the car to head out… </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEwcjAeQE65H20zg6v0KigzxC_p4yzmph5yU14MQi1NhYzeEJz1VsMEIYP_ih2oa4B2tW-6-7jAJePxJ_c5GgaqLFNOczZmq4hS66i5maiTScmCkxSVaq-_vPYCUpLUgAJUefOQvPNVZQZ/s1600-h/25_liberia_50653.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 302px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEwcjAeQE65H20zg6v0KigzxC_p4yzmph5yU14MQi1NhYzeEJz1VsMEIYP_ih2oa4B2tW-6-7jAJePxJ_c5GgaqLFNOczZmq4hS66i5maiTScmCkxSVaq-_vPYCUpLUgAJUefOQvPNVZQZ/s400/25_liberia_50653.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317516501981231618" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">boy soldiers fighting in Monrovia during the war</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Let me preface this next part by saying that throughout the entirety of Monrovia, the streets are crawling with crippled men - past child soldiers or rebels, begging for change walking around in cructches or scooting around on boxes atop wheels because they either have had one or both legs blown off. Well when you park in a bad part of town they usually watch your car for money.. not a lot, 10-20 $Liberians (20-30 cents $US)..not a lot to us... but that buys a meal and a drink in Liberia…and that’s a good amount of money to someone asking for money on the street because they can’t get a job …</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So we get to the car and this man from a store walks up to me as i’m getting in the van…He tells me that he was watching our car and he was demanding that i give him something for compensation…</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The issue was he was not a cripple, he was a store owner…I also did not ask him to watch the van…and he was not asking…he was demanding… “ I watch yo’r car, Wha’ you gonna give me!?!”… i didn’t know what to do, at first i just smiled and said i hadn’t asked him to watch the car… “Bu’ I did…Wha’ yo gonna give me?!?” he insisted… i didn’t know what to do, and i knew i had some $Liberians in my back pocket – i didn’t really think, and me being the people-pleaser that i am – not wanting to leave the man “vex” - reached back for a bill and handed it to him… </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Well it just so happens i only had 50s in my back pocket…when i exchanged money i received large bills because $200 US is $12,800 Liberians…i felt like an idiot…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And it didn’t help that the man walked back to his street-side-store holding up the money to his friends while simultaneously pointing at me and laughing… It was definitely not helping my feeling like just another “throw-money-at-everything-american”, which in all honesty, is how we portray ourselves to other countries around the world – or at least in the experiences i’ve had, that’s how the people have perceived me…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So i sat quietly the whole hour and a half ride back to BlackTom Town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>i just thought. i felt like instead of attempting to erase the “money = everything” stigma, i had added to it, and i was just became another stupid white man in Monrovia with money…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">i got back to the mission and i gave the 3 boys their cleats and jerseys…they were so thankful…which was nice…but the thought of the other boys was still in my head…</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And when i went to work in the field, multiple boys asked… “Uncle Matthew, you got them boots, I want some too!”…they saw me as just money, a means to get material stuff… My heart was heavy…i came here in hopes of getting away from the materialism…the power of money…the means to “things”…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And then boys started asking me for clothes, bags, and other things - it was a hard day on my soul. i didn’t want to be that. Sure, i would love to buy them ALL cleats, and i told them that – but if i did, i would be sending the message opposite to that of which i want to send… i didn’t want to give them <i>just money</i><span style="font-style:normal">…i wanted to give them something i believe is more valuable… i wanted to give them myself, my time, my love…i wanted to be like Peter to the cripple… “Silver or gold I do not have, but whatever I have I give to you” it wasn’t money that made the cripple walk and then leap joyously… it was Peter, it was the power of Love - of giving himself and devotion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span><i>Something more valuable then a means to material…more valuable than money…<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So last night at prayer…As Benjamin was reading the gospel (the reading from Luke at the top), God put heavy on my heart what i had to talk about…<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><u>“Do not be afraid. Nothing will be impossible for God. May it be done to me according to your word.”<o:p></o:p></u></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>“Do not be afraid”</b><span style="font-weight:normal"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">i told them about how i had a bad day…and why it hurt me…i told them that that was why i left the numbness of convenience and materialism. But in the same breath, also that i was <i>afraid</i><span style="font-style:normal">…i was </span><i>afraid</i><span style="font-style:normal"> of coming here and my “mission” be in vain – i was </span><i>afraid</i><span style="font-style:normal"> of just being another white guy to the people, who everyone expects to throw around more money then they’ve ever seen or needed. i talked to them about why it bothered me when they all wanted me to get them “stuff”, and that although i would have loved to, that with the money i have here (made possible by all of you - thank you all again for your support and prayers!) i wanted to put towards the greater good of all. i told them that money can be good, when used for the right things, and that with the money i had - i wanted to put it towards bringing more people into the program or sending more people to school. i explained to them the good in giving to people who really need it in this country the same opportunity that they were receiving, who needed it more then they needed new “boots”. i did want to be preaching the gospel of “Lord please enlarge <b>my</b></span> territory” instead of the Gospel of Love, sacrifice… the gospel of a Savior who was poor that we might become “rich” in the words deepest meaning…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Nothing will be impossible for God”<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">i told them that although in the states i lived in the convenience and in a world of things, i came in hopes of giving something else, myself. i wanted to be <i>real</i><span style="font-style:normal"> with them, i wanted to be bold yet soft, i wanted to run, play, laugh and cry with them. i wanted to be vulnerable and uncomfortable. i wanted to live the life they live – out of my comfort zone - and learn how to Love and be generous… i don’t want to live for me or just focus on myself (did you know that English is the only language where “I” is capitalized?)which is extremely difficult and only human - especially in the society where we live…but in reality we’re only creatures for a while. (311)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfV0CPMdHDBFVwOlSIBfUdwOW5DORgO1YlcGZtC_rOik95ZE1XV1bw-Ec2VWG-bGsux6CREGc9Gi66uE9Y2BdXpP5E3cKftIaFNONkku7DhfHZ0EpuJM2NmXHUmFkICjSixt-ORY6MU97/s1600-h/P3210254.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfV0CPMdHDBFVwOlSIBfUdwOW5DORgO1YlcGZtC_rOik95ZE1XV1bw-Ec2VWG-bGsux6CREGc9Gi66uE9Y2BdXpP5E3cKftIaFNONkku7DhfHZ0EpuJM2NmXHUmFkICjSixt-ORY6MU97/s400/P3210254.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317516499693280210" /></a><br /></div><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“May it be done to me according to your word.”<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">i told them that we had to say “Yes” like Mary did. That faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains… <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Sometimes the only way is jumping – i hope you’re not afraid of heights” (Gavin Degraw)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">…That we will have doubts, we will have fears – after all we are flesh…<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">But the great thing about life is that it is full of uncertainty…its an adventure…<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">[Jesus said,] "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">i told them that i am very much LEARNING faith - That every single day is a struggle for faith (Even Mother Teresa said there were days when she didn’t know what she believed in or if there was a God).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">But if we can find that faith, if we can put our trust in God, He will always provide...Because nothing is impossible with Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And i told them that when i said yes to God calling me here, i knew He wanted me to graduate from the sublime…the things we in america don’t see…the power of money, or where we really put our love…i wanted to look at the faces i meet, i didn’t want to just live for a buck…or give just a buck(Third Eye Blind)…i wanted to give me… i asked them to help me to continually say yes… to hold me accountable… to help me to become a servant…<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“I am not skilled to understand<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">What God has willed me, what God has planned<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I only know at His right hand<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Stands One who is my savior”<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Aaron Shust<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“What’s it gonna be? Are you real to me? Or are you Non Dairy… creamer?<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The new love is burning up in me <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">‘cause 1 in 4 american girls has an STD.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">And you can buy yourself some implants<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">but you can’t buy a soul that never launched<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">With your chest bumped up what are you so afraid of? What are you so afraid of?<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So what’s it gonna be? Are you real to me? Or are you Non Dairy… creamer?<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Mission Accomplished.”<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>-“Non Dairy Creamer” Third Eye Blind<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game…its easy<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Nothing you can make that can’t be made<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">No one you can save that can’t be saved<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Nothing you can do, but you can learn how to be you in time…its easy<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE. ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE. ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Love is all you need<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Nothing you can know that isn’t known<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Nothing you can see that isn’t shown<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">There’s nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be…it’s easy<span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE. ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE. ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Love is all you need”<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>“All You Need is Love” The Beatles<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk!<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Isaiah 55:1<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“…Upon entering this path of unity we had chosen him alone. In a burst of love we had decided to suffer with him and like him. Well then, we have experienced that God, who is nothing but love, cannot be outdone in generosity, and through a divine alchemy he transforms pain into love. In a word, he was making us into Jesus, whom we experienced in ourselves through the gifts of his Spirit, gifts which are summed up in love…”<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Chiara Lubich<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It is Love that God desires, not empty sacrifices…<o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1aCau_JZh177WnkySGJOtSL-4UiINPdMsS9aX3OuBUcRMRcIGFfuRPOIM5Ys6JUrtGz6644-sdr7ZeXEdLEnF_e7otizZ5l51plivG7ySYK6Pn-xx2A0omfNh06-DeGLwhGpHoVn6ifP/s1600-h/P3210276.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1aCau_JZh177WnkySGJOtSL-4UiINPdMsS9aX3OuBUcRMRcIGFfuRPOIM5Ys6JUrtGz6644-sdr7ZeXEdLEnF_e7otizZ5l51plivG7ySYK6Pn-xx2A0omfNh06-DeGLwhGpHoVn6ifP/s400/P3210276.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317516497474552658" /></a><br /></div><div>Thank you all for your prayers and support, we definitely feel them! I hope everyone is doing well, and I pray that you never let whatever fire is burning in your heart be extinguished ...</div><div>Pray for Love, understanding, generosity, compassion, wisdom, and courage for all of us...</div><div><br /></div><div>Life, Love and Peace</div><div><br /></div><div>uncle matthew</div>Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-1171204536734344152009-03-23T10:17:00.000-07:002009-03-23T10:53:12.655-07:00<div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AN0j4uRODNh7GmjZ8_8_QrevVDGCm_ihSTHIk6UzMT81bBCNI7sWAzN3rtWsDXkzGSllHFTJidRi8X4u8nUx5iGsx4mgi4cMRMBKfBbpZuRw0RxJpjnpidW4yeTLuio8zZUqU26t2xud/s1600-h/p.3:23:09+-+virginia3.JPG" style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /></span> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">So this Great Adventure continues….</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">On Friday Benjamin, myself and 5 other boys from the mission (Anthony, Edwin, Moses, Paye, and Eleazir) took off for a retreat…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We left the mission and headed to Redlight where we met up with close to 200 of the youth that attend the St. Kizito Catholic Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They were not from the mission. They were not from the school, in fact many of them don’t go to school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Most of them spend their days working in the market or farming…</p> <!--EndFragment--> <img style="text-decoration: underline;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AN0j4uRODNh7GmjZ8_8_QrevVDGCm_ihSTHIk6UzMT81bBCNI7sWAzN3rtWsDXkzGSllHFTJidRi8X4u8nUx5iGsx4mgi4cMRMBKfBbpZuRw0RxJpjnpidW4yeTLuio8zZUqU26t2xud/s400/p.3:23:09+-+virginia3.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316439954632267810" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">(the Virginia retreat grounds)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">So Sister Marita (honestly one of the most enthusiastic persons i have ever met) called roll and all 150+ of us squeezed onto a single school bus for the trek to Virginia…</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Do you remember when you used to ride the school bus? Do you remember when the bus was really, really crowded? You know, like 3 persons to every seat?...We fit 6 to a seat ..and the overflow left seatless (including myself) stood and jammed the isles packed.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But this is Africa haha - and no one complained.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In fact, the whole way there all we did was sing songs of praise …every one was so excited to go on the retreat – almost all of them had never gone on an over night trip.</p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfNg-6asHnlZOK785OgAhfRDakuHFPnzrRL7ft3WNblKih6pYkaqGOZ8tNJYKP_oUaWUmzTilK-ZXcvnzAR3TyhnNe1V_1a0GsdMR2VgNK5nAJAmvYXl1nHWoH23GfB1n5H30UTHdbrBL/s1600-h/p.3:23:09-bus2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfNg-6asHnlZOK785OgAhfRDakuHFPnzrRL7ft3WNblKih6pYkaqGOZ8tNJYKP_oUaWUmzTilK-ZXcvnzAR3TyhnNe1V_1a0GsdMR2VgNK5nAJAmvYXl1nHWoH23GfB1n5H30UTHdbrBL/s400/p.3:23:09-bus2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316439879462607810" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">(some of the kids on the bus)</div></div><div><br /></div><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Now if any of you have every experienced a retreat i’m sure that you are thinking of the tranquility and quiet reflection and peace you felt. This was not that retreat. It was loud - and crazy - full of dancing, singing, and playing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Well, i guess this is also not like a lot things but oh well the story continues…</p> <p class="MsoNormal">On the ride i didn’t know what to expect – All i knew is that they told me we were going to the Virginia retreat house, where the pilgramage (almost all of the Catholics in the greater Monrovia area travel to this place to have a special service and worship in celebration of Jesus’ Mother, Mary, every December 8th …thousands upon thousands of Liberians) takes place and i had that Train song, “Meet Virginia” stuck in my head...</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Once we got there and ALL piled off the bus i finally regained the feeling in my legs since the pressure between the isle packed of Liberians and the side of the bus seat cut off the circulation from my hips down…haha you know that tingly - needle feeling? i regained my feeling just in time to notice the ants covering my legs… haha… T.I.A.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So Benjamin, the other boys, and i put our stuff down and walked around the land – It, like the rest of this country, was absolutely beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The kids were so excited about being there – especially Benjamin.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>i honestly thought he was acting like a 16-yr-old who walked out to the driveway to find a car on their birthday.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He was so excited about this chance to be on a retreat with other people and learn about his faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>i think he was also just excited to go somewhere outside the mission for a change…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Anyway the retreat went on…The retreat master led talks and exercises (including one where i had to act like the son of mother worried about my wanting to go out to a club- - all the kids thought the idea of me, a “bana” (white), being the seed of a black woman was hysterical) and we learned about spiritual and societal blindness, the miscommunications and misunderstandings between different people (age- the worried mother skit, race, creed), and how to be followers of a Jesus that came to show us how to love and serve others… the talks were exactly what i was wanting to learn about - and the trip itself was a perfect opportunity to try and learn how to live it…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We slept in a corridor that held around 90 boys on approximately 30 beds…the boys from the mission and i decided we would sleep on the floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is the type of experience i was looking forward to – meeting other Liberians, meeting those who weren’t blessed to be on the mission -Meeting those who lived in the market or the huts, and getting the chance to get a look into their lives, personalities, and their lives. It was an experience.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>At first i think most of them didn’t know what to think of this “bana”, a lot of them gave me strange looks…its awkward being the minority…so i just tried to be real and myself - attempting to make a funny or deformed face…haha… and that usually did the trick or it at least led to a smile or good laugh…</p> <!--EndFragment--> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXntCReENT5MfarZlZUPch_BYJz-EjCfyLOQJ0CXvg_Ce3MsAdC6ce0UwZnG8de4jtVcp5UAUrAXRNRky0yncCdkRNWroX6PV68W0EBMEZQE1ksKu3PTFl5-0SOnniKS6uXCtckfh5fFDA/s1600-h/p.3:23:09-tongue4.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXntCReENT5MfarZlZUPch_BYJz-EjCfyLOQJ0CXvg_Ce3MsAdC6ce0UwZnG8de4jtVcp5UAUrAXRNRky0yncCdkRNWroX6PV68W0EBMEZQE1ksKu3PTFl5-0SOnniKS6uXCtckfh5fFDA/s400/p.3:23:09-tongue4.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316439865800667954" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Many of them didn’t know if i was going to eat Liberian food or eat my own, or if i was going to take a bath with them and like they do – out in the open tossing water from a bucket on your body, or if the white American was really going to sleep on the floor.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>i would say most of them were skeptical at best at the beginning… but through the weekend… through the laughs… the awkwardness…the late night dancing in the corridor… the strange looks turned to smiles, handshakes, jokes and hugs.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Why is God so good?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Why is He showing me His graces?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Why is He blessing me with His people – Showing me how good it is to be mutually real and vulnerable with someone… how we are all one body…not superior nor inferior, but equal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We just have to meet each other in the middle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So the retreat was awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Benjamin and the boys were so grateful, and so happy they got the experience – and i have to say i am too.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I left for the retreat just being the crazy “bana” from the mission tagging along with some of the mission kids…I left with a bus packed full of friends, a beautiful experience, and tons of promised shout outs next time i’m in Redlight…</p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3FP5fxYEpmull8bP0jXors-qk_94SJ-BG411XKRte_pF68OqVi-Z9pEeqisGWoNkMN9rEjpdSwRq-phk1qk8UPvnFvVw5tvkSDza2C9SFFGCQjEES8ki15H-i8KqeL9nD4FuVGrUchhQ3/s1600-h/p.3:23:03-redlight1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3FP5fxYEpmull8bP0jXors-qk_94SJ-BG411XKRte_pF68OqVi-Z9pEeqisGWoNkMN9rEjpdSwRq-phk1qk8UPvnFvVw5tvkSDza2C9SFFGCQjEES8ki15H-i8KqeL9nD4FuVGrUchhQ3/s400/p.3:23:03-redlight1.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316439850962585538" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">redlight</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">“…But if a (child) of God would only get to know and taste the love that is divine – that of the uncreated, incarnate, and suffering God, who is the supreme Good – he would give himself totally to him, and take leave not only of himself but of other creatures as well. He would love this loving God so totally that he would transform himself completely into this God-man, the supreme Good, and beloved one. This is why, if a soul wishes to attain this perfection of love – in which it gives itself completely and serves God without the thought of a reward in this world, or even in the next, but gives itself to God and serves him for himself alone, as the one who is totally good and the total good, and worthy to be loved for himself alone – such a soul must enter through the straight path and walk along it with a love that is pure, upright, fervent and ordered.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>Blessed Angela of Foligno</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">To (those) whom I love in truth – and not only I but also all who know the truth – because of the truth that dwells in us and will be with us forever. Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ in the Father’s Son in truth and love.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:1.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list 1.75in"><span style="mso-font-width:0%">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span>2 John 1-3</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Only Love can bring the rain, the way the beach is kissed by the sea….</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Love Reign O’er Me</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Only love can bring the rain that makes to yearn to the sky</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Only love can bring the rain that falls like peace from on high</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Love Reign O’er Me”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>- “Love Reign O’er me” -The Who…i love the Pearl Jam version though</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>- John 3:16</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake He became poor although He was rich, so that by His poverty you might become rich.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>- 2 Corinthians 8:9</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must renounce himself, take up his cross, and follow me,” says the Lord.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>- Matthew 16:24</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Following Jesus is simple, but not easy. Love until it hurts, and then Love more.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>- Mother Teresa</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Joy is the immediate consequence of a certain fullness of life. For the individual this fullness consists above all in knowledge and Love.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>- St. Thomas</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">i hope everyone Is doing well!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>i pray that God can free us from the things that blind us, and liberate us from the deafness of spirit – that we can learn that it is Love that He desires and not empty sacrifices. Pray for love, patience, joy, peace, understanding, compassion and mercy – for us all.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Life, Love and Peace</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Uncle matthew</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div></div>Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-6076453291173968292009-03-18T12:11:00.000-07:002009-03-20T07:08:33.467-07:00<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Brother’s and sisters: Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="">-<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span>1 Corinthians 1:22-25</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">+</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Every night I look around this place and all I can do is smile.<span style=""> </span>God is so good.<span style=""> </span>He’s given me my daily bread and He is filling me up.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">+</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="">-<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span>Colossians 3:12-14</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So for the past couple of days I haven’t exactly been in tip-top physical condition. I have been a little under the weather, and I will not go into details that will gross you out but let’s just say I’ve had to be within sprinting distance of a toilet.<span style=""> </span>Haha.<span style=""> </span>The problem is double sided.<span style=""> </span>Ok you already know what I’m talking about…anyway I’ve been sick…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So I stayed in my room all day on Monday and most of yesterday.<span style=""> </span>I was away from the things that had been distracting me from my friends, my comforts, my home.<span style=""> </span>So I got a little homesick.<span style=""> </span>I got a little tired of always sweating. An ice cold Gatorade would have been a lot nicer then the luke-warm coke.<span style=""> </span>Chillin on the couch watching some tv would have been pretty sweet I have to admit.<span style=""> </span>And it would have been awesome to have been babied by Elizabeth or my mommy dearest...but that wasn’t happening. So I just thought…ALL DAY.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I started thinking of all the things I didn’t have, all the things I was used to having but was lacking at this given moment. You know, things like running water… so I didn’t have to go refill my bucket from the well every time I used the toilet… or Gatorade...fast food…milk that is dairy (only powder milk here)… or a couch and that little box that turns our brains to mush…hanging out with my friends every night...seeing my girlfriend… being with my family – yea I missed them all.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">But throughout the day, I didn’t miss them any less, but they seemed to fade a little – God was covering up the things I was lacking and showing me the blessings he had been bestowing.<span style=""> </span>He was showing me care in the kids offering to go to the well for me.<span style=""> </span>He was showing me compassion when I walked in the prayer room and they all decided to say a prayer so I got better.<span style=""> </span>He was showing me the good in the things I was lacking.<span style=""> </span>He showed me how not having those things was giving me so much more.<span style=""> </span>Its nice not being able to text all the time or be able to get on facebook every other hour (plus its so much cooler when you don’t check it for a while and have twice as many notifications).<span style=""> </span>Those things are comforts…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">And lately…The biggest thing God has been showing me is the beauty of being uncomfortable, because that is where we find Him</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Jesus dwelled in the mangers, on the streets - He was homeless.<span style=""> </span>When any other king would ride into town on a valiant steed, our God came strolling in over those palm branches on a donkey.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Jesus is in the face of the poor, of the hungry, of the homeless – because that is what He was.<span style=""> </span>And that is what He calls us to Love him – His people is who we are to Love.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Our God lived with nothing because He knew He would leave with nothing.<span style=""> </span>He knew that all He would be and represent are the characteristics and actions He represented.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">When we die we can’t take our credit/debit cards. We can’t take our tv’s. We can’t take our computers or our cars.<span style=""> </span>All we have is our soul.<span style=""> </span>So what do our souls represent?<span style=""> </span>Who-we-are is not our occupation or what family we come from.<span style=""> </span>It is not what team we play for, or political party we represent.<span style=""> </span>WE are our actions. We are the characteristics and the values we represent.<span style=""> </span>And more time I’m without all the things, the comforts…the more I am fulfilled. The happier I am. The more i think about the THINGS of this world... the things that I once thought were so valuable, the things of convenience and comfort, the things that will soon be gone... the more I find that I want to represent what is real and everlasting.<span style=""></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I’m finding that when you don’t have anything, its easier to see what’s important. <span style=""> </span>Jesus, In the faces of these children, is showing me that daily. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">He’s showing me the joy of eating “Buckebugs” since they’re a great source of protein when most everyone’s diet here is cassava, cassava, more cassava - and maybe some fish…plus catching them is have the fun of eating them</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">He’s showing me the gift of getting someone’s water…Or just the gift of having water…The fun of doing chores with your friends...How good it feels to sweat...How joyful singing can be...How praise can be in playing or dancing or singing…the beauty of being real to one another…away from the numbness of convenience and material</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">He’s shown me His face every time I see one of His beautiful Children smile…</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hope all of you are doing well! Please pray for patience, for love, for understanding and compassion - for all of us.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Life, Love, and Peace</p><p class="MsoNormal">Uncle Matthew</p> <!--EndFragment-->Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-85090132436714101762009-03-13T07:56:00.001-07:002009-03-13T07:57:14.503-07:00Thursday 3/12/09<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Jesus said to the Pharisees: “There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these Flames.’ Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or your side to ours.’ He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.’ But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’ He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>-Luke 16:19-31</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Today I went to Saint Kizito High School with the eldest boy in our program, Benjamin. In this past month Ben has been my best friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He has been someone I go to for advice, and He is definitely someone I admire, especially after you hear all of the things he has been through and the work he has done, and the attitude he has had throughout his entire life.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Benjamin is the spiritual leader of the boys here at the mission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Every morning he reads the gospel at the school on the Mission and he also leads that prayer I raved about every night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He is an awesome guy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So the other day he asked me if I would come help him talk about the gospel during the devotional at his school.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He told me it would just be like how I give a quick little talk each night at prayer and it wouldn’t be that big of a deal, so I agreed and didn’t put much thought into it.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Well when we got to the school I realized, yet again, this is Africa and things are a little different…devotional is done in front of the entire student body (1500 people).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Now any of you who know me, know that I am not a shy person, but the thought of speaking to a mass of Liberians had me a little nervous for a couple reasons…the main being I am not Liberian (rhetorical statement, yes I know), and I didn’t want to come across in any offensive means, especially being this American that none of them knew and I was about to talk about my religion with them…I didn’t want to seem like I thought I was superior or thought I was right or any of that nonsense…you get the picture…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Anywho… as I’m freaking out inside my head trying to figure out what on earth to say (praying that God’s words would come and not my own, haha and mainly that I would not screw up His good name) that would be appropriate for situation…I was simultaneously getting a tour of the campus and meeting a few of the faculty.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>*Now keep in mind that passage from Luke that I posted at the beginning of the blog (yea – way up there at the top) was the gospel for the day – what would be read in front of the student body before Ben and I talked.*<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So as I was being introduced to these faculty members… who were very gracious and sincere and smiled when they looked at me and shook my hand (but I also kinda got that feeling they were thinking I was just some spoiled American who didn’t understand their lives or hardships – and rightfully so)…I got the opportunity to talk with the Vice Principal –Steve – for the longest period of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He cordially thanked me for coming to the school and seeing how everything ran.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We talked about education, and how important it was for children, who yearn to learn (yea that rhymed) be fed with the “nourishment” they needed...and how the children in Africa are in dire need of nourishment…physically and educationally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We talked about faith, and the Mission, and he asked Ben and I more about it…then He hit me with one of the hardest questions I have ever had to face…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“I just have one real question...” he started, “Why is it that you Americans come over here set up missions, try to evangelize us to your faiths, preach to us about Jesus, but then forget to practice what you’re preaching?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">…Well…after I picked my jaw from up off the floor… I had figured out what I was going to say to the student body, and I was going to say it to Mr. Steve as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I was going to give a confession.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I was going to apologize and ask for forgiveness.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It just seemed kind of ironic to me, and just made me think that God was cracking up at the position I was in right now, especially with what the gospel was about for the day… “Yea, what’s been going on down there rich man?” I could hear God whispering, “You try to evangelize the world to my gospel of Love, service, and humility while you’re still leaving Lazarus (the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed) hangin’ out there to dry.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So the confession thing is what I did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I gave a sincere apology to Mr. Steve, and then to 1500 Liberian students…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I told them that I was sorry for mine, and my fellow brothers in Christ’s hypocrisy against what we preached. (Now I’m not saying that you who are reading, this,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>aren’t good people. Haha. PLEASE, do not get that notion. I’m not saying that at all, I’m just saying that we as American’s are blind to a lot of the world’s truths – myself being at the top of the list – and its time we start making a move towards finding and learning those truths)<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I told them that America is one of the wealthiest countries in the world and that whatever your life revolves around becomes your love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I told them that we had fallen into the trap, not intentionally, but we had definitely fallen. I told them we had been desensitized from the realities of the world – the pain, hunger, and oppression that was very real for a vast majority of the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That our perspectives had shifted inwards and we viewed the “world” as just seeing what we see in the States, “our own little world”, see…and we had forgotten that we are only 6% of the world’s population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I apologized that we set up these organizations that preach of a Savior who was born in stable, who was homeless, while our lives evolve around the consumerism and materialism that has taken over America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I apologized on account of our blindness to the fact that in the gospel today we, as Americans, are the rich man with multitudes of food and fine clothes and we had left Lazarus hangin’… we have neglected our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world …that we were wrong to claim we were the arms of Christ when we weren’t reaching…we were wrong to claim we were the hands of Christ when we weren’t healing…we were wrong to claim we were His feet when we weren’t moving…And we were wrong to claim His words of the way when we weren’t LOVING.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It made me realize more than ever that everyday I am still learning to breathe.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">But I had to smile…Our God is MIGHTY to save.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">He saves the wretch; He is the ‘physician for those who are ill’</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So there is Hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And that’s the note I left them with, that I have hope; That all is not lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That there ARE plenty of people who get it, and who will work to help to bring those who are blind to light… not by word, but by deed….not by talking, but by silently walking with a smile…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Our addictions to this world are not our fault – but they are our problem. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s not our fault that it was the environment we were raised in, or the examples we were shown, but it is still an issue that needs to be overcome – it is still our problem.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So this is what I took from this question of evangelization today… We need to stop talking and we need to listen…its all about perspective…and many times its not about our own</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Now that I see that I am responsible, Faith without deeds is dead.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“What matters most: how well you walk through the fire – burning in water or drowning in flames.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>-Meriwether, “Paper Airplane Machine”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>-1 John 3:17</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The poor are all those who stand in need of OUR love, our time, our interest, our concern.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Tell the rich in the present age not to be proud and not to rely on so uncertain a thing as wealth but rather on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. Tell them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share, thus accumulating as treasure a good foundation for the future, so as to win the life that is true life.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>-1 Timothy 6:17-19</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“In the evening of Life, we shall be judged on love.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>-Saint John of the Cross </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“I believe in…</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The same thing that makes the night become day</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The tide and the water</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The sons and the daughters</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Can’t fight it, Can’t buy it…Love </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I’m gonna say it again</p> <p class="MsoNormal">It’s the same thing that makes the Moonlight meet up with the Sunlight</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Can’t fight it, Can’t buy it…Love</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Things have been seemin’ real ready these days..</p> <p class="MsoNormal">From the north to the south to the east to the west…</p> <p class="MsoNormal">When happiness – is a bullet to your chest – when its your turn.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>-Citizen Cope,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Nite Becomes Day”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Brothers and Sisters unite, It’s the time of your lives</p> <p class="MsoNormal">it’s the time of your lives..</p> <p class="MsoNormal">break down, break down</p> <p class="MsoNormal">gotta spread love around, gotta spread it around”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>-Coldplay, “Brothers and Sisters”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Every day we pay the price, we’re a living sacrifice, jamming till the jamming through”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>-Bob Marley, “Jamming”</p> <!--EndFragment-->Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5637097101262964352.post-67596130374061416942009-03-13T06:30:00.000-07:002009-03-13T08:59:46.828-07:00The Power of Prayer<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">“Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They wider their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>-Matthew 23:1-12</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I want you to hear some of the love this country has - Some of the amazing people of this place…some of the stories that show that Love is here…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The mission I am at is called Mission Liberia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It consists of a compound (the St. Martin House) that houses 96 boys and 25 girls.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It has a 20-acre farm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There is a church (St. Michael the Archangel).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>And there is also a school (St Anthony of Padua) on the property of Mission Liberia.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The mission was founded in 2003 by a man named Dave Dionisi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dave is involved in more than a few projects, including the Our Lady of Fatima Rehab Center about twenty minutes from Mission Liberia site, which is Lower Careysburg, or Blacktom Town, Liberia. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Rehab center is a mission that houses, takes care of and educates special needs children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Now that is an awesome mission by itself when you think about the special needs programs we have back home, but if this place wasn’t here most of these kids would be dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>You see, once again, this is Africa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And in Africa, if a children is born like this they are thought to be a curse, or a punishment for the parents wrong-doings, or a plague on the village.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>These children are<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(at best) thrown into a corner of the hut and thrown scraps of the already scarce food supply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Yes it is awful.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That is why the Rehab center and its mission are so beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Maybe not in view, but its purpose, its mission, its service – its Love – is a beautiful thing.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Until recently, a Nun named Sister Sponsa ran the rehab center.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Sister Sponsa is a frail blind, 5’2’’, 84-year-old woman from the states.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She served and loved these children when no one else did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And when the war broke out, and all the volunteers left the country, Sister stayed with the children… </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Well the center was not spared by the rebels, and they tore down the gate and stormed the property…<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">They decided to pull all of the children and Sister Sponsa out of the chapel at gunpoint and put them in a circle… and for kicks and giggles they decided they would douse them with kerosene….<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">They were going to burn all of them alive…<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sister told everyone, “Don’t stop praying…”<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A crazy thing happened.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>When the rebels attempted to set ablaze this circle of mentally and physically handicapped plus a near-blind-80 year–old –nun, Not one of the rebels could get a match to light…<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The now frustrated Commander of the rebel infantry demanded that they all be shot to death since his pyro-driven imagination seemed to be foiled by “luck”.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Again, sister said the same thing… “Don’t stop praying…”<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">None of the rebels guns would work…They all tried to fire on the circle of victims (covered in kerosene), but none of their guns would fire…<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">…Now I want to remind you that a lot of the rebels were children and had been taken from their villages, brainwashed, taught to kill, and turned into ruthless, blood-thirsty child soldiers…<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So sister looked at one of the rebels, whom she had formally taught, and said, “This is not what I taught you.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>His only response was, “Yes sister.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The young rebel took off running.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He later returned with a truck and drove the children and sister out of the country and to safety…<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Right after they left the compound, Sister’s phone rang.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was a young Muslim girl she had known. “Sister, what did you just do?” the girl asked profoundly. “God just moved me in the most beautiful way.”… When I heard this story I got chills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But that is what happens when we put our trust in the Lord…He provides.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Stories of these type of miracles during the war are all around this country, and all around Africa as a matter of fact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I hear people ask “How can God let this sort of thing happen?” referring to the war, poverty, terrorists attacks, etc….Since I have been here, I have learnt my response to that question, and this is how it goes…<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>-JFK</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We are all at war – with ourselves, with each other, and with God himself. When will we see that our wars cover every dimension?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When will we truly find Truth and Justice – Peace and Love?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Isreal” means “those who wrestle with God”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>-Romans 12:12</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Humility consists in both acknowledging our real nothingness and acknowledging God’s infinite greatness. Self-abasement that fails to look to heaven is not humility. For from heaven, God promises the humble, “Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow.” The scribes and Pharisees “refuse and resist” such humility. Christ begs us today to “be willing and obey.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Magnificat 3/10/09</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>-Philippians 2:3</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">By the grace given to me I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than one ought to think, but to think soberly, each according to the measure of faith that God has apportioned.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Have the same regard for one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly; do not be wise in your own estimation.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>-Romans 12:3,10,16</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span></i><span style="font-style:normal">-John 13:35</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">If the world hates you, realize that is hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you, ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>-John 15:18-20</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>-Matthew 20:28</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">God is everywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And those things that happen are either caused by our action or lack of action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>God put the control into our hands when we received free will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He is always there when we need him, but the killing, the greed, the poverty, are effects of the actions or neglect we have caused. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Hope all is well! Laugh and Love!<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Life, Love, and Peace<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Uncle Matthew<o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->Matthew Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860063764124066206noreply@blogger.com2