So as our departure date for Quebec nears (we leave in just 3 weeks now!), one of the things that has occupied a lot of our time has been sorting through our possessions. What should we sell? keep? donate? take to Canada? store until we go to Haiti? store for the indefinite future? It has been (and continues to be!) quite a process!
On one hand, making the hundreds of tiny decisions has driven me crazy… what books might I want to read in Canada? what size clothes might Benjamin be wearing in 6 months? which toys are important enough to Jacob that they need to go with us, regardless of size or practicality? and while I’m asking questions… how have I accumulated so much STUFF, I who profess to love simplicity?!
On the other hand, I have paused often in recent days to thank the Lord for all that we have… clothes in our closet, books on our shelves, food in the pantry, toys for our kids… we are blessed to have have more than we need!
The other thing that has come to mind recently is the passage in Luke where Jesus challenges the rich young ruler to sell all that he has! We certainly haven’t sold or given away everything we own, but we have given away a lot of things to family and to charity, and i’ve spent a lot of quality time with my craigslist account recently! We’ve sold all sorts of things, from smaller things like baby items (like the saucer and high chair below) to larger things (our car, also below)! It’s been freeing to donate or sell so many things – both for the sake of simplicity, as well as milestones marked towards being ready to move to Quebec!
When I was in high school, my email address was beautyfromchaos@lycos.com. I have always been drawn by the Lord’s ability to take nothing, or chaos, and turn it into immense beauty. I love that this is apparent from the very beginning of time, in the creation story: “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” (Genesis 1:2-3). From nothing, came everything that is beautiful, is pure, is good. The serenity of a quiet forest path. The joy of a newborn’s first cry. The fury of a thunderstorm.
And doesn’t the Lord apply this to our souls, too? He takes our murky, messy, selfish selves and sees what we could be… can be… and over the years transforms us into beings of grace, of love, of generosity, of peace.
People who know me well (or at all, I suppose!) know that I am an organizer. I love to take a huge mess of a closet, or a garden, or a stack of dirty dishes, and turn it into something orderly, clean, beautiful. While any strength can become a weakness if taken too far, I believe this is one of the imprints of His image that the Lord has gifted to me.
Knowing this about me, it would come as no surprise to you that if an organization was taking pieces of trash from the streets and turning them into works of art… this would be appealing to me. Add to this that the organization was located in a developing nation… in fact, in the country that Tim and I will serve in – Haiti. Add too that learning to make these works of art, and being able to sell them, is creating a livelihood for people in poverty, that when these things of beauty are sold, a mother is able to feed her children, a teenage boy with no father and a dying mother can know that he has a future, that children of God can have their dignity restored… does it sound too good to be true?
In reality, this organization is alive and well in Port-au-Prince, and creativity is indeed blossoming amidst the trash piles. In the name of Jesus, dignity and hope are being restored.
The organization is called The Apparent Project and today, YOU have the chance to purchase a thing of beauty… a piece of jewelry made by an impoverished Haitian man, woman, or teen, that has been created from trash: scrap cardboard and paper.
If you live in Nampa, you are invited to our house from 6-9pm tonight to view the jewelry and, if you choose, buy one of these works of art. Each piece comes with a tag that tells about the person who made the item, and that person does not receive payment until their item has been purchased. The items are reasonable priced – earrings for $4, bracelets for $5, necklaces from $12-$22.
If you can’t make it tonight, contact me and we can arrange a different time for you to come by and see it; I’ll have the jewelry for another week or so (partly at our house, and partly at MAF’s headquarters for part of next week). If you don’t live in this area but are really interested, let me know that too and we can possibly work out a way to show you some photos and ship something to you. Please note that this does not benefit our family or ministry with MAF, this is just to love on some folks in Haiti who want to work to take care of themselves and their families.
Art from trash. Dignity from blessing. Beauty from chaos.
As we have watched our ministry support team grow over the past year we have known that the day would come when we would be cleared to attend language school at Parole de Vie (Word of Life) in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Last week we got the official word that the day we were waiting for has come. We have been given permission by MAF to enroll in the fall semester which starts at the beginning of September. We are really excited to be taking this next step in the process of getting to Haiti to serve with MAF.
Our plan is to drive across the country at the beginning of August and make a few stops to a number of those people and churches who have joined our team and helped to make this possible. We will then be in Quebec until June of 2012 when we will make the long drive home for a short stop before moving on to Haiti.
Now you may be wondering if this means that we have completed our ministry support team. We have not. Because this school is on an academic calendar and is not located in our assigned country we are being given the green light even though we still have 9% of our support left to raise. Although MAF has been kind enough to allow us the flexibility to start school, it is our desire to leave for Canada with a complete team of ministry partners. This will allow us to focus on our studies instead of on support raising. If you have been thinking about joining our team this is a great time!! We will be very busy getting ready to leave and finishing up our support for the next several months. If just 30 people can contribute $20 per month our support team will be complete. For more ideas on how you can help us reach this goal visit our Partner With Us page.
Thanks to everyone who has gotten us this far!!!!
