Sunday, We Move Closer to Haiti

This will be our second trip to Haiti. Five of us will be going as representatives of a larger group that wants to find the village that we are supposed to support and assist as we build a friendship that I hope lasts forever. Our group is a partnership of Haitians and non-Haitians. We are not equipped to make big changes in Haiti yet, but we are equipped to make small ones. But, just between us, we believe that big changes are simply a large collection of small changes. We will be visiting several villages in order to find the one that is a good match for the assets we have to offer. We intend to bring positive change, and I am confident that this village will have much to teach us. We will ask, not tell, how we can help. I hope that this becomes a model that can benefit more villages in Haiti. One of the elements of positive change that continues to be talked about in Haiti is the need to move a portion of the population out of Port-au-Prince. This will not happen unless there are attractive opportunities elsewhere. We will work to create attractive opportunities. Even if our project creates a chance for a few to move out of Port-au-Prince that will be a bit less pressure on that burdened city. We will make mistakes along the way, but we hope to make them in a small way as we learn the best ways to be helpful.

Now, this will not be easy, but it has great value. Lives will be changed. My life will be changed. I will learn more of what it is to struggle and survive with grace and dignity. I will learn better what it means to make decisions from a place of poverty and not from a position of plenty. I will learn to love better, pray harder, give more and take less. I will learn these lessons and lessons I cannot yet imagine.

Also, this will not be free. It will cost money. A word about that. We know that it will take money to help accomplish our goals. But our goals are, we believe, worthy. For those of you that would like to contribute to our effort, for those of you that want to support a small, nimble group of passionate people that want to help rebuild Haiti through relationships please, contact me: mdbuhlig@gmail.com or call 816-399-3769