December 25, 2012
It’s the night before Christmas in Haiti. Not sure what I expected, but it is different than any “nights before Christmas” I’ve ever experienced before. Some of my fondest memories are of Christmases past, growing up in Portales, New Mexico. That shiny new bike I received one year (with dual headlights built into the frame) . . . the smell of the Christmas tree (a real one), and being sure to water it regularly so the Christmas lights didn’t dry it out and start a fire! And the bubble lights always made my heart sing.
While I’m writing this, the little voices outside our mission house door are shouting, “Da me cinco pesos!” The secret here is these little guys knowing my Creole is limited, but my Spanish is pretty darn good (except for those pesky verbs). Children in Haiti come out of the womb speaking one line of English and one of Spanish: “Give me one American dollar!” and “Da me cinco pesos!” I still haven’t figured out the reason for cinco pesos, seeing as how the exchange rate is about 40 pesos to one American dollar.
I am so glad that I’m here for a greater reason than giving out “one American dollar” or “cinco pesos” to every Haitian I see. If money could solve Haiti’s problems, by now its streets would be paved with gold. Yes, we (Aslan) need money to do God’s work here. But the money is a means to an end; and that end is bringing hope to a people with no hope. Sometimes that hope is a bag of rice – which we will be giving out to 50 Aslan families tomorrow. Sometimes the hope is an education leading to a real job (like the 5 graduates we’ll be sending to university, as soon as we 
find sponsors)! And part of that hope is medicine for a sick child like Cela. But the real Hope we bring – the Hope that all of these things above are intertwined with – is the Hope who stepped out of Heaven some 2,000 years ago and became one of us, as the shepherds kept watch over their flocks by night.
Without Him, we labor in vain and work for nothing. That’s why so many multinational secular nonprofits and government aid organizations are chasing billions with more billions – with nothing eternal to show for it – and always coming back to ask you for more. In the end, their good works are summed up in the lines from a jolly tune: “Be good for goodness sake.”
But the Scriptures say:
“If the Lord doesn’t build the house, the builders are working for nothing. If the Lord doesn’t guard the city, the guards are watching for nothing.” Psalm 127 (NCV)
The house Aslan is building in Haiti is built on the Rock, and it will stand the test of time because of a tiny baby born in a manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes. He came one starry, starry night so long ago to heal the broken hearted. So I know without a doubt that I’m here in the right place.
Joyeux Noël (Joyous Birth of Christ),
Craig
P.S. Upper right picture is of the M100 Spiral Galaxy taken from the Hubble Telescope. Below is Joseph Israel visiting with one of our L’Acajou moms after we took her some rice.
