Any Job

BY KATHY FULTON

When each of our kids was very young, they told us what they wanted to “be when I grow up”.  Mitch wanted to be a garbage collector.  He loved watching the guys drive the big truck, throw the trash in, and watch the trash get compressed.  Grant wanted to be a fire truck.  Yes, a fire truck.  “A fire truck?  Don’t you mean a firefighter?”.  “No” he explained, “I want to be a fire truck so I can give kids rides and make loud noises!”.  Kelsi wanted to be a tiger.  I think she got careers and Halloween mixed up.  They grew up, and each pursued the career of their choosing.  Now, instead of having a garbage collector, a fire truck, and a tiger, we have an engineer, a teacher, and a musician.

I am learning so much in Haiti.  Take for instance, a conversation I recently had with a dear young man whom I know in conjunction with our clinic.  One day, in my best Kreyol, I asked him “If you could have any job, what job would you like?”  (I am always so full of questions – just ask my sister!  She has almost as many…).  He replied “Nenpòt [not important, doesn’t matter].  Any job.”  I responded “But if you could choose, what job would you choose?”.  He replied again “Any job.  I am at the clinic Monday through Friday [currently in an unpaid apprenticeship].  I would like to work every day.”  This young man is bright, talented, and motivated to work, but cannot find paid employment.  There are many days he does not have food to eat.  And he truly would be grateful to have a job.  Any job.  How often while employed in the U.S. did I complain about things about my job?  My job I really and truly LOVED.  Are we grateful that we have a job?  Any job?  The level of gratitude this Haitian friend was a poignant reminder to me to remember and be grateful for my blessings.  And oh how I am blessed!

I see another example of this nearly every time we make the trip through Port Au Prince out to the country where the clinic is.  We usually see a man (not the same man each time) pulling a cart like one in the picture.  I can imagine myself doing a similar job (well, on a smaller not-so-heavy scale), saying things like “I can’t believe I have to pull this heavy cart.  Other people have a truck they can use.  And it is SO hot today.  What a long way I have to go.”  It seems in Haiti, when someone has a job to do, they assess the situation, take inventory of what resources they have available, and figure out how to get from here to there.  Their ingenuity and tenacity remind of the Apollo 13 mission, where a team of engineers and other brainiacs worked toward finding a solution to get the Apollo 13 astronauts back home, using only those items that the astronauts actually had on board.  I don’t see these Haitian laborers say “I wish I had a smaller load” or “I wish I had a truck”.  The reality is they have what they have, and they have a job to get done.  Complaining and wishing won’t change that.  They don’t waste time wishing for something they don’t have or complaining about something that won’t change anything.  They just figure out how to solve the problem and get the job done.

I pray that I can learn from these ways, to appreciate the blessings I have, not complain, but claim the blessings that God has bestowed upon me.  I pray that I can continue to grow and learn from my Haitian brothers and sisters.  And I pray that maybe, someday, I can bless someone else here as much as I am being blessed.