I Have Been Changed for Good

BY KATHY

I have discovered I am a slow learner when it comes to foreign languages, Haitian Kreyòl included.  I have a tutor in Port Au Prince, another one in Saintard, and several Haitian friends who send me messages and calls with the sole purpose of providing me practice with this new-to-me language.  So, when a U.S. friend donated a used iPhone, I immediately thought of one of these Haitian friends, who often uses his phone to help with my language learning endeavors.  His mobile phone was very near death, so one day we set up the new (used) iPhone together.

Since my friend has never had an email address (no need for one without access to a computer or a smart phone) we needed to set one up before he could get an Apple ID.  With that setup came the security questions, obviously not designed with my Haitian friend in mind.

We were asked to choose 3 security questions from this list of questions they had provided and enter answers:

·      What was the name of your first boss?

Well, he would REALLY love to have a steady, good paying job.  He is apprenticing now, does that count?  Reported unemployment rates vary in Haiti from 40-70%.

·      What is the name of the street where you grew up?

Well, there isn’t really a street address out here in the village, no mail service.  Would a village name work?

 

·      What was the name of the first album you purchased?

Don’t have any albums.  Don’t have a way to play them.  Even if he had a record player, no electricity, no generator.

·      What is your dream job?

ANY job.  See my “Any Job” blog about that.

·      What is your favorite children’s book?

Didn’t really have books growing up.  Too expensive.

·      What was the model of your first car?

Would love a car – need a job first.

·      Who is your favorite film star?

Have rarely seen a movie, and then it’s on a friend’s DVD player.  No access to movie theaters.

·      What was the name of your first pet?

Can’t afford a pet; can’t always afford food for the family members.

·      Where did you go the first time you flew on a plane?

Plane?  No…

We finally found 3 questions that made a little sense, and moved on.  But the whole exercise just pointed out how vastly different the worlds are that we each came from.  Which brings me to my point.

My point is NOT “oh pity the poor Haitians, who don’t have as much stuff as we do”.  Yes, life here is hard.  Very hard.  And oftentimes even the most basic needs can’t be met.  For A LOT of people, not just a few.  And that is a really really tough subject. 

But to only pity someone else who lives without enough of the basic necessities of life can also ignore the vast blessings and abilities they do have.  I was told by a Haitian friend “EVERY Haitian has a good friend.  Haitians may not have an abundance of the necessities of life, but they have good friends who share the burden.”.  And Haitians who know the Lord praise and worship Him with their whole being.  And Haitians have a sense of community and sharing one with the other that connects humanity here in a profound way.  And the ingenuity shown in this culture, and the perseverance, and, well, that’s enough for a blog for another day.

But even that is really not my point. 

Here’s the point:  God often brings people into our lives with vastly different life stories from our own, and uses those people to expand our world, and when we really listen to their hearts and learn from them, we learn better how to love.

I am changed.  I can never go back to the person I was before we moved to Haiti.  I now know, really know, people who have lived a life so different from the life I have lived.  I know the names of their family members, I have heard their hopes and dreams, I have heard their struggles.  I have laughed with them and cried with them.  I am learning better to understand the reasons behind aspects of their cultures that are so different from mine.  And I am learning better how to really love others, with the love of Christ.

So, this isn’t really a “Jesus-y” song, but this song runs through my head so often as I connect heart-to-heart with my blossoming friendships.  It is from the musical Wicked, and is a song about the popular and beautiful and socially influential Galinda the good, and the misfit, green-skinned, social activist Elphaba.  They sing this song after they have gone from seeing only their differences, to understanding (my personal take) how God has gifted them differently, and how HE (again, my spiritual spin on it) can use people’s differences for good and to help one another.

…I have been changed for good… for the good of the Kingdom… and I pray He continues to stretch me and grow me and help me to learn to love better and better.