25 September 2007

They call him "Superman."  No, he is not the caped hero you see on the big screen.  Superman is someone I met while serving in Haiti for two weeks this summer. And to me, he is Superman.

After a few days in Haiti I became very ill.  Haiti is not a great place to be sick, but many people experience illness there.  Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the poorest places on earth.  I became badly dehydrated and suffered extremely low blood pressure.  For ten days in Haiti, and about a month back in the states, I felt pretty lousy. 

While in Haiti our team performed considerable physical labor.  We installed plumbing and dug ditches nearly every day. Now I’m not much for physical labor these days.  It sometimes wears me out just getting to the refrigerator and back during commercials.  But I wanted to do my best to help.

Can I tell you . . . it’s really hard to dig in 100 degree heat with extremely low blood pressure?  Your brain keeps wanting to shut down and your muscles are telling you to buzz off.  Passing out is the easiest thing to do. But I kept trying. Work five minutes, keep from passing out, work five minutes, keep from passing out, etc., etc.

I know this sounds really exciting, but it wasn’t as fun as it sounds.  In fact, it was downright nasty.

So here’s the deal. I’m working with this Haitian guy who can do more physical labor in his sleep than I can do fully awake.  I could sense he liked working with me-or working around me, as was the case. I liked him too.  He was just a poor guy, making about six bucks a day, trying to feed his family. He must have really felt sorry for me.  I’m sure he noticed the anguish on my face.  So every time I buckled, he picked me up, took my shovel and started working in my place. One time, I pretty much passed out and he mostly carried me back to my bed.  He saw to it that I got water and basically followed me around for a week.

I don’t know why some poor Haitian guy decided to help me.  I had gone there to help him! But I do know this. He is and always will be Superman to me.

I gave Superman my watch and several other articles.  This was a small price to pay for a strong shoulder and an open hand in my time of need. I’ll never forget the look on his face, leaning against the wall, as I walked off the site, back to my life of luxury.

Thanks Superman.  And thank you God for teaching me that it is not how much you have that matters. It’s what you do with what you have. 

Make a difference in someone’s life today.

Sharing the Journey,
Pastor Don