An Update on John...
August 26, 2010
A Creole Proverb...
Se pa tout bagay ki aprann lekòl.
Not everything is learned at school.
Some things are mysteries. Some lessons in life must be learned from experience.
Our friend, John, learned some lessons through experience, when he made an unannounced trip to the "mission field."
During the spring, we had a surprise visitor. You may remember him, we told you about him in a previous journal. Recently, we heard from his daughter and I wanted to give you an update on "John."
First, let me give you a little history on John by running part of a previous journal.
Meet John...
We know that God puts people in our lives for many reasons, such was the case with "John." John lives in New York. Somehow, he became acquainted with Love A Child and decided to help. So, he set about collecting a container full of items. He sent the items to the Tampa, Florida office, and then, he decided he wanted to come to Haiti to see them distributed.
Rad, Love A Child staff member, explained that we have so many teams coming into Haiti that it would not be possible for John to come by himself.
So, 86 year old John decided to come anyway! His wife didn't want him to go; his "number one daughter, number two child, number three child," and all his relatives told him "not to go." But, John, is a little stubborn. So here is what he did...
He began to secretly pack his bag for a week. He called his secretary and asked her to get him a plane ticket to Haiti.
He then made his "get-away." At about 5:00 AM, while his wife was sleeping, he wrote a note to everyone saying, "I'm going to Haiti!"
He had someone drive him to the JFK Airport where he spent the night until the plane left the next day.
None of us knew that John was coming, until Bobby and I went to the Port au Prince Airport to pick up our daughter, Julie. There, in the midst of hundreds of suitcases piled high, and a "sweaty swarm of about 500 people waiting for bags," we met Julie. Looking across the airport, we panicked as we saw an "86 year old man," wearing a "Bobby Burnette jungle jacket," a yellow tee shirt, and saying, "What in the h--- is going on around here?" I found that I was soon to meet my match with this cantankerous 86-year-old New Yorker!
We took John and his tent to Fond Parisien, where we put him to work with the construction team. He was a mess! As he was sitting under a tree in the heat of the sun, cutting wire for the foundations, our daughter Julie asked him, "John, are you working today?"
John replied, "What do you expect me to do? Sit here on my A - -?"
When we called the Love A Child Office, and spoke to Rad, he said, "John's family is looking for him. He has disappeared. He is Missing in Action!"
We said, "tell them that we are looking at John right now...he is in Haiti!"
That week, John helped us feed the people in Le Tant.
While there, he stopped by a pile of charcoal to hug a few poor children from the village.
John had never seen a “mud hut” in his life, so I took him inside the hut of this young women to show him how people really live here in Haiti. I took his hand and rubbed it down over the dry, mud walls and he watched as the mud crumbled in his fingers, and then, he put his face to the wall and wept, as he realized that men, women and little babies sleep inside these huts on the mud floors.
He realized, like many of us, that you and I are the blessed! We are the “rocks in the water,” and these people are the “rocks in the sun.”
All went reasonably well with John that week, until he insisted that one of our LAC workers "take him downtown to Port au Prince to see the earthquake destruction." He was told "no," because all our people are busy with the construction teams, and besides, that area of Port au Prince is extremely dangerous.
John got mad and went on a "hunger strike," until finally "Reginal," one of our Haitian workers, felt sorry for him and took him to Port au Prince!
John went back to New York, and we all went back to work. We are not really sure why the Lord allowed him to come to Haiti, maybe he was sent because the Lord wanted to do a work in his life, or maybe he was sent "because some of us need more patience." Whatever the reason, it was an experience. Everytime I told John to "sit down in the back of the truck," or "stay out of the sun," or "watch your step," he always said to me, "You're worse than my wife!" Ha!
By the way, during the trip, a team member prayed with John and asked the Lord to make a change in his life forever! John's life was truly changed during this one week...and I can truthfully say, "he changed our lives too! We love you, John!"
John went home to New York. Recently, we heard from his daughter, Sheila. She sent an article about John that was written by John Stith of The Post-Standard. Follow this link at Syracuse.com to read the story about John.
Love,
Sherry
