Inspiration from our Sisters in Haiti, March 21

Monday, March 21 Romans 5:3-5: Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. I took my first trip to Haiti in 2012, a trip that changed everything. My perceptions, my reality, my heart. On that trip we visited women enrolled in the Chemen Lavi Miyò (CLM) program. CLM is an 18- month program that seeks to raise up Haitian women who experience ultra-poverty. These women and their families typically eat only one meal a day, have no adequate shelter or safe drinking water, and can’t afford healthcare or education. Their income is sparse at best, and sometimes non-existent, requiring them to live off the charity of their relatives or their communities. Before joining the program, these women are defeated…you can see it in their eyes. They tend not to look at you, they speak very little, and they have no self-worth. Yet when given the choice, and when enrolled in the program, they choose love, they choose hope. CLM provides the coaching for these women to start on a path to a better life. The women are given the assets to generate an income, such as goats, chickens, seeds, or merchandise. They also receive materials to build a 10’x12’ home and a latrine for their family, along with a small stipend to purchase food. They receive water purifiers and access to free healthcare to bolster daily health. And case workers and classes help them build confidence, manage the income they generate, and make decisions about their commerce when it succeeds or fails. Once established in the program, you can almost immediately see the changes in these precious women. Their hope flourishes and they dream about the lives they can build for their families. Halfway through the program, confidence and pride burst forth. The program isn’t easy; crops can fail, animals can become sick and die, storms can create havoc, all amid the host of challenges life in Haiti brings. But the women persevere and navigate both obstacles and successes, continually choosing love, choosing hope. And after 18 months of learning, hard work, and immeasurable discipline, CLM graduates march into their graduation ceremony in their best clothes, singing and clapping, with huge smiles of joy on their faces. It is something to behold. They chose love; they chose hope. It wasn’t always easy, but they’ve come out of the journey stronger, more confident, and have become leaders in their community. They’ve gone from ultra-poverty to poverty. They have a home, can feed their children and can send them to school. They can secure microcredit to expand their small businesses. And they continue to choose love and hope, like the woman who lends seeds to her fellow farmers in exchange for some of their crop at the end of the season. Coming back from Haiti, I found myself profoundly changed. Now when I come up against a challenge, even something that seems all-consuming, I step back and consider those precious women in the CLM program. When all odds were against them, they chose love; they chose hope. With the inspiration they’ve given me, how could I not do the same? Meditation: Think about one of the biggest challenges you face today. What would it look like if you overcame it? What can you do to choose love and hope one day, one step at a time, to navigate this challenge and arrive at the other side? Ask God to help you as you take each step.