Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Understanding Justice

There is a picture making rounds trying to explain the difference between equality and equity:



Somehow this disappoints me. If equity is endeavoring to ensure that everyone is at a level regardless of the work they have expended on getting there, it seems to me that noone would be interested in working at all. I made this diagram to try to explain my thoughts on what justice really means:


In this picture, everyone is safely above water level, but not at the same level. The tallest person is above the water from the hip, the next person from the waist and the smallest from the shoulders. If a toddler were present who could not stand on her own, the tallest person would carry her.

To me, this represents justice. There is a line which demands fundamental rights- water, healthcare, education, opportunities for advancement, electricity, shelter, access to the internet, etc are all part of this. However fundamental or basic rights are not always found in nature- they are sometimes refined or created by people, so those of us who are resource-rich have an obligation to help others in need to get these. People are also motivated to rise above this "dependent" level once they know they have a safety net.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

One Day- a poem for my wife

ONE DAY

One day we will feast and rejoice
One day our fears will be stilled
And there will be no more darkness
As light streams in and faces shine
One day beyond the eastern hills.

There’s hope for us in our waiting,
Our desires and unbending hearts,
Though we see our souls dimly
I see your shadow as you see mine,
Longing to touch even as they part.

There is a greater love than ours,
That paints stars and makes the tides rise,
With him no season or day is lost,
Good and perfect gifts from his hand,
Plans from ages past, divinely wise.

Our struggles strain our feeble arms,
I see his face in yours as tears fall,
Forgive me as even raging seas subside,
And stars shine upon the clear night sky,

From a distance the welcoming trumpets call.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Journeys to the Sick


The day begins early in Haiti. It is now about 4:30 AM. I’ve been awake for a while, reflecting on the days that have gone past this week. Unlike last year I had not felt the urge to record my experiences here until now. I have just been absorbing the experience, talking to my friends here in Creole and getting to know them better. But it hits you hard sooner or later because the choices we make in situations and their consequences are sobering.

In the clinic yesterday morning, we had a little girl about 9 years old with 3 large abscesses around her neck which needed surgery and we could not perform. Without it she will likely die. Dr. Tom Graves pulled me in to lay hands on her and pray. We prayed for healing. Late last night I kept thinking of her and an account of a boy named John in the book Mountains Beyond Mountains, in which he had cancer which had spread to his lungs and Farmer’s team undertook an epic initiative to get him treated in Boston, but sadly he died there. I think of Jesus leaving the 99 sheep to look for the one that got away and I just cried uncontrollably that we could not do anything. A poor black girl in one of the poorest countries, insignificant in the eyes of men, having nothing, isolated and alone in the backwoods of the world. Isn’t there anyone to shed tears for her?

I prayed with some of the patients yesterday when I worked with the ophthalmologist. I gave them eye exams, and they thanked me for the prayer. Some prayed for me in Creole. My Haitian friends who interpreted for me also began treating patients with kindness and respect. God’s love spreads around.


Joyce delivered a baby boy yesterday- they called him John Metson (?), but due to the placement of the boy during delivery, they needed to maneuver him and it resulted in the mom hemorrhaging about 2-3 liters of blood.  They rusher her to the hospital in Port au Prince with baby in tow to breastfeed. Joyce, tired and hungry as she was from not having eaten all day, went with her. It is now the next morning and she still hasn’t returned but we hear that the mom is safe. Thank you Jesus for your kindness.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

GDP Statistics of Some Rich Countries- Or Why North America Has Done Better

Barring small countries like Singapore or Qatar, most countries or geographically continguous free market entities have done hardly as well as the US. Lifting 318 Million people into one of the world's highest per capital income brackets is no small feat. Countries with higher GDP per capita are in red. Except Australia no country above a population of 10 million is in the list.