Signs that Make me Wonder
Tonight, I write this as I am en route to Port-au-Prince from Cayes (a four-hour drive). After a day's work and a long wait due to a radiator-related breakdown, we are finally on our way home.
While in Cayes, I had the pleasure of meeting with a dynamic young man, full of vision, who reminds me a lot of, well... he reminds me of myself. Have you ever felt like God sometimes makes your friends for you, long before you even meet them? When I reflect upon the people in my life and in my work that I meet along the way, I am more sure of it every day. Delva is one of a few of the leaders of ANUCH that I have met with thus far. The few that I have met with (who are all are pretty close to my age) are sooo on the same wavelength as me that it's a bit frightening. We have similar ideas in respect to this project as well as many other things that we discussed in respect to our country, politics, education, religion, etc.
This is actually an answered prayer of mine. With the projects and ideas that I have been developing in my mind for Haiti, I have had, thus far, a bit of a problem finding like-minded people who also have time available to help me bring the details together. It was this problem that slowed, and eventually halted, my progress with the civic education program that I was developing last year with the Ministry of Education. Now, if these new relationships turn out the way that I hope, I can already see us working together on the former project as well as others in the future. I asked God for partners... I hope that these are the ones I was looking for.
Aside from the parallels in our thinking, there are also a number of coincidences surrounding the four current leaders of this project (myself and three others). Its enough to really make you wonder...
1. At least three of the four are named after our fathers and are nicknamed "Junior" at home: Nico, Camille, and I. (I just asked Delva, by email, if he wouldn't happen to be named after his father as well). Being a "Junior" is probably a bit more common in Haiti, but not THAT common.
2. At least two of the others (Delva and Nico) have studied both theology and law. (If I heard correctly, Camille did as well. I will ask when I officially meet him on Sunday). I have already said that the next step in my education is a Masters in Divinity. What many do not know is that once again (as I had entertained earlier in my Duke career) I am considering pursuing a degree in law after the MDiv, this time I'm considering it a bit more seriously. I have met with Dean Wilson, and I officially registered with Duke's Pre-Law Department the day before leaving Duke. This is, in fact, the first time that I am publicly declaring this possibility. If I do end up with both degrees, this would be the most coincidental match-up of all, because I don't think that it is a common combination in Haiti (because of cultural views toward the professions).
3. My favorite coincidence is the fact that Delva, the young man that I just met with this morning, was ordained as a Pastor on the exact same day and time of day that I was: on the evening of January 6th, 2008. He even heard the announcement for my ceremony on Radio Lumiere and took note of my name. How 'bout that..? Talk about signs that make you wonder...
Now I'm not superstitious, and I don't believe in things like karma or dharma (or whichever has to do with coincidences). And I definitely don't make decisions based on coincidences, but I do believe that sometimes God will send certain signs your way to let you know you are on the right track. Sometimes, it's big signs in florescent colors, clear enough to cause you to take note as you watch something special develop before your eyes. We've only just begun, but I already can't wait to see what will become of this partnership in the future.
Now, I'm off to write a short message for my little ones and their parents tomorrow morning. Tomorrow is Global Children's Day, and apparently they have been waiting to hear me speak. It's the perfect occasion.