The Least of These

We are back in Minneapolis.  I (Sara) am having a particularly difficult time reentering society here.  There are many unknowns ahead of us, including housing, vehicles, schools, jobs, most things really.  But my reentry difficulties stem from something quite different.  My heart is shattered by what I experienced in Haiti.  Shattered by the injustice, harm, and exploitation of Haitian children.

I am broken. I am an imperfect person, a sinner, and currently an emotional disaster.  This following series of posts is my current reflections and processing of what I've seen and experienced. And I am fully aware that my emotions are raw and my perceptions may need altered as I move through this transitional time.  It is my intent to simply tell the stories of children that I encountered in Haiti.  Some wounded by fellow Haitians, some cast aside by their culture, some harmed by well-intentioned Americans, and some harmed by ill-intentioned Americans.  

But the common theme is stories of vulnerable children.

I am fully aware that blogs with pictures are attractive to readers.  There will be no pictures in this current series of posts.  Why?  Because I want to do all I can to protect vulnerable children. In an age of digital permanence I want to be very careful to not have pictures, names, and stories posted of the children already in such vulnerable positions.  I plan to change the names of those involved as well.

The Least of These

Matthew 25:34-40
"The the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the LEAST OF THESE brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'

I'm not a theologian.  And I suppose I need to do a lot more study on this passage before making too many conclusions.  I think this is a powerful passage and I also think this is a passage, when taken out of context, that can cause quite a bit of harm.  I think a lot of well-intentioned Americans with good motivations seek to 1) identify the "least of these", 2) identify what "they" need, 3) fulfill that need.  The danger lies in arrogance and pride, that I myself and most Americans struggle with.  The arrogance to believe we can identify "others" as the "least of these".  The arrogance to believe we can identify what "they" need.  The arrogance to believe we can fulfill that need by the simplest of means without seeking true understanding.

So in these following posts I am not questioning the motives of those involved.  And I am aware, that I too, at many times in my life may have caused harm when my intentions were good.  My heart just aches for the children who are so deeply hurt by misinformed people.  My heart hurts for those wee ones and I just want to give them a voice.