17Feb11-2 Read this one…

Thoughts from a rainy afternoon…

I’ve had some interesting experiences the last couple days.
For one, I worked out this morning, and ended up breaking out in

a mojar rash over most of my body due to an allergic reaction.

Best guess is that the reaction was to the grass.
Thankfully, I am here with Dr. Ken, and I had meds from Dr. Jay

with me. I knew what medicine to take, so I verified it with Ken,

and then took the prednisone. Plus, Ken gave me a shot of

epinehrine to help me out too.
Now it’s all cleared up, but it was very, very itchy and

annoying. Nothing life threatening as my throat was not swelling

up, but aggrivating none the less.

Now, Tim and I are working on a materials list for a complete

overhaul of the electrical system down here. It will be sweet.
It’s a big project, but I think we have this under control.

Food for thought:
Yesterday, as we were driving from Port-au-prince to Jacmel, we

had an experience I will not soon forget.

As we were heading down the road with Franz, our driver, we saw

something in the middle of the road, and that there was a lot of

commotion around the area.
We we reached the spot, we realized that the incident was a man

laying naked in the street, bleeding. It appeared he was hit by a

car, and from his lack of clothes, it is likely he was crazy.

Even here in haiti, people don’t run around completely naked.
Franz kept driving, and I asked what would happen to the man. He

said the police would have to come and take the man to the

hospital. And from experience, the hospital will prescribe

medicine, but it is up to the patient to purchase the meds. Care

is substandard, and the patient doesn’t even get food unless a

relative brings it.
A couple miles down the road, we passed a policeman. I asked

Franz to tell the Police about the man, and he declined, saying

“if i report it, they will think I hit the man.”
Honestly, this is a likely scenario here. If I pick up the man,

and take him to the hospital, I could easily end up in jail,

being blamed for inflicting the injury in the first place.
So we kept driving.
And the man’s face kept running through my mind.

If I had it to do over again, I would have had Franz stop the

car. If he would not pick up the man, cause he would have ended

up with blood in the car, then I would have sent Tim and Franz to

Jacmel.
This man needed help. Following the example of the good

samaritan, I should have stopped, picked him up, taken him to the

hospital, paid his bills, and left some extra money to provide

for his continuing care, with a promise to stop back and check

in.
I failed.
There are tons of reasons that I could give as an excuse, but

none are truly valid. God put me in a position to be his example,

his man for the job, and I did not hold up my end of the bargain.
I am certain that nothing could happen to me that is not under

His control. If I did His work, He would take care of me.

Let this be a story to keep me humble. Let this be a story to

challenge each of you. Let this be an example of things that

could happen, that we should be ready for.

I do not want pity or cheering up. I am forgiven, this I know.
This lyric from “how he loves” sums up a current train of thought

for me.
“I don’t have time to maintain these regrets when I think about,

the way…He loves us, Oh how He loves us…”

Regardless of possible consequences, if we are serious about

being God’s people, we should always be ready. Jail cannot hold

in His power. Death has no sting. He will provide in all

situations.

God Bless.