Haiti experience Part 5 - Sharing is Caring

I've been back from Haiti for over 3 weeks now, I have to say, I miss it terribly. I can honestly say I miss the people there, especially the kids. The Haitians have taught me so much, they taught me the importance of community, they taught me how to care for others, but most of all, they taught me what it means to share.

Growing up, each one of us is taught to share. Our parents taught us to share our food or our toys with other kids, our teachers taught us to share our supplies with others, even at work, we are taught to share resources with each other. I think most of us do okay. I mean, we tithe at church, give to the poor, donate things we don't need... and if someone we know needs food or clothing, most of us would chip in. If there is a catastrophe happening somewhere in the world, we open our wallet and give. For us, it is easy to share because we have abundance. It is easy to give others food when our pantry is overstocked with supplies, or to give others clothes when our closet is overflowing with clothing, but what happens when we live with limited resources? Would any of us be so willing to give then?

I wanted to share with you a beautiful story one of my team mate shared with me. On her last trip, she had given out all her lollipop and she had only one left. So she gave this lollipop to one of the kids on the street. The little boy's eyes lit up when he received the lollipop. For kids in our country, we probably won't get the same reaction when they receive a lollipop. But in a country where you barely get enough food to eat, a lollipop to a little kid is such a treat. Anyways, this little boy, instead of putting the candy in his pocket and hiding it from his friends, he brought the lollipop back to his group. Then he opened the wrapper, took one lick, passed it on to his friend beside him. Then his friend took a lick and gave it to the boy beside him. In between about 20 boys, this tiny lollipop went around and around until it disappeared. Now from a nursing perspective, it is not very hygienic, but from a humane perspective, isn't it just the most beautiful story? While these little boys shared this lollipop, they stood together laughing and talking. The little boy who shared his treat, he had the biggest smile on his face. No one forced this little boy to share his only treat, but he did it out of his heart. It says in 2 Corinthians,

"Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7)

What's a better illustration of this verse than this story?

One of my favorite stories from the bible is the story of the widow's offering. When Jesus was outside the church one day, he saw rich people putting money in the treasury. Then He saw a poor widow putting in two very small copper coins. Then Jesus said:

" 'I tell you the truth,' he said, 'this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people give their gifts out of their wealth, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.' " (Luke 21:3-4)  

I know Jesus was talking about giving to the treasury in this particular case, but isn't that what sharing is about? It's not about giving out of abundance, it's about giving despite of scarcity.

The other story I wanted to share with you is an event I witnessed myself in the recovery room. A man in the recovery room needed to go back to surgery, so he was not allowed to eat or drink that day in order to avoid complications in the OR. Anyways, so he laid on the bed moaning to himself. He kept saying, I'm hungry, I'm hungry. Now in the bed beside him is a woman who recently had a mastectomy. It was obvious that she is not well off, her shirt had holes in it and her hair was messy. She didn't have a lot of family visiting her, so she stored a small pot of Haitian rice under the bed for herself to eat while she is recovering from surgery. But when she heard the man next to her saying that he is hungry, she took out the container of Haitian rice and tried to feed him. I mean that was her week worth of food, yet here she was trying to give all that she had to a man she didn't even know. When we tried to stop her, she looked at me and said, "but he is hungry". To me, that was amazing. I kept thinking that if I was in that situation, what I would do. Would I be so willing to share my small amount of food with a man I didn't know when there is barely enough to eat for me? I'm ashamed to say, but I'm not so sure I would. I hope one day I can confidently say yes to this question. For now, I am learning from the people who have taught me what it means to share their all.