Day 3 - Busy, Busy, Busy!

Today was an absolutely amazing day here at ApParent Project.  On Wednesdays , the Co-Op group comes in.  The artisans that do piece work have the day off and the office staff and the quality control people are here.  The Co-Op is all the artisans that work from home.  They come in on Wednesday, purchase their cereal boxes, find one of the many paper cutters, along with a spot to cut and they go to work!  The place is buzzing with activity.  I met a lot more of the artisans whose names I recognized.  They took all of their strips of cardboard home with them and will work on making them into beads.  Then they will sell them back to Shelley for a profit.  This works out well because she is employing about 200 artisans now and having them all in the house at once is too much chaos.

The cutting room - AFTER they were about done for the day!

Two of my Calligraphy students came back with papers and pens in hand.  “You teach us more?”  It was Marc Oril and Peterson – both of whom wrote my sweet notes yesterday.  They are nice young men.  Very eager to learn and VERY talented.  Peterson is a NATURAL!  He amazes me!  He is so creative and was already shaping the letters differently and they were awesome.  He’s not afraid to be himself and try something new.  One time he told me he didn’t like my letter p – so he made it different.  It was great!  Marc Oril has his own flare – this great double lined thing that he does.  I told them that they are artists and they can make the letters however they want.  We were already confident enough in their ability that we gave them the inside of the greeting cards to write on.  They were so eager and Shelley decided she would just assemble them later so they could work.  If I ever needed to hire help – I wouldn’t hesitate to allow them to address some wedding envelopes!

Maria Bello was in the house today!  Very cool!  She brought the daughter of the man who founded CBS way back when.  I laid low as she was there to speak with Corrigan about a film project he’s working on and Shelley had put me to work doing some payroll paperwork.  Eventually she came in and sat down next to Shelley and was explaining a bracelet idea she had to her.  I snuck a few photos in the process.  Shelley introduced us and she shook my hand.  She’s very down to earth.  We spoke a little – she wanted to know how I learned about ApParent Project.  It was pretty cool.

 

Later on in the day, Shelley was on the phone with a distributor from Macy’s!  We laughed at the fact that her days can be so unpredictable and bazaar!  She never knows who is going to show up or call at any given moment.   Her life has drastically changed in the 2 ½ years since she started ApParent Project with 4 ladies in her living room.

Speaking of not knowing who’s going to stop by – I met some of their “white” friends here.  They are also business men and women attempting to give the Haitians employment opportunities.  One lady is dutch and we had the nicest conversation.  I liked her a lot.  The other couple came by to purchase beads.  They incorporate the beads into different projects they have as well.  Shelley had some hair appointments today (she has a salon in a room off of the boutique and she cuts hair for about 15 people each month).  I met the Principal of the school that Keziah and Zebedee (Shelley and Corrigan’s two oldest) attend.  He and his family came in for haircuts and they were amazing.  They’ve been here in Haiti since 2000 and had also spent a lot of time here in the 1990’s.  It was so nice meeting them all.  Such a neat since of community – people just drop in, support and encourage one another.  I felt so comfortable among them.

And in the middle of all of this, a team of women from Michigan, who are down here for the week working with a ministry organization, stopped by to shop at the Boutique.  It was fun to watch them all get excited about the jewelry and I was able to help a bit.  Shelley said that she gets to have her own little jewelry party every day!

 

Tomorrow a team of about 10 women are coming in to train the seamstresses here in making a new line.  It should be fun and interesting to watch the dinamic change around here once they arrive.  Shelley and Corrigan stay so busy.  So thankful I can help a little this week.

I had another opportunity to sit and really talk with them tonight – to hear their hearts and where they are coming from.  I have such a respect for them.  They love these people so very much.  They are not coming in and doing something to “temporarily” fix the problem.  There is no temporary fix – there has to be a permanent, lasting change here.  The Clay’s are here for the long haul – to radically change lives and give these people an opportunity to thrive.  And by thriving, I mean in their culture – not necessarily thriving the same way we Americans do.  They are not here to make them be like us – but to love them where they are.

 This has not been an easy task.  They have come a really long way in relatively short amount of time.  In the growth of ApParent Project – but more importantly,  in the relationships they are building with these wonderful people.  What I see now – the sense of community – of caring for one another – has only come about recently.  There are still kinks they are working through but the bottom line is – they love these people.  They are a wonderful example of how we are to minister to others – how we are to truly love others.  Sacrificially – unconditionally – with no other adgenda then showing them the love of Christ.  And in doing that, everything else has just fallen into place and the Lord is continuing to bless it – “Exceedingly abundantly above all they could ask or imagine!” (Eph. 3:20)

They amaze me.  I have learned so much from them about faith – about service – about love.  Tonight’s conversation solidified why I am here – why God has put them and kept them on my heart.  They are the stepping stone to whatever He has next for me.  Many of the things we talked about tonight – I have been dealing with personally for a while.  In just the few days that I have been here – I have seen love in action.  Sometimes it’s tough love – but its still love. 

 I have understood what really matters and what doesn’t.  I have seen the errors in my thinking.  Things that God had already been speaking to me about,  have been confirmed.  It’s amazing how we Americans think everyone needs to be like us – socially and spiritually.  So many people come here without really researching the culture and truly understanding what will work and what won’t work – and then, having the willingness to do something outside of the box – outside of our comfort zone for the sake of the people and not just to pat ourselves on the back or check off a list of having done “mission work”.  It makes me wonder exactly how much “mission work” is done for “us” and making ourselves feel better – than for the people we are coming to minister to.  Because if it were REALLY about them – I think we would do things a lot differently.  A lot more cautiously.  A lot more effectively.

I think of Paul in Acts 17 – when he was in Athens.  He took the time to get to know the people before he ever talked to them about Christ.  And then when he did talk about Him – He did it in a way that was culturally appropriate for them.  The way that would make sense to them – that they could relate to and understand.  Not everyone believed and changed their ways at first.  But some wanted to know more.  I have to believe the fact that Paul took the time to really get to know them, their culture, their religious ways,  meant something to them.  It made a difference.  We have to share Christ in a way that THEY understand it – not necessarily how WE understand it.  We don’t share Christ with a child the same way we do an adult.  Shouldn’t that same unspoken truth be applied to different cultures? 

 My trip so far has me totally convinced that the first and most important way to “share Christ” is to show love.  Hard, unconditional, sacrificial, culturally realitve, honest and real love.  If I can’t show this first, then do I really have the right to talk about Christ at all?  If more of us could grasp ahold of this truth – this world would be a different place.

The Clays have captured this vision and God is multiplying their efforts.  It’s an honor and priviledge to know them and now call them my friends.

Until next time……