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ministry and St. Joseph’s Home for Boys. Some
people would be tempted to pity many of those in our
circle. About half were Haitian children and adults
with severe physical and mental disabilities who were
part of the Wings of Hope community. There were also
about twenty Haitian boys who had spent years living
on the harsh streets of Port-au-Prince before coming
to live at St. Joseph’s.
Among
the adults there who provide care for the folks with
disabilities were nine young men who form the leadership
team for the community. All of these young men had
grown up at St. Joseph’s after escaping life
on the street. Among them was Maya, who, with his
deep voice and strong presence, opened our gathering
with prayer, asking for the Holy Spirit to fill us.
Then we began singing as Benwa, one of the other young
leaders, skillfully accompanied us on a Haitian drum.
As
the group began to get into the first song, I noticed
little Steve off to my right. Joy was beginning to
well up in his little five-year-old body. He was singing
loudly and as clearly as he could with his speech
difficulties. Words were really unnecessary, though,
as his whole body was singing. His face glowed with
a huge smile, as he looked around at the circle of
people who had become his family.
Hanging
around Wings of Hope, one quickly gets to know Steve
and his friends. I don’t know the stories of
these adorable children, but I suspect the path that
led them to the caring, clean, structured environment
at Wings of Hope was not an easy one. Now they are
inseparable as they play together during the times
when they aren’t in school or participating
in the structured activities.
As
the singing continued, I noticed that Steve was getting
more and more excited, waving his arms in time with
the music and virtually dancing in his chair. Soon
all eyes were fixed on him. Ansi, who looks to be
a couple years older than Steve, began to giggle.
The music and collective joy was bubbling through
Steve’s being. As we watched him, we sang louder
and with more glee until the collective force launched
Steve out of his chair and into the center of our
circle. His feet barely touched the floor as he bounced
with joy. He was like a human pogo stick! Up and down
he went, leaping higher than I could have imagined
possible. As the singing, drumming, and clapping continued,
Steve began adding some dance moves to his bouncing.
Steve beamed the biggest, most beautiful smile; and
we all beamed back.
Little
Steve embodied our joy that special Sunday morning,
a joy that was the fruit of a community committed
to caring for all its members, even the weakest ones.
I saw this care demonstrated powerfully later in the
day as I watched members of the leadership team feeding
those in the Wings of Hope community who were unable
to feed themselves. Although this was just part of
their daily routine, they did it with joy and care,
communicating love through their eye contact and their
words with each person they fed. It was a beautiful
expression of servant-leadership.
Steve
leapt with joy, the joy that springs from a community
built on sharing and acceptance. How wonderful to
see that this joy is available even to people pushed
aside by the world! How wonderful to see that God
can use any of us to be a vessel of this joy and sharing!
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