Like the mighty flowing Mississippi River channeling glacial melt from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, AHMEN's Río de Agua Viva team channels love from the American South all the way to Honduras. Through education, relationships, and connections based on the pure honesty of our united spiritual cohesion, AHMEN teams like the Río team confidently embody their purpose. On Day 1, I led the morning devotional and talked about applying 1 Corinthians 13 to our work in Honduras. I urged our team members to let love be their crutch, their motivating force, their outward appearance, and inner conviction.
On this September 11, I am reminded that people are struggling worldwide. It is not only Honduras that suffers victim to marginalization on the world's stage. It is not only Honduras that deserves salvation from poverty, malnutrition, preventable disease, violence, and all of the other symptoms of injustice. All countries worldwide do also. Everyone, even those who perpetrate violence against others, wants a better future for their neighborhood, family, friends, and nation.
The feelings for God and country motivating the 9-11 planners, however disastrous for our own livelihoods, still arose as an attempt at addressing injustice worldwide. Love could not have been totally absent as a motivating factor for the violent extremists who attacked the United States 12 years ago. The pure love motivating all people, if not kept in check, can become watered down with the bile of evil. We remember 9-11, then, as a reminder that love does not imprison but frees. It is not a proclamation but a vote. Love is not violent. Love is not mean. Love does not discourage anything but negativity, and it does not kill anything but hate.
Learning to share patient, sustainable, replicable, and meaningful love with the people of Honduras describes the foundation of the AHMEN-SIFAT Initiative, and the Río de Agua Viva team serves as a supplemental injection of that love at ASI-Jutiapa, Los Laureles, and Shalom.
Do we make mistakes? Of course! Are we going to learn from them in order to better partner with ASI next year? You bet! Love is self-improvement.
I write all of this to invite you to work to erase injustice in our world. Join a volunteer project with AHMEN or other groups focused on long-term, effective, and appropriate development. Together, we can see world peace in our lifetime.
Together, we are the difference.
On this September 11, I am reminded that people are struggling worldwide. It is not only Honduras that suffers victim to marginalization on the world's stage. It is not only Honduras that deserves salvation from poverty, malnutrition, preventable disease, violence, and all of the other symptoms of injustice. All countries worldwide do also. Everyone, even those who perpetrate violence against others, wants a better future for their neighborhood, family, friends, and nation.
 |
| Los Laureles jewelry students Elda and her guest teach Antwanae Jones |
The feelings for God and country motivating the 9-11 planners, however disastrous for our own livelihoods, still arose as an attempt at addressing injustice worldwide. Love could not have been totally absent as a motivating factor for the violent extremists who attacked the United States 12 years ago. The pure love motivating all people, if not kept in check, can become watered down with the bile of evil. We remember 9-11, then, as a reminder that love does not imprison but frees. It is not a proclamation but a vote. Love is not violent. Love is not mean. Love does not discourage anything but negativity, and it does not kill anything but hate.
 |
| Río de Agua Viva! |
 |
| Byron Morales teaches agents that, no matter their stage of growth, they are all complete and worthwhile individuals |
I write all of this to invite you to work to erase injustice in our world. Join a volunteer project with AHMEN or other groups focused on long-term, effective, and appropriate development. Together, we can see world peace in our lifetime.
Together, we are the difference.
Wow Michael! What a thought-provoking blog post. Just think what a wonderful place our world would be if all individuals used LOVE as their motivating force and inner conviction. Keep up the good work cause together, we are the difference.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lane, for reading. The AHMEN-SIFAT Initiative is our best shot to empower Honduran communities to take over the development process for themselves. As you know, training is one thing, but practice is another. I want to encourage more teams to work with ASI community agents so that their training becomes practicum! See you in Honduras!
Delete