While in Haiti I saw Jesus. Betty is a woman, I am guessing in her 40’s (though I am poor judge of age) who for all practical purposes lived at the compound. She was there shortly after 4am and was already working when I was seeking that first cup of coffee each morning. Several days about 5am I noticed she had already filled the solar showers our group used at the well and had placed them on a concrete slab for the sun to warm. She and another woman spent the greater part of a day washing our laundry by hand and hanging it on cactus and trees to dry in the sunshine. Betty even, when it seemed she had nothing else to do, worked along side us carrying rock and rubble as we readied the site for the building of a church building. She sang in the church choir, she worked with Pastor Jacob, and I suspect she would at least attempt to do anything she was asked to do. All of that is rather remarkable and she truly was a servant, but the thing I remember about Betty was her smile. In the midst of tasks that caused me to grimace, she smiled a smile that told me Jesus was near. In Matthew 9:35 Jesus tells us, “…if you want to be first, you must be last, the servant of all.” I am confident when I get to heaven there will be a spot reserved for Betty at Jesus feet. Here’s a picture of Betty doing our laundry one day…she never wanted her picture taken close up, so this is the best I could do, but know that while she might look like another Haitian to you, she looks like Jesus to me...and I can guarantee you she is smiling!
The whole time I was reading your blog about Betty I was thinking of Matthew 6:1-4
ReplyDelete1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
I am just sure Betty will be rewarded by our Father more than we can imagine. Sounds like a humble servant to me!
She's a lesson to all of us!!
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