New York Annual Conference - Haiti ERT #3

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ commented on a post

2011-09-09T08:56:00.001-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of _$$$CAZ23$$$ _. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ commented on a post: Welcome New Bloggers

"Another great post from one of the great people of Fanbox. Its really good to have you here Kat."

View the post and leave a comment too.

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ uses this site to help foster care services. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from _$$$CAZ23$$$ _ please check your feed or inbox regularly.

This message was intended for steve2541.carsamy@blogger.com. You can stop receiving notifications by no longer being a fan of _$$$CAZ23$$$ _. To stop receiving messages from FanBox, click here. FanBox - 113 West G Street, STE 510, San Diego, CA 92101, USA

Angie Diaz-Cervo earned $28.37 today

2011-09-08T07:51:00.001-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of Angie Diaz-Cervo. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

Angie Diaz-Cervo earned $28.37 today and $7,860.13 all-time.

View the Achievement and congratulate her..

Angie Diaz-Cervo uses this site to help fight Juvenile Diabetes. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from Angie Diaz-Cervo please check your feed or inbox regularly.

This message was intended for steve2541.carsamy@blogger.com. You can stop receiving notifications by no longer being a fan of Angie Diaz-Cervo. To stop receiving messages from FanBox, click here. FanBox - 113 West G Street, STE 510, San Diego, CA 92101, USA

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ was tagged in a photo

2011-09-07T05:45:00.001-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of _$$$CAZ23$$$ _. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ was tagged in a photo.

View the photo and leave a comment.

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ uses this site to help foster care services. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from _$$$CAZ23$$$ _ please check your feed or inbox regularly.

Angie Diaz-Cervo earned $34.59 today

2011-09-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of Angie Diaz-Cervo. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

Angie Diaz-Cervo earned $34.59 today and $7,791.94 all-time.

View the Achievement and congratulate her..

Angie Diaz-Cervo uses this site to help fight Juvenile Diabetes. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from Angie Diaz-Cervo please check your feed or inbox regularly.

Angie Diaz-Cervo created a new Advertisement

2011-09-05T02:33:00.001-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of Angie Diaz-Cervo. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

Angie Diaz-Cervo created a new Advertisement.

View the new ad and leave a comment.

Angie Diaz-Cervo uses this site to help fight Juvenile Diabetes. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from Angie Diaz-Cervo please check your feed or inbox regularly.

Angie Diaz-Cervo earned $27.95 today

2011-09-03T00:03:00.001-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of Angie Diaz-Cervo. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

Angie Diaz-Cervo earned $27.95 today and $7,689.09 all-time.

View the Achievement and congratulate her..

Angie Diaz-Cervo uses this site to help fight Juvenile Diabetes. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from Angie Diaz-Cervo please check your feed or inbox regularly.

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ commented on a post

2011-09-01T22:46:00.001-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of _$$$CAZ23$$$ _. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ commented on a post: My Little, Happy, Problematic Family. . .

"happy family."

View the post and leave a comment too.

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ uses this site to help foster care services. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from _$$$CAZ23$$$ _ please check your feed or inbox regularly.

Angie Diaz-Cervo was tagged in a photo

2011-08-28T19:31:00.001-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of Angie Diaz-Cervo. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

Angie Diaz-Cervo was tagged in a photo.

View the photo and leave a comment.

Angie Diaz-Cervo uses this site to help fight Juvenile Diabetes. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from Angie Diaz-Cervo please check your feed or inbox regularly.

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ likes a photo

2011-08-27T14:39:00.001-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of _$$$CAZ23$$$ _. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ likes a photo.

View the photo and acknowledge _$$$CAZ23$$$ _ for sharing with you.

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ uses this site to help foster care services. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from _$$$CAZ23$$$ _ please check your feed or inbox regularly.

Angie Diaz-Cervo published a new blog post

2011-08-27T12:10:00.001-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of Angie Diaz-Cervo. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

Angie Diaz-Cervo published a new blog post: Five Megamansions in the Caribbean's Most Famous

View the post and leave a comment.

Angie Diaz-Cervo uses this site to help fight Juvenile Diabetes. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from Angie Diaz-Cervo please check your feed or inbox regularly.

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ published a new blog post

2011-08-26T10:27:00.001-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of _$$$CAZ23$$$ _. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ published a new blog post: What Fanbox Can Give You?

View the post and leave a comment.

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ uses this site to help foster care services. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from _$$$CAZ23$$$ _ please check your feed or inbox regularly.

Angie Diaz-Cervo earned $19.54 today

2011-08-25T07:50:00.001-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of Angie Diaz-Cervo. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

Angie Diaz-Cervo earned $19.54 today and $7,491.58 all-time.

View the Achievement and congratulate her..

Angie Diaz-Cervo uses this site to help fight Juvenile Diabetes. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from Angie Diaz-Cervo please check your feed or inbox regularly.

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ earned $27.24 today

2011-08-24T05:42:00.000-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of _$$$CAZ23$$$ _. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ earned $27.24 today and $6,084.01 all-time.

View the Achievement and congratulate him..

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ uses this site to help foster care services. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from _$$$CAZ23$$$ _ please check your feed or inbox regularly.

Angie Diaz-Cervo was tagged in a photo

2011-08-24T00:01:00.001-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of Angie Diaz-Cervo. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

Angie Diaz-Cervo was tagged in a photo.

View the photo and leave a comment.

Angie Diaz-Cervo uses this site to help fight Juvenile Diabetes. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from Angie Diaz-Cervo please check your feed or inbox regularly.

Angie Diaz-Cervo uploaded a new profile photo

2011-08-23T19:01:00.001-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of Angie Diaz-Cervo. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

Angie Diaz-Cervo uploaded a new profile photo.

View the photo and leave a comment.

Angie Diaz-Cervo uses this site to help fight Juvenile Diabetes. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from Angie Diaz-Cervo please check your feed or inbox regularly.

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ earned $22.07 today

2011-08-22T23:30:00.001-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of _$$$CAZ23$$$ _. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ earned $22.07 today and $6,061.94 all-time.

View the Achievement and congratulate him..

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ uses this site to help foster care services. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from _$$$CAZ23$$$ _ please check your feed or inbox regularly.

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ commented on a post

2011-08-21T12:26:00.001-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of _$$$CAZ23$$$ _. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ commented on a post: 7 Spelling and Grammar Errors Make You Look Dumb

"My grammar isn't that good also. Great tips. Thank you for sharing."

View the post and leave a comment too.

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ uses this site to help foster care services. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from _$$$CAZ23$$$ _ please check your feed or inbox regularly.

Angie Diaz-Cervo was tagged in a photo

2011-08-20T22:37:00.001-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of Angie Diaz-Cervo. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

Angie Diaz-Cervo was tagged in a photo.

View the photo and leave a comment.

Angie Diaz-Cervo uses this site to help fight Juvenile Diabetes. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from Angie Diaz-Cervo please check your feed or inbox regularly.

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ commented on a photo

2011-08-20T13:21:00.000-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of _$$$CAZ23$$$ _. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ commented on a photo:

"Wow Jwell you very beautiful. Hehehe."

View the photo and leave a comment too.

_$$$CAZ23$$$ _ uses this site to help foster care services. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from _$$$CAZ23$$$ _ please check your feed or inbox regularly.

Angie Diaz-Cervo published a new blog post

2011-08-20T07:43:00.001-07:00

You're receiving this notification because you are a fan of Angie Diaz-Cervo. You can stop being fans here.

Hi steve2541.carsa!

Angie Diaz-Cervo published a new blog post: The Child In The Midst

View the post and leave a comment.

Angie Diaz-Cervo uses this site to help fight Juvenile Diabetes. Watch the video.

To reduce unwanted emails: if you don't respond to (click) emails from any person, all further emails to you from that person are automatically blocked for 24 hours.

To ensure you don't miss anything from Angie Diaz-Cervo please check your feed or inbox regularly.

Check out my photos!

2010-11-11T12:26:00.001-08:00

Hi,

I set up a profile where I can post photos, connect and share.

Do me a favor and confirm our relationship here.

Thanks,
Steve Phillips

This message was intended for steve2541.carsamy@blogger.com and was sent as a notification, invitation or reminder (digital goods subject to change in reminders) of an event initiated by Steve Phillips using a third-party or platform application and may contain promotional materials and/or services for sale including digital goods received.

To control messages sent to or from you, your contacts and/or FanBox, click here.

Our offices are located at: FanBox - 255 G Street, Ste 723, San Diego, CA 92101

Benefit Dinner to Fight Human Trafficking

2010-10-05T04:31:00.000-07:00

Benefit Dinner to Fight Human Trafficking

Friends, October 16^th is less than 2 weeks away. If you are considering coming to our Benefit Dinner, we need to hear from you now – not later. So, please, do not close this email without responding. If you had seen and read what I have seen in many parts of the world and our country, you would agree that this cause is too important to just walk away from it. I know that an evening of hearing the truth about the evils of human trafficking does not sound like a lot of fun, but I promise you will feel better because your come. And you will have a chance to meet a lot of good people who share your concerns for human rights.

Dinner will be catered by Chef Tom Thueyoo of “D” Thai Kitchen, located in Thornwood, NY. “D” Thai Kitchen has received rave reviews on many fronts including the NY Times.

Harold Koh, Hillary Clinton’s chief legal adviser at the Department of State, says that the trafficking of girls and women is “the human rights issue of the 21^st century.” So, won’t you please support this Benefit Dinner with your prayers, your gifts, your presence and your energy.

Sponsors: AMWA (American Muslim Women’s Association), the Many Branches Buddhist Sangha and the United Methodist Church – Pleasantville, NY

Where: United Methodist Church, 70 Bedford Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570

When: Saturday, October 16, 2010 at 6:00 p.m.

Tickets: $50 – A silent auction and freewill offering will be conducted; so you will have the opportunity to further support our efforts. Due to space constraints, tickets are limited; so act quickly!

Call or email the United Methodist Church – (914) 769-0357 / info@pleasantumc.org

Or Kathleen – (646) 309-5783 / kathleen.tan@yahoo.com.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call or email. Please help spread the word.

Rev. Steve Phillips

United Methodist Church

70 Bedford Road

Pleasantville, NY 10570

Benefit Dinner to Fight Human Trafficking

2010-10-05T04:27:00.000-07:00

Benefit Dinner to Fight Human Trafficking

Dinner will be catered by Chef Tom Thueyoo of “D” Thai Kitchen, located in Thornwood, NY. “D” Thai Kitchen has received rave reviews on many fronts including the NY Times.

Sponsors: AMWA (American Muslim Women’s Association), the Many Branches Buddhist Sangha and the United Methodist Church – Pleasantville, NY

Where: United Methodist Church, 70 Bedford Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570

When: Saturday, October 16, 2010 at 6:00 p.m.

Call or email the United Methodist Church – (914) 769-0357 / info@pleasantumc.org

Or Kathleen – (646) 309-5783 / kathleen.tan@yahoo.com.

I have attached an order form that you can use to purchase tickets – mail it or email it back to me today!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call or email. Please help spread the word.

Rev. Steve Phillips

United Methodist Church

70 Bedford Road

Pleasantville, NY 10570

Benefit Dinner to Fight Human Trafficking

2010-09-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

Benefit Dinner to Fight Human Trafficking

Friends, in the last several months the issue of human trafficking has been highlighted by several wonderful but troubling books such as Half the Sky by NY Times Columnists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, and The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine by Somaly Mam. In January of this year, I had an opportunity to witness some of the countless children sold into prostitution in places like Pattaya and Pat Pong in Thailand and Phnom Penh in Cambodia. Of course the problem of trafficking of women and girls into the brothels of the world is not new and what I witnessed is but the tip of an evil, insidious iceberg.

On the evening of Saturday, October 16^th, you will have an opportunity to fight back against the trafficking of girls and young women by attending a benefit dinner to raise funds for two organizations which have proven track records in Cambodia, the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church’s Cambodia Initiative and AFESIP (Acting for Women in Distressing Situations).

Dinner will be catered by Chef Tom Thueyoo of “D” Thai Kitchen, located in Thornwood, NY. “D” Thai Kitchen has received rave reviews on many fronts including the NY Times.

Sponsors: AMWA (American Muslim Women’s Association), the Many Branches Buddhist Sangha and the United Methodist Church – Pleasantville, NY

Where: United Methodist Church, 70 Bedford Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570

When: Saturday, October 16, 2010 at 6:00 p.m.

Call or email the United Methodist Church – (914) 769-0357 / info@pleasantumc.org

Or Kathleen – (646) 309-5783 / kathleen.tan@yahoo.com.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call or email. Please help spread the word.

Rev. Steve Phillips

United Methodist Church

70 Bedford Road

Pleasantville, NY 10570

Day 1 – We made it to Port-au-Prince

2010-08-24T20:27:00.001-07:00

From Left to Right our team members are Rev. Enrique LaBron, Mwen ("me" in Hatian Creole), Carol Brozosky, Rev. Tom Vencus, Amy Thomas, Parker Abbott, Rev. Mandy Iahn and Pete Abbott.

We made it to Haiti without a hitch. Getting out of the airport and to the guesthouse run by the Methodist Church in Haiti was a different matter.

The scene at the airport looked like utter pandemonium as dozens of men vied to help us with our luggage. When we finally reached the truck that was taking us to the guesthouse, the bed was enclosed with a steel cage. It looked like something I remember from the movie Cool Hand Luke. It was rather embarrassing riding through the streets of Port-au-Prince with people gawking at what must have seemed to them like a ridiculous sight. Children jumped onto the bumper of the truck and stuck their hands through any opening seeking hand-outs.

The guesthouse is like an oasis in a broken world. We met a group of wonderful folks from Alabama, South Carolina and other places that I can't remember. This VIM team has been here for eight days and will be flying home in the morning
.
We had a wonderful dinner prepared by the staff at the guesthouse. (Forget about vegetarianism!) After dinner we had an orientation with the VIM staff giving us the ground rules and what to expect for the next week. Our truck leaves the guesthouse at 8:00 in the morning and takes us about 2 hours west to Millier, near the epicenter of the earthquake. We will be working at a church and school that were destroyed. There we will be sleeping in tents on cots - not the comfortable accommodation that we are enjoying tonight.

Our team is exhausted. Some of us had to get up at 3:00 this morning to make to the airport. Now to bed - tomorrow awaits.

Only Two Nights Until We Leave

2010-08-22T17:42:00.001-07:00

The response to this trip has been fantastic! On Friday I spent most of my day running hither and fro collecting medical and school supplies for the trip:

I began the day early – having coffee with a member of my congregation. As we were saying our “Goodbyes” he slipped $100 into my hand.
My good friend, Dr. Mahjabeen Hassan, pointed me in the direction of a Muslim pharmacist in Tarrytown named Aqeem. He gave me a great discount on over-the-counter medications, bandages and antiseptics. This gave me an opportunity to wish him an easy Ramadan fast and to inquire as to the safety of his family in Pakistan. For the moment they are not in the path of the flood. Inshallah! I thanked him for his generous act of Zukat (alms giving) which is one of the five pillars of Islam and a central focus during this month of fasting.
Rev. Denise Pickett of the Woody Crest UMC in the Bronx had collected several boxes full of colostomy bags, syringes and related items. I don’t know if they can be used by the United Methodist guest house, but I am sure someone can make use of them. So, I have packed them.
The director of the preschool at my church gave me a box full of crayons, pencils and other school supplies. Then she gave me a check for $150. She mentioned that she wants to hire someone to develop a website for the school. I asked her to let me do it to repay her for her generosity – this is how I spent much of my afternoon today. It was raining, so I enjoyed having something to distract me.
I received several emails from members of the church and friends pledging $’s for the guest house in Port-au-Prince. One person asked why we are actually taking medications, etc. with us – why not just take money and buy the items when we arrive? I explained that this only works where there are actually shops stocked with goods. Unfortunately, Haiti hasn’t reached this level of normality.
Fridays are also food pantry day. I use food deliveries as an excuse to visit folks in the village who can’t drive to the church to pick up their parcels of food. I visited a wonderfully brave woman named Marissa who is undergoing chemo therapy. She was saddened that she could not afford to contribute to our trip, so she asked if she could pray for our team.

I feel certain that this was the most important stop of the day.

This morning at church, we took a moment to dedicate our team and pray for our safety. There were more offerings of cash for the people of Haiti.

What a wonderful send off – now I am really excited to be leaving on Tuesday morning!

This morning's lesson from Luke's gospel was the story of a kyphotic woman who had been bent in two for eighteen years.

Luke 13:10-17

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.

How like this crippled woman Haiti is. Many she be freed of her ailments so that she might stand up straight, dance and sing God's praises!

Be Blessed!

Emergency Response Team No. 3

2010-08-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

In five days, the third Emergency Response Team from the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church will depart for Port-a-Prince, Haiti. We will spend our first night in the relative luxury of the denomination's guesthouse in PAP. Then we will travel west for about thirty miles to a village named Mellier, near the larger village of Leogane. This was the epicenter of last January's devastating earthquake.

In addition to myself, the members of our team include -

Peter Abbott
Parker Abbott

Carol Brozosky

Rev. Amanda Iahn

Rev. Enrique LeBron

Amy Thomas

Rev. Tom Vencuss (team leader)

To be perfectly honest, with the exception of Mandy, I do not know any of the other folks on the trip, but I expect to count them among my closest friends by the time we return on August 31st. This has been my experience from similar trips that I have taken in the past.

Last Saturday several of us gathered for the Emergency Response Training offered by UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief). Our trainer for the day was (and the team leader for our trip is) Rev. Tom Vencuss. This will be Tom's 25th trip to Haiti and his third trip since the earthquake. He was actually in Port-au-Prince when the quake struck. He told us of hurrying to the home of the sister of a close Haitian friend and struggling to dig her out of the rubble of her home.

Tom has now taken a one-year leave of absence from his church duties to devote himself to the relief efforts in Haiti. Before meeting Tom, I imagined that he must be an exceptional man. Having now met him, I am now of two minds. Part of me is filled with admiration for his commitment to the least and last of God's children. The other part of me is put to shame by the glaring mirror that his life casts on the rest of us. I really hope that some of Tom rubs off on me!

In these weeks leading up to out trip I have been particularly taken by the apocalyptic nature of Jesus' teachings in our Lectionary readings from Luke's gospel. Last Sunday's passage was Luke 12:49-56:

"I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, 'It is going to rain'; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?"

Wow! What is a poor preacher supposed to make of such a passage. As I prepared for my sermon on Sunday, it was heartening to realize that many commentators on this passage seem as baffled as I am by Jesus' words. I like Bart Ehrdman tend to read these words as being firmly planted in the apocalyptic tradition that prevailed at the time that Jesus lived. As such, this strange passage can be understood in the context of an elaborate explanation for the existence of suffering in the world - what theologians call a theodicy.

Since followers of all religions expect them to answer some of life's more persistent and difficult questions - existential questions like:

Where do we come from?
What happens to us after we die?
What is the meaning of existence?
What will happen at the end of time?
Why does evil exist in the world? (or as it is sometime put) Why do good folks suffer and the bad people seem to prosper?

Theodicies abound in substantially every culture. Some theodicies, like Apocalypticism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam and Karmic-Samara in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, are extremely sophisticated and elaborate theological systems. Some of the best and most accessible theodicies are much simpler.

A wonderful Haitian proverb states, "Bondye bay, men li pa konn separe," meaning, “God gives, but doesn’t divide it up.” The job of distributing God's gifts seems to be left up to us, the proverb suggests. For those of us from the developed nations of the world who do not count ourselves among the least and the last of God's children, perhaps the answer to the existence of suffering in the world is as near as the closest mirror!

Please pray for our team and keep up with our blog. I will try to post a journal of our trip regularly, but only God knows when we we will have internet access.