Once again I am here to write about things that are not earth-shattering but occupy some of my time here. With all of our newfound study time here in Port-au-Prince, our Creole teacher has been giving us fun and interesting homework assignments. Most recently he has asked us to pick Bible stories and re-tell the stories in our own words (our own Creole words). Imagine a six-year-old trying to retell the story of Jesus walking on water.
Well, the best part is that "Jesus" in Creole is spelled "Jezi" and is pronounced "Jay-Z." Jay-Z happens to be the name of a fairly well-know rap artist that I secretly listen to. The funny part is that I can't seem to shake the imagery; every time I hear someone say Jezi I only hear Jay-Z and picture Jay-Z the rapper in Bible times walking on water, feeding the 5,000, and speaking in parables.
This has not been all bad. Haiti is about 99% black, but most people here imagine Jesus as a white man with a beard. I think that in the 6 weeks we've been here I've been told at least a dozen times that I look like Jesus (I've had men shout it from passing cars, kids, teenagers.... almost everyone thinks I look like Jesus). I've been asked why all the images of Jesus are of a white man, and I have no answer.
So in my mind Jesus is a fairly large black man that raps in parables and had a hard-knock life. It works for me and I'm not trying to shake the image yet.
On another, more serious, note, some members of our team are going to some hurricane- damaged areas tomorrow and next week. They'll be distributing food, water, medicine and other essentials. Please pray for them as they will see a lot of devastation and only have supplies to help a handful of people. (MCC is currently raising funds to help more flood victims.) Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts during these past several hurricanes, and please continue to remember the flood victims here in Haiti.
