Something's Bugging Me

Questions

Theology in the Trenches

By Kathleen Kjolhaug

“Can a tsunami go over the mountains?  Is it faster than an airplane?”  These questions were sincerely asked as we sat within the pickup taking us to our destination in Haiti.  Truth-be-told, I’d never thought much about it, but when mouthed from someone who fears this reality, I looked at it differently.  Fear shone within his eyes as he searched ours for reassurance that life couldn’t get much worse…could it? 

“Will Japan be poor now too?” He wondered why when a natural disaster hits another part of the world they, too, don’t become poverty stricken.

“Does it get below 5 degrees?”  When we informed him that indeed it can get colder than that, he asked, “How do people take showers when it is so cold?  How does the water come out?”

“Do you live far from the airport?”  Putting it into the context of what he was asking, we merely told him, “Ten hours.”  His perception was that of one airport per country; we did not expound upon our statement.

“Do you know John Deere?  Does he live by you?”  We said we did not know him, and that indeed it is the name of a business. We all shrugged wondering just who John Deere truly was and I made a note to perhaps find out once home.

“Do you like Obama?  Republicans want to see him fail!”  This guy is smart.   He was wise indeed and highly perceptive.

His questions would come sporadically, showing genuine curiosity. 

“Are all Americans millionaires?  We think they are.”  We told him they were not and pulled out pictures of each of our large families.  He seemed unconvinced, and I supposed relatively speaking, yes, we are all millionaires.

How do you tell of a rainbow when one has not seen it?  How do you tell of tent cities when one has not touched them?  How does one tell of paved highways and homes stretching as far as the eye can see when one has not driven by?  How do you tell of cement rubble piled higher than the eye can see when one hasn’t been there?  How do you tell of heated buildings that have water piped within and a sprinkler system out…when one has not experienced it?  How do you respond to questions when one has no basis to grasp the response given? 

I have no answers, but the purity in which the questions were asked was gift enough to respond gently in love.  Uplifting that which they did have was paramount.  The new handle for the well and food for the children were both pluses. Three healthy babies returning from the hospital, the wooden cribs fixed, and a water filter system giving hope for troubled tummies were notable accomplishments.  Scabies under control, a nurse on staff at all times, and the hope of a doctor coming next month were major victories.  The front door fixed and the flat roof now utilized as a play area for those allowed upon it were all the bright spots in a very chaotic world.

Chaos is relative when you are living at the epicenter of where an earthquake took place just one year ago.  As night gave way to darkness, the word in song was lifted high among the workers bringing order to the world in which they live.  “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.  Praise Him all creatures here below.  Praise Him above yea heavenly hosts.  Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”  Amen.