Benyen, Manje, Domi, Puppy

A Letter from Cindy Corell, serving in Haiti

Fall 2022

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Dear friends,

Please enjoy this short devotional I presented to a World Mission Gathering this Fall.

God says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

Psalm 46:10. A guiding light in tough times. Or, as a dear friend in Haiti once translated for me when I asked his favorite Psalm:

“The one that says: Stay still and stop talking. I’m here.”

Benyenmanjedomipuppy

When in Haiti, and when it’s possible, I am on the road a lot. I travel around Port-au-Prince or the country or even to other countries. But when I arrive home, I am usually greeted with these words:

Benyen.
Manje.
Domi.

Take a shower. Have something to eat. Take a nap.

It always makes me smile. And likely you in other cultures hear something similar when you arrive home.

When all of us around the world experienced the lockdowns of the pandemic, it wasn’t so unusual for me. Violence and other disruptions often meant we were to shelter in place. Stay home. Sit still. It’s always been stressful, having to stay in one place because it’s too scary to move around. One of my favorite photos always will be this one.

The city was in an uproar again with violent protests and even more violent quashing of the demonstrators by police. I was busy keeping up with the news as best I could, alerting folks in the U.S. about what was going on. Trying to stay calm, but apparently not effectively.

Didy, the teenager who lives in our home noticed the look on my face and said:

“You are too stressed. Sit down.”

And he put Bluetooth speakers on my head, played Konpa music and handed me a puppy.

And yes. It worked. It probably wasn’t the music and puppy so much as it was the thought behind the gesture.

Now the pandemic is mostly in our rearview mirror. We are busier than ever. I was talking with a dear friend last week about a project we had worked on in 2020 and realizing much of its success was simply because we had the time to commit to it.

Not so much anymore though. Today we look at our schedules each morning and sigh. Another Zoom meeting. Another call with another congregation. More news from our countries of context to keep up. What’s going on at COP27? Where’s that coffee?

As hard as it was at the time, I’m a bit nostalgic for those days of lockdown. I hope that you can look back and find moments of peace, even joy from those days.

I hope you can remember that there were those who saw your stress and discomfort and sought to soothe your anxiety. I know many of you did that for me. It was good to gather with you, even though our method of Zoom often felt unnatural and didn’t live up to its promises.

Did you ever notice that when we gather in small groups for – say eight minutes – that three minutes in the rude notice pops on our screen saying, “You will be returned to the main group in one minute!”

We should do something about that. But then, it is called Zoom, isn’t it? The definition of which literally is: To move very quickly!

As we all slide into the end of a yet-another terribly busy year, I pray each of us can find the time to rest, to unapologetically put our heads down, to listen to music that soothes us. A puppy is not essential, but awfully fine. A cat will do, but not as obediently.

In our hearts and minds, I pray each of us can imagine coming home, to hear words of gentle greeting. And as in the culture of Haiti, the advice stands the test of time.

Benyen. Manje. Domi.

Take a shower. Get something to eat. Take a nap.

In the words of the Psalmist, let’s remember it is not we who must do everything. And in the words of my dear friend Emil: “God tells us: ‘Sit still and stop talking. I’m here.’”

Amen.

Cindy

Please read the following letter from Rev. Mienda Uriarte, acting director of World Mission:

Dear Partners in God’s Mission,

What an amazing journey we’re on together! Our call to be a Matthew 25 denomination has challenged us in so many ways to lean into new ways of reaching out. As we take on the responsibilities of dismantling systemic racism, eradicating the root causes of poverty and engaging in congregational vitality, we find that the Spirit of God is indeed moving throughout World Mission. Of course, the past two years have also been hard for so many as we’ve ventured through another year of the pandemic, been confronted with racism, wars and the heart wrenching toll of natural disasters. And yet, rather than succumb to the darkness, we are called to shine the light of Christ by doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God.

We are so grateful that you are on this journey as well. Your commitment enables mission co-workers around the world to accompany partners and share in so many expressions of the transformative work being done in Christ’s name. Thank you for your partnership, prayers and contributions to their ministries.

We hope you will continue to support World Mission in all the ways you are able:

Give – Consider making a year-end financial contribution for the sending and support of our mission personnel (E132192). This unified fund supports the work of all our mission co-workers as they accompany global partners in their life-giving work. Gifts can also be made “in honor of” a specific mission co-worker – just include their name on the memo line.

Pray – Include PC(USA) mission personnel and global partners in your daily prayers. If you would like to order prayer cards as a visual reminder of those for whom you are praying, please contact Cindy Rubin (cynthia.rubin@pcusa.org; 800-728-7228, ext. 5065).

Act – Invite a mission co-worker to visit your congregation either virtually or in person. Contact mission.live@pcusa.org to make a request or email the mission co-worker directly. Email addresses are listed on Mission Connections profile pages. Visit pcusa.org/missionconnections to search by last name.

Thank you for your consideration! We appreciate your faithfulness to God’s mission through the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Prayerfully,

Rev. Mienda Uriarte, Acting Director
World Mission
Presbyterian Mission Agency
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

To give, please visit https://bit.ly/22MC-YE.

For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6