on finding joy

I have a love/hate relationship with Mondays. On one hand, everyone goes back to school/work and I get to have a quiet day with Preston and it’s one of the only days we have a free evening, but on the other hand our weekends are always crazy and we don’t have a day with just nothing and then Monday hits and someone’s permission slip isn’t signed and there’s nothing for school snacks and I didn’t have a chance to make a new string to keep Liliana’s mitts attached to her coat so she doesn’t lose them again and Kaylie called because we forgot to send money for her class Christmas dinner and I just realized the reason my head is aching so bad is because I still haven’t put my contacts in.

There needs to be a day between Sunday and Monday.

One great thing is I got all the out-of-town gifts sent before I had to shell out the dough for express shipping. I think this is the very first year I’ve ever done that. I love love gift shopping. It’s basically the only thing I like about Christmas. Standing in line at the post office, however, I loathe. I can completely understand how one goes postal. When I visited Bethany earlier this year, we sent a package as we headed out of San Diego on our way to Portland, and she used a machine that weighed and measured her package, then printed out a label. Without having to talk to anyone or wait in a line. We need those here in Canada. Badly.

And I guess I shouldn’t complain about our weekend too much because last night we attended a fundraiser for Haiti Arise‘s Each One Build One project that builds earthquake-resistant houses. We raised enough money for at least four houses, and our fundraising is not done yet. The help the people of Haiti still need is unfathomable. It was unfathomable before the 2010 earthquake.

70% of the population lives on $2 a day. 40% of the population is unemployed, and more than 2/3 of the labour force are unskilled and do not have formal jobs. 7% of babies die at birth. Chronic malnutrition kills 1 in 5 children under the age of five. One out of every ten children is a restavek. Restavek is a Creole term that means “to stay with” but this is, in reality, a child slave. Many children are taken across the border into the Dominican Republic and sold into prostitution or other forms of child slavery. (More on that here.) 52.9% of the adult population is illiterate. The church we attend has partnered with Haiti Arise for the last number of years and will continue to partner with them in the future, both financially and practically, sending a team there yearly.

Haiti Arise is a registered Canadian charity in Haiti whose mission is to raise up godly leaders in Haiti through education to strengthen their families, neighbours, and country, bring relief to poverty, stimulate the economy, and to preach the Good News so that lives will be saved and hope for a strong future will be given to Haiti.

I didn’t really have a direction for this post when I started typing, but this is so much more important than complaining that my diamond shoes are too tight. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a big fan of Christmas and struggle finding joy on the best of days, but something I’ve found that does guarantee joy every time is giving practically to those in need. If you’re interested in partnering with Haiti Arise to build an earthquake-proof house for a family, or want to know more about Haiti Arise, you can find more information here, or you can watch the video below. (If the video does not work, click on the aforementioned link to view it.)