The Bethesda United Methodist Haiti Expedition - In Search of Holes
Focus: Infrastructure
Example 1: Tree Planting at Sadhana
In the nursery, place a seed in a hole in the soil; cover and water. After the seed germinates and grows several inches, soak the surrounding soil and gently remove the sapling. Prepare its new home by digging a deeper hole and enriching the soil around it. Place the sapling in its new home. Add mulch and give the nascent being Phil’s blessing.
The tree planting process assumes the following which I collectively call Infrastructure: Planner, plans, builders, building supplies, skilled gardeners, able-to-hole soil, nutrients, sun, sun shade, water, nurturing caregivers, and, of course, a seed. The infrastructure that I take for granted in my garden, is not a given in Haiti.
Example 2: What types of soil are we providing for our human saplings?
The old Sunday School chorus goes: “Jesus loves the little children, All the children of the world.” (I am sure that all the worlds cultures express a similar sentiment.) The world’s children are our saplings. The children of Haiti and all Hispaniola are our saplings. Children are children everywhere. The garden infrastructure they happen to land in determines their fate. Some fall on stony ground; some fall among the thorns; some are fortunate to fall on fertile soil. It is our hope that the holes that the Bethesda UMC team and their Haitian friends built with fertile soil among the children of the immigrant village, will attract others to continue their efforts to build a sustainable infrastructure and nurture the young of Hispaniola into fruitful maturity and in the process set an example for the world to follow.
-Sterling
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