I have been thinking about discernment a bit today, so please excuse me if I go off the deep end and become philosophical, reflective, and religious more than my norm. "Why?", you might ask. Well the reason is that it looks like the mission trip to Haiti has been postponed from January to likely sometime in March. The reason for the postponement is the potential safety issues due to the election run-off that seems to be scheduled to happen about the time we were planning to be in Haiti. The concern from M, a Haitian who helps with local planning for these trips, is that this continued election cycle may cause some social unrest.Now, don't get me wrong, I respect M's opinion and even agree that there is a safety risk. I guess my general feeling is, so what. Isn't this a time when Haitians, particularly those that don't wish to take part in the social unrest, need others in their mist to stand with them; to let them know that they are not forgotten?
Part of the reason to go to Haiti is to share the stuggles with the Haitians, if only for a while. I don't want to be isolated from the dangers they must face and have them face them alone. I know my presence in Haiti won't mean much to the population and my being there won't help diminish their stuggles, but perhaps it will make a difference to one individual.
This is where discernment comes into play. Who's will am I listening to? God's or mine? I have always had a hard time with discernment. I simply have a difficult time listening to God's will and separating out and ignoring my own stubborn will.
From a practical point of view. If you have graciously helped fund this mission trip I will be contacting you shortly to understand better how you would like to handle your donation going forward. The options are that I can return your donation or the church can hold it to help pay for the trip when it is officially reschedule. If the trip is later canceled then it will be returned. In other word the funds won't go to a general fund; it will be used to support me in a mission trip to Haiti or returned.
