Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Anderson, The Man, Not The City
Let me tell you about Anderson. Anderson is a young man who graduated high school. He went to college and got a degree in computer science and accounting. He was hired at a spaghetti factory. He got married and had a beautiful baby.
In other words, he has done it right, every step of the way. He is also a devoted follower of Jesus. I spoke at his mother's funeral 7 years ago. Anderson is 31 years old. He calls me poppy.
The earthquake ended his job and for 44 days he has been looking for work, with no luck. He has been living under a piece of plastic with his wife and baby, for 44 nights. Today he stopped by to check on "his poppy." What I saw was a look of defeat, a look of hopelessness, a man who has done it right, but now sitting with nothing, not even a bed for his family.
My heart broke and I knew right then, right there what I needed to do, what I had to do. I asked him if he would come to work for us. He looked up with shock and said "what, are you serious?" I said yes, could he start tomorrow morning at 9am. I then gave him some MRE's (meals ready to eat) a small advance of pay and off he went.
I went in my room and wept very hard. I thought of a man, who has done it right, sitting on a tap tap, with some money in his pocket, food in his hand, and a job. The first thing I said is "this is one of the reasons I am in Haiti."
Some might say, is that normal business, giving jobs because you feel sorry for someone? No, it is called giving hope to someone who deserves a break, and can fill a hole in this puzzle.
I already have a job description for him. It will involve a couple different hats. He will set up some computer files on our relief efforts recording food distributions. He will work with my board member Dan Neal helping with the website from Haiti. He will do ordering for our church and home for supplies and such. He will be contacting and working with some organizations that may have supplies for us and...............much more.
Anderson, a man of God, doing it right, part of our team. tominhaiti
In other words, he has done it right, every step of the way. He is also a devoted follower of Jesus. I spoke at his mother's funeral 7 years ago. Anderson is 31 years old. He calls me poppy.
The earthquake ended his job and for 44 days he has been looking for work, with no luck. He has been living under a piece of plastic with his wife and baby, for 44 nights. Today he stopped by to check on "his poppy." What I saw was a look of defeat, a look of hopelessness, a man who has done it right, but now sitting with nothing, not even a bed for his family.
My heart broke and I knew right then, right there what I needed to do, what I had to do. I asked him if he would come to work for us. He looked up with shock and said "what, are you serious?" I said yes, could he start tomorrow morning at 9am. I then gave him some MRE's (meals ready to eat) a small advance of pay and off he went.
I went in my room and wept very hard. I thought of a man, who has done it right, sitting on a tap tap, with some money in his pocket, food in his hand, and a job. The first thing I said is "this is one of the reasons I am in Haiti."
Some might say, is that normal business, giving jobs because you feel sorry for someone? No, it is called giving hope to someone who deserves a break, and can fill a hole in this puzzle.
I already have a job description for him. It will involve a couple different hats. He will set up some computer files on our relief efforts recording food distributions. He will work with my board member Dan Neal helping with the website from Haiti. He will do ordering for our church and home for supplies and such. He will be contacting and working with some organizations that may have supplies for us and...............much more.
Anderson, a man of God, doing it right, part of our team. tominhaiti
# posted by Tom Osbeck @ 6:19 PM 
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