Project Report
| Mar 22, 2023
Looking for volunteers
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Want to join me in making a difference?
BonZeb is looking for a few new board members. We would like to find someone with a background in fundraising, someone with an interest in the environment and someone whose passion is for the poor.
Last week I brought up the four basic fears that we all face during our lives. The first being the fear of rejection. This week, as we continue our search for a few volunteers. I would like to mention the second basic fear, the fear of failure.
We have all encounter this fear in some form or another. This is the fear that keeps us in our box. Never venturing out of our comfort zone, never really challenging ourselves.
When I was young I seldom volunteered in class, even if I knew an answer, because of my fear of speaking publicly. It was not that I couldn't speak, but with my speech impediment, I was afraid of the reaction that would follow.
What I came to realize was my fear was unfounded. I was afraid of not living up to what other people's expectations were for me. Not the expectation God had for me. The little fears about exams, grades, employment, etc. are all seeded in our fear of failure.
Too often we become jaded with the news from around the world. We feel that current issues facing the poor, the homeless, and those in need, make any effort hopeless and doomed to fail. If you only knew that the information that makes the news is only a little bit of what is happening, and usually the negative side of the story, you would have every reason to think failure is imminent. But the truth is that there is much good happening in Haiti. BonZeb has created dozens of jobs, created multiple scholarships for students from elementary school to graduate school. The local farming community is active and benefits from hands-on education and more. A second farm has been established and more families are benefiting. These are all positives that do not get the air time that they deserve.
Remember, the fear of failure can cause the paralysis of analysis. We tend to overthink things. God asks us to trust in Him and take the first step, and then the second, and the third....
Please consider taking this journey with BonZeb. Share your knowledge, your insights, and your faith with us.
We have shared over the past few weeks the growing need for your support. Support that is necessary for BonZeb to take care of those that God has placed in our care: our workers and their families, our students and their families, and our neighbors and their families.
Pictured above you see a few of our team members working the slope of the farm. I hills are steep on the property and the rocky terrain is unforgiving. Many a time I have twisted my ankles on the boulders hidden in the grass or cut myself on the switch grass that grows in the uncultivated parts of the land. Pain is part of the experience of living and working in Haiti. It can be miles to walk to work, to the market, to get water, to see a doctor. There is no easy way to get from point A to point B, especially in the countryside.
Pain is the third of the four fears that we all experience. Fear of it drives a $300 billion market, where your pain can be lessened or eliminated by buying this product or that. Our fear of pain, like rejection and fear, can paralyze us. It can keep us from truly living as we try to cope with it. I know this all too well. I have been in chronic pain for decades and there are days like today that I would rather not get out of bed. But even the bed does not take the pain away. The medication does not take the pain away. So I choose to face the pain and keep moving. It has limited what I can do, but it hasn't stopped me. The fear is what causes me to pause each time I think of doing some activity, how much will this hurt or how will I feel tomorrow?
That is only the physical pain, but there is also emotional, spiritual, mental and societal pain to cope with. Fear can, but shouldn't control our lives. That is why we are reminded so often in scripture to, “Fear not” or “Be not afraid”. These phrases occur 103 times.
What I have learned from my almost 15 years in Haiti is that life goes on. Either you will be part of it or you will withdraw into a shell and avoid it. I have done both. I want to go on living and put fear behind me.
What are you afraid of today?
At BonZeb we are still looking for volunteer board members. Could you be the one that will help us move forward? What gifts and talents has God given you that you could share with us? Are you in a position today that would allow you to make a monetary donation to help the poor in Haiti? Do you have a fear that you would like us to pray for? Do you have questions about BonZeb and its mission, then please check out our website at
www.bonzeb.ngo. Thank you.
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