Some Final Thoughts

I apologize that it has taken me a couple of days to get these final thoughts recorded on the blog, and I hope any of you following this have a chance to see these last postings. We all got home, safe and sound, a little tired and still congested from the bad air of Quito but glad we had the opportunity to be present with the people we are serving in this part of the world. Too, we were proud to be St. Mark's representatives in this mission. We get to see the smiles, hear the stories, get the thanks for all of the work all of you make possible. Without all of you, very little of this ministry would be possible. The priest on Saturday was right, it is the people of "San Marco," by the grace of God, who make a lot of things possible. In the cab on the way to the airport, our friend Washington made a point to tell us how much he respects the people of St. Mark. We care, we give hope to people that no one else, not even their own government, care about.

We got back to St. Mark from Reagan Airport around 12:45 Sunday afternoon, soon enough to see the last people leaving from the last liturgy of the day, and soon enough for me to catch up with my friend, Pastor Gary Sandberg, who had been the preacher in my stead for the morning. In many ways, our conversation summed up the experience of the week. Pastor Sandberg told me of a statistic he had recently come across that said Christian communities in the United States had contributed nearly $3 billion (yes, billion) to Haiti over the past 20 years, and Haiti is still a pit. I said, very quickly, that I think that I understand why. Everyone sends some money, a box of medicine, a few kids to work on a house or two, some coloring books for the little kids to Haiti. It makes us feel good. It makes us feel like we're doing something, but really we aren't doing anything but dumping resources down a hole. Change only happens when you stick with a place over the long haul. All of the people sending money and goods to Haiti want to do good things, but we do something and we're done with that. We move on to something else. Nothing permanent sticks.

We have been in Quito, Ecuador for a number of years (about 6) now. The Goffs have been there nearly 10 years now. It has taken us this long to see the things we are starting to see now. It is a long, long road to which we still can't see the end, probably because there is no end. As Washington and the parish priest said, no one cares except for us. If we stepped away now, all of the work we have invested would probably fizzle away within 18 months. This isn't to say that we are indispensable, only that there is no one to take our place if we pull out. It takes years to build the relationships necessary for the ministry we see now to begin to take hold. You all are to be commended for your willingness to "hang in" with these families, these kids in a place we hardly knew of before this all started. The difference between Haiti and the kids and families at the Refugio isn't money, it's your willingness to support and pray for these kids month after month, year after year.

Peace to you from the St. Mark Pilgrims