Body functions and noises, quite taboo or unsophisticated to discuss in the US, are a fair game topic of discussion when doing development and humanitarian aid work it seems. Especially in the two thirds of the globe that does not benefit from many of the amazing luxuries that we take for granted in the western world. What’s even more alarming than discussing your body functions and noises is that more people die every year from diarrhea than from AIDS. And, a large part of that diarrhea could be prevented if people had two simple things.

Mariela Would Be a migrant, but she’s NOT. What Would Be your situation today if someone hadn’t made a sacrifice for you? Or, what Would Be your situation if they didn’t see something in you that you perhaps didn’t see in yourself? Maybe it was help in a tough moment, maybe it was a teacher who in-spite of being overloaded and exhausted they didn’t ignore the Spirit’s urging to invest in you. Perhaps that “someone” didn’t give you anything more than an opportunity.

I believe in the words of Christ, when he said, “I have come so that they may have life, and a life in abundance.” Abundance does not mean wealth, abundance in its most basic sense can mean that I have left-overs from supper tonight. If I truly believe that I am His ambassador of Christ, then as his representative I’m called to ensure that his words are made real to all people. Abundance is an abundance on all levels, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, it’s not partially abundant, it’s not a qualified abundance, it is abundance.

Imagine walking for three years through foreign lands with different languages and different cultures. You’re not part of a reality show nor part of a forced foreign military campaign, but you were indeed forced into this journey, you are traveling against your will, as if you’d fallen in a raging river, a river of poverty, and you’re being swept downstream.

Haiti is many things, but one thing it is NOT, a lost cause. For every American who looks a lot like me and who has a similar ancestry as I do, our ancestors likely played a small role in stacking the deck against this small Caribbean island. But all of our families’ small roles cabined had an enormous impact.