The Joy of Hearts and Hands

So, I guess I should back up a bit, I need to tell the story of the name Hearts and Hands for Haiti. I think the story is important because it explains a bit about the goals.

To understand the heart part, you have to know my partner in this organization, you have to know Joy. The best way I can explain Joy, is to say that she has a heart that can hold the world. She can hold the little stuff and she can hold the big stuff and it all seems to fit inside her heart. How she does this? I don't know. She can start a non-profit (shunem.org) to offer care and compassion to missionaries recently evacuated the many corners of the world, find a home for a family who has just moved to Indiana, and then turn around and ask you the question that opens you up, makes you cry, but in a gentle way, and when you most need it. I'm in awe of her capacity to love the best and the worst in people, especially me.

But there are other hearts as well in this initiative. A few days ago, one of my friends from my hometown, Jack Condon, sent a sizable check to Hearts and Hands. Jack has been working with Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Wilma victims in the aftermath of the hurricane and here is what he said to me:

My Katrina (and Wilma) experience was as a Sr. Leader running a call center and coordinating assistance for customers who had lost or destroyed property during those storms. As a company, we approached the response with a great deal of compassion and the intention to help. One thing that experience taught me was how little things in a time of crisis can make a difference.

So, does that mean that I'm the hands of the operation? Well, not really. I think of the hands as the missionaries that are on the ground in La Gonave and Port-au-Prince, the hands of the many people who have donated to and raised money for to Hearts and Hands, and the hands of the many people who have offered to go to Haiti help rebuild. When the heart is directing the hands, the result can't be anything but beautiful...

So, Hearts and Hands for Haiti, that's what this initiative is called and it's about bringing many hearts to work with many hands