life on the farm: Ruben Uber Mensch

In Dominican Republic this week to work with my friend Ruben who has a little missionary project of sorts in the middle of the island. A couple of hours from Puerto Plata. My niece Grace and Zoe are here too. We have an on-going relationship with Ruben and his community. We have sponsored a number of community development projects through Grace Cares - well water project, feeding of the elderly, and now this new poultry project. my niece grace 12 years old has raised funds for a poultry and egg project as part of her batz mitzvah - mitzvah. good, so very good to have her with us. my other nephew Kenny had started this community development work about a decade a ago. Not a big project this is one of the great joys to work and bring our nieces and nephews into this work. this essential work. there is so much need in the world, and though our efforts may only be a tiny drop of care in a desert of need, every drop counts.
this work of gracecares and other community work is invaluable to me, as it reminds me of the essential work in the world, to care and assist those less fortunate.
ruben is a mensch. he is a tremendous inspiration. he is the "priest" the "caretaker" "the community mensch" a former Cappucian monk, he gave up the monastic life to return here by the small community la lomita. This is the real spirit of Christianity, i imagine.
As I am watching this implosion of the Catholic Church caught up in their defense of the sclerotic Vatican and the symbols of faith, i recall the numerous nuns and priests i had worked with in the past, and their truly noble and selfless spirit. i think of my friend Father Marty Jenco who i worked with in the Middle East, Sister Stella from Yemen, Father Gannon and later Bishop, who were fearless in their faith and committed to the poor.
Ruben without church with this own sweet kind mission --- his mission is Love. In a world of cynicism, my cynicism notwithstanding, it is too easy to mock this sweet beautiful sincerity of charity and love. These are the people who are my heroes in the world. Ruben who could have had an easy life, a big farm, people working for him, or living in the USA -- instead he is the community leader without title. When someone needs help, he works with them, not in charity that robs them of their dignity, but in a spirit of care and love. A family needs some medicines he finds it for them. Others need help with housing or transportation to a hospital he helps them. He organizes a feeding program for the elderly. A program to assist the local school.
Ruben said,"I grew up very poor, I grew up hungry, I had the opporuntiy to go to the Unitied States, I always thinking of all the people who did not have enough to eat. I want to go back and do something, i want to do something, i want to help. A piece of bread to a child who is hunger. A tylenol to a person with pain." He says this without vanity, as a matter of fact, this is life, "There is a need, and I help."

"But I cannot have a long range vision, i have to worry about right now, the next emergency, the next crisis, and it is difficult for me to plan for the future. But by God's grace we are able to help people. I can not choose to do otherwise. I am putting a band"

Things rarely work smoothly, crisis to crisis, but it is all with the sense of grace and that it is in the hands of God.

In this small community in the middle of Santa Domingo is a miracle that is happening every day, it is the miracle of dignity, the miracle of faith, the miracle of community, undaunted by the poverty. In the morning, many workers, local people come out to see Ruben. A powerful spiritual presence without the slightest bit of ego, filled with humility grace and humor.

There is NOTHING noble about poverty, poverty that is hunger, poverty that robs one of dignity and the sense of self worrth, but the good works of Ruben and the people around him elevate the people and the community. He enables them and us. One fellow John from the US made a generous donation to this community, and he said, "Ruben inspired me."

Today, Grace, Zoe, and I will spend time visiting the community. Helping with building the new chicken coop, as much as we can, though the community workers will do most of the work. We had visited some local children with developmental problems, health issues of other kinds. Many of these congenital issues I cannot help, but we are hoping to create the Appleseed project here.

Appleseed is our long term project where we train community lay health workers how to treat the top 20 ailments, injuries, etc. using herbs, homeopathy, and where necessary over the counter medicines. Most of the basic primary care illnesses can be safely treated at home.

Roosters at 3 am and continued for hours, couldn't get back to sleep, life on the farm. Yet, Ruben gave us his best guest bed. A shower with a bit of cold water. All of this is middle class here. Though in the west we might think of this as "poverty" in reality this is pretty luxurious. I am back and forth in 3rd world countries that I would find it difficult to lose this perspective, but i am grateful to come back here with Zoe and Grace. Working with Ruben to see if we can help and create a longer term and sustained program of community development. Community development with the spirit of Ruben, not charity that robs people of their dignity, but community development that empowers people and enables them to make positive choices for them and their families. Community development with love as the center.

A beautiful day on the farm, roosters crawing, workers in the field, birds calling in the trees, children off to school in their blue uniforms and pink backpacks, verdant fields and pastures glistening green after a good rain last night.

More to come, right now I need to go, open my eyes, open my spirit, listen to the conversations. Where I can, I treat the sick and ill, one man came by this morning with an injured back, I stopped writing, and treated him. My open air clinic and office, sitting in Ruben's workshed, workers coming in, a few patients, and then i return to writing. Life at Ruben's farm.