Memoirs of a Reluctant Servant

A Ray of Hope in Honduras

jcabeen — Wed, 29 May 2013 15:43:41 +0000

Catholic Bishop Romulo Emiliani is trying to work a miracle and by his own admission it is going to be a tough task, “What is coming is difficult. It is not easy. It is complicated.” The what is bringing peace to statistically the world’s most violent country, the how is to get the two rival gangs there to call a truce and the where is Honduras, Central America. Bishop Emiliani lives in San Pedro Sula a city of about 600,000 people in the northwestern area of the country and the murder capital of the world according to recent reports. According to the United Nations, in 2011, Honduras had the highest murder rate in the world, at 91.6 killings per 100,000 people. The two rival gangs that have terrorized the beautiful people of Honduras are the Mara Salvatrucha (roughly translated, the saving trout) and the Calle 18 (18th Street). Both of these gangs formed in the United States prison system when the number of Central American inmates swelled to large numbers in the 1980′s and 90′s. When they were deported they returned to their respective countries and set up shop extorting money from business owners and everyday citizens, involving themselves in the international drug trade, bribing and buying police and government officials and going on sadistic rampages of murder. With both gangs vying for control of Honduras they turned on each other and the carnage grew unabated. But yesterday for the first time in a very long time there seemed to be a ray of hope that broke through the muddles clouds of this tragic and dangerous situation in Honduras. Members from both gangs offered a truce of sorts, albeit from prisons cells . Covered in bandanas and tattoos they spoke in anonymity, “We are going to start now. … We have now spent more than a decade being always involved in crime and mistreatment, which has also affected us, and what we want is peace,” offered one of the Calle 18 members. “We cannot have a truce with other people who do not think like we do. We are going to respect their territory, but let them also respect our territory, so that the violence decreases,” a representative of the Mara Salvatrucha said.

Still with the positive steps hoping to be made toward peace Emiliani is cautious, if not optimistic, “They want to reconcile with Honduran society and ask for forgiveness from the Honduran people, and I think it is a step forward.” If neighboring country El Salvador is any indicator then hope seems to be realistic as the two gangs declared a truce in the country last year and murder rates have dropped by almost 52%, but Emiliani and the Honduran National Police warn that the same results should not be expected in Honduras as the majority of the murders are not gang related. The lynchpin in this developing scenario is the government of Honduras and their accepting of the olive branch offered by the gangs and orchestrated by Bishop Emiliani. Thankfully the government seems to not only be listening but supporting the efforts as well as President Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo gave his blessing to the idea. Lobo called Emiliani to “express my congratulations and my appreciation in name of the people of Honduras.”

This latest undertaking brings a sense of hope to me in a very personal way as I lived in Honduras from 2004 until 2008, my wife is from the capital city of Tegucigalpa and she and I were married there in June of 2008. One of the most disheartening experiences for me is when Honduras is mentioned on the nightly news and the only things associated with this beautiful country are hurricanes, earthquakes, governmental unrest or gang violence. While these are realities of Honduras they are not the prevailing norm. Honduras has the kindest and most welcoming people I have ever encountered in my life, and the country itself is as beautiful as any I have ever seen. Honduras has lush, dense and green rainforests, beautiful forests filled with pine trees, a coast line in the south with the Pacific Ocean and an enormous northern coastline with the Caribbean that have some of the most beautiful beaches and barrier reefs found in the world and 80% of Honduras is covered by beautiful mountains. As well Honduras offers some of the most well preserved and intact Mayan ruins found in Copan. These are the things the world never hears about Honduras. I truly felt that when I stepped off the plane at Toncontin International Airport in September in 2004 I would be dodging bullets, the only thing that came at me that day and everyday thereafter was a billy-goat that had broken free from its owner and welcomed me to its country. In the 4 years I lived in Honduras I had exactly ZERO encounters of violence, crime or aggressiveness from gangs. I met gang members and I drove through areas that were gang controlled, Nueva Capital in Tegucigalpa being one, but I never as much received anything more than a handshake and pat on the back.

Problems exist in Honduras, no argument or doubt about that, but they also exist in Chicago, New York and Detroit, cities I have been too before and can without question say I would rather walk through San Pedro Sula than these. But to every problem is its solution and my hope and prayer was that with this week’s progress Honduras can start walking a path that is more peaceful and safe because the incredible people of Honduras (Los Catrachos) deserve to live in peace.

POLITICAL CORRECTNESS – The Disease that Killed the United States

jcabeen — Tue, 28 May 2013 16:02:05 +0000

In October of 2012 a philosopher, writer and historian died in San Antonio, Texas. His name was Jacques Barzun. For many years he riled against the slowly rising sewage in our society that we call “political correctness” or for short “pc.” Barzun correctly stated that, “Political correctness does not legislate tolerance; it only organizes hatred.” More recently Dr. Benjamin Carson, a highly respected neurosurgeon, from Baltimore, Maryland spoke on the subject at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. while sharing the stage with United States President Barack Obama. Dr. Carson spoke openly, honestly and eloquently about the ugly and divisive nature of political correctness. Dr. Carson warned of the dangers of “pc” and the toll it was taking on individuality, personality and creativity when he shared, “One of the founding pillars of this nation was freedom of speech and freedom of expression and when we give up that freedom by succumbing to political correctness we lose who we are as individuals.” In his speech he continued to elaborate on the counter balance that “pc” actually effects on a society, “We’ve reached a point where people are actually afraid to talk about what they want to say, because somebody might be offended. We’ve got to get over this sensitivity and it keeps people from saying what they really believe.”

My experiences living as a missionary in Honduras and Liberia not only illustrated but demonstrated the dangers and ills of this politically produced opium that Americans have become so addicted too. The people that I worked with and lived with in these countries have continually walked roads that the greater majority of Americans in the United States will never comprehend. On a daily basis they live in and fight against abject poverty, lack of education, deposing of warlords, civil wars, child prostitution, human slave trade, watching loved ones and family members die form the most basic infections and freedom. The very thought of “pc” to the people of the developing world is repugnant and offensive. To remain silent, to not voice your beliefs and to fall in line and follow the person in front of you is like following a suicidal lemming off a cliff. Yet we here in the United States have somehow have not only found “pc” to our liking but we have festooned ourselves in it and convinced ourselves that this rotting blanket of filth is somehow our security and our salvation. We have deceived ourselves by doing exactly what “pc” wants us to do, stop thinking for ourselves and rather depend on all our answers from our elected political leaders. And that is the ultimate destructive danger of political correctness, it strips the individual of any sense of self, any degree of thought and it brings us to our knees in front of the false gods we create. “Pc” turns each of us into a “pc” (personal computer) and we are at the control of the person that is plugging away at our keyboard. We are told what to say, what to think and how to act, we are nothing more than machines that are at the control of other’s hands, thoughts and desires. We have become a people that is convinced we are so full of what is right that we can’t begin to see what is good, and the powerful, miniscule minority that directs our country loves that.

“Pc” has stifled us to the point we can’t communicate anymore because we just don’t know what to say and what not to say. No longer can a man tell a female colleague, “Jane you sure look nice this morning”, a woman a can’t tell a male colleague, “Steve that shirt fits you nicely”, when someone sneezes people live in fear of saying, “God Bless You”, don’t be caught wishing somebody a “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Hannakuh” because these evoke the thoughts of God and God is not as welcome in the United States as He once was, and I just committed a HUGE sin in the world of “pc” by referring to God in the male tense. Maybe one day the government will hand out free tubes of Krazy Glue at ballot boxes so when people go to vote we can use the glue to seal our mouths shut after we cast our ballot. Wait, did I just call glue KRAZY!? Oh my how grossly politically incorrect that was to use the word Krazy. Americans , the ones in the United States, are good people at heart but we have over the last generation become a lazy, controlled, satiated lot. We love welfare, we love free government handouts and we love blaming others and history for our present failures. The United States has become the land of “the buck stops with anyone but me, it is not my fault.” We have TOLERATED ourselves into the most divisive, segregated and polemic climate we have ever experienced and it is because individuals here have become complacent and silent, drowned by all the expected freebies given to us by Father Fed. When somebody does stand up in the United States and speaks their mind they are labeled a bigot, a this phobe, a that phobe by the millions that have become fat and satisfied at surviving off of others. Political correctness and tolerance has killed the country I grew up in yet I am not surprised. Like a mother who continually tells an insolent child not to touch the flame on the candle, she is blamed when the child is burned, not just by others but by the child as well.

St. Augustine proclaimed so poignantly that, “The first reaction to truth is anger”, and it angers people when the blanket of decay we called political correctness is suddenly pulled off to expose the rot it has surrounded our country in. The erosion of the idea that there is one universal truth is the enemy of political correctness. Jesus Christ taught that He is the truth and that the truth will set us free. Yet pc dictates that everyone is correct, nobody is wrong and that truth extends to everything. There is nothing correct about political correctness.

Here Are some examples of political correctness in action:

1) The nickname “Ragin’ Cajuns” of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette was attacked because it was claimed that “Ragin” spelled backwards was a racial slur.

2) Professor Stephan Thernstrom, a distinguished professor of history at Harvard, was forced to drop an undergraduate course after he was harassed because he used the term “Indian” instead of “Native American.”

3) Freshmen cannot be called freshmen, because that has “gender specific” connotations. Must be called “new students.”

4) In 2007, Santa Clauses in Sydney, Australia, were forced to revolt for the right to say “Ho Ho Ho”, the traditional laugh of jolly old St. Nick. It turns out that their employer, the recruitment firm Westaff (that supplies hundreds of Santas across Australia), told all trainees that “ho ho ho” could frighten children and be derogatory to women. Why? Because it was too close to the American (not Australian, mind you) slang for prostitute. Instead, the Santas were instructed to lower their voices and say “Ha ha ha”. Westaff relented only after the story broke nationally, deciding to leave the belly laughs “up to the discretion of Santa himself.”

5) Political Correctness can have deadly consequences, even for an army at war. In November 2009, US Army Psychologist Nidal Malik Hasan killed 13 people (one pregnant) by opening fire on a US Army base, all while shouting “God is Great” in Arabic (a misappropriation of Muslim prayers, but used in the 9/11 attacks). How could anything like this happen on a military base? Unbelievably, the Pentagon knew of Hasan’s emails to radical imams, and his increasingly bizarre policy recommendations for Muslims serving in the US armed forces. Many coworkers and colleagues referred to him as a “ticking time bomb.” Red flags appeared everywhere showing that Hasan was seriously conflicted about being a Muslim in the US military, but the Army’s middle management ignored these signals because they were “afraid to be accused of profiling somebody.” That PC fear may have cost 13 people their lives

and the list goes on and on and on and on….and the most reprehensible part is people have died because of “pc” just so others wouldn’t be offended.

I love my country, the United States, but on the risk of being politically incorrect, it has become a nation of thin-skinned crybabies and all I have to say to that is “MERRY CHRISTMAS” and “HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!”

LIBERIA MISSION INCORPORATED – Smiles for Miles and Miles and Miles!

jcabeen — Sat, 25 May 2013 14:27:26 +0000

The Space Between

jcabeen — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:38:54 +0000

What is it that exists in our hearts and souls that would establish such a solid void between each of us? What malignant spirit whispers so quietly, yet effectively in our ear, “Let somebody else do it, it’s not your concern?” Do we ever question our perspective that the United States and other developed countries are “Blessed and favored by God?” When, who and by what authority did we ever come to comprehend that our national pride and/or political affiliation should ever diminish or supersede our spiritual beliefs. Where does that leave these two young children in the picture? Are they “cursed and/or not favored by God?” Surely if God created us all he loves us all equally, that is what my teacher Jesus Christ taught us.

My own belief is that, like a small spark to just one leaf in a dry forest, we are raised with misconceptions on the nature and reality of God and his Son and soon we have an uncontrollable inferno of spiritual entitlement, gross malignancy of favoritism and the inability to look beyond the borders of our minds. I remember the absolutely quizzical look on a friend’s face when I told him, “We live like we can, because they live like they do.” Our overflowing society is not so much a blessing as it is the results of political, corporate and societal decisions that leave other countries, and thus other brothers and sisters, in its destructive wake.

I love my country and I think the United States has without question been a beacon of hope for billions of people. My contention is the path we are on, the subtle (or not so subtle arrogance) that citizens of this country display everyday. We stamp on our money “In God We Trust” yet we support and defend a billion dollar a year pornography industry. We claim to be a loving welcoming nation and yet we allow the murder of over 3,500 children a day while they dream in their mother’s wombs, we tout our judicial system to other countries yet we see a young woman in Arizona who was convicted of 1st degree murder be extended the right by the sitting judge to go on major news networks and give interviews. The instant gratification and dependency culture has deep, deep roots in our society and it erodes the real reason any of us are here for, to serve others and work for justice.

So the question presents itself to me: “Who really is living in poverty?”

My hope and my continued prayer is that we as a country realize the incredible potential and power we have in us. That is the true blessing from God, not from what we see or what we receive, but rather in what we can DO and what we can GIVE. There is a world that is suffering, many of them right here in our own backyard, and yet so many refuse to be the hands and feet of Christ. The greatest defeat a person could ever suffer is allowing the power that they have inside of them to change the world fade away and live just for themselves.

I don’t think it’s the poor who’ve given up on life for themselves. I think it’s us who have given up on the poor.

So what then do any of us that call ourselves Christians or people of faith make of these words below?:

1st John 3:17 “But if someone who is supposed to be a Christian has money enough to live well, and sees a brother in need, and won’t help him–how can God’s love be within him ?”

James 1:27 ” The Christian who is pure and without fault, from God the Father’s point of view, is the one who takes care of orphans and widows, and who remains true to the Lord–not soiled and dirtied by his contacts with the world.”

Proverbs 28:27 “If you give to the poor, your needs will be supplied. But a curse upon those who close their eyes to poverty.”

Our scripture is replete with exhortations and commands to help those in need, teach them to live a life of self-dependency and not just live for our own individual self. So again I ask, “What is it that exists in our hearts and souls that would establish such a solid void between each of us? What malignant spirit whispers so quietly, yet effectively in our ear, “Let somebody else do it, it’s not your concern?” Whatever it may be it is leading us down a perfidious road where God does not walk.

Recent Article from allAfrica.com Illustrates How Far Liberia Still Needs to Travel

jcabeen — Fri, 24 May 2013 12:57:04 +0000

Liberia: University of Liberia Graduates Over 500 Without Visitor or Keynote Speaker

By Massa F. Kanneh, 22 May 2013

The University of Liberia Commencement convocation held at the Samuel K. Doe Sports complex on Wednesday May 22, 2013 in Paynesville was not characterized by the usual personality galore like many others before it.

Many students expressed dissatisfaction over the failure of the visitor to the university President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to grace the occasion.

They also expressed dismay over the graduating class’ decision not to bring in a keynote speaker.

Graduate Matu Williams from the Business College and many officials including some students blamed the provost of the graduating class for not arranging for a guest speaker as her office is said to be responsible to arrange such matters.

“We never had Guest speaker nor class president, but it was fine,” said Williams.

The student added that despite these circumstances the program was held and graduates and their families and friends left the program on time.

Graduating in may an Economic burden

The President of the University of Liberia Dr. Emmett Dennis during the ceremony said that the board of Trustees of the University has sanctioned that this year’s May graduation marks the end of midterm graduation.

Dr. Dennis speaking during the 94th convocation of the University of Liberia Dr said the May graduation poses serious economic burden on the graduates and the University.

“It has been approved that students who finish their academic requirements will be cleared and given attestation while they wait for commencement in December,” said the UL President.

Dr. Dennis argued that the twice a year graduation were necessary at the time to rid the institution of students who had over stayed to reduce the stress on the University meager facilities.

The class of 453 graduates is the lowest since Dr. Dennis took over the institution as president in 2009. Also speaking, the vice president of the 94th graduating class Edith Jallah said, the institution needs more funding to catch to match the existing reality.

Jallah said the growth in the student population must be matched with increased financial support if the University is to function properly. Jallah challenged her colleagues to be focused and determined so as to contribute to the nation’s development drive.

The college of Business and Public Administration has the highest number of graduates 180, followed by Liberia College 104, 48 from the College of Science and Technology and 59 from Teacher College.

A total of 46 students were certified from the graduate and professional schools. No candidate came from the A.M Dogliotti College of medicine and the School of Pharmacy.

FRANCISCAN WORKS – Changing Liberia One Child; One Smile; One Love at a Time !

jcabeen — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:59:34 +0000

Proverbs 14:31

Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.

Come visit us at www.franciscanworks.org and learn more about Liberia Mission Inc., the awesome children we serve and how you can become part of a vibrant and giving team of volunteers that is changing a country one child at a time. Never underestimate the power and life changing grace that you have inside of you. While the world says, “No!”, God says, “Yes!” Everyone of the children in these pictures are part of our family and mission and each of them have a brighter and successful future because of people just like YOU! We look forward to meeting you!

A Flower Picked – Our Lives Dimmer; But Heaven Is Shining Bright

jcabeen — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:00:30 +0000

Dear Friends of Jennie,

No doubt our lives grew a bit dimmer and heaven’s much brighter in April when we finally had to say goodbye to the best among us, Jennie Martin. There are not enough pages, words or expressions of love that could ever come close to capturing the greatness of this woman. I think of LOVE when Jennie is mentioned. That should be enough but it isn’t, however it is the best word I know to describe her. How can words describe a person that lived the Gospel with every breath she took and every hug she gave to one of the “least among us?”

As many of you know we at Franciscan Works, as well as the community of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, lost the most dynamic and loving light in our lives when Jennie finally won her battle. Most of you knew Jennie and knew her well, as Clarisa and I did. Some of you may have never met Jennie but wherever you encountered love, sacrifice or somebody being good to another human she is there, that is Jennie. She was a big supporter of not only our mission but also of my book, “Memoirs of a Reluctant Servant.” She never was able to make that trip to Liberia, Africa that she wanted to make, her health never would allow it. Even through her battle with cancer she was able to continue to go down to Honduras, work for the children of Africa from home and continue to rally the troops in Baton Rouge for bigger and greater things. A few nights ago I ran an idea for a fundraiser for our mission in Liberia by Jennie’s awesome husband and my good friend and brother in Christ, Ed Martin. He gave me his blessing to put it in action. I would humbly ask each of you, in Jennie’s memory, to purchase one copy or more of my book “Memoirs of a Reluctant Servant.” 100 % of the proceeds will be given to the offices of Franciscan Works in Chicago to continue to feed, clothe, educated and provide medical care for our children and workers at Liberia Mission Incorporated. Even if you have purchased a copy of my book you can buy another and pass it along as a gift in Jennie’s memory.

There are a few ways you can purchase my book:

1) Send me a message through FACEBOOK with your name, address and how many copies you would like. I will send you my information and will sign each copy I send to you.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Memoirs-of-a-Reluctant-Servant/170781402976204

2) You can visit AMAZON and look up the book and purchase it through AMAZON.
http://www.amazon.com/Memoirs-Of-Reluctant-Servant-Triumph/dp/1425152732/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369257436&sr=8-1&keywords=cabeen

3) Send me an e-mail through my personal e-mail address at: jeromecabeen@yahoo.com

and we can exchange info through this method as well.

Each book is $15.00 (USD) checks need to be made out to: Jerome Cabeen

I miss my friend Jennie more than words can ever express. I am sure we all do. She was an incredible example to all of us on not how to live and live large but how to die and die with dignity and die while serving others. There truly will never be another person I meet like her. Please help us at FRANCISCAN WORKS honor her by purchasing copies of my book because in the end you will be doing exactly what she wanted us to do, helping the children of Liberia. One of the last things Jennie told me in late March of this year was, “You keep loving those babies and keep fighting for them because there is too much work to be done to quit now.” I for one plan on honoring Jennie’s exhortation.

I also encourage you to take a few minutes to learn about the incredible and loving place Liberia Mission Inc. is by visiting our website at: https://www.franciscanworks.org

There is much you can do to help advance our mission and visiting the website is the first and best place to start. Finally if you haven’t had the chance to visit my FACEBOOK page for my book please do so and LIKE the page, we would be humbled by your partnership in our community.

Prayers, Blessings and Peace and God Bless Jennie Martin,

Jerome Cabeen

Author

“Memoirs of a Reluctant Servant”

2012 in review

jcabeen — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:17:34 +0000

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 4,900 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 8 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

Looking for a few good “LIKES”

jcabeen — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 01:16:41 +0000

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Memoirs-of-a-Reluctant-Servant/170781402976204

Please take just a minute to visit my book’s page on FACEBOOK by clicking on the link above and “LIKE” us. I would be honored to have you as part of our FACEBOOK community. the kids at our mission would appreciate it as well. Thank you for all of your support and kind words so far. Please continue to keep all of our children in Liberia in your thoughts, prayers and wishes. They are working do hard to overcome very long odds. They have changed my life and I love them!

Exercise Your Right to Vote America!

jcabeen — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 00:58:57 +0000

The presidential election is just around the corner here in the United States. It will be held on Tuesday,November 6, 2012. We call it SUPER TUESDAY! Although I don’t anticipate the turnout to vote to be nearly as great as it was in 2008 I decided to vote early to avoid the long lines and big crowds that will gather at every polling place around the country on that day.

I voted at lunchtime yesterday, October 22, at the local courthouse where I live and while I was waiting in line my mind drifted back to the election of 2008. At that time I was living in Liberia, West Africa and I went into the capital city of Monrovia and casted my ballot at the United States Embassy. If you have ever been to Liberia you know that it is still trying to pull itself out of the problems that beset it because of two civil-wars, a corrupt government and a very alarming poverty rate that affects many of the great people in the country. I drove through unspeakable poverty, hopelessness and despair that day to arrive at the embassy and vote. My time at the courthouse yesterday reminded me of the stark contrasts of my experiences of voting here in the United States and what people in other parts of the world, like Liberia, have to go through.

I waited in a comfortable, air-conditioned building where election volunteers were offering me coffee and conversation as opposed to a small jungle village where voters were offered sweltering heat and mosquitoes carrying malaria. I visited with security guards that held walkie-talkies and not UN or Liberian soldiers holding AK-47′s and pistols. I used a state of the art voting machine where all that needed to be done is push a few buttons in privacy and comfort, not dip my thumb in purple ink and deal with a dusty ballot with print so small it makes it difficult to read. When I left I shook hands with the help desk volunteer as I exited the building not worrying if I would lose that hand to a machete because I voted for an unpopular candidate from the wrong tribe. I had all the comforts that the United States allows for and it made me realize that the election wasn’t about Mitt Romney or Barack Obama, or a third party candidate like Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, Rocky Anderson or Virgil Goode. It was about much more than that, it was about the men and women who not only afforded me the right and privilege to vote but also the men and women in Liberia and all around the world who ONLY want that right and not be fearful of exercising it.

I thought about all the innocent Liberians that died at the hands of their elected officials like Samuel K. Doe and Charles Taylor. As I looked at all the signs and banners lending support to a particular party or candidate I thought about that dreadful day of July 19, 1997 when Liberians were so polarized by fear that 71% of them voted for Charles Taylor for president. His supporters, THE PEOPLE WHO VOTED FOR HIM, wore t-shirts with his picture on the front with the slogan: “He Killed My Ma, He Killed My Pa – But I Will Vote For Him!”

As I arrived at my car I realized that my vote was a vote for all those around the world that struggle everyday to gain the things we take so much for granted.