What does Jordan Spieth have to do with the fruit of Haiti?

I just finished watching the Final Round of the British Open Golf Tournament.  Besides hoping to see Jordan Spieth make history by becoming the first player in 62 years to win his first three majors of the year, (along with all of Twitterdom and America, it seems), I love to watch golf.  And it’s also a great way to procrastinate on a Monday morning when you’re supposed to be writing a blog post.

But amidst the rain, the ever-changing leader board, the gasps over the narrowly missed shots, and the short-lived joy over Spieth’s 50-foot sunken putt on #16 when it looked like he might snatch the Claret Jug, there was one moment that stood out to me more than the rest.

It was during Spieth’s post-play interview.  In his notably humble form, I noticed he never said “I” as he analyzed his round for the day; he always said “we”.   If you’re a non-golfer, you might correctly ask, “I thought golf was a solo sport, who’s we?”  But if you’ve ever watched professional golf, you know every golfer has a caddy.  However, most golfers will say, I missed that putt on 17, I had a great drive on 18, I nailed that sand shot, and so on.  I don’t know of many who say “we” when referring to their performance, win or lose.

Jordan Spieth it seems, recognizes an important truth: we don’t get anywhere without others behind us. 

And to include his caddy in any loss equally includes him in any win.

I admire that. 

Because even though Spieth is the new face of golf these days, he knows he didn’t get there without those people who help him day in and day out.  They are part of his success.

When I traveled to Haiti this year as a first time leader, I developed a new appreciation for how important others are to any mission trip go-er’s success in “getting there.”  Even though the person who gets on the plane, crosses the ocean and serves in an extremely poor Third World country for a week is the one going on the Mission Trip, they don’t go alone.

There are countless supporters who have paid, prayed, donated and helped along the way- without whom, our little team of 16 wouldn’t have made it.  It seems Jordan isn’t the only one who realizes others are integral to our success.

This speaks to the Fruit of Haiti I witnessed in plenty: the kindness of others. 

fruit of spiritI may have noticed it more acutely this year because my job was to be certain everyone raised the needed funds by the deadline, or perhaps because we were fundraising for 4 family members.

Either way, it showed up big time.

The kindness of many who supported my kids financially, and prayerfully,  includes some who hardly know them, or who’ve never met them.  And I watched God answer prayers for those on my team who didn’t have the financial means to pay for such a trip as this on their own.  In fact, one person received an anonymous donation for the entire amount of their trip – before sending a single donation letter!

Additionally, each team is challenged to bring 1 – 50lb. suitcase per person, filled with donations for us to deliver to the organizations we serve in country who have need.

As a leader, there is always an underlying fear we won’t enough donations to fill any, much less all, of our suitcases.  16 suitcases is a lot!  And I was feeling the pressure, because I know how needed the supplies are, and I knew it was a tall order to achieve our goal.

Kindness produced a huge crop of donations!

Over the course of 2 months collecting, our team was blessed by the kindness and generosity of piles of people (again some we didn’t even know) who shopped, wrote checks, delivered and donated enough toothbrushes/toothpaste, baby wipes, shoes, hairbrushes, t-shirts, medicines, soap, washcloths, canned meat and squeezable fruit packs to fill all 16 of our suitcases to the brim!

It’s hard to put into words just how meaningful each and every dollar, can of tuna, pack of baby wipes or heartfelt prayer meant to our team.  None was more or less important to the success of our mission.

Each illustrates how the Fruit of Kindness makes a much more powerful “we.”

And then everyone wins.

[reminder]Where have you witnessed the Fruit of Kindness in your life?[/reminder]

If you missed any of “The Fruit of Haiti” blog series, click on any of these links: Love/Joy/Peace, Patience