Creepy Voodoo Bead & All That You Have

What I joke is my creepy, voodoo bead
is my reminder of resourcefulness.

Don't tell me you have nothing.
Do not tell me that you don't have enough resources.
Do not tell me you cannot start right where you are at with what you have in your two hands.

On a steamy afternoon in downtown Sosua on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, +Marissa Nieddu and walked quickly to catch a gua-gua, the local bus. As usual, we passed the cigar maker (is he Belgium, I am not sure.) We shuffled passed the ladies offering foot massages. Then, we passed two Haitian women on the sidewalk.

They were homely. Haitians are greatly discriminated against in the DR. They are often pushed to the side, forgotten, and poor. One of the women immediately gave up offering us anything as we breezed by her in our hurry. The other woman was far more insistent. She grabbed my wrist and offered me this bead.

I told her 'no.' I told her that I have no money. I told her that I was in a hurry.

Yet, she held onto my wrist and insisted on giving it to me, saying 'gift' in broken Keyol-English. I yielded.

As she tied it onto my backpack, I realized that it was woven of human hair. She finished quickly, I reached into my pocket and gave her a few pesos, and we rushed off.

"Its human hair!" I exclaimed to Marissa. She looked closer.
"Wow," Marissa marveled.
"What if we are missionaries and this is a creepy voodoo bead!" I joked with her. We chuckled and hopped the bus.

Seated on the way back to our room, I thought about this woman. She used the only things she had; 3 beads and her own hair. She made something unique and odd and daring with it to create the breakthrough she needed for that day.

And, maybe she gained a few pesos from it; a lunch or a cup of coffee. Don't tell me you don't have something to work with! Get with it, friend.

We have a world to help. Your resources here are vast. Your resourcefulness is more so.

• My friend, +Jason Northington, uses his knowledge alone to make an impact. 
• My other friend, +Jeremy Cranor, consciously uses his story-telling ability to sell shirts that fund missionaries around the world. 
• My buddy +Chantz Cutts uses his experiences from Dell and life to make a difference with human exploitation.
• +Natalie Kale recently told me about an acquaintance of her family who uses Civil War re-enactments  He dresses like a Civil War priest, goes out onto the field after the reenacted battle, and prays over people. He comforts the Civil War-era newly widowed. And you know what? He usually has very real services set up outdoors with very real commitments to the faith. (What in the world?! CRAZY! Amazing. I know.)

Use what you got. No more excuses. You have the resources you need right now. Now, GO. DO.