Haiti Three Weeks In

Yesterday I felt drained from all the crises of my week, three deaths (see previous blog), a very ill friend in the hospital, another whose husband left her. I knew I needed Holy Spirit help to be able to preach this morning.

Then I got an email asking for prayer for our superintendents and pastors in Haiti, who were at the breaking point from shepherding their people in such pain and grief. Death and disease multiplied many times over what I had experienced this week.

This morning when I didn't want to get out of my comfortable bed to get started, I remembered my Haitian brothers again, and realized they didn't have this problem. They didn't have a bed to get out of, so it was easy to get up in the morning, as soon as the sun peeked under their tarp, they might as well get off the hard concrete and start their day.

When I had trouble turning off the warm soothing shower, I knew they didn't have that problem either, no showers much less warm ones, not even adequate water to drink. So getting ready for church would be much simpler than my experience here.

Our family enjoys backpacking because we like to get out into the wilderness where cars do not intrude, where few humans enjoy that bit of God's creation. But I don't especially like the deprivations of camping, even though we have a nice tent, sleeping bags, pads and soft ground to sleep on. I am always glad to get home to my warm bed and modern bathroom.

In Haiti right now a whole city of people are sleeping on concrete with only tarps to shade the sun, no beds, no adequate protection from rain, no bathroom facilities, not even adequate water to drink. And no end in sight.

Rescue attempts are still focused on basic needs, building new houses remains far in the future.

We must keep praying and supporting our brothers and sisters there, not just when the news is full of the disaster, but in the weeks and years to come. The physical situation alone would drain anyone's energy, much less the great sense of loss for those who didn't survive.

Lord, pour out your grace on Haiti. Keep us alert to their needs. Don't allow our comfort to become complacency.