Wednesday Inspiration Station: Haiti's Reality

Sometimes I get caught up in my everyday life.  I gripe, I indulge, and every once in a while I manage to find contentment.  And then I hear about things that are going on in Haiti (and around the world for that matter).  I tend to forget that I spent a whole week in Haiti, and living there was no piece of cake.  It is rough. 

There are few or no paved roads (driving in Haiti can give you whiplash, a hernia, break your back, or all of the above, and I am not exaggerating).  Water is scarce, you are lucky if you have running water let alone filtered water in your home.  There are no microwaves or ovens. There is no economy.  Life is hard to say the least.

When I heard that our friends who we visited in August had been affected by the flood, my heart dropped.  Rick and I were talking about it on our way to Whole Foods.  In our nice comfy car, on our way to buy food that most people only dream of. I felt helpless. I wanted to do something, but all I could do was keep driving and eventually have my Whole Foods dinner.  But our beautiful friends in Haiti are suffering. 

Maybe I don't watch the news often enough, but I really havent heard much about how hurricane Tomas affected Haiti.  Maybe it is underreported, I dont know.  But the reality is that it has hit them - and this is where I am going to show a picture (courtesy of Bruce) and a letter from Pastor Maula (also courtesy of Bruce) with whom we stayed when we visited Gonaive, Haiti. 


Hi Bruce! My internet signal was down because of the storm. I just got it back in order. Thank you very much for  your words, your prayer and support. Since more people were aware of the storm, many came for rescue in my house.There were a lot of rain and wind. The city were flooded but not as bad as the last one. Water rose up to a three feet level. When it came to a point to cause death, it was pushed away to the ocean direction by God. It happen that way because of Christian prayers. I went to church this morning to praise God for His Mercy. Most people could not attend the church because of the bad condition of their house. They have been throwing water away from their house. The sad news is that it is reported that an higher rate of people died of the epidemic cholera after the storm. It requires a strict level of hygiene to prevent it. Which is what I'm trying to do with them.


Blessing, Maula

The Flood From Tomas

I cant imagine what the people there are going through.  We are talking about people who literally live in cardboard boxes.  In tents with no floors, or metal or concrete homes with no roofs.  They didnt have running water to begin with, so what are they to do?  And now the Cholera Epidemic is grown worse.  I keep getting flashbacks of Sam, one of my favorite favorite kids I met there. He clung to me like I was his mom everytime I saw him and I totally adore him.  I hope he is safe.

My Precious Sam

 

How dare I go on living my comfy life? But what do I do about it? The question that pops into my head is "so what am i supposed to do, give it all up?" Maybe.  I feel so apathetic and lazy.

I encourage everyone to read more about what is going on there.  What are you gonna do about it?

xoxo Cori