"1God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling." (Psalm 46: 1-3 NKJV)
On my very first trip to Haiti, I returned home with an ominous feeling that unless God intervened to save Haiti, this nation was doomed. The problems faced by the Haitian people were so daunting and the needs so great, it seemed to me there was no hope except in our remarkable God. As our team returned from Haiti on April 20 of this year, I was once again, reminded of that ominous feeling. Life was tough in Haiti before the earthquake, but now it seemed so much more threatening.
The noise, smells and traffic on the streets of Port Au Prince were so familiar, but this time it was different. Row after row of crumbled buildings, street after street littered with rubble served as the backdrop for the Haitian people going about their daily business. Makeshift tents served as the new construction. The most remarkable thing about Port Au Prince was the overwhelming sense that little or nothing had been done about restoring the city after the earthquake.
It is not my intention to leave you with the impression that nothing was being done or even appear to criticize all of those brave souls that have done all they could to bring the city back to normalcy. Clearly, mission teams and humanitarian aid workers have labored tirelessly since the quake. They were still present and still hard at work. As a matter of fact, we flew into the country with several other mission teams. Each one was there to carry out specific projects. Everywhere we went in Port Au Prince Haitian citizens were hard at work clearing away the broken cement blocks, collecting used rebar and piling the rubble into the streets. Noticeably absent were large trucks and heavy equipment in the streets removing the debris. There was no evidence that any had there helping to clean up the devastation.
Another memorable sight from those scenes in Port Au Prince was the standing water. This was the rainy season and the city was exposed to frequent episodes of heavy rain alternating with whitehot sunshine. On previous trips we had seen periods of hard rain, but it came went. The water either ran off or was absorbed into the ground. We had never seen anything like this. On more than one night, we saw water run in the streets like rivers. More than once we left on the day's mission driving through water more than a foot deep. One vivid picture is permanently etched in my mind... homeless Haitians standing outside those makeshift tents in water that had no respect for their homes. We came home...they are at home.
The frenzy of interest in Haiti has dimmed. The world's attention has moved on to the next crisis and the next. The citizens of Haiti are working, against all odds, to restore Haiti. God's people continue to faithfully stand by their Haitian brothers in distress. They will not be forgotten. The Church, the Body of Christ, composed of Haitians, as well as Christians from all over the world, is the only hope for Haiti. Hope in governments and other benefactors is only a mirage. Pray for Haiti and guidance for how you can help.
Remember to bask in the SONshine, Terry
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