While at an ice cream social tonight, a friend asked what was the most memorable event for me in Haiti this past trip. After a moment's thought, I told him about the motorcycle accident victims we transported to the government hospital, and one of the victims subsequent death due to poor care.
After leaving, anther memory came to mind. Probably deeper and more troubling as it is one of those issues in Haiti, or in our world, that no one will ever be able to really fix. On the Saturday evening before I left a wedding was held at the St. Francois Parish. This is very unusual as most union in Haiti are simply declared by the couple as they move in together and become husband and wife.
Watching the beautiful bride, the families, along with the wedding party, it was so incongruous with everything else Haiti throws at you. It had a definite sense of beauty and normalcy to it. As we watched the wedding party all load up in one vehicle - That would make repeated trips to transport the remaining family, Burton pointed out our laundress and the daughter of our cook. They had climbed up on a pile of shipping pallets in order to watch the pretty girls in their dresses.
No photograph could ever capture the mix of emotions written so plainly on their faces. Wonder. Awe. Hope. You could literally see the dreams in their faces along with the realization that those dreams would most likely never be fulfilled.
For some reason this moment really impacted me. The moment reminded me that there are unfair things in Haiti, in our world for that matter, that neither I nor any other human will ever be able to fix. It is really easy to get spread thin in Haiti with such significant problems practically everywhere you turn. I am very committed to focusing on one or two projects going forward and then doing them to the best of my ability.
Helping provide surgical and mobile medical teams in Haiti will remain at the top of the list as will the development of a hemophilia patient registry and treatment program. I am praying hard that God will open the needed doors for these projects to go well and that they are in line with His will.
In the short term, I am starting a nursing job tomorrow here in Atlanta in an effort to get my finances at home in better order. I am currently planning on returning to Haiti around the middle of August. Again, like the plans above, I am putting all of this in God's hands. It seems the more I plan and make my own strategies, the more He does to remind me that He is in control and will guide me if I allow Him. It really is still all about just saying "yes" to him.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
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Randy, thanks for sharing the beauty of the wedding you witnessed in Haiti. Your reminder that there is so much wrong in the world, but also hope, and that God can use us (but doesn't expect us to fix everything) is good for me to hear. It gets overwhelming learning about all of the bad things in the world, and frustrating when you feel like you're doing a lot more than most people are. I like your idea of focusing on one or two things that you can really have some affect on--I've been thinking the same thing lately. If everyone put their effort to one domestic social issue and one international social issue, the world would be a much better place. Prayers for your nursing work and for your future returns to Haiti.
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