Sidewalks

Four years ago an earthquake hit this country leaving them with virtually nothing. You may Remember this day back in January 2010, photos of collapsed buildings, death tolls in the thousands and every humanitarian organization asking for money to help send relief. Pretty much world wide news for a few weeks and then we went back to our routine. We followed our people and went about our lives.

But what happens when a country is hit so tragically? Who do you follow to lead yourselves through such a time? 

April 2010, I came down to Haiti to do relief work with Restore Haiti. We landed and all can recall from our flight in is the chaos of Port Au Prince. Trash piles as tall as a person, buildings collapsed into the roads, cars going in all directions and the smell of death are images I cannot release from my mind. And the people roamed. In the streets. In the towns. Everywhere they just roamed. But wouldn't you too if you lost everything? How do we begin to pick up the pieces?

Flash forward 4 years to yesterday, August 9, 2014. I landed in Port Au Prince with a team of ten others and as we drove through Port Au Prince I noticed something that hadn't been there back in 2010: sidewalks. Sidewalks to walk along the road, not in it, to guide directions to ensure one gets where they need to go in the safest means possible. A path to follow. Throughout the whole drive this thought stuck with me: they have something to follow.

Remember that question I asked earlier of who do you follow….what if we followed each other? What if together we worked through things to believe in hope for a future? 

My heart during the rest of the drive began to fill with such hope because they are following each other. There is hope here to restore what has been devastated and bring forth change. We have been called to share of the One who binds up the broken hearted and restore the broken places (Isaiah 61) and to be the body of Christ (1 Corinthians). It's one thing to know that, it's such another to see people live it out…..and these people are living it out! 

So this week’s focus is on stories of restoration from here in Haiti. Let me put a huge disclaimer that this IS NOT praising what we as workers have done because the changes that have been made can only come from the HEARTS of the Haitians believing in this hope and USING it. It truly is be their strength and faith in God that this country has changed! 

So if you HATE plot twists, hopeful truths, community across cultures or families that go behind blood then please DON’T read on because this week will be one story of living hope you won't enjoy. But if you have the slightest interest in anything I just described then please, take a risk and read on. You just might actually find hope…