Mission to Haiti – October 17, 2010
Two hymns titles come to mind today as we write. Praise God From Whom All Blessing Flow, and We Are So Blessed (a Gaither tune). We have been challenged two days in a row now to make our day a “thank God” day and to focus on our blessings.
In Haiti where you would wonder how the Haitian people could be thankful for anything in the months following the earthquake, it continues to make those of us who have so much in comparison with the average Haitian, marvel that time and time again they reach out to God in thanks for what little they have. It makes us cringe when the things that we find as blessings from God that we should be thankful for are so beyond what Haitians accept as the norm.
We are thankful that we now have Internet and Skype so we can stay in contact with our family and friends back home while the average Haitian is fortunate if they have a cell phone because landlines are few and far between. We are thankful that we now have electricity 24/7 while the average Haitian cannot begin to think of a life with electricity. We are thankful for the abundant rain that we seem to receive each evening around supper time that keeps everything so green and lush yet for the average Haitian these torrential rains can be as much a curse as a blessing, particularly for those who are living in the tent cities on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.
And, we are thankful for the wisdom to know our physical limitations in the heat and humidity, and can sit down and rest with a cold glass of water while the average Haitian must toil without thought of a moment of relaxation if they are to find enough work to feed themselves and their families.
In a nutshell, we have been so pampered and so spoiled that we have lost sight of the things that we should really be thankful for such as simple food on our table, a roof over our heads, and friends and family to share it with. We are so blessed.We talk about setting up a RESP for our grandchildren to attend university or college while 50% of all Haitian children never see the inside of a classroom. We were reminded only yesterday of how precious education is to the Haitian people when we heard of a 28 year old man who was in grade three having never had an opportunity to attend school until very recently. As we sat about eating our Thanksgiving dinner of homemade glorified macaroni and cheese with canned ham we chatted about how for many Haitians the concept of passing a plate of food around a table would be unheard of because with hunger so prevalent to pass a plate of food to someone else without knowing whether you would get another plate of food to replace it would be foolhardy. We cannot begin to understand or appreciate what our life would be like if we had to live the life of the average Haitian. We are so blessed.
We do not know as we write this week’s “Mission to Haiti” how successful the “Race for the Children of Haiti” was and whether HEARTS raised sufficient funds to continue its support for all the 4 schools in 2011. We pray that St. Andrew’s and the community were generous and that the schools St. Andrew’s supports in Haiti will continue to thrive and give the children of Haiti a small measure of hope so their lives will be changed because they had the opportunity to attend school. We are so blessed.
We pray that you have a great week.
