Last night I dreamed I was in Haiti. I saw my precious friends once again.
No word has been received yet from Compassion’s country office staff in Haiti. Phone lines and electricity are down, as you know, and although a team of staff members from the Dominican Republic have gone to help, there is no report yet. It takes a long time even to travel through a country or area that has no infrastructure to begin with. These things could take weeks or months to assess, particularly if our Country Office (and possibly the staff as well) have been lost. We also had some office staff from Colorado Springs there during the earthquake, and have not heard any word from them. If our Haiti Country Office has been affected or lost, this will be the largest country crisis Compassion has ever faced.
Juli with Josue in 2002
I have two sponsored children in Haiti, and they are brothers — Josue and Enold. The first completed his sponsorship in 2002 when he reached the age of 20, and may have been working in Port-au-Prince. Enold is on the island of LaGonave, and I don’t think that area was heavily impacted, but it could take a long time to find out. I will write Enold to ask if Josue is OK, but consider how difficult it will be to get an answer. If the country office has been lost, how will communications be carried out? There may be no support base for these types of activities. In addition, it is not likely that Enold could even get information himself regarding his brother for a long time. Additionally, Enold may not get my letter for weeks or months.
In the meantime, what we all can do is pray and entrust them all to God’s hands. We truly are powerless, but He is mighty and strong. This will no doubt have a huge impact on Haiti’s future. Perhaps leadership will change enough that those in poverty will be cared for in the future. I have read in the news that many of the Parliament members were lost, as well as the President’s staff. Some of Compassion’s own Leadership Development students will certainly step up to take leadership roles in their communities, and we can pray that God will use this crisis to put godly men and women in place to affect this country in a mighty way.
In the meantime, check out these various sites to keep updated on any news from Compassion Haiti:
Compassion’s Crisis Updates Page
In addition, we can all give something here to help relief efforts — $35.00 will feed one family, but only for a week. Consider how much you can give in this huge time of need and don’t delay. It’s time to help our neighbors in crisis, once again.
Sheep Droppings 