You Are Not Forgotten
Blog, Featured — By Sara Sterley on January 14, 2010 at 12:00 am
The church I grew up at had a sister parish in Saint-Louis-de-Sud, Haiti. The church sent mission trips to Haiti twice a year. We would build schools, run electricity and hold medical clinics. From a young age, I was fascinated by the stories we heard from those returning from trips to Haiti. I repeatedly asked my parents and the trip leaders if I could go, and, eventually, they relented during my junior year in high school.
We stayed in Port-au-Prince at the beginning and end of our trip because Saint-Louis-de-Sud was about a six-hour drive from the capital (though the two cities were only 100 miles apart). We stayed at a priest’s house who regularly hosted groups from the United States. The view of the city from my window was beautiful, so long as you looked up at the mountains, not down toward the lawn where families were living in shanties made of cardboard among heaps of trash in the streets.
To say that Haiti changed me is an understatement. Poverty on that scale only an hour flight from Miami is a devastating thing to witness. What affected me more than the poverty, though, was the character of the Haitian people. The people I met were full of joy, dancing in the streets after church. They lived in true community and worked together for the good of their friends and neighbors. Their lives centered on their dependence on God, and, for over ten years now, I have envied that kind of faith.
I often think of Peirnot, a little boy I met on my first day in Saint-Louis-de-Sud. I gave him a piece of candy I had in my pocket, and he followed me around for the next two weeks. He took us swimming at a beautiful, secluded Caribbean beach, brought us a live chicken to cook for dinner, and, on our last day, he gave me a picture of himself to take home, the only recent picture he had of himself, but he insisted that I have it. Piernot must be twenty now, and I hope he wasn’t anywhere near Port-au-Prince on Tuesday.
I have often thought that Haiti has been neglected. Other areas of the world have often received more attention, more celebrity endorsements, and more money. Perhaps now God is giving the church an opportunity to step in to this situation and show the people of Haiti that they are not forgotten.
If you are looking for a way to help the people of Haiti, stay informed about the situation, be praying for the rescue efforts and for those who have lost loved ones, and consider donating to an organization that is on the ground in Haiti. Some of my favorites are Partners in Health, World Vision, and Nehemiah Vision Ministries.
2 Comments
Good article Sara. I have been hesitant to say this, especially during the current crisis in Haiti. Sometimes you just have to wait for timing and this may be it.
Beyond the awful hunger and diseases that these poverty stricken countries endure, I’m not sure they are the ones that need more help.
Of course I’m not saying don’t help them. They need help now. Help them. I never been to Haiti either so…just saying in general.
Quote: “The people I met were full of joy, dancing in the streets after church. They lived in true community and worked together for the good of their friends and neighbors. Their lives centered on their dependence on God, and, for over ten years now, I have envied that kind of faith.”
That reminded me of something similar a Cuban friend said awhile back regarding poverty in Cuba.
I wasn’t raised with alot of money and even though there were some tough times, the ties were great and will always be very special to me. Some of my fondest memories are stories like my sis and I sleeping in our bed together, in our coats, tucking the end of our blankets under us while we filled them up like a blimp with hot air from our blow dryers, all to keep warm. And there was mom boiling water and placing it in our rooms to keep us warm. Need I say that I adore my mom.
Awhile back I was watching a program on tv and I was amazed, perturbed, and amused all at the same time at what I saw. Seems we have put all our intellect and progress once again to grand use with this newest invention. They’ve gone and created a toilet that cleans your tush for you. For real. After you are done doing your business, it will squirt water and clean your tush, all for the wonderful price tag of several thousand dollars. I was flabbergasted. Like I went around telling people, “Can you believe it, we now gone and made a toilet that cleans your butt for you? For a mere few thousand you can enjoy this luxury. I’m serious!”
‘When will the insanity stop?’
There are starving children around the world and we need to spend thousands because we can’t even wipe our own rear-ends. In reality, I don’t know if it was a success but you get the picture. There are alot more success stories, even if that one may have not been.
Have we gotten that lazy? Are we really progressing with all our progress and wealth?
We can blame the manufacturers, the Rebulicans, the Democrats, the Congress, the President, the preacher on tv or in our church, the devil, and even God, but it starts with the individual. If the demand wasn’t there, the supply would diminish.
We have to be very cautious about passing the buck. It starts with each individual unit and what is in their hearts, even as we can address other issues.
With that said, I don’t believe wealth and progress of itself is the problem and wrong, like so many other things. I see right and wrong found in the condition of the heart. Isn’t this what Jesus was constantly pointing out? Seems to me He was.
Anyway, I see this same thing with some that are not the same as us in what society would consider the norm. We want everyone healed and I believe God does too, but I have to wonder who needs more healing, that boy you see diagnosed with a mental disorder, or we that feel we need to mold everyone to our ideals. Maybe that boy has something he can teach us.
Things that make you go, ‘hmmmm’.
Love in Him,
Joanne