Haiti

Last year while John and I were visiting the Dominican Republic, I really wanted to see Haiti. Some of my family had been there, and said it is indescribable. They were right. The border bridge had just closed for the day, so we couldn't cross over (it closes at like 2pm on Sundays), but people were going back and forth across the river, which serves as the border, and you can see right into Haiti. It was incredibly sobering to see the living conditions in Haiti...it's hard to comprehend unless you've seen the poverty first hand. And to see it is life changing. Over the course of the past 4 weeks as I've watched the tragedy of the earthquake I have been so sad. The newscasters have tried to show the poverty - and it is just as they say. They are not sensationalizing the poverty at all....there's no way to over-dramatize such poverty. I've seen just a small glimpse of it myself.

I have wondered over and over (and talked to John about it) why Heavenly Father would allow something SO tragic to happen to people who already suffer more than most of us will ever have to. Why? It seems so heartless, so callous. And the only reason I've been able to come up with is that now the world is aware of Haiti and the plight of it's people. And now that people are aware, perhaps in years to come (none too soon), the rebuilding of Haiti will allow Haitians to live in better circumstances than they did before the earthquake, and certainly than they do now. That is the only silver lining I can come up with...that it has caused us to stop and think about others and has allowed us to serve...and in turn, the lives of the Haitians will be blessed in the long run.

And, just another thought - a tangent, really - aren't Americans amazing?! When I've seen on the news how much $$ Americans have donated to Haiti - especially in comparison to any other nation on earth, it is astounding. Americans have compassion that doesn't seem to eminate from others around the world. Even as our economy suffers, we are a generous people. It has made me proud to be an American.

My heart has always been with, and I've always felt a kinship for Africa (I served my mission there)...and I've always wanted to do a humanitarian vacation there. I still do...BUT, now I feel such a strong desire to do the same in Haiti. I feel like because I've been so close to where such tragedy has taken place, I have a connection there. Silly, I know. But, I'm going to start saving my money to go back to Haiti and do a humanitarian vacation. Help rebuild wherever I can. The past several weeks, I have wished I had medical training - to be able to help so immediately. It will likely be a couple of years before I get to Haiti, but I am determined to go. And it's interesting, because we hear about the poverty in Africa - which is very real also, and I certainly don't intend to minimize it - but it's a half a world away. Haiti is so close...It's closer than Puerto Rico! And yet, they live in conditions comparable to the poorest countries in Africa.

The following pictures aren't great - as I've said MANY times, John and I are terrible photographers - and I don't think they capture what we saw, but they do show a little.

This little girl was so cute. Her mom was doing their laundry in the river right below the bridge, and her dad was bathing. We saw several people bathing in the river.