Monday, January 25, 2010 12:00pm
We can't image how it might be after the earthquake with all this chaos going on for the survivors looking for their lost loved ones, especially the parents who simply cannot locate their children.. How many parents there are frantically looking for their children not knowing if thy are dead, alive and trapped, or even kidnapped now because of the vulnerability there.. The rate of kidnapping of children in Haiti is extremely high even before the earthquake.. It's just heartbreaking..
Gangrene is rampant there right now! Many of the injured are having to have limbs amputated just to hope to survive, and in most cases there is no anesthetics or even pain killers when they go to do this, not to mention there is no antiseptics, penicillin or other medicines to combat infection..
Yesterday I watched a news clip on CNN of a little girl trapped but they were able to free her.. she was very alert and talking with the workers as they worked to free her.. then the reporter informed us that a few hours later she died in her mothers arms, at least having been able to be reunited with her family.. That brought tears to my eyes .. and to one of the CNN commentators also..
And then there's the desire to survive. in some cases greed.. But in many others, just wanting to survive.. the looting.. scavaging.. wanting to survive at all cost's, for some, even if it means murder or being shot dead in the streets by police... There is no certal organiztion.. No control at least right now of the situation, especially in Port au Prince..
To be honest, I have moments from time to time asking myself "John, what are you doing? Are you insane!!" but then, the next moment it just becomes so clear that if we all thought that way, no one would be down there helping, and as Marcia Spratt said in the HTFH video, "if we don't help them, the world will lose a nation" Well, I suppose a "nation" is just a word to describe a country.. but in this case it's much more than that! It's the millions of "souls" of that nation the world does not want to lose... Don Bosco often said, "Lord, give me souls, take away the rest.." This situation in Haiti is an opportunity for those of us who can, to come forward to help by taking the soul into our hearts, feeding them, tending to them, clothing them, and letting them know that they are not forgotten, but loved by God..
This is a first for me, to travel in the spirit of missionary work to another country.. A country left on the verge of innilation.. I honestly don't know what I'm going to witness when I get down there.. But God is saying "go there, I am with you!" and so I must say that this is the biggest leap of blind faith I think I've ever committed to... Yet, somehow, I just know it's right.. It's just the right thing to do...
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Friday, January 29, 2010 12:45pm
Last night, Greg returned home from a 4 day retreat over in the States, and as we sat down to touch base with each other on what the Lord is doing in each others lives this past week, after listening to the little song I've written, Greg said, "You realize when you return from Haiti you're going to be a very different person, right?" And quietly, I simply replied, "I know Greg."
The truth is, I hope I do... I hope that this experience changes me in a way that makes me a better person.. a better Christian.. That I am able to bring Christ to others.. I'm not talking about verbal evangelicalism here.. I'm speaking about love in action .. First and foremost I hope that I am able to be of great help while down there.. Helping to feed the poor.. to comfort the afflicted.. to tend to the wounded.. Not just the physically wounded but also the wounded heart..
If I couldn't be of any help then it simply wouldn't be right for me to go down there.. I would just be another mouth to feed and thus a hindrance, not an asset.. I've enlightened the coordinators of Hearts Together For Haiti on everything I have to offer and they feel that I can be an asset..
At the same time, I also believe that God is bringing me to Haiti because He wants me to see something.. Perhaps so that I will bring what I witness and experience back home to the rest of the world.. This is something God has already been continually doing with organizations like Hearts Together For Haiti all along..
The world needs to know that there are starving brothers and sisters in the other room.. And while a devastating earthquake of this magnitude certainly captures the attention of the other room, too often we tend to soon forget as time goes on...
I suppose the media will cover this event for weeks, perhaps months.. but eventually, coverage will dissipate as other news worthy stories arise.. Yet, as we hear less and less of what is going on in Haiti, will it mean that everything is okay now? Will Haiti be forgotten? Just ask anyone who has lived their entire life down in New Orleans... Is everything back to normal there now?
There are many humanitarian aid groups continually working in places like Haiti, Darfur, Rwanda, and so many other places, who while play an intricate role in feeding the poor, are also needed as a means to continually remind those of us in the one room that our brethren in the other room NEED our help...
My personal prayer to God is always that He make me an instrument of His peace however He see's fit.. He knows me much better than I know myself.. And He knows both my inadequacies and my capabilities.. I fully trust in Jesus that He leads me to where I am to go.. and in my heart, I know that I am okay no matter what....
Jesus, I trust in You.. You will undoubtedly grace me with whatever graces I need, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, as I need them.. As we need then as a group.. I truly believe this and I know this with all my heart because You are King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Almighty and All Powerful God Who was, Who is and Who ever shall be for all eternity!
This morning, I went to make a coffee.. The house was empty.. Both Greg and Matthew already out the door going about their daily routine.. and as I went to make some coffee, there was a sheet of paper sitting by the coffee maker, a page torn out of a daily Mass reflection booklet Greg keeps with him.. And this is what the page said:
"I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears..."2 Timothy 1:4
I joined a human rights delegation traveling to Haiti in 1993, a time of widespread political unrest. Our role was to listen. We were to document the struggle for peace and democracy. Although we had a thorough orientation prior to our arrival, there was nothing that could have truly prepared us for what we saw, heard, and experienced.
By the third night, my heart was saturated by human suffering, and I began to weep: for those who had risked their lives simply to speak with us; for the malnourished children weak from hunger; for the profound hospitality we had recieved from so many who posessed so few material belongings.
I prayed that my tears would be a holy water of sorts, blessing my new neighbors and cleansing my heart and my worldview of attitudes of entitlement. And I prayed that, like St Paul, I would forever recall those tears.
Loving God, bless those for whom and with whom I weep, and remember them in your heart...
-Sr. Chris Koellhoffer, I.H.M.
