Before we even crossed the Hatian border, while we were still in Santo Domingo, we had our first encounter with the aftermath of the earthquake. We visited a field hospital and talked with a few of the nurses caring for sick and injured Haitian refugees. It was there, in a tent filled with people brought there after Port-au-Prince collapsed, that we met Roody.
Roody had been working in an office the day of the earthquake. When the shaking started, he got out but then as he ran out, a nearby building fell and landed on him. He was pulled out of the rubble within ten minutes but had suffered fractures in his left leg. He told us how he’d learned English by reading English subtitles while watching MTV.
He offered to sing us a song:
On our second day we drove into and through the center of Port-au-Prince and witnessed the city firsthand:
Watching these two videos back to back can give you a glimpse of our experience in Haiti: destruction, loss, pain, and desperation standing side by side and hand in hand with hope, grace, and resilience.
Today was an incredible day of seeing God at work in big ways within small communities through the interconnected community of social media. But first, some context.
Yesterday we came across a tent city with this group of people, who had not seen any food, water, or medical help since the earthquake happened one month ago:
And we posted this picture on flickr as well as this tweet on twitter. As a result, tens of thousands of people saw and passed on the desperate need in this village.
So we showed up this morning expectant, wanting to see God work a miracle in this community. And a miracle happened, it just wasn’t the one we had expected. You see, no supply trucks rolled up, the U.N. didn’t march in, and Anderson Cooper didn’t come popping out of one of the tents. Instead, we arrived to find things pretty much as we’d left them. But within an hour, things had changed. A group of doctors from Cuba showed up and were vaccinating and giving medical care to the whole community.
Beyond that, the previous night, when we had sent out the call for help, people had given money that eventually totaled $2000 to bring help. A few members of our team took that money and found the only real grocery store in the entire city and bought a truck bed’s worth of rice, beans, cooking oil, and baby formula. During that trip, they also ended up at the airport (where the U.N. and other NGO’s were staging relief efforts) and but by God’s grace, were able to meet with one of the top officials in the relief efforts who then added the two tent cities we had been visiting into their official system for providing relief.
With the food in the bed of the truck, we pulled into the community and saw what God had done in less than 24 hours to bring complete transformation to a community. And God had done it through us. And let’s face it, we’re not really all that special. We’re not the type that regularly meet with the U.N. or influential people within major multi-national relief organizations, but God did an amazing work and brought blessing and life to a community that so desperately needed it. And we got to be first-hand witnesses and participants in the midst of it.
I know, you’re probably wondering where “Day 1″ and “Day 2″ are. Well, I may post some short thoughts from each of them over the next few days, but for now I wanted to post on the present. Besides, if you want some great thoughts on the first few days, take some time to read the updates from the rest of the team: Seth, Marko, Adam, Anne, Rhett, Lars, Tim, Jeremy, and Clint. They’ve done a wonderful job telling some of the incredible stories we’ve encountered.
For tonight, I’m going to keep it simple and talk about two things I encountered today.
First, today was the third day of a three-day Haiti national prayer and fast, instigated by the local churches here in Haiti. The theme today was one of celebration. And we saw celebrations all over the city. Twice, we drove by what looked like parades of people dancing and singing down the street leading and following trucks. Loudspeakers blared from the trucks as people led in worship of Jesus and the people on the streets exuberantly sang along. Then we encountered an entire street blocked off with a large crowd dancing, singing, and jumping in front of a stage and sound system. On the stage were nearly a dozen pastors leading them in worship. Rather then me spend more words on the scene, watch it for yourself:
After soaking in the celebration, we went and visited a local community and broke off into groups of two or three (along with a translator) to connect with, listen to, and share the stories of some of the people that lived there. I was in a group with Seth, Tim, and a pastor from that community who served as our translator. I had the opportunity to meet and talk with a man from that community who shared a remarkable story with me. He showed me his house which, while not entirely rubble, was very damaged and collapsed in on itself. There were a few walls still standing, but not enough to still call it a livable house. He said that the day of the earthquake, he had been reading the Bible and in the middle of reading, he heard God tell him to “Get out.” He immediately gathered his family and rushed out of the house. As they ran out, the earthquake started and he and his entire family survived as their house collapsed. I am amazed by this story. Because I believe every word of it. I saw the gratitude and knowing blessedness in his eyes as he showed me his family and told of how God had saved them.
And that’s what was so incredible about today. It was filled with people expressing gratitude and joy for the life that God had given them, even in the midst of having everything taken from them.
As I write this post, I’m sitting on an outdoor patio looking at the stars over Port Au Prince, Haiti, a little over one month after it was hit with the most destructive and deadly earthquake in recorded history. Not all of my posts will be coming from Haiti (in fact, there will likely only be a few more after this one) as I’m only here for another day and a half; but for now, I’m in Haiti.
If this blog seems a bit minimalistic and sparse, it’s because I was more concerned with getting something up and online than I was with filling it with bells and whistles. That, and also the fact that I created this blog and got it all set up using only my iPhone. You see AT&T is offering free voice, text, & data in Haiti for the remainder of the month and the local Edge network was faster and more reliable than the nearby wireless signal, so…I used my iPhone to get this all up and running. Pretty crazy.
So anyway, Haiti. I’m here with a team assessing ways that youth groups and young adults can be involved in the relief and reconstruction of Haiti after the earthquake. I’m here to film our journey and the stories of the people we meet. I’m hoping that by showing these stories we can inspire teenagers and young adults across America to join with the Haitian people and the local Haitian churches in bringing rebirth to this devastated country. To find out more about this particular trip and the team I’m working with click here.
So if you’ve come just to check out this blog: Welcome. And if you’ve come to hear more about this trip to Haiti: Welcome as well. I’m glad you’re here.