God Provides

After returning home, I decided I needed to share the stories of the Haitians who were living this nightmare. I started with my church. They encouraged me before I left, and I I knew they had prayed for me in my absence. I wasn't prepared for how much they supported me once I returned. I don't even know that I had realized I would need support once safe and sound back at home. Like anyone who has gone to a developing country for the first time, much less a disaster scene, we just seemed to have so much here and don't generally don't appreciate our wealth as much as we could. I have a personal sore spot for how un-done my house is, for the paint swatches on the wall for more than a year now, for the projects not yet started or not yet finished. But in the few days after arriving home, my home very much seemed a castle. Fridge and pantry brimming with food, warm water coming from the shower, toilets that flushed around the clock (at Community Hospital in Haiti, the toilets only flushed from 7am to 7 pm). I found it hard the first week back at work.

So to make sure I didn't just return to my life as it was before, I spoke at church on Sunday, just 5 days after returning home. I struggled with what photos to show and which stories to share. I initially just wanted to show pictures of Merline and Vlad, and say "Hey! Help me get a better tent for these people!" I realized, though, that the full story would be something more than that, and in order to help those who weren't there understand like I did, I would have to tell the stories that hurt the most for me to think about.

How does one narrow down 447 photos to a 5 minute presentation? You don't, I discovered. I chose a dozen photos that for me conjured up very vivid memories. I tried to write down a script for what to say about them, but that didn't work. In the end, after a dozen practice runthroughs that ended up with a dozen different presentations, I decided to have no script at all. I simply spoke as the Holy Spirit led. That was the only way I could get my point across, if it wasn't my point at all, but God's.

I don't really remember actually giving the presentation now, at least not the words that I spoke. I do, though, remember seeing lots of people crying and that the time fly quickly. I only cried in fits and starts, which was an achievement. I ended with pictures of Merline and Vlad, and a plea for the church to help them. Then I sat down next to Jon and buried my face in his chest crying for a few minutes.

Afterwards, it became clear the church was moved. I had dared to hope for enough funds to buy them a tent, a dining canopy, and something to sleep on. I thought this would improve things for all five adults living with them, since Merline & Vlad could then have some space, as would their current tent-mates. God provided more than that, though.

I had made a few visits and some phone calls trying to find a camping supply store that would offer us discounts, something to help stretch the budget and provide as much help as possible. I had only minimal success, but one woman at our church, Tamara, helped magic happen. She contacted the folks at Great Outdoor Provision, who went to town. They generously provided discounts and helped work with a very quick turnaround time so we could get the tents checked as excess baggage on the next team's flight down, in just a few short days. The staff at Great Outdoor Provision was enthusiastic about helping and wanted to see some of the photos of Haiti and especially of the two Haitians in particular they were helping. I ended up leaving the store with three 6-person tents, six cots, a dining canopy, and six camp chairs.

The next morning, Pastor Rob and I headed to the airport to meet the team heading down. We arrived by 5:30 am and soon met up with Kristina, a lovely nurse who was leaving the country for the first time. She was nervous yet eager to go and do whatever her skills would allow her to do. We prayed before heading to the check-in counter. I had read Delta's baggage policy the night before and was distressed that they were significantly more restrictive and costly than American, which I had flown down on. For the three excess packages we were checking, they would have been justified to charge us $975. At the counter, Kristina's two bags were checked while we asked if there was any way the other three could also go. The clerk stated there was an embargo so we really could only send 2 bags per person. He asked if there were others on her team, but she didn't know who they were or when they were checking in. I asked the clerk if he would like to see pictures of Merline and Vlad and the tent they were sharing with three other adults. I pointed out we were sending them tents and cots.

"Would you like to see their pictures?"

"No, ma'am."

He then proceeded to place each of our extra bags on the scale and checked them through. No further discussion, no further pleading on our parts. I thanked him and told him that this simple act of kindness meant two grateful Haitians would be saying a prayer of blessing on him that night. He smiled.

Then we helped Kristina find some of her team. Gratefully, one of them was one of those characters you usually read about, but sometimes actually get to meet. Congenial, with a story about everything. No one was going to be nervous with him around. We prayed as a group, and they were off, with three packages of love that happened to take the form of tents and cots safely tucked in the cargo hold of the plane.