It seems we are always saying this … But it is a hungry time
here again. The rains are falling & the crops are growing, but right now nothing is in the gardens to
eat. Pat is trying to help that situation, but for many people they are just scraping
by. Many people come to our door looking
for work or asking for food or money.
WHAT
WOULD I DO TO FEED MY FAMILY…
I was with some of my friends, Ori & Klotid, & they
were talking about going to a clinic where they could get food along with some
medical care. My friend didn’t have any
money for the clinic & asked to borrow some so she could go. I knew “borrowing
“ doesn’t really work, so she will do my laundry a couple times in return. I had
been wanting to see this clinic anyway & ask if I could go along. They were going to leave around 5am- so I set
the alarm for 5am – knowing Haitian time was never quite as “on time” as my
time. We left around 5:45.
There were 4 of us women walking together along with 3
children & an infant. Along the way we meet more friends.. the word must
have gotten out this was the day our little community would go to the clinic! We
walked the dry river bed. Up one “not so high mountain” but for little ones it was a struggle. They had to be carried most
of the way over the mountain into the next village, about an hour hike with the
children. I am not Haitian so I can’t
carry too much except some bags- not kids for a long ways ! Ori brought some plain white rice for “breakfast”
in a large stainless cup.
There wasn’t much but we all got a taste. In Haiti if
you have- you share. That is a very hard lesson for me.I’m always thinking , “
But what if I run out of my coffee, or bread, or beans or oil, or rice?” Can I
be like the widow lady that Elijah asked to give him the last of her oil &
flour to make bread for him. Will God continue to provide? … so we all ate some rice as we walked. We arrived at the clinic before it opened & sat on the benches to wait.
Soon a
man came & asked for our money $20HD ( $2.50 us ) for each person having a consultation. I said I just wanted to look at the clinic
& see what all they had to offer for people.
I was the first one allowed in. The “Doctor” was really a Haitian nurse. At first she was not so excited to see me there but when she realized I was a nurse too & wanted to see her clinic, she was very friendly. She said “I have a new friend”. She could even speak
some English! She told me they have a nutrition program here which “is what my friends really came for”.
Canada gives each paying person 1 small sack (about 1 1/2c) sugar. 1 qt oil, & about a 3 # coffee can of corn meal. THIS IS THE REAL REASON they came. I told her most of my friends aren’t really sick they just were hungry. She said she knows this, many people come with “just a headache”. The few meds that she had to offer pretty much fits on her desk & the only exam she had available was a pregnancy test. It didn’t take too long to finish & then off we went to make the big trek back home. By now there were about 8 adults & 3 children & 2 infants in our little group. I had the only water- so I shared! One of the older ladies brought 1 piece of bread & 2 very small avocados. She tore a bite off for each of us & broke off a little avocado – so we each got a “snack” .
 |
| They came with food on their minds and left with food on their heads! |
We also got caught in a rain storm on the way home. Up the big mountain we went & the whole time they kept saying – “can the ’blah’ (white) climb the mountain..can the blah climb the mountain”? … Don’t know how they thot I did it earlier, but it was a big point of conversation. I was sweated wet & hot, but made it fine. By the time we got home it was only 11am. This was just another day for them. One way to get a meal, or maybe 2 for their family. Would it have been cheaper to just go to market & buy these items? No...they did get more food here for their $20HD! Were they discouraged? No… they were singing & talking with each other & dressed in their best. This was also an “outing” for them. It just made me think so much about my life…
I can usually just buy what I need. I have never had to tell my boys “we have no food” & I have never gone to the Dr. because I was hungry & knew I’d get food! My eyes have seen this here, but my mind just can’t hardly comprehend it.
WHAT WOULD I DO TO FEED MY FAMILY…
Someday … they shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore….
Rev 7:16
---------------------------------------------------------------
WET=====
Yes its raining & everyone is glad!!!!
But have I ever stopped to think what that means here?
Get
this picture----
mud covered stick houses or stone houses. 2 rooms . Maybe an
outside kitchen. I was sitting at Klotid’s
house where we sat outside talking as
they were braiding each other’s hair.
The rain started …. again … It rained
hard .. any available buckets were put out to catch the rain to save their neck
from having to carry it up the mountain from the bottom of the ravine. A very
big plus.
The water ran.
I sat on a small wood bench under a small porch/overhang.
The laundry that was washed today was hanging on the trees dripping wet- now totally
soaked! I got just a little damp.. the
hair braiding never stopped nor did the conversation. Klotid & Mehta just found towels , covered
their shoulders & shivered .
It’s just
the way it is.
Yes they have a dirt floor that their kids have to sleep on &
yes they do have some water that runs thru their house. Cyclone? “Cherlo” is this a cyclone? I have
been asked this so many times !! I have only been thru 1 cyclone here & it
really wasn’t fun.. they have been thru many – some lost their homes, roofs,
animals or crops.
No- I can’t comprehend the fear that must be felt when the
rain comes hard & the winds are strong.
When the rain finally diminished,
after about a half an hour, I thot I’d better try to get home. As I walked the path home dodging the big
puddles but still getting muddy feet & muddy flips & WET,
I couldn’t
stop thinking…
Pat was home & I was cold... .
quick put on the coffee
pot I need something warm, I need to get
a shower & get dry clothes- now granted I don’t have a warm shower- but I
have a shower to get the mud rinsed off in. I have space, lots of space
compared to the houses here .. soon I was dry, drinking a steaming cup of hot
coffee! My friends didn’t have anything like this.. IF they had any wood put
under shelter for a fire, I know they wouldn't be using it to make coffee. And I know they don’t have coffee now – that’s a luxury
when your hungry .. maybe some tea out
of leaves.. no shower, but maybe a bucket bath from the rain water..
tight, damp, cramped quarters.
This is not some book I’m reading – this is
real, these are my friends . This is
life here.
God gave us the blessing of the rain, but with the blessing
life just gets harder.. DO I hear
complaining of leaky roofs or wet floors or damp/ wet clothes? NO!!! They know rain is life & this is
their life.
GOD help me to find joy & contentment in all things……..A dry house, hot coffee,
warm soup, dry clothes, a chair to sit on or even 6, a fresh cookie, a gas
stove ( inside my house) & sweet friends to bless
ALWAYS JOYFUL ALWAYS PRAYERFUL, ALWAYS THANKFUL !!!
1 Thes 5:16-18
