Well, you’ve probably heard that today is the one-year anniversary of the Haiti Earthquake. Already the news outlets are being saturated with stories and articles. Most are expressing frustration and even outrage at the lack of progress in rebuilding, poor stewardship of donated funds, and the corruption that seems to plague Haiti’s Government. The sad reality is that all these things are real issues, and there are millions of people in Haiti suffering, partially because of these injustices. This, however, is nothing new, and these issues span far longer than the last twelve months.
The damage of the earthquake is immense, and if you haven’t seen it, there is really no way to comprehend the extent of the devastation. What has taken place in Haiti the last twelve months has been incredible. If you are not careful, if you simply browse the headlines and listen to the sound bites, you will probably miss the amazing things going on that have the potential to shape the nation of Haiti for generations to come.
On my first trip to Haiti less than 4 weeks after the earthquake I saw nearly the entire city brought to its knees for a three-day worship gathering of prayer and fasting unlike anything seen in the nation’s history. I had the opportunity to take part in a Church service where over 40 people gave their lives to Christ as they realized He was their only hope. Tens of thousands of people and millions of dollars of relief has been mobilized in the name of Christ to people in desperate need. Hundreds of thousands of people are living under tents and drinking clean water that were provided to them by people being the hands and feet of Jesus. Relationships are being formed, leaders are emerging, and the gospel is being lived out for people to see.
Do we really expect to undue generations of corruption and systemic poverty compounded by one of the worst natural disasters in our life-time in twelve months and a few billion dollars? The problems that plagues Haiti will not be solved by a boatload of money and international fist pounding. Haiti’s hope lies in the hands of our Creator and I would venture to say that He has done much work toward restoration and recovery over the past twelve months. Today let us celebrate the work that God is doing in Haiti through the outpouring of His people, and pray for those that still suffer greatly.
