relent

I am...across a distant sea,

but I carry you in me,

and in the dust on my feet.

If you follow my blog at all, or know me in any form, you know I spent 10 weeks in Haiti, just miles north of Port-au-Prince, some 30 or so miles north of the epicenter. I cannot begin to formulate thoughts or words to encompass what the last 15 hours have been like.

Be not far God.

Do not abandon these people.

I read your promise this morning in Joel 2:

The Lord your God is gracious

and merciful,

slow to anger,

and abounding in steadfast love;

and HE relents over disaster.

May I begin to trust those words, to believe the truth of who God is, to not be overwhelmed by the devastation and begin to doubt You.

I celebrate the survival of each of my friends who live at the mission, each of the 60 kids who live there, to know that Roberto, Clara, Emmanuella, Widler, Kethia, Jean Marc, Esther, Rose Berline, Jeremiah, Hannah, Matthew, Christopher, Clifton, Mansado, Diana, Rachel, the Van der Marks, Loudiana, Loudmina, the Rumfords - the countless faces of my MOH family are alive. Also, this just in, the Tytoo Gardens kids are all well too (one of the orphanages I visited weekly).

And my heart is heavy, because for each person I know is well, there are another three that I have not heard about. My dear brothers who became my best friends there, Sadrac and Wicky and Vulcy and the Cenea family, and Nathalie, and Mimos and her daughters, the drivers and teachers, Blondie and Dr. Jenifer and Dr. Alix and Ms. Anita, the kids of Good Samaritan, my precious Wendalyn and Paula and Paulo and baby Luc and baby Rebecca and baby Alix and Wadson. The people of the surrounding villages, and each of the other 9 million people in Haiti.

These are the first names to come to mind, but that doesn't begin to cover it.

I continue to pray Romans 8, groaning along with creation for the redemption of our world and our selves. This world continues to crumble under the weight of brokenness. Come, long expected Jesus, through your Kingdom on earth now. May we find ways to instill hope in the lives of our devastated brothers and sisters.