My Heart Goes Out to Haiti
January 13, 2010 by Beth Gasser
Filed under News
Today I came home from picking the kids up from Chinese class and taking my oldest to swim practise. As I popped supper in the oven, and did a quick inventory of all my “to do” items for the evening, I took a second to check Facebook. Apparently not even 10 minutes prior, a massive earthquake struck Haiti, and a friend was kind enough to alert it to my attention. Suddenly, nothing I had planned seemed important. Tragedy will do that.
As you may know from my previous blog posts, Haiti is near and dear to me. I fell in love with the country when I traveled there in 2008, and I’ve stayed in touch with people and projects there. I am having trouble even comprehending the catastrophic repercussions of what is going on there tonight. If Haiti lacked infrastructure before, it is left with total destruction, pain, and chaos.
We prayed aloud at our dinner table tonight for the people of Haiti, and I had trouble even enjoying the food knowing so many people are suffering, scared, and missing loved ones. We frantically checked CNN, online news, Twitter feeds, and even listened to a live feed from a Haitian radio (in creole) moments after the disaster. Then I was struck by a thought.
Would I get on a plane tomorrow to go help?
Yes, I would. If I thought I could help and not hinder in any way, I would. Would it be a disturbing and hard trip with plenty of safety and travel issues? Yes, but I would still go. Once you travel to Haiti, it gets in your blood. The people are so wonderful. Please, pray for these people. Watch for ways you can help in the days to come. Lend your support in creative ways. If you are like me, you feel stuck in Minnesota with no medical emergency or civil engineering experience, but you can bet that if someone thinks of something I can do to help, I will.
Here’s a great link to organizations helping with the Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts!
Loading ...
