How much more?

I often wonder how much more can a people take. Haiti has suffered floods, hurricanes, a devastating earthquake and now, the killer known as cholera. And that is just in the last several years.

It is also known for its extreme poverty, political corruption and devastated environment.

How do the Haitians persevere in the face of such overwhelming odds?

The Haitians I work with and love put their trust in someone bigger than Haiti’s problems. They put their trust in the almighty God, ruler of heaven and earth. In Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, who will right every wrong and wipe every tear.

I think of Franz. He calls me sister, I call him brother. He is married with three small children. He accompanies us to the CTC (Cholera Treatment Center) in Bercy four nights out of each week. His job is that of interpreter. But that does not begin to describe what he does every night. He helps recognize the sickest, he carries the frail, the helpless, and he assists the nurses as we start life-saving IV’s. He even comforts us when we feel overwhelmed by the size of the task at hand.

He recently went home to visit his family in the south of Haiti over election weekend. We shared a meal the evening of his return to base. We just sat silently next to each other, comforted by each other’s presence, each knowing the other understood what we could not speak. I asked Frantz if he had tried to tell his wife what he had experienced. He said “M pat kapab”….I couldn’t. Those of us who have seen what we have seen, who have had to do what we have done are forever bound by our shared experiences. Not unlike war veterans, for whom I now have a deeper respect.

We cling to one another, but more so, we cling to God. He is our righteousness.

The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him. Psalm 37:40