Haiti, cont'd

Just over 3 weeks ago I wrote the last post...and now I'm about to leave for Haiti!  Funny how God works, isn't it?  I really cannot believe I am going.  When ECHO asked if I'd be interested and willing to go on a consulting trip, I said I absolutely would be, but didn't see how it was possible given my school schedule.  Spring break is coming up, but I felt like I really needed that week to recover and gear up for another quarter.  Then, out of the blue, Stan (ECHO's CEO) sent me a proposed itinerary that listed his wife, Beth, and I leaving for Haiti on February 24th.  I was both confused and amused, thinking that there is no possible way I could leave week 8 of a 10 week quarter. But out of curiosity, I checked my schedule to see what was going on that week.  I was completely dumbfounded to find that I had a group presentation the day before (which took place today) and one the day after I was scheduled to return...and NOTHING else was on the calendar.  Amazing!!

So I thought I'd pursue this a bit. I called Stan to find out what the plan was...I mean, who am I to go on a consulting trip??  When he informed me that the group who contracted ECHO (Relief Int'l) wanted ECHO to assist in setting up container gardens for orphanages, I felt pretty confident in that...at least, I had 2 years of experience in that field.  Creole language ability is so-so...it's been a while, but I think a lot will come back to me.  So then I approached my professors and the Dean.  Their perspective meant a lot to me, so I was a bit nervous about how they would respond.  Dr. Myers, who I have tremendous respect for, said that because we were invited to come and had a specific task assigned, he didn't see how we could do any more harm than good.  And the Dean said that because I was going with a reputable organization and had some experience, he had peace about it.  And he prayed with me.  And so many of my friends and classmates have prayed with me and promised to pray throughout this week.  I feel tremendously blessed and supported by this community!

So here I go.  As many of you know, it's been a whirlwind week of emotions, with my grandmother, my last living grandparent, passing away last week.  With that consuming my thoughts, I haven't had much time to try to mentally prepare for this.  But how do you mentally prepare to go into a relief setting...into a country decimated by an earthquake?  I don't know what resources we will have, how much interaction we'll be able to have with Haitians and how much hands-on work we'll be able to do. I pray that one thing I can contribute is to draw attention to the many Haitians ECHO is connected to through their vast network.  There are many well-qualified Haitians who are very capable to take on greater leadership roles.  While every NGO and their brother is in Haiti right now, there needs to be greater involvement and capacity building amongst the Haitians.

The few details I do know from emails I have received is that we'll primarily be working in and around Port au Prince. We'll be staying in tents on a UN compound; security is tight and our curfew is 6:30pm.  We'll take bucket baths and may or may not have access to internet. They do have a generator.  It is the start of the rainy season, so it sounds like it's pretty hot and humid, and the mosquitoes are pretty prolific.  

So my prayer is that, as Dr. Myers told me, I can be myself and not feel like I have to prove myself; that I will have eyes to see where God is working and build on those areas; to listen first and the courage to speak when appropriate; to learn about relief work; and to continue the process of healing that I wrote about in my last post.  I am still in awe of this opportunity God granted me.  It will be a short trip, but I believe that it will be significant.  It already has been up to this point. 

Thanks for your prayers