I have been very anxious today about my friends in Haiti. People who know me know I have had a heart for the “the people of Haiti”. But this burden has become more personal the more I become involved in peoples lives. As Hurricane Mathew begins bearing down on Haiti I think not only of “people” but on Alix who asked me for money a few months ago to replace the tarp he and his mother were living under with an actual house. Unfortunately I told him I couldn’t at that time. I think of the family outside Jacmel we worked with last year to begin a house for their daughter and son in law. I don’t know if it was ever finished but either way the parents are living in an 12 x 16 A-frame hut with a thatched roof that will not withstand a hurricane. I think of Pastor Jouldane and his family who do have a new roof thanks to Mays Chapel United Methodist church who gave money. And all of my friends who I served with – praying that they will be safe. And all of the others whose names I might not remember but whose faces I see as I worry and pray. It all has suddenly become very real and personal.
I read about the bloodshed in Ethiopia as protestors in Oromia have clashed with police and 52 have already been killed. Many of the students and staff I worked with at the college in April are from Oromia. It has suddenly become very real and personal.
This is a burden for me because God has allowed me to enter peoples lives and have a relationship. So, what to do with it. How can I do anything but pray?
Loafing Around the Farmers Table 