Haiti

It has been a crazy, emotional week. David and I went to Sam Dixon's funeral yesterday. For those who do not know who Sam Dixon is, he was the head of UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief). He dedicated his life to helping the needy as he joyfully served the Lord. He was killed in the Haitian earthquake last week. It was heartbreaking to see his wife, so hurt and sad, not knowing where to go from here. What a life to be celebrated, though!

As David and I made our long drive home last night, he asked me what God had been saying to me. I told him that GOd had been telling me that Haiti needs to be praying for us. I know that sounds absolutely counter-intuitive and believe me, I will continue to pray for Haiti, but hear me out.

David and I have watched a lot of news coverage this past week. There is one woman who stands out to me. She said that she started following Jesus because of the earthquake. She new that it had to have been Jesus that saved her from dying. She is not the only one that has said such things. Her comment has rolled around my head for days. I started thinking about the Israelites. The Bible says that the more they were oppressed, the more they grew. I think the typical American response is to ask where God was when this happened or how He could have let it happen. Ok, fair enough, but I think the Haitian people have answered that for us. God was in that rubble comforting the trapped. God was saving men, women, and children and giving them the opportunity to serve Him and follow Him. The Haitians have ministered to me in ways that I could never offer back to them.

Most of us in the United States will never experience the oppression they have lived in. Voodoo, poorest of the poor, slammed with natural disasters- we could never know what that is like, yet following Jesus seems absurd to America. But, the Haitians are saying to me, "The more we are oppressed, the more we will grow because Jesus is saving us."

So yes, maybe Haiti needs to pray for us.

In His Mercy.