Haiti

48,000 people live in this tent city in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

I don't think my brain can comprehend that. Forty-eight thousand people live in that tent city. Though, according to the article, most people don't actually have tents. There are only 114 latrines for all 48,000 people. Can you imagine? In all honesty, I cannot. 

I have been blessed beyond belief in my life in so many ways. I have always had a house in a safe area to call home. I've always had plumbing and electricity. I've always had clean water and healthy food to eat. I even had my own bathroom at my parents' house. It took me some time to get used to sharing the bathroom with my husband when we got married. I can't begin to comprehend sharing it with 422 people. Four hundred twenty-two people! And because of the lack of sanitation, disease runs rampant. I won't get started (at least not now) on my views about the healthcare system in the United States, but it is worlds beyond what is available in Haiti.

In a bit over a week, I'm going to start grad school. This is after I went to a four-year college for undergrad, which was after Kindergarten through twelfth grade in a very good school district. In the tent city in Haiti, it is estimated that 250 children out of 13,000 are able to attend school.

All of this breaks my heart. I don't understand it. And I don't understand how I constantly forget how blessed I am - how I take so much for granted. I don't want to forget Haiti. It isn't on the news 24-7 anymore (not that I watch any of the 24 hour news networks - another topic I won't get in to now), but that doesn't mean that Haiti isn't still suffering from extreme devastation.

I have two friends who went to Haiti at the beginning of this year. One was there during the earthquake and the other went a bit after it happened. Both shared photos, videos, and stories with me. My husband was supposed to go to Haiti in February to help at LaCroix Haiti New Testament Mission, but his trip was canceled due to the earthquake. We hope to go together sometime in the next year. There is so much work that needs to be done, so much love to be given. I hope that I can give at least a little bit. And until then, I pray for Haiti, and I rejoice in the many blessings in my life. In the words of Jane Austen, I want to "feel the importance of every day, and every hour as it passes."