Hope in the Dark

"When Jesus commanded up to care for the widows and orphans, He wasn't speaking in metaphor. He really meant it. In Africa, that's the greatest thing anyone could do."

I think that goes for Haiti too.

One death is one too many.

If you want to know the pulse and strength of Haiti, spend a day with the women of a village. In the midst of deep suffering, domestic abuse, societal and poverty constraints, the women are the stability of Haiti. They will carry the buckets upon their heads, touch the wounds of the sick, accept the burdens of helping the villages survive - and all the while, they will be singing praises to God.

Everybody smiles in the same language.

The longest journey is the journey inward.

There is such tragedy and yet such beauty at the same time. Overwhelmed by the insanity of their broken world, I find it difficult to understand how the pieces of it all fit together. The same earth an hold the fragrance of a field of flowers while also occupying the stench of urine on hot concrete.

I smile because they are beaming with promise. I cry because they have lost their parents to AIDS. I ache because their hope will be stolen from them. "Who will care for me now? Who will show me love?" they ask. I hope the answer has something to do with you and me.