No, we did not have an earthquake in Texas, but the earthquake in Haiti hit close. Our oldest daughter Libby was in Haiti last week. She was there Jan. 1-9, serving as part of a medical mission trip, delivering Christmas boxes, and helping out in an orphanage.
Today, when the national news came on, the first news item was that an earthquake had hit Haiti. Les and I froze and stared at each other. I feel bad that my first thought was, "Thank God Libby is home." I called Libby. The words from her blog sum up our conversation:
"I just saw that a huge earthquake hit Port au Prince a minute ago. I'm absolutely SICK!!! Not only was I so close to being there---Thank you Jesus that I'm home, but my heart is totally broken for those people. The one nice hospital, that we drove by last week, has collapsed. This is devastating. You don't understand how desperate the situation is unless you've been there. Please please please pray hard. The slums made of sheet metal are likely flattened and many many people will die. If we were sad about the state of orphans before, imagine what it will be like. My precious brothers and sisters there, Immanual, Pastor Ricardo, Markes, Milka, Nicholson, the children, Pastor Charles, OH my, please Jesus, protect them. I only hope the surrounding countries with resources will rush in to aid the people of Haiti who have nothing!!!! Gonna go cry and pray now."
It is strange. Three weeks ago, my response to this news would have been a lot of compassion, very sorry, but nothing personal. Now, I realize that one week ago, my daughter could have been killed, hurt, or at best, not able to get home for a while.
I have seen some of Libby's pictures, so now, I see those faces, wondering if those people are hurt or trapped right now, if some were killed or lost loved ones.
Libby's response is much stronger, because she knows the people. I was thinking about that, thinking when an earthquake hit China, our first concern was for our friends there. Whenever we hear anything about the Congo on the news, we listen carefully because we have friends there, same for Zanzibar and Botswana, and Germany. When there was rioting in India, a friend of ours here lost her brother. These connections bring world events closer to home. These connections also make our hearts more vulnerable. Knowing individuals in these countries make the people there more real. Instead of just a crowd of humanity, my mind sees individual faces. It is harder to close my eyes, my ears, my mind and heart to sad and difficult events when I see faces.
Our purpose is to encourage women to pursue a growing, passionate relationship with Jesus Christ through support, fellowship and discipleship. We strive to provide many opportunities to help women grow in relationship with Christ; to live the abundant life that Jesus promised, a life of joy and freedom, and to have relationships that are healthy and fulfilling.
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