i can't believe i've been here ten days. it's odd- time goes by really fast, yet SO SO slow at the same time. last week, a co-worker and i went for a walk to visit some people she met- as she was leaving. we met this man, Pastor Luke and his family who live down the road from us. he showed us around his house- the damage and his rebuilding phrase. he was proud of how well it was rebuilding. and rightly so. we got to meet his wife, children and grandchildren. it was a really great experience.
i live in a place where we feel lots of tremors (aftershocks). my earthquake trivia has increased about 343% since i've been here. i've learned that it's good to have tremors after an earthquake- it gives the earth the opportunity to let out pressure, so that there won't be a greater shock in the future. well, 2 nights ago- we had the worst one any of us had felt yet and we feel about 2-3 a day. it rocked for a while. however, it was a lesson in earthquake management. some us of moved from secure places into open areas that may not have been as secure. i kind of just grabbed my mattress and had my eyes open really big- couldn't even scream or anything, much less move. we laughed about it shortly after- how we didn't move (although was a bigger tremor- it still wasn't THAT bad). however, the next day, i ran into julihomme. now, julihomme is one of my favourite nationals on the compound. he speaks english, french, creole (which is what they speak in haiti-TOTALLY different from French), spanish and korean. i speak 3 of those, so we definitely get along. i remember asking him that next morning, "how did you sleep julihomme?" "not well" was his answer. "why not?" i asked back. he replied, "the earth was moving. i could not sleep. i had to sleep on the porch". and my heart broke. yeah- it was maybe 2 seconds where i was a little scared, but i knew there would be tremors. in that moment- i could not imagine what he went through the day of the earthquake over a month ago now. please pray for peace for those who went through the quakes as they still are reminded of what happened that day everyday.
i'm getting to know the staff and hearing their stories- adam- who lost his fiance'-the woman he loved and wanted to spend the rest of his life with. pierre- who survived when 6 of those he loved did not make it. to see fear in their eyes when the ground moves. i can't even explain it. these aren't some people i watch on tv- these are people i talk to every day.
there was a day of mourning on one month anniversary of the quake- we stayed in and did office work- as there is always work to be done. there was also another 2 days of prayer and fasting that the gov't called for in the morning hours. wow!
sunday some of the staff took a much needed break to the beach on our only day off after church. i went walking for some shells with some co-workers and we ate some MREs and just sat on the beach, listening to the waves and talking, enjoying each others company.
last night, it rained for the first time since i've been here. i usually love the rain. there's something cleansing about the rain. but this time it was different. SP has been handing out tarp to people as shelter. we've been running low and having difficulty getting supplies off the barge. so, you see many people with sheets as their shelter. those people were the first people i thought of when it started raining. a co-worker looked at me and just said, 'uh oh. rainy season may be starting early'. and there are still so many people who still need shelter.
i guess to go off onto a better subject to end my this post on- some people have told me that they're praying for me. i really do appreciate it and wish i could tell you stories of how i KNOW that i'm being prayed for. moments where i was safe when i shouldn't be- moments where my members of my team were safe when they shouldn't have been. stories where things worked out that shouldn't have and things showed up when they shouldn't have either. so, know that i mean it when i say thank you, thank you! merci!
i guess that's all for now!
patty
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