a child brings a moment of peace

on sunday we had a pretty cool beach day. we rented this boat but calling it a boat-is kind of a stretch. it was a long, wide lipped, rickety, tilted, wooden boat- that i'm pretty sure had a hole at the bottom because there was tarp at the bottom of the boat. we took it to the other side of haiti where there is a really nice beach. i took swimming lessons from one of my co-workers and floated! it's a lot easier to learn to swim in a calm ocean-and i am determined to learn.

when we came in, we bought some coconuts and began to hear stories from the people. they would complain about the government. they were telling us that the government is corrupt. that certain countries and agencies want to build shelters and help people, but the government will not let them do so because they will not get a kick back from it. you see this often. those who may have something charge other people for things that are supposed to be aid. you see bags that say, "not for re-sale" being sold for double the price and ships stuck in customs. it saddens me. today i got a little upset because one man has a well and is charging people for water. he kept saying, "can you fix my water? b/c he knew that it was not clean" i said, we cannot help you when you charge people. it just made me angry. righteously so i figure. unfortunately, there is a disaster tax, people profit off of disaster.it makes me realise that without Jesus, what we as humans are truly capable of.

what i really like about my job is that i get to go out in the community and see their problems. it's kind of a pro/con thing. unfortunately, i know i can't help everyone and everyone wants your help. sometimes it can be overwhelming. sometimes people are mad at you because you don't provide them with their every need. sometimes, people just like to flat out be angry with ex-pats just because they are tired of seeing them. so, no matter where you go, especially when you go out in the community, you get yelled at. a lot. especially by children. sometimes, you just want to be invisible- and i've never been one to enjoy lots of attention brought to me by other people.

i was coming back from a camp one day, walking back to base, when i saw a little boy walking next to me. this was kind of weird. the children here are like a lot of 3rd world kids- taught to scream, "white woman" or "hey you" with their hand outstretched maybe in hopes that they'll get something. so it was odd that i almost did not even notice this boy come next to me. i looked down at him and smiled. he looked up at me and smiled too. i stuck my hand out and he grabbed mine with his right hand as he held a container with cornmeal in his left. we walked in silence as i watched his feet walk without shoes next to mine. after a bit- he let go of my hand and went back to his family and as i passed other kids- i heard screaming resume once more.

if you haven't worked in development, i don't think you'll understand the depth of that story. why as i type it, it brings tears to my eyes. to me, that was probably one of the most beautiful moments i've had the opportunity to experience.

patty