Praying for Haiti

This is not going to be a light hearted blog. 

I am at home snuggling with my snoring puppy while watching ABC News coverage of the earthquake in Haiti and their love ones living here in the United States who are hoping for a word, any word from their family members who live on the island.  It is the first time that I have been able to watch any coverage and I am struck by the devastation but also know the resilience of people who want to live despite the destruction around them.  I have never had to experience anything like this.  My family in Colombia has.

My father just mentioned how he experienced devastation earthquakes in Popayan where he found is sister-in-law's family covered in dirt, dazed and confused.  In 1998, my cousin Nanda was a new mother living with her husband in Armenia when an earthquake decimated that city in Colombia as well.  They had to walk several miles just to get to safety with their infant son with only the clothes on their backs - no home, their businesses destroyed and far from any family.  My uncle couldn't get to them for 3 days due to the safety issues and aftershocks.  My uncle Ramiro in 1974 died from a landslide in Bogota triggered by an earthquake.  And yet, they and/or  their families stayed.  That takes a love, a resiliency and of course spirit.

But even as poor as my family was when my father was growing up (house of three bedrooms with dirt floors, an out house for a bathroom, and barely enough food for the family of 11)  - they were never as poor as Haiti - 80% of the population lives on an income of $2 per day!  For all the earthquakes they experienced, it cannot even compare to what we are all seeing on the television, reading online or in hard copy.

My prayers go out to the Haitian people on the island and across the world.  May they reconnect with their families if they haven't already and may their lives be hopeful once again amidst the sadness that surrounds them.   I encourage us all to donate to the red cross or any of the several organizations that are focused on supporting Haiti and helping them through this difficult time onto recovery.