Contradictions

It’s hard to imagine a larger contrast between what our Reiser Relief team experienced yesterday to what we saw today.  Yesterday was the most brutal side of Haiti—the deepest poverty, the most dismal living conditions, and the smell of hopelessness in the air.

Today we drove up the mountain to Reiser Heights, a school only 20 miles outside of Port au Prince, but, because of the lack of good roads, it was a two-hour drive in our tap-tap.  The view from our vehicle was probably as breathtaking as you could see anywhere in the world.  Lush greenery, fresh air, tiny hand-tilled plots of farmland, and homes nestled into the side of the mountains.  Throughout our drive, we went through small Haitian-style villages with dilapidated buildings, goats, pigs and cattle along the sides of the roads, and people selling their wares along the way.  But behind each of these villages, there was a most spectacular mountain backdrop.

Just beyond the last batch of cattle, we made our final steep ascent into Reiser Heights, one of the schools Reiser Relief supports.  Although school was not in session, we were met by the director of the school, his wife, and countless smiling children.  We handed out part of our 500 donated toys we’d brought with us, we delivered Feed My Starving Children food, and we presented local people with five live goats that had been purchased and donated by various team members.  It was such an uplifting visit.

Our long drive back down the mountain gave me plenty of time to ponder the contradictions between what we’d seen yesterday and what we saw today.   But as we neared “home,” I realized there was no point in me trying to understand or make sense of these contradictions.   They are all part of God’s glorious master plan.   Maybe I never will totally understand the reason for HIS plan, and why he gave me a role in it.  But I do know there is a reason I have been called to Haiti, and I will go forth continuing to my best to answer that call.

God bless Haiti.

Ann