Everything in Perspective

Today was a day when everything seemed to go wrong. Dead cell phone, van that won't start, arranging and rearranging my English schedule, driving out into the country, getting lost on the way home, locked out of the house, and the list goes on.

However, at about 6 o'clock, there was an earthquake. I was warned that they do have earthquakes and that they have been expecting THE BIG ONE for years. We were outside in the street (locked out of the house) when it happened. It was not fun. I hated it. To feel the earth moving under you really makes you feel small and completely out of control. Cell phones lost service and we also have no water, but around here I don't think that there is any major destruction or problems.

When we finally got into the house I turned on CNN and saw how bad the earthquake really was. 7.0! Haiti is the poorest and most dangerous country in the Western Hemisphere and their buildings are poorly constructed. Buildings, houses, hospitals all collapsed. Shortly after the earthquake it got dark. The emergency response there is already very poor and in the dark it is dangerous and much more difficult. I heard someone in Haiti being interviewed and he said that all he could hear was screaming and wailing as people were searching for missing family members under the rubble.

Suddenly my day doesn't seem so bad. I feel guilty for even complaining about everything that was going wrong. Everything in perspective.

We have several people that go to our church and work at the school who are from Haiti. (The DR shares an island with Haiti) I don't if they have family still there but I am sure that this is going to hit them hard. I don't know where we will go from here but I hope that we can help in some way.

Please keep the people in Haiti and their families in your prayers.