Haiti

TO THE WOMAN IN THE RUBBLE

by Shelia Mullican, Blogger at Anam Cara 

I am unable to escape your eyes.  Frightened.  Imploring.  I wonder…what had this day been like for you? Were you on your way to the market?  Were you working in an office?  Where are your children?  Do you even know?

My heart is breaking.  For you.  I wonder…can you breathe?  Will you ever walk again?  How are you able to bear the pain without losing consciousness?  I wonder…does that little blood soaked back belong to someone you love?

I worry for you.  I wonder…where will you sleep tonight?  Do you have food?  Are you cold?  I wonder about your home.  Did you grow a little garden?  What does it feel like to look at the place where you birthed your children, where you nursed your babies, where you laughed and told stories…and see nothing.  Nothing but rubble.  I…can’t…imagine.

I find myself wanting to reach through the screen and pull the stones away from you…frantically.  I want to bathe your beautiful face and hold you while you weep…while we weep.  I want to hand you clean clothes and warm, nourishing food.  I want to help you find your children.  And I want them to be o.k.

I can’t do any of these things.  But I will not look away from you.  I will not shake my head and let empty tears fall.

Compassion International serves over 65,000 children in Haiti, many of them in your town.  They love you deeply with a love that is not their own.  They are on the ground and ready to do for you all the things I wish I could do.  So I am giving to Compassion.  I will help provide them with the resources they need to care for you and for your family.  Know that I am praying for you and for others like you all over Haiti.  You are in my heart.

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”  ~Psalm 34:18

Friends, I know we are all moved by the tragedy in Haiti.  I implore you to do more than weep.  

Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” ~James 2  

Give immediately.  Give extravagantly.  Give responsibly.  Unfortunately there are those who use situations like these for personal profit.  There are also those whose hearts are big, but who do not have the experience to navigate a situation like this.

I encourage you to choose an organization who is already serving the people of Haiti and whose fiscal responsibility has been proven year after year.  Compassion International has disaster relief teams ready to serve the people of Haiti and their partner churches are reaching out to others in the midst of their own personal tragedy.  If you wonder how much good your little bit can do, check these statistics they sent to me just today:

You can provide immediate relief today.
• $35 helps provide a relief pack filled with enough food and water to sustain a family for one week.
• $70 gift helps care for their needs for two weeks.
• $105 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain two families for two weeks.
• $210 gift helps care for two families’ needs.
• $525 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain 10 families for two weeks.
• $1,050 gift helps care for 10 families’ needs.
• $1,500 helps rebuild a home.
• $2,100 helps supply 20 families with the basics for three weeks.

*Due to the high number of responses it may take longer than normal to process your transaction.

If you sponsor a Compassion child in Haiti you can go HERE for the latest updates.  And, here again is the link for donations to Haiti earthquake relief 

If you want to see what Compassion is doing EVERY DAY in Haiti, check this out:

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