Its been rainy here in Haiti which has been so nice for me because it means that it’s cooler. However today we learned that the rain runs down the mountain and has caused flooding, even landslides of small villages said to have just buried families alive.
We attempted to visit an orphanage yesterday and had to reroute three times due to road blocks and “demonstrations”. We’re not sure why they are protesting or what exactly is going on but our final turn around sent us back to the compound after 3 hours of riding in the back of a taptap (covered truck bed with bench seating).
There is a lot of gang activity in this area targeting “blancs” and Haitians associated with white people for ransom money. The guest house we are staying at has not been affected by the flooding and is very secure. We never leave in small numbers or without at least one Haitian male.
It seems surreal. Last week we visited a resort only an hour away and spent the day in the sun, enjoying a private beach. It’s easy to see how one can visit Haiti and see just a small mirage of what it’s like here. If I wasn’t told what was going on outside, I could just tell myself that the bang I heard was just someone playing with a firecracker.. but it’s not.
I even feel as though I’m being dramatic and playing all of this up because I haven’t seen much beyond the black smoke of burning tires and crowds of people.. but sometimes it’s easier to stay in my small world and not really open up and grasp what’s going on around me.
Please pray for Haiti, for the victims of the flooding, for the gang activity, and for our squad to be protected and used however God so pleases to use us here.
