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Monday, March 19, 2012

Why Haiti?

In July of 2010, two teenage boys from Kansas City drowned in a pool in Pella, Iowa during a week-long Fellowship of Christian Athletes camp.  I was there.  I was not just there at the camp; I was there at the pool the night that all of the boys from camp went swimming.  My husband was one of the coaches at the camp that week, and because spouses and children are always invited to come to camp, we went too.

We didn't know until later what had happened as we had driven our own car there and back and had left before anyone knew anything was wrong.  It was a long night fraught with tears, prayer, and uncertainty.

I have recently been thinking about these two boys and their families, who, we were told, had moved to Kansas City earlier that year after their home country of Haiti was devastated by an earthquake.  I know next to nothing about Haiti.  I remember seeing the devastation on television and I am pretty sure I texted "Haiti" to some number to donate money so that I could feel good about myself for "helping", because other than donating money, what else could I do?  (Potentially, I probably could do a lot of things, but when I see widespread devastation like that so far away I tend to shut down and be numb; I am glad there are so many people who are equipped to respond to crises).

Why have I had these boys on my mind?  The answer is because I have had Haiti on my mind.  I know.  You're thinking, "What?  Haiti?  Why Haiti?"

In Signs & Wonders, I wrote that I have been seeing references to a particular place, and have not known why.  To date, there have been 19 references to Haiti since I started the email conversation with Andy.  While I am not sure of the full reason, I have somewhat of an idea now (and no, the reason is not that God is telling me to drop everything and go to Haiti) of what the references might mean.

There is really too much to write in one post, so I'll leave it at that for now and continue the story in future posts.

In the meantime, what might God be trying to say to you through seemingly random and meaningless things?  Are you open to awareness of those things, or do you only expect a booming voice or a burning  bush?


Edit:
This story is continued in the following posts:
What is Enough?
Plant Some Seeds

2 comments:

Jean said...

I love this post. Absolutely gives me chills. Praying for you as you continue to discern this...and can't wait to hear more!!

Unknown said...

Don't get too terribly excited; what I have learned so far isn't all that big of a deal, but rather is encouraging to me, and, I hope, will be to other people as well.