Standing on a dusty hill, just north of Port-au-Prince and looking south, all you see is splotches of blue — the blue of the tarps that serve as homes for thousands of people. You see tarps, pieces of tin, wood or plastic sheeting — whatever they can find to keep the hot sun out or protect them from the now infrequent rains. Almost one year after the 7.0 earthquake level Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas, it is virtually the same as it was.
Not only have Haitians had to endure these living conditions, there had been floods caused by tropical systems that plague the country. Even though the wind from Hurricane Tomas went west of Haiti, the rain did not. The rain that fell caused massive flooding, killing many. With the floods came another disaster: cholera. This disaster, which had never touched the shores of Haiti, had been lurking in the background for the last year.
This epidemic has killed over a thousand people to date, and thousands are sick because of it. Yet in the tent cities and villages, there is hope in the people we talk to. There is hope in Christ. There is talk that this is the year they have hit bottom. Things can only get better form here, and many more than we have ever heard before are turning to Christ as that hope.
Hope has been delivered in many different forms this year. And you have been involved in almost every aspect of it — gifts of school supplies, medical supplies, vitamins, tents, shoes for kids, glasses, money for the feeding programs. The feeding programs will far out-distance last year’s 175,000 meals served.
How do we say thank you for all you have provided? There are no words to express our thanks in a way that would equal what you have done. But we hope you all know just what a difference you have made in the lives of many people this year, and we pray that knowledge will be a blessing this Christmas. You have certainly been a blessing to the country of Haiti in many ways.
Merry Christmas!
Steve and Terry
