The Rains Came Down and the Floods Came Up...

We praise God for the rain as we sweep it out of the kitchen, bedrooms, hallways, living room, school area, etc. It has been a relatively dry season, so we are thankful for this weather in order to fill our cistern for the dry season. We are also grateful knowing how desperately the rain is needed by farmers in the area and what a blessing the rain is for all the families in need of water for their daily survival.

It's simple things like this that we really don't spend much time contemplating in the USA. We turn the faucet on and water comes out. This past year, we learned how to ration: ration food, ration water, ration soap, ration clothing, actually ration just about everything. As our kids haul buckets of water up the stairs and occasionally complain about the entire process (the work involved), we discuss the blessing of being able to haul water from downstairs in our compound compared to the bulk of the population that hauls water from the riverbed.

We are blessed to have the ability to catch rain water and store it in this huge cistern that is basically the whole bottom part of our house. Water is a precious commodity in Haiti and throughout the world. The other day, we drove into Port au Prince to get some supplies. As we passed some kids on the street, some of the street children were bathing in a puddle in the middle of town. These children don't have the opportunity to bath except for the puddles in the streets here and there.

The sad part of this familiar scene is the consequences of bathing in dirty water and especially in drinking that same dirty water. Many years ago on one of my earlier trips to Haiti, we arranged a two week trip in the middle of July. It was hot (something like 114 degrees). We were tired and dirty. It was a long and challenging trip for a range of reasons. We went to the countryside for the day and saw a bunch of kids running naked towards the river. A few less intelligent team members (including myself) basically said....ugh....I don't care what happens to me at this point and waded into the river just a little bit with the kids. Boy, did I live to regret that spur of the moment decision. Giardia is a miserable thing to have~ especially on the plane ride home.

Thankfully we all recovered and lived to serve another day. Hopefully we learned a few things about the importance of clean water. And hopefully we learned to be thankful for the many blessings that we take for granted on a daily basis. We pray for appreciation in all that the Lord provides us in due season.... 

"Then I will give you rain in due season, 

and the land shall yield her increase, 

and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit" 

Leviticus 26:4