The Moon Will Rise Again

In mid October we started watching a storm that was moving towards the Caribbean. It was moving slowly, and all of the models varied in predicting just where it would make landfall. No matter where it would hit, they warned of effects arriving on many islands in the region. As the days went on, the path was narrowed down to Haiti and Jamaica. 

Thursday the 23rd it started to rain. The sun didn't come out, dark clouds lingered all day. With each day that passed, we saw more of the same. The rain increased, the wind began to blow, and the sun never did shine. By Saturday, most of the models were narrowing in on Jamaica, while predicting Haiti would continue to receive record rainfall. The winds picked up as did the rain. 

During this time, solar power was not an option. We ran our generator a few times a day to keep our fridge cool, and used water that we had stocked up before the storm. We collected rain water, spent time unplugging the drain pipes on our property wall to keep our property from flooding, covered some windows with spare tin to keep our house a little drier, and played games. We pushed our furniture to the middle of the rooms and mopped up the water that came in. The few sweatshirts we owned got wet and didn't dry out. 

The nights were not restful as the wind howled outside. Everyone was pretty much housebound until the following Thursday, October 30th. And on Friday night, the moon shined again. As I laid in bed that night I was surprised by the brightness shining in the bedroom window, and realized that for all of those days and nights the sun and mood had been hidden. Yet the moon was came out again. And on Saturday, the sun came back out and we began to do laundry and to dry out our homes and belongings. We received 8 days of rain totaling to about 2 feet. 

Other areas close by received more. Roads were washed out, rivers overflowed, and homes were destroyed. Images started circulating of the debris, mud, and destruction that this storm caused in parts of Haiti. Many lives were lost, children and adults alike. I was touched by a photo of a crowd standing in mud and destruction, gathered around a body bag, a small foot sticking out. Sadness and hurt on their faces. Sadness for this child that was lost and hurt for the hardness that this life brings. And this is just one of the 30+ deaths. Another video of a mourning mother who lost her 4 children on that long, dark, and rainy night as the river overflowed it's banks and destroyed much more than her physical home. 

We can ask why, why do these things happen to a nation and people who have already lost so much? Why does it seem that time after time, these people are handed more than most of us could bear to deal with? Yet they rise again, they are resilient, and they don't give up. Hope lives on despite the unfairness and horrible hurts that come to this small island nation. It teaches me so much. 

Please continue to hold Haiti up in prayer.