Building Up vs. Tearing Down
Article submitted by Candy Rieger, Field Coordinator in Haiti
Last summer, while preparing to talk at a church in the States, I was struck by the reality that God is not always building up, not always planting. He also must tear down and pull up in order to right the wrongs, fix the broken, bring in a crop of righteousness.
Haiti is broken…the whole world knows that now. The hard core truth is Haiti was broken long ago, and maybe because of all the efforts over so many years never seemed to “fix” it, the world in general sort of forgot about Haiti. Everyone seems to have had an image of Haiti as the dark place that would always be dark so don’t bother sending any more light bulbs.
While I’ve learned God has to uproot and tear down, I’ve also learned He’s NEVER without a plan to build and to prosper His people. God has many people in Haiti, so I don’t doubt for a minute that He has a plan to prosper and bless, to give hope and a future to them.
I’m writing this because I don’t want people to forget Haiti after this “crisis” is over. I want us to hang in there for the long haul, see it through beyond cleaning up the rubble. All the news coverage will end, and our adrenalin surge will end, but the need for planting and nurturing will still be there for a long time. Haitians are a people broken-down.
When driving from the bordertown of Ouanaminthe down to Petit Goave on Thursday, I was once again awed by the beauty of Haiti – a broken beauty, but beauty nonetheless. And I saw a dogged perseverance of the people to survive, to make it through to see another day. Haitians are persistent.
As we drove through Port-au-Prince, I was amazed at how much cleanup has taken place. The road was broken in places, but traffic able to pass. Every house and building had a pile of rubble in front of it, but it was not disorderly. The produce market was open and there was a lot of routine activity. However, once the sun set and darkness enveloped the city, it was more evident that the people are living in a state of desperation. Everyone wants to sleep outside because standing structures are not safe, especially with continuing tremors. The problem is these people have no covering, no beds. It was an amazing sight to see the improvisation of the people. Haitians are a resilliant people.
Ed Lockett (MVI Field Coordinator) and his “clan” waited up for us and then helped us set up tents and get situated for a rather sleepless night! Then yesterday, a group of three pastors arrived. Their churches were either totally collapsed or heavily damaged. It was such a blessing to be able to give them a plastic tarp. Not a long-lasting solution, but it will provide a shelter from rain and sun so they can meet and worship. We drove over to L’Acul (smaller town on coast near Petit Goave) to see Manno’s (Haitian pastor MV partners with) church and visit some of the families there. During the earthquake, not only were houses collapsing and falling apart, but the earth opened up and then continued to open up for quite a distance. It was humbling to see how fragile our little planet is, how easily it can be injured. Manno has been helping families, one-by-one, to clear up rubble, and now with the plastic tarps, they’re beginning to erect some structures. Temporary…And so now, we’re looking down the road to see how our teams of volunteers can help in the reconstruction of the beautiful Haitian people.