Today was one of those “Haiti is hard” kind of days. There are times where things press in on you and you feel the weight of it all a bit more. That was today.
The day started out very early. Troy and Britt left to take Samson to Cazale to see Lori. The news for Samson is not so good. Lori thinks he will not regain sight in one eye and the other will likely deteriorate. Not a great outlook for a guy in his mid 20’s. Haiti is hard.
There has been a sick older man (older by Haitian standards) dying for the last few weeks. Our patio view looks straight at his house on the hill. If you go to the "Sun Events" post it is the rectangular picture, third one down. Troy and Paige visited with him at his home about two weeks ago and Troy said he did not think the man would last very long. He died last night. Family and friends came asking for help with a funeral and expenses. Haiti is hard.
There were some employee annoyances and issues. We escaped to the Prayer rock to pray, talk, and regroup. It was not long and five guys found us and asked once again if Troy might do something more to help with the funeral. Haiti is hard.
The money was somehow put together and the people carried the casket up the hill to the house to put the man in the casket, have a short service right at the house, and bury him. He was buried down the hill from his home late this afternoon.
Early this evening the husband of one of our employees showed up with badly burned hands. The story evolved (as they always do here) over the two hours that Britt worked on cleaning and dressing his hands. He is married to one of our very favorite employees. She is a cheery, bright lady with a sassy edge. We have learned that she set herself on fire during an argument and is currently in shock at a burn center near Port. She will be transported to 'Medicine without Frontiers' this evening if possible. This news hits especially hard for the girls, this is someone they love very much. We do not know more than that right now. Haiti is hard.
So tonight, the pressure of knowing what to do in a culture that is nothing like our own feels arduous. The weight of growing responsibility is a bit heavy. The Lord has always given us renewed strength and we expect He will again for a new day tomorrow.