Thursday, April 10, 2014

When your heart breaks...

Sometimes we don’t have the answers but we know we need to DO SOMETHING. 

Today is one of those days here in Haiti where I need to DO SOMETHING. 

Today and last Saturday I’ve had two situations that have broken my heart and hit me to the core. I know that I need to help I need to DO SOMETHING for these women. 

Last Saturday a woman came to the gate asking for me. I had never meet her before and I knew nothing about her. As I sat with her she was holding a young child, maybe 7-8 months old. I sat and listened to the words coming out of her mouth and could pick up the basics of what she was saying...she needed help. Lots of people in Haiti need help right? But by the look on her face and the sound in her voice I knew it was something more. As the translator filled me on the details my heart broke for her and her situation. Her husband who she has been with for many years and has a well paying job doesn’t support her or their children. Instead he is addicted to alcohol and spends all his money on feeding his habit rather than feeding his family. He comes home late and abuses her. All she wants is to get away and protect herself and her children and move to the country side to stay with her family. She wasn’t asking for much just some money to get to the countryside and some money for food. I was broken and at a loss for what I could and should do. I told her I would pray for her and pray about how I could help and would connect with her in a couple days. 

I connected with other people to verify her story. Sadly its true. I have to DO SOMETHING. After seeking advice from others, Haitians specifically, I know I have to get this woman and her children out of this horrible situation. 

Today was one that hit a little closer to home for me. Ketia had come up to paint yesterday so I had a few things I had purchased for her and needed to get them to her. I stopped by her house with another Haitian staff member and in my heart I knew things weren’t good. Ketia wasn’t at the house when we got there, she had gone out to get something. But the woman who she was staying with (the mother of the baby’s father-the father who is no longer around) was cooking and there was little baby Keti on the other side of the house sitting all by herself surrounded by buckets of water and dirty laundry crying. 

I asked when Ketia would be back and she said soon. As soon as I turned to walk out the door there was Ketia. The look on her face made my heart hurt. I had never seen her look so sad, discouraged, and beaten down. She told us that the woman put all of her stuff outside and told her she had to leave. The woman was standing there hearing everything she said and started yelling at her. Ketia told us to leave and she would talk to us later. I have to DO SOMETHING. 

There is another woman in Titanyen who has 2 young children. She also has a difficult situation and has been asking for a job for quite some time. When talking with the Haitian woman who was with me we thought maybe Ketia could live with her in her house and we could help out with the cost of rent or something. I was hoping this would work out. 

When we asked this other woman from Titanyen to come up to Grace Village she told us she was living in a one bed room house with 2 other people, I believe she said they were her brothers. Because of this her children are currently living in the country side with her mother because she can’t take care of them and where she is living isn’t a good situation for her children.  

Plan A didn’t work. I knew this was all real when the Haitian woman who was helping me with all this started crying as she walked away after our conversation. I know I needed to DO SOMETHING.

Here are these 3 woman, one of which is a friend to me and mother of my goddaughter and they ALL need help. They all need GOD to come through in a mighty way. LORD use me. Show me what my role is in all of this and how I can best help these woman care for their children in a loving and caring environment and how they can support themselves. 


No comments:

Post a Comment