The aftermath of Matthew begins

I've been putting this update off all day because to be honest I'm not really sure what to write.  I'm overwhelmed by the information I've been getting & I'm a mixed ball of emotions...

I'm relieved that Pastor Luc and the kids are safe and the damage done to the compound is repairable.

I'm sad to see footage of the devastation done to southern Haiti.

I'm sickened to think about how the country's entire agriculture seems to be wiped out in a singe day (I hope I'm wrong on this!).

I'm frustrated to think about how much "hurricane relief" money will be ill spent by the government and big organizations (not all, but some for sure).

I'm scared to realize that a new level of desperation has arrived in Haiti and it will mean increased crime, violence, kidnapping, etc.

I'm worried about exposing Hasannah (4) and Jelani (3) to water born illness such as cholera.

I'm encouraged by the support shown by H2H supporters, friends, family & even strangers!

I'm excited to see how God will use the terrible disaster to His glory! (ok, this one is a bit of a stretch... I'm hoping to feel it soon!)

And last but not least... my eyes hurt and my fingers are sore from texting on my phone so much ;)

I've received many videos from Grande Goave today but I'm only going to share one.  It is a video of one of our older boys, Roodly, standing on the bridge over the raging river in Grande Goave yesterday.  Despite being scared himself he went out to make the video for me and seeing his face in the middle of the storm quiets all the emotions I wrote about above and covers them with love... love for Roodly, love for Pastor Luc & the kids at H2H and above all, love for God who created them.  Thank you Roodly for that reminder!

And now for a real update about how things are going!  The weather was just mildly stormy today and people started to venture out and check on neighbours and friends.  Grande Goave has areas that are flooded and lots of damage to houses and gardens.  Food supply is going to be a serious problem, both short term and long term.  The election that was supposed to happen on Sunday has been postponed (will announce the new date next week).  A major bridge in Petit Goave has been wiped out which will be inconvenient for us (we do banking there and get supplies), and more urgently, getting relief aid to southern Haiti will be much more difficult as it is the main route to southern Haiti.  Health providers are worried about cholera becoming an epidemic again because of the flooding.  I spoke with Pastor Luc this evening and he will begin cleaning & securing the H2H compound tomorrow... a big job!

Thank you for your prayers and your words of support!!