Haiti

A quick spin around the blog world will tell you that there's no shortage of posts about Haiti today.

It's been one year since the devastating earthquake, and there is still much to be done.

A year ago my heart broke for a nation I'd never seen.  I followed the story, I cried and prayed, even in my dreams.

And then slowly, it faded to a back burner.  Still something I was conscious of, watching the news for, but not a focus of waking moments.

Somehow I doubt that that was the case for those actually in Haiti.

And so today, I pause with so much of the world to remember, and to call attention again to a nation that continues to need our support and prayers.

I want to point you to this excellent blog post on Haiti's history, written a year ago by Steve Bell.

I want to point you, as well, to this challenging post written by Tony Campolo.  I'm not at all suggesting that North American aid organizations should leave Haiti.  I think they're likely doing very valuable work.  But I love Campolo's challenge to recognize the value of the Haitian contributions as well.

And mostly I want to call you again to consider the challenges that Haiti faces and continues to face. 

And I want to call you to lift this nation, and those who are working there up to the Father in prayer.

Haiti Again...

This slideshow from Medecins Sans Frontieres is powerful.

Wavin' Flag

I was thinking about Haiti again tonight, and came across this video that a friend had posted on facebook.  A number of young Canadian recording artists came together and recorded K'naan's "Wavin' Flag" with the proceeds going to relief work in Haiti.  I'd already heard the song, but I enjoyed seeing the video, and the reminder that life goes on in Haiti, that the work of rebuilding and recovering is really only just beginning in these moments when Haiti no longer makes the news.

Check These Out

Another spate of daily links:

• Anne Jackson's post "Instead Of".  I think I'm going to print her list of statements.  They strike me as a list that I would like to see developed in my own life as well.
• In some strange way, Seth Godin's post "Not for Me" struck me in conjunction with Anne Jackson's.  And in conjunction with some of the messes of daily life that I deal with due to work at "The Soap Opera".  Plus, I found the differentiation in thought between "not for me" and "not for anyone" to be quite striking and helpful.
• And finally, Haiti remains heavily on my heart.  The Livesay's posted this article from CBS news this morning, and I found it powerful and important to read as well.

Survived Two Earthquakes

How crazy is this story?  The family survived the earthquake in Haiti, fled to Chile for safety, and were right near the epicentre of the earthquake in Chile as well.

Article on the Most Recent Haiti Quake

I mentioned this morning that I'd heard via email that there had been another earthquake in Haiti very early this morning.  News article on the quake, magnitude 4.7, here.

Strange Days

I'm praying oddly and deeply this morning.

I woke from an intense dream.  Amongst other things, in the dream I was in Haiti, walking up a hill, but something about the skies and the clouds was foreboding, and I turned back.  There were other themes too, and as I woke in the dark I found myself praying quietly for each of things that the dream touched.  And wondering, "what happened or will happen in Haiti today?"

Then I rolled over, roused myself and checked my email.  The first email I read was from someone on the ground in Haiti.  There was another earthquake this morning, of 4.7 magnitude.  His brief email is all the information I had.

It was a sort of stunning way to begin the day, dreaming so specifically, wondering and praying, and then reading that news.

A few years ago I dreamt intensely of China, and woke to the news there of a devestating earthquake.

It's such an odd thing, to pray and listen that way, with my dreams.  I don't understand it, and I'm not certain I'll ever grow used to it.  And yet, I'm glad in a way to pray deeply.

A short time ago I got an email from another friend.  She went into labor early this morning, and she and her husband will welcome their first child to the world sometime soon.

And so I find myself praying, for each of the themes and people and places that my dream this morning touched, many of which have now faded into that invisible space between sleep and waking.  I'm praying for my friends as they welcome new life into the world.  And I'm praying for each of the people and concerns with whom I will come in contact today.

Strange days indeed.

Story on Haiti

An article by a phd anthropology student who was in Haiti when the earthquake happened, and was briefly trapped.  A proufound read.

Worth Reading

A number of blog posts worth checking out today:

Donald Miller's latest post "Following God and Farming" is here.

Today's cartoon at the Naked Pastor hit close to home.  I've definitely felt like that at times.

Anne Jackson's last post from Haiti is here.

Anne Jackson in Haiti

I've linked to Anne Jackson relatively often lately.

She's in Haiti at the moment, and blogging some incredibly moving stuff.

Check out the latest post here.

Daily 5 - Day 183

I was wondering earlier tonight if I was going to find anything to write for this list tonight.  It was just that kind of day, where the battle to really choose to live joyfully felt like a bit of a losing one.  It's amazing how perspective can shift if you're willing to let God work, and if I'm willing to really choose to try to see things differently.  It shocks me every time.

Today's Daily 5:

1.  I lost my coffee break to an errand for a lunch event I didn't want to attend.  I can choose to think about it that way, or I can remember that it was a really sunny, temperate, Chinooking February day, and because of the errand I got in a ten minute walk in the bright sun.
2. I accomplished one of the "goals" on my list for the year, and learned how my roommate makes frittata.
3. The potluck lunch at work which I was dreading, and in many ways didn't enjoy, had great food.  I'm choosing to be thankful for a tasty, free lunch.
4. After work I showered and styled my hair curly.  I always feel prettier when it's curly, and more like myself, and it was nice to feel that way since home church was tonight.
5. Hugs from two friends at home church.
6. Sharing just a little about the upcoming transition, and the ongoing health ramifications from my accident, and being prayed for.  Honestly, those few minutes, surrounded by some really loving ladies, were the highlight of my day.  I pray nearly constantly a lot of days, but I have always found there is something incredibly calming to my spirit when it is hurting, racing, or wounded, in hearing the verbal prayers of someone else for me.  It's like it is in those moments that I am able to quiet the other noise, and let my spirit truly receive from God.
7. Chatting with a new friend about Haiti, and friend of a friend connections.
8. One of my new friends is a midwife who is licensed in the states, and not Canada, and isn't ablet to work as a midwife here, and she was present when her sister gave birth last week.  It was fun to see the joy and amazement in her face as she shared her pleasure at being able to witness a birth again.
9. Chatting with a friend at work for a bit this afternoon.  The day was so rough, and it was nice to just talk about some mundane stuff of life, and not think about the intense stuff for a bit.
10. Some encouraging emails and thoughts over the last several days from a dear friend.

A few links

A few blog posts worth reading today:

Anne Jackson's latest post, as she prepares to join a team headed for Haiti later this week.

I also loved the latest story at Claudia Mair Burney's blog.

Daily 5 - Day 180

Today's Daily 5:

1. Made it through the Monday - even though today was definitely one of those "really sore, my whole body hurts" kind of days.
2. Started a new audio book on the train, train, and bus it took to get to my Grandma's house after work
3. Bought paint so that I can start painting the room I'll be living in this coming weekend
4. The paint color my grandma picked out totally cracked me up.  It won't mean anything to most of you, because it's sort of thing between God and I, dating back to the trip two years ago that I've shared about this week, but the paint color is "Natural Almond"
5. Still made it home relatively early, despite a VERY lengthy paint buying errand.  In fact, I think that errand is going to be worthy of it's very own blog post sometime in the next few days.
6. Have been trading some emails with a dear friend over the last few days that I've deeply appreciated, and been encouraged by
7. And, since almonds are a theme, I'm still loving the Almond Joy bars I received in the mail last week :)  Savoring them actually...
8. Came home and my roommate had not only made a plate of dinner for me, but had packed my half of the extra left-overs for my lunch tomorrow.  Was so grateful to get home late and find food waiting.
9. Grandma actually washed down the walls in the room, giving me a free night this week.  I'd anticipated having to make another trip there to scrub the walls to get them ready for painting.
10. This article at the BBC made me so happy - they pulled a man alive from the rubble in Haiti today, after 28 days.  Talk about a miracle!

Encouraging News for Haiti

G7 Nations Pledge Debt Relief for Haiti

It's not done yet.  But it's good news.  A step towards the right direction.

Simple Things

Hope pointed me to Chris at Enchanted Oak.  Chris and her family are very generously donating $2 to Heartline Ministries in Haiti for each blog post linked to hers, about the joy of simple things, written today and tomorrow.  I've been following Heartline on facebook for the last several weeks as a friend of mine here in Calgary knows some people who work with them.  Since Haiti has been so heavily on my heart, it's not hard for me to take a few minutes to think about the simple things today that I've appreciated.

These are a few of the simple things I've appreciated today:

• Mom giving me some time to move a load of stuff to Grandma's house.
• The taste of a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie, still warm from the oven
• Opening mail - I love getting mail, and there was some particularly fun stuff (a package from a friend, and a book I'd ordered) in the mail when Mom delivered it to me today
• A few minutes, sitting quietly and reading
• A really good sandwich while out for lunch with a friend
• The crazy technology that is letting me watch a conference in California, live.  (Okay, so that's maybe less simple, but it's something I really do appreciate today.)
• Email from a dear friend
• Weather that, for February in Western Canada, is actually fairly temperate
• My hair being curly today.
• Lighting a candle in my bedroom

Two Crucifixes Standing

Another stunning picture from Jeremy Cowart in Haiti.

Daily 5 - Day 173

Today's Daily 5:

1. T. & L. made their engagement officially public on facebook tonight.  Some of the comments made me smile.  Particularly one from J., my other brother.  He's the middle child and has a great sense of humor.  His comment on this facebook news was "WHAT?  SINCE WHEN???!!!"  Made me laugh.
2. The bad joke of the day (posted earlier) made me laugh
3. Deeply moved by the photographs taken in Haiti by Jeremy Cowart that I also linked to earlier.
4. Thankful to have made it through the first day back at work.
5. Thankful that there was nothing pressing on the schedule at all tonight, and I was able to spend the last several hours pretty much unmoving, and unthinking, just sort of resting and web-surfing.  And now able to go to bed nice and early.

Gnite world!

A Few More

Earlier I linked to a photo by Jeremy Cowart, taken in Haiti.  If you don't follow him on twitter, you should - even if it's just so you can see these photos from Haiti that he's been shooting and linking to.

Here are three more, incredibly attention catching shots of his:

Rest in Peace...

Where do I go if it rains?

I'm impatient for God to heal my wound so that I can get back to helping others

Stunning Photo - "Love Conquers All"

I just started following photographer Jeremy Cowart on twitter.  He's in Haiti right now.

Check out this picture of a wedding the other day.  The sign the man is holding reads "Love Conquers All".  Cowart's twitter reported that just after taking this photo from their wedding, they drove the couple to their "honeymoon" in a tent city.

Another Miracle

Another young woman was found alive in the rubble in Haiti yesterday.