Today is a Beautiful Day

Today, today is a beautiful day. Today is a day where life sprouts out of the cracks in the fallen buildings around me, children run down the street chasing birds they cannot catch, and adults sing songs to God with a passion, love, and a faith which stretches into the unknown.

On Tuesday one of the Haitian workers at Child Hope named Paul came to me asking if I could help his sick wife since he did not have enough money to visit a doctor, which is only about $10! He said she could not stand without fainting and that she had really bad stomach issues. After talking it over with Ashley (Child Hope’s nurse), we decided to go visit Paul’s residence to check on her. Paul lives in a large tent city which is overflowing with people. As you walk down the dirt roads kids come up asking for whatever you have, most often times saying that they are hungry. Their pleas will always haunt me; yet continue to instill a drive in me to help. When we arrived at Paul’s tent we took off our sandals and entered the small living quarters. On the ground wrapped in a blanket was Paul’s frail wife. She was in obvious pain and was unable to sit up. She described to us that she had been having a high fever, chills, and severe stomach issues. Every time she talked seemed like a struggle and just trying to raise her head was a problem. Ashley gave the women medication for both malaria and the stomach problems and we gave Paul money for extra food. Yet before we left, we got everyone together and said a prayer. In that instant something beautiful happened. In that hot, humid, dark tent, when all hope seemed so far away and dignity was none existent, grace and peace descended as if a hand was gently resting upon everyone’s head. Looking around I caught a glimpse of something beautiful. All of the sudden during the prayer the women’s face burst into a beautiful smile for the first time. Seeing this sent such a surge of joy to every part of my body, it felt as if I could not contain it and joy was shooting out of my fingertips and into the hands joining mine. After we finished Ashley and I told the women we would be back tomorrow. When we returned we found the women standing in the doorway of her tent looking as if she had never been sick. We have an awesome God who cares, feels, and loves us infinitely. Thank you God for showing up.