Earthquake. A scary story we've heard before.
7.0- must be bad.
Haiti- the worst of all possible locations.
The numbers- An estimated 2 million are homeless- 72,000 confirmed dead. How many more there will be- we don't really know- it could get up to 200,000. 3 million are directly affected... the rest of us feel it too.
The facts- Haiti was considered the 2nd poorest country in the world overall before the quake. Limited resources (little infrastructure, raw materials, little technology, few waste management systems and health care), political corruption, extreme poverty and hunger, disease, homelessness, orphaned children, gang violence and much more are common stories for this country. The worst hit area was Port-au-Prince, the country's capital and center of any type of stability or development. The UN peacekeeping quarters, the royal family's palace, the Roman Catholic church headquarters and most homes and downtown- absolutely decimated. Everyone is scrambling for their families
How do you comprehend such an atrocity?
Sometimes, you just can't.
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The good news?
THERE'S HOPE.
How? Where? In Who?
Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World.
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Jesus Christ is the Light and the Life of the World. He created this world through the direction of the Father, and He atoned for all of the sins, pains, fears, disappointments and worries of all mankind. Jesus Christ has suffered for every Haitian- and all of us.
When we look at all of the pain, suffering and destruction over the past two weeks, it makes me wonder in awe at how Christ completed that great task. How could a man do all this? A man could not. It was an infinite sacrifice- because He loved us, and loves us today.
The goodness of Christ has not only been manifested in that great act of love, but also in each one of us who acts upon the light of Christ. Since I can't go to Haiti and my donation is small (especially compared to the 57 million that accrued in the Hope for Haiti telethon... which I think is great), I decided to do a personal fast for Haiti. I thought it would be a good idea to have a small group of friends do it with me. I posted it as a Facebook event, and I thought about 30 of my friends would join me. To my great surprise (and maybe it shouldn't have been) over 760 people joined with me in the fast. I didn't know most of them- and they were of the LDS and other Christian faiths (and it's possible that people of other religions participated too.) This shows that the light of Christ is given unto every man, and that we can do the works of Christ in a united, righteous effort. I LOVE HOW GOOD PEOPLE ARE! The world has rallied around the people in Haiti.
Truly, God must be smiling upon us now.
There is always hope.
