The last couple of days have been relaxing; we have been working on projects mostly from the guest house and arranging our own schedule, according to what needs to get done and when we can get it down. We are organizing a census survey for the village of Luly. The purpose of the survey is so that we will know more about the village and this fall a garden can be built so the village can begin to make it's own profit and provide for itself. Since the earthquake many areas in Haiti are struggling to provide jobs and a way of life.
Yesterday we traveled through a tent city, which is a exactly what it sounds like. Since the earthquake hundreds of thousands of families are left homeless and live in makeshift homes. The majority of these homes are made of steel panes held up by thin logs. The roofs leak and the walls have holes in them. Alex (another intern) is working on a documentary and interviewed a family that lives in one of these homes and the story is tragic. There is a mother, father, daughter and son who all live in a one room 'tent'. They have one twin size bed that the children sleep on. When it rains the floor becomes flooded and so ma and pa have to sleep in plastic lawn chairs. The parents have looked earnestly for jobs, but have unfortunately have been unable to keep anything long term. Before the earthquake Rene Marie (mother) worked at the police department and Frantz Jerome (father) worked for the Red Cross, however, after the earthquake they were both laid off. This is only one story, that was randomly picked, among thousands. One amazing fact about this story is that Alex simply picked a boy from a clinic they worked at and this was his family's story. I think God brought us to this family and their story; please add them to your prayers and ask God to comfort and provide for them. We were blessed to be able to give them donations, such as showering supplies, clothes, shoes and other miscellaneous necessities, but those will run out. Please pray for this beautiful family.
We went to the mountains two days ago and I wish I could have caught more beautiful pictures, but we were driving and I prefer to ride in the bed of the truck, so taking pictures is limited. The view was indescribable! There are thousands of houses built on the side of the mountains, I will try to get more photos, if we go up there another time. Bre (another intern) got some fun pictures of us up in the mountains, I would suggest everyone take a look at her blog and browse through the photos, as well as her stories; they are amazing! :) http://www.aladyinhaiti.blogspot.com/
As interns, last night we finished a study on the book of James and I think it was a perfect pick. James 5 talks about the value of worldly riches; James 5:1-3 says, "Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat you flesh like fire. " The Message Bible translates it by saying the only thing worldly wealth gains you is a fatter corpse. I love that message! I have been told many times that I can not take money with me to heaven, that I can not leave with anything from Earth, but I think the picture of an obese man in a coffin has so much more meaning. Wealth is powerful and often restricts relationships with God. Love ones, I want you to learn with me and see that money has no heavenly value. Luke 20:20-26 talks about paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus was questioned if it was right to pay taxes to Caesar and Jesus asked for a form of currency and asked whose inscription was on it. The answer was, "Caesar's". And Jesus replied, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's". Whose picture is on the dollar bill? Not God's. The simple line 'Money can't but happiness' goes a long way in my eyes. So my loves, please remember what matters and what truly holds value on this Earth, because you never know what tomorrow is going to bring.
With lots of love,
Crystal Joy
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