together.

Today was not the day we thought it was going to be. 

When I came out to the kitchen at 5:30 am, Nora was sitting alone on the porch, her uniform on, her shoes and socks on, her backpack open, and she was quietly looking through all her books. She was ready...it blessed my heart.  

Two hours later with more braiding, and breakfast and uniforms and books and snacks and pictures and prayers and they were out the door with mama's heart, with a million other precious kiddos across the island and their mama's hearts, too.

When they arrived at school, though we spoke to the principal last night at 9 pm, it was closed. Burning roadblocks, tires, bottles, reports from all through town just this morning...teachers and students could NOT travel, couldn't come. 

No school.

They turned around and came home, and Matt was only a few minutes late for class.  That's a lot of thoughts and prep and emotion for three kiddos...for hundreds, thousands of kiddos...to then totally >never mind<. 

A lot of sacrifices from a lot of parents today to have their kids THERE on day one, books in hand.  

My class of 25 had 24, and Matt's class of 18 was 18, so we had classes and pushed on with only a few students and staff missing...but as the day progressed, it got hotter.

  Nora explained several times that mommy and daddy told her she was going to school, and she was ready, but she didn't get to stay, because there were "boys throwing rocks and water bottles." I guess that's the only kind of bottles she knows :)  They readjusted their expectations of the day and dove into homeschool (if I haven't mentioned THANKFUL and NIKKI yet today, here it is.)

These three precious children are just three of the children who headed to school...and home again today.

Things in Haiti are quite bad again. Maybe more still than again. 

The deep-rooted problems are complicated and wide, but in an effort towards understanding, this is the very, very basic version.

Haiti’s fuel debt is astronomical, for many reasons, proven and unproven, debated and undebated. Therefore, Haiti’s finding purchasing, distributing, delivering, receiving fuel almost impossible.

Fuel touches all of life. Without it, there is no public or private transportation. 

Picture what that actually would look like in your day to day.

Umpteen thousands of drivers are out of work. Businesses that need power, closed. Hospitals, schools, garbage trucks, banks, gas stations, roads...silent. 

So people sit. Food gets more and more expensive to move, so more and more expensive to buy, and income across the country stops...coming....in.

Again, I ask you to picture your daily life. 
But like this.  

Ayiti, cheri, is stuck.

Stuck for many and most means fasting and praying and waiting and helping one another and stretching and doing the very best possible and praying some more.

Stuck for a few means doing all and anything to get unstuck, which might include inflicting fear, and removing it for a price. It might include breaking, burning, throwing, blocking….maybe something will change if it gets ugly enough. Maybe someone will pay attention if it’s loud enough, if the skies are black, if the roads sparkle. Maybe someone will DO something if they HAVE to.

“I’m not sure this is helping change anything that is wrong,” Matt shared humbly with Bulvens, one of the young men burning tires and throwing rocks in front of Emmaus today. Bulvens pulled off his mask and walked over to greet Matt as soon as he saw him.  

“That may very well be true,” Bul said reasonably, “but I can’t make any money if I can’t run my motorcycle taxi. And my family can’t eat without that money. Things are messed up, and until the government does something, I’m gonna do this, and make a little money off everyone who wants through, 'till something changes. We don't mean any harm to any one. We’re all in this together. We’re all in this together!”

Sigh.

When things got more violent later, Matt called the police, who said he would love to come...but there were too many roadblocks between him and us, and besides, he didn't have any gas in his truck.

So. 

I guess we ARE all in this together.

And this is how we fight our battles:

Matt preached what is needed in chapel today. Until we are ferverently, sacrificially, ridiculously, completely, faithfully living the true Gospel in every circumstance...there is work to be done. It begins here.

Please be in this together with us...on our knees on Jesus.