Following thru on a promise in Haiti

In Haitian Creole Marassa means “the twins”. It is also the name for a couple of tent communities residing side-by-side on the outskirts of Port-Au-Prince, each containing approximately 2,500 residents in a low lying riverbed area.
Thursday we took enough supplies to the twins to provide 15,000 meals of rice and beans.
The load weighed so much that the machine bearing this precious cargo suffered two flats and a double blow out while trying to traverse the city, leaving us stranded for hours on the roadsides of Port-Au-Prince with a temperamental truck determined to no longer carry its heavy burden.
We transferred dozens of sacks into the back of our vehicle to relieve some pressure from the overburdened truck. In the meantime, one of the twins’ parents came looking for their much needed and promised provision. Thankfully the camp’s president that came in search found us and we were able to load down his truck with boxes of oil, further lightening the main distribution truck’s load.
Several hours later than anticipated, which equals perfect timing in Haiti, we arrived at Marassa.
Media will tell you that to drop $15,000 of supplies into a couple of tent communities without the UN for security is unsafe to say the least and practically insane. However, we arrived with a handful of staff and trusted the security team of the Marassa camps to handle any situations should they arise, thereby empowering our Haitian brothers and sisters.
Children clapped and sang as we rolled onto the grounds. A hopeful, expectant crowd gathered and never once did I feel unsafe. The camps’ leaders thanked us and donors for keeping our word from February and returning to help their people.
As bags and boxes were unloaded and stored, there were smiles and jubilant shouts. The men seemed to make it a game to finish the task before them quickly and efficiently, but mostly full of fun. It was good to see laughter in the camp.
Clint Bokelman, the director of short term missions for AIM, encouraged the president of each camp to gather the male leadership and pray over the provided food—prayers of blessing, prayers of thanks, and prayers that it would be multiplied just like the fishes and loaves of Bible times.
The leaders did so, and the part that brought me to tears was when one man at the first camp fell to his knees, stretched his arms out over the food, and fervently gave thanks and praise to God.
There is still great need in these camps. Returning home at the end of the day, doing the math, there was the dawning realization that the huge load we delivered would amount to roughly three meals a person. It was then that the vast need really began to have a reference point in my mind and that sinking feeling threatened to make me lose sight of the good that had happened. Clint reminded me of the story about the man throwing starfish back into the sea: “It mattered to that one.”
What was brought in on those trucks Thursday was more than just three meals, it was also hope. Hope for another day. Hope for a future. The message of the Gospel shared through beans and rice.
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Awesome….and sad at the same time, that it amounted to only three meals for each person. Just show how great the need is there still in Haiti. I love AIM!
AIM is emerging as the marketplace leader in so many ways.