i remember driving through port au prince and initially thinking that things weren't as bad as everyone was saying. a few minutes later, we met our drivers/interpreters/bodyguards (3 in 1! and guys who would become friends and daily companions to us) and headed towards the center of town. i would quickly discover that i had vastly underestimated the damage to this country.
our driver, named Elysee, was a young man with a wife who is due any day and a 4 year old son. we soon began seeing rubble upon rubble and evidence of destruction beyond our wildest imagination. Elysee became more comfortable when he found out i spoke french, and we began hearing the first of many nightmares that were all too common among the haitians. he described how his family was saved by the skin of their teeth as they were headed to church moments before the earthquake hit. both his wife and son were safe, though their house destroyed, but to this day his wife has bruises all over her body and has not yet been checked by a physician. he is living on the streets, and daily heads out looking for food while his wife patiently and fearfully awaits his return home with something to eat. he lives in fear of sudden noises, fear of the unknown, fear of the future, and fear for his family.
what surprised me the most, and continues to surprise me, is Elysee's steadfast faith in God after enduring such hardship. he believes it is God who protected him and his family and who continues to meet his daily needs. after so much destruction one would expect hopelessness. instead, i have met men and women who are thankful for their life, and hopeful for the future. i have met men and women who are happy to see foreiners among them, helping their people, loving them. i have met men and women that i hope i can emulate were i to endure such a fate myself.
thank you, haiti, for allowing us to be among you and learn from you.
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