Prayers for Haiti trip

My dad left early this morning with a group of people for a medical missions trip to Haiti for 2 weeks. They were on the road before we could call and wish him well one last time and were headed down to Omaha to catch his flight. Please pray that they will have safe travels on their way!

My dad has done this type of trip before and it is something that he really has a passion for. He has also gone to Africa, Nicaragua, and probably other places that I am failing to mention. He definitely has a heart for missions and it is an example that I am so proud of!

This morning I woke up in a nice warm bed, took a hot shower, had no lack of choices for breakfast, dumped my leftover milk down the drain, had a husband who started and warmed my car for me before I left, drove to work in warmth and safety in a car that is paid for and came to a job that affords me all of the “extras” that I so often take for granted.

This morning in Haiti there are probably thousands of people who woke up cold, uncomfortable and hungry. Who don’t know where their next meal will come from or what it will be, people that are dealing with medical issues that to us in the States are easy fixes with over the counter medication, and people that must struggle finding the hope and desire to press on each day.

My dad was bringing Tums and prenatal vitamins with him, two things that I use every day and don’t worry about affording when I run out and need more. I guess the group brings a very small amount of personal effects with them and the bulk of their luggage is filled with medical supplies etc. He showed us the menu of the foods that they will be served each day they are there. Oatmeal every morning for breakfast. Instantly when I heard that I thought, “I would have to go hungry”, but then I think about how so many people in that country would probably give the shirt off their backs just to have a warm bowl of oatmeal for breakfast each morning.

Haiti is a country with extreme poverty. Poverty we don’t see here and really can’t comprehend. Dominic shared a story he read online awhile ago about how in certain areas the people of Haiti were in such need for food that they were mixing dirt with their flour to extend it farther and that this was causing severe medical problems in their intestines because it was usually more dirt than flour used.

Seriously people – can you even imagine having to consider that as an option for a meal? I can’t begin to understand that kind of poverty, that kind of hopelessness. Today please and for the next 2 weeks, commit with me to pray for the people of Haiti. That the group of men and women headed there right now will be a beacon of hope in a dark situation. That they will be blessed by the groups’ presence and that God’s grace will be felt and seen.
And when you have your lunch, your snacks, your dinner, drive a car, climb into a warm bed, play with your kids, watch TV, head to a job that you may or may not like….remember that each of those things is a gift we have been given, a luxury, something that I/we should be grateful for. I may not have a new house, a new car, a perfect life filled with every “toy”. But I do have the ability to worship my God freely, the ability to help provide for my family and so many extras that at times they become mundane to me. May the mundane be seen as gifts and our hearts and minds filled with gratitude for each and every one of those gifts today!