Sunday morning shortly after 7:00 am, some of us volunteers and staff of GLA headed down to Petionville to attend church at the Sean Penn Tent Camp, home to approximately 50,000 earthquake victims.
We turned onto a beautiful, tree canopied street and arrived at a gate with the sign ‘The Petionville Club’, a golf course turned tent camp. It's a little difficult to find the words to describe what i saw, but i'll do my best!
We drove by tents used for medical purposes, and progressed down a winding gravel road that led down into the camp. The outer edge of the camp was lined with barbed wire fences. There were water drainage ditches that had been dug and lined with what appeared to be sand bags. I can’t imagine what the camp must be like when it rains! Tents, if they could be called that, lined the street. Many of them were simply crudely constructed shelters of tarps and poles. Those must be like ovens in the heat of the day! there are barely any trees to provide shade. One thing i now realize is that i never noticed an odor. Others have commented on how tent camps smell so horrible, but that’s one thing that escaped me.
We arrived at the church, which was a blue and white striped tent located somewhere in the midst of all the tent houses. When we arrived, the Haitians wanted to empty some benches for us. That’s a really awkward feeling, to know that some people are being moved to make room for the white people! I think they were trying to be considerate by placing us at the front by the fans, but i would have preferred to be at the back where i could see more people and would not be in everyone’s line of vision!
What struck me was how well dressed the people attending church were! somehow, even in the midst of such primitive conditions, they still manage to look great for church! On the flip side, there were also kids playing outside who wore too big shorts that were nearly falling off, and long, holy shirts being worn as an outfit. People carried buckets of water back to their homes. I wonder what these people do all day every day? Is it simply an attempt at survival every day? Or are they able to go out and work? And where would so many people find jobs??
The service was wonderful! Even though i couldn’t sing along or understand most of the songs, i could still feel the spirit of worship of these people. one song that i was able to sing along with was ‘oh, oui, mwen renmen Jezi!’ ‘Oh how i love Jesus!’
After the singing, a woman went to the front and began speaking in creol. i was able to understand that she was explaining about the cholera outbreak and giving advice on how to best avoid contracting the disease.
Following that, the message was given by Edward Smith, an American man who counsels victims of crime and disaster. It was interpreted by one of the men from GLA, so i was able to understand the message. There were many ‘Amens’ and ‘hallelujiah!’s! :-)
We left immediately after the service, so did not have a chance to interact with the Haitians.
I hadn’t realized how emotionally draining the experience had been until the evening when i finally realized that i just really needed to get alone and have a heart to heart with God rather then trying to push the feelings away. i went out onto the darkened balcony alone and sat in the rocking chair, looking toward the city. i asked God ‘why?'. I prayed for those whose lives were turned upside down in a matter of minutes. For those who don’t know where to go from here; how to make a new way in the world. I didn’t get a definite answer to WHY, but i once again came to the realization that no matter what, God is still in control. Even when nothing makes sense, He is still God in the storm. He’s still God with the stars shine, and when the clouds roll in; when the thunder rolls and the lightening strikes AND when the earth shakes. He is God in everything, and nothing goes without Him noticing. When the rain falls, He’s there, and when the tears pour down, He’s there to be the shoulder to cry on. Not one of the 1.5 milling people living in tent camps goes beyond the notice of God. He knows their deepest longings and needs. I still don’t understand why this tragedy happened, but i know that when it feels like the world is crashing down around us, God is there, and if we allow Him to, He becomes our world.
please don’t forget to pray earnestly for these people who have now lived in tents for as long as 9 months!
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