To Haiti and Back
Last week I had the distinct honor of visiting Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The later I have been to many times and love, the former…never. The reason was to pay a visit to Julio and Suzette
Volcy. They are church planters with Christian Associates. His intention is to start a church in Petionville, a part of the massive city of Port au Prince. I believe the official numbers for residents of the city are around the 5 million mark. Most say it is about the size of Chicago – an immense city (some estimate many more).
I know Haiti has gained a substantial amount of international attention since the earthquake in 2010. It was a gigantic quake with literally scores of aftershocks. The Haitian government estimate at least 316,000 died in the catastrophe. The multiplied tragedy is that Haiti was the poorest country in the western hemisphere before the mindboggling natural disaster occurred. The city is enormous without a central sewage system. The road system is quite undeveloped and transportation is arduous, and that is an understatement. If you think the roads are bad in your city, quit complaining. For many of the roads in the city you need to think of driving through a wheat field, only about 10x worse. I needed a kidney belt just to drive around. The picture to the left is the highway just before the Haitian / Dominican border. Also, the poverty is pervasive (I just read over 50% unemployment, some say it is up to 60%).
To Haiti and DR
Headed for Haiti and the Dominican Republic today. Please pray for me that I would have a sensitivity to those around me and that God will keep me from sickness.
I will be with Steve Adams (CA’s Latin American director). On the way back, I will stop in Denver for CA’s Engage event (candidate assessment) and a colossal strategic planning day.