“Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.” Psalm 107:4-6
Have you ever been wandering in the wastelands, hungry and thirsty? When deer hunting in the Pine Ridge of Nebraska there were times that I was wandering endlessly for hours through the pine trees, deep gullies and canyons of the north central part of Sheridan County, but never do I recall being hungry or thirsty.
On one visit to a Lutheran school in the Jeremie District we walked for several hours up a very long steep and did I mention long hill in intense heat and humidity and I did get really thirsty but I had a water bottle and drank to replenish what I had lost on the ‘Haitian stairmaster’.
There are many children attending school in Haiti who are hungry and thirsty when they arrive for class. Sometimes they saunter into class in the morning crying because their stomachs are empty and their comment is “Mwen gran goo” which translates “I am very hungry”.
I can only imagine that the only time I cried because I was hungry was 70 years ago when I was a baby and announced through tears that I was hungry. In our North American homes, solving the problem of hunger is generally only a few feet away to the nearest cupboard or fridge and you will find food. Such is not the case in almost every home in Haiti.
The attached photo is of a girl at the Lutheran school in Ouanaminthe, before their Trinity/HOPE feeding program begsn; not a lot of energy, no bright smile to greet me. It is easy to walk into a school in Haiti and know if there is a feeding program, just look at the children, shake their hands, pat their heads, look into their eyes, listen to their voice…tired, weak, clammy, listless and faint. Hungry and thirsty; “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6.
Trinity/HOPE is now bringing a lunch program to over 33,500 children in over 160 Christian schools throughout Haiti. Their hunger pains have subsided and their bodies continue to grow physically and their minds grow Spiritually with the Bread of Life. Thank you for bringing them this life giving food.
Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you…Jay