I love Haiti. I love living in Haiti, and I love the people of Haiti. I love getting to be a part of the work God is doing in Haiti too. Joyful tears well up every time I see someone get a new prosthetic leg, and I rejoice when I see our delivery trucks running to feed 50,000 schoolchildren each day. I want to dance (and I am a terrible dancer – just ask any of the staff here) when I see all of the homes we are building for the displaced Haitian people.

We are daily reminded here that the Kingdom of God is alive and advancing – in Haiti, in North America, and everywhere else on Earth. And it gives us great hope. But there are also days when it is really hard to see the broken and painful realities of this life. It’s not really fun to write (or read) a blog about the painful experiences, but this week has been full of its share of stinging pain. In the last week, amongst our dearest friends here, we have had news of cancer returning, and cried over news of cancer arriving. We have heard stories of tragic death and seen true despair in a teenage friend whose only parent died. We have heard stories of unspeakable and awful injustice that make me cry and freshly dependant on God’s promise that he is “making all things new” (Rev 21:5).

Haiti is a painful place to live, but the reality is that this world is a painful place to live. Everyone has broken stories and pain-filled sadness. Cancer is real. Abuse is real. Death is real, everywhere on Earth. We see clearly why our hope for healing, restoration, and redemption must be in Jesus, whom Isaiah prophesied would “preach good news to the poor”, “bind up the brokenhearted”, “comfort all who mourn”, “and provide for all those who grieve,” in order “to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.” (Isa 61:1-3)

Jesus promised this. It is the hope that we have been given. And it is truly good news. We can have great hope, even amidst the mourning and despair, and thus we remain hopeful for the redemptive work God continues to do in Haiti.

We can therefore rejoice as we cling to Jesus and the hope he has given us, and our Haitian brothers and sisters rejoice too.