Day 18 - "Catching the Bug"

I want to start off thanking you all for your prayer support during these past couple weeks. I have seen firsthand the results and answers to prayer. Our long term staff members have almost reached double digits and many of the issues with customs are beginning to clear up. I've also remained safe in unsecured areas and have not gotten sick. Thank you! Our contract with World Food Programme for food distribution in Cité Soleil has ended successfully with no injuries or attacks on Samaritan's Purse workers (something no one could have fathomed). We will now be transitioning out of the 'emergency phase' of food distribution with WFP, into the SYOP program with USAID, which gives out food based on need and other criteria rather than just mass distribution to the community. This will insure that the neediest people will receive what they need to survive, and will also employ Food-for-Work and other similar initiatives. Our shelter building process continues to improve in speed and efficiency with a target goal of producing 100 shelters a day!

It was a perfect Caribbean night on Thursday evening here in Titanyen; temperature in the mid seventies and a cool, refreshing wind to blissfully put your mind and body at ease after a long day of work. I sat under an awning with Ray, our head of security and we conversed for at least two hours about our backgrounds, relief work, and other topics. Ray just finished a two year contract providing security in Baghdad, Iraq before coming to do the same here in Haiti. I learned about all the places he's been from Iraq to Sudan to Jordan to Africa and countless other countries. I mentioned how I wouldn't mind doing this long term, and he chuckled for a moment. "I call it catching the bug," he said. Many people that get into this field of relief/mission work and can successfully cope with the ever-changing conditions and nomadic way of life often make a career of it because they can't handle the slow-paced, predictable, structured 9-5 lifestyle when they get home. I had thought the opposite at first, but the more he spoke, the more I realized he could be right.

Yesterday was yet another tranquilizing evening in the Caribbean; not a cloud was in the sky and the constellation Orion was glowing brightly next to an amber crescent moon. It was room temperature outside, and the cool, peaceful wind that passed over our bodies felt invigorating after a blistering hot afternoon. I spent the better part of three hours talking with Nick who is the Deputy Country Director for our operations in Haiti. Part of our conversation was very similar to the one I had with Ray just two nights prior. He too mentioned about the addictive nature of this field and how he can't find himself working a regular job. Neither one of them, though, could precisely explain why it's so addictive - whether it's the constant hard work, the satisfaction of seeing people's lives changed, the experience of living in foreign places, the challenging living conditions, the mental stimulation of problem solving and adaptation, constant change, or something else entirely. After being here for just three weeks, I know exactly what they're talking about; I know the unexplainable feelings that develop. It's a common bond shared only with those who have participated, and no matter how hard you try to explain it to someone back home, they will never understand. I never would have understood. Nick asked me for the third time last night to sign up for a one year contract; I've also had the Country Director and a handful of other people express the same sentiment, and while I know I would enjoy dedicating that amount of time to this cause, I can't imagine being away from everyone and everything back home.

We have food distributions scheduled every day this upcoming week, and I hope to get out to a couple more before my time is up here. My replacement is coming in on Tuesday, which will create four days of overlap before I leave, and I hope to take advantage of that by doing as much non-computer work as possible before going back to work in Charlotte.

I never would have realized how much is involved in a relief operation such as ours without witnessing and participating in it first hand - the amount of manpower, organization, planning, logistics, money and management that is needed. There is so much behind the scenes work to produce these food distributions and shelters, and it all happens so fast. The best times, however, are when you slow down and speak with the locals, and get a chance to share or encourage each other with the Good News. No matter how much food we deliver, how many homes we build, how much money we throw at this nation - none of it will change this country. It will remain in its current state unless the people change, and there's only One that can change hearts.