It shocked North America…They said close to half a million…people…dead. On the morning of Tuesday, January 12th, an earthquake of about 7.0 hit close to the capital city of Port Au Prince in Haiti, one of, if not the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. We gathered around the dinner table, gulped down pasta, bread, and salad, and drank our fresh clean water, which we enjoyed plenty.
Struck by the magnitude of this disaster, we gathered around the Mac as we silently viewed images from the wreckage…the many victims buried in rubble, buildings collapsed, one on top of another, and horrible sights of bodies tossed to the side of the roads covered in gravel and debris. Samaritan’s Purse and World Vision appealed to the international for aid that they might be able to provide relief in blankets, shelter, food, and clean water…which we enjoyed plenty.
The boys moved to compassion, disappeared, and as quickly as they had gone they reappeared. The eldest handed Dad a fresh bill with Andrew Jackson and one with Abraham Lincoln. Sweet Sam laid his recently acquired Andrew Jackson on the table. He had just lost a tooth two nights before and freely gave what he had received. With a triumphant smile and excited gleam, Daniel handed Dad an Alexander Hamilton ($10), several George Washingtons, loose quarters, and various other coins. His wad of money amounted to about twenty dollars. Dad matched the giving and a bit more and together the family’s meager offering of $250 to Samaritan’s Purse. What you did for the least of these, you did for Me. It wasn’t much, and may or may not make much difference in the grand scheme of the recovery efforts, but it made much to their hearts: Jeremy, Samuel, and Daniel.
They beamed when they went to bed. And we prayed that night for others other than ourselves. That our attitude might be the same as Christ Jesus. That we might consider others over ourselves. That He might be glorified.
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