Haiti day four

Haiti day four Today began with an oatmeal breakfast and a large, ice cold bottle of coke.  Can't get enough of that cane sugar coke. We loaded up the flat bed truck and headed out for an over night trip.  Traveling through town we experienced the normal crazy drive and stopped by the airport to rent a large van for the 2+ hour drive to the coast.  Once on the van we experienced our first detour of the day as it was flag day in haiti.  Parades and traffic slowed our progress. As we left port au prince we came across a bottom country that overlooked a mountain range.  As we came to the end of the road we were introduced to the tent city called Canaan.  200,000 people call this home following the earthquake.  I couldnt help but wonder what their night was like in the rain. A left turn put us on the coastal road to our destination.  About ten minutes into our ride we made a right turn and I saw a large cloth cross with a wooden cross at the top on a hill side.  We drive-up the road and began to see hundreds of little brown crosses.  The van stopped and Greg our host began to tell us about the mass grave yard before us, the place where it is estimated to hold the remains of 300,000 people who lost their lives in the earthquake.  A strong sense of surreal wonder and heart break filled my soul.  I began to wonder how many didn't know Jesus?   I wondered how many mothers and fathers were hurried without their children were laid there?  How many children were buried in the deep mass pit of bodies?   We loaded the van and off we went.  As we drove my mind began to speed along with thoughts about why God would allow such devastation?  I wonder why so many had to die in one crack of the earth.  The questions flooded my mind.  But the one thought that permeated my mind, what could Christ followers do to better care for the world so when this happens so many will not be lost.  It doesn't explain the why, but it does cause us to action. We arrived at our accommodations and several of us left for another orphanage.  We arrived to find several children lying on the concrete pavilion floor on a blanket.  A small Haitian dog was lying under a table and a 12 year old girl was overseeing the group of 8 kids.  We interacted with the children and waited on the director who was at the beach for a day retreat with the rest of the kids.  Whitney picked up a baby who was crying and didn't have much luck getting it quiet.  I noticed a bracket on the child and when I enquired was told the child belonged to a voodoo witch.  They mark their children with beaded brackets, and she was dropped off at the orphanage frequently for her mother to party. We greeted the other kids as they arrived from the beach and then returned to our hotel.   Our group enjoyed a great coastal dinners and then went out on a Oceanside gazebo for a small worship time.   Time for bed and the end of day four.