My body left Haiti but my heart stayed behind.

It's Thurday night and I go home tomorrow.

How can I leave this place.

Did I do enough?

Did I understand the people?

What do I do now?

Will life ever be the same?

This was a mission trip for me but as I get ready to leave I think Haiti was on a mission trip for me. I learned more from the people of Haiti than they could ever learn from me.

I don't want to leave but what happens if I stay?

Will it be too much?

Will I always have in the back of my mind that I can leave this place?

What about them - longing to leave and knowing they cant.

Could I listen to the kids cry day after day at Mother Theresa's orphanage?

Could I handle seeing people in desperate need everyday for water, food, money, medical attention?

Could I watch the pain of parents who can't even send their kids to school?

Would I ever become de-sensitized to it all if I stayed?

I don't want to stay but what happens if I leave?

Will it be too much?

Will I get tired of seeing the waste in the U.S.?

Will I get tired of having everything I need?

My family is alive, healthy, happy, and functioning well. Do they really need me here?

How do I explain to people in the U.S. what I saw, felt, heard, smelled?'

Would people really listen to me and respond to the needs of the Haitian people?

Where would I do the most good for the people?

It's Friday

My body left Haiti but my heart stayed behind.

Saturday morning

I'm feeling a little numb and confused about being home so I went to church.

Before mass started I was asking God what it is that He wants from me and praying for help to open my mind to be able to listen.

Well he heard me and I heard Him loud and clear.

The homily reading for the day was Luke chapter 9 verses 57-62

The Cost of Following Jesus

⁵⁷As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."

⁵⁸Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

⁵⁹He said to another man, "Follow me."
But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."

⁶⁰Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

⁶¹ Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."

⁶²Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

So now I say to you Jeff & Alyn - The cherry bomb has just exploded!

God Bless Haiti

Shelley