It’s a Haitian proverb with a lot of meaning.  It could also be translated, “hope creates life”.  Hope that tomorrow can be different.

There are stories after stories of devastating and sad situations in Haiti.  You don’t have to look far. For example, the following:

Lucienne is one of the millions in Haiti who lives on less than $2 a day. She sporadically earns a few Haitian dollars by doing laundry. Lucienne has never been to school and, like more than one-third of Haitian adults, she cannot read or write. The day I met her, she and her children had only eaten a piece of bread and sipped watered down coffee. With no skills, assets, or job opportunities, Lucienne acknowledges that her situation will likely not change.  – Full Story

At the guest house, we give our workers more then your typical pay.  Clarel, one of our workers has chosen to save up and go to school for being a bank teller.  It’s tremendously exciting to be able to see hope in a situation where so many people don’t have this incredible opportunity.

Yesterday, Clarel had to type a paper for his homework.  He has never used a computer before.  He didn’t grow up learning to type, learning to google for finding information.  Instead, he was searching the keyboard for letter the apostrophe and the letter “s”. The enter key and backspace were foreign and he had a hard time understanding how the backspace deleted letters before the cursor.  These are all things that I take for granted.  We grew up learning and using computers.

Lucienne, as mentioned in the article above, has hope for the future. She dreams that her boys will grow up, have good jobs, and take care of her.  I couldn’t help but think, maybe Clarel is one of those kids that will grow up with an opportunity that previously wasn’t available to him, his parents or his grandparents.

Clarel doesn’t know if a job will be available after he is finished, he doesn’t know stats on the upcoming best job in Haiti, but he hopes.

Di m’ ki sa ou renmen, m’a di ou ki moun ou ye

Tell me what you love, and I’ll tell you who you are ~ Your priorities shape your character.

A great verse to reflect on as we go through hard times.  Troy recently posted this verse using the message bible.  Really liked it.

James 1:2-8 (The Message)

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

“A man full of hope will be full of action.” – Thomas Brooks