Hope Rising in Moriane!

Maude and (myself) Marci on a recent work trip.

We heard about the need for water in a Haitian village of Moraine and decided to go see for ourselves what the water situation was. Our good friend Sandi and I bumped along a narrow dirt road with a cloud of dust trailing behind us. When we arrived at the small church building we asked the Pastor Didro and the group of people that had gathered there how they got their water.

They proceeded to take us on a half-mile walk on a narrow path, down a steep hill to the river. As we walked along we could see that the river was completely dry except for a few patches of moss-covered sludge where some wild animals were drinking. We looked expectantly for answers as to how the people were surviving with such a dry river; then we noticed a group of people gathered under a tree. As we approached we were amazed at what we saw; a tiny spring with about an inch of water, at the very bottom of a deep hole. The reality of the situation hit me: this inch deep hole was the only water source for a community of over 5,000 Haitian people!

One young girl was down in the hole filling a swallow plate-size container of water and handing it up to another young girl who was standing at the top. This girl would then dump the plate of water into a bucket. Because it was the dry season they took extra precaution to lower the plate carefully as not to disturb the water and cause dirt to cloud it. We learned through the interpreter, who spoke to the girls at the spring, that it takes about 100 plates to fill one bucket and four buckets to fill their container of water to carry back to their family.

This painstaking process reminded me again of how difficult life is in Haiti – and how courageous the people are there. With tears in our eyes we knew immediately that a well had to be drilled here. We started the drilling process as soon as we could, and one month later and the efforts were still unsuccessful. Three different attempts were made to reach water and all failed to provide this vital resource.

We were heartbroken.

If any village needed water, it was this one. We prayed for months and eventually received word that the drilling company went back again and surprisingly struck water. The man who drilled the well said it was a miracle of God! The well is at the church property and draws people throughout the week and allows the church to maintain the well. The community is overwhelmed with gratitude to God!

In our rejoicing we are reminded that every day people all over Haiti and around the world walk for miles and spend hours to get enough water just to survive. May we never take for granted the gifts God has provided us and may we continue to pray for those in need of the most basic necessities.

This well is dedicated in remembrance of RG Boeyink beloved father and grandfather. John 7:38 says, “ Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”