"And There Will Be Earthquakes in Various Places"

When the disciples asked Jesus what would be the sign of his coming and of the end of the age (where was the lawyer who should have objected to that compound question!), Jesus responded in part by saying, "And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginning of sorrows." Mark 13:8. Flying into Port Au Prince in a puddle jumper enabled us to get a bird's eye view of the destruction from the January earthquake. It was a subtle reminder that this earthquake was the "beginning of sorrows."

On our first night aboard the ship, a man who spoke English asked me if the earthquake was God's judgment on Haiti. "No, I doubt that," I told the man, "but the Bible talks about there being earthquakes in various places in the end times. So I believe that this earthquake was probably God's wake up call to Haiti. So I suggest that you heed it." The man then translated my comments to a pastor.

I thought the man was a Christian, but I later learned that he was not a Christian, and that he had despised anyone who said that the earthquake was God's judgment upon Haiti.

At any rate, after a couple hours delay (a bird flew into the cockpit, so they were trying to get it out), we finally took off and landed back in Miami. We left behind true poverty, a natural disaster, extreme heat, and lots of mosquitoes, but gained a new found love for the people of Haiti. We hope to return again, preferably sooner rather than later, for we want to make a difference, even if for only one child.