Mullelly: March 30th 2011

Haiti……

A lot of things come to mind when thinking about this tiny country in the Carribbean.  Earthquake, cholera, poverty, starvation, unemployment, disease, destruction, corruption, and hopelessness come to some peoples minds.  But when Haiti comes to my mind i often think about the beautiful people, the smiles, the emphasis on community, and their unbelievable faith.  Could I have sustained as much as Haitians and still be entrenched in my faith?  I honestly do not have an answer but I do feel as though it would be shaken quite a bit.  The first time I was in Haiti I experienced their love in an unbelievably beautiful way.  I was walking with Justin O’Brien and two of our Haitian friends when we came upon a house in the countryside.  As we came up the road a couple called out to us and asked us to stop by and sit with them for a bit in the shade of some palms.  We quickly obliged and though we didn’t share the language we exchanged smiles and small talk when all of the sudden they offered us food!  The average family in the Northwest territory of Haiti struggles just to feed themselves each day but here was a couple who offered us food…..they offered all they had for us!  I knew at this moment that the people of Haiti were not only a resilient people but they were also a loving people. 

This experience and the countless other loving experiences with the Haitian people have made me fall in love with Haiti.  It is this love that pushes me to constantly learn more about the country and to run.  Haitians give when they have little, I figure this allows me to give when I have a lot.  So please take the time to see how a few people are trying to give their all and see if you’d like to join us.

check out www.runmarkrun.com to see how you can give just a little of just to l