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The Haiti earthquake of Jan. 12, may very well be the single worst disaster that I can remember in recent memory.  Not only are  over 110,000 dead, but the UN has estimated over 600,000 have been left homeless and both numbers could and probably will rise.  This is epic not because of the numbers – which are comparable to the 2004 tsunami in Thailand/Indonesia, but because of the percentage of the population that this disaster has affected.  In 2004, the tsunami only affected those along the coast.  This hasn’t just weakened Haiti — it’s decimated the country.  Had the earthquake been even a little higher, it’s very possible there wouldn’t even be a Haiti.  Haiti before the earthquake was the western hemisphere’s poorest country, with most people living on less than $1 per day.

Over the past 11 days as I’ve watched the news — and CNN should win some kind of award for disaster coverage because they have far and away out-covered all of the other networks . . . combined.   But as I have watched, I have asked myself the questions that must be going through every Haitian’s mind — how do I start my life over with nothing?  How do I live without family members who were killed?  How will our country ever recover?

Then I think about how much we as Americans complain about the smallest inconveniences in our lives.  I remember getting angry just this past Tuesday when my car got a flat tire or how I’ve been fighting a cold.  I’m sure you can think of things too that are insignificant to the questions the average Haitian is asking themselves today.

And while many of us will give money or later on volunteer for relief work there in rebuilding Haiti, I believe we need to do much more than that.  We need to get over ourselves and our inward focus.  It’s not about us or about making ourselves feel good for helping needy people.   The earthquake in Haiti is a reminder of how blessed we are in this country and how posh our lives are.  It doesn’t matter the problems we are facing — we all have a place to lay our heads down, people that love us and food to eat.  That is something not all Haitians today have.  I’m sure there are children who lost both parents, siblings and are now orphaned.  Compared to Haiti, America is a fattened cow and probably just as ignorant as one too towards the world around us.   People in Washington keep searching for answers on how to turn this down economy around. Well here’s a suggestion – we need to get back to being a more simplistic society, with a family-centered focus one that pays attention to our kids schooling, that makes more time to spend with friends, with God and one where political allegiance isn’t like religion but just an opinion.  If we do that, we may not end up as the richest nation, but we’ll be a much happier and content one.  We are drowning ourselves in discontentment and tricking ourselves into thinking there must be something more to be had.  And there is, but not in the latest iPod or cell phone or flat screen TV or video game or exotic vacation — it’s in Jesus, in the God who is the only quench to our thirst.   When are we going to drink it up America?

As I sit in the home of my friends Woody and Su preparing to head back to Colorado, I reflect on the wonderful week God has given me here in Costa Rica.   I thank all of you for your prayers, I have been kept safe all week and had some good times of fellowship with the team members here – making new friends and visiting people I met at the Latin America conference in Ecuador last year.

The weather did clear up on Thursday and stayed nice the whole weekend.  Today however things are cloudy and rainy again.  I guess I’ve come full circle.  I got to visit the nearby city of Heredia, the capital of the Heredia province where San Isidro is (and the I-Teams campus is located).  I also got to tour downtown San Jose, which everyone says is quite possibly the ugliest city in Latin America.  I must say there’s not much special about it and it has a high theft rate that would rival any city in the region.

If I could ask for your prayers, I do have a tough decision to make.  In meeting with one of the team leaders – Mark, he encouraged me to focus most of my energy on either computer support or university ministry and then do the other on the side so I actually can make a difference in one of those areas rather than make mediocre contributions.  For those of you that know me well, I have a passion for both computers and university ministry so it will be hard but I believe he’s right.  One thing Mark also has told me is that I should commit to four years here.  Since I feel my body is longing for some stability right now, I think I will take that advice too, regardless of what I decide.

I’ve also been struck this week as Woody and Su have been following the events in Haiti.  This in my opinion is probably the worst disaster in the world since the tsunami that hit Indonesia/Thailand in 2004.  It will take years to rebuild Haiti, but hopefully the people will learn from this and work to better their nation.  Still, it’s a stark reminder of the forces of nature.  San Isidro lies in the shadow of two active volcanoes – Irazu and Turrialba, both a mere 13 miles away and the country of Costa Rica lies in one of the most active earthquake zones in the world, so it has been a reminder for us as well of what could happen, though building codes here are much stricter.