Cholera and Christmas

It really does not seem like Christmas is less than a week away.  Many years it seems like in the busyness of life Christmas just sort of sneaks up on me, but this year it feels different.  There are a few decorations around here and there, but I would not be surprised if the average US shopping mall has more lights and decorations hangining than all of Haiti.  This past week, when it seemed most days we were taking at least one child for Cholera treatment, it was hard to think about Christmas.

Yet, at some point I did think about Christmas.  The story of the first Christmas after all did not take place under a well lit pine tree, but in a make shift shelter surrounded by animals.  Actually, in Haitit there are many make shift shelters; they are the norm for most of the children attending the school where I work.  The hyms and songs we associate with Christmas were not sung in the manger, instead there were the sounds of cows and the sound of a woman giving birth.  Actually, everday I hear these sounds since the little house I live in is right near the the materity ward of St. Damien's hospital, and I pass cows every morning on my way to the school,(which is also in make shift shelters.)  Maybe the gift for me this Christmas is to recognize the presence of God, in the unexpected places, amongst the animlas I see eating trash in the filed,  in the people for whom we there is no roon in the inn or in anything other than a disingrating tent, in babies born in places that do not seem fit for human habitation, in children who could so easily killed not by a jelous power hungry king, but by preventable diseases like Cholera which spread because people have not taken steps to ensure that all the world has acess to clean drinking water and adaquate sanitation.  I am in a place where hope needs to be born everyday; I can not think of a better place to celbrate the true meaning of Christmas.

 Of course that does not mean there are not or will not be moments when I might be wishing for a more comfortable Christmas with my family, my community, or long time friends, delicious desserts and a place where I can take a warm shower.  Yes, I have moments, like on Wednesday just after Katiana died, and while I was somewhere between the school and the cholera camp, I caught a glimpse of an American Airlines plane which had just taken off from the nearby airport and at least for a few seconds felt a bit jelous of the passangers who were leaving Haiti.  Yet when I stop and reflect, I know that yes this is where I am called to be at this time.  If given the choice I would not really leave right now.  It is truly a gift to believe that at this moment in my life I am in the place where I am called to be.

I hope to write again before Christmas, but in case, I don't Merry Christmas.  May you experience the presence of God both in the places you expect and in the people and places you would least expect to find love, joy and hope.  Many Blessings!