Of course, as so often is the case, the conversation somehow worked its way back to January 12, 2010 - that fateful day in Haiti when the "goudougoudou" delivered its utter devastation at 4:53pm in a mere 30 seconds. Locals use the term goudougoudou to describe the sounds the earth made: "goo-doo-goo-doo" (repeat, over and over) while their world literally crumbled around them. For my two friends, they were at home. She was pregnant with their first child, busy, preparing dinner where so many Haitians do: Outside. He was in the house, sitting on the bed folding clothes.
They each described their experience to me. For her, it was terrifying but less dangerous as she found the safety of the outdoors. For him, he describes with great detail and animation how the wall behind him folded over and somehow struck only his right foot, he scurried out of the house just moments before it collapsed in on itself. They survived. Their child was born in to an entire new Haiti...
As we know, an estimated 300,000 Haitians did not survive. Hundreds of foreigners died, too, including Britney Gengel, three of her fellow classmates, and two Lynn University professors. Britney's text message to her mother a mere 3 hours before the quake would be her lasting mark upon the world which so violently shook on a Tuesday afternoon, on a tiny island in the Caribbean; forever changing the lives of millions in just one half of one minute.
If you haven't ever looked at a map of Haiti with the epicenter denoted and the zones affected by the quake, it's really quite incredible. Indeed, the effects of the quake reached far beyond the city of Léogâne, both quite literally in damage, destruction, and lives torn apart - but also in bringing together nations of the world in a concerted effort to provide relief in every form possible. When I saw these images on television in January of 2010, never once did I think the broken earth in Haiti would change my life. I imagine our hundreds of volunteers, our thousands of donors, never thought it would change their lives, either...
Yet here we are, four years later. In building Be Like Brit and in honoring Britney's last wish, the Gengel Family has built a memorial that will withstand any future goudougoudou or siklon (hurricane). A memorial that brings hope to the children it serves; that will employ over 50 people who will then be able to feed their families; which will ultimately operate a clinic that will serve a community; which has built 5 earthquake proof homes to date and will build scores more. A memorial that does so much more than just pay tribute to the daughter and sister lost on January 12, 2010, but a memorial that honors a community and a country which lost so much that same day.
While it is important that we remember those who lost their lives and those who lost loved ones, I think it's important that we recognize the good things that have come from such tragedy. I know Len and Cherylann Gengel aren't the only people who have come to Haiti and do God's work - but they are the only people I know who came for the reason they did. I think that's why it's so important to recognize the amazing example that they are - which Be Like Brit is - as unique, in that everything about it has been motivated by love and loss. By Heartache and by Hope. Len and Cherylann are not "international development" people. Haiti was never in their long-term plans. They are parents who have, through their dedication to honor their daughter's legacy changed the face of an entire community in the country which took their daughter from them far too soon.
Last night, I asked my friends while we sat next to the sea that 4 years ago today reeled back in the moments after the quake and sent tsunami waves crashing against that same beach upon which we were eating and enjoying each other's company, "what do Haitians do to mark the date of douz janvye." Their response was simple yet so powerful:
"First we will cry, then we will pray, then we will be happy because we are still alive."
Can you imagine what a world this would be if we could all think this way?
For us, we will indeed pray. We will gather the 38 children who live in the home which was constructed in Brit's memory, and we will gather with our newest group of Britsionarys, who are here in Haiti because they have been moved by the journey that Len and Cherylann and their family have been on. Ironically, like Brit, their journey has in many ways been a Journey of Hope. And they continue to bring hope to the children and the people of Haiti.
We will mark the date and time tomorrow, here in Brit's Orphanage, her dream realized, her legacy honored, her spirit living on through the lives of those thirty-eight children who have brought this building and Brit's legacy to life. We will gather in our chapel, and we will remember. We will cry. And then, we will be thankful.
Let us never forget all those who were lost that day: Stephanie, Christine, Courtney, Britney, and Professors Bruno and Hartwick. The hundreds of thousands of Haitians. The thousands of foreign workers and visitors. Let us never allow those lives to have been take in vain. And let us ask for the strength to continue to Be Like Brit in our every day lives - so that we might be a force for good in the lives of others.
