The Novelist and the House of Death

I went downtown yesterday. Into the heart of Port-au-Prince. I went to meet a man who is a novelist and wants to make a movie of one of his novels. My friend Josue came along because I’m still not able to navigate the tap-tap system by myself. Also, Paul my earthquake brother who is staying at House of Hope came along as well.

We met Johame and discussed his novel. He is also the chief of information services at the General Hospital. We asked for a tour and he gave us one I’ll never forget. The suffering in Haiti seems to know no bounds. We passed through rooms of the sick, injured and the dying. Then he said we were going to the morgue. At first I thought he was joking, but soon I realized he wasn’t. I didn’t want to go there, but I felt I must. What’s a Haitian morgue like? Heaps, piles, stacks and mounds. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. And babies, babies, babies.

I thought of this verse: “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.” Ecclesiastes 7:2

Have you thought about death recently? In the States it’s easy to forget about it. We can distract ourselves with so many things. I know people who have never seen a dead body. You can’t escape death in Haiti. It’s here every day. It’s all around you. Just as the verse says we should take it to heart. Have you thought about death? Have you thought about your eternal destiny lately?

If you haven’t there is only one thing you can do. And that is to put your trust in Jesus Christ as your savior. The Lord offers salvation as a free gift and he wants no one to go to Hell.

I’m convinced you can see anything in Haiti. Mansions next to destroyed buildings. Soccer being played in the street next to a soccer field filled with tents. Naked people standing next to men in business suits. A little girl stamping her feet in a puddle of her own blood as her mother pours water into a gash on her head. Anything.