One of the first questions I was asked when I returned from Haiti last week was “How much progress has been made in the reconstruction?” The answer is complex. While much has been done to clean up and rebuild following last year’s earthquake, much more remains to be done. The enormous loss of life and crippling injuries will permanently affect all of Haiti’s people, and the underlying poverty makes these natural disasters even more devastating. But what I found pervasive in Haiti was hope!
 
Hope is the resource that looks beyond the immediate need and sees the possibility of a brighter future.  
 
The eight men on our team worked on the Center of Hope in Bayonnais, building the forms in preparation for pouring the concrete roof, which will also be the second-story floor. We witnessed such hope in the eyes of the school children.
When we finished our work, they climbed on top of the building and played on the concrete forms and supports, laughing with joy and excitement. They were full of hope as they saw the work progressing on their school and church building.