Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Bless the Children


We received the sad news today that 10-year-old Dieula Jean Charles perished in the earthquake. Dieula was one of the people that our friend Mary Hurley travelled to Port-au-Prince to look for.

A few years ago, Dieula came to St. Louis for heart surgery, thanks to the efforts of Mary and her friend Marie. They worked so hard on Diuela's behalf because they loved her and knew that she deserved to have her heart repaired. The operation was a success, and Dieula returned to Haiti a healthy little girl. As Mary's sister who is keeping us updated on Mary's work in Haiti wrote,

"The pain in Mary's voice could be felt across the miles and miles of telephone lines and there really were no words of comfort I could offer her. Her hope is that Dieula did not suffer. I know we all share that hope."

In a later e-mail, we learned that Dieula probably died quickly. Her mother and siblings survived. What grief they are feeling. The enormous suffering that exists in Haiti today is hard to fathom.

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