By VANESSA McCRAY
TRAVERSE CITY -- Melinda Nelson traveled to a place of desperation and destruction and found joy and hope.
Nelson, who lives near Honor, returned from a post-earthquake trip to Haiti and plans to go back this month. She's a worldwide traveler driven by her Christian faith to help the poor and pray for the needy. In Haiti, she prayed with Haitians, brought food, water and some medical supplies and worked with an orphanage.
"It is devastating, but if you really wanted to summarize what you saw or felt or what most struck you was the joy and hope," Nelson said.
Before leaving for Haiti, Nelson connected with a woman from Haiti who came to Traverse City after the earthquake to stay with friends. The woman's husband remained in Haiti. When Nelson heard about a Record-Eagle story detailing the Haitian family's experience she said she met up with the woman. The two shopped for supplies, and Nelson delivered them to the husband when she went to Haiti.
Nelson loves "linking up people." She has traveled to about 60 countries and worked in disaster areas such as India after the tsunami rocked that country. She connects with various organizations and mission groups when she travels, which can be for several months or several weeks. She relocated to northern Michigan when she married her husband, a stonemason, about six years ago.
Friends, family and others in the community sent donations so she could go to Haiti. She had been before, loved the country and wanted to return but had felt like God wanted her to wait for the right moment. That time came after the earthquake hit.
"It wasn't a given, but I prayed and asked God, 'I'm willing to go, and are you going to send me?'" she said.
The answer was yes. Her husband was committed to work here, but Nelson arrived in Haiti in early February. She spent about two weeks in Port-au-Prince, Leogane and other areas. The scene was devastating. She learned that the piles of rocks on roads covered dead bodies. The "massive graves" placed directly "in the middle of the road" were sobering sites, she said.
Nelson led a prayer team whose focus was to pray with people who wanted that support. They also brought food and supplies. The Haitians she prayed with wanted to draw closer to God amid the shambles and expressed hope that the country could turn around its corrupt government, she said.
But much work remains to be done, and Haiti still needs help, Nelson said. When she returns, she will go to an orphanage where she has established relationships. The pastor who runs the orphanage detailed some of their needs, and Nelson has been working to assist them.
"There is so much hope in that nation. Part of me going back is because God is at work there," Nelson said. "He's rebirthing a nation right now. It is historic... . I want to stand with the people, and they definitely want people to stand with them."
