Busy people wave and shout from the shore of the swift but calm river to the waterway of boaters passing by. The River is colored like emerald and inviting. The luscious body of water provides food for the people of the boat and physical meals for the people of the shore. 
Day after day, because the river has always been this way, there seems no need for drastic measures. The boaters don’t feel much need to change course. But a few caring people holding the map of the river who stand on the shore of solid ground know otherwise. The shore people seem rigid and harsh at times with their statements of surety of impending doom for boaters. The boaters speak of their rights to stay on their comfortable boats. Most shore people implore these boat travelers with kindness and great patience every day, knowing that the Mapmaker has spoken and does not change the rules of the river.
There is a proven Rope always dangling down to rescue those who see the need for rescue. Shore people have used this Rope, but it is of the Spirit and unseen. An equally important function of the Rope is to take us to the Mapmaker. This Rope can’t be seen until it does its saving work, so it is with disdain that the boaters reject this invisible reality. Because the Rope is of another place, the boat people joke about the rope and the Map and the Mapmaker.
The Mapmaker encourages and helps the people of the shore to keep going and telling boaters, despite their response. The map had foretold of many who want neither the Rope nor the shore but only the boat they have made to keep themselves afloat. This boat absolutely will not float for all time! The map clearly says these boats will be destroyed and the person will die if they continue with their own boat. They can’t see or hear the crashing of the eternal waterfall ahead. It’s a waterfall of terror and pain. False perceptions and ways of the boat taught previously have deceptively held the boat people to this dangerous course. The river is long for some, shorter for others, but the time it takes to arrive happens so fast; too fast.
As time goes on, sometimes even people on the safe shore begin to wonder if there is truly a waterfall. The boat people seem so happy, so carefree. But those who really know the Mapmaker know that He is Good, speaks only the truth, and His plans are not to harm with river, but to save them from it. This is why we do what we do. There are people who are ready to listen, and we want to tell them about the Mapmaker’s love and Rope to deliver. The boaters in Haiti speak a different language, but they listen readily and often have heard about a Rope. It’s our job to encourage them to grab Life with all their heart! Acts 27:44b “And so it was that all were brought safely to *shore*.” (My emphasis)