My friend Chrystel

My friend Chrystel is not going to return to Panama. Her body was positively identified yesterday afternoon in Haiti.

I can’t imagine what Eric, her fiancé, is going through and has been through these past few weeks. I can’t imagine what Chrystel went through immediately following the earthquake. I can’t imagine what all of her family and friends are going through around the globe.

I can tell you that it has been uncomfortable for me, but so what. I am a bystander to some extent and if I could do anything to take away any of their pain and suffering I would gladly do so.

Ironically, I only knew Chrystel for about a year. It was a very intense year, but still only a year. She came to Bocas del Toro to work on an USAID project designed to create and implement a destination management organization for the archipelago. She accomplished her goal. She met, fell in love, and was engaged to be married to Eric.

We were smitten with the idea of a destination management organization for Bocas so we began working with Chrystel early in the process. She ran into a fair amount of resistance and encountered more than a fair share of challenges, yet she proceeded. That is the kind of person she was. Dedicated. Stubborn. Giving. Complicated. Real.

She was in Haiti on a similar tourism project. It was just getting started, in fact I believe she had only arrived in Haiti the same day as the earthquake. It isn’t fair, but as we all know, life isn’t fair. She is only one of the people that this natural disaster has taken from us. There are many other people whose lives are forever changed based upon this earthquake.

So what do we do? We remember the lessons we learned from these people. We remember why they crossed our paths. We remember them. We do all of this in whatever way works for us.

Chrystel – I will miss you. I will remember you each year as I light my candle on my birthday cake - January 22 is our shared day. We would not have our fledgling organization (BSTA) if it wasn’t for you. Thank you for crossing my path. Thank you for pushing me to work on these issues. Thank you for being an example to us all.