Preface:
All these events occured no more then 48 hours prior to the time i wrote them down here(in my journal). I did this purposefully in an attempt to recollect all the events more vividly. Even so, this account is by no means an exhaustive record of the week in haiti. this is more in the line of my personal highlights day by day, and some reflection on those events. To those who were on the Haiti team, PLEASE feel FREE to add any personal accounts or stories or thoughts in the comments section.
Thankyou, enjoy, and Soli Deo Gloria.
DAY 1 Haiti 6-13 2010
As thunder murmurs in the distance, a refreshing sprinkle of rain begins to soothe my sticky skin. The Humidity is incredible. Little did i know, but this sprinkling was only a prequel to the rain of the Spirit that was about to fall. At this time i was sitting on the stairs talking to one of our intrepreters Davidson, getting acquainted, small talk. All of a sudden, i hear a most familiar tune. We are housed on the second floor, and the singing is coming from the first floor. Being the first day in haiti, nobody on our team really knows the Pastor (at whose house we are staying) or his family, or the correct protocol for really any interaction with them. However, as i began to recognize the tune and as i began to hear voices raised in worship, a pull that i cannot deny draws me to go in and join them. The song was "It is Well With my Soul" and it was being sung by a group of about 20 haitian christians.
At first i stood outside the door singing along in english...eventually one man insisted that i join in and sit with them. Immediately tears began to flow. I could not hold them back. No matter how hard i tried. The fact that these haitian beleivers could sing "it is well with my soul" with more conviction then anyone i have ever heard was overwhelming to me. The Holy Spirit was in the room without a doubt. We continued to sing other songs, a few of which i did not know, but i picked up the words and the melody and sang along as best i could. The tears continued as the global body of Christ became a reality before my own eyes. After singing we all prayed and praised the Lord in our own native tounge. IT was beautiful. With the intrepeter Davidson at hand, salutations were given from our group to the church and vice versa. We all introduced ourselves, there was a benediction, and the Lord was blessed. Then i ran to my pen- where i am now- to account for this Holy Ghost event asap.
-Its been less then 24 hours in Haiti and im already amazed at God and his Love and his church. I look forward to the upcoming week.
DAY 2 Haiti 6-14-2010
-The nights sleep wasnt as bad as i anticipated (sleeping on the hard floor with only a thin mat and nothing else). I was awakened at 4 am by the sound of the church people downstairs worshipping. 4 AM! Here in haiti the sun rises at ~4:30 AM. When i reawoke at 6, the sun had been smiling for hours. Not something im used to.
Had a "debrief" meeting with the team and a session of "listening prayer" to see what God had planned for our group this day. Then we split up and went out in groups of about 5-7 people to meet the community. We(my small group) stopped by approximately 15-20 residences walking through the dirt streets and alleyways. Met and prayed with about 50 people. We had intrepeter Davidson and chruch member Mark with us. Mark knew some people in the community and was very helpful. Everywhere we went we were invited in. The hospitality displayed to us was phenomenal. In the USA, youre lucky if someone opens the door long enough for you to rattle off who you are and that "no im not asking for your money". The Haitians we encountered possess a resiliency and and a self-pride, but also a humility that is impressive.
Today was a day of following Gods lead and seeing Him work. We went out from 9 till 12 and then after lunch untill 4:30.
Played soccer with a group of kids. I squirted them with my waterbottle (they loved it).
The Haitian christian truly understands the significance and value of prayer. In the USA, I and many other christians, i fear, do not value and see prayer as we should. One man was so thankful that we came to pray with him, and he asked us to come back everyday to pray with him. They truly see it as a gift more then any material thing AND they believe in prayer.
We prayed healing over a womans extremely swollen knee. We prayed for a woman who wanted to be serious in her faith and be 100% honest with God.
We put a smile on the faces of countess men women and children and showed them the love of Christ. And it was returned to us. All in 1 day!! As we debriefed together at the end of the day a flamenco guitarist played out in the dark street(no power tonight). IT was incredibly beautiful. Someone joined the guitar in creole rap and later a drummer. As i am immersed in an outpouring of Gods love, as well as the rhythm and richness of this culture, i find myself falling into love with these children of the King. We shall see what tomorrow holds....
DAY 3 Haiti 6-15-2010
Title: "the end at the begining"
Worship service at the church of Pastor David Douchard.
(as i write it is 10:00 pm and there is soo much to write about...Lord help me to remember everything)
Jakob has been requested to preach his first ever sermon for 100 plus haitian church members. CRAZY COOL. Right after the service started, the rain came down in epic fashion.
"torrential downpour"
"like a waterfall"
" a deluge"
"like in Free Willy when his tank was broken open"
[those are an assortment of diferent descriptions of the rain by team members]
But as the rain seeped throught the tarps covering the outdoor section of the church where we were all seated, it became clear that we needed to move the service inside. However, there was no interruption of the worship. The coming of the rain only caused the haitian worshippers, and us in turn, to sing louder and with more fervor. It really was as if God had opened the floodgates of heaven and let his power, love and spirit rain down on haiti and all of us, in that moment.
[here the normal journal flow is interrupted to bring you an account of a side story that occured over some days]
Title: The Moon Reflect His Light
--the Luna Miracle--
On monday, one team encountered a 19 yr old girl named Luna who was married to a spirit(the warrior spirit agu). She said that the team could come back later to speak with her about Jesus. [she made it clear that she hated the spirit, that it hurt her and caused her to do things that she could remember after being posessed. the spirit would come and go.] On tuesday, in the afternoon, a group consisting of our aim leader Branden, team member Cindy(who had first encountered Luna the day before), Pastor Douchard, and some of his church team were set to go and speak with Luna. I was able to tag along at the last minute.
[God Note]: the Brazil v. N. Korea game of the World Cup was on that afternoon, so EVERYONE was watching the game- Haitians are HUGE Brazil fans. The group going to speak with Luna was planning to leave at ~3 which was during the game. For some reason the mission was delayed until 4 when the game was over. If we had gone during the game chances are high that Luna would have a)not been at home but with some friends watching the game or b)watching the game and uninterested in talking with us and missing the game. As it was, the group arrived at her house right after the game ended [GO_D timing]. Plus Brazil won so everyone was in good spirits. Back to the story.
We arrived at Luna's house. She invited us in and she sat down as we all gathered around her. In her eyes i saw a fear and a desperation to be free. Cindy (who has a daughter of 19 years) also began to minister to Luna and this was very effective. Luna was very receptive the entire time. Cindy shed tears sympathizing with Luna-a beautiful girl, subjected to demon activity, and bound to an evil spirit that she hated. Luna said that she desired to accept Jesus into her heart. The pastor then asked her a multitude of questions to test the sincerity of the desire she expressed. He explained to her that she would experience persecution for Christ's sake, even from her family, and that she cannot forsake God or else the demon would return even more powerfully. THROUGH ALL THIS SHE REMAINED FIRM IN HER DECISION. As tears of joy blurred my vision, she took the ring symbolizing her union with the demon and gave it to the pastor. She also burned the relics that the demon had prompted her to buy in honor of him. As she knelt to receive Christ into her now free but vacant heart, she looked up and her eyes met mine for a split second. In that moment i saw a new person. No longer was there fear and despair and desperation, but excitement, anticipation, and joy as she was taking the first step into her new life with Christ.
-there is no greater joy on this earth then to see a soul set free from the bondage of sin and satan. It is paramount only to the joy that Luna must have felt at the moment she realized her freedom.-
"No longer was she the moon caught in the darkness of night. She was now the moon reflecting, eclipsed, and illuminated by the [son]light of Life, shedding that Light in a land that is trapped in the darkness of night."
This is only the beginning of Luna's story.
Now back to Jakes sermon later that evening. When i arrived at church i saw that Luna was not there. Doubt immediately flooded my mind as to whether her conversion was real. "OH YE OF LITTLE FAITH!" She walked in about 20 minutes later. When she saw Cindy, her smile was priceless. Due to the rain we moved the service inside. When Jake preached from Eph 6 on the full armor of God it was as if God said to me, "never doubt me again" because this was exactly what Luna needed and what i needed. The armor of God to combat the devil. Jake had no previous knowledge of Luna's conversion, but God did. Since that day every chance that Luna has had to be in the house of God or in fellowship with Gods people, she has been there, radiant with joy. God chose her before time, a daughter of the King. Hallelujah!
Later that evening i met with the pastor and his wife along with my dear brothers Abram and LouLou. The pastor knew Spanish!! My growing frustration with the language barrier was alleviated for a time as we were able to converse pretty effectively in spanish. What a blessing. Pastor David, im learning, is a true Man of God, drawing very strong similarities to my pastor back in Davis CA. He preaches the Word in an uncompromising fashion, shows great love and concern for his flock; a true servant. If at all possible i hope to establish contact between my church and the Pastor Douchard's church here in Carrefour. I feel an almost familial connection to the pastor, his wife, and family. This is not helped by the fact that they treat me as such.
DAY 4 Haiti 6/17/2010
We visited an orphanage. About 70-80 kids from 2 month old infants to teenagers- all of them orphans. I cannot offer them a home, but i can make them laugh and smile, so that is what i did while making sure that i told them "Jesu teime" (jesus loves you). I saw the love of Christ displayed through everyone in our team as went into this place that smelled terrible, was extremely hot, and could have depressed some. Instead it was a joyous and very sweaty time. When we left i made it a point to avoid saying goodbye personally to kids because i knew it would be to hard for me.
Over the next three days we were able to do more prayer walks into the community and conduct some follow up visits with folks that we had met the first day.
We went and prayed again with the brother who had requested for us to return. He was very moved. His name was Gerard Belizair, and we prayed with him for one of his children that did not yet know Jesus Christ. On thursday and friday, we did a VBS type event at Pastor Douchards church. Cindy worked closely with the head of childrens ministries from the church to put on a good event for the kids. Good is an understatement. With more then 100 kids on one of the days and about 85 on the other. Where it could have gotten totally out of control, cindy(with the aid of out interpreters) kept things going. IT was great for the kids, they all had a blast, and most importantly they all heard about the love of Jesus Christ. Returning to the orphanage had different effects on different people. Whereas some were purposely more removed in an effort to view the big picture of Haiti, the grand scheme of things, (as highlighted by the majestic view from the top of the orphanage) others, (myself included), had different reactions. I allowed myself to become more attached with the boys and girls on the second visit. Leaving them was very very hard.
Leaving on the morning of Saturday June 19th was also tough. But it had to happen and it all happened very quickly, there almost wasnt time for goodbyes. But i squeezed in as many as i could, some with a promised return because i feel i must go back at some point. The week flew by but it was jampacked with adventure, faith, miracles, and fun.
Reflections: Looking back on the trip as a whole, including the months leading up to the trip, i find a common thread. It may seem cliche, but everything fit together, etched by the hand of God. Many things that i encountered in haiti dont make sense without God. Many things i encountered in haiti would be hopeless BUT FOR God. And the crazy thing is that the haitians that i spent time with, that i grew fond of and that i miss, THEY will be the first ones to tell you that. They are a people of profound faith, based on the promises of God. I have almost taken more from them, in a way, then i went to give. (In terms of spiritual lessons, and lessons in love. The material things dont matter, its what one man does for his fellow man, and why he does it that matters. My trip to Haiti reinforced that in my mind. Even now a week removed from my trip, my thoughts on the whole thing are almost too much to be put down on paper or typed out. God is real. God is active. God is love. I would like to close this portion with the interpreted lyrics to a creole christain song.
"the grace of the Lord is so large and unexplainable and inunderstandable even to the angels, the angels cannot understand, the grace, the love that God has for us. thats why i cannot stop singing, HOSANNA, HOSANNA! I am more then victorious!"
The sound of haitian voices raised to the heavens with zealous abandon will forever dwell in my memory along with countless images and lessons that i learned while in Haiti doing God's work.
