Our morning devotion was centered around the men of Haiti and their lack of respect for women: The Givers of Life. A woman came and hid in the medical stations for two days not wanting to leave for fear of being attacked or beaten. One woman was seen after being beaten over a pair of scissors. Another showed up with a red bloody eye and claimed she walked into the wall but later confessed it was domestic abuse. Her husband has been consistently beating her.

We prayed for the men of Haiti and for God to soften and change their hearts to love and respect their mothers, wives and sisters, etc, and for God to show them how to love and show respect. This change we know won’t happen overnight but we continue to pray.

We’ve seen this lack of respect in the lines of the tent when men would be furious when letting pregnant women be seen first. After opening up in song and prayer there was a peace in the tent and on the line. God faithfully showed up everyday and allowed for a smooth running day. People were asking for bibles daily and wanting to know more about the God we serve. To date it’s been noted that seven people came to Christ. God has a remnant of his people here in Haiti and they will rise up and take their place as the light of Jesus Christ in this country.

“I have a friend who loves me, who loves me, who loves me (x2) He is Jesus!”

The tent city resonated with the beautiful voices of about fifty children who sang this song today. Even the devastation that swept through this nation could not hinder these kids from singing and praising Jesus with such a great joy.

To be honest, I was a bit scared and worried when I was initially assigned to work with children who were waiting while their parents received the medical examination. I always saw myself as someone who does not get along with children that well. Moreover, the kids at the tent city seemed to be too noisy and wild for me to interact with. I took the position out of obedience, but I was nervous before starting the children’s class. So I asked another team member to pray for me that I would not fear and rather have the heart of the Father. While we prayed, the Holy Spirit told us that the short Bible verses and praises that the children will learn during the games we prepared will become the living word that will change these kids and their family. During the prayer, God gave me the faith that Jesus is the living word and He will go to the houses of these children to live with them as they inscribe the words from the Bible on their hearts.  The fear disappeared and I was looking forward to what God will do among these kids.

A local child helped us read the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish in Haitian language. After he finished reading the story, we asked how Jesus fed so many people with such little amount of food. Then a boy who looked about six or seven years old answered, “Jesus prayed to the Father!” When we asked if they believed that Jesus listens to their prayers, each of them shouted back that all things were possible in Him. I was amazed. Despite their torn cloths, lack of food and dirty shelters, they had the simple faith in Jesus. Their childlike faith without any doubt reminded me of why Jesus said that “the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” I was like Philip who was calculating how much money they needed to feed the thousands of people when Jesus told the disciples to give them something to eat. I was thinking of how many churches should commit, and what kind of government system should be adopted to feed these people and to rebuild this city. However, these children had such a pure faith that Jesus can and will feed them and help them despite what they see and experience each day. I pray that God works through the faith of these kids and the remnants of Haiti to save and feed the helpless and the hopeless.

Resilience and Hope

                The earthquake was over a year and a half ago. It seemed a long time. Maybe we can forget about that day and move on now.  But how does one forget when every waking reality is a stark reminder of that day.  Every moment you`re reminded of that day by a place you`ve learned to call home – a shanty with branches connected together to hold the tarp together. In a little corner you have pots and dirt and garbage; that`s your kitchen. On the other corner lies your bed.  Oh wait! What about the memory of that building that fell on you and caused you to be paralyzed from the waist down?!  How CAN you forget that day?!!

                I had the privilege to render care to one such lady.  She`s wheelchair bound with a stage III to IV bedsore which covered her whole sacral area and a foley catheter that was two months old.  I gave care the best I could and changed her foley catheter, with the most sterile technique i can provide given the location. 

                I thought I was pouring out to her with all the love that I knew how.  Little did I know that God sent me there so SHE can pour into me and teach me a lesson or two.

                She was one of the most beautiful women I ever met in Haiti.  She glowed when she smiled, and that she did a lot.  In fact, she was always smiling! Her resilience to keep living despite everything that`s happened to her was so humbling, I almost felt unworthy of caring for her with what I had to offer. She was inspiring. And when I was done and the prayer and word of encouragement was given to her, she spoke.  Although in Creole, I completely understood what she said: “God is my healer and He gave you the skills so you can take care of me but every glory is unto God!”

                Resilience and Hope – they exist here in Haiti.  Jesus exists here in Haiti.

When you were 14 years old, what was the most prevailing insecurity you had about yourself?

Take a minute or however long it takes to allow God to take you back to that place.

This blog is not going anywhere. And if you skip over this part of what you are reading, you render the remainder of it obsolete as far as you’re concerned. No you’re not too old, those memories are buried there somewhere. He will take you there if you let Him. So I cannot stress the importance of this point any more than I have already.

Think.

With that in mind, let me introduce you to Fabien. I met her on the triage line of the medical clinic we setup yesterday in Delmas 75 in Port-au-Prince.  She’s about 5’9 tall, 100 pounds with sharp bones poking from her joints and a very distinctively dark shade around the circumference of her eyes.  Fabien is a very soft spoken 14 year old. I asked her why she came to visit the doctor this morning. She responded “tet fe mal, vant fe mal” (which is to say headache and stomach ache) but before she could utter her next words her sister standing directly behind her said, “lap buy manti, le la pou dan yo” (which is to say she`s lying, she`s here for those teeth of hers).  Embarrassed, Fabien immediately turned around and began to chase her sister, hitting her as she laughed and ran away.  Later that day while I was in the pharmacy, Fabien approached me and asked me if I can do her a favour. I asked her what is it and she asked for a toothbrush and toothpaste found in one of the care packages we were giving to our patients.  I gladly gave her a care package.

The following day, which is today, I was glad to see Fabien on the triage line again. It was almost like I knew her personally. I smiled at her and she smiled very shyly back but we did not speak at all, I simply wrote down her symptoms and moved on. Ironically at different points throughout the day she would pop up in my eye’s view and look at me with that shy smile that covered her teeth. I would simply smile back at her and keep working.

Then as we were wrapping up the night I was talking to one of the doctors and she began to mention a young lady who she sent to see a doctor for HIV testing.  She told me that the young lady had all the glaring symptoms of an HIV patient.  I was shocked to see it was Fabien, standing lonely in her usual corner by the tent, that she was referring to.  I didn’t want to believe the report.  I asked Fabien, “ou kouche avec neg?” (Which is to ask “Are you having sex?”).  She said no. I asked again. She said no again. But I knew in my heart she was not telling the truth. The reality of where I was began to settle on me. As we asked Fabien questions she began to open up to us.  The problem was much bigger than we thought. Fabien`s mother was dead and she has never met her father. She was living with a friend in a local tent. The likelihood that that Fabien had been sexually abused is very high.  We prayed for Fabien and in those moments she received Christ as her Lord and Saviour.

What I witnessed God do in those few minutes was absolutely amazing! I literally saw the Holy Spirit move in her heart and touch those broken and hurt places she would allow no one to enter. By the end of the day I saw her reveal a smile from ear to ear so bright that it lit up my heart. She was not conscious of her teeth. Fabien was set free!

Won`t you let God do the same for you?

God sees our hurt and all the pain from our past. He wants to heal you. But in order to do so, He has to take you back to that place. It’s like going to the dentist, you know it’s going to hurt but it’s necessary. Besides, your heavenly Father will be right there with you the entire way holding your hand.

Team and Pastors on Sunday at a local Haitian church

Have Faith

“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world.  You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:” Deuteronomy 28:1-2

Today our team attended a Haitian church, full and overflowing with many people singing praises to our glorious Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  The pastor spoke out of Deuteronomy 28:1-14, and encouraged the congregation to have confidence in the faithfulness of the God of Jacob, to have faith, and to believe in God for the miraculous.  The pastor stressed that we serve a God that is more than able to accomplish the big and little things in our lives and also big things in this world. We sang “you are my strength when I am weak, you are the treasure that I seek, you are my all in all.” The translation meant that “you are my strength when my heart is broken”.  The land of Haiti has been broken, and we see God miraculously drawing people to himself.

Later on in the afternoon we were able to set up our first clinic in a tent city. The tent was full of children and energy, glad to be seen by medical professionals who could provide much needed care. The children were excited to see us!   We were able to service children with anti-worm medication which will assist them in the fight against stomach illness.  One of our team members taught the children a story of Jesus who raised the dead to life.  Tomorrow we will go back to the same tent city and await to see how God will meet his people.