Ocmulgee River @ Giles Ferry
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Newspaper article about Haiti
So, Diane Glidewell from the local paper where I live, the Jackson Progress-Argus, wrote a super nice article about missions in Haiti and made me sound like a saint. I am not, just in case anyone was wondering, but I do want to place a link to the article here, http://www.mycountypaper.com/jacksonprogress-argus/headlines/Flovilla_man_drawn_to_needs_in_Haiti_119741229.html , and should anyone wish to contribute in any way, you can email me at scott.chewning@gmail.com. Thank you
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Haiti Missions, Round 2
I want to tell you a story. It’s true. You see, God has shown me that He can do anything. In fact, He can do it with flawed people that are spiritually inept and striving to do “stuff for Jesus”. He can use those of us that have “missed the point”, are marginalized, not relevant, misunderstood sometimes and understood completely. God can use us when He wants and, in all truth, He will do what He wants, when He wants, in spite of who is in the way or willing to be used. This is one of those stories.
After going to Haiti, Easter week of 2010, Ricardo Theodore, Dany Theodore, and I understood that we were going back – I believe, until we die. The Theodore’s want to go permanently to Haiti after some further medical education and training for Dany, and I just want to go back. It is all tied together. Christy, my wife, is supportive in these efforts and in her words, “part of our role in the mission is to help them get there permanently.” I concur, with the addendum, “and we will help them permanently.” The first trip was amazing; this second trip blew me out of the water. We prayed and had requested prayer on three particular items prior to our departure. One, that the Holy Spirit would work prior to our arrival and prepare hearts to hear the gospel, two, that we would meet the people we needed to meet in order to network in Haiti so we may reach Cayemite and Pestel with help (supplies of food/water/medicines, etc.) on a long-term basis, and third, protection while travelling and from anyone wishing us harm.
A week out from leaving it was impressed upon me that we needed $1000 extra dollars. So, I did what every good Christian does and I went to Face Book on Thursday evening about 6:45 and posted a status line that said, “We need $1000 for our trip to Haiti sometime before we leave for Haiti on Monday morning.” Nothing happened Thursday or Friday until late when I had a friend call and say that she was going to talk with her husband. On Saturday morning, I had a lady drive into my driveway with a check. Another friend called and had me drop by for a check and I was told to drop in elsewhere and pick up two checks. By Saturday at 11:55 I had deposited or cashed $1100 in the mission account (5 minutes before the banks closed) and my status line request had been granted. God is good.
Sunday afternoon, after the morning church services had come to an end, I received notification that the flight to Miami enroute to Port a Prince had been cancelled due to inclement weather approaching. Quickly, we rearranged flights and flew out Sunday evening to Miami. Again, God was gracious, and some of Dany Theodore’s extended family allowed us to stay overnight at their home. On Monday, we flew out to PAP on time.
About a month prior to the trip I had reserved a vehicle to use in driving around Haiti. It was reserved with an American Express card. The good news was that they had that vehicle for us, the bad news, they would not use that same card to actually pay for the rental of the vehicle. So, after lengthy negotiations, the use of an irate Frenchman’s cell phone to contact my bank, and more than one threat to walk out – we utilized my debit card, and $1000 cash to rent the car for the week. Amazing, no wonder I needed that extra money. God knew what He was doing even if I did not. God is so good.
We started our travel by piling into a Daihatsu Terios. It’s size is comparable to a Ford Escape with half of the storage room, and we crammed five people and 12 bags of luggage with one 30 lb. jug of LP gas in the front floorboard on the passenger’s side. The privilege of riding around the country of Haiti with it’s less than stellar roads with said jug of LP was given to Daniel Peavy, the fourth member of our team this trip, and the youth pastor at First Baptist Church in Jackson, GA. The fifth person on this road trip was Charness Theodore, Ricardo’s cousin, who lives in PAP, travels back to his home on Cayemite, and accompanied us all of last trip as well. After a small mishap between our front bumper and a motorcycle in PAP, I jumped into the driver’s seat, and we drove to the town of Les Cayes where we were housed for the night at a sweet lady’s home whose brother is a pastor in the states and had arranged for our stay there. Confirmed just before we departed for Haiti, this was a huge blessing.
After a mediocre night’s sleep, we headed out to Pestel. Again, I was driving, and the vehicle, while overloaded and outmatched by the terrain performed rather well, all things considered. Unless you have driven, or been driven, on roads like these 3rd -world mountain roads, you really just cannot imagine what it is like. For instance, it is nothing to pass or be passed in a curve, going uphill or down, by a bus full of people to the point there are two or three guys standing on the bumper hanging on to a luggage rack with a drop-off of several hundred feet to the left or right of the vehicle. This while bouncing on a road made of loose rock and boulders. Then you get to a town and you don’t slow down until you absolutely have to, due to twisted terrain or clogging due to traffic. This is done while people, motorcycles, donkeys, and bikes are on either side of your vehicle while you speed through honking your horn until you are clear and hit the mountain roads again. It is amazing, scary, and exciting - did I mention scary? This this could describe one fifteen minute jaunt in the mountains of Haiti. At any rate – we were headed to Pestel and making decent time, until we rounded a bend towards the top of a mountain and had to stop. There were several busses in front of us and after sitting for a moment, we got out and walked to the front of the line of vehicles. Construction efforts were underway to repair the road, and we were told the wait would be another three hours before the blasting and clearing of debris was done. Being the optimists we are, we started looking around for people to talk to. There were several hundred Haitians hanging out and milling around. The second vehicle in the entire line of vehicles caught my eye. Ricardo, Daniel, and I approached the vehicle, and met one resourceful, charismatic, wonderful nurse named Judy Foster. She had been a missionary in the region for 18 years – God answers prayers. For the next 2.5 hours or so, Judy and the pastor with her, gave us names and numbers, people to talk to about a variety of issues ranging from food to medicine, and we even sat and made coffee. What an answer to a specific prayer. God is so good. In fact, we really had no idea what turns the rest of the trip would take, but He did, even before we thought of going to Haiti the first time.
For instance, a month before our trip I tried desperately to get medicines to take with us. I talked to pharmacists, left messages for doctors, talked to nurses and doctors all to no avail. Before we left I had let it go, but while I was trying, I was frustrated. All these people who said they would help with these trips didn’t show up. I do understand busy, that is for sure, but I knew we were going to be asked for some type of medical help when we got to Cayemite and the town of Anse a Macon, and we had nothing to take except children’s ibuprofen. Why I was frustrated is beyond me, because God provides. We followed Judy to the place she was going and she gave us meds. Then we followed her to a mission called Deye Mon where we met the good people that are running the place on a day to day basis, and we were fed. Then we were given more meds…God is so good…and we headed over the mountains again to Pestel.
Remember the vehicle we were driving. As you go down the last mountain or two before entering Pestel you will drive over some of the most brutal terrain you have ever attempted to drive a vehicle through. If you can imagine 100 or so dump trucks loads of boulders ranging from 12” to 24” in diameter that look as if they were taken from a fresh blast sight, and these boulders were dumped from the bottom of a mountain on a rather steep incline and strewn uphill 2/3 of the way to the top….then you have an idea of what we drove over to get to Pestel. The rocks raked the undercarriage of the vehicle unmercifully to the point that the back bumper had been bent out so much the license plate stood straight up in the air. Earlier, Judy had asked us, while stopped in the mountains, if we really knew where we were going and if we really thought we would make it. My reply was, “We will make it down, I am not sure if we will make it back up.” Sure enough, we made it down, got through to Pestel and took the 1.5 hour boat ride to Cayemite. The local priest in Pestel had allowed us to keep the vehicle at his home, again the providence of God – and upon arriving on Cayemite I phoned Christy to let her know that we had made it, but we really needed prayer to get back out. Physically, I was unsure how we were going to get back up the mountain and out of Pestel on the return trip. So we prayed.
Once on Cayemite and in the town of Anse a Macon, we were greeted enthusiastically by several church members and relatives of Ricardo’s, and then escorted to the home of Auntie Amen where we stayed the last trip. It was heart-warming to receive such a greeting and after dinner and conversation, we retired to our quarters. The next day was the one-year anniversary of the earthquake that destroyed much of Port au Prince and ultimately ravaged the entire country of Haiti. Pastor Micah had informed us that there would be a memorial/remembrance service from 7-11. Ricardo, Daniel, and I arrived at the church building around 8:30 or so and were immediately ushered to the front and on stage behind the pulpit with the pastor and others leading the service. While listening to the music and scripture readings, I was informed that I needed to preach. So, I prayed like I have never prayed before and around 11:30, I stood to speak. With Ricardo translating, I went through Luke 12:22-34 which covers the fact that as God’s children, we have no need of worry, and we should lay up our treasures in Heaven and not on Earth. The second passage I read from was Psalm 32:1-2a that says, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity.” My thought was that if you were laying up treasures in heaven you were blessed, but the truest definition of blessed is found here in Psalm 32, and written by King David. I really have no idea of what else was said other than I covered what sin was. I sat down and was extremely deflated and literally said to myself, “that sucked”, and in prayer said, “God, I am so sorry that I was so bad…please forgive me…” Meanwhile, Pastor Micah was standing and speaking at the pulpit, and I noticed that a man was coming down the aisle. I leaned over to Ricardo and asked what was happening and he said, “Oh, he is coming down to give his life to Jesus.” My heart leapt and I said, “Thank you, Jesus.” Then a lady came down with tears streaming down her face while holding a baby on her hip, and another person and another and another. I was so broken that God would do such a work, and I was so humbled and ashamed that I would doubt the power of God unto salvation. With tears streaming down my face I just kept saying, “Thank you, Jesus, thank you Jesus…” I never counted, but I estimate there were at least 30 or more people that came down and in addition to that 10 or so very young ones. Ricardo got up, and while the pastor and several others were praying over and with this group of people, he spoke with some of the younger group, say between the ages of 8-15 or so, and asked them why they came down front, and the answer came back, “We want our sins forgiven!” Oh, what a joy – what a blessing that these young Haitians, and older Haitians, were expressing the same sentiment that King David did. How blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven. How blessed, humbled, and broken I was and am that God would choose to move in such an instance. I literally prayed to God that if I needed to die somewhere along this journey it was fine by me. I had seen God move his Almighty hand in a situation I was involved in. You see, God answered prayer. God is so good.
For the rest of the day I was in a daze. God had moved hearts and minds and used a jumbled and not-so-well-delivered message for his honor and glory. Daniel told me, “It had to be a work of God because it certainly was not in the message itself.” I concurred wholeheartedly – fact is, God moved and I was witness to that. In spite of my daze and through much conversation, we decided to leave the following day and head back to Les Cayes in order to try to speak with an organization there about getting food on a continual basis for school children in Anse a Macon. So, the next morning we packed up, went around the town for a time visiting, hopped on the boat, loaded the car in Pestel and headed out. While we were headed out of town, we attempted to get a tire repaired or at least put some air in it since it was a little slack. That endeavor was in vain, but we did meet a guy that had a house to rent, and we are now going to rent that house in order to help orphans and utilize Auntie Amen to take care of them. God is awesome. Remember the hill that was so brutal? God answered prayers and we were three mountains away from Pestel before I realized we had crossed over the same area as before. Later, in Port au Prince, I would tell Dany’s cousin, “the only reason we were able to get over that mountain was that God Almighty took His hand and pressed the rocks into the side of the mountain so we could get out.” I said so, because knowing the exact mountain, he was amazed that we made it out…as we were. We were able to get our tire repaired a little way out of Pestel in front of the same home we stayed in overnight the first trip (the 8 hr trip that took 2 days due to 7 flat tires and a dead battery). It was nice to see the gentleman who helped us out. We made it to Les Cayes with only a little trouble, just a few flooded out areas that had the little Terios swimming a bit, and we stayed at the home of Judy Foster – you remember, the missionary we met in the mountains…God is so good. Judy was great, and the next morning she fixed pancakes for us and we had internet access and everything! Amazing stuff, I know. We made our stop to ask for food, with no luck at all, and headed to Port au Prince.
On the way to PAP, we stopped off at Jasmine’s house to eat. Those of you who do not recognize the name, this is Dany’s cousin who was with us the last trip, and continued to PAP. We arrived at the outskirts of Pap just at dusk, and we headed into town. Now, I am driving, we are all tired, everything and everywhere is crowded with vehicles, people, motorcycles, donkeys, and more people…and our guide, Charness, got turned around. Talk about short-tempered, I was short-tempered. Ricardo was along for the ride. Daniel was scared. Charness kept second-guessing everything. Dany was trying to keep the peace…sort of, and I was just plain mad. At one point, we were literally on a half-street with hundreds and hundreds of people walking everywhere, a 2 foot drop-off on our left with construction workers and equipment, street vendors on our right, and only 3 cars ahead of us on this street all going about 2 miles an hour because of the mass of humanity around us. God spared us, provided for us, protected us, and guided us, because we made it out using the one rock that allowed us to navigate the drop-off without destroying what was left of the car. After 5 or 6 phone calls we found where we were going, and we ate…again, and crashed for the night…sleep, sorta’, for the weary.
We stayed for the next 3 nights at the home and mission of Dany’s cousin, Pastor Martinez Jovin. Again, God had provided a place for us to stay and food for us to eat. It was Saturday, and we visited Pastor Jean Claude who pastors a church about an hour and a half north of PAP in the town of Source Matlis. His wife cannot accompany him to the church anymore because her knees are so badly deformed by arthritis she can hardly move around. They do not have the money for surgery, but even so, she holds a weekly Bible study for women called The Group of Prayer Devoted to Christ. As we travelled to the town of Source Matlis we stopped and spoke with the Mennonite missionaries at their compound and attempted to speak with the folks at Samaritan Purse but were turned away. We spent the rest of the day with Pastor Jean Claude at his church and around the town. We went to the beach area and even attempted to access another mission compound located there, but the missionaries (last name King) were unavailable, so we left Pastor Jean Claude at his church and went back to PAP.
Sunday morning showed up and we were driven to church by Brother Luc who had initially picked us up at the airport with Pastor Solva Jean Charles. This church is located in one of the poorer areas of PAP, but it was packed out and we sat up front as the service started. Daniel spoke first, briefly, about the adoptive process God lays out for his children. It was well-done and the people responded well as his message was translated by Abellard. I spoke next, while Abellard translated, and we muddled through a couple of translation issues due to my pronunciation of a few words. Ricardo then brought down the house with a thunderous message. I have no idea what he said other than it was about Joseph and how God’s hand was on him and provided for him and blessed him – but it rocked. After the service, we ate at a restaurant in PAP (a first) and with Brother Luc driving, we travelled up a mountain outside PAP to see Fort Jacques. We had a truly magnificent view overlooking PAP. It was breathtaking even while being jostled about by the roads, but it was fun and relaxing at the same time.
Monday morning, Brother Luc picked up the car and took it to get it cleaned and “straightened out” before we attempted to turn it in to the rental place. After he got back, it looked like a different vehicle than the one we drove out of the mountains. We loaded up, and headed into town. Remember, these people had $1000 cash to hold the vehicle and were holding another $500 on my debit card. After everything we put that car through, we walked out of that rental place with every bit of the money outside the dollars required to rent the vehicle…in fact, the day after I got back from Haiti, I deposited $1100 back into the mission account. God is so good.
The story doesn’t end here. In the airport we met a man who has offered to help us purchase a vehicle for use in Haiti. I pray through the power of God that he comes through, and that I get another chance to share the gospel with him. In the airport in Miami I met another missionary that had been in PAP for 41 years. He gave me all of his contact information. He told me that he would put us in touch with the head of the UN contingent there as he is a friend. This was the most amazing trip in every way to have been on. God answered every single prayer that was prayed in the affirmative. He prepared hearts ahead of time and saved souls after we delivered his message. He provided the means and the people for us to meet and network with. He protected us from the terrain and anyone who wished us harm. As with every story, the intimate details are what makes things as significant as they are, but are the first thing to be lost when writing or reiterating the events. These are the highlights, there is so much more, but know this - God is so good.
After going to Haiti, Easter week of 2010, Ricardo Theodore, Dany Theodore, and I understood that we were going back – I believe, until we die. The Theodore’s want to go permanently to Haiti after some further medical education and training for Dany, and I just want to go back. It is all tied together. Christy, my wife, is supportive in these efforts and in her words, “part of our role in the mission is to help them get there permanently.” I concur, with the addendum, “and we will help them permanently.” The first trip was amazing; this second trip blew me out of the water. We prayed and had requested prayer on three particular items prior to our departure. One, that the Holy Spirit would work prior to our arrival and prepare hearts to hear the gospel, two, that we would meet the people we needed to meet in order to network in Haiti so we may reach Cayemite and Pestel with help (supplies of food/water/medicines, etc.) on a long-term basis, and third, protection while travelling and from anyone wishing us harm.
A week out from leaving it was impressed upon me that we needed $1000 extra dollars. So, I did what every good Christian does and I went to Face Book on Thursday evening about 6:45 and posted a status line that said, “We need $1000 for our trip to Haiti sometime before we leave for Haiti on Monday morning.” Nothing happened Thursday or Friday until late when I had a friend call and say that she was going to talk with her husband. On Saturday morning, I had a lady drive into my driveway with a check. Another friend called and had me drop by for a check and I was told to drop in elsewhere and pick up two checks. By Saturday at 11:55 I had deposited or cashed $1100 in the mission account (5 minutes before the banks closed) and my status line request had been granted. God is good.
Sunday afternoon, after the morning church services had come to an end, I received notification that the flight to Miami enroute to Port a Prince had been cancelled due to inclement weather approaching. Quickly, we rearranged flights and flew out Sunday evening to Miami. Again, God was gracious, and some of Dany Theodore’s extended family allowed us to stay overnight at their home. On Monday, we flew out to PAP on time.
About a month prior to the trip I had reserved a vehicle to use in driving around Haiti. It was reserved with an American Express card. The good news was that they had that vehicle for us, the bad news, they would not use that same card to actually pay for the rental of the vehicle. So, after lengthy negotiations, the use of an irate Frenchman’s cell phone to contact my bank, and more than one threat to walk out – we utilized my debit card, and $1000 cash to rent the car for the week. Amazing, no wonder I needed that extra money. God knew what He was doing even if I did not. God is so good.
We started our travel by piling into a Daihatsu Terios. It’s size is comparable to a Ford Escape with half of the storage room, and we crammed five people and 12 bags of luggage with one 30 lb. jug of LP gas in the front floorboard on the passenger’s side. The privilege of riding around the country of Haiti with it’s less than stellar roads with said jug of LP was given to Daniel Peavy, the fourth member of our team this trip, and the youth pastor at First Baptist Church in Jackson, GA. The fifth person on this road trip was Charness Theodore, Ricardo’s cousin, who lives in PAP, travels back to his home on Cayemite, and accompanied us all of last trip as well. After a small mishap between our front bumper and a motorcycle in PAP, I jumped into the driver’s seat, and we drove to the town of Les Cayes where we were housed for the night at a sweet lady’s home whose brother is a pastor in the states and had arranged for our stay there. Confirmed just before we departed for Haiti, this was a huge blessing.
After a mediocre night’s sleep, we headed out to Pestel. Again, I was driving, and the vehicle, while overloaded and outmatched by the terrain performed rather well, all things considered. Unless you have driven, or been driven, on roads like these 3rd -world mountain roads, you really just cannot imagine what it is like. For instance, it is nothing to pass or be passed in a curve, going uphill or down, by a bus full of people to the point there are two or three guys standing on the bumper hanging on to a luggage rack with a drop-off of several hundred feet to the left or right of the vehicle. This while bouncing on a road made of loose rock and boulders. Then you get to a town and you don’t slow down until you absolutely have to, due to twisted terrain or clogging due to traffic. This is done while people, motorcycles, donkeys, and bikes are on either side of your vehicle while you speed through honking your horn until you are clear and hit the mountain roads again. It is amazing, scary, and exciting - did I mention scary? This this could describe one fifteen minute jaunt in the mountains of Haiti. At any rate – we were headed to Pestel and making decent time, until we rounded a bend towards the top of a mountain and had to stop. There were several busses in front of us and after sitting for a moment, we got out and walked to the front of the line of vehicles. Construction efforts were underway to repair the road, and we were told the wait would be another three hours before the blasting and clearing of debris was done. Being the optimists we are, we started looking around for people to talk to. There were several hundred Haitians hanging out and milling around. The second vehicle in the entire line of vehicles caught my eye. Ricardo, Daniel, and I approached the vehicle, and met one resourceful, charismatic, wonderful nurse named Judy Foster. She had been a missionary in the region for 18 years – God answers prayers. For the next 2.5 hours or so, Judy and the pastor with her, gave us names and numbers, people to talk to about a variety of issues ranging from food to medicine, and we even sat and made coffee. What an answer to a specific prayer. God is so good. In fact, we really had no idea what turns the rest of the trip would take, but He did, even before we thought of going to Haiti the first time.
For instance, a month before our trip I tried desperately to get medicines to take with us. I talked to pharmacists, left messages for doctors, talked to nurses and doctors all to no avail. Before we left I had let it go, but while I was trying, I was frustrated. All these people who said they would help with these trips didn’t show up. I do understand busy, that is for sure, but I knew we were going to be asked for some type of medical help when we got to Cayemite and the town of Anse a Macon, and we had nothing to take except children’s ibuprofen. Why I was frustrated is beyond me, because God provides. We followed Judy to the place she was going and she gave us meds. Then we followed her to a mission called Deye Mon where we met the good people that are running the place on a day to day basis, and we were fed. Then we were given more meds…God is so good…and we headed over the mountains again to Pestel.
Remember the vehicle we were driving. As you go down the last mountain or two before entering Pestel you will drive over some of the most brutal terrain you have ever attempted to drive a vehicle through. If you can imagine 100 or so dump trucks loads of boulders ranging from 12” to 24” in diameter that look as if they were taken from a fresh blast sight, and these boulders were dumped from the bottom of a mountain on a rather steep incline and strewn uphill 2/3 of the way to the top….then you have an idea of what we drove over to get to Pestel. The rocks raked the undercarriage of the vehicle unmercifully to the point that the back bumper had been bent out so much the license plate stood straight up in the air. Earlier, Judy had asked us, while stopped in the mountains, if we really knew where we were going and if we really thought we would make it. My reply was, “We will make it down, I am not sure if we will make it back up.” Sure enough, we made it down, got through to Pestel and took the 1.5 hour boat ride to Cayemite. The local priest in Pestel had allowed us to keep the vehicle at his home, again the providence of God – and upon arriving on Cayemite I phoned Christy to let her know that we had made it, but we really needed prayer to get back out. Physically, I was unsure how we were going to get back up the mountain and out of Pestel on the return trip. So we prayed.
Once on Cayemite and in the town of Anse a Macon, we were greeted enthusiastically by several church members and relatives of Ricardo’s, and then escorted to the home of Auntie Amen where we stayed the last trip. It was heart-warming to receive such a greeting and after dinner and conversation, we retired to our quarters. The next day was the one-year anniversary of the earthquake that destroyed much of Port au Prince and ultimately ravaged the entire country of Haiti. Pastor Micah had informed us that there would be a memorial/remembrance service from 7-11. Ricardo, Daniel, and I arrived at the church building around 8:30 or so and were immediately ushered to the front and on stage behind the pulpit with the pastor and others leading the service. While listening to the music and scripture readings, I was informed that I needed to preach. So, I prayed like I have never prayed before and around 11:30, I stood to speak. With Ricardo translating, I went through Luke 12:22-34 which covers the fact that as God’s children, we have no need of worry, and we should lay up our treasures in Heaven and not on Earth. The second passage I read from was Psalm 32:1-2a that says, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity.” My thought was that if you were laying up treasures in heaven you were blessed, but the truest definition of blessed is found here in Psalm 32, and written by King David. I really have no idea of what else was said other than I covered what sin was. I sat down and was extremely deflated and literally said to myself, “that sucked”, and in prayer said, “God, I am so sorry that I was so bad…please forgive me…” Meanwhile, Pastor Micah was standing and speaking at the pulpit, and I noticed that a man was coming down the aisle. I leaned over to Ricardo and asked what was happening and he said, “Oh, he is coming down to give his life to Jesus.” My heart leapt and I said, “Thank you, Jesus.” Then a lady came down with tears streaming down her face while holding a baby on her hip, and another person and another and another. I was so broken that God would do such a work, and I was so humbled and ashamed that I would doubt the power of God unto salvation. With tears streaming down my face I just kept saying, “Thank you, Jesus, thank you Jesus…” I never counted, but I estimate there were at least 30 or more people that came down and in addition to that 10 or so very young ones. Ricardo got up, and while the pastor and several others were praying over and with this group of people, he spoke with some of the younger group, say between the ages of 8-15 or so, and asked them why they came down front, and the answer came back, “We want our sins forgiven!” Oh, what a joy – what a blessing that these young Haitians, and older Haitians, were expressing the same sentiment that King David did. How blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven. How blessed, humbled, and broken I was and am that God would choose to move in such an instance. I literally prayed to God that if I needed to die somewhere along this journey it was fine by me. I had seen God move his Almighty hand in a situation I was involved in. You see, God answered prayer. God is so good.
For the rest of the day I was in a daze. God had moved hearts and minds and used a jumbled and not-so-well-delivered message for his honor and glory. Daniel told me, “It had to be a work of God because it certainly was not in the message itself.” I concurred wholeheartedly – fact is, God moved and I was witness to that. In spite of my daze and through much conversation, we decided to leave the following day and head back to Les Cayes in order to try to speak with an organization there about getting food on a continual basis for school children in Anse a Macon. So, the next morning we packed up, went around the town for a time visiting, hopped on the boat, loaded the car in Pestel and headed out. While we were headed out of town, we attempted to get a tire repaired or at least put some air in it since it was a little slack. That endeavor was in vain, but we did meet a guy that had a house to rent, and we are now going to rent that house in order to help orphans and utilize Auntie Amen to take care of them. God is awesome. Remember the hill that was so brutal? God answered prayers and we were three mountains away from Pestel before I realized we had crossed over the same area as before. Later, in Port au Prince, I would tell Dany’s cousin, “the only reason we were able to get over that mountain was that God Almighty took His hand and pressed the rocks into the side of the mountain so we could get out.” I said so, because knowing the exact mountain, he was amazed that we made it out…as we were. We were able to get our tire repaired a little way out of Pestel in front of the same home we stayed in overnight the first trip (the 8 hr trip that took 2 days due to 7 flat tires and a dead battery). It was nice to see the gentleman who helped us out. We made it to Les Cayes with only a little trouble, just a few flooded out areas that had the little Terios swimming a bit, and we stayed at the home of Judy Foster – you remember, the missionary we met in the mountains…God is so good. Judy was great, and the next morning she fixed pancakes for us and we had internet access and everything! Amazing stuff, I know. We made our stop to ask for food, with no luck at all, and headed to Port au Prince.
On the way to PAP, we stopped off at Jasmine’s house to eat. Those of you who do not recognize the name, this is Dany’s cousin who was with us the last trip, and continued to PAP. We arrived at the outskirts of Pap just at dusk, and we headed into town. Now, I am driving, we are all tired, everything and everywhere is crowded with vehicles, people, motorcycles, donkeys, and more people…and our guide, Charness, got turned around. Talk about short-tempered, I was short-tempered. Ricardo was along for the ride. Daniel was scared. Charness kept second-guessing everything. Dany was trying to keep the peace…sort of, and I was just plain mad. At one point, we were literally on a half-street with hundreds and hundreds of people walking everywhere, a 2 foot drop-off on our left with construction workers and equipment, street vendors on our right, and only 3 cars ahead of us on this street all going about 2 miles an hour because of the mass of humanity around us. God spared us, provided for us, protected us, and guided us, because we made it out using the one rock that allowed us to navigate the drop-off without destroying what was left of the car. After 5 or 6 phone calls we found where we were going, and we ate…again, and crashed for the night…sleep, sorta’, for the weary.
We stayed for the next 3 nights at the home and mission of Dany’s cousin, Pastor Martinez Jovin. Again, God had provided a place for us to stay and food for us to eat. It was Saturday, and we visited Pastor Jean Claude who pastors a church about an hour and a half north of PAP in the town of Source Matlis. His wife cannot accompany him to the church anymore because her knees are so badly deformed by arthritis she can hardly move around. They do not have the money for surgery, but even so, she holds a weekly Bible study for women called The Group of Prayer Devoted to Christ. As we travelled to the town of Source Matlis we stopped and spoke with the Mennonite missionaries at their compound and attempted to speak with the folks at Samaritan Purse but were turned away. We spent the rest of the day with Pastor Jean Claude at his church and around the town. We went to the beach area and even attempted to access another mission compound located there, but the missionaries (last name King) were unavailable, so we left Pastor Jean Claude at his church and went back to PAP.
Sunday morning showed up and we were driven to church by Brother Luc who had initially picked us up at the airport with Pastor Solva Jean Charles. This church is located in one of the poorer areas of PAP, but it was packed out and we sat up front as the service started. Daniel spoke first, briefly, about the adoptive process God lays out for his children. It was well-done and the people responded well as his message was translated by Abellard. I spoke next, while Abellard translated, and we muddled through a couple of translation issues due to my pronunciation of a few words. Ricardo then brought down the house with a thunderous message. I have no idea what he said other than it was about Joseph and how God’s hand was on him and provided for him and blessed him – but it rocked. After the service, we ate at a restaurant in PAP (a first) and with Brother Luc driving, we travelled up a mountain outside PAP to see Fort Jacques. We had a truly magnificent view overlooking PAP. It was breathtaking even while being jostled about by the roads, but it was fun and relaxing at the same time.
Monday morning, Brother Luc picked up the car and took it to get it cleaned and “straightened out” before we attempted to turn it in to the rental place. After he got back, it looked like a different vehicle than the one we drove out of the mountains. We loaded up, and headed into town. Remember, these people had $1000 cash to hold the vehicle and were holding another $500 on my debit card. After everything we put that car through, we walked out of that rental place with every bit of the money outside the dollars required to rent the vehicle…in fact, the day after I got back from Haiti, I deposited $1100 back into the mission account. God is so good.
The story doesn’t end here. In the airport we met a man who has offered to help us purchase a vehicle for use in Haiti. I pray through the power of God that he comes through, and that I get another chance to share the gospel with him. In the airport in Miami I met another missionary that had been in PAP for 41 years. He gave me all of his contact information. He told me that he would put us in touch with the head of the UN contingent there as he is a friend. This was the most amazing trip in every way to have been on. God answered every single prayer that was prayed in the affirmative. He prepared hearts ahead of time and saved souls after we delivered his message. He provided the means and the people for us to meet and network with. He protected us from the terrain and anyone who wished us harm. As with every story, the intimate details are what makes things as significant as they are, but are the first thing to be lost when writing or reiterating the events. These are the highlights, there is so much more, but know this - God is so good.
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