Haiti Report - Trip Dates: 4/23/10 - 5/1/10

How do I explain what I experienced in Haiti? As many of you who have been on mission trips know, it’s difficult to put an experience into words. And sometimes even more difficult to discern how God would have you respond given a new revelation of the ‘real’ world. Hence, why it’s been almost 4 weeks since my return and I am just now writing my thoughts.
As many of you know, Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. It is certainly the poorest I’ve been to. From that perspective, the earthquake only added to an already bad situation. One lady asked that we would pray that she be able to move to a different country. On the other hand, many Haitians love their country very much, and are excited about what’s happening. Many Haitians sense God is doing something special in their country, and the earthquake was just part of His plan. They very much want to be a part of what He is doing. That has me asking, “Why was I there?” “What is His purpose for me in regard to Haiti and what He is doing?”

Once you get beyond the destructive results of the earthquake, you will find that many Haitians believe the earthquake was actually a direct answer to pray. For them the earthquake was as much or more a spiritual event as it was a physical event. The Haitian’s will tell you it shook more than the physical, it shook the spiritual. During and after the earthquake the Haitians were praising God for this manifestation of His movement in their country and the results they are seeing.

Something I was not aware of was the spiritual history of Haiti which we learned firsthand from the Haitians. Haiti has been a spiritually dark place for many many years. About 205 years ago the Haitians as a country made a pack with Satan that if he would help them win their independence from the French, they and their children would worship him for the next 200 years. This is where Voodoo fits in. Voodoo is the actual worship of Satan including human sacrifices, curses, demon possession, etc… It has been their national religion for 200 years. It is not a belief in superstitions, etc… like I thought. It is as real as Christianity. It is the worship of the only real spiritual realm other than Christianity. It is the worship of our adversary.

Tim, our trip leader, said he talked with a Haitian who told him about an African Voodoo high priest who came to Haiti to learn from a demon how to raise people from the dead. The high priest said as he flew into Haiti he had never seen a place covered with spiritual darkness and demons like Haiti. We heard many stories about demon possession, how Voodoo priests practice their art of casting demons into people, calling up curses, and human sacrifices which still occur today. Before the earthquake they even performed Voodoo worship and sacrifices under the nation’s palace as part of major country events like government elections. (Image - The Haitian Palace).

However, once the 200 year pack ended things began to change. Evangelical faith in Jesus Christ grew. About 2 months before the earthquake about 250 Evangelical Haitian pastors began to pray that God would do whatever necessary to delivery them from Satan and shake their country, government, and people to bring them to Himself. They see the earthquake as an answer to that prayer. During and since the earthquake people continue to praise God. Voodoo priests are turning and accepting Christ as Savior. They say the darkness has lifted. They sense a new hope and a sense of joy that makes no sense given their situation. But they see things differently than we do. I think it is easier for them to see God because the world’s stuff doesn’t get in their way. God has a funny way of making the poor man rich, and the rich man poor.

There is much for us (big brother – maybe elder brother) to do in Haiti (little brother – maybe even prodigal son) as God fulfills His new plans for them. Funny, as I type this, the verse I sent out this morning to the Good News distribution list comes to mind– “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:14-17

What did I see that touched me most?

Port-au-Prince is full of tent cities. Make shift shelters for those left without homes. Many are actually tents in well organized communities. But most are shelters made of sticks wrapped in blankets and sheets. Several times we went into a tent city to put tarps over their shelters. They were so grateful. It wouldn’t take long before people caught on to what we were doing and within 15 minutes we would be surrounded by men, women, and children asking us to come put a tarp on their shelter. I have seen cardboard houses before, and even plastic houses, but these were the first sheet houses I saw. A sheet so thin you could see through it.

What did I feel that touched me the most?

I expected there to be men, women, and even children living in the tent cities. But what I did not expect was the number of infants living in the tents. Infants as young, or younger than my 7 month old grandson, but much smaller. Mothers who were no longer able to produce milk for their babies and could not afford to buy any asking us for milk. Toddlers sleeping naked on sheets on dirt floors trying and stay cool in their little 5 foot by 4 foot shelter made of sheets and blankets. A mother pleading for a tarp to cover the shelter over her babies. A mother we could have easily past by like we did so many others. I didn’t expect that. It’s still too surreal. It’s too hard to imagine, even though I saw it with my own eyes. It’s a world away from where I sit now in my American dream house trying to explain it to you. What do I do? What do we do? What garbage can a mother dig through to find something to feed her infant who can only drink liquids? How many verses flow through my mind concerning those of us who are rich, and those who are in need. Stay tuned.

The people of Haiti want a place to live. The people of Haiti want food to eat. The people of Haiti want clean water to drink. The people of Haiti want a future for their children. The people of Haiti want an economy where they can work to support themselves and their families. The people of Haiti want to go to church (BTW – their churches are full). The people of Haiti want Bibles they can read. The people of Haiti want to be discipled, to have spiritual resources to learn from. The people of Haiti want what we so often take for granted. But in many ways the people of Haiti are better off than we are. Have you read the Beatitudes lately?

I am still trying to discern what God would have me do. Stay tuned for that. I have some thoughts, but I am still working and praying about them. Please continue to pray with me. Consider praying about what your part might be. Maybe we’re in this together. Thank you for sending me. Forgive me if I got too preachy. I believe God causes and/or allows all things for His purpose. I pray He remains patient (I know He will) as we determine our next steps. Romans 8:28.

BTW – I did not get to participate with anything related to orphans. The first day there we were instructed to lay our own agendas at the foot of the cross. I did that. I did ask one of our interpreters where the orphans were staying, what their housing situation was like? He said many have been gathered together by caring adults and are living under tarps in tent cities just like everyone else. I know there are orphans in Haiti, more now than before the earthquake. Matrix Ministries will begin to give Fences for Orphans funds to aid in the construction of Haitian orphanages. Pray as I research how that should happen.

God bless.
Ray