REFLECTING ON HAITI...

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation…”, Isaiah 52:7; Romans 10:15

I read these words this morning as I opened my e-mail from Gilbert Jules, our wonderful pastor-friend in Haiti…

“Thanks for letting God use you in His kingdom. To Grace Fellowship Church we extend our thankfulness of the prayers, the financial support. We have a challenge to spread the word we have learned…”

I have had two days now to reflect on our week in Haiti. I have had surges of deep emotion—some inexpressible joy--when I remember the faces of young men with eyes wide open leaning forward to grasp the truths of Romans. Some have been waves of indescribable sadness, when I think of the young child whose fragile, now scarred body, was cradled during the earthquake by her parents who died protecting her—our ladies ministered to that sick young child in one of their four VBS outreaches.

Driving through the streets of Haiti’s capital city of Port au Prince, home of over 3 million people--1.5 million of them crowded into tiny horrible tents surrounded by the ravages of unemployment, illiteracy and now cholera—is a jarring experience.
Not just because the roads are pot-holed and sometimes covered with earthquake debris, but because it is impossible to believe that in the twenty-first century there are conditions like this—the worst in the western hemisphere.

Cradled between a majestic deep blue ocean and now green-tinted mountains, Port au Prince seems a place from another time…and then there are the cleanly--uniformed children, the beautiful back men and women with muscled bodies from little food and hard physical labor—who testify to the muted potential of Haiti’s future. An election on November 28th sadly portends further governmental ineptness and corruption and the certain short-sightedness of the efforts of men.

Why did we go to Haiti? What possible purpose could ten “rich” Americans have in a country so impoverished by tragedy? Logan, Desiree and Michel Carnell, Evelyn Temple, Martha Johnson, Breanna Cazaad, Ron Bertrand, Terry Throssel and Mike Stromberg joined me in declaring, “We have only beautiful feet to offer.”

Our goal as an extension of Grace Fellowship Church is to produce a sustainable ministry model in Haiti via our contacts through Gilbert. By that we mean to intentionally and systematically invest in ways that will provide for the training of Haitian pastors and leaders, as well as bring the gospel of hope to children and teenagers, so that when we leave to return to our places of comfort and security the Word of God will continue to bring comfort and security to a people shaken by

tragedy and devastated by the ravages of sin. To that end we ministered to 1300-1500 children in VBS outreaches in three villages and Port au Prince; some of those children placed their faith in Christ. Additionally, we taught and trained 125-130 pastors and church leaders in two different settings on how to study the Bible, using the book of Romans as a template. These pastors and leaders currently minister to congregations in Port au Prince and in the outlying areas. As a bonus, Terry and Mike helped rebuild two bridges that provide access to church and school sites, assuring continuing ministry in Desca and Ballenger, two needy villages.

Gilbert informed me in his letter that one of the pastors at the teaching sessions already had called him to hold a seminar for pastors in mid-January. He added, “So, I will hold a seminar on Romans. Don’t worry, I will do very well I know Logan will send me the outline to help me do a good job…” Before we left, an orphanage with 200 children took VBS materials from our team to go back and share with their children. So the work continues.

Beautiful feet. It’s all we have to offer. Beautiful because they carry the gospel. Able to go because many gave and others prayed. We share the joy together.