Who could not be moved by the sight of the thousands of Haitians dancing, jumping, waving their hands and praising God this day on the one-month anniversary of the disastrous quake that happened on January 12! What a beautiful sight! What hope! What resilience! Yes they were also mourning because they are in touch with reality, but they rejoiced in something greater than they and their problems. Let me assure you that this manifestation of spiritual explosion is NOT a temporary reaction to material aid, as one newscaster seemed to imply. We must remember that the electrifying faith that we saw today was at the heart of the Haitian people for a long time before the quake, but what made today so special is that they were able to rise and stare straight into the eyes of disaster and said “you cannot keep me down forever, I will stand and praise!” And so they did. They praised because their hope is Christ! They have known that despite their lack of material wealth, Christ is the greatest treasure they have always had, and Him they have not lost and cannot lose for they have chosen the better part. I experienced similar emotions on my trip—which reminds me to thank all of you, who were so sympathetic to my efforts of trying to get back home. By God’s grace, I made it!
My Trip
My trip to Haiti was on February 1-4. I went with Sean, Sam, and Uncle John, fellow missionaries (Sean is the president of MWTS Mission Haiti) with the goal of bringing supplies to our team in Miragwàn so they could better serve the refugees on our site. We went also to be with the people we love so much and to let them know that we love them and have not forgotten about them. Because there were no commercial flights to Haiti, we had to fly to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, and then we took a taxi to the border—a six-hour drive—where we met up with my brother Manno, my cousin Djo, and three amazing police officers that were providing security. We were successful in delivering everything we brought to our team, but that’s not the whole story.
Pain and Frustration
Because of logistical difficulties, I had to drive one of the vehicles, on 45 minutes of sleep, through Port-au-Prince to the village. It was night. As I went through the capital, it was really emotionally tough to see some collapsed houses and yet not be able to stop and reflect at the reality of it all. Also, because I was driving I had to keep my eyes on the road. What hit me the hardest were the people sleeping in the middle of the streets, literally. On Bisantnè, a main road in the city, I was wondering why my brother put on his left turning signal going into the other direction. Then I realized that there was debris serving as a roadblock for people sleeping right on the road! They didn’t even have tents. They were exposed to the weather and even to unsuspecting cars. I was moved. Then, on a strip, toward Kafou, called “Sou Ray” I saw a line of tents right on the median of a very dusty road! That was home for many. Again, that broke my heart.
It was also difficult not being able to spend much time with each one of my family members and fellow missionaries who were already in Haiti. I also wanted to spend much more time in Port-au-Prince with the thousands living in tents. I wanted to be there just to be present to them, crying with them, praying with them, praising at insane hours of the night with them, etc.
Lastly, I came to learn of more frustrating situations from one of the police guards. He was telling us how the aid was being distributed inefficiently and unfairly, leaving many needy families still hungry and homeless. He had great ideas, which he had shared with the proper officials, but no one listened. He also pointed out to me several collapsed building which STILL buried people even as of Feb. 4th, more than three weeks after the quake. But again the rescue workers have not even made their way there and probably never will. It made me wonder why no attention was given to so many places whereas tons of people kept at it at the Montana hotel. Something is not clicking here.
Joy and Hope
Despite the pain and frustration, my trip still gave me some joy and hope. Joy, because I was able to see and hug my family and friends. Joy, because the laughter of the many children on our site was contagious. Joy, because in the face of devastation my people were still smiling. Hope, because of Christ in them and Christ in me. Hope, because I truly believe we can move forward. Hope, because we are a chosen people, chosen by God to do a mission, to be a leader in the world. Yes, nothing less. We are His people and He is our God.
What Will You Do?
It has only been a month since the quake and already much of the world is already turning its eyes away from Haiti. Will you too turn away? Or will you commit, giving of yourself as much and as often as you can, to see her rise, claiming her place as the pearl of the islands?
Please help here: http://www.mwts.org/missionhaiti/Home/Home.html
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