Two weeks of ministry in Haiti have gone by and I am left wondering if it was all a dream.
The people we have come in contact with are constantly on my mind and at the same time it feels very surreal.
I have been fortunate to have two teams that have been wonderful. They were on fire for the Lord and wanted to see lives changed. It has been interesting to be in a position where there is no way possible to meet all of the physical needs that are around us.
Our ministry time has been filled with prayer walks, comforting the hurting, being a listening ear to those who need it, clearing rubble from homes, street evangelism, dropping off food to Pastors to distribute to needy people in their community and so much more.
Because of the sheer desperation of the people, food drops are being made in the middle of the night. Our teams are bagging up 750 pounds of rice, 500 pounds of beans and oil to distribute to people in the community. Pastor’s are meeting members of our teams at various safe locations to recieve and store the food. They are then responsible for distribution of the food to the neediest people. I am glad that I don’t have to decide who is the neediest. I went back to visit one Pastor and he told me that he also distributed the food during the night to ensure the safety of his family and those who were receiving the food. He personally carried the individual bags of food and knocked on doors in the middle of the night. (This Pastor is in his 70’s!!)
We removed rubble from a home to allow the people in that family to have a safe place to stay. One of the participants asked me, are we sure there are no bodies under all this rubble? My answer, No we are not. I am trusting God that there isn’t anyone down there. One of the translators told me of a home nearby that had more than 15 people in it when the quake happened. No one survived. We were told not to even attempt to help clear the rubble because the bodies were still there.
During one of our home visits last week, we met a lady named Isadore who lost her leg during the earthquake. She was on the 2nd floor of a building when it collapsed and was buried alive for more than 24 hours. As she was pinned in she talked to others around her to keep them awake and was then able to help guide rescuers to others when they were finally pulled out. When she was finally able to get to a doctor they had a hard time treating her. One doctor wasn’t sure what to do for her because there were very few resources so soon after the quake. He ordered a shot to put her to sleep. She was allergice to the medication and had a terrible reaction. As she was telling us her testimony, she remarked, it wasn’t his fault, he did his best and by the grace of the Lord I am still here. What faith many of these people have. I am amazed that there isn’t anger with the Lord for their situations.
In spite of all of the sadness around us the Lord is still moving! Two people accepted the Lord during our street evangelism last week! We also had the opportunity to take a woman named Nadine with a huge abscesss to the hospital. It was leaking terribly and she had fever. We prayed over her the day we met her and took her to the hospital the second day. The Dr. said that she didn’t have an infection and there wasn’t much they could do for her. Her baby was also looked at and was declared fine. We prayed over her again and took her back home. A few days ago when visiting her community I had a tap on the shoulder. There was Nadine showing me that where the abscess had been, it was gone and completely healed up. She actually had a smile on her face. I screamed and jumped for joy. Through the translator I asked her if she realized that the Lord had healed her? The Doctor’s had done nothing and she had been suffering for more than 2 months!!! What a joy. Another woman that we prayed for was healed on the spot. While we were talking to her she slumped over, we immediately layed hands on her and prayed. Before we left she was up walking around and trying to show our team how to help her do laundry. The next day a few members of the team went back to visit and the gash on her kneck was healing up. God is so good. I don’t often see what the Lord does with the people we pray for immediately. What a testimony for all of us that our work is not in vain. I always remind our teams that we are planting seeds and may not always see the fruit but to trust the Lord that fruit will come. The Lord gave us an extra special treat to see Him work immediately! There are many more stories but this blog is more than long enough!
Keep the people of Haiti and the thousands of people who are here to help in your prayers. Pray for wisdom for us and for strength to keep going.
A few other prayer requests:
One friend from home is at the Dr. with her mother in law right now. They are trying to figure out what is wrong with her. They think she has cancer but are unsure. She is seeing a specialist in another city today. Another friend is pretty sure that she lost a baby very early in her pregnancy. I haven’t talked to her again but please keep her and her family in your prayers.
Blessings!
