Renewal for Haiti

"A Call to Fasting and Prayer"
Haiti was rocked to her knees the day of the earthquake; now she is on her knees praying for God to bless her land.

David is now back in Haiti, working with a media team for Samaritan's Purse. He will also travel with an old childhood friend, Dan Shoemaker with Reciprocal Ministries International. As I receive updates from him, I will relay them through this blog.

I am home with my mom and youngest son who leaves in two weeks today to begin his own adventure with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) in Hawaii, and hopefully on to Haiti.

I continue to search out current and accurate information about relief efforts in Haiti, in preparation for a few presentations and fund-raisers coming up. Also, so my prayers have adequate fuel. And as I hope to go back to Haiti myself, staying informed will help prepare me to be more effective when I do return.

Balthazar

Balthazar. One of the wise men. A son of a pastor, husband to a beautiful wife and father of two precious boys. An intuitive interpreter who loves to share Jesus with patients. A prudent driver on roads not meant for the faint of heart. A man of God.

On day two of our work at the clinic in Cite Soleil, we experienced a tremor that shook plaster off the wall, widened some cracks and drove some patients outside in a panic. A few were laughing hysterically. There was much crying and wailing. The shaking was all too familiar for people who had already lost family, homes, and any hope of making a living.

Out of an exam room came Balthazar. All six feet four inches of him. He stepped outside, raised his arms and asked the Lord of the heavens to calm the people. As he prayed, people were reminded that God is faithful and that they could cling to Jesus for renewed hope and peace.

People like Balthazar are everywhere in Haiti, choosing to trust God rather than blame him. Loving those around them in Jesus' name.

"We won't give up"

Daniel Zeidan, director of the Samaritan's Purse office in Bolivia, spent three weeks in Haiti helping deliver relief supplies to earthquake survivors. He reflected on his time in the country after returning to La Paz.

I’m back from the destruction and chaos that is Haiti. For the first couple of days I was relieved to be out of the stress, the long days and short nights, the images, the heat, the mosquitoes, the exhaustion. Normalcy and her sister, routine, are great antidotes for a man who has just returned from a physical and emotional context of total disorder.

For some strange reason, however, I feel drawn back again and again to the streets of Port-au-Prince.

Pastor Bilda

I wish I had a photo of this man. His bright smile illuminates his dark face. He is an articulate young man who loves God, his  wife, two young children and his country. He pastors a church of 700 people. He sits on the boards of and chairs several national associations of pastors, the Bible society, La Presse Evangelique, and the like. So many I cannot remember them all. 

He is Samaritan's Purse's key contact to identify churches from which to distribute non-food items such as tarps, buckets and hygiene kits.

I met him over dinner one night at the base. I enjoyed our conversation, part in Creole, part in English. He was very gracious to speak with me, a short-term volunteer with deep ties to Haiti. I was encouraged to hear that La Presse is still standing and operating as this is where David was working when we met 24 years ago. 

He is calmly passionate about what God is doing in Haiti. I asked him to describe to me any revival he has witnessed since the earthquake. He stated that he knows many people who called themselves Christians in name are now turning to Christ in truth. Even within his own church, an average of 20 or more people come forward each Sunday to give or rededicate their lives to Christ.

I was teary-eyed as we spoke about the situation in Haiti and a little embarrassed by my emotion. His hand covered mine and he just gently smiled at me. I thank God for men and women like him who are not immobilized by the sadness and magnitude of Haiti's heartbreak, but rather pushing forward, clinging to the Truth of Jesus Christ, to do whatever they can to advance His kingdom, even against overwhelming odds. Odds that bring us to our knees. To bow before the Father and beg for His mercy. 

A good place to be.

  But You, O LORD, are a shield about me,
         My glory, and the One who lifts my head. Psalm 3:3