Sunday and Monday

Corbin here again. We arrived safely in Port au Prince, Haiti’s capital city, yesterday (Sunday)! These past couple of days have been a journey of discovery for the team. The drive from Port au Prince to Jacmel is a nauseating three and a half hour excursion through twisty and bumpy roads. I was a bit dazed, and when at one point I picked my head up and noticed a chicken crossing the road, I immediately regressed back to half-napping and didn’t even look long enough to find out why. No joke. This has been one of my biggest regrets so far.

The drive through Port au Prince illuminated the shocking reality of the city’s present condition and also created a discomfort among our team that later surfaced during our evening debrief. Cloud cover cast an ominous shadow on the city and our hearts as we passed through. Sarah described it best – we saw literal rivers of fire in the trash infested streets. As is typical in the area, a large drainage canal filled with trash was set ablaze, and our vehicle drove through a cloud of black smoke as we passed by one of these rivers of fire. The trash buildup congests the city’s sewage and drainage infrastructure, and flooding in the streets is common, producing a murky trash stew. The polluted air seemed to wipe smiles off of faces.

Sam observed that though Port au Prince is in great need, a sense of despair held us prisoner inside of our van. It was difficult to muster up the desire to jump out of the car and start helping the city because the streets were not just dirty, but dark as well. During our evening study of Lamentations (yes, we did read from the book of Lamentations), we felt that the story of Israel’s captivity in Babylon yields striking similarities to the present state of Haiti’s capital city. Jeremiah, who is believed to have written the book, writes in chapter three, “I am the man who has seen affliction…He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light…He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. He has made me dwell in darkness.” Encouraging, right?

Earlier that day, Pastor Eric preached a sermon at our Haitian church in Jacmel on 1 John 1:5-10 which appropriately and inadvertently prepared us for the rest of the day. John writes, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” We are to be a light to our surroundings, and our endeavors are empowered by God’s infinite goodness and light. The Haitians and 12Stoners thoroughly enjoyed the sermon, which was the gulp of fresh air that preceded our deep dive into foreign waters later in the day.

Though our first day in Port au Prince was initially demoralizing, Yanni observed that there is something about affliction that builds muscle. Christians who have nothing are stronger because God is all they have. We forfeit some of God’s blessing and riches whenever we try to attain them on our own. Melissa noticed that suffering is an outlet for fellowship with God because one can understand some of the pain he experiences when people are far from him.

During this morning’s sunrise, rays of light cut through yesterday’s cloud cover, and the distant view of the city from our residence was one of tranquility, hopefully reminiscent of how God views us in his mercy amidst our “trashy” and sinful lives. In Port au Prince, glimmers of hope and happiness surface whenever our team smiles upon passer-by’s on the city streets and receives a smile in return. Lamentations three also declares, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning.”

Our prayer for Haiti to rise out of affliction and into hope like the captive Israel was soon tested and tainted, however. After experiencing a refreshing sunrise, we drove to an orphanage on the outskirts of the city, and, in an uncanny occurrence of symbolism, cloud cover once again emerged as we arrived at a dreary cinderblock building on a walled in property of about an acre of bare land. A hundred kids with crusty toes, scabby knees, and damp clothing (from feces) greeted us with blank faces as we walked into a large, dim room. Our hearts sunk as we realized that these children were not the feisty children of our Jacmel church but rather had great physical and emotional need. Evoking smiles and laughter was initially difficult. Many children had malnourished bellies, no pants, HIV/AIDS, staff infection, ringworm, and other physical infirmities. Evidence of feces was found on floors and clothes. Many of these children were found left on the street. Conditions were immensely inadequate. Emily Fischer later shared with the group her realization that brokenness has faces. It has skin with sores and eyes yellowed with disease. God’s heart for orphans became an imminent reality today.

Upon entering the orphanage, every team member immediately took to loving the children, and soon Christ’s love brought smiles and laughter to the children as we held them, performed Bible story skits, and crafted bracelets. We set up a small bath outside where we washed the small children’s feet of the dirt, feces, and scabs that clung to them. Please take the time to ask a team member what they learned about the heart of God through this experience, as God has taught each one of us something. Today was only World Hope’s second time to this orphanage, and we are hopeful to serve this place in some capacity in the future in order to satisfy the need for shoes, clothes, basic pharmaceuticals, food, education, and love.

Through our short time in Haiti, God has spoken realizations that are both liberating and burdening. The trashy streets may be a physical reality in Haiti, but they are a spiritual reality in America. The material poverty in Haiti has taught us something of the soul poverty in America. This idea is liberating because it frees us up to live our lives with the direction and focus that God intends for us. It is burdening because the task is large and the workers are few. Deidrick shared from John chapter 1, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.” Matthew 5:14 says, “[We] are the light of the world.” We pray that, as we return home, we are able to embrace and spread this truth, bearing the fruit of its spiritual and practical implications in order that God’s people may further his Kingdom.

Tomorrow (Tuesday), we return home. Pray for safe travels, and we will see you at 1:00am!

Now onward to Port Au Prince

We are packing to leave for Port au Prince right now, where we will serve orphans and go souvenier (sp?) shopping for the next couple of days! Here is a post from Melissa:

This day was probably the heaviest and best we have experienced so far. Last night the halls of our hotel were filled with the beat of voodoo drums, rhythmic chants. It was definitely spiritually dark. This continued throughout the entire night and on into the early morning. I still hear them beginning to start again while I'm on the balcony writing the blog. Our team happened to come on the most celebrated ritual days of NOV 1st and Jan. 1st. These are the days when all voodoo followers gather and worship their gods. It was a new experience but Gods strength and power quietly calmed all of our souls in the morning. I was lead to Colossians and was relieved to read about the supremacy of Christ over all powers and authorities in heaven and on earth. He is the God of this city and of this nation. It was Deeds turn for the devotion this morning and it hit right on target for what God wanted to communicate to this group. He shared about Christ Power over demons and and evil spirit and the ultimate supremacy of Christ. He also challenged us with a huge question. Do we all truly believe that God can turn this broken and wicked nation to into a nation that falls to their knees and proclaim the name of Christ? It struck me that it is already in the hearts of the people to worship and thanksgving, but the problem is that similar to the meeting in Ariopagas, they are worshiping unknown Gods, namely satan. Do we really believe that God can transform this nation? We ended the morning with wholehearted belief that God has huge plans for Haiti and that he has, is and will perform miracles that bring glory to his name.
Our team is growing closer every day. It was nothing but divine favor that allowed our team to get so close so fast. We work together like a body of Christ should, and our unity is incredible. As every day passes we grow a deeper and more intense love for every person on the team. these are truly my brothers and sisters. I wouldnt rather be any where else in the world.
today God wrecked all of our hearts. it was the last day with the kids. Tomorrow we have to say goodbye and most of us are tearing up even thinking about kids. we have made deep connections with the people weve met here in just a matter of days and we have become very attached to a lot of them. tomorrow is gonna be hard... only Gods strength will help us through. God has done amazing things here. Things morning we did the cruxfiction skit and several kids stepped forward to place their faith in christ. we pray that they know the true meaning of their decision and that the seeds we have planted here grow.
Tonites debrief was a probably the most powerful one. Weve learned hard lessons here. and all of our lives have been permanently marked and changed forever. As a whole, we concluded that our team has not been sent here to save or fix Haiti. God has sent this team here so that Haiti can save and fix us. we want to know CHrist.. and the power of his resurrection.. and to love him well. we want to love him for being God and what he has done for us. WE want more of CHRIST and his power in our lives! we have become radical in our faith here! it has been the most amazing experience of our lives. Were thankful for all of the prayers back home, they are much needed and welcomed! please continue to pray for us. We still have a couple days left at the orphanage. We love yall so much and are praying for the other teams.
we love you so much!
your sister in christ, Melissa

Quick Update

Hey all - Stephen is feeling better today, though still not 100%. Thank you for your prayers!

day 5

So this is my first time blogging for the team. My name is Deidrick, and I guess I’ll just be updating you with where we are at so far. To start off I want to say thank you to everyone that has been praying for us. We can definitely feel your prayers. The relationships that we have made with the kids have been so amazing. It feels like we are finally being accepted in this culture. They believe us when we say we love them. Even though the language barrier is very present, we are able to show them through our actions and smiles that they are important and are not forgotten.

VBS has been a huge hit. The numbers aren’t quite as big as the first day, but the people that come back over and over are definitely hungry for what we are saying. Yesterday we had a chance, after the study, to take the whole group from the church to the ocean and just kinda walk the shores. I think the walk to the shores was more of a bigger deal for me than anyone else, because of the person I was able to talk to on the way. One of our new Haitian friends Elizah and I talked the whole way to the beach. I can’t really remember what we were talking about…I was probably asking him a thousand questions about their language like I always do. But as we were walking we passed an old lady sleeping on the side of the walkway. This stood out to me a little bit because this was the first time I had seen anyone asleep on the side of the road especially during the day. Elizah noticed that she had caught my attention and he began to explain to me that she was “out of her mind”. As we walked closer to the beach, I saw another old person sitting on the road with his hand extended to us waiting for us to place money into it. He said nothing to us, as he looked straight into our eyes. Elizah began to explain to me that this man was also “out of his mind”. By this point I was very curious and wanted to know what he meant. He told me he had seen both of them several times do crazy things. Run around at night naked and screaming, causing themselves physical pain, picking up trash off the ground and eating it, he said the voodoo made them crazy.

Later that night at the soccer fields, a guy gashed open his head playing soccer. One of our guides Alan, was asked to take him to the hospital, and I somehow managed to make it into the back of the truck before rushing down the busy streets of Haiti. When we made it to the hospital, I wasn’t prepared for what I saw. There was no check in area, only a guy at a gate that would let you in if you honked long enough. As I walked in, I could hear a screaming lady in the room next to me. There were no doors and there was dirt everywhere. We were directed to a room where I saw a man getting his slit wrist stitched up while sitting on a bench. As the blood dripped off his arm, I noticed his face and it made mine grimace. I immediately realized that there was no pain medicine for him. Poverty first hand and up close. I felt bad for anyone who had any serious injuries. On the way back to the fields, I was explained, that’s just how things go around here.

Regardless of all of this, we are still energetic. We don’t want anything to get in the way of our joy when we are with the kids. Tomorrow is a big day for us, pretty much the reason we came. Tomorrow we will be sharing with the kids the story of Christ and encouraging them not only to pray a prayer, but to make a life change. Our spirits are all heavy tonight. We can see the resistance of the enemy in this country. One of our teammates is sick, and while we were praying for the souls of those that will be saved tomorrow we could hear the voodoo drums for some ritual start up off in the distance. I can actually hear them right now as I’m typing this. Tonight and tomorrow morning we will be warriors in prayer. We know we are here for a reason, and we refuse to give in to the attacks of the enemy. We just ask that you join us in prayer. Pray for our teammate Stephen, who we hope is just really dehydrated. I guess we will see tomorrow morning. Also pray that the story we try to communicate tomorrow is received without any opposition and that lives are changed. This is what its all about for us. We are eager and ready. Thank you again for your prayers.

I guess that’s all for now. Sorry if it was long, I tried to keep it as short as I could. At this point everyone has a story. I’m looking forward to sharing more when we come back. Goodnight everyone. Hope everyone else on the other mission trips are doing well. We’re praying for ya’ll daily.